Good Riddance

Editor's Review:

Ever notice how punk music is happy in a down way? Like, the lyrics are all about things being messed up, and the vocalist usually has a bit of a nasally drone, but it still works? This disc, Good Riddance’ latest six- song EP, is sort of like that. The music is good straightforward punk goodness, and the lyrics are all about socially conscious stuff, or just things Russ, the vocalist, seems really worried about. Like this one song "Uniontown" — it speaks of a troubled idea or two: "When lies serve as substitution / A new twist on an old solution / No cause no choice / They took your freedom away." It would seem that, to this dude, everything is fucked-up, but the song still sounds quite upbeat. In listening to it, I found myself nodding my head and tapping my foot along with the beat. Punk’s cool like that, and this CD goes along with that thought in a nice way.

Also, I was curious what the cover photo was all about. Was Good Riddance trying to poke fun at this obviously homeless, quite disheveled-looking person by putting them on their CD cover? Nope. It turns out they actually have a cause. A little blurb in the liner notes says that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the record will go to The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz. Wow — punk music with socially-conscious lyrics, and a cause they actually believe in. Good job, Good Riddance, for making a rad CD and are also giving something back. I know now what I’m craving — more bands like Good Riddance.

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Record Label Fat Wreck Chords Released April 2001

Tracks 1. Cages 2. One For the Braves 3. Uniontown 4. Calendar 5. Start at Zero 6. Undefeated