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| MidtownLiving Well Is The Best Revenge2002 MCA 
 Review by: Scott See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
Midtown online (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on April 16th 2002
Ah, Midtown. How I missed thee. I've been a fan of this band since "back in the day," before they got signed to Drive-thru or anything. We used to exchange emails all the time, and they even linked to my old band on their webpage [and vice versa]. Those guys even kept the link up even after they hit it big, touring with Blink 182 and the Warped Tour. They are by far the nicest guys in rock that I've ever met; and it definitely shows in their music. That can be a good and a bad thing. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
why is it that there is always a link to the words pill and car now? people should lay off scott for not liking Face To Face because they are boring... he's just being honest, hell i think fuckin ska gets boring, and i agree F2F gets boring, i also think pennywise is repetitive which also gets boring... dont get pissed at someone for their opinion it is their own I dont wanna hear the strokes on the radio man. their music is like a sleeping pill and can be dangerous to listen to while driving. this is catchy as hell. I hate people who automatically think anything that doesn't resemble the Velvet Underground or the Ramones isn't punk: it is. Punk evolved, you retards. As much as you want to stay in the rut you're already in (we want you to stay there as well, if it's any condolence), it's impossible to ignore this. Midtown built their musical directions off the original punk definition, and while it's not annoying and actually contains harmonies, it's not very far from the original thing. So if you're going to say negative things about the band, at least say things that have a BASIS for something. i had higher expectations for this album, i thought it would be good, but i was let down. they sound like a more mature band, but they dont sound as aggressive as they did on save the world. but i guess i can say its an okay pop rock cd. stand outs were faulty foundation and one last time I was right. Midtown was dropped from MCA Is selling out the "Punk" thing to do these days. It's really a shame people think emo is punk. 1) i like this cd a lot, i like midtown a lot too, and i enjoy most of the stuff on dtr. so i guess im not punk :( Great CD, and superior to "STW, LTG" by half a star. But what's with the new version of "Get it Together"? The original (on Warped '01) was much better, I think. Who the fuck cares if it is punk or not. If you like it just listen to it. Yeah I like Midtown...I also like blink-182, Snapcase, Thursday, Nofx, and the smashing pumpkins. It is all about what you like and not caring what other people like. Besides its just fucking music..not a life or death situation. Give me a breaK! punk is a sacred thing Why are we still calling these guys "PUNK". theres nothing at all punk about them. they don't even resemble a punk band. And I don't even necessarily dislike them. Just cuz you like a band, doesn't make it punk. There's nothing wrong with liking pop music every now and then. everybody is so ashamed and reluctant to admit that they're pop. there are decent pop bands out there. they play their own instruments, so I'd give them POP-ROCK, but not POP-PUNK. thats just unfair to actual punk bands. think about how they feel when kids come to a show expecting blink style music, but get real punk instead. i mean, calling them punk, and other bands like them punk, is hurting the actual punk scene. nobody knows whats punk and whats not anymore. and it does matter. its not an elitist thing. its just that punk music has a message and an emotional link that affects so many people. why are we continually tainting something we claim to love so much. punk can be defined. punk is not a vague thing. punk is a mentality. its not an attitude. its not clothes. you can't turn punk off or on. its always there or not. it hurts me so much when little kids think this is what punk is. punk is a sacred thing. everything else in this world is ruined, so why stop. somebody has to fight for punk. the true meaning of punk is washed out and faded and just doesn't mean as much as it should to people. girls with shirts that say BLINK ME aren't punk. they're human. they might even be decent people, but GOD DAMN! LEAVE SACRED THINGS ALONE. It kils me. We've got this joker of a president pretending to run the country, when he really needs to be in a playpen or a sandbox. Some place that suits his intelligence level. He's setting us up for the apocolypse and free thought is discouraged everywhere you go. if this is punk, then punk is truely dead. i may need to come up with a new word for INDIVIDUALITY AND FREE THOUGHT, cuz its seeming like punk isn't the right word anymore. Shit like this makes me want to quit. I don't need a community to be punk, but it'd be nice to be amongst people who accept me and think the way i do, to an extent. obviously, if everybody thought exactly the same that'd be dumb, but I mean I'd like to be with people who have independent thought that isn't determined by the media or the pope. fuck em. Is it to late to break away from the union and start a new country? who's with me? I love this album. Vocally they have grown so much from "Save the World.." Anyways,every time i've met them the band has been nothing but super nice and friendly.. this album rocks!! i love it...it may not be as good as "save the world, lose the girl" but its still awsome.....for