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Epitaph Records -- Millencolin

Remember childhood? Remember cold ice cream on hot summer days? Remember laughing at the word 'poop'? Remember when your mom would drop you off at the park with a suitcase and jar of honey for the afternoon? Good times.

When I first heard the Queers, I was disappointed that I hadn’t heard of them when I was 6 (by which time they would have already released five albums, two EPs, and their Ramones cover album). If I had heard “I Can’t Stop Farting” when I was a wee-one, then, by God, I would have walked around school all day singing it at the top of my voice and making fart noises everywhere while shaking my plump posterior in the air at passers-by.

This year, the Queers have finally written their much anticipated (doesn’t it seem like everything is much anticipated these days?) followup to 2002’s Pleasant Screams, titled Munki Brain [sic].

Musically, this album is very intriguing, going from some tracks with the standard crossover sound of the Ramones and the Beach Boys ("I Don’t Get It," "I Can’t Stay Mad at You") to a piano-driven song ("I Think She’s Starting to Like Me") and even some straight up punk rock ("Monkey in a Suit"). My only problem is that six tracks use the LAMEST trick to end a song -- the fade-out chorus, which I think should be outlawed.

Lyrically, this album is just about the same as any other Queers’ album, including Joe Queer and every other pop-punker’s favorite subject: girls. It also includes allusions and references to the Ramones, Brian Wilson (see: "Brian Wilson"), and some surfer with a funny name on the fourth track. The major exception is the politically charged track “Monkey in a Suit,” which is a song about our grand president George W. Bush. This track actually shocked me for a bit, because I have sworn the Queers’ said somewhere they didn’t want to sing about politics.

This should be on the “To-Buy List” for any Queers fan. It is really a solid album. And I, for one, will be rocking out to this album for years to come.

Best Track: "Houston We Have a Problem"

Random notes:

  • I thought track four, titled "Duke Kahanamoku," was a cover originally by the Beach Boys, which I can’t find evidence that it is or isn’t.
  • I spent five minutes reading the Beach Boys’ Wikipedia entry while writing this.
  • Microsoft Word does not recognize the word “Ramones.”




People who liked this also liked:
The Queers - Love Songs for the Retarded [reissue]The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!The Queers - Don't Back DownNone More Black - This Is SatireNOFX - The DeclineA Wilhelm Scream - Career SuicideBad Religion - SufferThe Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Ergs! - Jersey's Best PrancersTeenage Bottlerocket - Warning Device



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    Posted by clamum on 2007-02-07 17:52:18
    My Score:

    Pretty good. Queer's affinity for 50s/60s rock is pretty apparent. Christ, I can't stop listening to "I Can't Stay Mad at You".

    Posted by cadavermine on 2007-02-05 00:45:12
    My Score:

    Good band!

    Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 9:15 PM (EST)

    Alot of people say that Joe is a dick, but when i met him last year he was pretty cool. even spotted me the $.50 i needed for a coffee

    Posted by lushj on 2007-02-01 13:35:46
    My Score:

    This is a lot better and more memorable than their most recent records for sure- good good stuff!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 11:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    I love this album, duke kahanamoku could not possibly be a beach boys song. but there is a statue of him on waikiki beach and a restaurant named after him.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 11:16 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    sample lyric from "duke kahanamoku" - he won't smoke crack behind your back while he's hanging from a coconut tree

    and you thought this was written by brian wilson?

    ps - not saying anything bad about the song, i love the album

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 9:23 PM (EST)

    the queers always sounded great, but all of their albums sound too similar. im not saying they should try a new style, but they need to get a little more creative musically and lyricaly

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 9:22 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Pretty good album. I can never get sick of Beach Boyesque style punk.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 8:08 PM (EST)

    joe is an asshole. he is a dick to the fans. when i was a kid i asked him after the show what he thought about the club, he stated "its all about the young girls he could fuck afterwards". he is too old for this shit he puts out. its pretty funny. joe is a fucking asshole. fuck you joe. if i ever catch you playing again, thats me throwing the bottle at your head and going to jail laughing. prick. die soon.

