Brilliant first album by one of the most distinctive pop punk bands to ever grace our dumb world. The Smoking Popes never really fit the pop punk label, as their vocalist has a somewhat arch, sarcastic croon akin to that of Morrissey, and their dynamic, rough-around-the-edges songs have more in common with bands like Dinosaur Jr. than Green Day. This is probably why I never dug them back in the day, and have only learned to love them over the past few years as a jaded middle-aged crank.
Track listing:
1. Let's Hear It for Love
2. That's Where I Come In
3. Let Them Die
4. Double Fisted Love
5. Don't Be Afraid
6. Can't Find It
7. Off My Mind
8. Not That Kind of Girlfriend
9. Days Just Wave Goodbye
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This band had some stuff on a label like Johann's Face, a more DIY punk label with ads in MRR. Also Cometbus name dropped this band in his zine.
ReplyDeleteI heard a story that when they toured with morrissey he didn't talk to them at all the whole tour until the end when he told them that he really like their band. He did choose Born to Quit as one of his favorite albums.
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ReplyDeleteThe Smoking Popes‘ ‘Born To Quit’ were also among his choices with Morrissey saying of the latter: “Did you ever hear ‘Born To Quit’? It’s by The Smoking Popes. I thought that album was extraordinary, the most loveable thing I’d heard in years.”
Best opening I've heard in a while.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up in outside Chicago in the early-/mid-90s, I saw the Smoking Popes at a succession of surban VFW halls, Elks clubs and skate parks. I would have never expected this to turn up here, nor would it have crossed my mind to give this album a reexamination after all these years. But that's exactly what I'm about to do! Thanks....
ReplyDeletesounds like it could be right up my street cheers
ReplyDeleteI never heard this album but knew of them through their soundtrack appearances on the Clueless and Angus soundtracks. "I Need You Around", the song on the Clueless Soundtrack, might be their best song. This is a solid album, and is much better than the majority of the Pop Punk sub-genre, but this stuff still pales in comparison to Dinosaur Jr, Silkworm, and The Wedding Present.
ReplyDeleteAfter one listen, I ordered 4 Smoking Popes cds, thanks a lot, it s a really exciting discovery!
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