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 | The MovielifeForty Hour Train Back to Penn2003 Drive-Thru 
 Review by: soulbleed See others by this writer Official Site (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on February 25th 2003 The Movielife's 2000 debut "This Time Next Year" was a refreshing release at the time, despite all the critical bashing that surrounded it. It was everything raspy pop-punk should have been, and with a few minor adjustments, it could have been a near-perfect record, and the band realized this. They went into the studio, attempting to build on the style they set on their previous release. The result was "It's Go Time!", which appeared late that same year. In many ways, it was an improvement over their debut, however the formula they had spent so much time working with was beginning to wear out its welcome. Being the quick band they are, they noticed this as well - and when it came time to go in the studio to record their major-label debut, they took an entirely different approach to songwriting, and after a little while they emerged with "Has a Gambling Problem," a trite EP that appeared mid-2001 on the overhyped Drive-Thru label. There wasn't a single memorable moment on the disc, and the songs were worse than having sex with a Herpes-ridden hooker, and that's me being nice. The band kind of disappeared, and the record was pretty much ignored by even the Drive-Thru fanatics that bought everything MCA marketed, even the untalented-as-all-hell Off By One, which must have come as a huge shock. Well, after all this had settled in their stomaches, they had an album to write, and on top of that: something to prove (displayed best on "Taking It Out and Chopping It Up," arguably one of the band's best songs to date). During the somewhat long recording process, the band discovered they had the same ability to craft memorable pop songs as all of their labelmates, and sometimes even do it better; but before you run and out and buy this record, please look up the word 'sometimes' in the dictionary. Nearly every song on this album is good, but in this day and age to stand out, you have to do much better than 'good'. The only real gripe I have with this record is that it's painstakingly obvious that this kind of thing doesn't come naturally - the songs are overworked, overdubbed, but below average in creativity. Music will always be close to art in that respect; it's very easy to distinguish the geniuses from the followers, and sadly The Movielife fall into the category sporting the latter. This album will sell thousands of records, without a doubt - but no one will give a shit in a year, and that's why this is a bland, average record.People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
i loved this cd and i cant even say what song i liked the best cuz they are all so good Um, It's Go Time came out before This Time Next Year hate drive-thru because of the reinses'. This is good, big improvement on the e.p. i liked this cd... i just got it... much better than almost every other drive thru band out there Someone misinterpreted sarcasm and decided to verbally assault you? Holy shit, that's a first for this site. Dude, I was totally being sarcastic, and I actually don't mind Nofx or NUFAN either. Seriously man, how could you think I was serious? Did you not read the comment right below mine? and oh yeah the guy that says fat sucks... then u hate some bands on fat not the whole lable u named about half the label when u named off the band that dont suck. and NOFX doesnt suck neither NUFAN so i hate u evildeadalive or whatever u call ur self bitchface this album is Great i know they can do better though, songs like, "Kelly Song", "James Town", "Hey", and "Jamaica Next" make it a better then average album but "Spanaway" and "its something" is just so predictable overall theres only about 2 songs on the CD i have to skip through so which gives the album a nine. Fat sucks except for Sick of it All, None More Black, Against Me!, Dillinger 4, Lawrence Arms, Mad Caddies, Rise Against, Subhumans, Avail, Swingin Utters, Propagandhi and Good Riddance. God I hate Fat Wreck Chords. i dont' know when the new bandits comes out, but i sure can't wait. i loved progress. i still like ska, no matter what the critics say. i'm stoked on the new suicide machines too, i heard their going back to ska punk. When is the new RXB album due? I've heard May, is that still true? Yeah, it's (the rxb song) one of the reasons why I bought the album. i can't wait for the new album. Did anyone check out the new Rx Bandits song on the demo that came with this album? It's the shit. Thought this album was terrible. DTR, i think, are terrible for the most part. Aside from bands like Finch, Home Grown and the RX Bandits, I could really care less about that label. how come van halen cant keep DLR in the band? yeah, hes a huge walking ego, but its that combustability that draws us to DLR van halen. what a comeback after that last EP. This CD is pretty good. Like one guy below said, nothing