Fat Wreck Chords,
Acquired: Fatwreckchords.com, New, 2003
Price: $8
This is still a record that's kind of important to me. When I got into punk rock around 2001-2002, it was the Fat Wreck Bands that eased me in. But mostly, I just liked pop-punk. I have always been a sucker for melody and hooks, yet at that time I was also a sucker for socio-political lyrics and power chords. Lagwagon has been and always will be the best Fat Wreck band (yes, I think they usurp NOFX, despite doing the same sort of thing). Or they're my favorites. The ones that I stuck with when No Use for a Name started sucking and they're still putting out decent records! They've matured, and unlike NOFX who still act like they're 18, Joey Cape is writing songs with some considerable depth. This is evidenced on the mid-life-crisis esque record Blaze and the uber-sad Resolve, which was dedicated to deceased original drummer Derrick Plourde, who plays on this record come to think of it. Anyway, Duh is their snottiest and their most “punk rock” record. “Tragic Vision” is an attack on television (illustrated by the album's cover), and a good part of the record is all very...angry (see: “Angry Days,” though that one's a little bit slower). At the same time, I love me a songwriter who can maintain a sense of humor, and the Caper always did this incredibly well. Songs like “Mr. Coffee” and “Beer Goggles” are funny without being too goofy, and the cover of CCR's “Bad Moon Rising” is kind of great. It's more samey than I remembered, and it's not something I can really listen to anymore (I get distracted and I've heard this record a million times anyway), I appreciate its place in my life and on my shelf. Bad Astronaut, on the other hand, I still love now as much as I did then.
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