Reviews
Record Review: Say Anything - “In Defense Of The Genre”
Say Anything have a reputation for being probably the most overwrought band on the emo scene - their full-length debut began with a rambling prologue from mastermind Max Bemis about exactly the kind of album he was trying to make, and everything after that was unrepentant yelping, screaming, and overdriven guitars; the protracted wait between that album and this one (”this one” being a double-disc exploration of the larger meanings behind a particular musical form and the smaller, individual meaning of Bemis’s own indelible pain) was due, in large part, to the singer’s hospitalization for bi-polar disorder after going off his meds and screwing up the band’s promotional blitz; the lyrics for Say Anything songs are typically hyper-sensitive and wildly overblown, a seemingly endless cascade of bile and vitriol aimed, in equal parts, at mean girls and meaner critics. It’s safe to say at this point that Max Bemis is the poster-boy for this kind of super-tuneful spleen-venting, and that status is something that he revels in for the ninety minute duration of the band’s new magnum opus. When SPIN referred to this as emo’s very own Use Your Illusion, they were making a number of points at once.
And, for once, they were right; Bemis is nothing if not the scene’s Axl Rose. Dude is aggrieved in a way that only severely bi-polar people are, and he’s forthright to the point of painfulness about everything that keeps him up at night. In Defense Of The Genre splits its running time evenly between songs about mental hospitals and girls that choose the wrong guy (”the wrong guy,” naturally, being anyone but Bemis himself), and the unedited nature of the ranting on display here (both verbal and musical - what is the drop-D bashing of standard nu-emo if not pure rant taking on a non-verbal form?) works for and against Bemis in ways that are both meaningful and irrelevant. For instance, it’s hard to believe that anyone in the correct demographic will take this violent onslaught of feeling to be anything else than a sort of gospel, while that same unflinching honesty will turn off non-believers in the way that all nu-emo is disgusting to anyone who prefers their rock ‘n’ roll diet to consist of equal parts sexiness and subtlety. Basically, this one is aimed directly at the choir, and there’s no reason it shouldn’t succeed.
But does Bemis have the power to convert? I personally don’t go much in for this sort of thing (secret stash of Dashboard Confessional records to the apparent contrary) but there’s something undeniably majestic about one dude making his molehill of pain into such a veritable, aurally undeniable mountain; In Defense Of The Genre is so musically and lyrically fierce, for the entire duration of its run time, that it’s impossible to not be moved at least a few times. And I guess that’s really what you need to know; if you have the inclination and the wherewithal to sift through one guy’s brutally direct and unrelentingly bitter dirty laundry, there are some nuggets of enjoyment to be found. But if that, honestly, sounds like a pain in the ass, and doesn’t seem worth it - you would be wholly right to avoid the record altogether. This is pitched at kids who really liked Taking Back Sunday and never really got over the loss of Jon Nolan; all others probably need not apply.
Grade: C+
Discussion
5 comments for “Record Review: Say Anything - “In Defense Of The Genre””
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This guy sounds like a more angrier version of dashboard based on your review. I haven’t listened to the record and hereby won’t because of th at very reason.
Adam, I’m not going to say your review for Say Anything’s “In Defense of the Genre” was completely off target (not only because it wasn’t but also because if I did you might stop reading my response right now) but I was flabbergasted that you managed to write a full three paragraphs about a double disc album and failed to mention a single specific track. Instead you chose to write off the album ver batim with grandiose statements like the following remark:
“the lyrics for Say Anything songs are typically hyper-sensitive and wildly overblown, a seemingly endless cascade of bile and vitriol aimed, in equal parts, at mean girls and meaner critics.”
I think however, by derisively dividing SA’s songs into these two camps you fail to take into account some of the finer lyrical complexities of their catalogue. For instance, on IDOTG Bemis also sings about former lovers’ new significant others (“Skinny Mean Man”), the members of his own band whom he has caused innumerable problems (“Sorry Dudes, My Bad”), the general public at large (“Plea”), feelings he has subliminated and then reflected back at himself (“The Church Channel”, “An Insult to the Dead”, “Hangover Song”) and above all the band’s own fans and the ‘scene’ they represent (“No Soul”, “Surgically Removing The Tracking Device”, “People Like Me Are Why People Like You Exist”, “In Defense of the Genre”, “You’re The Wanker If Anyone Is”). True songs like “Shiksa (Girlfriend)” or “Baby Girl I’m A Blur” are directed at the pre-teen pantie throwing teenie boppers, but to relegate the rest of their work into this camp without a keen regard for penchant lyricism is shameful, or at least a looming technical oversight.
