Their sixth studio album, Youth Authority (2016), saw the band rise back to the success of their fourth album, Good Morning Revival (2007), both peaking at Number 13 in the UK Charts. Now, with their seventh album, Generation Rx, due out in September 2018, we hope to see them replicate or even surpass this.
Certainly, if new single, ‘Actual Pain’, is anything to go by, that shouldn’t be a problem.
The new single has managed to strike a perfect balance between some of their more synth-driven, pop-rock songs like ‘Dance Floor Anthem’ and ‘Misery’ and earlier, guitar-infused and more sincere tracks like ‘Hold On’ and ‘We Believe’.
This type of combination of their sounds is driving the band into a new era and is sure to please both old fans as well as capture new ones. It’s a really strong single that’s got me excited to hear the rest of the new album! I wonder if they’ll have one of their epic, atmospheric intro tracks, like they used to?!
The music video for this track is emotive, depicting a boy reminiscing about the good times he shared with his mother, during his childhood and how that changed over time. It appears is a narrative-driven music video, interspersed with GC performance – a great, new video from the band!
What are your thoughts of the band’s latest single? Are you excited about their new album, Generation Rx? Do you have a #WildCardWednesday track to recommend us? Please leave your thoughts or song suggestions in a comment or via social media.
I cannot believe that ‘The River‘ was released a decade ago; it’s an incredible song with a pretty wicked video too; it’s a timeless track!
The song was taken from the band’s fourth album, Good Morning Revival, and featured M. Shadows and Synyster Gates from the band Avenged Sevenfold. It’s a high-intensity track that made a huge impact on me from the very first listen – it’s got a massive energy to it. Interestingly, there are several references to the Bible throughout the song and the running time of the track is 3:16, which an intentional reference to John 3:16.
The track was also dedicated to James “The Rev” Sullivan (from Avenged Sevenfold) after his passing.
Remember this track? Got another favourite Good Charlotte song? Please share your thoughts or own #ThrowbackThursday song in a comment or via our social media accounts.
After taking a short break, I’m so pleased to know that Good Charlotte are back; I’ve loved these guys for years!
’40 oz. Dream’ is the second single taken from their most recent album, Youth Authority. The song is reminiscent of times in their past and relating to how things have changed now. It’s got a great vibe to it and sees the band blend some of their more experimental sounds, with their traditional punk rock elements – it’s a fresh take on pop punk!
The video for the song is unnecessarily (but brilliantly) epic too; make sure you check that out below.
What do you think of GC’s latest album? Are you as pleased as we are, that they’re back? Please let us know your favourite Good Charlotte track or your own #FeelGoodFriday song choice, in a comment below or via our social media accounts.
Also, please can you try and Tweet them to ask if they will do an interview with us…I’d love to have that opportunity!
#WelcomeBackGC – it’s been trending all over Twitter, because the band are back with a brand new single after a 4-year hiatus!
Joel & Benji Madden, Paul Thomas, Billy Martin and Dean Butterworth have just released their newest single, ‘Makeshift Love’, and it sees a welcome return to the sound of the band’s pop punk/punk rock glory days!
These guys have come from nothing and truly earned their successes! They’ve come so far and developed their sound constantly, over the years. We re:Discovered them in a post earlier this year and are so excited about their return!
No details of an album or video for the single have surfaced yet, but a lyric video has been published online recently. We’ll keep you updated on any album news, as soon as we hear!
Tinashe is a new artist to me; I am yet to explore more of her music, however this song was recommended to me on YouTube and I have to say, the video is incredible – the dancing is insane!
I am a fan of Chris Brown and his vocals lend themselves perfectly to this up-tempo pop/R&B track, but Tinashe has quite a sweet voice to contrast Chris Brown’s.
‘Player’ is the first single off her upcoming second album, Joyride.
I hope you have an excellent day and that you get some enjoyment from these two remarkable songs! What songs would you choose for this #Two4Tunesday? Please leave a comment below or Tweet/Facebook us.
Although this post is a trial, to see the reactions it gets, these posts will hopefully be a monthly occurrence, appearing on the first Sunday of every month (the Sunday after our monthly playlist).
This month, we have #reDISCOVERED:Good Charlotte
Good Charlotte originated from Waldorf, Maryland, USA and formed in 1995. Since 1998, the band has consisted of four constant members; twins Joel and Benji Madden, Paul Thomas and Billy Martin; then, since 2005, they have had drummer Dean Butterworth on board.
The band’s frontmen, the Madden twins, had a relatively rough childhood; on Christmas Eve 1995, the pair’s father upped and left, leaving the rest of the family to be evicted from their house. They then went on to work a whole host of jobs to help keep their family in their new home, as their mother had the autoimmune disease, lupus, meaning that she regularly stayed in hospitals. It was in 1996 their band began to take shape and record demos, launching them into their career, slowly but surely. This band and its members are ones I feel truly deserve to be where they are; they’ve worked their way up from nothing, to their global successes and achievements – a true marvel!
Good Charlotte
In September 2000, Good Charlotte released their debut album, Good Charlotte, with their first single, Little Things, being featured in the film, Dude, Where’s My Car?
The band went on to release a couple of other singles from the album, but the next track I want to feature is WaldorfWorldwide which is an album track also taken from their debut album. This song has a very ska-punk feel to it and caught my attention due to it’s interesting vibe.
