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 | Alkaline TrioGood Mourning2003 Vagrant 
  Review by: Aubin See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
Alkaline Trio (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on May 13th 2003
Ok, here's the thing: if you were pissed off by From Here to Infirmary, you're probably going to be pretty pissed off with Good Mourning too. (If you are, in fact, still pissed off about a record that came out two years ago, you really need to relax. I mean, the only people who seem to hold a grudge longer than Alkaline Trio fans are those eleven guys in Alabama who are still mad at Lincoln, and have civil war reenactments every weekend in the hopes that it'll turn out different.) Well, it won't. The North won, and From Here To Infirmary was not, and will never be Maybe I'll Catch Fire. And on that note, Good Mourning is not Infirmary either. But I've always had a soft spot for Skiba, Dan and the gang. I can say without hesitation that their various full lengths and EPs are among my favourites, and in spite of all the music I try to listen to, I always find a way to squeeze in a bit of ...Catch Fire, Infirmary or the singles collection. Because of that, in spite of the strong tracks on Good Mourning, it's frustrating how this record turned out. Entering with "This Could Be Love" - a dark riff, Poe-inspired lyrics and that slow chug that seems to permeate the Trio's best stuff. Even the second track, which gratuitously features Keith Morris, who essentially just yells the chorus, seemed pretty catchy. Track three has a bit of organ at the beginning and has Dan Andriano taking the lead, in his nasal, but endearing voice. But as the record continues, it becomes apparent how disjointed the record is. Even the self-titled singles collection had a thread through it, and those songs weren't even recorded together. Mourning seems all over the place. It sounds like Matt was listening to the Cure, while Dan was listening to Jawbreaker and the Broadways. In many ways, there are not any dramatically bad songs, but the little studio flourishes seem to be the biggest detractor. For example, the acoustic guitar in "Every Thug Needs a Lady" seems better suited to whatever they're calling Modern Rock these days, and in quite a few of the songs, the seeming need of the band to use harmonies everywhere grates a little. Suffice to say, the production is very annoying. The Trio was always a pretty minimal band, they are a trio after all, and the production on Good Mourning sounds like some sort of insecurity about that. Absolutely everything is overworked, whether it's the doubled up guitars, the many, many other instruments and samples, or the need to attach a high octave Matt-harmony to every track Dan sings lead on. Part of me wants to blame Jerry Finn for this, and I'd like to think that he tied the band to chairs, and forced them to listen to Sing the Sorrow until they succumbed, but that's not very likely.
Now, having read this far, you might think I hate this record; it couldn't be further from the truth.
This is a fine, albeit flawed, record, and most bands would be thrilled to have put out these songs, not to mention
the consistently brilliant back catalog the Trio boasts. The problem is that a band like this is
like a friend; you follow their music for years and you feel some sort of kinship with them. That
friendship is a double edged sword. When they do well, you want to brag about how great they are,
and when they do not-so-well, you're their harshest critic. So, take that granule of salt with you
as you listen to the record and let us know what you think.
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Aubin runs the website you dipshit. and this is a good record, despite being incredibly poppy. Whoever reviewed this record is a dipshit, I do agree that production wise its all over the place, and its definately the low point of A3. I think if they were to redo this record with Matt actually having his voice I think it would be better. Plus when this was recorded Matt and Dan didn' have that much chemistry with Derek yet, that chemistry shows more thoroughly in "Crimson". But this really is a good record, the only thing I'm gonna really nit-pick about is why they didn't use the regular version of "Blue in the Face". The acoustic version is ok, but the demo version i have on the 7" is fuckin incredible! It would have gave this record a huge boost. i luv derek the drummer!!!alkaline trio rule i loooooooooooveeeee alkaline trio they are da best ever!!!there songs are amazing more songs shud be realesed on radio n t.v i luv all thre albums Thinking of you wide awake for days I FUCKING LOVE THE SONG! 