New Radicals

Maybe you've been brainwashed too

[MCA]

Hopefully, by now, you've heard it - a soaring, melodious, rocking, radiant, hymnlike James-with-a-beat chant-along, both timeless and topical, simultaneously gentle, fierce, uplifting and stinging. If not, be patient. You will.

The song is called 'You Get What You Give', and it comes from Gregg Alexander, the primary force behind New Radicals. When's the last time that an actual rock song (not a goopy power ballad) hinged on a chorus verse even remotely like 'Don't let go, you've got the music in you/Don't give up, you've got a reason to live/Can't forget, you only get what you give'. In these I-wanna-push-you-around-heart-in-a-blender times for rock hits, not often. John Lennon would be proud. And it still finds time to put down Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson, and recall the Clash with Alexander's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go' yelping in the opening.

The great surprise is that Alexander has more where that one came from. The disc opens with the chaotic-yet-compelling 'Mother We Just Can't Get Enough', which works Axl Rose-ish screeching, David Byrne-like scatting, and prog-rock pacing into one exhilarating 5:30 package. Other gold stars can be awarded for tunes like the sweeping Elton John stylings of 'Someday We'll Know', the rambling, Costelloesque confessions of 'I Hope I Didn't Just Give Away the Ending', and the anti-drug 'I Don't Wanna Die Anymore'. Oddly enough, the title track might be the disc's least accessible, a list song submerged beneath a clanking, Devo-like murk. The second half of the disc focuses mainly on wistful, reflective, piano-heavy love ballads such as 'Flowers' and 'In Need of a Miracle'. 'Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too' is thoughtful, passionate, memorable, and one of the flat-out best records of 1998. Perhaps this music fails to resonate as new or radical, but great songs never go out of style.

~ Scott Slonaker ~

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