MXPX!

[xpunkskaterx]

I think they changed their style, but they didnt sell-out

 

[tiggs]

So lemme get this straight... They have sold out to their record company? Their record company being... Tooth and Nail.. Umm, let's see...

Slick Shoes, Watashi Wa, Two Thirtyeight, Hangnail, Thousand Foot Krutch, The Agony Scene, Slow Coming Day, Kutless, Starflyer 59, Dead Poetic, Stretch Arm Strong, Bleach, The OC Supertones, Holland, and Underoath to name a few... Must also be sell outs, because they are all under tooth and nail (or a division of) records.

I proudly sport my MxPx Hoodie. Just because MxPx got put on the secular charts doesn't make them sell outs... Again, Switchfoot, Blindside, POD, 12 Stones, Skillet (and more!) are on the secular charts, some with multiple songs. Are they sell outs too?
A group that sells out writes music only for the money. They write cookie cutter music. Meaningless music. So what MxPx doesn't always sing "Jesus Loves me", that's not all a Christian band should sing. Look at Five Iron Frenzy for example. They have plenty of songs that are just fun songs.

You wanna talk about a sell out punk band, talk about Blink 182, not MxPx. Especially not when it just comes to Punk music in it's own, whether it's secular or Christian, no way have they sold out. Bands that have been around for a long time have changes in their styles, that doesn't mean they've sold out either.

Ah well, my little ramble/rant. Thanks for letting me speak, have a blessed day/evening all!
ttfn
Tiggs

 

[TheDandyMan]

So lemme get this straight... They have sold out to their record company? Their record company being... Tooth and Nail.. Umm, let's see...

Slick Shoes, Watashi Wa, Two Thirtyeight, Hangnail, Thousand Foot Krutch, The Agony Scene, Slow Coming Day, Kutless, Starflyer 59, Dead Poetic, Stretch Arm Strong, Bleach, The OC Supertones, Holland, and Underoath to name a few... Must also be sell outs, because they are all under tooth and nail (or a division of) records.

But, what you're basically saying is, if one student in class is a bad student (if one band on a record label is a sellout), then all of the students are bad students (all of the bands on the label are sellouts). I saw starflyer in a crummy little college cafeteria (the show had free admission) and it was just Jason Martin with an acoustic asking for suggestions on what to play. Not sellouts.

As for mxpx, I think they're selling out. It may not be their decision, but if you're on Pepsi commercials, somebody's going to want to change how you look so the pop culture folks will accept you.

 

[Qyöt27]

As much as I love punk rock (in all its different flavors), the whole 'selling-out' issue is the one area I can't stand. There are many types of alternative music that have gotten mainstream attention and sometimes gotten accustomed to it, but nobody seems to harp on them (of course, those types of music were generally pariahs to begin with and the mainstream only incorporated them; it didn't assimilate them).

Punk is getting accepted as a legitimate type of music now, by many of the people that hated it in the 70s and early 80s (no matter how much they still don't like it), and so the pop-punk bands do get a little 'prettying up' and slicker studio production to boot. I don't see a band as a sell-out; I don't believe in labelling bands like that. But as far as the mainstream is concerned, finding a punk band selling out is gonna start becoming a lot harder since a lot of neo post-punk is flooding the charts and post-punk itself never had issues with 'selling out', even in the early 80s.

But, what you're basically saying is, if one student in class is a bad student (if one band on a record label is a sellout), then all of the students are bad students (all of the bands on the label are sellouts). I saw starflyer in a crummy little college cafeteria (the show had free admission) and it was just Jason Martin with an acoustic asking for suggestions on what to play. Not sellouts.

I believe he was being sarcastic, not meaning to say that every band signed to a record company is a sellout if one is.

 

[tiggs]

But, what you're basically saying is, if one student in class is a bad student (if one band on a record label is a sellout), then all of the students are bad students (all of the bands on the label are sellouts). I saw starflyer in a crummy little college cafeteria (the show had free admission) and it was just Jason Martin with an acoustic asking for suggestions on what to play. Not sellouts.

As for mxpx, I think they're selling out. It may not be their decision, but if you're on Pepsi commercials, somebody's going to want to change how you look so the pop culture folks will accept you.

With your 1 student analogy: That was in response to another person saying that MxPx was selling out to their record company, which would in turn mean that Tooth and Nail would be out for the money causing their artists to sell out, get what I mean there? And yeah, it was a sarcastic statement, I know it's hard to detect sarcasm over the net

And for talking about selling out for a pepsi commerical... Don't forget, one of the first things MxPx did was...yup...A Mt. Dew commercial.

Where do you wanna go?
What do you wanna do?
What do you wanna drink? Mountain Dew, yeah!

I think it's getting late
And I can't stand up straight
I'm so thirsty I could use a different taste tonight

Mountain Dew in my head and on my mind
Mountain Dew in my head and feeling fine
Mountain Dew in my head and on my mind
Mountain Dew in my head....

Mountain Dew in my head and on my mind
Mountain Dew in my head and feeling fine
Mountain Dew in my head and on my mind
Mountain Dew in my head and feeling fine

Of course a song for a commercial is going to seem like the band has sold out, they are singing a song written for the commercial. I guess they sold out before they even started. Oh yeah, don't forget that they did the Scooby Doo theme song for the Scooby Doo movie. I congradulate MxPx for being such a great band that they are recognized by a movie such as Scooby Doo and asked to do their theme song.

One other aspect I love about MxPx is the covers they do. They just pick songs that you wouldn't think of as a punk song...ie Barbie Girl...and cover it and make the song sound so much better than the original.

