Taking
Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
by Dan Grote
Taking
Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends
Label: Victory
Records
Rating:
An emo band from New Jersey? The devil
you say! Taking Back Sunday are one of the latest in a series of melodramatic
pop punk acts to hail from the Garden State, in a list that includes Thursday
(the really angry ones from two days before) and Saves the Day (the ones
that don’t scream but fantasize about your death).
So where does Taking Back Sunday fit into
the genre that boasts Chris Carraba as its poster-boy? Well, they scream
and fantasize about your death. Honestly, if they didn’t end so many of
their songs in tantrums, “Tell All Your Friends” would probably be a very
engaging pop album. However, somebody in the band had to go and fight with
their girlfriend in a parking lot and run right to the studio to scream
about wanting to kill himself. That’s the general theme of the album. That
and alienation. Anything worth bringing a fifteen year-old boy to the verge
of tears, really. Some call this particular offshoot of emo “screamo.”
Taking Back Sunday, however, don’t so much scream as whine loudly.
The album’s most disturbing lyric, naturally,
is from “There’s No ‘I’ in Team”: “Best friends means I pulled the trigger,
best friends means you get what you deserve.” What is it about emo kids
and killing peers? And it’s not the only time the band brings out the gun.
In fact, in the previous song, “Cute without the ‘E’ (Cut from the Team),”
the lead singer croons, “which would you prefer, my finger on the trigger
or me face down across your floor?” This kid really wants to fire a gun
at somebody. The whole world must be against him or something. Man, high
school sucks.
But seriously, the hard part about listening
to this album is that sometimes, Taking Back Sunday create these gorgeous
pop melodies, which makes it kind of hard when all the gun imagery and
loud whining shows up. Musically, the biggest 180 on the album is on “The
Blue Channel.” The song opens up with a piano ballad that was almost 100%
lifted from Van Hagar’s “Right Now,” and then leads into the singer whining
loudly at a girlfriend whose been keeping secrets from him, bellowing over
a mantra of “honestly.”
VERDICT: There are times when “Tell All
Your Friends” is a very pretty pop album, which is saying something given
the deluge of pop punk and emo that has risen up to replace nu metal as
of late. But Taking Back Sunday’s oft-putting angst will either disturb
the unprepared or, eerily enough, be something to identify with. Picture
the cute, sensitive kid in band becoming the next Columbine kid. In short,
if you do identify with TBS, for the love of God, put the gun down!
CD Info and Links
Tracks: There's No I In Team
The Blue Channel
Head Club
Bike Scene
Great Romances Of The 21st Century
Ghost Man On Third
Post Shave Healer
Timberwolves At New Jersey
You're So Last Summer
You Know How I Do
Posted by Yelovinyl:
I love TBS yet I found that 'review' a little amusing.
Posted by big fan:
I'm a huge Taking Back Sunday fan so naturally I look for everything I can about them on the internet. I found a great new feature that mtvU offers called the Hot Seat. All of my favorite bands are listed there (including TBS) and you watch mtvU ask the bands questions and lots of other cool stuff. If you want to check it out I will leave the link.
http://www.mtvu.com/music/the_hot_seat/
Posted by Angel:
Taking Back Sunday Are my LIFE!!!1
Posted by PR0UDBRUNETTEx3:
0MFG ... CUTE WiTH0UT THE E iS THE BEST S0NG iVE EVER HEARD ! TAKiNG BACK SUNDAY R0CKS MY S0CKS !
Posted by AbsolutePunk:
Don't let my name fool you I'm not one of those posers over at that fag site. You know what you call a hardcore emo fan? Homo. I bet if you looked back a couple years in any TBS or emo fags CD collection you'd find a bunch of N'Sync and Backstreet Boys crap. That's all this sh*t is, boybands with guitars for stupid little girls and girly boys. I mean look at the retards that have posted here. Stupid little girls.
Posted by Tom:
You are a ****ing idiot... Your first mistake is the fact that they are from NEW YORK not New Jersey... I don't even feel like going on with the rest... Enjoy rap, the downside of society
Posted by Mr Please believe it believe it please:
Dave is over compensating by calling the reviewer gay. I think dave has recently found he has feelings for his hamster and is project ing his true emotions by calling the reviewer a "faggot", when actually dave really wants similar things said about him. Well here you go dave i hope you enjoy. I reckon fifty% of you posters used to listen to back street boys and even more of you dont have emo sweepover hairstyles or wear atticus. Regarding the band? They are good imo, i like the plays on lyrics and the metaphors in song meanings. For instance on the "Where you want to be" album, 'The Union' is about John Nolan leaving to form stray light run and ppl accusing the remaining TBS members of kicking him out (There was already tension seeing as John was annoyed as Adam cheated on his GF at the time, John's sister) hence "I never made a scene/ they came to me". You guys shouldnt flame, this is just the reviewers perception. Now go listen to you N-Sync cds.
