Customer Reviews

Is a Real Boy

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

first of all, i must tell you that i am a complete and utter music snob. i work at a record store, and i listen to almost all the new releases that come in, minus the hip hop, because its all trite isnt it. anyways, i picked up say anything on a whim when it first came out. i have to say, it is the best cd i have bought since the days of nirvana. completely original. so honest. so bitter, yet so loving. there arent words to describe how i feel about this album. i listen to it literally everyday, its helped me through hard times and turned horrible nights into great ones. its a sing along cd to the utmost degree, catchy, but not at all poppy. i havent heard anyone to have such an original, yet familiar sound. i recommend that you all pick up this album. there isnt anything else like it. just go buy it and youll see that im right...

The mainstream label debut of Say Anything is, in most respects, a real gem of deliciously sinful postmodern originality. It's suburban to the very core, almost comparable to the best qualities of The Bloodhound Gang with just a tinge of the self-honesty of Bright Eyes. A merging of those two bands would likely yield offspring comparable to ...Is a Real Boy (and it's sister disc, the slightly darker ...Was a Real Boy). Musically speaking the disc reflects painstakingly crafted pop production with scintilating rythms and hooks which are accentuated to the point of dark irony by frontman Max Bemis's devilishly engaging lyrical debauchery. It is in fact the lyrics which separate Say Anything from the hoardes of Hollister Era mall-core pop-punk outfits of the current times, for they reflect fiery vitriol unmatched by a good number of much more "hardcore" outfits. When Bemis's pen touches the pad it goes captivating places, from the bleak plasticization of the sexual experience through the mechanical anonymity of the internet as a medium for forming new relationships on "Wow I can get sexual too" to the shades and dimensions of drug-induced protcrastination as a sole means for inspiration on "Red Cat/Yellow Cat". There is indeed a ferocity on some of the songs that recalls the merging of rawness and production on albums like "Appetite for Destruction" with blistering thrashers like "Little Girls" and "Every Man has a Molly". Creature-horror lyrics as an analogy for sexual dependence makes "Spidersong" an especially twisted variation on a normally PG-13 genre of music and songwriting, and produces yet another standalone banger which can be played again and again. The succint message that Bemis is broadcasting seems pertinent enough, the recognition of banality, the transformation of malaise and frustration into inspiration and progress, the dismissal of superficiality and snooty postmodern intellectual entrenchment (Admit It is a vitriolic attack on the modern dumbed-down intellectual "elite" that carries a fire and energy rarely even grazed by tired modern pop music, overproduced and overplasticized. Say Anything is a compelling portrait of the mechanical, devoid face of modern American culture that is at times horrifying, but ultimatley beautiful in the end, as love prevails.

Bear in mind that this album was originally released in 2004 but now has been re-released with some new bells and whistles. So without further ado I take credit for the following review for regardless of rather or not it is a re-release will undoubtedly go down as one of the best albums of the year but one of my personal favorites of the last ten years.

The scene is dripping with irony from top-to-bottom. Thrift store connoisseurs decked out in flamboyantly colored kicks and payless shoes adorn the landscape. Cheesy synths have taken over indie music and wailing 80's heavy-metal riffs overflow out of the retro-loving chalice of modern music in search of a definate meaning in reviving the old. Irony is the new pink, and pink is the new black let's all together and face it people it all comes down to the hipster New York fashion crazes and high school politics. I find it somewhat odd that punks can be in a sorta way as pretentious and conceited as all those "jocks" and "preps" that most everyone else blames for ruining their teen years. It's all about being cool, making sure that you say the right words to be considered the coolest. It's a continual progression hoarding deeper and deeper into the trough of egotistical self-absorption.

Say Anything. 18 months, a few visits to psychiatric hospitals and hundreds of cancelled shows later, Max seems fit and ready to bring his fans what they desperately deserve, new Say Anything tracks. Over a year after "...is a Real Boy"'s initial release, major label, J-Records took this pop rock gem and released it the masses en masse. Only this time, it came updated with seven new tracks. Though they might have a little bit sleeker production, the new tracks show not only has Bemis retained his self deprecating, tounge-in-cheek songwriting capabilities which are strikingly just as convincing and convicting. But that it has gotten better as time has elapsed.

