想写这个其实都有好一段时间了，在外文电台听到这个的那段时候，Swing Swing、Move Along 这两首，知道了 The All-American Rejects 这个名字，朋克风格跟 Weezer、Green Day 很相似，或者更确切地说是介乎之间（个人感觉）。不过当时什么歌都搜索不到，所以作罢了……
当年同名专辑让他们获得了 2003 年的 MTV 最佳新人提名，而在 2006 MTV 音乐大奖中，The All-American Rejects 凭借第二张专辑《Move Along》拿下最佳组合。虽然乐队被指缺乏特色，两张专辑的风格也是一脉相承无甚突破，但前后呼应的两次殊荣也足可证明了这四个年轻小伙三年来并没有停止过努力。
想一想，对所有的乐队都要求新意、深刻，这本身就是一种苛刻！虽然乐队名字叫 The All-American Rejects，但也并非意味着就是旗帜分明。找个好厂牌，写些好歌，出些好专辑……也许就是仅此而已。
专辑：The All-American Rejects (2002)
乐队：The All-American Rejects
类型：Punk，Pop
厂牌：DreamWorks Records/Doghouse Records
官方：http://www.allamericanrejects.com/
专辑曲目：
专辑：Move Along (2005)
乐队：The All-American Rejects
类型：Punk，Pop
厂牌：Interscope Records
专辑曲目：
The All-American Rejects - Swing, Swing
Days swiftly come and go
I'm dreaming of her
She's seeing other guys
Emotions they stir
The sun is gone
The nights are long
And I am left while the tears fall
Did you think that I would cry
On the phone?
Do you know what it feels like
Being alone?
I'll find someone new
Swing, swing, swing
From the tangles of
My heart is crushed By a former love
Can you help me find a way
To carry on again?
Dreams cast into the sky
I'm moving on
Sweet beginnings do arise
She knows I was wrong
The notes are old
They bend, they fold
And so do I to a new love
Bury me (You thought your problems were gone)
Carry me (Away, away, away)
The All-American Rejects - Move Along [MV]
Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone stands
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold
Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold
When everything is wrong, we move along
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
When everything is wrong, we move along
Along, along, along
When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through [x3]
(Go on, go on, go on, go on)
Right back what is wrong
We move along [fade out]
Tyson Ritter (vocals/bass)
Nick Wheeler (guitar)
Mike Kennerty (guitar)
Chris Gaylor (drums)
The All-American Rejects, were formed when Ritter, 21, and 23 year-old guitarist, co-songwriter Nick Wheeler, were teenagers in 1999. The pair left their Stillwater, Oklahoma homes and trekked to the Big Apple, to record what would be their debut platinum-selling record. They drove across the heartland to New York with less than $1000 between them, but armed with a notebook full of songs and big rock and roll dreams. I felt like I was in a movie, Ritter says, Me and Nick drove to New York with all of our Christmas money. It was more than an adventure for kids from Stillwater.
Ritter and Wheeler, who were subsequently joined by guitarist Mike Kennerty, 25, and drummer Chris Gaylor, 26, toured the world behind the chart-topping success of their debut single Swing Swing, initially released on Ohio independent label Doghouse Records in October 2002, followed by a release on major DreamWorks Records in February 2003.
On their second album, The All-American Rejects continue to forge the power-rock they started with their debut in 2003. Their greatest strength is their driving beats and extra-large guitar chops. At 42 minutes in length, it feels more like 21. However, the band has always had issues with sounding like Green Day or Blink 182, and that is still evident with their sophomore release. This band will have to try harder to individuate themselves from the rest of the pack if they plan on surviving the fickle music business and predominantly teenage audiences that buy their music.
There are glimpses of that individuality with the title song, perhaps the best song on the disc, "Move Along". It's anti-suicide theme set against a trippy drum pattern replete with a children's choir. One of the other stand out tracks, "Night Drive", sounds like the Bay City Rollers 1976 hit "Saturday Night" in terms of its beat. The band attempts a few power ballads in the form of "It Ends Tonight" and "Straitjacket Feeling" along with the final track "Can't Take It". Their success is varied, with "It Ends Tonight" being the best of the three. Elsewhere, "Dance Inside" begins with some great vocals, but then shifts gears into standard rock fare.
Overall, for a band that is still associated with their original hit "Swing, Swing" from their debut. The All-American Rejects continue to put out strong power pop-rock music when most artists are churning out bland top 40 drivel. I noticed that the band jumped record labels from Dreamworks to Interscope, which is usually a bad sign for a band, but hopefully Interscope will realize the potential of this band and encourage them to try new musical directions and expand as artists.
Freeman (70)