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MxPx

Let's Rock
2006
SideOneDummy

MxPx - Let's Rock (Cover Artwork)


Review by: Brian
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Side One Dummy Records (Logo)

Published on November 10th 2006

If any recently formed pop-punk band were to have their album characterized as 'MxPx B-sides,' wouldn't one think it's a terribly detrimental comment to receive?

SideOneDummy doesn't think so apparently, and thus, Let's Rock. The 12-song album is culled from a collection of previously unreleased material, re-recorded B-sides, and acoustic demos -- essentially something thrown together to complete their contract with SideOneDummy.

MxPx's second-to-last collection of B-sides served as a mighty introduction to 'punk rock' for young skate punks everywhere in 1998, that album being Let It Happen. It also probably sounded incredible at the time, even if many may relegate it as good for nothing but nostalgic value today. Let's Rock is not likely to gleam with that same lasting value, nor act as any sort of gateway, but for MxPx B-sides post-2000, it's not terrible at least -- just really uneven.

See, lucky for MxPx fans, this was also released only a year after 2005's Panic, arguably a huge step up from 2003's dismal Before Everything and After (and, probably their best proper effort since 1998's Slowly Going the Way of the Buffalo). This is why a couple of pretty solid tracks are present on Rock, but they're alongside lots of stuff that probably wasn't released simply because it wasn't that good.

The first concern with the compilation, however, is its focal point, the opener "You Walk, I Run." It's not a bad song by any means -- in fact, it's probably one of Let's Rock's standouts. However, the chorus is cheesy and it's one of Mike Herrera's most nasal performances yet. Worse: Both problems are made even more obvious in the acoustic version -- luckily it's placed last in the track listing, so the album can be prevented from ending on a sour note.

The hits here are all in the first quarter -- you've got "Every Light," a nice throwback that sounds nearly Life in General-era, and "1 and 3," which shows off some momentary flashes of aggression not heard since Pokinatcha's days.

However, once the album reaches past that section it feels like we've stumbled back into the latter A&M era. The middle section is really dull and plain, while shaky pseudo-ballads like "Don't Forget Me (When You're Gone)" and "Where Did You Go?" are just sort of queasy; the former touches upon the nerves with its repetitive chorus of "my heart still hurts" and the latter comes off like some ill-conceived Simple Plan / Lit combination.

Out of the three acoustic tracks tacked on the end, "You Walk, I Run" isn't even the worst. "Sweet Sweet Thing"'s narrative is certainly compelling, but that's because it sounds like Herrera pulled it out of a decade-old journal ("Her dad asked what I did, I said I played in a band / He said he 'hated devil music and he wasn't a fan / Musicians can't be trusted and your job is a joke / I don't want my daughter spending her life broke'"). What some might call honest and heartfelt I call embarrassing and running terribly low on ideas.

With a reissue of Let It Happen due soon it feels like MxPx's compilations file is becoming greatly oversaturated, and nothing makes it more obvious than Let's Rock, a mostly boring effort that clearly isn't the band's fault as greater forces attempt to stretch them out for every song they're worth.

STREAM
You Walk, I Run
Breathe Deep




People who liked this also liked:
Lil Wayne - Tha Carter IIIALL - Allroy's Revenge.MxPx - Let It Happen [Deluxe Edition] [CD/DVD]MxPx - Let's RockBad Brains - Rock For LightDag Nasty - Can I SayBad Brains - I Against IGreen Day - InsomniacBad Brains - Build a NationThe Clash - London Calling



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    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 10:29 AM (EST)

    Contrary to what this writer believes, mxpx changed from "A&M" studios to "Side One Dummy" in 2005 because the band realised that it hadn't recieved it's worth within the bounds of the contract that A&M had promised.
    After the release of this years anticipated album "Panic" under new label mxpx were taken back to the good old days of fast paced punk rock songs and the fans who respected the change back to days before A&M sucked the soul out of the music, To the Days when mxpx were back with Tooth & Nail and were being ripped off at every turn but still rocking the stage year to year despite the Labels Efforts to Demine them.
    With the Release of "Lets Rock" mxpx were simply releasing a cd that had a bunch of songs that were never released, mixed with some that the fans had heard along the way.
    In addition "Lets Rock" HAS included some acoustic songs which have never been heard.
    Oh and to the Writer of this Article... "NO!" mxpx are not trying to squeeze every penny from the re-release of "Let it happen" under the T&N label. The Fact is that "tooth and nail" came to mxpx and asked them if they would like to re-release the "let it happen" album as a one off to commemerate the years mxpx have been with T&N and to release several songs as a bonus.. including a free DVD with all the Video's from T&N and A&M, all the way up to Side one Dummy.
    So please.. before looking at mxpx in the future.
    Look to there Past before judging.

