Punknews.orgPunknews.org Logo
Review Navigator

BackForward

Features

 

Contests

 


Reviews



The Reunion Show

Kill Your Television
2002
Victory

The Reunion Show - Kill Your Television (Cover Artwork)


Review by: Bitter
See others by this writer




Only registered users
can post comments


Print this Review Send this Review to a Friend
Victory Records (Logo)

Published on December 17th 2002

Wow, this record blew me away – with the thick, layered, crunchy walls of sonic bombast coming from the dual guitar attack of the Reunion Show, this album is a solid contender for album of the year with Andrew W.K.’s I Get Wet. Oh wait – no it isn’t. This is pathetic useless drivel that rips off the keyboard stylings of the Get Up Kids – and you can’t help but think they simply added the keyboards to be “unique”.

Maybe I’m just being a pretentious scenester, but I just can’t believe that Victory Records – who put out some of the more prominent hardcore records in my collection – actually put out this record. Even being a fan of the pop-punk-emo genre, I find this record hard to swallow. Everything bad about the genre is summarized in this record. From the played-out pop star bashing of the opening track, to overly cheesy song titles (and lyrics) like “On a Scale of One to Awesome (You’re Pretty Great)”, the Reunion Show make it somewhat difficult to sit through their album. They even have a song called “The New Rock Revolution” – and while I don’t claim to listen to much groundbreaking music, the title of the song and the Weezer-ripoff riff behind it definitely makes me giggle and squirm like the thought of giving your parents a spongebath.

I’m having difficulty listening to this entire album knowing that Mr. W.K’s album is sitting on my desk. If you are interested in either Victory or emo-pop-punk, I’d recommend Taking Back Sunday; otherwise, this just sounds like the soundtrack to Dawson’s Creek.






Please login or register to post comments.
What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
  • Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
  • Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
  • Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, July 14, 2004 at 7:16 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    it´s the worst record i ever bought.
    i still regret it to this day.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 at 1:01 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Let us never compare this band to The Hippos ever again, whoever said it (rip-off or other wise).This band are OK, quite catchy and generally just worth a listen.It is a bit formulaic.Not as badly as some bands though.The Hippos are/were just original and amazing,and sound completely different anyway.

    R.I.P.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, May 2, 2003 at 6:08 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    The Reunion Show kicks ass live. I enjoy listening to this album, your rigt, its not groundbreaking and profound and unique but its a steller album frm first track to the last I like it.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 27, 2003 at 11:35 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    this album is fucking awesome so fuck you! the reunion show is an amazing band that deserves everything they want! they worked hard for this record and i don't appreciate the way you treated their album or them.
    once again..fuck you

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, February 18, 2003 at 12:20 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    OK...granted i have heard better bands, but i do in fact love the reunion show. They're different and fun and incredibly nice. They aren't sold out like most of the emo/punk bands have to seem to have gotten and they seriously like their fans. They really are aprreciative of everyone who goes to their shows.

    Posted by graynoisenet on 2002-12-22 21:53:05
    My Score:

    "...This is pathetic useless drivel that rips off the keyboard stylings of the Get Up Kids – and you can’t help but think they simply added the keyboards to be 'unique'."

    you are so right

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 20, 2002 at 4:32 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    True dat. AWK and Reunion Show were made for each other. They both suck in equally obnoxious ways.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 20, 2002 at 2:42 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Andrew WK sucks, plain and simple.

    Posted by GregSka on 2002-12-20 11:56:13
    My Score:

    Edna's Goldfish was the shizzie.. haven't heard this band though

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 20, 2002 at 11:04 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    BRING BACK EDNA'S GOLDFISH YOU TREND-RIDING BASTARDS!

    Veronica Sawyer...enough said.
    just waiting for the afternoon so i can be a kid again.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, December 20, 2002 at 10:23 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Wow it really sucks to hear all these bad coments about this band. the thing is, its not really a punk rock or emo thing, its more of the corp. Fountians of Wayne, 80s feel! ya know.

    Whats really werid, is how everyone is so stuck on being snobby about everything anymore, i admit, i hate alot of bands, but if i dislike them, i wont go on a message board and say dont listen to this garbage. I mean where are the days of Unity, and strength? What messages are we trying to conve. There are only a few of us, if you think about it. Why have we gotten to be so judgemental about MUSIC, its an art, if we dont like it, it doesnt mean someone else wont. And i know there are tons of fake bands out there (points at drive thru) but they are still music, and sorry if a 17 yr old kid from philly is playing his art, for some 15yr old girl , who when she sees, starts to cry, because she cant express the way she feels for him writting these words, that are so hard for her to think of herself, Music is a powerful thing, and a senstive thing. It's an art thing. Be one with it, and keep your eyes and head open to the world, just because a band uses more than 3 cords, their ethics can still be punk rock.

    jason

    Posted by SOYBOMB on 2002-12-19 21:08:18
    My Score:

    The perfect score is for the people who listen to AWK... AWK is great.
    In fact... I reviewed his album a while back, and of course, it got a perfect score... Here's the URL... People said such retarded stuff... It was hillarious... Anyway:
    http://punknews.org/reviews.php?op=albumreview&id=1036

    Peace,
    -SOYBOMB-

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 8:43 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    wow i wasn't going to read this review because i thought it was going to be another one of those where the reviewer writes that it was great and the comments are about how it sucks.

    there's a tshirt with "kill your television"
    the[]muffin[]girl

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 8:39 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    i thought they were good too.
    the[]muffin[]girl

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 3:27 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    i couldn't stand these guys live. they were so full of themselves it made me want to cry. and the uncontrolled screaming of the girl next to me (by far the worst audience member i have ever seen at a show) only made things worse.

    andrew wk kicks ass.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 1:33 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    i'm with bitter on this one. i heard the title track to this cd and it was god awful. but not as bad as simple plan. TBS and AWK both rule though.

