Disco de Simple Plan: “No Pads No Helmets... Just Balls”

Hey everyone. I got this CD about 2 and a half weeks ago. I've spun it about 55 times. I haven't gotten tired of it and I doubt I will. This is a disc that you won't want to stop listening to. There's a flow to it where the song before and after the one you're listening to relates to it somehow. I think it's great! These guys are polished musicians and the vocals are awesome. The sound is crisp but still has a live feel to it, which you need in any CD that you wanna rock out to. This album features guest appearances from members of Blink-182 and Good Charlotte. The songs tackle the areas of teen heartbreak, friendship, girl-chasing, hopelessness and just plain old teen angst. Oh.. not to mention the goofball song My Alien. My favorite tracks are the last 3, "I Won't Be There", "One Day", and "Perfect", Perfect being #1 on my list. They're songs about unsupportive parents who are unsupportive of their kid's creativity, aspirations, and free-thought. I can personally relate to them. So this is a record that reflects the everyday lives of all youth. It's an awesome CD, so pick it up either here, or at your local CD retailer. Peace Out!

I'd Do Anything - this song is simple plan's first single .Good song, teen-ish lyrics about doing anything just to get a girl, and features Mark Hoppus for about 2 seconds. 5 of 5

The Worst Day Ever - another good song which is a good way to end I'd Do Anything. Lyrics are kinda weird, sounds like he hates his life, but the sound of the song makes it the opposite. 5 of 5

You Don't Mean Anything - One of my favorite songs on the album. Very good lyrics if you feel like making a girl understand that you dont like them. Great guitars and backing vocals by Good Charlotte. 6 of 5

I'm Just a Kid - Lyrics are eh, talks about how none of his friends wanna hang out with him. Starts off slow, then explodes into guitars. 4 of 5

When I'm With You - Eh, this song is most likely to be skipped most of the time. I dont like the guitars and the lyrics. Its an ok POP song though. 2 of 5

Meet You There - Another favorite of mine. Slow song, but GREAT singing by Pierre. He's just amazing with his voice. awesome lyrics and not much guitar but i like it. 5 of 5

Addicted - This song is Simple Plan's second single. I started cracking up because of the lyrics. ... Kind of a medium tempo song. Once again, GREAT singing by Pierre. 4 of 5

My Alien - Eh..the lyrics are kind of [bad]. Talks about how a girl relates to an alien and [stuff]. The beginning of the song is ok, starts out with a Blink 182-ish type solo, then into some good guitars. 3 of 5

God Must Hate Me - Good guitars,slow/fast song, lyrics are about how his life is coincidently always getting bad and Pierre, its not cuz God hates you. God loves everyone :)....4 of 5

I Won't Be There - Another song i would always skip. Its an ok song, but it sounds very similar to other songs on the album, and the lyrics arent too suprising. Its a pretty fast punk/pop song. 3 of 5

One Day - Finally, the only song where Simple Plan uses some acoustic guitars. Lyrics arent too great, it is , once again, about his [bad] life and how ONE DAY he wont take it. Starts out with punkish acoustic solos, and then in the chorus, some electric pops in. 4 of 5

Perfect - MY FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM!!! This song starts off slow, and explodes into some hard rock. Only punk i see in this song is Pierre's voice, otherwise, its AWESOME. Lyrics are also to his dad, and how he cant live a perfect life and hes sorry. GREAT SONG. 100 of 5 (if possible)

Grow Up (Bonus) - Song from the scooby-doo soundtrack. I could tell this song was made before Pierre's voice grew a little mature. Good song, great guitars, and lyrics are about how he doesnt ever wanan grow up, so people should stop telling him to.4 of 5

My Christmas List (Bonus) - This song is secretly hidden after about 50 seconds after Grow Up ends. A christmas song, good guitars, [bad] lyrics about what he wants for christmas and santa. A fast song. 3 of 5

