Good Charlotte, "The River" (f. Avenged Sevenfold)

[clem]

This might possibly be the only song by them I've ever enjoyed thoroughly. The lyrics are extremely well-written, and A7F does a great job. Hopefully this will end up as a single to save their reputation from the crap that was "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl".

[Diablo Cody™]

What's this from?

[clem]

computerfreak said:

What's this from?

Their upcoming album Good Morning Revival!.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

Wow! I would love to hear this!!!

[tortuga]

Can a mod move this to the alternative forum? Its now listed on FMQB as their first single.

[Slinky]

Done and done.

[tortuga]

Thanks.

Now, I don't care if its Good Charlotte, I still wanna hear this.

[American Idiot]

I'm really interested in hearing this as well since anything featuring Avenged Sevenfold in it can't be too bad. Although these are two really different bands we're talking about here. I'll admit I still am a big fan of Good Charlotte's first and second album until they went all poppy and I had to put them aside.

[tortuga]

americanidiot said:

I'll admit I still am a big fan of Good Charlotte's first and second album until they went all poppy and I had to put them aside.

I don't own or have listened to any GC albums but they always seemed like a poppy band to me.

[American Idiot]

tortuga said:

americanidiot said:

I'll admit I still am a big fan of Good Charlotte's first and second album until they went all poppy and I had to put them aside.

I don't own or have listened to any GC albums but they always seemed like a poppy band to me.

Yeah, now that I think about it. They have always been "poppy", but I mean the first two albums were just typical pop-punk, and now their new stuff just seems to be, well just pop really. I don't know how else to put it.

[halo19]

That sounds kind of interesting, and I'm not a GC fan.

Using a current band that's doing pretty hot is a good move, as I honestly thought they were done after the last album, and I didn't mind the lead single, which was all I heard from it (no, I didn't hear "IJWL"). But yeah, I thought "Little Things" was a bit poppy when I first heard it, and especially "Girls & Boys."

[jdmasta289]

Good Charlotte were originally a fun-loving, not-meant-to-be-taken-too-seriously, energetic, motivational, halfway-inspiring punk-pop group. With their last two albums, they took the concept too far, and especially did so with "I Just Wanna Live" from Chronicles.

There's nothing to be ashamed of when admitting to pre-Chronicles Good Charlotte fandom.

I could relate to songs like "Festival Song" and "Motivation Proclamation" at the time and I look back with fond memories! And I miss the days that bands could write motivational punk-pop tunes without being hijacked by the "man" - and being forced onto every Disney and MTV outlet possible. Which is exactly what Good Charlotte (unfortunately) became.

[crash46]

Even though I think the songs "The Anthem" and "Little Things" are pitiful, and their whole first album being indistinguishable from today's equivalent of a b-list Myspace band, I can't help but to realize how pigeon-holed this band has been, even though they brought much of the pigeon-holing upon themselves. So I never want to write these guys off.

Making a song with Avenged Sevenfold, who seem to desire to become just as pigeon-holed as GC, seems like a perfect fit for both of them. I'm curious to find out what it'll sound like.

[jdmasta289]

b-list myspace band? ??? Name some examples of these bands who sound similar to Good Charlotte - not named Simple Plan or Bowling For Soup.

Avenged Sevenfold never wanted to be taken seriously. They'll let the music do the explaining for them, and the music is actually intricate enough to keep my attention. A7X impress me there as well.

[crash46]

Every band on the side stage of Taste of Chaos 2005. The side stage was called the MySpace stage. I normally wouldn't just lump all these bands I know next to nothing about into the same bag like this, but they're similar in the sense that absolutely nothing whatsoever stood out about any aspect of the music that was coming from that stage all night long, and that's how I felt while listening to GC's first album.

I gave it a listen because even though I was familiar with "Little Things" and "The Anthem" and hated those songs, I figured if they were capable of a song as good as "Lifestyles...", maybe, just maybe they'd have something else I'd like just as well. Their self-titled album just wasn't for me.

