Good Charlotte started their career in a poor family, with Joel and Benji Madden (vocals, guitar) living with their mother. The two twins' main goal was to get a record deal and finally leave the crap-hole they were living in.
This was the first Good Charlotte album I ever bought. I tore open the plastic wrapping and popped it into my CD player. Here's what I thought of the album in track-by-track form:
A New Beginning: 5/5. Not really a "song", but it's awesome. The intro is a little jack-in-the-box tune, then the guitars blast in, and it gets heavier. The simple guitar riffs are very catchy, and there are many amazing keyboard effects to make this a great introduction to a great album.
The Anthem: 5/5. This song is calling out to all the kids in the world who dream of becoming famous, and Good Charlotte supports with verses about people telling them to go to college and get a good job, but the band ignores them and continues to follow their dream. Okay, so that was corny, but seriously, it's a good song.
Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: 4/5. This song is one of the best on the album. It was one their biggest hits ever, talking about how rude and wealthy celebrities really are. It's probably the band's biggest hit and overplayed song.
Wondering: 4/5. I've heard that this is actually about Benji's dog. It's pretty good, and the chorus is pretty cool. It's one of the catchiest on the album and a breath of fresh air from the overplayed hit before this.
The Story of My Old Man: 4/5. Even though this is fast-paced and a tiny bit rushed, this song is really sad if you actually listen to the lyrics. Joel sings about his and Benji's dad, and remembering baseball games and "I love you"s and "you will go far"s and then their dad runs off, leaving Joel, Benji and their unwealthy mother behind.
Girls and Boys: 2/5. A song about girls liking what boys have, but not boys themselves. Interesting and somewhat humorous. I find this song extremely boring and the lyrics are terrible at some points throughout the song.
My Bloody Valentine: 5/5. This song is catchy. Though it's somewhat violent at a few points in the song, like the first verse, opening with "I ripped out his throat..." and most of the song is about death. This is just about the heaviest song on the album. It's one of the best songs on the album and one of my favorites.
Hold On: 5/5. This is a very insprational song against suicide. Though the video is not very good (In the video, there are interruptions during the song with real people talking about how their loved ones commited suicide.), the song itself is one of my favorites, and it let me know that I still have a long time to live, so things might get better. Basically Good Charlotte's "Adam's Song". This song leaves you with one question: Why waste your entire life now?
Riot Girl: 3/5. This is a short song about some girl who's apparently crazy. It's super fast and bags on celebs. That's all I need in a song.
Say Anything: 2.5/5. I don't listen to this song much anymore, but when I first heard it, it was pretty cool. It's one of the worst on the album, but it has some alright lyrics and Joel's vocals have improved a bit from the last track.
The Day That I Die: 4/5. Benji's dog, Cashdogg, gets a mention in this song, so it's a great song. I'm not sure what the actual song is about, but the title apparently states that whoever wrote this is having some thoughts about death. But the lyrics are poorly written. Other than that it's a pretty good song.
The Young and the Hopeless: 5/5. Awesome intro, great verses, great chorus. The title track which works this time. It's fast(er) and it should give you some kind of stupid reason to like this album. You figure out the rest.
Emotionless: 5/5. This is a very soft song about Joel and Benji's dad leaving them. It's slow and mostly acoustic, so it's different from most GC songs, so it's good to have a little mix.
Movin' On: 4/5. I just love the intro on this song! The rest isn't all that great but Billy and Benji do some fine guitar work here. This song's slower but it works, and turns out to be an "a-okay" song.
