MTV.com Yellowcard Interview

[Rohan Kohli]

MTV.com recently wrote an article (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1535200/20060627/yellowcard.jhtml?headlines=true) on Yellowcard (http://www.yellowcardrock.com) and their thoughts on the failure of Lights and Sounds.
In the months leading up to the release of Lights and Sounds, Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key was fond of saying that the ambitious album would probably alienate a large portion of their fanbase, and that he was 100 percent OK with that.

But now, more than five months after the album's release, he might want to reconsider that statement (see "Yellowcard Move To New York, Write LP About Hating Los Angeles"), because Yellowcard wouldn't mind those extra record buyers.

Since it hit stores in late January, Lights — Yellowcard's bid for artistic maturity — has struggled. The LP debuted at #5 on the Billboard albums chart, selling just 90,000 or so copies in its first week, and then began a precipitous drop down the chart, exiting the top 50 within four weeks. It has since disappeared from the top 200 altogether. Its two singles have failed to take off on radio — a situation no doubt exacerbated by Key's near-constant battles with his vocal cords (see "Yellowcard Postpone Gigs, Singer Due For Throat Surgery"), which led them to cancel many gigs around the album's release.

To date, the much-anticipated album has sold a little more than 315,000 copies, a far cry from the breakthrough success of 2003's Ocean Avenue, which approached sales of 2 million.

In short, it's been a rough six months for Yellowcard. And they'll be the first to admit it.

"We have all these theories as to what happened, but basically it comes down to the fact that we don't have the momentum that we had at the height of Ocean Avenue," violinist Sean Mackin said. "I think some people in the band felt the need to rebel from where we were and the kind of acts we were grouped with. A lot of people in our band thought we had a lot more to offer. And that's how we've ended up where we are."

While it may sound like Mackin is making a thinly veiled jab at Key's arguably grandiose aspirations for Lights and Sounds, he assured us he's not. He thinks the whole band bears responsibility for the album's performance.

"I think that the band went on ... maybe not a tangent, but we had a goal in mind, and at the end of the recording process, we were so proud of how artistic we were," he said. "And I think we showed too much. I think maybe we were a little too jaded and a little too dark, and I think that the lack of hope and faith that we put on this record made us a little less sparkly and light to people.

"But I think that it's all part of our evolution," he explained. "We all went a bit too far, Ryan included. He's a very powerful lyricist, but I think that even he was in a dark period after Ocean Avenue. He was very confused as to why — all of a sudden, out of nowhere — there was all this attention on him. It put him in a weird place and that's what he wrote about."

Mackin insists the bandmembers don't view Lights and Sounds as a mistake — "It's more of a learning experience," he laughed — but admitted that everyone is anxious to put the past behind them. And with Key's vocal ailments finally cured, YC may be able to do that, launching a full-scale tour in support of the record — they hit the road June 10, with Matchbook Romance supporting on most dates — and lobbying their label, Capitol Records, to release a third single from Lights.

"I don't know if we're going to get another single. We've canceled almost three months of touring in the past in the last eight months. [And] 'Rough Landing, Holly' went to radio and was the most-added song, but everything just sort of fizzled out," Mackin said. "In the meantime, there's all these other artists getting airplay, so we need to try to build momentum.

"And if we can't get it back, then we're just going to make a new album and come out swinging again," he resolved.

While there are no firm plans to begin work on a follow-up to Lights just yet, Mackin wants fans to know that Yellowcard aren't going to let any of this stop them from making the music they love. However, next time out, they may try to dial back the darkness a bit.

"Ryan is definitely looking for a fresh start. He's learned a lesson from all of this, and you can see it in his eyes and in his step. Lights and Sounds is definitely not what Ocean Avenue was — not to say it's a failure — but we've learned a few things, for sure," Mackin said.

"And I'm a fighter, and I want to go out there and show people just why these songs mean so much for us. And regardless of what you may think, I still love being in this band. It definitely beats serving and cooking at Chili's."

[boldt_action]

a pitiful failure, that's what it was.

[sendouthesoscal]

they fucked up with ben man.. and who cares whats betetr then or now or what... it left a bad taste in the 13 year old girls mouths, and one may argue those girls dont know shit anyway and its TRUE.. why do you think they just assume, bens gone i dont like yellowcard anymore!. its that simple.. (not to mention the footwork done by takeover, even the small indie scene didnt give a fuck about them)

[lightcollapse]

i don't like the new album.

at all.

but great article.