groundbreaking but this is a damn fine listen. this punk rock hippy below me said it pretty well. the only problem bro, is your one of the few punks who will admit that everyone elses opinion is as valid as your own. most punks think they know everything. and fuck, i used to be the same, i thought i had the best musical opinion of everyone. its just the way it is with 'punk's'. i'm guessing your not a teenager either.as for this album, i think its average. nothing terrible (except scary, that song sounds just liek that sum41 song hell song), but the only real stand out is kelly song. oh well. i've heard worse. i never considered these guys that great anyway. they are very good live though... Allright this is all that needs to be said: This site is awesome. Punknews.org has achieved its goal. What do you guys think the primary goal of punk is all about- we all get to have our say. Yeah, Soulbleed wrote an ignorant review, but that's the beauty of it. He was able to get his opinions out and we got to blast him. But just don't tell him, "Hey Soulbleed, stop writing reviews." Basically, it's just interesting to get both perspectives. I'm sure Scott will post a more well-informed review later on. And who cares if the Movielife don't get the recognition of being on Drvie-Thru on this one (punknews.org) site. Do you know how many outlets of mainstream Drive-Thu has. And if you've talked or read an interview with Vinny (Soulbleed, he's the singer of Movielife, follow?) you'd understand that he's not in it for the amount of records. Also, they'll sell a plethora anyway. Personally, I love the Movielife, and this is a good record. Get this and This Time Next Year. Support them and listen to them if you want them. That's the beauty of music. There's always something else. If you're that angered by Soulbleed's (another great freedom: ridiculous names!) review, write a justified one. And hey, maybe yours will get ripped but who gives a shit? We can if we want. This album is way better that anything Drive Thru has put out....ever! All of the songs kick ass. I will agree Taking it out and Chopping it up is my favorite. The bad thing about this website is no one is every pleased with anything it seems. Everyone is too "punk rock" to admit they like something that may in some form be associated with "mainstream". Just grow up and like the music that you want to like and stop caring about how you look to someone else....bitches!-Jason Jamestown is fuckin greeeaaatttt I don't mean to stir up trouble, but wasn't this site still allowing Drive-Thru reviews because you didn't think the bands should suffer for the labels actions? So isn't replacing the words "Drive-Thru Records" with "Label" still kinda hurting the band? Without the name of the label people may not know if this is something they can find at Best Buy or the mall, or if they have to hunt it down somewhere obscure. If they can't find it at a store near them, they'd need the record label so they'd know which website to contact for on-line ordering. That's not much of an issue for bigger bands like NFG or Midtown, but for some of DTR's smaller bands like The Movielife not everyone knows what label they are on. Soulbleed--Why would you bother to write a review if you have no fucking clue what you're talking about? I'm all for having different opinions, but pretending to be an authority on a band whose history you clearly don't know is pathetic. Wow that review was really terrible! As for the 40 hour train (the record which you barely commented on) its not as good as "This Time Next Year" but fuck its a helluva lot better than most of the generic drivel "screamo" bands out there right now. The Movielife "Has A Gambling Problem" was poppy alright, some of the instrumentation and general energy on the disc was amazing. The reviewer said "blah blah it sucked" you got nothin bud, you have no argument to back up your claims. Yep The Movielife is a great band. Please do a better review next time! Now lets move on to bashing something that deserves to be bashed like "Somehow Hollow" now thats terrible. Read the Review for their record "Busted Wings & Rusted Halo's" for an equally bad review on par with this Movielife entry. Somehow Hollow sounds like Midtown huh? I don't see it? One thing that is apparent that anybody who knows anything about punkrock will agree with me on: The vocalist from Somehow Hollow sounds like Dave Smalley from All,Down by Law, Dag Nasty etc...but Midtown c'mon thats a direct statement of knowing jack shit/ By the way Barkley has spoken Hey, it's really irrelevant weather or not the reviewer got the history of the band right or wrong. I don't happen to agree with his opinion, but that doesn't make him an idiot! To the people saying, "it's punk rock to be negative," you're not doing anythign different by responding to his rants with rants of your own! Just beacsue he and I see this album differntly, doesn't make any one of us a moron or any one of us more punk then the other. His review had a lot of good points,but I must say