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Release date: March 2003
1. Premature Mid-Life Crisis
2. I'm About To Crack
3. Say Goodbye To Your Generation
4. Are You Really For Real?
5. Ammunition
6. Far Away
7. Stuck In My Head
8. Revitalized
9. Antidote
10. TV World (3.3 MB)
11. You Don't Know Me Anymore
Not only are the Stardumb scouts on the lookout for new punkrock talent
from all over the world, they also keep track of the legends, the people
that have earned their stars. The Methadones are a good example, fronted
by Dan Schafer (Screeching Weasel, Riverdales, Queers, Mopes and Sludgeworth),
Mike
Byrne (Vindictives) on guitar and with Matt Drastic (Queers, Teen Idols)
on drums, this four-piece shows the world that they still got it. That
they are still able to write instant poppunk classics.
But the songs on “Career Objective” are not your average punky
pop tunes. No sir! This goes way beyond. On their debut full-length “Ill
At Ease”, which was released on Anti-Flag’s AF Records, the
Methadones already expanded the boundaries of punkrock. On their second
full-length they take things even higher. Musically, lyrics wise and a
solid production by Mass Giorgini (Screeching Weasel, Groovie Ghoulies,
Huntingtons, Queers and more). It’s all good. It’s sounds
like nothing you’ve ever heard before but also like all the music
you love and like.
This album comes with all the lyrics to the songs in an 8 page booklet
with cool Stefan Stardumb artwork!
FILE UNDER: POPPUNK VETERANS SHOWING HOW IT'S DONE
More info about The Methadones:
Homepage
Reviews:
Review taken from Americore:
One hell of a heavy hitting debut. Fast, frantic, frenzy, fist-pumping
punk-fuckin'-rock. I must say this and make my point clear. This band
features Dan Schafer (a.k.a. Dan Vapid) who in the past has graced many
a band (Screeching Weasel, Riverdales, Queers, Mopes, and Sludgeworth)
with his punk rock ethos and purity. This time out, he definitely outshines
all of the aforementioned bands. The style is pure punk mayhem akin to
the likes of The Damned, Dead Boys, and Ramones mixed with a bit of mid-era
Meatmen and early Electric Frankenstein. The guitar work is solid and
meaty. The vocals are straight up bar room sing-a-long anthems, this is
destined to be a classic. Plus you get the ultra-groovy neato music video
"Say Goodbye To Your Generation". What more do you need to get
this party started? -- Larry Lugz
Review taken from Punk
International:
The Europeans have really run away pop punk in recent years, and Stardumb
Records from Rotterdam is at the center of it all. Bands like the Apers
and the Manges vie for the pop punk throne in the aftermath of Screeching
Weasel, and the Methadones are keeping America in the competition. The
cover art for "Career Objective" looks vintage, but the Methadones
have a very fresh sound that boasts a lot more determination than most
other bands of this ilk. They have a traditionalist foundation rooted
in three-chord simplicity, yet like their new labelmates the Peawees and
the Apers the Methadones mix in a hard rock drive. There's two guitars
to make a denser sound. The lead guitarist Mike Byrne is virtually always
engaged in a wild solo. Every song is hook-laden and bouncy, comparable
to the Groovie Ghoulies on a good day, but I can't emphasize enough the
big rock sound the Methadones bring to their matured brand of pop punk.
Since vocals can make or break a record, I must say Dan Schafer's skills
are top notch. Rather than imitate the snotty ways of, say, the Queers,
he opts for a clearer sound that adds to the mature feel of "Career
Objective". Another contributing factor is the paucity of juvenile
humor. There's no cheap laughs on this record, nothing that would make
a thirteen year-old giggle. This is a great record for the discriminating
pop punk fan who wants great energetic music void of any unnecessary bullshit.
It's not easy to put this own down. The eleven songs pass by pretty quickly.