[Love Plastic Love]

Name one B list myspace band other than Simple Plan? Oh my god, I could walk outside, throw a stone, and hit about 10 of them!

[pen]

You can throw a stone and hit ten groups of people? That's one magic stone.

[jdmasta289]

I wouldn't compare a single band that I saw at this last summer's Warped Tour to Good Charlotte.

I've never been to Taste of Chaos, but I don't remember seeing any band like Good Charlotte on myspace, either. The MTV exposure, ripoff chords, and trendy hip-hop slogans aren't there.

Maybe the styles are similar - such as excessive eyeliner, black t-shirts and tight pants, and yellow-colored hair - but then that would be essentially bringing bands like Green Day into the mix - which is a ridiculous comparison.

Now the Plain White T's. I've seen many a Warped & myspace band resemble that group. But certainly not Good Charlotte.

[Nicholas2.0]

jdmasta289 said:

There's nothing to be ashamed of when admitting to pre-Chronicles Good Charlotte fandom.

There's absolutely nothing to be ashamed of about liking the last record. I'll defend Chronicles to the death. I feel like a broken record championing this album, but last year Chronicles came inside my Top 50 All-Time favorite albums list, with the second album coming in in the upper 80's/lower 90s, and the first album not even a blip on the radar. You know what the first album is? The first album is Fisher-Price My First Punk Album.

I thought "Predictable" was definitely leading with the right foot forward. "I Just Wanna Live," while I can see why they released it, was too much of a polarizing song to be a good choice. And the witty social commentary they made in the video was overshadowed by the ridiculous food costumes they had on, which only made them/the song an even bigger punching bag. But it's not like the song was supposed to be taken too seriously in the first place.

"We Believe" was also a poor choice, being lightweight and "sappy," but their hearts were in the right place. That album had some real solid songs, though, like "S.O.S.," "Walk Away (Maybe)," and "Ghost of You" in particular. The title track was well-executed. And though the intro is too epic and long, there isn't a bad song on there at all. Not by any means. It's not exactly punk anymore, but it's quality pop-rock with some kind of "alternative" edge to it. I dunno, a modern new-wave touch? Because they didn't fit neatly into a genre or scene anymore, the album was criminally slept on. Has anyone else here actually listened to that whole album with an unbiased ear?

jdmasta, I really believe you're coming down too hard specifically on Good Charlotte, because it's easy/convenient, and by denying the Taste of Chaos/Warped comment, not willing to step back far enough to look at the overall big picture of Steve's comment.

I believe I remember reading that the collaboration is just with M and maybe one other member, like Syn, probably. Past Warped Tours made GC & A7X real good friends. Hell it was GC that officially "introduced" A7X to TRL a year ago. Yellowcard did the same for Thrice. That didn't seem to work out to well for either one of them.

All I know is, I'll be ready at the drop of a hat to pick up Good Morning Revival! when it comes out next year.

[oscillations.]

God obviously was angry & dismissive of the wellbeing of the human race the day he let these two acts collaborate.

[crash46]

nicholas said:

You know what the first album is? The first album is Fisher-Price My First Punk Album.

Everything I said up to this point about that first album is now obsolete because of this. That is awesome. I'm totally stealing it for everyday vocabulary.

What else had the Fisher-Price tag placed on it from earlier this year? Oh yeah, it's Shinoda's "Where'd You Go"...my first drum beats .

[Love Plastic Love]

penance said:

You can throw a stone and hit ten groups of people? That's one magic stone.

I live on a college campus. No magic about it ;)

[jdmasta289]

I am generally wary of lumping what many call "myspace bands" together because I feel that many of them are, in fact, different and trying to accomplish something genuine, if not entirely original.

And good for you for liking Chronicles, Nick. The "Fisher Price" album was simpler, yes, but I'll admit to liking that one. You seem to be on quite the warpath, and yet you don't have an "enemy".

I'll admit that their self-titled sounded similar to bands like MxPx and Sugarcult. Since then, they've taken a poppier and even-more-energetic sound.

