Customer Reviews

Songs From An American Movie Vol. Two: Good Time For A Bad Attitude

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(28)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

*and Craig and Greg. Everclear's 5th full-length album, the follow-up to "Songs from an American Movie Vol. 1, Learning How To Smile" is a harder, more musically aggressive outing than its predecessor, but it's just as good, maybe slightly better. It's just as accessible as the first one, but in a different way. The sound isn't quite as poppy, but the term CATCHY, MELODIC ROCK DONE WITH HEART AND CARE applies here. It works well as a whole, and has great individual moments. Here's a track by track breakdown:

"When It All Goes Wrong Again" is fast-paced and rocks out pretty hard. It's the first single, and the main theme here, from what I gather, is feeling optimistic and pessimistic at the same time about life.

"Slide" opens with a sweet guitar lick and evolves into a tight, RAWK song that is going to sound great live.

"Babytalk" opens with a fonkay Sly & the Family Stone-type riff and the lyrics are mostly spoken. More or less, it's a complaint on how some guys change their demeanor when their girlfriend is near/on the phone. Another rocker that's gonna sound great live.

"Rock Star" is one of my faves on here so far. It's a mocking take on wanting to be a rock star, and, musically, it's one of a good number of songs on here that remind me why I got real into this group in the first place (note: check out the little guitar solo in the middle. Way cool.)

"Short Blonde Hair", lyrically, is sort of the anti-"Rock Star", it's a nice juxtaposition putting the 2 songs back to back. This wouldn't have sounded out of place on "Sparkle and Fade".

"Misery Whip" is another fearless rocker that has some great riffs and seems to, lyrically, have an escaping from ordinary life/S&M theme.

"Out of my Depth" opens with acoustic guitar and whistles, rocks out, and returns with an outro similar to the intro. A good, solid song.

"The Good Witch of the North" is a short, incredibly sweet ode to a very special woman. A nice, very "..Vol. 1"-ish ballad.

"Halloween Americana" is an instrumental with some great guitar work. Not as good an instrumental as "El Distorto de Melodica", but fits in well with the rest of the CD.

"All F**ked Up" is a punky, confessional about realizing you're destroying yourself.

"Overwhelming" isn't my favorite track on here, but it's good. It's a midtempo number that fits in well with the rest of the CD.

"Song From An American Movie Pt. 2" is a continuation from the first track on "...Vol. 1". It's longer, a little different, but makes a great closer to this two-part concept of Art's.

Overall, this is a great album. It's a nice return to form, of sorts, if you want to call it that. It's louder, a little more aggressive, and keeps with the theme nicely of "...Vol. 1". It's the kind of album I'm sure Art really wanted to do at this point of his life. It not only manages to continue expanding Everclear's sound, but also feeds the cravings of more loud, melodic, Cheap Trick-ish ROCK and confessional lyrics that many Everclear fans have been waiting for. If you like ANY of Everclear's albums, this is highly recommended.

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As a companion piece to vol. 1 learning how to smile you can tell just by comparing the titles which one is the darker one. Good Time For A Bad Attitude takes this feeling into the music too. Gone are the acoustic guitars and ukeleles and stuff in volume one, instead be prepared for a blistering attack of electric guitars, pounding bass, and drums being smacked so hard they should break. Picking off where vol. 1 left off, GTFABA goes into the despair and self-pity of just being through a break-up. Everything is not 'Wonderful' again and Art attacks not only himself (Slide) but the people in relationships (Babytalk) and dreams about being famous (Rock Star) and getting girls he knows he can't (Out of My Depth). Finally after the ultimate guilt trip (All... Up) he has a realization to rise above it all (Overwhelming) and finally brings the whole story full circle (Song From an American Movie Pt.2) All this is done with crunching guitars to produce the noisiest album Everclear has made. Very much recommended, if you have vol.1 you need this to complete the story and if you don't have vol.1 then buy them both at the same time.