'Fatally Yours' Thats so cute and yes yes Alkaline gets Derek. I get people from Mest. Mr.Skiba you are the shit! i fuckin love you derek and i want you to marry me!!!! everyone who said their albums suck need to die and burn in hell Far too amazing. This Could Be Love, We've Had Enough, Continential, and Emma are reasons to buy this. To anyone that gave this album less than 4 stars: die.......now When I first bought this CD i could not stop listening to it. actually.. I still cant! i don't the guy who gave this review is very clever, its obviously a great album and so is "from here to the infirmary", i dont think he had his head on right, or he was stoned the guy before me is a fucking poser, pretending to know shit about music, thinking it makes him look cool and intelligent. I like how they make you rate an album before its out... In fact I love the way they make you rate the album... But anyways Punknews is the shit. Alkaline trio is good, if you dont think so, gain some intelligence, and then try writing a song. Oh and then performing it for all those starving eyes. I got to give alkaline trio props on any recording they do and will always look forward to their next events. i saw matt skiba walking down hollywood blvd... and he bent over to tie his shoe, and the ass of his pants ripped right in half... you could see his butt cheeks and stuff.... he has the hairiest ass in this universe.... keep rocking king kong... their next album should be called... i need to shave my ass!! hahahaha... i want skiba to get fat... for some reason he is to big of a rockstar to play a decent show... i think he needs to slick back his hair, polish his money clip, and learn to move around on stage. i hate alkaline trio fans with all thier fake depression... instead of prentending they are going to slit their wrists... they shuld slit matt skiba's.... this band is by far, the worst excuse of three drunken cry babies.... they are the best band ever!!! You kids are more worried about the genre and what's cool and what's not rather than the actual music. Listen to the drumming, and the guitars and the bass playing for a moment rather than bitching about how they're changing their style or what not, since, you know, now its "not cool" to listen to them. Five bucks says that if they bring the spice girls back, and its gonna turn cool to listen to them, all you kids who said this was a bad album will jump the bandwagon... I should agree that this album is quite disappointing. There are only a few tracks that I can bear listening to, and they still aren't that special :( . I hate to think so, but I suspect that the Trio are running out of ideas (especially Matt). Most songs they recorded after Maybe I'll Catch Fire sound almost the same. I'm still waiting for them to finally get back like before, although I don't know what made them like this. I hope it's not because Glenn left, because if it is, then they will never be like before again... An incredible album. Fuck you, i'm so sick of this shit. If the trio had brought out 3 more albums just like Goddammit, everyone would be fucking biching about that. Well you know what, fuck you, cause i think this new records(and 'Maybe','Infirmery') are amazing and just as good as Goddammit. the trio used to be an alright basic pop band but then they got too big for their britches, i can totally see Matt getting fatter and I can't wait to see them fall apart , it's karma biting them in the ass for making stupid muisc. I love Alkaline Trio. I think this cd is fucking amazing, just like the other ones. And the best song on it, in my opinion, has to be continental. It has a very strong meaning behind it, and I love that. I can't wait to see Alk3 live again. They are fucking amazing live...If you haven't seen them live, your missing out! I love every single alk3 album, they all fucking rule!... A good record really dark my mind cant agree with itself about this cd. and also, i dont understand the broadways comment at all.... how? all his songs have choruses, are not politcal or anything, in fact a lot of them are longer and less fast than some of the matt songs: emma, fatally yours, weve had enough; where as every thug.., 100 stories, and if we never go inside in particular are longer and im just saying i dont understand that comment is all this album bores me to death Trio albums, best to worst: Has anyone heard the "techno" version of Fatally Yours? I am guessing they did it on some break in the studio. It's the funniest shit ever. Look for out on Kazaa as Fatally Yours [Alternate Version]. i'm actually very impressed with this record, i went in expecting very little, not because of the punk going commercial debate, but because my taste has changed somewhat. but this is what it should be, easy listening fast punk, and it works. i remember now why listened to FHTI non stop for a year (believe it or not, that was pretty much the first we'd heard of the trio in australia). and blue carolina is the first song by dan that i have really enjoyed, (although crawl was good aswell) this album debuted at number 20 on the billboard chart! finally they are getting what they deserve - recognition! Since Alkaline Trio is one of my favorite bands, I eagerly waited for this record to come. I had fallen in love with their earlier albums and I was very eager to listen to this. My excitement even went as far as creating a tear-away calender that would count the days until it was released. Yes, I am a dork. Right and while growing they STILL havent changed there style of music or there originality The guy 2 posts below me is 100% right. i am what they would call an old school trio fan and im not bitching becuz its not like Goddamnit in fact i like this better then goddamnit they improved on their lyrics theyve grown up and they are more musically