    So you ask him a stupid, boring, generic question and he gives a funny response... what a dick!

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 4:32 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    the Queers, what else do you need to know?

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 4:18 PM (EST)

    joe is an asshole. he is a dick to the fans. when i was a kid i asked him after the show what he thought about the club, he stated "its all about the young girls he could fuck afterwards". he is too old for this shit he puts out. its pretty funny. joe is a fucking asshole. fuck you joe. if i ever catch you playing again, thats me throwing the bottle at your head and going to jail laughing. prick. die soon.

    Posted by kingofsuck on 2007-01-30 14:25:31
    My Score:

    It's a Queers album...

    Posted by ryanrockwell on 2007-01-30 14:19:37

    And what strange antics/ appearances do you speak of?

    Posted by ryanrockwell on 2007-01-30 14:18:06

    He's wearing our shirt under the disc tray because we paid him 100 dollars, it wasn't that hard. Wouldn't any band do the same thing?

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 1:54 PM (EST)
    My Score:

    Anytime The Queers get 4 stars, you know there is something wrong with this website.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 1:50 PM (EST)

    This band is TERRIBLE.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 12:23 PM (EST)

    why is joe queer wearing a Black Tie Bombers shirt under the disc tray? I swear that band has the record for frequency of strange antics/apearances. And they suck

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 11:17 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    Not terrible, but definately not good either. This record is pretty boring. This is Move Back Home with more Beach Boy harmonies. The harmonies are great in areas but the songs are not nearly as impressive as Pleasant Screams. I had much more faith in this record for some reason.

    Posted by thebiglebowski on 2007-01-30 08:41:02
    My Score:

    I'm not up on all the new slang. What is so sick about munki brain? Also, pretty good album.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 7:37 AM (EST)

    The Queers are boring as hell.

    Posted by spoon_of_grimbo on 2007-01-30 07:14:21

    you've gotta love how the loved ones and the lawrence arms come up in the line of "people who liked this, also liked..." albums on EVERY review on punknews.

    Posted by crackpotdemagogue on 2007-01-30 06:59:34

    Joe Queer is a dick.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 2:02 AM (EST)

    i laughed really ahrd at the first two notes

    Posted by fattony on 2007-01-30 01:23:39
    My Score:

    Micro$oft does not teh punx.

    Posted by Scootz_McNasty on 2007-01-30 01:00:02

    yea, what the fuck? sounds like you mom didnt want you around at all.

    Posted by sXenester on 2007-01-30 00:41:37

    honey and a suitcase?
    were you friends with heisel?

    Posted by inagreendase on 2007-01-30 00:36:52

    What the fuck? Why did I think this was out today? Ugh.

    Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, January 30, 2007 at 12:31 AM (EST)
    My Score:

    far from perfect, but i still like it a lot.

    Posted by theonetruebill on 2007-01-30 00:31:03

    It's weird to think that I've legally had this album for two weeks already (thanks to Asian Man's awesome pre-order policy) and it's still not really released for another week.

    This is much better than Pleasant Screams but it isn't their best.

    Posted by victim on 2007-01-30 00:29:24

    Other than Monkey In A Suit, I didn't feel this album was pissed off enough. Generation of Swine, See Ya Later Fuckface pissed off.

    Still good, second only to Love Me Destroyers The Things Around Us Burn for early frontunner status in 07 but probably to be demoted by the new Smoke or Fire also.

    Although I have to admit, I laughed the first time I heard Monkey In A Suit even though I didn't think I would :)

    Posted by FuckYouOiOiOi on 2007-01-30 00:24:23
    My Score:

    you can hear it on this website...

    Posted by danperrone on 2007-01-30 00:22:35

    why would you name your album this

    Posted by GlassPipeMurder on 2007-01-30 00:20:08
    My Score:

    cool cool cool can't wait to hear this.

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