    Daniel Gibson

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 10:24 AM (EST)

    Contrary to what this writer believes, mxpx changed from "A&M" studios to "Side One Dummy" in 2005 because the band realised that it hadn't recieved it's worth within the bounds of the contract that A&M had promised.
    After the release of this years anticipated album "Panic" under new label mxpx were taken back to the good old days of fast paced punk rock songs and the fans who respected the change back to days before A&M sucked the soul out of the music, To the Days when mxpx were back with Tooth & Nail and were being ripped off at every turn but still rocking the stage year to year despite the Labels Efforts to Demine them.
    With the Release of "Lets Rock" mxpx were simply releasing a cd that had a bunch of songs that were never released, mixed with some that the fans had heard along the way.
    In addition "Lets Rock" HAS included some acoustic songs which have never been heard.
    Oh and to the Writer of this Article... "NO!" mxpx are not trying to squeeze every from the re-release of "Let it happen" under the T&N label. The Fact is that "tooth and nail" came to mxpx and asked them if they would like to re-release the "let it happen" album as a one off to commemerate the years mxpx have been with T&N and to release several songs as a bonus.. including a free DVD with all the Video's from T&N and A&M, all the way up to Side one Dummy.
    So please.. before looking at mxpx in the future.
    Look to there Past before judging.

    Daniel Gibson

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, November 19, 2006 at 12:45 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    OMG this album is amazing, i love it soooo much, its not as good as there other albums, but still pretty much rocks, i cant wait for there new album, these guys never cease to amaze me!!

    Posted by Anonymous on Monday, November 13, 2006 at 10:23 PM (EST)

    "in response to damo..no it's not the same thing or even remotely close. being racist is a 100% socially destructive trait. would you remove your gratitude or appreciation of Martin Luther King Jr. because he was Christian? what about Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Gandhi who incorporated Christianity into his teachings? How about the liberation theologists of Latin America who devote their lives to helping the poor? Discriminating on the basis of religion is as bad as discriminating for any other reason."

    well I don't know about that other guy, but fuck yea I would! Let's burn them fuckers!

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-11-13 22:12:55
    My Score:

    i'm ready to kiss my credibility goodbye, but this album gets better everytime i listen. the first half is much more solid than the second, but it still has a ton of really catchy songs.

    Posted by Cos on 2006-11-13 18:07:37

    "Compare that to a Ramones record, or a Descendents record - both of which probably have twice as many songs about girls. But I never hear people complaining about that.

    yeah, but those songs are good.

    Posted by john_stone on 2006-11-13 00:53:54

    Danny Herrera is the only Herrera that matters.

    Posted by Scruffy on 2006-11-13 00:05:05

    Okay, that last sentence should read: "If it needed to, that would be fascism."

    I guess, to anyone complaining about a band being Christian, just remember, you sound exactly the same as a Bible-thumper saying, "I won't listen to that band. Their name is BAD RELIGION."

    Also, it's not like their religion is the reason anyone who doesn't listen to MxPx doesn't listen to them. I like 'em and all, but, c'mon.

    Posted by Scruffy on 2006-11-13 00:02:13

    "if you found out that The Lawrence Arms were racist would you take them off your ipod?"

    Probably, but you're commiting a logical fallacy by comparing Christianity to racism. Sure, the two coincide quite often, but correlation does not equal causation.
    What I'm saying is that not all Christians are backwards thinking morons, but ALL racists are backwards thinking morons, so a comparison between the two would not be apt.
    A better question would be "if you found out that The Lawrence Arms were Muslim, would you take them off your ipod?" My answer to that would be "no". A band's ideology need not match my own. If it would, it would be facism.

    Posted by fallingupwards84 on 2006-11-12 16:01:37

    "Ok-- here goes. MxPx's lyrics are all about girls, and love, and that sort of stuff."

    That's ridiculous. On their newest album, Panic, 4 of the 14 tracks are about a girl... on this album, 3 of the 12.

    Compare that to a Ramones record, or a Descendents record - both of which probably have twice as many songs about girls. But I never hear people complaining about that.

    Posted by feeeding5000 on 2006-11-12 14:56:53

    It all boils down to my appreciation of the music. That waned, and eventually became dislike. If you don't like something, why listen to it? ...Also, some people see morality as a product of religion, and that without it we would be immoral and hedonistic. I see morality (religion, too) as something that evolved out of the human psyche to keep people from killing each other off or going insane. You may see it differently.