Well, it is finally out! I have been patiently waiting for this album. You could say I am a big Everclear fan (not a freak that knows all about the band and tracks their every move). I just like the band, been to a few shows (on a side note they really do rock, a lot harder/heavier in concert)

So, back to the CD. I have been waiting because in a way Songs Vol. 1 was a little too "poppy" for me. I like the CD, but it sort of went away from their past. Art promised that this CD (Songs Vol 2) would be a lot more heavy (not like Limp or Korn) but like hard rock of the days of old.

It is safe to say that musically the band return to its roots. I think most would agree that Sparkle and Fade is their best album(...I might argue for World of Noise...but that's a different topic)

This album musically is quite loud, guitars racing and drums beating! There are a few softer/ I should say mellower songs like SHORT BLONDE HAIR, OUT OF MY DEPTH, THE GOOD WITCH..., and OVERWHELMING. They all start off a little soft, but soon build to a tedious rage. The heaviest songs on the album is All F**KED UP and WHEN IT ALL...

Another thing I would like to comment on is the lyrics. Lyrically they are strong...but a little different. What first attracted me to Everclear was Art's great lyrics. In the past he seems to tell stories about situations from his past or about people he knew. Art has the knack of telling stories that his large fan base can relate too.

In Songs Vol 2, Art does things a little different. He seems to repeat the theme of his inner demons and how he is starting to accept them and deal with it. The best way he confides is a new love("You help me keep it all/ from slipping away" -GOOD WITCH) and his young daughter Annabella.

In fact, in every song you will find the use of the pronoun "I". It seems to me that this album is the long lost SOLO project that Art scrap some time back. In a way this can be a negative or a positive...depends on if you can relate or if you get sick of hearing Art bitch (personally, I can still relate to his feelings)

In sum, the album does deliver...it is a lot harder and a lot more like earlier albums then Songs Vol 1. My favorite song would be Overwhelming. Others that stick out are WHEN IT ALL..., SLIDE, MISERY WHIP, OUT OF MY DEPTH(in my opinion all great) Fans might also like the lyrically ironic...but not too ironic ROCK STAR and the tie in (both musically and lyrically) SONG FROM AN AMERICAN MOVIE Pt 2 to Pt 1 (Vol 1).

Personally, I like all songs. On a last note the weakest song is Baby Talk. Musically (guitars, drums) it really rocks. Perhaps, would have been better as an instrumental. Art does bitch...but you will notice (the CD is a smiley face...not a frowning like vol 1) that he has accepted his past and is ready to move on..."Sometimes I am happy just to be alive" -SONG Pt 2

I GIVE IT A STAR RATING OF 4.5 OUT OF 5! FANS GO GET THE ALBUM...YOU SHOULD LIKE IT.

I want to know the secret that Art Alexakis, Craig Montoya, and Greg Eklund are keeping from us: That is, how to write such incredible music? There is not one bad song on this CD, much like Vol. 1. If you like hard rock, there is When It All Goes Wrong Again, Haloween Americana, and Misery Whip. If you like ballads, then there is The Good Witch of the North. Like punk rock? All F**cked up, Slide, and Rock Star will take care of that. And, as a final farewell to the Songs From... series, there is Song From An American Movie, Pt 2. This is undoubtedly the best song on the CD. With a melody the same as the first Song From An American Movie, except on guitars instead of mandolins and ukuleles, it is twice as expressive, and three times as long. If there is one CD you buy that Everclear has put out, let it be this one. Enjoy.

This is good music. period. The first thing that struck me about this album was the design. Not just in the Cover, but the music itself. You can feel there is an overall purpose to the album, especially when played with it's sister disc, American Movie Pt 1. It's hard for me not to view these CD's as one big album, rather than an original, then a sequel. The first one was impressive, but it left me unsatisfied, not because the music was dull, only because it felt incomplete. Now that this follow-up came out, It all makes sense to me now. To be honest, I didn't even realize there was to be a Part 2. When I found out (after the release), I went immediately to the store and picked it up. Now these CD's will remain in my player indefinitely.

The thing that's great about this album, is while it has a darker tone and Faster/Harder tracks, the music/lyrics is still encouraging in a therapeutic kinda-way. Some of his songs are just for fun (Babytalk) or to tell a story, but you can also really relate to his writing (I have a little girl of my own, too). The writing is negative, but the message comes out positive. There is a sense of hope in it all. But what is really important, is that this album JAMS.