All are focused and streamlined; filler content is absolutely nil. One
or two more songs would have been perfect. -- Tim Krysko
Review taken from Read
Magazine:
Energetic pop-punk that lacks the instant catchiness of Screeching Weasel,
Riverdales, or Queers, but is no less likeable. The reason for it taking
more than one listen to get hooked is that Dan Vapid (going by his birth
name Dan Schafer) has matured, and his music with it. With songs like
"Premature Mid-Life Crisis" and "Say Goodbye To Your Generation",
this is clearly a man who has grown out of the "Can't Stop Farting"
mentality of some of his older bands. That's not to say Methadones is
music for which you
have to keep a straight face - they may be more introspective and heavier
lyrics, but they're also pure fun. "Generation", "Ammunition",
"Far Away", and "Antidote" are just a few that get
you going and bounce around in your head long after the album's over.
Review taken from Rock'n'Roll
Purgatory:
Damn. These guys have a great punk rock'n'roll sound that takes the reductionism
of The Ramones, adds guitars that remind me of the Staggers, and often
great vocals that hit notes while somehow still sounding monotone. While
much of this is excellent, they also do some nauseating bubble-gum pop
songs like "Far Away" and "Stuck In My Head" that
make me want to puke up blood. I dislike music that you can bounce your
head side-to-side and skip along to. Even so, I still really like the
majority of the songs on this, and some of their lyrics hit pretty close
to home: "I get tired of thinking of what I don't want to be / I
need a career but the thought depresses me" - It's as if they read
my pathetic mind. All in all, they oscillate between being really great
and being greatly disappointing, weighing much heavier on the positive
side. I am sure I will listen to this again. -- BL
Review taken from S.C.A.B.
punk zine:
Oh well. We all know how many bands emerged from the decomposing corpse
of Screeching Weasel. As for Dan Schafer a.k.a. Vapid, he's done the stinkiest
things with Sludgeworth, some predictable (but still nice) Ramonesy stuff
with the Riverdales (yup, y'all heard they reformed by know), and nice
pop-punk and frat-rock tunes with the Mopes. Now, from a Vapid-fronted
band that the Methadones are, this is quite unexpected! I love to hear
Danny's vocals, but it's the mighty riffs and guitar solos that knocked
me out at the first listening. THIS IS NOT POP-PUNK!!! Sure, it's pop-punk
at some points, but it's also '77-style brit-punk, it's grease-rock, it's
one helluva mix -- 11 songs and most of them pure hits! This is all killer,
no filler, aggressive but catchy punk rock that beats the Methadones debut
album 10 to 1 (songwise), this "TV World" song just plain kicks
asses in the style of old, great bands... This title is filed under "Surprise
of the Year" and wears a "Highest Recommendation" tag;
and, kiddo, if you thought Ben Weasel's solo record was cool, you need
this Methadone therapy right away.... -- Nick Ketchup
Review taken from Voice
of Reason:
I'm pretty sure all of you know Screeching Weasel, right? Well, Dan Schafer
(a.k.a. Dan Vapid) from Screeching Weasel, Riverdales, Queers, etc.) plays
guitar and sings for The Methadones, and his three companions aren't youngsters
either. Mike Byrne (guitar) plays in the Vindictives, Matt Drastic (Drums)
is known for his appearance in the Queers and the Teen Idols, and Sensitive
Pete (bass)... well, he drives the van. Now after all this name dropping
I'm sure you know what to expect from the band's second full length "Career
objective" (produced by Mass Giorgini). Usually this punk'n'roll
stuff bores me pretty soon, but The Methadones rule! Maybe that's because
they're no average punkrock band, but know how to write dynamic, powerful
and catchy pop songs. As The Wolf in Pulp Fiction used to say: "So
pretty please, with sugar on top, get this album."
Review taken from Cosmik:
Former Screeching Weasel/Riverdales/Queers member Dan Schafer (a.k.a.
"Sewercap") returns with his most recent group, The Methadones.