The Young and the Hopeless
It was in 2002 (USA) and 2003 (Worldwide), when GC released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless, that they fully captured the world’s attention with their first single off the album, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. This track was iconic dude to its intense pop-punk sound and lyrical content about celebrities and their lack of appreciation for how privileged they are.
Next I’ve chosen single, The Anthem, which literally is an anthem for the band! The video featured cameo appearances from other American pop-punk bands, MEST and Home Grown; New Found Glory were also present at the filming, but weren’t featured in the final video. This particular song has gone on to be featured in a whole host of films, soundtracks and television programmes.
The third single from the album, Girls & Boys, has to be mentioned due to it’s popularity; up to this point this was their highest charting single in the UK, reaching number 6. The song is themed around girls basically being gold-diggers and the video featured elderly people playing video games and ends with Benji Madden, waking up to find an elderly lady in his t-shirt!
The final from this album was Hold On and this song particularly struck a chord with me due to its video. The song was written by the band, in response to letters they received from fans who said they were considering suicide. The video then featured several people talking about their experiences of either surviving suicide attempts or talking about loved ones they’d lost to suicide. This song feels personal and like it speaks out to fans – it’s a song to bring people, going through similar things, together.
The Chronicles of Life and Death
The first single from this 2004 album was Predictable and saw an angrier side to GC. I particularly liked this song at the time, due to its angry, almost-spoken, sections – it really was every emo-kids wet dream to chant along to…and sort of still is! The video was interesting too, taking place in an almost Edward Scissorhands-like town, which was actually drawn by band member, Billy Martin.
Next, I’ve chosen the title track from the album, The Chronicles of Life and Death – this song has quite a plodding feel to its verses before bursting into an anthemic chorus about life and death, as is the song’s theme. It’s quite a simple, yet effective track.
The final song I’ve chosen from this album is the song We Believe; as well as being the final single from the album, this song captured me from the very first listen of the album. I adore the build-up from the mellow verses to the more beautifully chaotic choruses – even the instrumental breakdown feels passionate. It’s a real chanter and makes you feel like you’re part of something special when you sing along. This is possibly one of my favourite GC songs!
Good Morning Revival
Released in 2007, this album saw GC move from pop-punk to dance-punk with its more synth-infused sound. I have chosen the first single off this album, The River, as it is one of my other, favourite GC tracks, featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates from the band, Avenged Sevenfold. The song features several Bible references but has a very catchy chorus.
The next song I’d like to mention is Misery, which although was released as the fourth single taken from the album, did not ever have a music video. This song really encapsulates their dance-punk sound from this album; the bridge from the verse to the chorus has an interesting, fast-sung quality to it and works well with the synths underlying the song.
The final song I’ve chosen from this album, was the album track, Broken Hearts Parade, as it’s got a very ska-punk quality to it, similar to their track WaldorfWorldwide from their earlier days.
This album also saw the band support Justin Timberlake on some dates of his FutureSex/LoveSounds Tour.
Cardiology
In 2010, GC released their fifth album. This particular album saw the band return to their more pop-punk sound, with Benji Madden stating that the album would “sound a lot like Blink-182.”
I’ve chosen album track Counting The Days as my first featured song from this album; I love the gang vocals towards the end of the song as it would make a real crowd-pleaser at a live show!
The penultimate track was the second single released from GC’s fifth album, Sex On The Radio. The song’s all-consuming chorus makes you sing along and whilst it’s sort of cheesy, it’s got quite a 1970s/1980s rock feel to it, making it quite a stand-out track.
The last song I’ve chosen is GC’s final single release (to date!), 1979. This sound has a very summery feel to it with its predominantly acoustic-driven sound. It also paved the way for The Madden Brothers‘ debut album, Greetings From California, which has a similar vibe, even though it wouldn’t come for another four years after this album. You can read more about The Madden Brothers on our recent #FeelGoodFriday post.
So here it is, the full list of Good Charlotte, re:DISCOVERED. Please feel free to watch the playlist on YouTube or listen to it on Spotify, both of which are found below:
Little Things
WaldorfWorldwide
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
The Anthem
Girls & Boys
Hold On
Predictable
The Chronicles of Life and Death
We Believe
The River featuring M. Shadows and Synyster Gates
Misery
Broken Hearts Parade
Let The Music Play
Sex On The Radio
1979
As for the future of Good Charlotte, no one is certain. The band are rumoured to be working on a sixth album, but nothing is set in stone, as of yet. We’ll keep you updated though.
I hope you’ve enjoyed our first re:DISCOVERED post about a band who mean a great deal to me. Are you a Good Charlotte fan? What are your favourite songs by the band? Please share this with your friends on your social media accounts and spread the GC love.
The Madden Brothers, Benji and Joel (better known for their work as part of pop-punk band, Good Charlotte) began their new incarnation, back in 2011, when they released a sort of hip-hop collaborated mixtape.
After taking some time to develop their sound as a duo, the pair finally released their first single, ‘We Are Done’ in June 2014.
The single was taken from their debut album, ‘Greetings From California’. The album is split into two “sides”; the first is reminiscent of upbeat, almost beach-going pop-rock, whilst the second is (as described by them) “70s-era FM pop’.
I love this track as it’s a very different sound for the twins! I also have the utmost respect for them; they are very humble, their music is honest and they have truly built themselves up from nothing. They have definitely earned and deserve to be where they are today. Please enjoy this gem!
Peeps, what do you think of this song? Please share it 🙂 Are you listening to anything that’s making your #FeelGoodFriday even better? Leave a comment below.
Muzik Speaks 