ts: firehouse vs. the all-american rejects

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

both have telegenic singers whose voices can soar into the mariah carey ranges

both are after-the-trend-party-got-busted bands who make records you can bring home to mom

but really, is 'swing swing' as catchy as 'don't treat me bad'?

discuss.

― maura (maura), Thursday, 10 July 2003 16:27 (twenty-two years ago)

obv 'the last song' won't be played at as many weddings as 'love of a lifetime,' but still

― maura (maura), Thursday, 10 July 2003 16:29 (twenty-two years ago)

firehouse rocks!

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Thursday, 10 July 2003 17:55 (twenty-two years ago)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c478/c47837se2vp.jpg

This cover really bothers me for some reason. Also the All-American Rejects sound like castrated Fountains of Wayne which is a concept I'm totally into.

― adam (adam), Thursday, 10 July 2003 19:00 (twenty-two years ago)

is that a man?

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 10 July 2003 19:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw the All-American Rejects on some unplugged-style "In Session" type deal on VH-1 and man, that guy can't actually sing that song at all. The high note in "can you help me find a way" was agony to hear. Three times.

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 10 July 2003 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah you can kind of hear the note being bent if you listen closely enough to the studio version (but why would you want to ha ha uh)

― maura (maura), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:47 (twenty-two years ago)

as good as "Don't Treat Me Bad" is, the All-American Rejects OBLITERATE Firehouse big time. Best Spectoresque heartbreak teen pop-rock evah in all departments except lyrics.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:50 (twenty-two years ago)

I even got into the All-American Rejects back when their CD first came out on doghouse so I'd strut around and say "I knew them SEVERAL MONTHS before everyone else" if anyone actually gave a shit.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:51 (twenty-two years ago)

yeah I think that melody is quite memorable, it was one of the songs that made me ask a few weeks ago how come a certain model of chartpop gets mad love around ilx (Britney, Justin, et al) and "pop-punk" (which to my ears has exactly nothing to do with any kind of punk) gets mainly scorn even though I think there are some really great "pop-punk" pop songs, "Swing Swing" being one of them, though its lyrics are awful: but whose aren't, really?

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Rockism vs. popism, John. We can't have any of those smelly guitar punks around. ;-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:55 (twenty-two years ago)

At least All-American Rejects lyrics are always bad in a oversentimental and incoherent heartbreaky way. They don't come off as closet assholes like Simple Plan.

I am a smelly guitar punk, thank you very much.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 10 July 2003 20:57 (twenty-two years ago)

"Swing Swing" is one of my favorite songs on modern rock radio. So is "Girl All the Bad Guys Want" by Bowling for Soup. I'm starting to wonder why the second-tier pop-punk bands have such better songs than Blink or Good Charlotte.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Thursday, 10 July 2003 21:29 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah Ned but All-American rejects et al aren't rockist even in the slightest: "rock" is a color in their palette, but it's just pop. Somebody, I think Tom, said that it was that he didn't care for the sound of a guitar, but the guitars in (say) "Swing Swing" sound about as much like a guitar as my singing sounds like a vibraphone. I find this really interesting, that the difference between rock and pop may have turned out to be wholly cosmetic: a matter strictly of positioning.

― J0hn Darn1elle (J0hn Darn1elle), Thursday, 10 July 2003 21:47 (twenty-two years ago)

I seem to recall Tom noting that the kind of guitar he likes these days -- there's either a post here or an NYLPM entry on this, from some while back -- was a specific, pop-oriented and peppy style, 'fizzy alcopop' or something like that. So perhaps that has something to do with it? I think he was framing this in terms of like the Strokes' guitars as well as Andrew WK's specific electro/metal blend, but I'd rather let him speak for himself.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 July 2003 21:51 (twenty-two years ago)

girl all the bad guys want was written by butch walker, who made one of my favorite pop-rock records of last year. he was in marvelous 3 and southgang.

― maura (maura), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:11 (twenty-two years ago)

that "Freak Of The Week" song was ace, so now I'm very curious about this "Girl All The Bad Guys Want" song.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:13 (twenty-two years ago)

the singing on "Swing Swing" is what kills it for me. it's that normally-just-cloying pop-punk over-anunciating-mid-western-whiteboy-screech-cadence taken so far to the extreme that it could be a parody. seriously, i sound exactly like that when mockingly (kaff) singing along to the Postal Service or something. also the song pisses me off coz whenever i hear the opening organ I expect "Faith" to come on.

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

Hey, I just realized "Freak Of The Week" has the same verse as "So You Wanna Be A Rock'n'Roll Star"! What do I win?

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:41 (twenty-two years ago)

an alt-rock radio drivetime slot!

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:42 (twenty-two years ago)

fwiw I love plenty of pop-punk, as long as they get the pop part right.

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 10 July 2003 22:43 (twenty-two years ago)

girl all the bad guys want was written by butch walker

Ah, THAT'S why it's good (I'm with Maura on Butch Walker's general worth).

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 July 2003 23:50 (twenty-two years ago)

spend a couple of days in Atlanta and you'll change your mind

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 10 July 2003 23:53 (twenty-two years ago)

As I'm not in Atlanta, I don't have to.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 10 July 2003 23:57 (twenty-two years ago)

Atlanta's ain't a place, it's a state of mind.

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

I have heard of your Atlanta.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:02 (twenty-two years ago)

I believe it's pronounced Hotlanta.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Hotlanta and Atlanta are two different things.

