I’m not sure why I don’t talk about MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK more often, because they’re hands down one of my favorite bands of the last decade. Snobs will probably cringe at this comparison, but I file MCS in the same category as MEST, UNWRITTEN LAW, and SUBLIME: bands that I love because their music is super upbeat, catchy and poppy, but all their lyrics are about being a self-destructive piece of shit and hating yourself for it.
I’m not trying to play the ‘their lyrics are rly meaningful 2 me bc there so authentic’ card, but at the same time I guess I am, because their songs hit home with me precisely because I can tell that only an advanced-level self-hating fuckup could have written them. If you think they sound gay and whiny, it’s most likely because you are too young to have experienced the kind of crushing disappointments and monumental fuckups that inspire songs like this. Come at me in 10 years, bro.
But beyond that, it’s hard for me to generalize about why I love them so much. See, MCS is one of those rare bands who write songs that are actually different from each other, so the best way for me to talk about why I love them is probably just to talk about some of my favorite MCS songs. TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-PITY, ANGST AND GENERAL FAGGOTRY.
“LGFUAD,” or “Let’s Get Fucked Up And Die” is essentially the template for all the best MCS songs: catchy pop song with incredibly dark-but-funny lyrics about hating yourself and wanting to die (basically “LOL I srs think I might kill myself if things don’t get better; I’m such a faggot”). One thing that MCS doesn’t get nearly enough credit for is writing lyrics that are genuinely witty and clever without every getting into zany Bowling For Soup territory. They’re in the same league as THE VANDALS and NOFX in this department, which is pretty much the highest praise I could give a band.
I suck at a lot of things, but talking is not one of them. I’ve talked my way out of a lot of situations, and I pretty much always rely on my ability to bullshit people to get me out of trouble. On the rare occasions when I run into someone who can see through all of that, it’s half scary and half awesome at the same time, and that’s what I think of every time I hear “I just hate to say goodbye / To all the metaphors and lies / That have taken me years / To come up with.”
This song reminds me about how I am an irritable asshole, and I get super annoyed by lines, paperwork, crowds, and anything else that involves dealing with other people. And also, I really really love the melody that start at 1:45 ♥
While I love all of MCS’ records, “Even If It Kills Me” is the one that ‘rly means a lot to me’ (srs). In case it isn’t obvious, this song is about the singer getting clean from meth and alcohol. Fortunately I’ve never been THAT deep into anything, but I did come close enough to hitting bottom for this song to hit way, way, WAY too close to home :/
When 19 year olds write songs about how their pussy hurts because the girl who works at Subway doesn’t liek them back, it’s pretty gay because get over it and go stab some fresh guts, fggt. On the other hand there is DIVORCECORE, which is what happens when 30 year-olds write songs like this about their long-term relationships imploding and how it makes you feel like your whole life just burned down. This came out right about when I got dumped by a girl I was with for 9 years and literally wanted to die for the next 9-12 months, and if you’ve ever been through that you will probably understand why the lyrics to this song feel like they could have been transcribed straight from my brain.
I think of “It Had To Be You” as the complement to “Broken Heart,” because it pretty much exactly describes what happens when you finally see the light at the end of the breakup tunnel. You start to pick up the pieces, get your shit together again, and life starts to feel OK again… and 99% of the time, you look back at it and realize that it was probably for the best that you broke up, because you weren’t right for each other anyway and your new girl is way more awesome (srs).
Do you love MCS as much as I do?? Why did it take me this long to post about them??? Is there any better DIVORCECORE album than “Even If It Kills Me”???
Funny to think that someone, somewhere, is reading this and is mad jelly at how fucked up your life is, via fucked up life=massive tr00 hxc scene points. This bands not my thing, but I love the lyrics and hope to never fully understand them.
Lulz, I remember when bands got srs trve points for burning down churches… Dunno if it ever got them laid tho.
Yeah black metal dudes get laid all the time
Does dropping the soap in a Norwegian prison fall under the “doesn’t matter, had sex” category?
FUCKING *LOVE* THIS BAND
thank-you sarge, these guys are amazing and I am surprised that they don’t get more credit. I definitely recognize the angst and butthurt in their lyrics, but at the same time I can get past it because its genuinely sad, plus the music is fun to listen to. They have a great combination of dark lyrics and catchy tunes. I am too young to have been through a lot of the shit these guys talk about, but I appreciate their pain because they have turned it into some of my favorite music. “Commit This To Memory” is one of the best albums I’ve heard.
I don’t think of them as butthurt at all– like you said, they are genuinely sad (via life experiences that are legitimately soul-raping). There’s nothing gay or butthurt about that IMO.
dood already said it, but commit this to memory is seriously one of the best albums ever, im such a fag i actually own the album.
makes me want to an hero now…
brb going to down vodka and miscellaneous pills, then pull the trigger
“pull the trigger bitch” – justin pierre
best post
I still rep this band so hard and all my indie snob friend r like whaa
all their albums rule
Ps I’m a 29 yr old dude srs
iknowthatfeel.gov
Best post ever. MCS don’t get the luv they deserve. A+++ work!
I was looking for some good pop bands to listen to, thanks for the suggestion bro
Oh man, I’m gonna sound a huge fggt when I talk about this band but I remember listening to it when I followed the whole “bands u shuld h8 if ur cultured & tly get wut reel muzic is abought” and loving them because they actually seemed passionate about what they were saying without ruining the fun vibes of the music itself. In other words, as much as I hated to admit it, I loved the band. Helped me realize that power-pop was actually pretty sweet too. “Hey, if this band is cool, and this other ones sound kinda like it, what’s wrong with liking them?”