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, December 19, 2002 at 12:37 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    "I’m having difficulty listening to this entire album knowing that Mr. W.K’s album is sitting on my desk."

    Because Andrew W.K.'s album is so much better...? He isnt even a good RIP OFF of hair metal!

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 7:56 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    yeah, the comments have been good. for real! hehe. and THE wuss emo rock commented on my review. WORD!

    - bitter.

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 7:52 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I thought it was a decent review... only problem though is that I can't really see the album cover... could we please get a larger picture?

    lol

    Posted by drod on 2002-12-18 14:45:21
    My Score:

    ::cough:: HIPPOS RIPOFF ::cough::

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 2:11 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    i really like these guys, i think the keyboard adds a very cool edge to it that many other bands have...and even if u dont like their music, the guys are cool as fuck

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 10:25 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Excellent review. These guys suck, whether it's live or on disc. They can have all the energy in the world when up on stage, but the music still sounds like shit. I enjoyed reading the comments section too. Good work peoples.

    -Scotty

    Posted by drewcifer on 2002-12-18 03:37:34
    My Score:

    didn't neds atomic dustbin advise me to kill my television like 10 fucking years ago?

    Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 18, 2002 at 12:36 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    This album is so good it hurts. But it hurts soooo good.

    Posted by sloppyblake on 2002-12-18 00:18:42
    My Score:

    student rick made these guys look awesome.

    Posted by pope_schlomo on 2002-12-17 23:56:02
    My Score:

    Not a bad record but bands like these make me miss Student Rick. However their live sets are good. My final gripe is the cover art, it sucks a glass dick. I wouldn't want to enlarge that piece of photo crap.

    Ramo

    Posted by evildeadalive on 2002-12-17 21:32:20
    My Score:

    I thought it was a decent review... only problem though is that I can't really see the album cover... could we please get a larger picture?

    Posted by chimericalburst on 2002-12-17 20:08:14
    My Score:

    thank god someone has finally said it. the emo-pop-punk genre is now far enough past the initial stages to the point where bands can easily fufill a pre-set formula, and this could be the epitomy of such a formula. additionally, formulaic music is a contradiction in terms.

    cburst out

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 7:57 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Yeah, maybe the review was a little harsh. It was made for the ole university rag, so I decided it just wanted to spice it up a little. To be fair, i haven't seen the reunion show live, but nonetheless...

    Anyways, the point of the review was to attempt to get a few laughs and get my point across that I DON'T LIKE THIS BAND. it's pretty simple. go ahead and like them. i'm not sure if anything in the review says anything infringing on your right to enjoy the band. while things get reduced to matters of opinion a little too frequently, it's still the basis of the review. And if i did seemingly infringe on your right to like the reunion show, point it out, i'm a very sincerely sorry.

    Listen to Andrew W.K.

    Thanks,

    Bitter.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 7:15 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Origial album title there, guys.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 7:07 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I think your problem isn't the band, but with the direction Victory is taking as they add new bands (by the way they still have a lot of their old standard bands that have been releasing your hardcore favorites unless the band broke up). I'm not sure you gave this album a fair shot, and probably went in hating it or expecting not to like it. They are phenomenal live, and while the record doesn't caputre their live show, it's still a good record. As for the synthesizer comment, it's not Victory but a producer thing, the band and the producers decide that stiff not anyone from Victory.

    Posted by Tahoejeff on 2002-12-17 18:14:21
    My Score:

    Nice review...I love how you lead us in one direction and totally turned it our ound on us. This review is probably better than anything this band has put out

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 5:38 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Saw them live.... crap.... heard the album....... more crap..... this band sucks both ways

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 5:30 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Yeah dude i mean, this review totally sucks cause i like the band and he doesn't. Im fucking smart as hell

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 5:23 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Killer review. This is what I wanted to hear.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 4:57 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Wow, you are so very, very wrong. While not anything overly amazing and/or groundbreaking, this is a fun album to listen to. Even if this album really was as bad as you say it is, your review was still shitty and uninformative. All you seemed to have to say was "They suck ass. Go listen to Andrew WK."

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 4:27 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    The album isn't that great I agree on that, but, TRS is fucking incredible live. They sound totally different live and it's 200% better. I go to shows just to see them even though I can't stand listening to any of their studio music.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 4:00 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    um how is taking back sunday any less likely to be heard on dawson's creek? I'd think they were more likely since they're more popular than The Reunion Show

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 3:56 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    this review sucks, the band isn't anything special, but goddamn there is way worse music out there than this, you made it sound like it was fucking noise pollution

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, December 17, 2002 at 3:46 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    not too into the band, but the review was a little harsh. shit like poison the well deserve a 1, not this band.

    *****Wuss-Emo-Rock***** (at school)

    Posted by maverick on 2002-12-17 14:55:56
    My Score:

    This review is so far off the mark it's not even funny.

    TRS is a good band. They ain't great, but they're good [and Mark is such an amazingly nice guy, too].

    This album has some killer songs - "Television," "Alligator Love Trap," and "Art Of Nothing" come to mind. Yeah, it gets kind of repetitive at times, but what band doesn't every once in a while?

    It's not a masterpiece, but it's worth more than one star. Go see them live, too, that way you get to see and hear the rock without all that annoying overproduction that Victory *always* does [seriously, guys - what's the deal with all that fucking reverb on "New Rock Revolution?" It totally ruins the song!].

    -Scott