It's safe to say that ska is one of the more bland genres of music these days. Bands like Less Than Jake and Mustard Plug have been making the same cd over and over for years, meanwhile bands like Mu330 have been making the same song over and over for years. But as a long time ska fan since the days of the Ska Against Racism tour, the Blue Meanies have always stood out as something different.
From Kiss Your Ass Goodbye's polka-core madness to Full Throttle's near chaotic, yet equally perfect musicianship, they have always surprised me and shown that this ska movement might have depth after all. So when I heard that the Blue Meanies got signed to MCA records, I was excited to see what this seemingly flawless band could do with major label resources.
I remember anxiously and nervously removing the shrink wrap. Having heard nothing from this new cd, i had no idea what to expect. As the first notes creeped out from my car stereo speaker, my worst fears were confirmed...
This cd is entitled "The Post Wave", which leads me to believe that they are attempting to make music to start the new wave of ska. But isn't that what they've been doing for years anyway? The music on this cd can only be described by a word i never thought i would use to describe the Blue Meanies: Mediocre. Not only is the music highly inferior to that of their previous records, but the lyrics are pathetic in comparison to the off the wall lyrical attack of Full Throttle.
The only tracks on this dissapointment of an album that stand out as anything special are "Chemicals," with it's synth-pop-on-crack sound, and "Big Brother," which has a very nice latin section. Both songs feature Meanies-esque tasteful horn parts, but the choruses are just god awfully predictable. Even a "Smash the Magnavox" or "Acceleration 5000" could not balance out tracks such as "When We Were Queens" that make me wonder, can't the Blue Meanies tell that this sucks?
The Post Wave is by far one of the biggest dissapointments since Weezer's Green Album. The only thing that isn't predictable about this album is the idea of the Blue Meanies releasing a record this bad.
After intently listenig to every track on this album for some shining moment by the Meanies, the great hope of the ska movement, i came upon a harsh realization: The Meanies are dead, and ska is dead as well.