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The Vandals - Hitler Bad, Vandals Good Audio CD

A fair review of the The Vandals "Hitler Bad, Vandals Good" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Vandals reviews here, or go back to the The Vandals tabs.

The Vandals Band: The Vandals
Title: Hitler Bad, Vandals Good
Rating:
Release Date: 1998-06-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: People That Are Going to Hell 2: Cafe 405 3: My Girlfriend's Dead 4: I Know, Huh? 5: Money's Not an Issue 6: I've Got an Ape Drape 7: If the Gov't Could Read My Mind 8: Too Much Drama 9: Come Out Fighting 10: Euro-Barge 11: F'D up Girl 12: Idea for a Movie 13: OK 14: So Long, Farewell

Wait this isn't punk rock...
But who cares? It's one of the funniest albums you can buy and also has the Vandals best cover. I bought this with what little graduation money I was given after escaping high school, and was initially surprised by the overall poppiness of this album.


The Culmination Of What The Vandals Do Best
Their musical split-personality really irritates me because while they can produce some of the most cleverly written, witty, melodic punk songs around, so often the Evil-Less-Talented Side of the Vandals comes out and their musical skill seems to go by the wayside in favour of a more "hardcore" angst-driven sound. In my opinion this is the best Vandals album to date. So many of their albums feature both types of songs, but Hitler Bad, Vandals Good contains only the well-written ones. It is upbeat, ridiculous fun from start to finish and shows why the Vandals hold the title of being the Fathers of Dumb-Arse Punk (I am an Aussie afterall) that the younger bands like Guttermouth try to emulate. Highlights include I Know, Huh?, My Girlfriend's Dead and An Idea For A Movie.


Poppier, but still the Vandals...
But really, this is good. This is a poppier Vandals album, but it still mainatain the distinctive sound that they created beginning in the early 80s. It is funny, though ridiculous at times, displays a sifficient amount of musical proficiency, and manages to deliver some rather catchy tunes that stick in your head during soirees and cocktail parties.

Fine some of the songs are endlessly stupid. I still have no idea what the hell "I've got an idea for a movie" is about. But just because the song is stupid does not mean that it is not catchy as hell. It also makes you ask the very important question: if you could fly only for a foot or two and only for an inch or two high, would that extend your jumping distance by that much or is it completely separate? Alas, we may never know the answer. But songs like "People who are going to Hell" and "My Girlfriend's Dead" are legitimately good pop punk songs.

The music is at the Vandals usual top-notch level. It is fast, lively, and of course the best part: Josh Freeze is drumming, so how could the percussion be anything but superb. Though the music is punk, it transcends punk simaltaneously and falls into a realm that only the Vandals can enter.

So long, farewell, auf vederzein (sp), goodbye (oh yeah that song is here too).


Not for listening repeatedly


1) People That Are Going to Hell (8/10) - Pretty good song, nice way to start the CD, altho I was expecting something even more
2) Cafe 405 (6/10) - Lyrics are sorta funny, but not usual Vandals-standard. I got this CD used for CDN$7, and I feel it's really worth the money, but a couple of the songs are worth buying the album. . . gets boring after awhile. . .
3) My Girlfriend's Dead (9/10) - "I say it's leukemia or sometimes bulimia or a great big trunk ran her over and chopped off her head" - Great song! Really funny, gets old if you listening to it too much
4) I Know, Huh? (7/10) - Really nice beginning, but lyrics are kinda stupid (not even like funny-stupid)
5) Money's Not An Issue (10/10) - "I found the twenty bucks I thought I lost under the sofa. I'm feeling like a hundredaire. . . " - This sing is hilarious! Very vandals
6) I've Got An Ape Drape (10/10) - "Some may call it child abuse, I just call it bonding with your dad" A Vandals classic!
7) If The Govn't Could Read My Mind (10/10) From the title, you'd never guess it's a love song, but it is, and a really good one at that!
8) Too Much Drama (7/10) - "Three's Company taught him that just acting gay could lower the actual rent he would pay" - Not very "Vandals", but the middle gets interesting
9) Come Out Fighting (8/10) - Originally bt Pennywise. Good vandals twist on it (makes it happier), but I personally like Pennywise better
10) Euro-Barge (11/10) - Best song on the CD! Very energenic. Too great for words, just listen to it.
11) F'd Up Girl (8/10) - Good intro, but kinda slow, which is not vandals style, but lyrics are funny
12) An Idea For A Movie (7. 5/10) - Good old Vandals. Funny lyrics and good music, but get repetitive after awhile.
13) OK (6. 5/10) - I'd just give it a 5, but since it's pretty energenic, it gets a 6. 5, but gets very repetitive. I feel this is the worst song on the album
14) So Long, Farewell (9/10) - From Sound of Music, great cover. Nice way to end the album.

Overall, a great CD, but when a song is bad, it's BAD.


One of the greatest!
This is probabloy there 2nd best CD next to the Vandals Fear Of A Punk Planet. Well I bought this CD after The Quickening and Fear Of A Punk Planet. This album is hilarious and it is punk at it's best! Songs like My Girlfriends Dead and I've Got An Ape Drape are hilarious and great at the same time. After I heard People That Are Going To He11 I new this CD would be great. I give this album four stars because it is not as good as Fear Of A Punk Planet and there are two bad songs, such as , Come Out Fighting and Money's Not An Issue. This cd is good for any true punk fans and it is also good for fans are fans of comedy. This is also the Vandals last good cd, since they went to Kung Foo Records they changed there style and it's not punk anymore. If your just getting into the Vandals then I would start off with this cd. This is a classic and a must have! .


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