talented. there are so many awesome tracks on this CD and its an amazing CD so if any of you want to buy a CD youll listen to for a long time buy "Good Mourning" Its not overproduced, its just better. not everyone is saying the album is over-produced. only the idiots are. and yes, continental is a fucking good song. i have a question for everyone or i guess anyone who reads this, how come everytime i read a review of this record is has a million and one things to say about every matt skiba track on good mourning EXCEPT for Continental. This, in my oppinon, is one of the best songs on the cd, although its hard to say that any of them are bad. This cd is really amazing if you let go of the old alkaline trio, theyre old stuff was amazing yes but things change, apparently matt and dan havent used enough of the alcohol and drugs stuff on this cd. That bugs me because the lyrics on this album are incredible. Listen to it and dont compare it to their other albums, it isnt like the rest and i think that anytime someone puts a new idea out there and takes a chance, people are too quick to say "THIS ALBUM SUCKS CAUSE ITS NOT LIKE THE REST" well dont come at it from that point of view. No the album isnt like the rest but it is different and actually if you listen to it correctly than the production doesnt really come through at all. I dont really understand what everyone is saying with this overproduction crap anyway. Not every song has matt doing a high part on a dan song and not every song has harmonies so quit lying. And i recomend everyone go buy this cd because its great. itsa pretty good pop punk cd, but i expect more from alkaline. sef titled and goddamit are the best and i dont see how anyone thinks oterwise. they have been falling since fhti. i do like the acoustic song though, and his raspy voice occasionally makes up for the sleekness of this album. WHAT? wtf does the misfits and that confused comment have to do w/ anything. this score is for you and that spectacularly random and sincerely idiotic sentence "goddammit has its moments but i dont think its as good as good mourning" this album is way better than fhti... blah blah blah overproduction. whatever. it sounds good to me. i think this albums kicks ass. hahaha homogenized... aaaaaahahaha I just bought tickets to see the trio next month, i wasnt to impressed with their warped tour performance (although i was still good considering how amazing they are) but im hoping this will be alot better Man, that's tough. Although I really love Blue in the Face (and especially the last couple of lines) I would have to say Sorry About That is king. adam - definitely. Not sure what I think yet. Definitely no Goddamnit or S/T though... For the person who said way way down there that they have a show sponsered by a radio station. Big fucking deal. Bad Religion and NOFX have all there shows sponsered by radio stations, it doesn't mean shit. They still are who they are. And CD is good but the self titled of stuff that wasn't on cds and MICF were better. Still don't know what to think if its better than FHTI i really like it. THIS ALBUM FUCKIN' RULZZZZZ BRO! the search for music that is meaningful in a very personal way is a difficult one, but sometimes you need to just fuck the bunny and become 'good mourning' owner #200,001. cheers to homogenized music culture. that said - credit is due for the early songs (lungs and such).........oh, no i didn't buy the record, but if i need to hear it again i'll be sure to listen up next time i'm buying toilet paper at target. much love to the reader. i wish you well. The Matt Skiba / Kevin Seconds split rules. It's all acoustic, but It fucking rules. If you are a Akaline Trio fan I highly recomend buying this CD. You can buy it on Interpunk.com for cheap. what a great fucking album. that is all i have to say. People who criticize album production saying that it's "overdone" are ex musicians who are jaded because their old punk band turned indie rock went nowhere. Yeah, lieutenant, that wasn't funny...it was damn hilarious. Fuck religion. Lieutenant, that was in no way amusing, there's a difference between edgy and offensive. If you want to be a comedian, go on Star Search. Anony two posts below; you hit the nail right in Jesus' wrists. Too slow. Enough said. Infirmary was better. I have a bad habit of getting too psyched up for things and then being let down as was the case with FHTI, but this cd impressed me right away. Unlike seemingly 90% of this board I was able to resist the urge to download the cd and my first listen came in my car on the way home. I was completely blown away by This Could Be Love. Whoever was complaining about the lack of funny/sarcastic lyrics on this release must also be the moron skipping over this track. How can you not laugh at touch myself at thoughts of flames and shat the bed and laid there in it... ?? As for the whines about over-production... in the recording journal they talked about toying with techno sounds and Dan fucking named a song Every Thug Needs A Lady!! How can a fan not be focussing on the production after hearing that, but then again I'll take any form of said "over-production" instead of techno Alkaline Trio anyday. Someone in an earlier post mentioned that there wasn't one of Matt's