Good Charlotte

The Young and Hopeless

GC is a bunch of hypocrites...

Review Score:

(2/10)
GC isn't punk, we've all established that... but I still kinda see them trying to play themselves off as a bunch of wild teen rebels. It's good to know they aren't fooling anyone, though. Except for the little 11-year-olds who have never heard punk rock in their lives.
That's not the point I'm trying to make. My point is that they're hypocrites expressing false empathy for the destitute youth of today.

Everyone knows the song "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", right? The song that netted GC all their riches and fame?
Well, for those of you who might not know, Good Charlotte's message with that song was, essentially, that everyone with a recognizable name or any wealth at all should burn in hell. Ironically, Good Charlotte is now obsenely rich and famous. Anyone under the age of 18 knows their name, and they've sold millions of CDs. Suddenly, Good Charlotte's singing a completely different tune. Suddenly, the rich and famous aren't so bad, you know? Pfft... it's hilarious, if you think about it.

And to those of you who claim GC is nice "happy music" that cheers you up, maybe I can make their music permanently piss you off when I introduce this point. :D

Do you really think Good Charlotte has the authority to write a song like "Hold on", telling kids not to kill themselves? Quoting the song... "But we all bleed the same way as you do, We all have the same things to go through"
Meet Joey the Suicidal Child. His mom is dead, and his dad beats him without any good reason. He goes to a horrible public school. He watched three of his best friends be sprayed with bullets from an AK-47 in a school shooting, saw their bloodstained bodies collapse, dead before they hit the ground. He got mugged today, a man put a gun to his head and told him to empty out his wallet, all four dollars, plus his school ID. He calls his girlfriend that night, seeking comfort. His best friend picks up, breathing deeply, sounding rushed, as if he were just interrupted. "*puff, puff* Hello?" He hears his girlfriend's seductive voice call, "Come back to me, my darling! I'm not done with you just yet..." He hears her sweet giggle, one he always thought was the most divine noise ever to reach his ears, now sounding more like the cackle of a witch. He puts two and two together, and draws the obvious conclusion that his girlfriend has been cheating on him. With his best friend. Joey hangs up the phone, takes out his switchblade, and puts it to his wrist. He shuts his eyes tight, and prepares to finally escape from this cruel world.
Do you really think a bunch of pop-star "punk" wannabes "bleed the same way as he does" and "have the same things to go through"?

If you're going to tell kids not to kill themselves because you've been there, please make sure you've really been there. Suicide is never the right choice. Because no matter how bad things may look, there are always people who care about you, people who would miss you if you put that switchblade to your wrist, people you probably have never even noticed.
But GC telling Joey the Suicidal Child that they know what it's like is just making a mockery of all the problems in Joey's life. Imagine if your father died tomorrow, and your friend came to console you. "I know how it feels," your friend tells you, "I remember when my goldfish died. I was really upset, too."
This is exactly what GC is telling all the Joeys in the world.

Think I'm exaggerating?

Maybe. But not too much. Although Joey is a made-up character, he could very possibly have a real-life counterpart. And I can tell you, "Hold On" definitely wouldn't cheer him up. If anything, it'd make him all the more eager to slit his wrist, to hear someone essentially say, "Cheer up, it can't be that bad."

I'm actually pretty impressed with GC though... they've dilligently analyzed their demographics, done market research, and come out with a selling brand of pop (I refuse to even grant it the title pop-punk, just because it is so incredibly... not punk). Want proof that it's all about the money? The proof's right in front of you, where they have their own freaking CLOTHING LINE. If that's not milking GC's popularity, please show me what is. Money is a nice thing to have, and if you're smart enough to trick dumb teens into giving you all their money because it's the "cool new thing", then bravo, you're a marketing genius.

Negative infinity stars. :D

Flame away.

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