...will be released on March 25, 2008 for free through a partnership between MySpace, and Textango, a mobile music distributor. In addition the album would be for sale in stores through MySpace Records in the United States and Epitaph in Europe.

neato. i lurv Pennywise

yeah, they consistently kickass. This is the first I'm hearing about this new album.
I got tickets to see them in May and cannot wait.

Pennywise are the worst band in Epitaph, a label full of shitty second-rate punk bands. Their lyrics are brain dead and their songs are about as musically interesting and original as any other 90's shit-for-brains Bad Religion wannabe punk band's.

Seriously, what is interesting about Pennywise? That's a genuine question.

care to name some better bands?

i happen to think that Pennywise make great music. granted they've gotten kinda repetitive on the past couple of albums, but the stretch between Unknown Road and Straight Ahead is pretty much flawless as far as i'm concerned. agressive, melodic punk at it's finest.

Nothing brain dead about pennywise lyrics. They're quite positive and uplifting, and actually make you think about shit. Nothing wrong with that.

What's interesting about them musically? Well what's interesting about any punk band musically? Kind of a silly question. They rock their asses off and have put out consistently good albums throughout basically their entire career.

Nothing brain dead about something as ham-handed and easy as "Fuck Authority"? "Same Old Story"? "Fight It"? It's all pretty standard, I'm-not-your-puppet, fuck-you-I-won't-do-what-you-tell-me. No depth. Compare "Straight Ahead" to Bad Religion's "Generator". Tired shit vs. a higher calibre songwriting.

As to punk bands not being interesting musically? What about Strung Out? Refused? At The Drive-In? Pulley? Rancid? Shit, even NoFX. These are bands that are able to exist within the punk rock genre and consistently put out music that isn't as tired and insipid as Pennywise's three-chord attack.

I'm not saying Pennywise is TERRIBLE, but they're just the blandest of the bland. To my ears, there is nothing remotely interesting about their brand of punk rock. It's all very generic.

show some balls.
Pennywise fucking blow.

i think we've heard just about enough out of you

Why do I have to compare Pennywise to everyone else? Why can't I just enjoy them. Do you feel the same way about the Ramones? All they did was use the same chords. How about CockSparrer? Possibly the greatest punk band ever. Same chords, with a couple easy solos throw in. If it works for them, then fuck it. This music is more about the energy and message anyway. As Johnny X once said "Four chords and the spite to use them, and just enough wisdom to ignore the truth!"

Plus, you'll be hard pressed to find many better punk anthems than "Bro Hymn" especially the Bro Hymn tribute. Go ahead, try. I still get chills when I hear it today.
And don't tell me "The Brews" by NOFX, because as awesome as that song is, it's still about Jew wine.

The Ramones had something Pennywise have never, and will never, have; originality.

What, so no other band is allowed to make 3 or 4 chord songs then, without being labelled shitty or brain dead? That's kind of unfair. Sometimes the best rock n' roll music isn't original at all. Not everyone has to re-invent the wheel as they say. You just have to be good at what you do and let it come from your heart.
I don't know for a fact, but I'd be willing to bet you enjoy plenty of artists and songs that are written in this fashion.

You're missing the point, though. What makes a band great is not whether they use a lot of chords or not. It's what they do with the chords they use. Listen to the early Clash records. Four, maybe five major chords a song, as simple as you can get-- but what they do with them is something spectacular. Listen to the Buzzcocks. Three, four chords-- and yet those melodies go everywhere. Listen to TSOL. Listen to Rancid's "And Out Come the Wolves"-- prime example. The late 80's Bad Religion records. Shit, even the early-to-mid 90's Ramones records.

Pennywise just seems to comform with that insipid brand of songwriting that a LOT of the Epitaph bands from the 90's used. No creativity. They are a safe band. They're too aggro to be pop-punk, too wussy to be hardcore. They are ESPN skate video soundtrack music. In the context of punk rock, they are as easy to listen to and uncompromising as any band. But shit, they are as boring as it gets.

To each their own i guess. Pretty much every punk band from the last 20 years is guilty of the offences you're charging Pennywise with. Like Al said earlier, i find a lot of their songs uplifting and positive - without being overly preachy or candy coated - which is a rarity in punk rock. Themes about personal strength and reponsbility are a nice change from the typical anti-authoritarian doom and gloom of most punk bands (of which Pennywise is admittedly also guilty of, especially lately). It's just such a fucking punk rock cliché to be mad at the government and the system, and nowadays it's lamer than ever when you're bitching about the system whilst performing beneath a Myspace or Pepsi banner at some mega festival sponsored by a shoe company. Punk rock (at least as a vehicle for change) really is dead.

I agree that they are a bit of a "safe band" But I can think of a few other safe bands that I enjoy (SLAYER!) I strongly disagree that they are boring though. They're actually a lot of fun. They're good inspiration to get off your ass and make something of the day, and of your yourself. The attitude comes first. I think you're coming down a little too hard on the pennywise boys. You should give some of their stuff another shot sometime. Often it takes a few listens, then the songs start separating themselves and standing out a little more. Hell, maybe give the new album a shot, since it's FREE. Then we could talk about that, which is what the thread was intended for, instead of you just saying how shitty Pennywise is.

I unfortunately can't even get on stupid myspace to hear the thing. I should have bought it yesterday but I didn't even remember.

actually i haven't listened to it yet either. i'm waiting to pick it up this weekend, assuming it's in stores.

Shouldn't be too hard to find.

I listened to samples on amazon. I can say that 30 seconds of each song at least sounds good. They sound pretty heavy at times.

So Al, what would you say is your favorite Pennywise record?

My top 3 would be

1. Full Circle
2. About Time
3. Straight Ahead

Probably Full Circle. I like Land Of The Free a whole lot though.

Full Circle
Land Of The Free
Straight Ahead