theboywonderhimself – Hell of a Time
The old punks may have hated groups like Green Day and The Offspring when they achieved massive commercial success during the early ’90s. For those that had lived through punk’s infancy these bands’ willingness to play melodic, funny, commercial music was akin to blasphemy or having to throw up in their mothers’ pot-roast dinner.
However, what those groups did do was make it alright for many youngsters who simply had little in common with the original nihilism of punk, to find a safe haven. Many of these groups acted and sounded childish, melodramatic, or impossibly happy, because this was, for the most part, who they were.
theboywonderhimself on Hell of a Time are that kind of group. They like their melodies sweet, their tempos fast, and their storytelling leaning on the theatrical. To boot, they sound like they’re enjoying playing together as if this is the first time in a month that they’ve been let out of the house. As always, we are easily sold by music that sounds as if it was created without any trace of cynicism.
Kids of Yesterday – Horsin’ Around
The sheer audacity of beginning a song called Horsin’ Around with the sound of an actual horse race should not go unnoticed! The transformative power of rock n’ roll in this day and age doesn’t stand up to much debate or scrutiny. Most of it, rarely provides as much as a chuckle any more, with most song lyrics seemingly assembled from the Youtube comments section of a Bernie Sanders video.
No, no, Kids of Yesterday are different. Clocking in at little over two minutes, and sounding like a garage band learning to play the Trooper incorrectly, Horsin’ Around is fun and demented. It contains such chestnuts of lyrical wisdom as “I went to the race track and I saw a fuckin’ horse get killed”.
Are they going on about horse races for the whole track? Yes, they do, but they also cleverly associate the habit of betting money on racing to some of society’s other ills. Musically, this is a pop-punk stomp from a group that’s likely heard a few metal records in their day. It’s fun, short, and certainly more entertaining than most dour messages about needing to make the planet a better place.