those of you who say midtown is a bunch of assholes, i met em this past weekend and the skate and surf fest and they are some of the coolest guys ive ever met in a band.... Regards to my statement: "Just as "punk" was exploited by the media in the late 70's." "Just as "punk" was exploited by the media in the late 70's." Before hearing "Living Well..." I thought that Midtown was one of the most unoriginal and untalented bands I had ever had the displeasure of hearing. But after hearing their latest release, I think they are even worse. They haven't matured as songwriters one bit. It's been nearly two years since their Drive-Thru debut "Save the World, Lose the Girl" and they sound like the same old lame-ass band that is trying to cash in on the Blink-182/Sum 41/NFG sound. Not only that, but has anyone ever tried to speak to Gabe at a show before? I saw them play with Thrice a year or so ago and was actually surprised that Midtown put on a semi-decent show, I was hanging out outside the venue when Gabe passed by. I said something to the tune of "Hey man, great show." He didn't even turn around. He raised his hand in a half-assed way and mumbled "yeah, thanks". After that shit, Midtown would have to put out the most amazing album in history to even get me to listen to it twice. the dude w/ the anti midtown website is a fuckin herb the beginning of track 9 sounds just like pennywise till it get to the chorus listen for yerself I agree with some aspects of the post below me. That is what is going to happen with 'emo'. "IF YOU LIKE TOMMY THAN YOU'D LOVE HARVE' " the best track on the album is #8 One last time sung and written by tyler. tyler has the best voice and he should sing all the songs fuck that whiney bitch GAYbe. best cd of the year. SO much better than their last one. best pop/punk/rock mix i've heard. Great voices, not whiny like all the other bands in their genre. I made the post before about how i hate midtown i hate midtown i hate midtown... i dont hate the music that midtown plays but i hate them because of the bullshit that has come up lately regarding them and drive thru. Midtown is a band full of assholes and i hope they dont make it big just so they would wish that they were still on drive thru when MCA drops them or they break up. I gate gabe he is a piece of shit... i saw them this weekend and when i came back to find out all this shit was going down i was sickened by the fact that i actually sat through their performance at Skate and Surf Fest ...........but the cover is lame. you're the bigggest moron ever I hate midtown i hate midtown i hate midtown... I ever put a page up on my website about how much i hate midtown i hate midtown i hate midtown... click here to find out why! I find it funny how some people read a letter written by drive thru and the think that it's all true, I think drive thru was pulling a lot of that shit out of their ass. If you knew what most of your favorite bands said about making money and whatnot you'd despise them, this just got blown out of proportion Drive-thru suxs ass i couldent care less if its a hobby to gabe, he probly spent lots of money for college and wants to live a comfortable life. THey bashed drive-thru and hot topic U cant beat that This CD stuck with the roots of good old midtown, but showed their maturity in song writing and how diverse they can be. They show a lot of talent without changing their style. bottom line should ready "because I'm sure you wouldn't..." I honestly don't listen to too much music like this. I don't own any albums put out by drive-thru. I bought this album cause it was 7 bucks at best buy and it's worth it. You guys are getting all worked up because you expected Midtown to come out with London Calling or something. It's nothing ground breaking, but it's a solid album that is easy/fun to listen to. Get over yourself, I bet if you listened to it with an open mind you would like it, or at least not bash it. Just don't tell any of your friends, cause I'm you wouldnt want to lose your cred. but listening to midtown. Just to add to the guy's comment three down about the money issue... In the letter that drive thru wrote about midtown (which can be viewed at http://www.punkbands.com/news) they explained how Midtown was gonna call it quits if the money didn't come in... Gabe said that it's his "HOBBY"... not his life... so yah bro, your totally right with that one. complete waste of money. this album is without a doubt the worst cd ive ever heard. And fuck midtown for spreading lies about drive-thru. Get American Paradox. midtown r far from nsync bro Midtown suck. Plain and simple. Know what would make Midtown better? Fire. And lots of it. I never really listened to much of Midtown...they seem to sound like every other Drive-Thru band. I just saw them open for Face to Face in DC and boy did they suck. Every song sounded the same. What a bunch of pretentious turds. God-awful. Man Scott, are you ever getting torn a new one. Damn. After reading that WHOLE response, I think I have completely formed a different opinion of midtown. I'm sorry but i don't like Midtown... just never got into them. I listened to the albumn and didn''t enjoy it that much, but that isn't what I came on here for. i dunno if anyone is still reading that far down, but i mentioned HATEBREED in my last comment, and i dunno if anyone took in the wrong way, i have nothing against hatebreed, i listen to 'em sometimes... i was just using them as an example because some guy below me said that "emo" kids wouldn't last in a hatebreed pit, and i was just proving a point about stereotyping ppl... sorry hatebreed fans As