    Posted by feeeding5000 on 2006-11-12 14:48:11

    Wow...my comment was taken out of context, but I guess that I didn't really explain myself, anyway. Ok-- here goes. MxPx's lyrics are all about girls, and love, and that sort of stuff. I find that yes, there is a place for love songs within "punk rock", but it just bores me. Honestly, it's a personal preference. I happen to not like one-dimensional teenage love songs. As I listened to more "hardcore", etc., I found that I just couldn't get into the music anymore. It bored me, or made me feel stupid, or just felt pointless. Once again, my preference. As for the Christian thing -- I have a choice as to what I consume. If I don't want hear from certain groups, then I don't have to. Keep in mind, this is not necessarily me being 100% close-minded. I know what Christians believe in, and I know that they believe (mostly) for positive reasons, but I choose not to accept their idea of reality. I have my own reasons for that. If you want to say I'm some anti-Christian bigot, then go ahead, it won't bother me. I live my life how I see fit (to the degree that that's possible, at least), and if that means removing some band from a stupid electronic device, and choosing not to listen to them, then that's what I'll do.

    Posted by givemeamuseumandillfillit on 2006-11-12 05:57:22

    Just the fact that someone actually coupled "when i was getting into punk" with the word "ipod" makes me feel really, really old.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at 10:21 PM (EST)

    "out of interest, to those who are challenging feeding5000, if you found out that The Lawrence Arms were racist would you take them off your ipod?"

    nope

    Posted by Damo on 2006-11-11 21:09:26

    glasspipe - i agree with you

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-11-11 19:50:17
    My Score:

    in response to damo..no it's not the same thing or even remotely close. being racist is a 100% socially destructive trait. would you remove your gratitude or appreciation of Martin Luther King Jr. because he was Christian? what about Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Gandhi who incorporated Christianity into his teachings? How about the liberation theologists of Latin America who devote their lives to helping the poor? Discriminating on the basis of religion is as bad as discriminating for any other reason.

    Posted by newfoundmichael on 2006-11-11 18:24:23

    I already commented on my dislike for this band, but anyone who stops listening to something for the simple fact that they are Christian or they are atheist, then that is just fucking stupid.

    Posted by boba_fett on 2006-11-11 17:34:28

    since ive only heard the 2 tracks posted, i can only comment on them directly, but i have an idea of what the rest of the album is like.

    breathe deep is good. if they put together an album of songs like that, then it would be a solid, but simple, pop-punk release. thats what i expect from them.

    unfortunately, pretty much everything released since 1998 has been horrible. there have been a few decent tracks scattered around since then, maybe enough to fill 1 album. thats not a good record.

    however, at the end of the day i wont give up on em cause they got me into this genre.

    Posted by Damo on 2006-11-11 17:31:23

    out of interest, to those who are challenging feeding5000, if you found out that The Lawrence Arms were racist would you take them off your ipod?

    i know its not exactly the same (b4 you jump on your high horses)

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-11-11 13:00:35

    so feeding5000 is what...14, 15 years old?

    Posted by Not-To-Regret on 2006-11-11 12:39:03

    I made some killer b-sides compilations for Radiohead, Local H and QOTSA if anyone is intertested I can send you a list or post the tracks for downloading.

    Posted by SlackMFr on 2006-11-11 08:04:29

    "Once I found out they were Christian, I took them off my iPod"

    So you thought they were good to listen to until you found out they were Christian and then gave them the hook, well if you are so eager to cast something off due to that, you must be quite a simple minded person. I'm not a hardcore religious person, but I still find thatMXPX and Smoking Popes are bands that I like their music, but don't have to abolish them due to their religious beliefs. I highly doubt that you would 100% agree with all the other bands beliefs on your iPod as well. Keep that trend up, and you'll have nothing left but GG Allin on that iPod.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, November 11, 2006 at 12:24 AM (EST)

    "this band needs to throw in the towel"

    says the guy who loves Taking Back Sunday and Dashboard Confessional...

    Posted by thinmike on 2006-11-10 23:57:47

    "Once I found out they were Christian, I took them off my iPod."

    Ah yes, descrimination IS alive and well.

    If you didn't find any problem with the lyrical content before you were TOLD they were Christians, then what reason could you possibly have other than pure closeminded religious bigotry?

    Posted by feeeding5000 on 2006-11-10 20:20:16

    When I was just getting into punk, I bought a best of by MxPx. As I got into harder music, I became annoyed by the lyrics, and the vocals. Once I found out they were Christian, I took them off my iPod.First time I'd ever done that.

