I recently went back to my old high school to see one of my old teachers. While there I saw an assistant principal that I had made friends with by exchanging music. We became friends because I was wearing a Smiths shirt, and apparently he loves The Smiths. We traded music for the entirety of that year, and by far the favorite album that he lent me was Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed Too by New Radicals. You may be saying, “Aren’t they those guys that had that ‘You Only Get What You Give’ song about 10 years ago?” Yes, they were. The fact that most people ignore is that the song exists on an album; a really great album. Now, ten years after its release, I hope to re-introduce this band to whoever wants it. Ira says that Gregg Alexander’s voice reminds him of Bono, which I can hear. Other correlations between New Radicals and U2 are that Alexander criticizes popular culture with all its superficiality, although New Radicals was not as politically active by any means. Ironically, the single “You Only Get What You Give” turned out to be a huge commercial success, making it onto one of the NOW! compilation discs, and reaching #36 on the U.S. charts. After making this “hit” the band became a One-Hit-Wonder. Alexander couldn’t handle this, and broke up the band. Fortunately we still have this album.
Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough – New Radicals
I Don’t Want to Die Anymore – New Radicals
Jehovah Made This Whole Joint For You – New Radicals
Someday We’ll Know – New Radicals
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