I won't say anything (Damn I am a funny guy) about the actual album itself aside from if you don't own it, you need to own it. Do NOT download it or get it from a friend because that would be not doing Mr. Bemis any justrice. It is worth whatever money Target or Best Buy is charging. And along with these seven new tracks, you have no excuse not to get it.

The second disc, titled "...was a Real Boy," kicks off with "Wow, I can get sexual too," a track you might have heard as you entered the band's website. Bemis picks up right where he has left off, chronicling tales of internet and phone sex. "You're too young to be this empty girl/I'll prepare you for a sick dark world/Know that you will be my downfall/But I call and I call," croons Bemis. But throughout most of this disc, Bemis appears to be lashing out about his recent success and his reaction to it. "Little Girls" tells of his distain for little girls who do not fear him, though he feels they should. "Total Revenge" tells about Bemis' stays in hospitals and their constant supervision. And "I Will Never Write an Obligatory Song about being on the Road and Missing Someone" is about...well...duh what the title implies smarty.

If you have never heard Say Anything before, now would be an excellent time to get on this. You certainly will not regret it. If you have been a fan for a while, it is something that will re-wet your palate. If you are a fan of "...is a Real Boy," this is not the new Say Anything full length. Though you might gripe and groan about having to re-buy the CD to get the seven extra tracks, they are worth it. And by now, if you played your cards right and listened the hell out of that CD, you are probably due for a new one anyway and let us hope we don't have to wait long. This is what emo was suppose to be at the turn of the century.

Say Anything lists their heroes as Saves the Day. I love StD. I own two of their albums. Sound the Alarm is brilliant. But this reference came as a surprise, particularly because StD does it by the book, and Say Anything aka Max Bemis expands far beyond into the inner reaches of the human soul. Yearning, incredible sexual appetite, and a pessimistic view of love are concealed in the sunshiney, blink-182 power chords and anthemic shouting found in the album. I love the music. Every single song has a peak, a melody, and a hook better than most bands can deliver in their ultimate track. Every song is also different than the last, giving the album a lasting appeal and an air than cannot be competed with. This is Green Day gone indie gone schoolboy passionate. Barely out of his teens, Bemis channels every teenage guy in America that has fallen from being on top, or felt like they have lost hope, only to rediscover it. That is the definition of me, which is why I feel I identify so well with the music. I, along with thousands of others, will probably label this album as the soundtrack to their life. And what a good one. Say Anything is deeply personal, and their lyrical content scathes and burns on so many nihilistic levels that it hurts. No other punk album will top this one. It is incredible, to hear and behold. Pick it up. And be glad you discovered a band called Say Anything...

Let me NOT write "this is SO AWESOME, every one should buy this!"... I'll be a bit more helpful: How can you classify this band? Its kind of punk, sorta indie... who knows, who cares? This is truely original and stands out from other break-out punk and power-pop bands of late. Max Bemis' unique voice and thoughtful lyrics are what really make the album, that along with each song having two or three movements. Its one of those that you can listen to over and over and not get bored and not even want to skip over certain tracks. Each one is great. I recomend it to anyone who likes music (at all).

Max Bemis is a lyrical genius. Enough said. I had this CD originally when it was released through Doghouse Records about a year and a half ago, it was incredible then and it never left my CD player. I STILL listen to it everyday, it's that good of a CD. It's refreshing to hear a band that doesn't sound like every other generic over produced pop-punk band. With the re-release of ...Is A Real Boy, we also get ...Was A Real Boy. "Wow, I Can Be Sexual Too" is a funny song that provides a good laugh for those who listen to it. The other previously unreleased songs also shine in each of their own ways. Max Bemis may have his own issues in his own head; maybe that's why he had to go into rehab for his social anxiety disorders, but the one's he puts on record are simply amazing. This might be my favorite CD that I own.

i got this cd last june and i still listen to it constantly. i've tried to find cd's that can replace it but i can't. i take it out for a day, put in something new but i always find myself coming back to say anything. i can't find anything better! it is the perfect mix of catchiness and cleverness.. the lyrics are really witty and funny and original.. it's great for rocking out in the car. it's not whiny emo or screaming hardcore.. i can't say really what category it fits in, which is good.

