Come On Mariana's Trench...

Mariana's Trench's new song, Pop 101, encompasses perhaps everything I dislike in their band.  If I can think of one band that makes me the most uncomfortable while listening, it has to undoubtedly be Mariana's Trench.  The fake punk rock, I'm so hardcore attitude has worn thin, and I can't stand it anymore.

If you are in the band and are reading this (lol that would be strange) please stop your current practice of music.  You are talented musicians and are capable of so much more.

Pop 101 is not some sort of rebellion against the record label system, it is not the classic artists vs. label battle that we have come to expect.  Mariana's Trench is firmly established as a label band.  They write music that sells, that many people enjoy.  And that is okay, there is nothing wrong with that, but lets not pretend that you are not part of the pop music machine that we know and love today.  Songs like "Fall Out" and "Shake Tramp" live firmly in the pop music category, they have been successfully promoted by their music label, and have been huge songs on the Canadian music scene.  They are a band that is living the dream of being successful while performing in front of thousands of people on any given night.  They preformed at the Grey Cup for goodness sake...that is awesome.

The song itself seems to attempt to be a satire of what has become a slightly predictable song pattern that has been effectively used in pop music.  The lyrics are written intentionally to mock this genre's greatest practitioners, with references to Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Mumford and Sons and many more.  The thing is though...that in order to rebel against the form of pop music...you can't be considered a stereotypical pop music band.

Pop 101 - The Music Video

There is nothing wrong with that.  Own it, live in it, its okay to be in pop music.  You are not hardcore though, and the majority of their previous singles all follow the same musical pattern that they claim to decry in Pop 101.  Its hypocritical to mock other bands for doing something that you yourself have used to become famous in the Canadian music scene.  It is clearly a pattern that people enjoy to listen to, and a pattern that has worked for you in the past.

You are not the Ramones, you are not Blink 182, you are not an independent anti-establishment band that lives or dies on the support of its fans.  Your are a pop music, label band.  Your good at it, please stop trying to be something that you are not.

This has been "rants thought up while stuck in traffic" on the QEW (a Canadian highway in case your wondering)