Then I’d turn to the Haters Manual, see I should hate them for “being generic and having whiny lyrics” but the more I heard Indie Pop, the more I was like “this is like powerpop except less fun and more for pussies.”
dude powerpop is srs maybe the single best genre of music (srs). it has more range than anything else I can think of: powerpop for dumb little kids with crushes on the neighbor girl (Boys Like Girls, FTSK), powerpop for cooldads to listen to in their Volvo while taking the kids to daycare (Fountains of Wayne, Weezer), and of course powerpop for career fuckups up hate themselves (MCS)
Powerpop 2.0 <3
I didn't lrn 2 appreciating these guys when my friends liked them (05 ish) but after some fucked up breakups and a speedy recovery from tr00bonic plague, this shit is the best. Getting ur heart hurt really sucks but having a faggotry-filled recovery sesh with whiny powerpop fixes everything (semi srs – it helps lots)
~ I'm n0t 2 pRoUd 2 aDmiT mY wEaKnEsSeS ~
~ LiKe DiS iF u CriEd FrOm DiS pOsT ~
for evry lyke serge will donate 1 $ to tr00bonic plaque revocery fundation.
The Dr Jon E Filth Foundation for Butthurt Faggots will match all contributions up to $15.
Dollar 4 dollar!
CTTM and I Am the Movie are really good albums for sure; super catchy songs throughout. I never caught the album between CTTM and My Dinosaur Life, but I don’t really care for My Dinosaur Life.
I think Justin Pierre got his shit together in recent years, which is great news for him as a dude, but might mean his lyrics don’t have the bite they used to have. It’s a shame, but then again pop-punk ages in dog years, so one band putting out 2-3 great albums over the course of a decade is pretty fucking impressive.
Also, Tony Thaxton is a killer drummer. Check “Broken Heart” in the article, starting at 0:20.
PERFECT example of being a tr00 fuck up via actually trying to be normal and have fun. Idk, I’m a pretty weird dude, so i know that it fucking sucks to be weird, and i think that’s the difference between being legit and being ‘zany’, in which case ur prolly just boring and desperate.
This– only normal people think its cool to be “weird.” :/
Let me in, let me in to the club, cuz I wanna belong
+1
If you don’t desperately want to not make the same mistakes you’ve been trying and failing not to make your entire life (squandering your opportunities and destroying things you love) I really don’t want to hear music about your problems/sadness???
To me, this sounds like The Get Up Kids with lyrics by The Smiths and looks like a mix of BC13 and Unbroken.
Oh man, I always liked these guys on the Burnout 3 soundtrack. Great band.
How good is their song “Throwdown”. Band rules!
Warms my heart that there is a site that doesn’t shit on MCS or NFG (srs).
I found their first album at a goodwill lol. they’re pretty great, definitely a new favorite for me
I am 300% on this with you. This band is totally gay, but still, it’s one of the best band in the world because of their lyrics. Somehow I hate them because I feel they wrote albums about my life. I am turning 30 in 2 weeks, I need their new album lol
Thanks brah. Always enjoy someone justifying their music tastes(srs). Some guy I used to live in a house with used to always listen to MCS. Sometimes it would be on if we decided to get fucked up together but that was about it. Now that I am older and have gone through my own version of some “DIVORCECORE” shit maybe I will appreciate it more. Nothing helps perpetuate self hating weirdo-ness more than failed LTRs.
“bands that I love because their music is super upbeat, catchy and poppy, but all their lyrics are about being a self-destructive piece of shit and hating yourself for it.” – y u no liek alkalien threeo, serge?
I like them in theory, but too many of their songs are sad and NOT catchy. “Stupid Kid” = A+++++++ wood download again, tho
One of my fav bands, was totally obsessed with them for a while, but actually never listened to Even If It Kills Me in full. Last Night is the jam, but pretty much just skipped to the Dinosaur one. Commit This To Memory is my shit tho, and I Am The Movie has some of their best songs.
Love this band to death – so insanely solid, never put out a bad album.
SexHaver1987 is the best SYWH username of all time– mirin hard
I spat out my water a little bit reading this, and I’ve seen this screenname before. Also, it’s even been complimented before, but deserves honorable mention probably with every comment, especially since those seem unfortunately rare.
Were you born in 1987, or was this just a random number thrown onto the end? plz respond i need 2 know
Haha, thanks, dudes – 1987 is the year I was born in. Contemplated using 69 instead, but fuck, I still have standards, you know?
backed soooo goddamn hard. i love bayside too, which is a whole other level of gayness.
Never could get into them, plus the lead singer is very much a grand member of the NFC. Actually now that I think about it, I like that song “Mona Lisa”.
love me some ghey music. also, bayside
brb crying to the bayside CD
Good fucking band. Saw them at Warped Tour ’05, and it was awesome! It was also rather refreshing to see a band put on a good performance after sitting through Fall Out Boy and hearing Patrick Stump wail off key for half an hour – <3 "Take This To Your Grave" and "From Under The Cork Tree", but my god they suck ass live.
ANYWAYS, am I the only one that gets kind of a Get Up Kids vibe from this band?
i dont get it, do i have to acquire pain to get it?
Pingback: It’ll all be over soon…
I wonder if bands like MCS will see a comeback in a few years, when everyone that was into them as a teenager grows up and (hopefully not most of them) understands the lyrics.
Sometimes it’s really hard to tell if you’re serious or not but I’m pretty sure you’re making fun of them and that makes me sad because they’re my favorite band :(
lrn 2 reading bro, i love this band. how is that not obvious??
WHOA COOL
I’ve listened to this band since I was in 7th grade (Commit This to Memory just came out) and I’ve loved their lyrics, being able to sympathize, but never empathize. Now that I’ve been going through a lot of the same stuff the singer has, the band means so much more to me. I feel ya when you say the lyrics could have been taken from your brain. Thanks for the nice tribute to my favorite band.