Dillinger Four: Versus God

Happy Memorial Day everybody! I've been working on this post all afternoon and I'm tired of sitting here at my computer, so I'm publishing it warts and all...No editing, so if this is especially rambling and typo-packed (see the "Memorial Day" line above), so be it...Here it is...The Dillinger Four Versus God post that ends up hardly mentioning the album...






















 Dillinger Four: Versus God

2000

Hopeless Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Who Didn't Kill Bambi?  2. "Get Your Study Hall Outta My Recess."  3. Maximum Piss & Vinegar  4. Last Communion  5. Suckers, Intl. Has Gone Public  6. Total.Fucking.Gone.Song  7. Music Is None of My Business  8. Define 'Learning Disorder'  9. Let Them Eat Thomas Paine  10. Shiny Things Is Good.  11. J. Harris  12. Q: How Many Punks Does It Take to Change a Lightbulb?  13. Wreck the Place Fantastic




The entertainment industry has been rocked this weekend by an anonymous hacker who leaked nude online photos of various celebrities using the controversial  /b/ thread of 4chan. Obtained through an Apple icloud leak, the hacker claims to have over 60 photos of A-listers such as...

...Jennifer Lawrence...

...Ariana Grande...

...and Paddy from Dillinger Four...


A spokesperson for Jennifer Lawrence released the following statement, "This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence."


Paddy tweeted, "To those of you looking at photos I took with a crowd of 150 people, years ago in the privacy of a club, hope you feel great about yourselves!"

But we'll try not to let this scandal taint our view of "Versus God"...

This is my personal favorite Dillinger Four album and probably the best album Hopeless Records ever put out (possible tie with "Punk Rock Confidential" by the Queers depending on my mood)...A perfect balance of brute force and pop hooks...Erik takes most of the lead vocals this time around, as opposed to the half Paddy/half Erik approach on "Midwestern Songs... I view this as a plus, since Erik seems to have have the most interesting approach and he can sell a hook a little better than the other guys...

Still, I think Paddy gets in what is possibly the album's best track, "Let Them Eat Thomas Paine"...The song starts out very low-fi with a screech of feedback, some jangling guitar and Paddy's uncharacteristically low-key, mumbly vocals, which grab your attention immediately since they're such a departure from his usual bellerin'...Then suddenly the whole thing stops, a fat-ass riff barges in  only to drop back out as abruptly as it appeared... Leaving only Paddy's shout and a drum beat that appears to be trying to pound him into the ground:

"Rally 'round a cage, cringe at the paper then place the blame on "these days"
As if we don't know what we've seen 'til we view it on the big screen..."

Then the whole band comes together and it becomes immediately apparent that this is the biggest, most bruising anthem in the band's catalog...Political punk is such a difficult thing to get right...You usually end up with either simple, Anti-Flag style sloganeering or a bunch of outdated references, but D4 manages to dig a little deeper into the sick psyche of the country...As a result every lyric hits hard:

"But we act like we didn't know, then kids shoot kids or community defies its role,
Then of course it's everyone's fault except anyone we might know.
Tell me are the colors of the flag much prettier to see,
When viewed from the requisite comfort of the knees,
We're the loyal little chorus still singing out "please"
I can't understand..."

Here, listen to this and tell me that it doesn't hit you in the gut...

And when you think nothing else can touch it, "Shiny Things Is Good" comes on and it becomes clear the band has hit its peak... A crunchy, chugging riffs with Erik singing the album's cleanest, most appealing melody that features a memorable tag-team pre-chorus and a freakin' brilliant stop-start/hand-clap chorus...It jumps from brilliant hook to brilliant hook with such ease that I'm left with little choice but to declare it one of the best songs I've ever heard...And I've heard a lot of songs!

Better than "Stairway to Heaven?"

 Yep...

Better than "Bohemian Rhapsody?"

That's a no-brainer...""Shiny Things Is Good" wins this round, hands down...

Better than Ted Nugent's "I Love My BBQ?"

You bet your biltong! I'm telling you, "Shiny Things Is Good." is the best song ever...Argument over!

Oh yea! I forgot to mention all the Bob Larson samples on the album! You should buy the album for these alone.. I swear, Bob Larson is the funniest man alive...I first encountered his work in Junior High School when a certain teacher decided to save my soul from Satan after seeing "KISS" written on my folder (I went to school in the deep backwoods of Hale, Michigan where people were afraid of monsters) and gave me  a book by Bob Larson outlining the "dangers" of Heavy Metal (which has harmed maybe a handful of people in concert related injuries) and extolled the virtues of religion (which has killed a staggering number of people in various wars and witchhunts)...Anyway, the book was the funniest thing I had read in my life up that point...Then one night I was channel surfing and to my delight I discovered he had a television show! And y'know what?!?! It was 100 times funnier than the book!!!! So on Saturday Nights at about 2 am, we'd turn off the music, continue the beers and watch some Bob...Here's how the interviews usually went:

Caller #1: I don't see what's wrong with celebrating Halloween! It's a fun time for the kids, they get to dress up, go out with their friends, get some candy...It's all harmless...

Bob: Well, let me ask you something, are you a Satanist?

Caller #1: Well, yea...But I don't see what that has to do with it...

Bob: A-Ha!!

But the best parts were his exorcisms!!! Yes! He did on air exorcisms (well usually just clips, but you could buy the entire video for $249.99 or more...)...Here's one where he exorcises the gay right outta some guy...

I was thrilled to find out he now has a girl gang of teenage exorcists!!

"Oh yea, nubile teenage girls are particularly adept at exorcisms, so I usually bring a  handful of them on tour with me, and..." Waitasec...Those cactuses...So familiar...Let me do some googling...Sweet Christmas! I live in the same city as Bob Larson!! Man! I should have him do an exorcism on me! Wait...Nevermind...It's costs like $260.00...I'll live with my demons...At least they don't hit me up for money...

Sorry, I got so sidetracked, that I forgot what album this post was even about...That's right..."Dillinger Four "Versus God"...Easily one of the best pop-punk albums of the 2000's...If you're looking to get into Dillinger Four this is the place to start...It's a little more polished while simultaneously kicking a little more ass...They got it just right, here...

Here's "Shiny Things Is Good."..Enjoy...