Hehe, ok, I'm done again. Thanks again for letting me make some input.

 

[blinkgirl]

hey a lotta points well made here but i agree that just because a band turns get some mainstream attention and u see their video or whatever on tv doesnt mean theyre "sellouts". i also agree that mxpx has changed their style, its just a matured sound, more and better production etc.first mxpx i bought was "life in general" back in the day and then i gradually built up pokinacha, on the cover, at the show, and the newest i have is the ever passing moment. definitely a big difference between pokinacha and ever passing moment but its just the natural maturity of a band, no sound is gonna be preserved album after album and year after year, skill develops, people change, production gets better, and i have to say, of course money gets into it, but, personally i'd be modestly flattered by sucess. so maybe theyve gone away from the original thing but if u don't like the change, don't buy the cd or don't go to the concert, i'm perfectly happy sitting here listening to my old scratched copy of "life in general".

blinkgirl

 

[pokinatcha]

MXPX are and always will be one of my favourite bands and I won't have anyone bad mouthing the boys.
I remember in the Relient K song 'down in flames' the lyrics say

"We're cannibals.
We watch our brothers fall.
We eat our own, the bones and all."

Why is it that when I band proclaims their faith and even sings about it in their lyrics but falters from that and doesn't write blatantly christian lyrics, we cast the first stone and call them sell-outs and rip them to shreds and try to bring about their downfall. But then a band with no openly christian beliefs such as creed or evanescence writes songs that could be interpreted as christian and the whole christian world rejoices and they're all over the cover of every christian music magazine?

I now have 23 of their CD's, including all their main albums, EP's and christmas albums and plenty of their t-shirts and other merch and I'll do whatever I can to support the band cos their one of the few decent punk bands I can listen to and get my non-christian friends to listen to, knowing that the lyrics are gonna be decent, fun & meaningful to me.
I'm an actual member of the MXPX fanclub, and on the noticeboard in there we talk about all kinds of stuff, especially christianity and stuff we want people to pray about and whatever problems and dramas we're having.
It's a place where we can all be completely real with each other, a place that is there and maintained thanks to MXPX.

One of the best MXPX albums is called "life in general" and when it comes down to it, that's really what the band is about! Real everyday life as a human being in this world and all that you face.
Sure their music has changed over time, as it does when you start off as 3 punk teenagers starting a novice band during school and then go on to publish over 150 songs, release over 12 full albums, tour the world and get married.
Both U2 & REM have also changed their style of music with the over-20 years they've been playing, musicians have a habit of doing that rather than playing the same style every time for 2 decades.
I have grown up through my emotional teen years listening to MXPX and their songs have always been a comfort to me, to listen to and know that I'm not alone. I have never needed them to preach to me, I have the bible and church for that.
God gave Mike, Tom & Yuri the gift of making music and they've done that to the best of their ability. Whatever else they do to serve God in their lives is up to them, not for any of us to judge.

And they're finally getting the recognition they deserve for their talent, in the music industry. I say good for them! It's an expensive industry to be in and they should take the opportunities that God is opening up to them.
Unless you've been involved in the music industry or know what it's all about and understand all that goes on with recording and the companies they've gone through, don't presume they've 'sold-out', that is the most abused term I see describing bands.
I respect them more for the fact that they have changed, tried new styles and written the music they enjoy rather than staying the same to cater for the market they had captured already.

Unless you really understand what the punk culture is about, have followed their journey and are willing to look deeply into their lyrics, don't even bother trying to comment on the band and what they're about! Their newest album "BEFORE EVERYTHING AND AFTER" is a fantastic sounding album and they even got backup from other bands like NFG and Good Charlotte who got their style and fame from touring as the MXPX support band. The album has a few songs in particular that are extremely meaningful for me because of personal reasons, so please don't disgregard them and what they mean to me.
As long as they go on writing songs I can laugh, cry or just sing along to, I'll always be a fan.

 

[PreacherFergy]

Watching one of their most recent videos, I see nothing "Christian" in it. Whatever happened to letting your light SHINE BEFORE MEN?

 

[xpunkskaterx]

But, what you're basically saying is, if one student in class is a bad student (if one band on a record label is a sellout), then all of the students are bad students (all of the bands on the label are sellouts). I saw starflyer in a crummy little college cafeteria (the show had free admission) and it was just Jason Martin with an acoustic asking for suggestions on what to play. Not sellouts.

As for mxpx, I think they're selling out. It may not be their decision, but if you're on Pepsi commercials, somebody's going to want to change how you look so the pop culture folks will accept you.

Their under A&M records. What are you talking about?



And for the music video thing. I dont see anything christian about "TFK's" Rawkfist. So they arent Christna either, right?

 

[mewithoutyouska]

they r ok, but they r to mainstream, and there r many better bands

 

[shmody]

I need to set the record straight (MxPx reference not intended) about two points made so far.

MxPx did _not_ do Barbie Girl, it was Home Grown. Please don't believe everything you download off of Kazaa. (Nor did they do Popeye or Brown Eyed Girl)

MxPx is no longer with A&M. http://www.aversion.com/news/news_article.cfm?news_id=2603

/nitpicking

 

[TheMainException]

their a great pop punk band. I love teenage politics and life in general. I dont like the vocals though.

The vocals are my favorite part. They have such a unique sound to them and I love it. To me, their sound defines punk rock.

 

[TheMainException]

I think they changed their style, but they didnt sell-out

Agreed