At one point in my life during middle school MxPx was my favorite band. The lyrics filled with young teen angst, straightforward vocal melodies, fuzzy electric guitars, and snap crackle drums sounded absolutely perfect to my 12-year old ears. They were also one of the rare punk bands approved by my mom to listen to (this still makes me laugh to this day) because of their Christian background and songwriting that avoided any lewd references. I can still remember going to Ava Maria in Cupertino (a store that sold various Christian goods) and seeing MxPx albums in the music section next to traditional worship albums and feeling so darn lucky that I’d be able to go home with an MxPx album. Life In General was certainly one of those albums.
Twenty years on and I can still belt this songs out like a Pavlovian response. I hadn’t listened to these guys in at least over a decade and the lyrics came spilling out of me. Honestly it was a little creepy. And then when “Chick Magnet” came on I immediately grabbed my bass and played that swinging bass line like it was yesterday (it was one of if not the first real bass lines I learned in high school that wasn’t root note based).
A great trip down memory lane.
Standout Songs: “Chick Magnet”, “Do Your Feet Hurt”, “Move To Bremerton”