I generally don’t like to get into track-by-track analysis; I’m not writing user reviews for amazon.com here. I like to basically review the general concept of a record and share a little bit of my overall feeling. I don’t know exactly where you feel I was off base; the lyrics for every single song you mentioned are, in fact, wildly overwrought, as is the rest of the record.
And I don’t necessarily think that’s an inherently bad quality; I like melodrama as much as the next dude. It’s just that it’s a major turn-off for lots and lots of people, which is why Say Anything haven’t had the success (deserved or not) that many similar bands have.
I probably would have been more inclined to get into specific tracks more if there hadn’t been so damn many of them, and they hadn’t been so frequently interchangeable. I’m not a Say Anything superfan and the amount of time I was willing to give this record didn’t allow for the kind of in-depth analysis you’ve granted it. I had a lot of other stuff I wanted to listen to. And, funny enough, I haven’t revisited the record in a major way since. So, I have to stand by my original comments here.
“I generally don’t like to get into track-by-track analysis; I’m not writing user reviews for amazon.com here” Legitimate publications which also use track-by-track analysis to review a record: Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Spin, Revolver, Blender, Newsweek etc. etc.
“I probably would have been more inclined to get into specific tracks more if there hadn’t been so damn many of them, and they hadn’t been so frequently interchangeable”
Please list which song is interchangeable for any of the following, all of which are so unique I feel they could not be replaced by a different song “An Insult to the Dead” or “The Word You Wield” or “Retarded in Love” or “About Falling”
“I’m not a Say Anything superfan and the amount of time I was willing to give this record didn’t allow for the kind of in-depth analysis you’ve granted it.” If this is true, then you shouldn’t be reviewing music IMHO. And that’s not a strike against you, but as a critic you’re often asked to review work you’re not personally a fan of. Food critics have to eat food they don’t like, theatre critics see shows or actors they personally aren’t inclined to enjoy. Being able to review with an open, objective mind without bringing personal prejudices to the table is what seperates a critical review from personal musings. You’re supposed to evaluate an artist’s work fairly next to a set of standards and criteria, explaining why the piece works or doesn’t, not necessarily whether you personally like it. For instance, while I dislike much country music, if I evaluate a Merle Haggard record I have to (try) to set my personal feelings aside to make judgements about it. This is what lends legitimacy to the final review, so you end up saying “The record is good or bad for x reasons” and not “I don’t enjoy it for x reasons”. Thus, a record could be good, regardless of whether you are a fan of the band.
{BTW, SA plays Chicago on Mar. 21; maybe check them out and change your mind}
Dude, you’re coming at this wrong. I am neither for nor against Say Anything; I plopped ten down bucks of my own money for each of their records, and I just happen to not feel very strongly way or the other. I gave Bemis three solid paragraphs, which is way more than he’d be afforded in any of the publications that you mentioned. The guy made a classic mistake in recording a double album - these things are ALWAYS larded with filler. Writing ten good songs within the standard two-year album cycle is challenging enough; to try and crank out twenty-five masterpieces (and do so within an extremely limited idiom) is an exercise in futility. If Say Anything had blown me away, I would have said so; it’s not like I’ve never been won over by a record before. (In fact, it happens pretty much every time I put on headphones; I have never listened to something for the first time determined to either love or hate it. The music plays, I listen, and then formulate opinions.) But as far as this stuff goes, bands like My Chemical Romance do a much better job of following through on their grand ideas and creating something truly exciting.
I’m sorry that you disagreed with my review, but I stand by everything I said. I still think it’s a pretty thoughtful and generous piece, considering a) I don’t get paid for this, b) I don’t get free records, and c) “In Defense Of The Genre” is really fucking long, really vindictive, and really the most flagrant exercise in blatant navel-gazing that I’ve witnessed since the MTV heyday of Dashboard Confessional. Bemis will be an artist worth serious attention when he figures out how to write a song about anything except his own emotions.