Maybe You've Been Brainwashed, Too - A Review

Maybe You've Been Brainwashed, Too - A Review

There are certain acts that are clearly out of my musical league. As an avid lover of the embarrassing Guilty Pleasure, I appreciate lyrics that are even too cheesy for Hannah Montana fans to bear and instrumentals that are sub-par and oh-so catchy. While I do happen to listen to critically panned on an hourly basis, I also appreciate the unsung heroes of the music industry. You know the type: a person or group that isn’t afraid to express themselves wholeheartedly and tests the boundaries with their daring attempts at entering harmonious infamy. This is where Gregg Alexander enters the picture.

After two failed attempts at solo stardom earlier in the 1990s, Alexander decided in late 1998 that his luck might change with the creation of New Radicals, comprised of himself, vocalist Danielle Brisebois, and a string of other unaccredited band members. The first track released off Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed, Too, “You Get What You Give” is mainly known to casual listeners as The Song That Enraged Marilyn Manson More Than It Should Have. Aside from that, “You Get What You Give” is an exceptional example of how a first single should sound. The first twenty-five seconds opens with a futuristic feel (due to the taint of synthesizer here and there) and a countdown from Alexander that throws the listener ten years into the future. The song holds a message of straying away from conforming to the ugliness of society, but is ironically hidden behind the joyful keyboarding and upbeat tempo.

The remaining eleven songs are just as innovative as “You Get What You Give”, but receive little-to-no credit for their brilliance. While the album eventually went platinum, most people only know the leading single and “Someday We’ll Know” and “Mother We Just Can’t Get Enough”, known most memorably for being on the Walk to Remember soundtrack. While both songs are supposed to resemble the ecstasy one is supposed to feel while being in a relationship, they are also the weakest links on a track list that is otherwise innovative and ingenious. A personal favorite, “Flowers” tells of a better love story, where the protagonist is trying to convince his love that their love is “as real as the flowers [she] smoke[s] to get high”. The Beatles-esque guitar strumming and simple piano composition brings the tune together and makes listeners imagine themselves in the same dreamy scenario almost resembling a very pleasant acid trip. Another song, “I Hope I Didn’t Just Give Away the Ending” is particularly haunting due to the internal conflict going on in Alexander’s head for the first two minutes, breaking free by telling himself to “SHUT UP!” and goes into a tale contaminated by cocaine addiction and desperate pleas to get away from living such a life involving making pornographic films to pay for drugs. Truly a terrible story, but it is executed perfectly and will probably be stuck in your head after a first listen. The album’s concluding ballad, “Crying Like a Church on Monday” is a perfect way to end this album of self-discovery and self-loathing. “Monday” is a hopeful plea to try to make life worth living.

Unfortunately, “Maybe You’ve Been Brainwashed, Too” was the only album created for New Radicals. A few days after attempting to release “Someday We’ll Know” as a second single, Gregg Alexander decided to disband the musical experiment, insisting that he didn’t want to live a life of touring and interviews anymore. Alexander may be a big-time producer for the likes of Santana and The Bangles now, but New Radicals’ single album should remain a model for budding bands that hope on making a significant impact on the music industry.