much as I disagree about hateful statements, there really isn't much point in announcing that you might delete them. It might actually increase it. It concerns us when we see comments left that constitute any sort of bigotry. Comments that can be construed as sexist, racist, homophobic or in any other way hurtful are not welcome. Please keep the hateful speech off of the Punknews.Org comment boards. In the name of free speech we'll refrain from deleting them for the moment. holy shit cmon. your own petty prejudices have no place in a record review. ludacris your born black I hope you mean "abuse" as in "not in reference with good intentions" opposed to "too much", because Alkaline Trio never do anything too much. I think the album is good, 4 songs after like a movie aren't forgettable Scott, but rather the song like a movie is forgettable and the rest of the CD kicks ass. One last time should be the single, as for the interview, sweet, as for the signing to MCA, fine MCA gives us cheap punk CD's, as for bashing Face To Face? Scott you are a girl. I guess they are too hard for you, you probably hate Avail or Sick Of It All, maybe even Rise Agaainst cause they are too hard for you, or too much punk. I'm out... what wrong with being gay? why don't you call me a nigger too. i hope its not dudes complaining about the cover cause if it is u must be gay great cd, maybe a liitle 2 soft on the ears. oh and why the fuck hasnt their first cd been released in the uk, ive had 2 download it. just wondering, did u americans get the bonus song 'make this right' thats track 12 this is for the interview. damn, i didn't know drive-thru fucked u guys like that. fuck em. Reading through the shit at the bottom, who's to say that hatebreed fans can't be, or aren't midtown fans? i havent heard the whole cd, enough though to know its Midtown like it always was and thats fine with me. and enough with the bitchin, come on, what the hell does punk promote?? anyone? yeah diversity,some prefer hatebreed, strung out (older stuff) and circle jerks and the like, and some may dig blink (personally nah..) but thats cool with me, have preferences, punk is like a buffet and its all you can eat variety style. midtown is band that can be appreciated/or not at all, but you cant deny the fact the still make music, they still rock out (in many peoples opinions) and they must not be gettin as much puss as you think if you happen to notice alot of the songs are about heart breaks, call it emo, call it poppy punk, call it your savior, whatever, its punk in someones eyes and thats all that matters to them. sure they have whoahs, but harder bands have blahs and stick it up your asses, thats the beauty of punk. your girlfriend dump you? chill to some dashboard. you getting psyched for a road trip? listen to midtown. wanna tear shit apart? listen to hate breed. punk is about rockin out, but its also undeniably about emotion, you cant have one without the other. rockin out without emotion= yonnie. rockin with emotion and goinn crazy with tons of energy=midtown (ive seen them live, trust me, theres energy there to spare). so youd like to see f2f fans last in a mosh pit at hatebreed? well id like to see you last in an 8 hour car ride listening to jock jams. long stuff short- get the cd if youre into it, otherwise dont diss what you dont dig. personally i dig it, i pretty much dig all punk, not a crime, i love it all, proud to say that punk has ruined my life. If the bouncing souls stopped doing odes to fans and friends, they would have to cut out almost half of thier songs To the guy 4 posts down: i saw midtown with f2f last week (f2f blew them off the stage btw), but thats not what i had a problem with.....do those guys fucking bathe? jesus christ, i thought that one guitar player was gonna try and wash my windshield or ask me for change or something......good fucking god, what a bunch of dirtballs The records ok sorry.the music sucks just as bad if not more than the cover. happy? Just thought I would quote your F2F review for a sec here, "To add insult to injury, the band includes "Fight or Flight" on the album - this is the exact same version that appeared on their split CD with the Dropkick Murphys only two months earlier. I liked the song before, but including it on another release? Bad form, boys." Great record. I usually hate this kinda stuff, but I can't get some of these songs outta my head. Nice work boys! this cd is so great, it is just one of many great cds drive-thru will be releasing this year. all you jackasses giving it one star don't know music, why don't you go listen to your supposedly "good" music Hatebreed, and just so you know yea Midtown might explode and you hate them for that but look at Hatebreed, i think they suck, but they could be on the radio soon so go suck a fatty yea that last comment was weak.....and a review for the guy that got all "punk" on us....you need chocolate city in yr life expand, brother. "If this were any other band, I would give this a lower score..." hm, sorry, but that is kind of poor... "If you guys are what punk is about, I think I would rather castrate myself with a rusty spoon then be a mentioned in the same sentence as any of you!"