The Young and the Hopeless

by

Good Charlotte

Edit

Good Charlotte's 1998 release was pretty impressive. This CD, though, has quite obviously come a long way from there. To give you an idea, I'll break it down track by track and rate each song:

1. A New Beggining - A short instrumental, it has no lyrics, so -0/0

2. The Anthem - A powerful, pretty typical punk rock anthem about not conforming. Pretty good - 4/5

3. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous - The single that's getting the airplay. Pretty eclectic, well-produced - 5/5

4. Wondering - A simple, cute song that Benji wrote about his dog, Ca$hdog. Fun, and really catchy chorus - 4/5

5. The Story of My Old Man - Fast, fun song, about one of the band's favorite topics, their dad who left them - 5/5

6. Girls & Boys - Probably my least favorite track. It's simple, but not outstanding, but still good - 3/5

7. My Bloody Valentine - Despite its pretty graphic subject matter, it's really well done and sweet - 5/5

8. Hold On - Definitely my favorite. Very gripping, touching, powerful ballad that EVERYONE can relate to - 5/5

9. Riot Girl - Cute, fun, fast song dedicated to all the girls who love Good Charlotte - 4/5

10. Say Anything - A semi-sad song that leaves you sympathizing with Joel the whole way through - 4/5

11. The Day that I Die - Another song about death. What brings it down is the fact that it's so melancholy - 4/5

12. The Young and the Hopeless - The title track, obviously. An honest and poignent declaration - 5/5

13. Emotionless - The much more meaningful "Dad" song. Very sad, makes you very sympathetic but still rocks - 5/5

14. Movin' On- A great way to end a great CD. Upbeat song about the future with positive vibes - 5/5

Overall, GC has come a very long, good way. You can tell how much they've been through on this CD, and it really makes you see just how much they've learned since the first CD and just how much they've grown musically. All their fans WON'T be disappointed!

I have three simple words to discribe Good Charolette....Main Stream Punk...which sucks. Isn't punk supposed to make a statement? Isn't punk supposed to be different...break away from normal everyday crap? Well this music goes against what punk really is. If they are trying to be "different" then why are they singing about the same stuff everyone else does, why are they on MTV? They are fake punkers. They WANT to be punk, they try so very hard, but they will never be there with their meaningless lyrics and big attitudes. Yeah, so maybe 8-12 aged kids might like them, the same kids that have all of Brittany Spears, N*SYNC's, and Hilary Duff's cds stacked on their shelves. If you want some REAL punk, check out the Ramones, the WHO, and bands like that. This cd is NOT worth your money!