These CD's stand up by themselves, but really gel when played together. In fact, Do yourself a favor and pick up both discs (if you haven't already) and leave them in your changer. Or do like me, rip them off the CD's into MP3's on your computer and set them to shuffle-play. It will get you into a zone that cannot be compared. I'm a Graphic Designer and I seriously doubt that a current project I was working on would have been as good without these guys blasting in my head.

Well what are you waiting for? Go buy 'em.

Listening to this CD is refreshing for many reasons, not only do I get to hear great songs from the heavy side of Everclear (that side that made their early CDs so great), but I also get some reinforcement that one of my favorite bands still believes in their craft.

Everclear has [guts] to put out an album like this after releasing two very popish CDs "So Much For The Afterglow" and earlier this year "Songs From An American Movie Vol. 1". The CD contrast well with the Vol 1. showing both sides of this truely brilliant band that seems to continue to evolve without "selling out", how commendable.

I keep listening in disbelief thinking... wow, have there been any bands that could consistantly crank out excellent CDs like this since (gasp.. The Beatles). I only draw this comparison because, like the Beatles I find it extreemly hard to tell you which Everclear CD is my favorite they are all extreemly good albums. If you are a fan of rock music, you will like Everclear. Buying Songs From An American Movie Vols 1. and 2. is a good way to sample what they are capable of.

This album really has to be taken in context with the massed body of Everclear work to date, which has culminated in two albums with exceptional production and laden down with brilliantly hummable pop hooks.

Vol. 2 builds on the themes explored in Vol.1 very heavily. It is a story, an autobiographical meander through Art Alexakis'smore recent life. Falling in love and subsequently marriage (GOOD WITCH OF THE NORTH), divorce (OVERWHELMING), the subsequent state of mind this left him in (ALL F**KED UP, SLIDE, OUT OF MY DEPTH). Through it all there is a defiant tone, brilliantly put forward by the couplet of BABYTALK and ROCK STAR, the first being a song that says "I'm not going to act the way you would have me act", and the second one that is a triumphant two-fingers up to everybody who says that you'll never make it in the music industry, in much the same vein as ROCK'N'ROLL STAR by Oasis.

The last theme, explored in the actual SONG FROM AN AMERICAN MOVIE PT. 2 (which bookends the two albums, what with PT.1 being the opener on Vol.1) is a song that at first seems tobe Art being very depressed. Lyrics such as "Sometimes I want to get lost/And I don't know why" build up and up under a massive wall of sound chorus, which suddenly drops away to the lyrics from PT.1, relating that the only thing that he lives for is his daughter, Annabella. This carries on and on until the song gets to the outro, with Art singing "I am happy just to be alive" with as much emotion as he can muster over a jubilant chord structure. But, somewhat satisfyingly, and showing that even if the lyrics do occasionally dip into the sentimental on these two albums the music can completely negate that, the entire two disc project ends on a minor chord, seemingly slung on to the end of PT.2 but in reality the only way you could finish off any piece of work dealiing with these sorts of themes.

In short, brilliant. Everclear, and Art Alexakis in particular, have every right to be proud of these two fine additions to their body of work. All the classic Everclear components are in place. The eight-to-the-floor power chords on the heavier songs, the wonderful little picked lines on the acoustic guitars, the ultra tight rhythm section of Craig Montoya and Greg Eklund, the wonderful arrangements assisted by James Beaton and Lars Fox, and most of all, Art Alexakis himself, proving that even after laser surgery on his throat, and the fact that he is very probably twice the age of the members of current flavour of the month bands such as Kittie, Silverchair and Sugar Coma, proving after everything that has happened to him in his life, he has come out on top, writing affecting lyrics that tell stories, and show emotions without every resorting to Manic Street Preacher style navel-gazing. Honest, brutal sometimes, but always supremely listenable.

This album is essential for any discerning rock fan. And that is THE bottom line.