I do enjoy this record. From now on instead of attacking one another why can't we realize that not everyone listens to music looking for the same things? i wonder what that would sound like..... EEEEEEEEH! you kids would listen to fran drescher getting fucked by a rhino if drive thru put it out... Hey, lets attack someone's oppinion, that's punk rock. Punk rock is all about being better than everyone else; it's about being the establishment. Oh wait, that is what punk rock isn't; grow up kids. My skin feels like its dripping off my body right now. I have eaten too many raw sharks to concieve a single thought for more than 3 seconds at a time as well and broken a sweat after seeing a cop biting a tree. I also buy cd's because someone cool (to me) produced them. I like furry camels. -oldpunker- To the guy 2 comments down: isn't this supposed to be a review of this record? why the fuck does he take up the whole time going through this shitty band's discography and at the top of the review, it should read "Drive Thru Records" instead of "Label." Idiot. soulbleed: the problem here is, you spent half the review "pretending you were an expert on the band's history" before launching into your shitty review of the "album at hand." That's the kind of thing "ignorant people" do. That is why "you suck," not because you don't like the band. Your opinion is irrelevant here; your lack of skill as a writer is what's in question. Oh yea, and by the way. You didnt say anything about this album until the last paragraph. I read this review to learn somehting about the album and find out what it was like. Not to hear a history of the band and then find out that this is bland pop punk. I knew it was bland pop punk, but come on tell me something. Idiot.-BostonMusicGuy One of the only decent bands on DTR. RxBandits and these guys. These guys arent even that good... well judging by the Drive Thru EP they released. I can listen to them and everything and This Time Next Year I love but they are nothing more than average now. I will have to check this album out though.This reviewer is a fucking moron. Learn to fucking write you asshole, or at least learn how to win your audience over. Not by telling them that you arent interested in learning anything about this band and you arent interested in much at all. Idiot.-BostonMusicGuy Ill bet you a $100 bucks that they write a better album then you write a review. How bet we bet that people will forget how much this review sucks lucky for you. soulbleed is a fuckin loser. Write a decent review and stop crying waahhh waaahh give me a break. like you haven't made one fucking mistake in your entire lives. i'm sorry i messed up the history of this retarded band, and i'm sorry they suck, but the latter isn't my fault. everything i said about the -album at hand- is true, and that's all that matters. so back the fuck up and enjoy your little piece of shit record while you sit there in denial. and i do know for a fact no one will give a shit in a year, and if you want to bet me $100, i'll gladly do it, so stop dragging the dead horse and saying what everyone else has already said to me. christ almighty. I really dont see how they compare to new found glory. people are just pissed that this band is pretty good but part of the whole new punk wave.. I had heard terrible things about these guys, and figured it was true,but.... Yes i gave them a chance when i heard that brian mcterrinan(spelling? )produced it(being the producer of snapcase)this is actually good to listen to,nothing groundbreaking,but take it for what it is and its better than alot of other stuff out there-oldpunker- sorry kids. If you don't care about the band, why you need to review it ? First of all your review suck and you don't even know the band history at all. If you don't know what you talking about, say nothing next time. sorry kids. i tend to go buy the copyright dates on my cds when i write, and i usually check amg (allmusic.com). i don't really care enough about this band to learn about them, and everything else i said still stands. screw off :D Best record of the year so far. Highlights are Kelly, Scary, Hey, Jamestown and Spanaway. Nice album i don't know why my comment only came up with 2.5 stars i was trying to mark it 8/10 don't let the review put you off, it's a good album. jamestown and scary are the best tracks. also (living in england) my copy has sailor tattoos as a bonus track. sucky review by a stupid reviewer: if you don't know when this band's albums were released, don't review them! even if you don't like the Movielife enough to already know a little about their discography, you could have at least gone to their Web site to find out some facts. you suck ass. It's go time - ok I'll never understand why your "reviewers" and this site choose to use reviews that were obviously rushed and poorly written, simply so they could be the first to review it. a god awful review for a god awful band. were you reviewing the new album, or the bands entire catalog? people should write their reviews on