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:07 (twenty-two years ago)

eg. College Park is part of Hotlanta but not part of Atlanta

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

eg. Marietta is part of Atlanta but not part of Hotlanta

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:08 (twenty-two years ago)

and cobb co. is just The Wasteland

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:12 (twenty-two years ago)

trudat!

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 11 July 2003 00:13 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought this said "Firehose vs. the all-american rejects" and was getting pretty angred by the responses.

Me no read good.

― David Allen, Friday, 11 July 2003 03:22 (twenty-two years ago)

hey "My name is Kenny" guy- are you actually implying that crap like Good Charlotte is first tier pop-punk? Dear God, please try to expand your horizons and listen to bands that aren't overproduced and jammed into the ears of the innocent!

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Friday, 11 July 2003 13:27 (twenty-two years ago)

Fierce words never before heard here on ILM.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 11 July 2003 13:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Their first-tier-ness lies in the fact that they are really really famous right now. Your advice about expanding my horizons however is quite sound and I will do my best to try to listen to some other stuff occasionally.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Friday, 11 July 2003 14:02 (twenty-two years ago)

Your advice about expanding my horizons however is quite sound and I will do my best to try to listen to some other stuff occasionally.
-- My name is Kenny (bogususe...), July 11th, 2003.

Don't do it man -- I tried that "expanding your horizons" BS one time and ended up listening to a whole lot of shitty, not-punk music. Totally weak.

― David Allen, Friday, 11 July 2003 15:36 (twenty-two years ago)

re. "swing swing":
those falsetto yelps in the verses--my first thought when I heard them was "he won't be able to sing this song live." total studio magic (then again similar studio magic can be heard on bruce springsteen's recent lps, and poorly spliced too.) the lead-up to the chorus seemed slack, indifferent but otherwise this is a pretty decent pop song. it didn't need the guitar solo though, artistically speaking.

also the bunched-up affect on the bridge (sounds like simple plan or something egads) is awful. why do people wilfully choose to sing like that?

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 11 July 2003 15:54 (twenty-two years ago)

i guess it's supposed to signify "callow" but man.

― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 11 July 2003 15:55 (twenty-two years ago)

All-American Rejects kick Firehose's ass too. they kick a lot of band's asses.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 12 July 2003 16:15 (twenty-two years ago)

so is somebody finally going to explain to me the point where neo-pop-punk bands in america stopped trying to sound charmingly british and/or san fran guttah-stylee and instead morphed into this yelpy-whiny-bunched up-cracked-blah american thing?

― jess (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 12 July 2003 16:28 (twenty-two years ago)

haven't they been doing that for years? the 'american' part is key, I'm sure a lot of the appeal is in the hyperbolic uhm *whiteness* of the sound - the midwestern affectation in particular is just MAGNETIC for these kids (SADDLE CREEK) because of the very cloying manner in which it tugs at the heart-strings... i think it's the 'plainness' of it, basically, like it gives a very heavy-handed impression of vulnerability.

(nobody seems to mention how the increasing popularity of this sound is happening at the same time as the spread of Nelly's nu-midwestern schtick, eg. "Right Thurr")

― Adrian (Adrian Langston), Saturday, 12 July 2003 17:19 (twenty-two years ago)

All-American Rejects kick Firehose's ass too. they kick a lot of band's asses.
-- Anthony Miccio (anthonymicci...), July 12th, 2003.

Bring me an old preist, and a young preist, STAT.

― David Allen, Saturday, 12 July 2003 18:19 (twenty-two years ago)

obviously there are all sorts of 90s antecedents for this sound (get up kids, tree records, cap'n jazz [originally typed "cap'n jaxx"...if only!], promise ring), but i never figured these bands reached as broad an audience as this, judging by the amount of bands copping the bleached blonde sound.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 12 July 2003 18:23 (twenty-two years ago)

do remember that All-American Rejects were originally on Doghouse (former home of the Get Up Kids). It's just their album kicked so much ass they had to get it on a major and MTV fast.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Saturday, 12 July 2003 18:32 (twenty-two years ago)

this makes a lot more sense in that case

― jess (dubplatestyle), Saturday, 12 July 2003 18:35 (twenty-two years ago)

what's with their name? are they kidding? it's the worst band name i've seen in ages.

― amateurist (amateurist), Sunday, 13 July 2003 01:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I'm hoping they took it from that Bikini Kill album, Reject All-American.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Sunday, 13 July 2003 20:13 (twenty-two years ago)

At first I parsed the thread title as FireHOSE vs. ...

Who are Firehouse? Seriously, I've never heard of them.

― Baked Bean Teeth (Baked Bean Teeth), Monday, 14 July 2003 03:14 (twenty-two years ago)

sixteen years pass...

This cover really bothers me for some reason.

https://thatmixtapewillrock.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/firehouse-debut-2.jpg?w=526&h=526 https://thatmixtapewillrock.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/firehouse-debut-2.jpg?w=526&h=526

the match appears to be smoking but it also appears the head of the match hasn't been lit. it's still red.

in retrospect one of the better debuts (among third-tier pop metal bands) of the 1989-1992 era.

― omar little, Thursday, 23 January 2020 20:11 (five years ago)

five years pass...

Only one of them is on OnlyFans: https://www.gq.com/story/the-all-american-rejects-have-started-an-onlyfans

(fwiw, I still think "Swing Swing" is primo Millennial emo-pop)

― cryptosicko, Thursday, 5 June 2025 00:01 (four months ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.