Posted by Maria:
taking back sunday are awesome, like my favorite ever. adam lazzaras hot. i wanna marry him!
Posted by Jen:
hahaha. Dont you need to listen to the songs/ read the lyrics before you review? and if you did listen to the music/ read the lyrics, are you illiterate? if you dont know the band nor the lyrics why write a review guessing at what you think the songs may mean? Becasue uh your attmepts at trying to depic the meaning behind the lyrics, uh way of. Like "theres no i in team" not about a peer shooting another.. think in terms of metaphor. But no harm to you. Next time just try having something to back up your words. Try using some relevant truth or something?
Posted by me:
dan groat the scroat-pretty good eh for writing such a crap review of the greatest rock band of the century.x
Posted by xxbetsyxx:
you are an ass. taking back sunday rock. ive seen them in concert && i cant seem to find a way of identifying them with the likes of the spice girls, atomic kitten, or any other group of whining creeps who dont have any talent && can't play instruments, just simply warble on about a load of rubbish.taking back sunday are completely amazing.so before you start chatting on through your ass again i think you should listen to them again and then update your theory.love always && forever.xx
Posted by dave:
you're a faggot for saying taking back sunday sucks, uhh news flash you don't know your music. not one song is the same and frankly you probably like bands such as system of a down so you're cut
Posted by Maxipad:
I dont beleive TBS is from New Jersey, like stated in the begining of this article they are from amittyville, NY get your facts right
Posted by beks:
dear God. sounds to me like you have serious issues with people confronting their emotions. ever stop and think that maybe you're wrong about the mentioning of guns in songs is the cause of tragic incidents such as Columbine? maybe you'll know that those dudes were celebrating hitler's birthday.. uh.. i somehow dont think they were influenced by bands like taking back sunday to shoot people. anyway.. the guys not serious.. he's not genuinely talking about his desire to shoot people.. i think maybe if you listened to it a bit harder.. you might be able to emphathise and put yourself in a position where you can understand the emotion behind the lyrics.
congratulations on making me laugh at your ignorance though. well done.
Posted by beks:
dear God. sounds to me like you have serious issues with people confronting their emotions. ever stop and think that maybe you're wrong about the mentioning of guns in songs is the cause of tragic incidents such as Columbine? maybe you'll know that those dudes were celebrating hitler's birthday.. uh.. i somehow dont think they were influenced by bands like taking back sunday to shoot people. anyway.. the guys not serious.. he's not genuinely talking about his desire to shoot people.. i think maybe if you listened to it a bit harder.. you might be able to emphathise and put yourself in a position where you can understand the emotion behind the lyrics.
congratulations on making me laugh at your ignorance though. well done.
Posted by Furblitzu:
However...................................................I did like the "Put the gun down" thing,lol...that part made me chuckle...
Posted by Furblitzu:
I guess you're right Rachel...and thank you for enlightening us all. Okay for serious, I guess you do have a point in that matter but he (the reviewer) was voicing his opinion and I (as well as others) I suppose immaturely voiced ours, but oh well, reviews are supposed to be factual and open to several genres of music, this guy was kinda rude and I love this band so I just felt the need to rant... :D Sorry if it bugged ya, but seriously review bad, Taking Back Sunday good...
Posted by nobody:
bad review... anyone who reads this should just listen to them and make their own decision about their music.
Posted by Rachel:
Before someone says something stupid to me, i agree with some of the posts on here but most of them are like this-
Posted by UR AN IDIOT:
WOW UR SOOO STUPID!!! TBS IS NOT SOME CRAPPY POP JUNK!! GO LISTEN TO BACKSTREETYT BOYS AND THINK ABOUT ALL UR BOYFRIENDS U POP FAG
-That is stupid. Makes you sound like a complete dumbass. Anyways- they're good. Some of the stuff he says is mean- yes but who cares? They have plenty of sites dedicated to them so blah, who cares what one person says?
Posted by Rachel:
You people sound like a bunch of idiots. Who cares if he said they were pop? Who cares if he says they whine? If you like them then it doesn't matter what he says. I happen to love them but if that's his opinion then it's his opinion so quit getting all bent out of shape about it.
Posted by 182_i_luv_tbs_182:
okay yeah right, tbs are not pop, like what the hell do you listen to if you call THEM pop? you say they're disturbed for talking about a gun and then say this is POP?! maybe i should remind you- pop is the bubble gum crap that britney spears or justin timberlake belt out about nothing that really means anything, and with the same tunes over and over. have you never realized that hit me baby one more time and drive me crazy are like the exact same song with different words? and god forbid any pop star utter a swear! because you know that’s like real life and we’re all happy and eat marshmallows and dance around on cloud 9 every day! yeah… right…and tbs dont have to act like porn stars in their music vids to get them on tv… comparing them to pop… honestly! get a life!