PAPER before they submit them for posting. god. This review sucks, NEXT ! "i'm pretty sure "it's go time" A) wasn't an album, it had 9 songs" Yeah, nice try pretending to know what you are talking about, but your facts are all wrong. The correct order of releases is as follows. These are taken straight from the copyright dates on the actual cds that I own. and this review is very poorly written. know your facts. This review doesn't even tell me what this CD sounds like... I appreciate a little history sometimes, but please don't write two long paragraphs about past releases and then only half a paragraph about the actual record being reviewed. Oh, the score is for the review, by the way. definately the biggest dissapointment of the year so far. sounds more like a shitty New Found Glory rip off. jamestown and face or kneecaps are both great songs. the kelly song is nice as well. taking it out and chopping it up has to be the worste song on the album, that is definately kelly osbourne bullshit at its best. another review: THE MOVIELIFE - 40 Hour Train Ride Back to Penn - Jordan Pastepunk They are a: Bland. Boring. Overrated band. THis record is definitly not pop punk, i would lean more to the hardcore punk side i agree...someone that has this album please do a review that tells us what the album is like...no need for explicatives that reference a hooker with herpes shitty review, someone do this over I plan on picking this album up tomorrow. I heard good things about it and I'm pretty fucking psyched. In all honesty, I think "The Movielife Has a Gambling Problem" is great disc so I'm not sure what this reviewer is talking about. I This album is the best so far this year, by quite a long way. This review sucked and the reviewer obviously doesn't know anything about this band. Regardless, this album is completely great. Highlights are Jamestown, Hey, Ship To Shore and Kelly Song. i'm pretty sure "it's go time" A) wasn't an album, it had 9 songs, and B) it came out before "This Time Next Year." But whatever. This CD doesn't come close to This Time Next Year but at least its PRETTY good. I can't wait to hear this cd. It should be a good one. Hopefully a little more harder than the Drive Thru EP. But this one should definately kick ass. Not to get overly picky - but "This Time Next Year" was widely applauded and critically adored when it came out. A quick search on google will prove that. And now to promote my own wares: new Movielife interview, conducted Feb. 4, 2003. - Jordan Pastepunk THis band never comes out with the same sounding record. I disliked the Gambling Ep, but even Vinny thier lead singer said that the Gambling Ep dident come out the way they wanted and dident capture thier true sound. THis record is the perfect mix between THis Time Nex Year and the Gambling Ep. First off this review fucking sucked. You seem to know nothing about this band.....Everyone else to call this record typical drive thru shit is pretty stupid because no band on drive thru has hardcore punk influences and mixing in thier records like the movielife do. If you call them pop punk well they might be but they do it better then most other bands. A huge plus is they put out a different sounding record everytime unlike most punk bands(cough cough nofx,pennywise). IM done later... Stupid typos. I meant "It's Go Time" I really don't understand how someone can hear "It's Got Time" and think it came out after "This Time Next Year". Regardless, I love both albums. The EP? Eh.... "This review is littered with factual mistakes and irrelevant statements. Better luck next time. this score goes out to the Herpes-ridden hooker. This review is littered with factual mistakes and irrelevant statements. Better luck next time. best release this year so far. Hum I didn't like the review at all. But hey, who I am to say that. I think this album is great and every song sound good. I mean they still have lots of energy and powerfull chorus in some song. Take *Jamestown* for exemple, this band didn't loose the energy of their previous work, very good powerfull song. They also got some mellow/pop punk song like *Kelly*(i really love the intro of that song) and *Hey* (again good song) Other highlight are *Scary* & *Face or Kneecaps. but like I said, every song is good. Too bad the reviewer didn't like this album.. Album's ok but no "This Time Next Year". Try again Movielife perfect review. this album is painfully average, and i'm a huge pop punk fan thats starting to lose it. i mean just 3 years ago i remember saves the day, nfg, and shit all being so refreshing. now its getting stale. this album has ists momemnts, ie. kelly song, but overall its just ok. kind of a let down This is the first thing I've ever even remotely liked by this band, but I like it a lot. the band sucks painful review. soooooooommmeeebody sounds a little bitter.....I hope this person is wrong cuz im goin out later today to purchase this album. I've heard one song off the CD and it sounds great. This is also the first negative review I've heard of the album. |