This is a good CD that I listen to alot. If your a fan of Good Charlotte or New Found Glory then you'll like this CD alot. "I'd Do Anything" is the first track which is played on the radio alot, its a pretty good song (not the best) and Mark Hoppus from Blink-182 does backround vocals for this song. "You Don't Mean Anything" comes shortly after and this is probably my favorite song on the CD. The pace is very fast in this song and Joel Madden from Good Charlotte does backround vocals in this song, plus the guitar riffs are awesome. "I'm Just a Kid" is a good track too, although it has a slower pace the lyrics are good and the chorus is very catchy. Other notable tracks are "My Alien" in which Simple Plan's lead singer talks about his fantasies with an alien girlfriend, pretty funny. Also, the powerful guitar riffs and pretty funny lyrics in "God Must Hate Me" make it worth listening to alone. At the end of the CD theres "Perfect" which is an anthem for kids who don't want to be exactly what their parents want them to be and their basically saying to their parents that they can't be perfect. Its a good, slow song that has alot of meaning, one of the best songs on the CD. The two bonus tracks, "Grow Up" and "Christmas" put SP in the place of little kids, and some of the lyrics in these songs are funny. Some of the tracks on the CD are a little weak, but none of them are horrible, making this CD worth buying. It also contains bonus movies and features when you put the CD in your computer.

Simply put (pun intended), this band is just the kind of pop that Mtv wants you to believe is actually Punk. Well, SP fans, as you might not know, there IS a thing called punk. And its main elements are: reckless musical abandon, and a 'we don't really give a f- about what anyone thinks' attitude, among other things. Now, of course SP has none of this at all. As a public service, I will guide you teens as to what Punk REALLY is. Bands such as The Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, Dead Kennedys, and The Exploited embody the true Punk spirit. I know Mtv doesn't play them, and that most of you were not yet born, or were barely learning to say "mom" when these bands were around (exce[t Bad Reigion, who is still around). But, the fact that the almighty Mtv doesn't play them doesn't diminish their talent and impact one bit. In fact, to be played side-by-side with these SP guys would actually be demeaning to the bands mentioned. Again, I thank Mtv for their infallible way of promoting closed-mindedness and a complete lack of historical perspective on music. In other words, most kids today do not know that there indeed was music before Korn. Sad but true.

Just for you to know: I already know what's going to happen. As soon as the Simple Plan fans come and see this negative review on this site, they're going to press "Not Helpful" so this review becomes one of the less popular, just because they don't like that other people's opinions don't match their own. So please don't press "Not Helpful" unless you honestly haven't bought the CD and it really isn't helpful to you. Keep in mind people, be honest whether the reviews are helpful to you or not helpful, as it's being helpful to the person who wrote it.

Now onto the CD: I bought this CD a month ago because one of my friends said that it was awesome "punk rock" and since I liked Avril Lavigne I should listen to this. I don't know what this is, but it isn't punk or rock. It's pop/rock. They're tying to pull this Smashmouth + Good Charlotte thing which isn't working.

There's only THREE songs that I could listen to over and over again, and that's "Addicted" and "God Must Hate Me" and "My Christmas List." Most of these songs on the CD are whiny about not wanting to grow up (i.e. "Grow Up", "I'm Just a Kid" and "Perfect"). The song "Perfect" is irritating to me because it's whiny and annoying, and what is this thing that "Daddy I can't be perfect!"? Like the anonymous reviewer said they are 25-ish and singing about being 'kids.'

The other problem with this CD is more than one song carries the message of "life sucks" (i.e. see lyrics for "God Must Hate Me", "The Worst Day Ever" and some of "Perfect"). If you like a boring CD with every track repetitive of one another, then this is for you.

And the rest of the CD? It's filler. Some of the songs' lyrics sound like they rushed through to get their CD done and released. If you really want to know the 'grades' for this, look below:

1. I'd do Anything -- 9/10

I'm a teen and I don't find most of this very interesting. I don't why teens or anybody finds thing great music to listen to; it's just another CD that the media is throwing in your face. Maybe if the media gives us some good music to listen to we will buy CDs that cost...dollars, rather than downloading it.