Smash Mouth: Misunderstood?

Okay, Smash Mouth has recieved a lot of cricism for "selling out" and creating shallow pop songs that are annoyingly overplayed. I see where that's coming from-songs like "All Star" and "Then the Morning Comes" have been blown up and plastered all over radio and television, until they lose their charm. However, if one listens to, for instance, their second album, "Astro Lounge", taking in the meaningful lyrics and catchy melodies of such songs as "I Just Wanna See", "Fallen Horses", "Defeat You", "Who's There", and others, one gets a whole new respect for the band's talent. The same goes for the sensitive-but-stinging lyrics of "Force Field" and others on their latest album.

Overall, the point of this thread is to see any one else here appreciates Smash Mouth for their songwriting, and hear comments and critism about the band.

 

I like them. But I have to say the only recent song of theirs I've enjoyed has been their updated version of I'm a Believer. I prefer the radio-edit version of it however.

ST

 

Personally, I enjoyed their few radio hits. They had an impact on the market and musical styles when they came out. Bringing a sort of "60s" rock sound to their music, it was fun, playful, and enjoyable to listen to. From what I recall of their more recent music, they've deceloped more of their own sound, which is good.

Every band, once together for a certain amount of time, finds their own "niche" in the musical world. Unfortunately, a lot of times, when a band finds their "niche", they're considered sell-outs. For example: if I were jamming with my buddies for a year or so, we got a record deal and put out a CD, we'd be happy. But we still (most likely) wouldn't have found ourselves as a group musically. So, say we wait 2-3 years to put out an album and our sound is signifigantly different because we found what works for us, not the music world, fans may think (due to factors such as the lengthy wait for the next album) we sold out because our sound is more developed.

But, back to the topic at hand, personally I feel Smash Mouth has grown into a more mature band. If anyone considers them selling out, they were selling platinum CDs back when they first came out... And hey, they still are

--edit: Scary, ST-TPM-ASF-TNE and I posted at the same time! [face_shocked]

 

I'm so glad a found people who share my views! Yes, they certainly have evolved since their debut. If you listen to their first CD, "Fush Yu Mang", you'll notice how different it sounds...thrashing guitar, hard melodies, and lyrics that earned a parental advisory. Personally, I don't like those songs nearly as much as those on Astro Lounge. People say they've sold out, but they're just finding what they do best. I went to a Smash Mouth concert just last week, and they certainly know how to please audiences of every age. Isn't that what performing is all about?

 

I read an interview with these guys about how their second CD was meant to be radio hits. They really didn't have a whole lot of motivation to not sell out. I believe the quote was something to the effect of, "The last album was a disappointment and we want this next one to have at least four radio hits." I think the idea of them selling out or not is somewhat irrelevant, as their CD wasn't meant to be a big art project. It was meant to sell records. And regardless of that, I love most of their songs. They're catchy and the lyrics are at least somewhat intelligent. So, yes, I think they are misunderstood in the sense that if you call them sellouts you're completely missing the point of the music. It's supposed to be fun. And it is.

 

Exactly! It's supposed to be fun. They've said that their role model is Elvis...well, Elvis music wasn't exactly poetry, yet it's some of the greatest and most popular music ever! And yes, their lyrics are often very intelligent...take for insance, "Shoes 'n' Hats"...

"The shoes you wear ain't the shoes I'd wear
But I don't care
You've got things to say
But they're thrown away 'cause their so passe
To them, they, who are they anyway?
They're just beatin' each other
At bein' each other
With nothin' to say.
So everyone cares
'Cause the hat that he wears
Is on the wrong way
And I heard them say
Don't be square so square we'll stay
Without them, they, who are they anyway?
They're just beatin' each other
At bein' each other
With nothin' to say."

That song says so much to me about being yourself and not worrying what others think. Lots of Smash Mouth's songs say that.

 

I think that the success of the single "Walking On The Sun" has a large part to do in how they sound now. They found a hit with that style, so they mined it and have successfully found a niche within that type of fun 60's-style radio rock.

The same thing happened with Sugar Ray. Listen to their music before "Fly". It sucks. Everything after "Fly" has basically been in that style...more mature, more acoustic guitar, better lyrics and hooks. They too found a niche in their music, and realizing that it sells, they mined it. And it works.

 

this has got to be a joke right

 

What? Excuse me if my taste in music is different from yours. I respect your dislike for the band, but please don't insult others while expressing your opinion.

 

uuuhhh actually i just that i t was really a joke