John Ballantyne A “Brand New” Maturity Some bands get popular as they get older, but their most diehard fans aren’t always happy. They claim the band has sold out to the corporate machine and aren’t writing songs about what they care about. The band “Brand New” has gotten older and more popular, however selling out is exactly what they have not done; “brand new” has simply matured as they have aged and been through more in their life. “Brand new” is a band that formed in 2000 and consisted of members all from Long Island. Lead singer Jesse Lacey, of Levittown has written most of the songs for the band. In 2001, Brand New was an immature, innocent pop-punk band that made songs in which they fantasized about supermodels. However, by 2006 Brand New has become a mature group of young men, writing songs that deal with more serious social issues, such as drunk driving. Through Jesse’s lyrics you can see how he, as well as the rest of the band has matured so much from their first album release in 2001, to their most recent album in 2006. Brand New’s first album was release in 2001 and titled, Your Favorite Weapon. This album was your typical pop-punk album filled with catchy lyrics about girls, partying and drinking, friends, and enemies. The song “Magazines” shows the childishness of Brand New at the time, in which Jesse continuously talks about how he is in love with a supermodel he only, sees on TV: “Laetitia, you destroy me, so I can’t see why I feel so lonely when you and I could be forever perfectly perfect together. I know. Broken down in my dead bedroom, stuttering to pictures of you. I know that you can always see me. I saw you staring through my TV last night.” The girl Laetitia he is talking about is supermodel Laetitia Casta who he falls in love with because he sees her on TV and in, as the song is titled, magazines. Laeticia “destroys” him because he is infatuated with her and realizes he will never be able to be with her. He becomes lonely at this thought and dreams that they can be “perfectly perfect together”. He is upset at the fact he will never be with Laeticia (“broken down in my dead bedroom”) and is speechless at how beautiful she is while staring obsessed at pictures of her (“stuttering to pictures of you”). He also dreams that while he is watching her on television and magazines that she can also see him when he says, “I know that you can always see me, I saw you staring through my T.V. last night”. Jesse Lacey feel as if her and the girl connect when he sees her image, whether in magazines or on T.V. This infatuation he has with a supermodel he has never met, as well as pleasuring himself to images of this girl, gives Your Favorite Weapon the immature pop-punk edge that they were labeled with in 2001. Still nervous and fantasizing about the supermodel he so desperately desires, he goes on to say, “Laetitia, you got my hand shaking, I’m begging you oh baby please stop breaking my heart because I got the feeling that you and I will never really get it on.” Jesse’s hand is not shaking because he is having a seizure or nervous, but because he knows that him and Laetitia will never “get it on” and therefore will pleasure himself while looking at images of her with his “hand shaking”. It is immature to have obsession with a super model especially when they seem to contain some sort of emotional attachment. The song “Magazines” is just one of many songs on this album that shows that Brand New was just a bunch of kids making music that weren’t really deep, but they enjoyed playing. Considering the members of Brand New were in their late teens and early twenties when they created Your Favorite Weapon, their music was childish. However, by 2006 Brand New had grown into adults and released their most recent album, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me. It is rumored that the whole album is about the tragic death of Katie Flynn, the flower girl in a wedding. After the reception, Flynn was being driven to a hotel. Their limousine was struck by a drunk driver heading in the wrong direction on the Meadowbrook parkway, and the seven year old Katie, was killed. While it is unknown whether they knew Flynn personally, the story was a tragic and popular story in their hometown on Long Island. While it is disputed as to whether the whole album is about this tragedy, the song cleverly titled, “Limousine” is undoubtedly about the accident: “K, here’s your ride. Get your petals out and lay them in the aisle Pretend you are God, and grow, And that it’s your own day to wed We’ve found your man. He’s drinking up. He’s all-American, and he’ll drive. He’s volunteered with grace to end your life.” This lyric from the song refers to the limousine they take to the wedding (“K, here’s your ride) and introduces Katie, who was the flower girl in the wedding (“Get your petals out and lay them in the aisle”). Then goes on to introduce the killer (“We’ve found your man”) and explain that he is drunk and has made the choice to drink and drive and thus the choice to end Katie’s life (“He’s drinking up…..and he’ll drive. He’s volunteered with grace to end your life”). Toward the end of the song he counts how many times he repeats the last line and ends Brand New throughout the album, but especially this song take a very serious approach to drunk driving and prove through their lyrics how devastating it is. Showing “Magazines” from Brand New’s first album, “Your Favorite Weapon”, and “Limousine” from their most recent album, “The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me” prove how much Brand New has certainly matured as a band. These two tracks prove that Brand New has absolutely matured as a band over the past five years. The band started young, writing about falling in love with images of a supermodel and pleasuring oneself to them. Upon reaching adulthood, the band matured and their music followed suit. They took on much more serious topics, such as how big of a problem drunk driving is, as well as citing a tragedy from their hometown as an example of the problem. Brand New has grown as a band rapidly over the past five years and will continue to mature even more with each album because they will become wiser and more aware of society over time. In several songs that the band has made, they take a very strong stance against drunk driving and I expect them to become stronger advocates against drinking and driving in the future. While the type of music they play may change slightly, the substance and meaning will still exist. Bibliogrphy Brand New, and Jesse Lacey. “Magazines.” Your Favorite Weapon. Razor & Tie, 2001. Brand New, and Jesse Lacey. “Limousine.” The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me. Interscope, 2006. “Brand New Lyrics- Limousine.” Plyrics. 7 May 2008 . “Brand New Lyrics- Magazines.” Plyrics. 7 May 2008 .plyrics.com/lyrics/brandnew/magazines.html>.

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