I guess that is how I will sum this Songs from an American movie vol. 2... up. I don't know maybe it's just me but I love this album. I am not a person that easily gives five stars to an album, in fact some of my favorite albums only receive four stars. Anyways, this is a rock album. Meaning power chords abundant and alot of Art's patented "Oh's! and Yeah's!" But seriously this is an up tempo album, not as angry as World of noise or tracks like "heroin girl" from Sparkle and fade. Instead this album sounds like what it is, some middle age guys saying I'm going to turn this way up and throw a tantrum for fourty minutes. This is the album I use to introduce my friends to everclear, I know most people will use the argument that sparkle and world were better, but this is far more accessible and toungue and cheek. I mean come on the chorus in "babytalk" is "she's got you by the balls!" try not to sing that all day long. The one thing that I feel I should mention is what a gem the song "good witch" is. I almost break into tears when I hear it. It is a song about that love that is almost within reach. One that if you are in that situation you will feel. I love Everclear and hope that they attempt more albums in this spirit instead of whatever the heck Slow motion daydream is. Thank you for your time.

Song by song review of this album. But in a word - AMAZING
1. When it all goes wrong again - great way to start off the album. a hard-hitting rock song.
2. Slide - great song, another personal, intense rocker.
3. babytalk - funny, sarcastic look at relationships, and how the dumbest things can drive people insane. also says something about how men can get emasculated in relationships.
4. rock star - a totally cynical look at being a rock star from someone who has never claimed to be one. lead singer art alexakis preaches the rock and roll dream in a catchy, fun song
5. short blonde hair - the other side of the rock dream. art talks about being weird and feeling different, and how age and rock fame dont always go well together. an anguished, beautiful song
6. misery whip - a creep S&M fantasy song that goes more into the relationship of codependency than the sex part (i hope). i good sequel to heroin girl.
7. out of my depth - another song about when life becomes too out of control. very personal song for art, looking at the life of a guy trying to balance a divorce, a new relationship, raising a daughter, and STILL having to go be in a rock band.
8. Good witch of the north - about art's new girlfriend. maybe the first love song everclear has ever done that doesnt have some sort of depressing, angry, codependent subtext.
9. halloween americana - great instrumental track, in the tradition of el distorto de melodica
10. all f***ed up - amazing song. a nervous breakdown put to music, and a bristling piece of self-loathing. when you hate yourself, everything falls apart.
11. overwhelming - originally on the soundtrack for permanent midnight, and i like that version much more. this is an all band version, whereas the old version was a solo piece by art. the song is still a great tale of trying to overcome hurtful, damaging relationships.
12. song from an american movie pt. 2 - my second favorite everclear song ever, i think. a beautiful, harrowing song where art explains that even when his life is in ruins, all that can save him is his love for his daughter. this sample sfaam from the first album, and makes it great. the best song on the album

so this album is basically saying that life is scary, and hard, and can make you angry and miserable, but its the people you share it with that make it worthwhile. this is a truly great album.

I had been waiting for this album to be released down here in the land down under for ages. 4 months later after the american release date it's finally here. I rush to the record store & buy it. I totally love Everclear & Volume 2 is bloody fantastic & the title "Good Time For A Bad Attitude" is so AWESÜM!

Volume 1 is also worth having. Yes I know the argument concerned there is "oh it's 2 pop" bla bla bla...etc. The fact of the matter is it still has great songs & to be honest I went & bought that Cd after just hearing the 1 song "Wonderful" mainly because all of us can relate to this at some time or another. Standouts in Volume 1 includes tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, & 11.

Now as for Volume 2 one can listen to it over & over again. All songs are brilliant. I love the mellow (slow) songs on it too. It's really hard to pick a favourte track from this album. You have the likes of "Slide", "Rock Star", "The Good Witch Of The North", "Overwhelming", "Songs From An American Movie pt. 2" & so on.

All in all this is well worth the $$$ & I do not understand why so many of you out there don't have this in your collection yet buy a great rockin' band.

Before I finish up here, just a note to Everclear if you're reading this please please please release your cd's down here the same time that you do in the states if possible. That would be great. Thanx. ¦¬Þ