Posted by Furblitzu :
Somebodys an idiot, eh? I mean everyone has their opinions on music but to actually come out and say the dumbest sh*t like "The lyrics and screaming is just whining loudly" ?? Okay, that makes completely no sense ... seeing as songs usually are about the things you feel or it would just be a bunch of meaningless words that dont relate to anything...so writing lyrics about past relationships and a dislike of ex-friends shouldnt be all so uncommon and said to be "bellowing" or "whining" but simply singing and expressing eh?
And Adam Lazzara (as well as the other members of the band!) is very talented in his "whining loudly" singing...ALOT ( I mean a helluva lot)of bands/singers couldnt even get close to the notes he holds...so the next time ya do a review of a kickass band (such as Taking Back Sunday...) think REALLY hard about the stuff you are saying and try not to make it sound so much like bullsh*t eh?
Posted by Kira:
POP? EWWWW! but i still love them!
Posted by Drew:
I think its better than "where you want to be".
Posted by Adam Lazzara:
This is cool. Thanks for all the support. Peace
Posted by madison:
tbs isnt pop. nsync was pop. they were a group of guys who didnt play the guitar. tbs is fcking emo. so slit my wrists and cry because im emo too as stereotypical as that sounded. so anyone who is against tbs shouldnt be at this site anywwwayys.. oh yeah and theyre not from nj sweetie. lol
Posted by Its only you:
You don't even know what you're talking about. Besides being compeltely wrong about everything you tried to dis them on, you don't even know where they're from. New Jersey? How bout no. Let's try in a house on a street in Rockville Centre, in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York you dope.
Posted by UR AN IDIOT:
WOW UR SOOO STUPID!!! TBS IS NOT SOME CRAPPY POP JUNK!! GO LISTEN TO BACKSTREETYT BOYS AND THINK ABOUT ALL UR BOYFRIENDS U POP FAG
Posted by UR AN IDIOT:
WOW UR SOOO STUPID!!! TBS IS NOT SOME CRAPPY POP JUNK!! GO LISTEN TO BACKSTREETYT BOYS AND THINK ABOUT ALL UR BOYFRIENDS U POP FAG
Posted by alyssa:
i love Adam Lazzara like no other
Posted by *val*:
i love tbs.... see them live... and all you haters will love them...
Posted by emo:
tbs = amzingg
Posted by overly obsessed :
hi.
and yes i was addicted to tbs for like 3 moths they were the only thig i would listen to nonstop
and don f'in call them pop- poser
Posted by chelsea:
tbs are amazing. their songs take so many twists and turns and are anything but the predictable 'pop' you describe them as. they write songs based on their lives and their own emotions which is why they go so crazy when they perform, their songs mean something to them.also theyre not gun crazed, its more metaphorical 'tell all your friends youve got your gun to my head' is a metaphor. maybe you should stick to reviewing simple pop songs because songs with this much meaning and depth obviously confuse you.
Posted by me:
how can u say its pop? tbs is not pop and will never be pop. go listen 2 ur little britney spears pop and pretend that the world is perfect.
Posted by cera:
tbs is amazing. when i first heard you're so last summer I was hooked. and wtf? POp?! you think they are in a category with jessica simpson and sh1t?
Posted by some crazy guy:
amazing
Posted by poopbutt:
Brand New is way f*cking better than this joke of a band.
Posted by Andy:
simply put, "tell all your friends" is the best album ever written
Posted by hottie(guy):
There f*$! kinck ass
Posted by Ajia (asia):
pop? is this some kind of cruel joke? tbs is far from the britney spears and backstreet boys crowd, better rethink that. Also, the relation to guns in their songs is just to show a comparison so fans can relate to what the song is about and what they are trying to say.
Posted by julie:
taking back sunday is from long island NEW YORK. not jersey. get it right.
Posted by Samuel:
até aqui no brasil, o som deles e bem apreciado, Thank you
Posted by GiGgLeS:
I actually like the song, and im sooo the opposite of it! i guess today is all about the beat and not the lyrics, even though i know the lyrics for the new cd, but why is everyone trashing the cd for? but yeah its oki
Posted by tbsfan123abc:
who evr wrote that review needs to die. tbs should never b in the catagory of"pop" i think i should i put a gun to ur head Dan Grote.
Posted by Brett:
scratch that, John had a relationship with the same girl that Jesse did, my bad, and they were both best friends