On this, their second album, the only original member remaining from their
first CD, Ill At Ease, is Schafer, but the music remains the same: killer
amped-up punk-pop music with incredible vocals from Schafer and really
catchy tunes. Apparently, the first CD was simply a side-project of Schafer's
recorded with pals from other bands, but since then he decided to make
it a full-time venture and so he drafted in three new guys - including
former Vindictives guitarist Mike Byrne - to be The Methadones. While
their music is certainly of a similar ilk to later period Weasel, the
Queers and the Riverdales, Schafer's vocals are much less snotty Ramones-inspired
than any of those bands, and his range is obviously pretty broad. There's
also maturity in the lyrics, with Schafer addressing topics like growing
older, complicity, questioning one's beliefs and pining for days gone
by in songs like
"Premature Mid-Life Crisis," "Say Goodbye To Your Generation,"
and "Stuck In My Head." Indeed, this is a fantastic CD! -- Alan
Wright
Review taken from Pee #29 - 2004:
The Methadones combine pop punk melody & sing along rock'n'roll chorusses
to great effect on their second album Career Objective. Starring Dan Schafer
(Dan Vapid) from Screeching Weasel & the Riverdales & Mike Byrne
from the Queers & Teen Idols, the Methadones rock out with that Ramones/Green
Day three-chordsound (albeit with two guitars) and they play it very well.
Pop punk fans should enjoy these eleven songs about love & loss. My
favourite tracks include Say Goodbye To Your Generation, Far Away &
Antidote.
Review taken from Caustic Truths #91 - july 2003:
No Frills, just 12 tracks of spit-polished, up-tempo rock, sure to please
the rowdy pub crowd. Fans of the Donnas will find striking similarities
here, but the major difference between the two groups is that The Methadones
have testosterone flowing out their pores. Scads of blues-scale guitar
shredding attest to this fact. -- Andrew Miller
Review taken from Long Gone Loser #8 - 2003:
I've been playing this record flat out since it rocked up in the mailbox
with that Netherlands postmark which means Stardumb records and quality
punk rock. The Methadones have that pedigree running hot too, they're
made up of ex members of Screeching Weasel, The Queers, The Vindictives
and all those
other bands they've wreaked havok in over the years. Plus, this (their
second) album was recorded by Mass at Sonic Iguana. If you have no idea
what all that means you start with this album and work your way back.
This is solid as fuck and features all the hooks, harmonies and energy
you'd hope to cram into a record. At times it reminded me of Bad Religion
around the "Generator" era and others it was more like Screeching
Weasel's "Television City Dream" album, well I could go on about
it all day, just go get it and
save me some breath. -- Aaron
Review taken from Dirt Culture #9 - 2003:
Infectuous pop punk featuring members of Screeching Weasels, Riverdales,
Queers, Mopes, Sludgeworth, Vindictives, and Teen Idols. Produced by Mass
Giorgini whose done work for Screeching Weasel, Groovie Ghoulies, Huntingtons
and Queers. Having said that, I think you know what to expect.
Dutch:
Review taken from Festival
Info:
Met bands als The Apers en Groovy Ghoulies in de gelederen, mag Stardumb
met recht neerlands enige echte punkrocklabel genoemd worden. Stardumb
is niet alleen een grootse herder die zich ontfermd heeft over de anders
verloren (punk)rock n roll schapen overal over de wereld, maar tevens
de uitgever van
een heus punkrockblad. Om Stardumb kan men niet meer zo makkelijk heen,
en dat is fijn. Eén van hun laatste releases is het tweede album
van The Methadones. Deze band wordt in één adem genoemd
met Screeching Weasel en Riverdales. Op zich niet zo gek, want de grote
gemeenschappelijke deler van
deze vier bands is zanger/gitarist Dan Schafer. Op het nieuwe Career Objective
staan elf, fijne puntige, catchy punkrocknummers. Het rockt en rammelt
allemaal net iets minder dan eerder genoemde Stardumb bands, maar het
tweede album van deze heren uit de VS staat toch als een huis. Nummers
die na een enkele luisterbeurt in je hoofd blijven hangen wijzen eens
te meer op de kwaliteiten die Schafer als nummerschrijver heeft.
