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Hot Rod Circuit

If It's Cool With You, It's Cool With Me (2000)
Triple Crown Records

Reviewer Rating:

Contributed by: el_provocateur
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on April 8th 2003

If someone else described Hot Rod Circuit's music you might hear, "poppy" or "emo." Especially if you just got HRC's latest album, "Sorry About Tomorrow."

Or you might hear HRC's music compared to the Get Up Kids. But that's still not a fair comparison--since this album could easily rival anything TGUK ever recorded.

But this album, If It's Cool with You, It's Cool with Me, totally defies typical emo-pop-rock.

This CD is the most guitar-riff driven and ultimately the hardest (I dare say) pop album I've heard in awhile. You get the poppy hooks, heart-on-the-sleeve lyrics and real sing-along-melodies ("Radio Song," "Supersad," "Flight 89") that rings of today's HRC, but you also get the post-punkish roots of old HRC ("Versatility," "Smithsonian Liver," "Cool with Me"). Especially "Cool with Me." "Cool with Me" easily rips like any other hard-assed punk song I've heard all year.

The vocals aren't too bad here also, since the Anniversary's Adrianne Pope does some pretty decent back up singing.

I got my copy of this one used for $2.15, when someone else hocked it for pennies--Sucker!

So if you already got "Sorry About Tomorrow," you can't go wrong getting this--this easily tops that one.

Otherwise for everybody else, get this one and you'll hear the "rock" in the overly-stereotyped-and-classified "pop rock."

This album deserves my top rating for staying in my player for a few months now.

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Anonymous (July 31, 2004)

it's so funny to see someone saying that Rancid is what's keeping punk alive, when Tim Armstrong is the epitome of a sellout.. he fucking wrote songs for Pink, PINK!!!! what the fuck is up with that?

Punk is dead, it died years ago. all it is now is an image, and a way to get Fat Mike's political views across (which i do agree with but still...)

Anonymous (May 8, 2004)

I love this cd

-c22

Anonymous (April 13, 2003)

punk is alive and well fagboy, you just wont find it on this web page, and you certainly wont find it on mtv.

Anonymous (April 13, 2003)

man shit, all you people are fuckin retards. rancid is one of those bands that try to be punk when punk is dead. all this modern punk shit is fucked up. and i hate all you kids who call yourselves punk, NO ONES PUNK
-kris

gutterhippo (April 13, 2003)

the lead guitarist of this band looks like such a jackass

Anonymous (April 11, 2003)

fuck dood rnacid is like the most incredble band that is out thier write now!>>!! hAVee oyu GuyZ Herd EM? THey KICK AAaL thE PuSsySS AsS !!

Anonymous (April 10, 2003)

Die pop punksters die

Anonymous (April 10, 2003)

Rancid Punx, I'm with you bro. I remeber sitting in my living room with my vanilla ice doll and seeing the Ruby Soho video and thinking "That guys hair is awesome! I love this band". You and I reelpunx4life!

~j

rayjay (April 9, 2003)

hell, gameface got me listening to this style of music. i can't stnad that whiney shite now, but i still respect what they did for my music taste

FortyMinutesWest (April 9, 2003)

Yep, you must be quite the sleuth. Since I hate Rancid, I must love emo.

relay1112 (April 9, 2003)

buddy, you're shooting yourself in the foot with a name like that...

Anonymous (April 9, 2003)

Rancid blows? What the hell is that? You must be into emo or somethin cause rancid is one of the bands that is keepin punk alive.

RaNcId PuNx

Anonymous (April 9, 2003)

Really? I've read worse. HRC are average at best.

johnnydanger (April 9, 2003)

score is for the review

FortyMinutesWest (April 8, 2003)

Rancid blows, this band is so so.

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

rancid sucks ass

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

this is quite possibly the worst review ive ever read on this site.

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

I do have to agree with the below statement... Rancid is a good starting point for people getting into punk... Just overrated in my opinion.

-The guy who first said Rancid was over bleeding rated

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

rancid IS overrated, but that doesn't change the fact that they turned me on to punk in the first place. give em credit for making punk approachable and fun enough for kids who hadn't been into punk before. besides, their albums have replay value like crazy. try as they might, they are no Clash, but they're fun to listen to.

but that's just me, i guess. take it as you will.

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

RaNcId PuNx-

Rancid is one of the most overrated bands in the genre... Almost EVERYTHING they've done has been done before and done better by bands ten or more years older than them... Sorry, but if you think they're that great, wait 'til you listen to something from BEFORE 1990. Whoa. Imagine that...

sk8punx4evr (April 8, 2003)

the only song i've heard from these guys, "radio song," had a reference to marijuana! the song was ok i guess, but i dont know if i can like it after hearing that!

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

yeah rancid punx bro!

awesome!

NoFx crew.. rEprAZeNT!

Anonymous (April 8, 2003)

what is this band? why in the hell are they on punknews.org?

RaNcId PuNx

Kurt_F (April 8, 2003)

Oooooh, I love this cd. I miss old Hot Rod Circuit. Radio Song and The Power of Vitamins are two of my favorite songs ever. And the chinese sounding guitar riffs rule my world. Oh yea.

Strewtho (April 8, 2003)

5 stars? take it easy.

AstroVince (April 8, 2003)

this album is just ok, the thing that gets on my nerves is the constant 'woo woo woo woo' guitar sound