[Tony Pascarella]

Ben Harper made Yellowcard and losing Ben Harper broke Yellowcard. I stand by that statement 110%

[JohnnyG]

real good article. hopefuly they'll come back swinging with some real catchy new songs.

[GDSP]

I think its funny how this album failed because it was "too dark and mature". Like the band started making experimental acid-trip music with samplers and xylophones or something. This album was just as dumb as their first. The only problem was that in between albums people woke up and realized how excruciatingly awful this band is. It happens all of the time. Panic At The Disco's next album will probably have the same result. They'll get big enough to realize that there's a musical world outside of their tiny "scene" and feel embarrassed to be making such lame crap. They'll talk about their new mature songs and hip new influences and make an album that flops as well. Then they'll blame it on the new sound, when in reality, people just got past the hype in between albums and realized that they're the aural equivalent of getting your hands staple-gunned to your eyeballs.
I'm calling it now.

[WarpSpeedChewy]

You gotta respect them for taking a risk. I still like the song "Rough Landing Holly" though.

[grimis16]

Pretty lame how he pinned the failure on the ´´change´´ of their sound....i just think people realized the cd sucked. I dont listen to Ocean Avenue anymore, but it was great on first listen and i can still see, hear, why it was good, but the new one man all i felt was dissapointment. I havnt listened to it since the first couple listens back in january and i really dont want to give it another chance.

[Snails]

I'm afraid hate Yellowcard now. And I loved Ocean Avenue.

[grimis16]

I also think that all the ´´scene´´ kids heard the album when it leaked, and unlike Ocean Avenue they hated what it sounded like and pasted on buying the new one. Another great example of why downloading music is amazing...you dont waste money and terrible crap

[dai the flu]

i must be the only one that liked this new cd. but oh well. to each his own.

[Dan1234]

i thought it was a good album, i thought it was much better than Ocean Avenue, i don't really care how much it "failed", i think mostly everyone would've hated it no matter what it woulda sounded like, i think i'll go listen to it right now, awoooo!

[00spool]

"I think that the band went on ... maybe not a tangent, but we had a goal in mind, and at the end of the recording process, we were so proud of how artistic we were," he said. "And I think we showed too much. I think maybe we were a little too jaded and a little too dark, and I think that the lack of hope and faith that we put on this record made us a little less sparkly and light to people.

[/fs]

And a little more pretentious?

[motivatedchange]

And a little more pretentious?
That was my take on the record.

[alucier]

So is he saying they're going to change their music to sell more records? I'm shocked! I didn't realize this happened in the music industry. I thought it was about making music you enjoy. Silly me.

[snowtires]

it's the same thing that happened to franz ferdinand, they got WAY over-exposed. by the time the new album came out, people were so fucking sick of this band that they wanted nothing to do with them. and i totally don't blame them, because they are awful.

[Jonny 120205]

The live shows are still good, and just cuz Lights n Sounds sucks the big one, doesnt mean im gonna stop listening to Ocean Avenue. Hopefully they'll release an album, more like ocean avenue next, well they took a risk and they did what they wanted regardless of what ppl think, thats pretty punk.didnt work though lol x

[Raiden]

I listened to Lights and Sounds on I think a yahoo/myspace leak or something and it pretty much persuaded me from buying it. I thought that cd was just plain horrible lol.

[Chris Fallon]

I remember seeing Yellowcard on their club tour right before the album came out, thinking to myself, "What is off with this band?" Then the whole Ben thing went down, I heard all the rumors (some of which, if true, made absolute sense), and I was unsure of what this band was doing.

Listen, no band wants to be in that Simple Plan/All-American Rejects crowd their entire careers, but Yellowcard seemed to try taking ambitiousness to a new level, too quickly. That alienated a ton of fans, and add in the Ben Harper bullshit and Ryan's vocal problems, it made the album unsuccessful. I'll admit the album was incredibly disappointing, but after a few listens, I can't say I hate it entirely. I just can't see it being a multi-platinum seller, and I think it just may have killed this band forever. Too bad...One For The Kids and Ocean Avenue are both fucking awesome records.

[The Revisionist]

This is still the only Yellowcard album I like.

[ironlionOROKU]

good. YC eats it

[BettyDavisDance]

it is all about the karma

[beggingthesky]

i think nelson muntz has something to say about this...HAha

[thatsignant]

ryan is a real powerful lyricist?

