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Cute Is What We Aim For

The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch (2006)
Fueled By Ramen Records

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

Published on February 9th 2007

Cute Is What We Aim For had an interesting 2006. The band, which was relatively unknown prior to the year, absolutely exploded into the scene and became a staple of MySpace pages and iPods everywhere. However, the band that had literally no following and previous work somehow managed to gather some e-zines labeling them as ‘sell-outs.’ With all this talk at hand, I decided to give The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch another chance after early listening and quick dismissal.

Just like several other things in life, Cute Is What We Aim For didn’t deserve the second chance. In just about every pop-punk album there are several components that build up the albums: catchy guitar hooks, vocal melodies, lyrics about girls and energetically positive songs have become the norm for your textbook pop-punk album. Now you know you have problems when you’re a pop-punk band that can’t even pull off any of the above. It takes no longer than the first line on “Newport Living” to realize that the vocals won’t be the high point, as the nasally singing will have a better chance of making you throw up before making you want to sing along. When it comes to the lyrics being sung, lines like “If you lie, you don’t deserve to have friends. If you lie, you don’t deserve them” populate the album.

When it comes to the musical aspect, pop-punk bands aren’t gonna score points for originality or technicality, but the music should at least be passable and catchy. Even if it’s disposable, it should still at least be worth your time before being kicked to the curb, but Cute Is What We Aim For come up short in that department as well. The songs here simply fall flat. They aren’t catchy, they aren’t original, and they are easily forgettable. Simply put, they aren’t worth your time, especially the slower songs which make the album an even more tedious listening experience.

When it comes to every single department of the pop-punk genre, Cute Is What We Aim For receives failing marks. Their forgettable mix of flat songs and appalling lyrics is still sure to appeal to the genre's fan base, but to the rest of us, we’re left with one of the year's worst releases, especially unbelievable when you consider the fact that 20 or so bands will release the same album next week.

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Jay3313 (February 25, 2007)

I think their own lyrics sum up the album:

"We go where the money goes".

Or at least, that's what a lyrics site said. I can't decode the nasally whines any better than I can understand dolphins.

crazytoledo (February 16, 2007)

Why do shitty ass cds always have the most posts while fantastic releases have less than 10? I guess that shows that most people who visit this site like shit like this. And please, someone review the new Hot Cross.

1. More people have heard of this (unfortunately).

2. People come in to rip on this band.

3. Outsiders stumble across the review and throw piss fits at the score.

4. Regulars stick around to laugh and insult these outsides.

5. Comments grow.

6. One or two regulars admit that think said album isn't as bad.

7. Regulars hold it against them for the rest of their duration on this site.

8. Comments grow even more.

treos (February 15, 2007)

second the hot cross comment

SilentStorms (February 15, 2007)

newfoundmichael (February 14, 2007)

Are these reviews even needed anymore? I hate this fucking band, but I knew this record was going to get a half a star before I even clicked the link...

D00M3D (February 14, 2007)

oh goodness, this cd is actually really good. but it took me quite awhile to actually like it. the rating for this cd was quite unfair, it's at least a decent three or four.

crazytoledo (February 13, 2007)

My friend yelled at me at school when I told him about this review. It was pretty funny.

fugazifreak (February 12, 2007)

I really liked this album the songs are really catchy

Anonymous (February 12, 2007)

dude, nu metal is still going strong.

figure it started in 1999/1999 w/ Limp Dilznik blowing up, along w/ Korn and Kid Rock. Fast forward to 2007 and last I checked, shinedown, 3 days grace, nickelback, puddle of mudd and staind and all that crap are still going very strong. as far as i'm concerned 30 seconds to mars is nu metal. papa roach is still around...I guess its not as bad as it was from 99-2002, but with a new 'linkin park' album coming soon and disturbed making a hit out of a phil collins song....we're still a long way from being in the clear.

i expect this faggy emo pussy hair 90 lb little boy shitface music to still be around for a few more years, but it will die then.

crazytoledo (February 11, 2007)

why cant this emo fad die already? it didnt take nu-metal this long...

LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR!

Scruffy (February 11, 2007)

"why cant this emo fad die already? it didnt take nu-metal this long..."

This stuff has only been in the popular media for about 2 years. Nu-metal was around for about 4 or 5.

Anonymous (February 11, 2007)

You fucking missed.

freesandwich (February 11, 2007)

why cant this emo fad die already? it didnt take nu-metal this long...

branden (February 10, 2007)

what cocksucker decided this was in the "pop punk" genre?
i demand answers crazytoledo

indie_is_better_than_punk (February 10, 2007)

"What about underground hip hop, which is oftentimes as sexist, homophobic, and materialistic as its mainstream counterpart? Indie/college rock is all about hedonism, irony, and irreverance. Most indie kids completely ignore the real world and live their lives like useless assholes. A lot of punk kids are full of two-faced rhetoric, too, but at least they are striving for something, where as hipster indie kids flaunt their uselessness. Also, punk and hardcore support the theory of community, whereas indie rock simply doesn't. While a sexist action can have a lot of reprecussion in a community, when your scene is all about looking out for number one and getting the best deals on coke, no one's going to get called out by their friends when they're an asshole.

But that's just what I think. As you can tell, I am very wary of hipsters."

you love those generalizations, huh?

Scruffy (February 10, 2007)

Techincally, "alternative" media is just that, an alternative. And bands like this offer a far more angsty, sexist alternative to the benign sexism in radio rock music.

Oh wait, Nickelback. Hmmm... Scratch all that.

elliot (February 10, 2007)

how bout that line where he's like:

"you're checking more lables than the FCC"

hmmm.....FCC? really? i think ya meant FDA, buddy! whooooops!

damnitsderek (February 10, 2007)

you know whats really crazy?

