Guilty Pleasures: The New Radicals – Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too
I have over 1,200 DVDs, 3,000 CDs and a couple hundred books; over half of them the average person would be completely embarrassed to own. I, however, defend my purchases.
THE NEW RADICALS: MAYBE YOU’VE BEEN BRAINWASHED TOO!
In 1998 there was a massive hit on the radio called You Get What You Give. It’s combination of funk, alternative rock and hip-hop was a refreshing change to the musical climate. The song is most recognized for its rap at the end insulting celebrities like Courtney Love and Hanson. By the end of the year the band was never heard of again.
The New Radicals only had one album, 1998’s Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too. The album managed to produce one major hit and a minor follow-up Someday We’ll Know. That minor hit however was covered twice; once by Mandy Moore and Jon Foreman (of Switchfoot) for the Walk to Remember Soundtrack and also by Hall & Oates in 2003.
Gregg Alexander who produced, wrote, sang and performed various instruments on the album founded the band. The rest of the band was a revolving door of members including child actress Danielle Brisebois (Stephanie Mills on All in the Family). The Album contains some of the ‘best of the best’ studio musicians including Josh Freese (the Vandals) and Paul McCartney’s guitarist Rusty Anderson.
Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too is probably one of the most shockingly beautiful albums ever released by a “one hit wonder”. The songs are well crafted and it’s obvious that Gregg took great care with each song. Songs like I Hope I Didn’t Just Give Away The Ending have so many layers going on that it’s easy to get lost in it. Falsetto Voices, Blues Guitar and Piano all lap over top of each other while Alexander does his best Mick Jagger impression. Suddenly after a very awkward 2-minute intro the song finally kicks into a relaxing summer jam.
Songs like Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You mock the rising of hipsters in the music scene. A specifically daring move since The New Radicals was basically what any hipster looks for in a band. The song tells the story of a girl named Carolina and he struggle for individuality. While not my favorite song on the album it does contain my favorite lyric in the album “So original in her black lipstick/ listening to some obscure band/But isn’t she pissed that all the other non-conformists/listen to that same obscure band”
My favorite tracks are either the reflective Someday We’ll Know or the upbeat opening track Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough. Someday We’ll Know is something that makes you want to lay on your bed and reflect on your past mistakes. Meanwhile Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough is a song that just makes you want to drive on a sunny day with the windows down.
However the album is not a perfect album. It hits a specifically rough patch with the song Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed. I once read a rumor that the song was Gregg’s fuck you to the record label for telling him they didn’t like the original recording. The song is almost completely unlistenable. The vocals are layered with so much echo that lyrics are borderline unintelligible; meanwhile the instrumentation sounds like various sound checks at once. From that point it’s hard to get back into the album until the closing track Crying Like a Church on Monday.
Gregg Alexander’s honest perspective of his life and his feelings is refreshing. Specifically in this day and age where it feels like every song is manufactured to sell ring tones. Alexander’s ability to write deep personal lyrics as well as fuse it with 70’s rock sound has made the album a perfect source for sitcom soundtracks. Many of the songs have resurfaced in the last five years on such sitcoms as Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother.
However a year or so after their massive hit Alexander quit the band and thus ended their short career. In recent years the band has received praise from various musicians. The Edge called You Get What You Give the only song he’s ever been jealous of and rapper Ice-T once referred to the single as the only non-rap song in the last few years to truly grab him.
One last fun fact: Remember, You Get What You Give’s celebrity bashing controversy I mentioned at the beginning of the article? According to Gregg Alexander it was an experiment. He spoke of real issues first and then name-dropped celebrities to see what people would report on. Do you remember what the rap was before the celebrity part? I didn’t think so.
Health insurance rip off lying
FDA, big bankers buying
Fake computer crashes dining
Cloning while they’re multiplying”
Just another example of how many multiple layers are involved this album.