typical "fun songs" as they put it where it's the fast riff over and over, and I definitely agree. Goddamnit had it's Cringe, MICF had Keep Em Comin', FHTI had Mr. Chainsaw, but Good Mourning lacks one. At first listen I thought Fatally Yours had the potential to be it, but unfortunately it's not. Moving on, eventhough I did a bit of album comparison myself, I really dislike it when that's how records are reviewed. Each record is written/recorded/performed at a different stage in the songwriters life, so each record will have a different sound. I was impressed with the sound of this one enough to go out and pick up the vinyl for home use. That's my two cents and probably way more than anyone cared to read. Generally I like to just sit back and read, maybe I'm better suited for that... on a side note, did anybody notice the review of GM in Playboy??? Never EVER thought I'd see that but they say that Alk3 have the guitar riffs to make them rich like Jimmy Eat World. I can't wait to see Matt's version of a party with girls running around in their underwear. I think the vocals sucked on FHTI. He sounded like a robot. vocals sound like shit wow, thanks to the dude who informed me 'emma' was written by skiba. its my fav song on the album, but it felt weird as a dan song. all his other songs on the album are all happy and shit about his wife and missing her, and then theres this crazy song called emma, totally out of character for dan. i suspected it was a skiba song, but i didnt say anything about it. ...and my god does Derek fucking kick ass. Hope Matt gets his voice sorted out soon, such a damn shame. But a great performance I thought, although rather poorly mixed. Hey sickboi, thanks for the tip. I've been looking like crazy for it on the web, but couldn't find it anywhere. Anyone that wants to see the A3 pefromance on Conan the other night, punkrockvids.com has a damn good download of it. After watching ti a second time they actually were pretty fucking good. Derek went apeshit on that kit. whoever compared alkaline trio to MXPX needs to stop whatever they are doing, and go directly to MTV.com, you will be better there. I'm not a big fan but I sure as hell wouldn't compare these guys to mxpx. What a moron. How can you compare these guys to MXPX? Do you even listen to punk? Do you even listen to music? BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD "As Stuart Scott might say, 'booya.'" From Meanstreet.com... to that guy that said F.H.T.I. was their best cd, i agree that cd was really good. To me i like all their cds just the same, my favorite song still being "trouble breathing". this cd was a solid release from the band, can't wait to see them in austin they were on Q101! They have a show spondered by 94.7! HA! I'll second that comment about Derek Grant's drumming...he was amazing with the Suicide Machines and he's amazing with the Trio. That review sucked and My friend Peter is on S/T track number 5 It's good, I think. I like it better than FHTI. it does smell really wierd, but in a good way. i can't help but to keep smelling it. See, I thought it was a singles collection, but some of those songs aren't on the full lengths, am I correct? I don't think "My Friend Peter" is on any of em, but I could be wrong. As I said, I'm not the biggest trio fan. sickboi the only reason anyone's gonna give you shit for that comment rite now is because u said something stupid. Jesus Christ...the person below me... New review please whoever runs this fucking website would you please put up a different review cuz this one sucks and we all wanna know what the cd sounds like!!! cmon please!! "Does anyone else's booklet for this cd smell really weird? Also, what the hell is with the name digi packs?" ONE more thing. Nobody over the age of 18 uses b4 to spell before. PHONY! And yet youre such a mature 23 that you have to resort to name calling. So, what are you some kind of teeny bopper? i like how someone told me i have no credibility as a fan since i consider 'from here to infirmiry' their best album. its funny how u can't have your own opinion on any of these boards. chirst, i had s/t b4 infirmiry and i'm 23 years old. i think infirmiry is the best so fuck off. its not cuz i'm a teenybopper or a new fan or whatever. its my opinion. so here it is one more time dickface, hope it burns u up i drum. not very well, and not in a band. but derek grant and bill stevenson is the drummers that made me want to play punk. He inspired me with his suicide machines drumming going apeshit fast and still floating over everything on his set. He is the bill stevenson of the 90's. He brought a lot to this album. Just thought i'd throw in a word. again.. (This is a tried, tested, and failed subkect, but I haven't seen it come up yet... I may just not be looking hard enough) But anyway, you guys think Alkaline will still on Vagrant until they die? What I have noticed is the digipack feels very weird. Like, grainy. I like that. The book itself is very less than impressive. Alkaline Trio have never gone to very great extents in providing interesting lyric booklets, so I won't say I am disappointed. However, even a well-placed picture or two of the band would have been nice. And even an extended thank you list; I admit that I always