... on one hand, i think that debate is good, and people expressing their opinions is what makes message boards such as this interesting... on the other hand, i have to agree with this comment, because people resort to petty name calling, vulgarity, and stereotyping, there's no real validity to their opinions (i.e. from a few posts down - pop-punk ppl wouldn't survive at a HATEBREED show! RAR!... a stupid and unnecessary comment that i wasted seconds of my life reading)... and i hate how people have formed their own little cliques and all they do is talk bad about people and bands outside their clique... i think it's a little childish guys..... oh yea as far as the cd goes... i haven't heard the whole thing yet, what i heard was ok, nothing amazing .... ps - i don't wanna hear bands play music that is insincere, if someone uses the word "emo" because of this, go shove a bannana up your urethra not as strong as lose the world but its ok You guys are such assholes! What a scene we have! Just a bunch of arrogant backstabbers!!! If you guys are what punk is about, I think I would rather castrate myself with a rusty spoon then be a mentioned in the same sentence as any of you! my thats petty of you...to judge an album on its cover...thats pretty superficial...if you dont like midtown and you dont like the cd then say it...dont pull stuff out of your ass like the cover is shit.... whoever posted like 5 down from here is right, that cover sucks. Dear Scott, Here's something for you all to drool over about. When I organised a Midtown show last year over here in Belgium I had the pleasure to talk to Gabe (head-vocalist) about their future. He confessed that they wanted to make money out of this band. If that wouldn't work out in a short while, he would quit the band and look for a decent job. I'm sure all the so-called real punks in here will start grinning when they read this and call it a proof as for them being another sell-out band. But let me tell you this: I agree with them. It's easy for us people who see this as a hobby, maybe even a lifestyle. But damn, it's these guys' lives you are talking about. They studied, they can do something else with their lives if they wanted to. They just give it a shot to earn money with the one thing they love doing and that is playing (punk)rock-music. Maybe they don't have a politic message to spread, maybe they are not interested in that, but they sincerely love doing this. I'm pretty sure of this, because it just shows when you hear their music and see them on stage and meet other people. Whatever, I love F2f, from back in the day till now, I love Midtown from back in the day till now. These guys do rock!!! Why else would Face to Face ask them to support them on their tour. Why does Jimmy Eat World ask Midtown to support them on their tours. If you naysayers only knew. Your just slobbering over the reflection of yourself that you see in others, see the light and get off the band wagon. By the way, I have the new LP and it is incredible, the sonics are amazing and the songs even better. I like the rocking ones better too but I dont feel like Midtown is doing anything else other then what they want to do. I know them well enought to tell you that they are sincere and real as they come. I just got the LP today and it rocks! I loved Midtown's last release and I like this one even better. Sounds incredible and honest! That has to be the shittiest album cover ever. They even have a midtown poster in the back ground. How fucking gay. They look like a bunch of pretty boys trying to be all old school punk and jaded on the back cover but to me, they lok like a bunch of posers. The music inside is pretty good though and I guess that is all that matters. i give these guys a 2. id give em a 1 but their from my state so that gives them something. nice spelling on the name too scott.....another stellar job lol... i'd like to see this band on one stage with hatebreed. i'd like to see their fans share the same pit with hatebreed. i'd like to see they mosh with hatebreed's fans. or toxic narcotic is fine. i like midtown and i think face to face is boring as shit, also. these guys are still playin' the same rock as from before the major label, not many bands can say that. thumbs up. so.....you hate face to face, you consider them boring.....but you love midtown? wow, you really are a jackass aren't you I heard this album on some webpage... it was ok. I never liked Midtown all around but there more edgy stuff appealed to me more ("Just Rock and Roll" and others). This album is definitley full of a bunch of songs that in a month or 2 i will be skipping over and around to get to the rock. But I give Midtown credit because I know this is what they want to play and they are not changing for anyone. Wait a minute, you like this but you dont like face to face.... Quite sad. -oldpunker- Stop suckin' Midtown's dick. These guys are nothing special, but you act like they are because you knew them "back in the day." From what I have heard of Midtown, they are pretty damn solid, but of course they sing about girls so they must suck like Blink, right? Don't all of you "real punkers" get tired of posing and slamming everything from Blink to Midtown to NOFX to BR to F2F and on and on? Enjoy the music and stop taking yourself so seriously. Oh, and Scott, you keep dropping those names, and we'll keep trying not to trip over them. i hate midtown with a passion, but it was an alright review. and to the guy who says music is not about sincerity you must listen to blink,cause i dont wouldn't like to "rock out" to a bunch of insincere assholes. If this were any other band, I would give this a lower score, but because I know this is Midtown, I know that this is as sincere and as honest as the band can get. scott's a girl, i know why he hate's face to face now the next 4 songs after like a movie are forgettable? did you happen to just skip over "one last time"?? its a fucking power ballad, maybe the most solid track on the album. Good review. But scoring gash? Scott scott scott.... |
