A couple years ago I dated a girl who did a year in prison when she was 18 for selling meth. She’s a smart girl, so I asked her why the fuck she got into selling drugs. She just shrugged and said “I don’t know, sometimes I just feel the alien coming out of my chest and I have to do something stupid like that.” I knew exactly what she meant: if you have the fuckup gene, sometimes you can’t help doing shit like that, because IT FEELS SO FUCKING GOOD to be self-destructive!
Which brings me to what is probably my absolute favorite favorite subgenre of music: self-loathing pop punk for scummy, alcoholic, self-destructive fuckups. Think of it as regretcore with Dickies shorts and melody, ala Unwritten Law, Guttermouth, Murphy’s Law, and of course MEST
You might be tempted to write off Mest as some faggy, poser band for chubby girls like Yellowcard, Good Charlotte or Simple Plan, but make no mistake, these guys are advanced-level fuckups. In addition to being an alcoholic, singer Tony Lovato used to be in a white power band (ironic, considering Lovato is a Mexican name) and stabbed a guy to death, but beat the murder charge and got off on self-defense- strong fuckup resume!!
“Fuct Up Kid” is about how Tony Lovato is a fucked up dude, and is a great pop punk song. That is all.
I can’t lie, their early shit is terrible. Back when this song came out, my friend called up the local alt rock station’s request line and said “Yeah, I have a request: Can you never play that fucking ‘What’s The Dillio’ song ever again??”
“Self-control, knowing right from wrong is what I lack” – This song is about kicking it with your bros, getting fucked up, pissing your girlfriend off, and generally being a grown-ass man who acts like a total idiot even though you know better- aka MY LIFE. Also, the 808 drums and DJ parts in this song are sweet, NO FUCKS GIVEN!
Speaking of bands who make me want to do a few shots, score some blow, and stay up for three days while I do a bunch of shit I will barely remember but regret when I do, Tony Lovato can be seen in the video for Hollywood Undead “Everywhere I Go.” One of my favorite HU songs, and one of the best videos ever made- strong casting, these are some of the hottest Southern California party sluts ever caught on film.
A key part of this genre is having a mix of songs about partying and being self-destructive balanced out with a song or two about how much you hate yourself for being an idiot and want to change (see also Unwritten Law “Save Me” and Motion City Soundtrack “LGFUAD”).
I remember listening to this song one morning when I was hungover as fuck, yet still managed to drag myself into the gym after a brutal weekend of alcohol, cocaine and banging a couple girls I barely even liked. I thought I was going to puke on the gym floor, felt like I put about 10,000 miles on my soul, and pretty much hated everything about myself and wanted to die as this song came on my iPod. I would like to think that Tony Lovato would have been proud of me.
The Mest DVD is pretty great- my favorite part starts at 6:00 in this clip. Some asshole gets aggro with the bassist when he won’t give the dude a cigarette, so they find his car and the drummer takes a shit on it, pisses on his shit, then wipes his ass and throws the shitty toilet paper on top of the whole mess. Scumbag childcore dudes in a pop punk band who semi-ironically bang idiot stripper groupies and think fart jokes are the epitome of comedy?? I even own a Vietnom shirt like the one Tony is wearing in this video… THESE ARE MY PEOPLE.
Did you ever like MEST?? Why don’t you hear more people talk about them these days? What are more awesome pop-punk bands for self-destructive people who hate themselves???
Never was into these dudes, don’t think I was paying any attention to newer pop punk bands whenever they came up.
I’m more familiar with people making fun of them on punknews.org whenever there are stories about that who FSU thing.
HU? really? ……… really?
I really like your blog and stuff, but you seriously have some of the shittiest music tastes ever. Hollywood Undead? Really brah?
yeah dude, thats why its called Stuff you Will Hate haha- LOVE hollywood undead
Great article, this shit rings so true. The more you know, huh?
Yup. Nothing like doing something really stupid and self destructive because you hate yourself, then hating yourself for doing it so you do something stupid to make yourself feel better…. And then you end up being a member of Terror or Hatebreed haha
a couple of those fsu dudes went to jail for extortion for forcing mest to pay them “protection” so they could play Boston.
Yeah i know, i steered clear of all that because in not interested in drama hardcore “crew” gossip
When I worked at a Sam Goody Tony’s mom would bring flyers & buy their CDs We called her the Mest mom.
I gave zeros fucks until I saw the Vietnom shirt.
Didn’t the singer get extorted by the FSU recently?
is that POS car supposed to be a joke?
*from the HU video….
Haha yes- “i got a 40 in my ford fiesta”
i used to be waay in to these guys back in high school.. first show i ever went to. are these bros even around anymore?
these dudes were from like two towns over from where i grew up in illinois. me and tony did A LOT of stupid shit when we were like 15 in the south burbs in chicago.
Absolutely spot fucking on. every word. From the alien in the chest and the the self-loathing to the Dickies shorts and the cocaine. Graduated high school in ’05 and this whole live video (watch all 5 parts, classic shit) pretty much sums up ages 14-20 for me. When your main concerns in life are what girl to try to stick your dick in and where would be the funniest place to take a shit, id say you’re doing it right.
“the funniest place to take a shit”
My brother saw HU with Brokencyde opening. I hate both bands, but not gonna lie, kinda jelly.
I’m sure I will regret it, but I now have to check out this band… Didn’t hear shit about them in Australia… I heard of the whats the dillio song cause a canadian friend hated it…
And yeah I totally get the whole self destructive thing, and I’m over 30 :(
great post never heard of this band until now, can someone recomend me some more regretcore/Ihatemyself/I’mworthless music??
i loved MEST but if they didn’t want to get mixed in Yellowcard and SImple plan bad move to put Benji on the Jaded track (can’t say that I didnt enjoy it though)…. and actually surprised that video didnt make the post since it epitomizes the “who gives a fuck we party” lifestyle
thank you for bringing this band to my attention. BTW I like Yellowcard too, haha.
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Lovato is a italian name.
Funny thing is, “Mest” means manure in Dutch.
Great bandname to tour europe on…
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