"This Album Should Be Called Bangers, Mostly"
This album may have gotten better over time, or perhaps as we age we become a more concentrated version of ourselves and find greater joy in the same music from our childhood. Perhaps because of the challenges of aging and this particularly awful society we live in, we long for the simpler times of childhood. And hearing these songs transports me back to those times of carefree living, with no responsibilities, and nothing but wonder ahead.
The album starts off with this song completely out of left field that sounds nothing like the rest of the lineup. And I love it. "A New Beginning" places me squarely back in my childhood bedroom playing a game on the original Xbox called Azurik: Rise of Perathia. It's an incredible power to hear a song and teleport so vividly to that moment in time.
Then we go right into an absolute banger, the timeless classic that is "The Anthem." We're setting the tone for the rest of the album that we're in for a great time. Fun, upbeat, try-hard punk. Maybe later we'll find out these guys had shitty fathers, but I bet they had good lives. And they're singing about how dumb high school and conformity is. Great. Let's have a good time. It's catchy as fuck.
Moving right along to "Lifestyle of the Rich & Famous." Another catchy banger. And the irony! I believe their net worth is somewhere in the realm of 40M. But who cares. We're just listening to fun music. Would Good Charlotte be upset if we robbed them? They gave us the idea after all.
I also love "Wondering." It's a great faux-love song in a pop punk setting. I remember being in my 20s in Chicago and hooking up with this girl I was infatuated with and she said she wasn't ready for a relationship. We were laying naked in bed together and I said "It's ok, if you want me to wait, I will wait for you. If you tell me to stay I will stay right through. If you don't want to say anything at all, I'm happy wondering." She didn't respond with immediate laughter so either she didn't know it was Good Charlotte or she DID know and just didn't think it was funny and I couldn't keep a straight face so I burst out laughing and confessed it was Good Charlotte. She said I know and then made me feel bad about it and then we had a toxic hookup situationship for awhile. No idea where she's at now and don't really care. I'm happy wondering.
"My Old Man" is fun. This guy hates his dad. A lot of people do. As someone who loves his dad, I still think it's a fun song. Bop after bop so far.
Jesus, this album hasn't missed yet. "Girls & Boys." So fun. It's outdated. It's sexist. But it's candy-coated. Do they know what they're doing here? It's a little tongue-in-cheek? I don't know, it could be sincere. But I think we can all enjoy it for what it is.
"My Bloody Valentine" doesn't hold as much weight for me as I must not have listened to it to the same level of repetition as the others when I was young, but it's still great. Fits perfectly in the album. Great vibe.
"Hold On" is another classic. I've never been depressed or suicidal. But this song still holds weight for me. Can't think of this album without this song.
"Riot Girl" is good. It's the first song I'm not 100% hyped up about, but it's not bad. Still pretty good hit rate for this album.
"Say Anything" is great. It starts off with a very interesting tone compared to how the rest of the song builds. But man, I love this chorus.
"The Day That I Die." Here's another like "Riot Girl" where it just didn't come up a lot for me when I was young. It's fine. It makes me wonder if I like most of these songs solely because of the time in my life when I listened to them. But I dismiss this thought.
"The Young & the Hopeless" — The chorus says it all. The album's titular song. We reiterate his lack of care (at what?), we reiterate his anger toward his father (no surprise), and we love every second of it. The chorus is great. It's not the best song on the album, but it's the heart of it. Very fun.
"Emotionless" — another one that's a bit weaker for me. It's ok because we've already had so many bangers. But a shame that we're getting very close to the end and it's not finishing stronger. Let's see what our final song holds.
"Movin' On" — it starts off with high energy that gives me hope this will be a banger. The chorus is not unique, but it's fun and catchy. It fits the overall vibe of the album. Fun ending. Not a blowout, but fun. The album 10000% hits harder on the first half. But it's got so much fun stuff in here.
Overall, this guy hates his dad. He hates high school. And he lived long enough to see himself become the villain (rich and famous). No longer young and hopeless. What a ride. I will listen to many of these songs until I die.
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