THIS BAND IS FUCKING HUGE!

Like, how the fuck did that happen?!

People got shitty taste in music. That's what happened.

LeightonESmith (February 10, 2007)

Score is for the artwork. Love it.

Anonymous (February 10, 2007)

could not agree more on the rating given to the cd, i tried to listen to it but made it no more than 30 seconds into any given song. just fucking terrible, and honestly, and this is a sad statement but it was intended for audiences literally half my ripe old age of 29

Anonymous (February 10, 2007)

loot is what we game for

moneenerd (February 9, 2007)

Can anyone tell me why the cover of this album is so horribly sexist?

I thought indie rock and punk were supposed to bring a sense of social equality to the masses. Isn't that one of the underlying functions of alternative media? To have an alternative view from the mainstream bullshit objectification of women?

All these shitty emo bands have terrible views on women. They're either evil because they're heart breakers, or they're totally "hot" with unrealistic body images.

BOO-URNS.

Amen. Totally agree.

moneenerd (February 9, 2007)

you know whats really crazy?

THIS BAND IS FUCKING HUGE!

Like, how the fuck did that happen?!

Ollywood (February 9, 2007)

I wonder if the band has read these comments yet, cuz they have posted on this site before. If they have, they are smart for not responding.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

This band didn't deserve an actual review. It deserved the Jesse treatment.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

Why bother reviewing this album on this site??? Before i even clicked i knew it was gonna get a terrible review.

SloaneDaley (February 9, 2007)

Creepy Is What I Aim For

baseball (February 9, 2007)

where as hipster indie kids flaunt their uselessness. Also, punk and hardcore support the theory of community, whereas indie rock simply doesn't. While a sexist action can have a lot of reprecussion in a community, when your scene is all about looking out for number one and getting the best deals on coke, no one's going to get called out by their friends when they're an asshole

sometimes you're fucking hilarious

historypeats (February 9, 2007)

The girl's trying to take all of her clothes off at once, but the faceless guys in the background are too busy staring at their own shoes to notice...

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

shitty band, but a hot fuckin cover

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

"I thought indie rock and punk were supposed to bring a sense of social equality to the masses."

The fact that this will never happen aside, the ideals of "indie" are pretty fucking shallow and hedonistic. I don't know where you get social awareness from "indie." Most of those kids just seem to not give a fuck.

"Isn't that one of the underlying functions of alternative media?"

What about underground hip hop, which is oftentimes as sexist, homophobic, and materialistic as its mainstream counterpart? Indie/college rock is all about hedonism, irony, and irreverance. Most indie kids completely ignore the real world and live their lives like useless assholes. A lot of punk kids are full of two-faced rhetoric, too, but at least they are striving for something, where as hipster indie kids flaunt their uselessness. Also, punk and hardcore support the theory of community, whereas indie rock simply doesn't. While a sexist action can have a lot of reprecussion in a community, when your scene is all about looking out for number one and getting the best deals on coke, no one's going to get called out by their friends when they're an asshole.

But that's just what I think. As you can tell, I am very wary of hipsters.

-Will

cadavermine (February 9, 2007)

Damn!!!

damnitsderek (February 9, 2007)

Has anyone seen what the frontman to these guys looks like?

Score is for his haircut.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

i can't listen to this band. i've never heard one note of one song. saying this might be both petty and pretentious, but i can't, can't, can't get past the worst band name in the history of recorded music.
-TOBB

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

this is awful, i would way way rather take bands like homegrown, fenixtx, and allister over this stuff. this band is horrrible in every aspect possible

ryanrockwell (February 9, 2007)

I like this album.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

nigger music

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

score is for this band providing miles upon miles of trash talking ammunition and opportunities for LOL comments.

Thanks for being a great joke, kids.

baseball (February 9, 2007)

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

the cover is stupid. It's not really terribly sexist though. yeah, she's pulling down her skirt a little, but whatever, everything sexual is not inheriently sexist...and that's not really an unrealistic body image for a sixteen year old girl, which is undoubtedly a part of these guy's demographic. I mean, I get what you're saying down there, but you have to pick your battles. Crying 'sexist' at this trivializes efforts to point out the more ingrained and dangerous images within our hegemony. This is a stupid Nagel wannabe that could have been on the wall of my aunt's house in the 80's. To reiterate, dumb, but not worth breaking out the troops for.
I expect that kind of crying over nothing from cute is what we aim for.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

no, but i love bing cherries. score is for chocolate covered black cherry goodness

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

anyone else remember cherry bing?

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

"cute is what we aim for.. but gay is what we acheived"

hahahahah first time i've laughed out loud in a long time.

paul

scores for the comment

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

I consider myself open minded, and I love pop punk but...

the album cover, band name, album name and the pictures I've seen of the band themself with their faggy emo haircuts and girl jeans are more than reason enough for me to stay far far away.

if only the cartoon slut on the album cover would pull down that skirt a little more and show her world to me

fuck this shit

Paul

red_eye_inc (February 9, 2007)

Why are the "People who liked this also liked:" pictures the same as they are for The Shins but with one switched out?

Anyway, these guys are the worst. Pop by numbers passed off as pop-punk. And what an awful name. Naming your band that is just a guarantee that you won't be around for more than a few years and that when the suckers fool enough to buy this cd find it in a box in a decade they'll be embarressed.

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

This shit's catchy.
I'm embarassed that I like it so much, but I do. Except for a couple tracks I think that, despite being really lame, they're well-written pop songs.

Big_Guy (February 9, 2007)

this is easily the worst band ever

Anonymous (February 9, 2007)

in a year you will have forgotten this shite-oldpunker-

wearestillalive (February 9, 2007)

i endorse this review and also think that they're probably why vinnie left FBR.

Jesse (February 9, 2007)