I would be much happier if they took a step back and started marketing and pushing hard toward their original audience again.

[Nicholas2.0]

jdmasta289 said:

And good for you for liking Chronicles, Nick. You seem to be on quite the warpath, and yet you don't have an "enemy."

My "enemy" was your quote I was replying to and anyone else in the past two years I've taken issue with for dismissing that album as crap. Especially former Good Charlotte fans who bailed on them after hearing it.

[mrclimbfall20]

That should be an interesting mix. They do kinda sound similar vocally. "I Just Wanna Live" and "Bat Country" are kinda similar (buuut I dont know much about either band so that doesn't mean much)

[Bri.I.Am]

where is this song!

i havent heard it at all....

I WAS A HUUUGGE good charlotte fan back in the day...i have all their albums
i hope this is good....
i mean i was happy with their last album because it wasnt as grungypop...it was a lil more serious
...and i mean they're all loder now...its getting a lil unbelieveable that they are all still these restless teenagers.....
i hope it sounds a bit more mature!

[jdmasta289]

mrclimbfall20 said:

That should be an interesting mix. They do kinda sound similar vocally. "I Just Wanna Live" and "Bat Country" are kinda similar (buuut I dont know much about either band so that doesn't mean much)

"I Just Wanna Live" and "Bat Country" are similar?

[jdmasta289]

nicholas said:

jdmasta289 said:

And good for you for liking Chronicles, Nick. You seem to be on quite the warpath, and yet you don't have an "enemy."

My "enemy" was your quote I was replying to and anyone else in the past two years I've taken issue with for dismissing that album as crap. Especially former Good Charlotte fans who bailed on them after hearing it.

Nicholas, I will interpret you calling an album that I happen to like (a "fisher-Price punk album" if I do recall correctly) a diss in and of itself. That will be my "enemy" until you say other wise.

And if you claim you never dissed that album, I interpreted it as a diss, and you've just offended me. So instead of smart-alecking around and going off on someone who happens to not like one of your favorite albums (keep in mind you've gone off on many bands that I like), I am entitled to my own opinions.

I wouldn't call Kelly Clarkson crap, and that's pop music. Mariah Carey has made some fantastic pop albums, but, to me, pop is an entirely separate (and dare I say it, inferior) genre.

[Nicholas2.0]

jdmasta289 said:

Nicholas, I will interpret you calling an album that I happen to like (a "fisher-Price punk album" if I do recall correctly) a diss in and of itself. That will be my "enemy" until you say other wise.

And if you claim you never dissed that album, I interpreted it as a diss, and you've just offended me. So instead of smart-alecking around and going off on someone who happens to not like one of your favorite albums (keep in mind you've gone off on many bands that I like), I am entitled to my own opinions.

You implied I (or anyone, for that matter) should be ashamed of still liking Good Charlotte after their 3rd record came out. I took issue with that and explained just why I prefer that record by leaps and bounds over the first one. Though I guess it's listenable, I'll actually nail down what I don't care for about the first one: the lyrical subject matter is typical teenage fodder, the music(ianship) is rudimentary, and the songs have definitely become better written with each subsequent album, i.e., better arrangements and the fact that Benji and Joel have scaled back and learned how to tastefully harmonize, rather than harmonizing at every available opportunity. That's not to say "The Motivation Proclamation" (my favorite off the first one) isn't more enjoyable for me to listen to than either of the bonus tracks on the versions of Chronicles. It is.

You prefer the first album; I prefer the third album. I'm done with this. Let's bury the hatchet right now. Olive branch?

[mrclimbfall20]

jdmasta289 said:

mrclimbfall20 said:

That should be an interesting mix. They do kinda sound similar vocally. "I Just Wanna Live" and "Bat Country" are kinda similar (buuut I dont know much about either band so that doesn't mean much)

"I Just Wanna Live" and "Bat Country" are similar?

The vocals sounds similar to me.