Me First and the Gimme Gimmes-Go Down Under
Fat
February 1, 2011

Its been awhile since I first listened to this EP from punk rock’s favorite cover band, and I’ve given these five songs many listens since that first time. I’ve listened to it so much that I can’t tell if I recognize the songs or just these versions. Looking at the song titles, “All Out of Love” is the only one that rung a bell to me (much to the anger of some of my friends), but now they all have the friendly familiarity to them, changing my whole opinion of this release in a positive way; potentially proving that you don’t need to know these songs to truly enjoy them (though “All Out of Love” is my favorite on here).

I originally was going to write about one’s enjoyment of a Me First and the Gimme Gimmes album would be based around previous knowledge of the songs on their album. Its great for the listener to hear a (version of a) song for the first time and be able to sing along, a face full of smiles. That would have been the thesis of my review a few weeks ago, but I have since listened these songs into my own musical cannon, loving them as if I’d heard them all my life. This brings me to the conclusion that good bands (a look at the resumes of the individual band members confirms that this is a good band) have the ability to make music (whether theirs or not-though an argument could be made that Me First have made these songs their own) memorable in the ears and brain of the listener. Don’t pass this up because you may not recognize all of the songs on it, especially because it will cost you less than $8.

Written by: RF
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