After being dropped by Capitol, Jimmy Eat World returned in 2001 with their most consistent and accessible album to date. Recorded entirely on the band's dime before they had a new record deal, Bleed American features compelling lyrics, driving guitar work, and insanely catchy melodies. Left to their own devices during the recording process, it wouldn't have been surprising if the band had turned out another layered, sprawling album akin to their previous full-length masterwork, Clarity. Perhaps sensing that they wouldn't be able to top their previous work when it came to spacy emo, Bleed American heads in a new direction. There are no 16-minute songs here, just straight-ahead ock & roll, performed with punk energy and alt-rock smarts. The title track sets the tone for the album with its blistering guitar attack and aggressive vocals. "A Praise Chorus" and "The Middle improve upon that formula, maintaining the forceful instrumentation but toying with the lyrical themes. "A Praise Chorus" uses the most basic of ock emotions for lyrical inspiration, "I wanna fall in love tonight," while lifting lyrics from Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover," They Might Be Giants' "Don't Let's Start," and Mötley Crüe's "Kick Start My Heart," among others. When used in a song about the comfort and trappings of nostalgia, this borrowing comes off more like a well-placed tribute than stealing. "The Middle" offers a pep talk about self-acceptance and fitting in, and one of the most memorable guitar riffs this side of Angus Young. Bleed American's quieter moments recall some of the band's signature instrumentation from their previous work. Gentle keyboards, bells, and stirring background vocals from former that dog. member Rachel Haden enhance the understated beauty of allads like "Hear You Me" and "Cautioneers." Haden's most enjoyable contribution, however, is to the up-tempo rocker "The Authority Song." On the surface a song about a song (John Mellencamp's "Authority Song), it also name drops the Beatles' "What Goes On." The numerous references to other bands and other songs reveal that although Jimmy Eat World is a critically acclaimed and incredibly talented band, the members are really just ock fans themselves. If they maintain this level of quality, however, don't be surprised if the next generation of ambitious rockers start writing songs that pay tribute to Jimmy Eat World.
this is an older track and i've always liked it, but not the way i like it now. i find myself blasting it in my car all the time lately and it's because of the lyrics. "you know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in... just be yourself, it doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else... after a while everything will be alright..." i love that! :) so for all the ladies our...
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*I HAVE DISCOVERED JIMMY EAT WORLD.*I have known them for a long time and know their songs but only really appreciated them in the last week. I found the "Bleed American" album and it is AWESOME. It pretty much is my friend Mikeys musical lovechild though. He writes exactly the same lyrics and has the same vocals. It's cool because he doesn't know of them so he hasn't been copying them. But I a...
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I don't often look to pop music for wisdom. A quick listen to most of the drivel that's being shoveled out there is enough to let anyone know that what sells tends to lean towards the banal and vaccuous, and yet the masses today eat it up and come back hungry for more. Still, there are songs whose lyrics strike a tone with me and really make me think. This is one of them. Normally, I wouldn...
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so, I'm back at college, where we have established that there is no radio (but thanks to those who made suggestions, I am in the process of checking these things out). I'm all right with this, though, as I had my classic rock fix at home. six hours round trip plus a lot of running around equals good radio time.speaking of which, one of my local stations, dubbed 'Frank', had a countdown of the b...
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*I HAVE DISCOVERED JIMMY EAT WORLD.*I have known them for a long time and know their songs but only really appreciated them in the last week. I found the "Bleed American" album and it is AWESOME. It pretty much is my friend Mikeys musical lovechild though. He writes exactly the same lyrics and has the same vocals. It's cool because he doesn't know of them so he hasn't been copying them. But I a...
More >
this is an older track and i've always liked it, but not the way i like it now. i find myself blasting it in my car all the time lately and it's because of the lyrics. "you know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in... just be yourself, it doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else... after a while everything will be alright..." i love that! :) so for all the ladies our...
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Bleed American |
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| 2 A Praise Chorus |
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| 3 The Middle |
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| 4 Your House |
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| 5 Sweetness |
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| 6 Hear You Me |
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| 7 If You Don't, Don't |
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| 8 Get It Faster |
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| 9 Cautioners |
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| 10 The Authority Song |
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| 11 My Sundown |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Bleed American")
