[thelitguy]

It seems like they came up with those riffs as a band, and sat down together and constructed the rest of the song.

Another thing that makes them far different from any pop-punk band I've ever heard is that ...Is A Real Boy was recorded (more or less) completely by Max by himself. I can't think of any other punk band that has ever done that.

On stop of that, Jeffery was talking about time signature changes and the loud/soft dynamics found in the music. Name one pop-punk band that does that.

If I was going to throw them into a sad sub-culture, I would say far more emo than punk.

[bread man]

Originally Posted by conceived in fire

And if every user on Sputnikmusic.com agrees with me as I said....(no, it's not a "stupid music magazine")

I kind of doubt that. I am a sputnik user and I don't think I agree with you. Not that I'm very familiar with Say Anything at all, but if Sean, thelitguy and Mattlock all say that they aren't a pop-punk band, I'm pretty much inclined to take their word for it.

[Skeeter]

Originally Posted by Kenny C.

I haven't heard too much of the new album yet, although I like what I've heard, but I finally got around to picking up ...Is A Real Boy. Effing A, I waited way, way too long to buy this album. I had various Say Anything songs stuck in my head for the whole day today, seriously. Based on the videos I've seen, too, Max is pretty much the perfect example of a great frontman.

They are fantastic live. And you did wait far too long to buy ...is a Real Boy. It's one of my favorite albums. Which, of course, is what makes In Defense of the Genre such a disappointment.

[Mattlock]

All I've heard from the new album is "Skinny Mean Man." I didn't bother listening to anything else from it.

[Jeffrey]

"Skinny Mean Man" and "Shiksa" are the two songs I enjoy off the album. Some of the music of both hit me as a bit conventional, but the epic feel of "Skinny" quickly grew on me. The lyrics are generally solid and completely unlike anything on the rest of the album - it's like Max is celebrating the resurrection of a long-dead goddess or something. "Skinny" is the one song lyrically that seems to have the same consistent strength that the songs on ...is a real boy had. I would put it on par with my least favorite song on real boy, "Every Man Has His Molly."

"Shiksa" has the right blend of electronic music over the punk stew. The lyrics run thin in places, but there's a vitriol lacking in the other songs.

I agree with Sean's assessment of the lyrics of the rest. Max seems to expend his clever, quirky idea on the first stanza, and spends the rest of the song with just filler rhymes. Hell, that's how the music sounds for the most part.

[meatfinger]

Reading this thread inspired me to listen to ...Is a Real Boy. Holy eff, "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" is addictive.

[Pre-Ex-Girlfriend]

Actually, "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" is on ...was a Real Boy.

[Danny]

Admit what? they're still the most overrated band in music today? and undeserving of being hyped up as the savior(s) of pop punk?

You're exactly the kind of person that really needs to listen to "Admit It." You misguidedly lump them into a genre that's made up mostly of unoriginal bands and judge them based on that mischaracterization. You talk about how unoriginal their music is just because it's "pop-punk" but can't give any specifics as to what makes it unoriginal. You adhere to a set of standards and tastes that appear to be determined by an unseen panel of hipster judges, giving the thumbs-up and thumbs-down to incoming and outgoing trends and styles of music and art. It's disgusting. It's offensive. Don't stick your nose up at me.

I was referring more to the music.

This baffles me even more. What don't you like about it, the fact that it's catchy, uses distorted guitars, and they occasionally palm-mute? Because the similarities to pop-punk pretty much end there. Pick up a guitar and try to play "Belt." I dare you. I'm not sure there's a single powerchord in the entire song, and the chaotic and occasionally dissonant way the guitars interact with one another makes it one of the most compositionally creative songs I've heard in any genre. Listen to "Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat" and tell me this is standard radio pop-punk fare. Listen to "Chia Like I Shall Grow" and witness the way the rhythmic and chunky guitar/drum duet of the first verse bleeds elegantly into a soft-and-smooth crooning about stars scarring the ceiling fueled by a clean guitar before exploding into another rhythmic chorus which features one of the catchiest guitar riffs ever. Hell, this guitar riff alone is worth listening to the song. Come up with a melody like that and then maybe I'll take you halfway seriously when you call Say Anything's songwriting "lazy."

The music certainly (at least) leans towards pop punk.

I'll go against the grain and agree with you here. If I had to put them into a genre I'd probably call them angry and abrasive emo pop punk.

The vocals fit perfectly in the genre.

Now here's where you have me completely confused again. Name a single pop-punk band with vocals like Max's. Hell, name a single band in any genre with a vocal performance like that. His vocal delivery and how completely unique it is to this genre of music is exactly what first got me interested in Say Anything. I have never, ever heard a vocal delivery so unmitigatedly passionate, expressive and caustic, except maybe from Maynard James Keenan. You almost don't even need to listen to the lyrics, because the way he sings them tells the whole story. Standard pop-punk vocals can be characterized with two adjectives—whiney and nasally—and neither of them apply to Bemis.

[natedawg5280]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLyQwbdSJas
Max will write you a song for $$$.

[Jeffrey]

A few years ago, that would have gotten me very excited.

[RB+Gravity]

So I just started listening to Say Anything. They're awesome.

There's my input.

[meatfinger]

There's really no need to bump a thread if you haven't anything new to say.

But Say Anything rock, so I'll let it slide.

[thelitguy]

Let's make a single disc version of In Defense of the Genre!

Everyone list what songs you would compile from the 2 CDs to make 1 really great one. My list will be here shortly.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by thelitguy

Let's make a single disc version of In Defense of the Genre!

Everyone list what songs you would compile from the 2 CDs to make 1 really great one. My list will be here shortly.

That'll be tricky. The problem I had with the album wasn't the lack of good guitar parts or melodies, it was the lack of solid songs. I like something about most of the songs, but I don't really like the songs as a whole.

[Skeeter]

"Skinny, Mean Man," "Shiksa," and "Sorry, Dudes. My Bad" would be on my version. I'll have to re-listen to the album to complete my list.