Openingsnummer ‘Premature mid-Life crisis’ knalt er lekker
in, ‘Say goodbye to your generation’ bedient zich van een
lekker schaamteloos Ramones gitaarpartijtje, en op ‘Far away’
wordt ons een blik gegund in de ietwat gevoelige keuken der liefdesleven
van de zanger. Na een paar nummers onbewust en schaamteloos meedeinen
met het hoofd, en een ballad-achtig laatste nummer (Stuck in my head)
kan de balans worden opgemaakt. Geen uitschieters naar boven, geen uitschieters
naar beneden, en een totaal dat meer is dan de som van de afzonderlijke
delen. De nummers lijken allen eenvoudig uit de mouw geschud te zijn,
en dat is waarschijnlijk ook zo. En dat levert nu net enig frustratie
op, want jij bent niet de gene die even met zijn arm zwaaide, dat was
namelijk de heer Schafer. Weer een gemiste kans dus voor de nog immer
ronddolende schaapjes onder ons…, terwijl de Methadones inmiddels
zelfs nummers afleveren voor een aantal nieuwe X-box spellen. -- Sander
Holweg
Spanisch:
Review taken from Sonic
Wave Magazine:
Desde la edición de aquel fantástico "Dead End City"
de los italianos Peawees, nada de lo publicado por el sello holandes me
había llamado tanto la atención como lo hace esta nueva
referencia de los norteamericanos The Methadones. No llegan a la altura
del mencionado álbum de los italianos pero si les siguen muy de
cerca y además en la misma linea: Buen Punk´N´Roll
de resultonas canciones, buenas guitarras, bases contundentes y super
emplastados.
Bajo la producción de Mass Giorgini (Screeching Weasel, Groovie
Ghoulies, Queers...) nos encontramos trece buenos temas facturados por
nada más y nada menos que Dan Schafer (Screeching Weasel, Riverdales,
Queers, Mopes...); Mike Byrne (Vindictives)y Matt Drastic (Teen Idols,
Queers) una buena selección de ex componentes de buenas bandas
que logran eso, un buen disco de PopPunk que supera la media de largo.
Buena muestra de lo que te podrás encontrar en este disco son canciones
como "Premature Mid-Life Crisis"; "I´m About To Crack";
"TV World" o las tremendas "Say Goodbye To Your Generation"
y "Ammunition". Recomendables.
Italian:
Review taken from In
Your Eyes Zine:
Come cominciare questa recensione quando i componenti di questa band sono
dei pilastri del pop punk a stelle strisce. Qualche esempio : screeching
weasel, queers, riverdales (Dan Schafer), vindictives (Mike Byrne), teen
idols (Matt Drastic). Il tutto rimescolato e frullato da Mr. Giorgini.
Il risultato un disco fresco, pop-punk a tutto tondo, con pezzi veloci
e accativanti. I pezzi che il sottoscritto preferisce sono "FAR AWAY"
un ballad che ti si incolla al sedere, "REVITALIZED" in ottimo
stile punk california fine eighties e "TV WORLD" su tutte quelle
persone ormai drogate dal tubo catodico "My girlfriend'2 disgusted
whit me/I drink too much and never miss All in the Family". Rock'n'roll
di alta qualita, per questo inizio di estate tutto sole e skate.... undici
classici poppunk che vi faranno ballare alla grande.
French:
Review from Underground Society Webzine:
Des fois, sous des patronymes de nouveaux groupes, se dissimulent des
vedettes du punk rock: Mass Giorgini [ Screeching Weasel, Groovie Ghoulies,
Huntingtons, Queers ... ], Dan Schafer [ Riverdales, Mopes ... ], Matt
Drastic [ Queers, Teen Idols ]... Desuite, on sait à quoi s' attendre
avec les 11 titres de "Career Objective" qui réunit à
lui seul, tout ce qui se fait de mieux en pop punk !!!... On retrouve
donc des riffs et des rythmiques sautillantes et corrossives saupoudré
de mélodies pop avec de grosses influences rock 'n roll: "Say
Goodbye To Your Generation", "Far Away", Antidote"
et "Stuck In My Head" de pur anthology de punk rock' n roll
!! .... A se procurer de toute urgence ...
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