look forward to those for no real reason. Does anyone else's booklet for this cd smell really weird? Also, what the hell is with the name digi packs? Digital pack? Scott cleared this up for me and i know it's just the company's name or something... but still, bad name, there is nothing digital or digimon or digirido about them. The hell? Felumlee wasn't writing songs for the Alk3 before he was in the band.... Matt and Dan and a little help from Glen is where they came from. In my opinion Glen is was the best drummer. First off, he was an amazing drummer, and he just fit Alk3 the best. What about the art work? I am gonna get shit for this..... yes , glen was the drummer, but mike helped write the songs during that time. Or thats what i read in a few interviews. thats supposedly why mike took over the drumming duties. "Alkaline have already peaked. Matt's songwriting stays the same." Stays the same...you mean constantly at "great"? That's not exactly a problem in my book. Man, you guys are fucking heartless. This is one of my favorite alk3 records next to Goddammit. So what if its over produced! they have a bigger budget its going to happen. They aren't on Asian Man anymore. This album has some of the best songs I have ever heard All on Black is fucking amazing along with Emma and Every thug needs a lady! This album gets a 10 from me. Great work from the trio. ehhh.....glenn porter was the drummer on goddammit and maybe i'll catch fire "bro, their new drummer is worlds better than their old ones, its fucking derek grant, u ever listen to the suicide machines first album? its like good drumming 101 (grants old band) Dan listening to Jawbreaker and The broadways? Why in the hell would Dan listen to a band that was formed out of the waste of slapstick? They attach a "high-octave Matt harmony" on ONE song Dan sings. For the most part Dan does his own harmonies. Alright, I'm a little late posting on this and I'm still forming an opinion... not too bad so far though. Goddammit will always be the best I think. you have no credibility concerning Alk3 if you think FHTI was their best album "1.from here to infirmiry 10 and if you're about to shit on my order saying i must be a new fan, i was into them b4 from here..., i'm not as old school as some fans, but i did have s/t many months b4 from here to infirmiry came out, then i got the rest... bro, their new drummer is worlds better than their old ones, its fucking derek grant, u ever listen to the suicide machines first album? its like good drumming 101 (grants old band) greene was a linebacker (Defense) ryan green is fat producer...oh yea, and the guy that said 'private eye makes an appearance', dude, alk3 use that riff in like every other song, such as the outro to 'jaked on green beers' the intro to 'queen of pain' the song u talk about and some others. matt don't know much about the guitar, but i love the band, but not really for the music, more like the vocals and lyrics poe the writer/poet....not poe the band, ass. BTW...It was Ryan Greene..... Poe-inspired lyrics? Come on, Alkaline Trio is a good band, but don't be a fucking idiot. what the hell happened to matt allison. "p.s. i THINK it was the defensive line, not positive. i like how the "private eye" intro makes a guest appearnace or two in song 11 p.s. i THINK it was the defensive line, not positive haha scott remember when greene wrestled in the wcw and people payed atttention to "professional" wrestling? great stuff. he came out of nowhere, from the defensive line to the assembly line when you post a review arent you suppose to talk about the album? you know it doesnt help when a guy just talks about how many alkaline trio albums he has or something we wanna know about the album not about what he thinks about the status of the band! someone tell me how this shit gets put up! ok, sorry...Tom Green...my error. "maybe kevin greene could produce it. then it would sound like every album from the 90s." will someone else put a review for this cuz this blows and i wanna hear what a half way intelligent person writes about this album not this moron. i don't really care for this record its okay i guess, from here.... was allot better, why does everyone hate their last record??? "i don't hear them on the radio" The anonymous guy below me needs to take a pill. Oh, and if they had recorded another Goddamnit, everyone would have been slagging them off for trying to copy such a classic record. Good Mourning is Good Mourning, stop comparing and get the fuck over the fact that a band evolves. Fuck that reveiew! The trio Rocks! All there albums ROCK! If you dont relate dont listen! June 10th in Pacific beach for the real fans! Skiba And DAnny RUle!!!! what the hell... You can like them, I really don't care. I just see them as another pop punk band.(and no, I don't mean like Good Charlotte or New Found Glory) I think it's pretty easy to see why they've gotten so big. Look, I don't care if you don't like them, that's another thing, but they've made a ton of extremely catchy punk songs. Of course they are gonna be big. "never understood how they got as big as they have gotten. " "The problem is that a band like this is like a friend; you follow their music for years and you feel some sort of kinship with them." |
