Say Anything - Say Anything
Record Label: RCA
Release Date: November 3, 2009
I have a friend (whose name, ironically, is Max) who I have introduced to Say Anything within the last year. He took to the band quite readily, and so I was somewhat interested to hear his opinions concerning the band’s latest effort. The day after he heard the record for the first time, I asked him about it, and he said, “Well, I was a little disappointed at first because it wasn’t as funny as In Defense of the Genre, but it’s still a good album.”
My friend Max unwittingly drew the dividing line for Say Anything fans with that statement. There are those, like my friend, who enjoy the band mostly for Max Bemis’ brash and occasionally grotesque lyrics: they are in it for the “shock value,” if you will. And then there are those of us who love the band for Bemis’ honest, passionate lyrics, for his wittier moments, and for his ability to craft an absolutely gorgeous vocal melody.
Both of these elements immediately come into play on Say Anything. In the opener, “Fed to Death,” Bemis proclaims, “There was a man from Nazareth / The fools and war provoked / They forged an image of his flesh / To brand on mugs and t-shirts,” in one of his best hooks yet. Passing over the first single, “Hate Everyone,”—you like it or you don’t, I’ve grown tired—the album continues with “Do Better,” a poppy song in the vein of “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too,” or “Baby Girl, I’m a Blur.” Less Cute is another poppier track, but one that goes in a completely different direction: it is most akin to “That Is Why.” The chorus of this track also finds Bemis continuing to showcase his witty way with words: “He’s like a Wal-Mart version of you,” he sings.
“Eloise” tells of love lost and gone wrong, a common theme for Say Anything. “Mara and Me’ is a fitfully bombastic sonic barnburner that goes in about fifteen different directions at once, but somehow manages to pull it all together and work really well. “Crush’d” is obviously about Sherri DuPree, Bemis’ wife, as he mentions her name in the outro. It’s essentially a love song, one of the few Bemis has ever penned without bitter overtones. He croons, “You’re no witch / You’re no wench / You’re like Bjork with better fashion sense / So I phone fifty cents / And I’m building up my confidence.” Musically, the synthbeat-driven “Crush’d” is also pretty poppy, but it’s less noticeable sandwiched between the album’s two most raucous numbers: ‘Mara and Me,” and “She Won’t Follow You,” and it’s poppiness is certainly not detrimental.
Apart from “Cemetery,” a ballad with semi-religious themes, the rest of the album is pretty guitar-driven and up-tempo. “Death for My Birthday” has an extremely catchy chorus that promises to remain ingrained in your head for a few days. “Young, Dumb, Stung,” and “Ahh…Men” deliver a nearly peerless one-two punch to close the album. The former is a “screw the haters” type song that leads nicely into “Ahh…Men,” hands-down the album’s best song and one of Bemis’ finest to date. “There’s a crack in the edge of the end of the world / Where I will sit my love in this fluorescent swirl / Build it up / Break it down to the tiniest cell / In our room with a view and a window to hell / Where those who bury bodies in the barrels of fun / Will be marched through museums that display what they’ve done / They’ll be shot up to the sky in a cannon of sin / That will reluctantly let them in / So can I lie in your grave?” he sings to close the album, a fitting capstone to a journey through love, religion, despair, and life in general.
Say Anything finds Max Bemis as a maturing adult who is still capable of expressing some of the passions of youth. He has certainly “grown up”—to an extent—but not without some difficulty. The album waxes semi-eloquent on the above themes while still remaining catchy as hell and very relatable. While its’ place in the band’s catalogue is yet to be determined, Say Anything showcases what I (and many other fans) have come to love most about the band in a little bit different way. As Bemis croons on “Do Better,” “We could be the greatest band in the world.” They’re not quite there yet, but Say Anything proves that their career is anything but stagnant. Look for more great things to come from Say Anything in the future.
hey it was great! it's glad to see a review that didn't complain about the tongue and cheek lyrics, btching about property, or how max bemis got a new pencil sharpener or something stupid like that lol
young dumb and stung is my least favorite song on the record. why do you like it so much?
I mostly like the bridge, where he goes "When I was five years old..." I think that's a perfect lead-up to "Ahh...Men" content-wise, and it's also just a really catchy melody. The chorus, however, does leave a little to be desired, I'll grant you.
I mostly like the bridge, where he goes "When I was five years old..." I think that's a perfect lead-up to "Ahh...Men" content-wise, and it's also just a really catchy melody. The chorus, however, does leave a little to be desired, I'll grant you.
Totally agree with you,love young dumb and stung lyrics and melody.
1. The quoted lyrics from Ahh.. Men are too long. Use a line or two to make your point, sure, but 5 lines is surplus to requirements
2. The introduction nearly put me off reading the rest of the review. Too informal - the rest of the review is pretty damn good though
3. Great album
1. The quoted lyrics from Ahh.. Men are too long. Use a line or two to make your point, sure, but 5 lines is surplus to requirements
2. The introduction nearly put me off reading the rest of the review. Too informal - the rest of the review is pretty damn good though
3. Great album
1. Yeah...I though about putting less of it in there, but I decided that if you haven't heard the song, all of it has to be there to get the full effect.
2. To each their own. I personally like it, mostly because that conversation was what made me decide to write the ten millionth review of this album. But I can see how it could be annoying. Thanks! I try.
3. Agreed.
4. That was three points, not 2 ;)
IMO, the standout tracks are Fed To Death (as short as it is), Eloise, Mara and Me, Cemetary, and Ahh...Men.
I do very much like this album. Anything Say Anything has produced is better and more original than most music coming out right now. But I do find the topics on this album much more difficult to relate to, and therefore lessens my desire to listen to the album a bit. I suppose if I was madly in love and a little less bitter about love in general right now I would be spinning this album quite a bit more, haha
IMO, the standout tracks are Fed To Death (as short as it is), Eloise, Mara and Me, Cemetary, and Ahh...Men.
I do very much like this album. Anything Say Anything has produced is better and more original than most music coming out right now. But I do find the topics on this album much more difficult to relate to, and therefore lessens my desire to listen to the album a bit. I suppose if I was madly in love and a little less bitter about love in general right now I would be spinning this album quite a bit more, haha
Yeah...I agree with you about Fed to Death being killer. Eloise is also awesome, and Mara and Me grew on me.
I especially agree with this:
Quote:
I suppose if I was madly in love and a little less bitter about love in general right now I would be spinning this album quite a bit more, haha
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