    Posted by fallingupwards84 on 2006-11-10 12:59:08
    My Score:

    i want Scott to see this (since he gave me hell about denying that MxPx joined Tooth and Nail records)

    in the new video blog on mxpx's website and myspace, Mike Herrera announced TODAY that they have NOT resigned with Tooth and Nail records and that the Let It Happen rerelease is a one-time thing with T&N only. They're still with SideOneDummy.

    you can view the video blog here:

    http://www.myspace.com/mxpx
    or on their website
    http://www.mxpx.com

    score is for Scott being a dick

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-11-10 12:50:45
    My Score:

    Personally, I think a 2 is too low. Sure, there are some really terrible songs like "Sweet, Sweet Thing" and "Where Did You Go?", but the rest is pretty solid MxPx. The first 8 songs are all decent and there are a few really good ones like "Slow Ride" and "You Walk, I Run". 7/10.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 12:42 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Where Did You Go sounds more like a Tom Petty song... doesnt sound anything like Simple Plan. Was this reviewer listening to the same cd?

    Pretty good for a b-sides album. 7/10.

    Posted by newfoundmichael on 2006-11-10 12:11:34
    My Score:

    Never have liked these guys, or anything they have ever written for that matter.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 10:19 AM (EST)

    "If any recently formed pop-punk band were to have their album characterized as 'MxPx B-sides,' wouldn't one think it's a terribly detrimental comment to receive? "

    hahahahahahah! well done, good line.

    Paul

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 9:52 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    i have to disagree..cuz i love the acoustic songs..
    but yea some of the songs are kinda weak..but still the album is cool...nothing special but hey! ..its only b-sides..

    Posted by danperrone on 2006-11-10 08:55:14
    My Score:

    OF COURSE i was at the game!!!!

    OMG OMG OMG OMG

    Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-11-10 08:23:11

    Are there songs about girls?
    -Dante

    Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2006-11-10 08:12:02

    Harmless and sugar coated pop music......and worst of all it's Christian pop.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 7:51 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    All the mxpx haters..... Who cares, i still love em' and for being around and playin' good old pop punk for almost 14 years, there are a lot of closet mxpx fans, good shit-oldpunker-

    Posted by m-oo on 2006-11-10 06:45:54
    My Score:

    "comes off like some ill-conceived Simple Plan / Lit combination"

    Hahaha score is for that reference alone.

    The album gets a 5 or 6

    Posted by pinkerton on 2006-11-10 04:18:06

    FUCK RUTGERS that school really is a joke.

    you're better off going out of state if you're from nj....and if you're not from there dont even consider it

    Posted by Torgo on 2006-11-10 02:56:57

    RUTGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 2:47 AM (EST)

    "If any recently formed pop-punk band were to have their album characterized as 'MxPx B-sides,' wouldn't one think it's a terribly detrimental comment to receive? SideOneDummy doesn't think so apparently, and thus, Let's Rock."

    Biased much? Geez...
    sounds like you went into this not wanting to like it.
    and you gave it a pretty low score considering that you yourself admitted that there are a handful of really good tracks on here.

    this is a good b-sides album. not all the songs are great - thats why they were b-sides. but there are enough really good songs to make this album a 6/10

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 2:43 AM (EST)

    does anyone remember the pokinatcha tour....that was the shit...back in 95....sheet..that was some punk...fuck this shit sucks ass

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 2:26 AM (EST)

    I thought Panic was almost as atrocious as Before the Everything and the After. The Ever Passing Moment was a solid album though, even if it was the beginning of the end. If there next album is another suckfest, I'm giving up on these guys.

    Posted by kenjamin on 2006-11-10 02:22:05

    were you actually at the game? What a fucking comeback. Top form.

    Posted by danperrone on 2006-11-10 01:40:23
    My Score:

    who just saw rutgers beat louisville

    WHO THE FUCK JUST SAW RUTGERS BEAT #3 IN THE NATION LOUISVILLE

    OMG words cannot explain how amazing today was HOOOOLY SHIT

    Posted by BrandonSideleau on 2006-11-10 01:22:34

    Let's Not.....

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 1:05 AM (EST)

    better question is "where's the kylesa review?"

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 1:03 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    yes!

    -Will

    Posted by SloaneDaley on 2006-11-10 01:02:25

    where is the Michale Graves review?

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2006-11-10 00:31:05
    My Score:

    I thought "Don't Forget Me" was the best song on the album.

    Posted by colin on 2006-11-10 00:17:15

    this band needs to throw in the towel.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 12:12 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    are those real tattoos on the guys hands on the cover?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, November 10, 2006 at 12:12 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    id hit that