We Are The Normal – Joe Normal (New Jersey Phonograph)
This is a CD single. I think it's a little sad how the younger generation don't really keep hard copies of CDs or records on the shelf, anymore. They all prefer to store it in the cloud, or whatever, it's just virtualized and abstractly stored in their I-Gadgets. But older rock ‘n’ roll people like me, actually like the little gatefold sleeves with the lyrics and picture.
Joe Normal is my fave USA! USA! power pop contemporary - he writes emboldened singalong anthems for guttersnipes and barflies and aging dishwashers like you and me. He's got a kickass band and always delivers this beautiful pop ‘n’ roll that'll remind you of the freer, cooler, long gone glory days, before the oligarchy mass-hypnotized everyone you knew into eagerly signalling their obedience to the higher-ups, by abandoning their communal nature and critical thinking skills and viciously rat-racing for the most piles of stuff.
"We are, we are, we are the normal" reminds me of all the best ‘80s era pop groups like The Alarm, Icicle Works, the Church and Hanoi Rocks. He knows what he's doing and the B-side is another winner. "U Say" is a Generation X-style protest song challenging the monopoly media's non-stop propagandizing for the one percent ruling class Fascists, who enslave us with needless division and manufactured fear and endless wars based on lies. His music always flickers with all the best-loved Cheap Trick, Raspberries, Plimsouls and Dramarama pop tones, his guitars are always sensational -just right.
"We are, we are, we are the normal" is gonna stay lodged in your head, while you do the dishes, take out the trash, and make the kid's breakfast. It's really catchy, and wide awake and energizing-both songs bristle with alive and kicking, snarling, working class rebellious spirit. Kinda like a Yankee version of The Godfathers. Like champagne and birthday cake, and it would make Mick Jones and Joe Strummer proud. Powerful and inclusive resistance anthems after my own heart! "Outsiders in our own strange town." Perfect, like always. Out April 2.
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