Seeing a band name like Say Anything, one might either bristle or schmooze, depending on his/her appreciation of 80's cinema when Cusack was King. Thus, we run into the age old situation of a remarkable band with a less than remarkable name (think Jimmy Eat World). We wouldn't have it any other way though as there should be something, at least one blasted thing, about Say Anything that doesn't impress us. Because everything else does and is quite remarkable.

The liner notes state that this album was originally intended to be part of a full-on punk rock opera replete with spoken word interludes. In the opera the protagonist (played by Max Bemis, the man behind the curtain) would use the powers he gained from a curse to eliminate hypocrisy in the world. However, in the midst of crafting this opus, Bemis apparently arrived at the realization that penning such a grand spectacle would be the penultimate statement of hypocrisy. It appears than that the record is not a rock opera at all but a cycle of interlocking songs of varying complexity and movements, with a central theme. A concept album going against concept. Despite this, while listening, one can imagine the places where a different speaker would interrupt, an aside would be made, a revelation would be arrived at. In fact, one can consider that if Bemis had created said opera, maybe his wish for hypocrisy to be bleached from the landscape would have come true.

This is not to at all diminish the quality of this record, but rather speculate what could have been. Even without the pomp and spectacle of opera, the record is still a monolith. Everything is present here that would comprise a timeless piece of musical art from pointed social commentary, poetry, and originality to ripchord rock. That's right, rock. The band shreds through 13 tracks, never losing the attention or rhythm of the listener. There's something here for any pop/rock fan here from the firecracker stomp of "Belt" and the mid tempo indie chic of "Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat" to the snort and snarl of "An Orgy of Critics" and the orchestral pop of "Chia-Like I Shall Grow." Bemis even goes Lennon and rants on the incendiary closer "Admit It!!!" combining beat poetry with bone thudding rock. All the while, Bemis's vocals provide the rubber cement for this punk paste up as they change in tone and go from whispers to growls. In fact, Bemis's vocals aren't that far from another indie superhero, Tim Kasher of Cursive.

Some have been saying Bemis is the next Lennon, Dylan, or Kobain. The prophet and savior of rock. Bemis is more indie though. If he's going to save rock, it'll just happen, kind of like the way this record may ignite the country. If it doesn't, that's fine too. For now, Bemis is strolling in the underground, saving the desperate few that come to him.

There is a time in everyone's life when you find something you just can't get enough of. Have it be a person, food, or item. I learned of Say Anything's music a while before the album was realeased, and enjoyed it automatically. On the day of it's release, i devoured the contents it had to offer, and wanted more. ...Is a Real Boy is so full of energetic powerful songs that are absolutely breathtaking. The songwriting is perfect, and Max Bemis's humor is side-splitting. This is the album that ended the era of pop-punk [...] that is sold to mallrats. Not only does Say Anything's music make fun of the "genre" it was put into, it kills all the critics who dismiss their music as pop-punk for the tween set. Take my word for it, this stuff is not talking about wanting to slit wrists and hook up with a girl who you know you have no chance with. this music is REAL. "Admit It!" dismisses the critics and scene kids who change their style like they change their underwear. By using humor, Say Anything's music has reached thousands of fans who have been waiting for a band to open thier eyes to the real world. I am proud to say that i am blessed to have a band like Say Anything in my life. This album and band are by far one of my favorites, and it will be for years to come.

I have been a huge fan of Say Anything for a few years now, and this album is amazing. Every song on the album, and the bonus disc is perfect. The vocals are forceful, the guitars are catchy, and the drums rock hard. The lyrics are pure genious as well. BUY THIS ALBUM NO MATTER WHAT MUSIC YOU LIKE YOU COULD NOT REGRET IT.