The album Good Luck Everybody by the folk punk band AJJ was released Jan. 17.
Good Luck Everybody is the seventh studio album released by AJJ, formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad.
The best way I can describe the band AJJ is a group that has stepped a foot over the line of what is appropriate to talk about in a normal conversation, and they are throwing stones and taunting those that stand on the opposite side of line.
They tackle really messed up subjects and sing about some questionable things in their songs, but they do it in a way that makes you question why it’s happening or why things are the way they are.
This band’s music makes me so incredibly uncomfortable at times, but I can’t stop listening. Nearly every song on this album is chilling, and some are incredibly political. It is also difficult to write about some of these songs too. They are those types of songs that you just have to listen in order to fully understand. So, sit back, maybe turn on Spotify and play the album, and get ready for some interesting views and topics. Good luck everybody.
The first song on the album is titled “A Poem.” In this song, the singer says that a poem is simply a song that nobody cares about, with the only ones that do being the ones that wrote said song. The singer then compares songs to commercials “for awful, ugly people who want your money, your attention, and all your love.”
The singer later says these people also “want the power and the money and the other good stuff you’re bringing.” I find it funny that a group of people who are performers who make money off of sales are rather harshly calling out those in their profession who get wrapped up in the fame and fortune.
The sad part is that it’s true. We want to think that some of our favorite artists are down to earth and do it for their fans, but most of the time it’s for our money and the attention they get because of us.
The next song on this track has me so fired up right now. If you don’t think that this band would be your taste, I still highly recommend that you listen to “Normalization Blues.” It is one of those songs that makes you realize just how messed up our society and world really are.
It also shows the effects all of this have on us as members of this society. The singer near the beginning of the song says, “I can feel my outrage changing to a dull, despondent sadness.” What gets me most about this song is that a lot of it is true.
The singer makes remarks about the president and goes on to say, “He’s a symptom and a weapon of the evil men who really run the show… And they try to divide us, and largely they’re succeeding [be]cause they’ve undermined our confidence in the news that we are reading, and they make us fight each other with our faces buried deep inside our phones.” I’m just going to leave that there.
I don’t know where to begin with the third song on this album,”Body Terror Song.” It opens with the singer saying rather remorsefully, “I’m so sorry that you have to have a body.” He goes on to tell the reasons behind why he feels this way, saying that “It will betray you, be used against you, then it will fail on you… but before that you’ll be a doormat for every vicious narcissist in the world.” As the song closes, the singer’s voice becomes more distorted. It’s a very chilling song, and it definitely isn’t the good kind of chilling.
A nice change of pace on this album is found on the song “Maggie.” It is a sweet song from what seems to be the point of view of a pet. It speaks of trust and love between pet and owner. The line in this song that tugs on my heart strings is “I let you put me in the box because I know that you know what I need more than me, and I know that you need me more than that.” Excuse me while I go cuddle my dog and cry for a bit.
The final song on this album that stood out the most to me is “Your Voice, as I remember It.” It is about wanting to hear the voice of someone who is dead, and how there are no recordings to be able to remember it. It’s a sweet and sad song, and it hits fairly close to home with me.
Overall, I thought the album was great, but very pessimistic. There were songs that were a bit too political for my taste, and some that crossed too far over that line I mentioned earlier. The majority of the songs, however, I did really enjoy. AJJ definitely isn’t for everybody but I do recommend giving this album a listen, just to see.
Photo Credit / AJJ