[spitfire6647]

I hated this album at first, but due to boredom I've been listening to it more. It's no Ocean Avenue, but there are some great songs on there like World, Hands Hearts, Rough Landing Holly, and my favorite, City of Devils.

[ACA]

OA was punk-pop all the kids could eat up on "Now: 483" compilations. I imagine Fall Out Boy will be in the same or similar situation with their next album, as will My Chemical Romance.

LAS is more alternative rock, not as catchy, and not as good--though there are some good songs on there if people would give the music a chance and not flip about the Ben situation. Rough Landing Holly is one of my favorite Yellowcard songs, as is Hollywood Died. Lights And Sounds (song) is good, Sure Thing Falling is good. City Of Devils and Two Weeks From Twenty are weak, though.

-ACA

[xabadstarrx]

i stopped listening to them when they kicked out that hot guy Alex.. i think he was the bassist or something.

[Chemical Love]

Lights and Sounds was fucking horrible. I cant beleive it was released 5 months ago, it seems like years since I've heard anything about them or that CD.

[phoenixinflames]

i thought the new cd was alright, but i gotta say i enjoyed this article more than my first listen.

[NFG4ever]

I've been a Yellowcard fan for a long time now. But i can't say i'm a huge fan anymore. Ben was the face of Yellowcard , he stood out so much. If you want record sales back , bring back Ben.

Yellowcard was such a fun band before , when I first seen them on warped , I was seriously like a little kid in the crowd , I was pumped. Lookin at Sean rocking out his violin , Ben swingin his long blond hair rockin right out and they just looked like a happy bunch , now you watch them live and Sean isn't really rockin out because he barely plays on the new record , then you got this new guy that is boring on stage. Now you got this dark record and the band just looks empty , theres something missing in YC. Bring back the good times , bring back Ben.

[SuperJoe]

so anyone else excited for a new bad religion album?

[travisrotten]

I work at chilis, and its better than being in yellowcard.

[siimpx]

I hear ben was taking tickets at warped this year....so shitty

[avitabully]

Chili's is the new golf course. Small Business Man Magazine.

This has nothing to do with the Ben guy or karma. It has to do with momentum, trends in flux, and ineffective promotion. There was no buzz about this band in January (or now) and it killed their album sales, plain and simple.

Who cares anyways? You can't always appreciate with time.

[Gregkash]

it is all about the karma

Quoted for the truth

[emerson1892]

I work at chilis, and its better than being in yellowcard.



HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[IATA4224]

Maybe because Yellowcard is a terrible band???

[Dan1234]

hahaha dan, but you like Allister

Heck yeah i do, i like the new YC too

it's not entirely awesomazing as hell, but it's not nearly as boring as OA was

[gengen]

their next one will fail too. the failure of this record is directly related and is the exact reprocution of what having your "scene" turn on you can do. this scene will not support this band ever again.

your muilti-platinum one second, the next you are absolutely x'ed from the scene. dont ever ever forget where you came from and who helped you get there.

in my opinion, the musicians and their personalities are just as important as the music they play.

[TheLastDay]

i think theyve done a similar thing to finch, what it is to burn was amazing and they lost a lot of their fanbase cos theyre 2nd album was, well, poo.

[SuperJoe]

their next one will fail too. the failure of this record is directly related and is the exact reprocution of what having your "scene" turn on you can do. this scene will not support this band ever again.

your muilti-platinum one second, the next you are absolutely x'ed from the scene. dont ever ever forget where you came from and who helped you get there.

in my opinion, the musicians and their personalities are just as important as the music they play.

my dear lord, that is the worst logic i have ever heard. how can you be so naive to assume that "scene" kids were directly responsible for yellowcard's failure? i'm not sure if you realize this or not, but "scene" kids make up a very small percentage of kids in this country/world. their success is directly attributed to marketing and promotion. their last album did so well because it was pumped nonstop by mainstream radio. it was fashionable at the time. people are always going to love and swallow up what's on the radio. ever wonder how so much generic, shitty music gets played on the radio? it's all promotion. perfect example: fall out boy. christ, if radio success was a measuring stick of great music, then bands like fugazi and operation ivy would be the world's U2 or bow wow.

seriously think about it, how many 1 hit wonders have there ever been? you think that dude that sang that how bizarre song fell off the charts because he didn't stay true to his roots and forgot where he came from? listen, i love tough-guy hardcore probably more than anybody on this board, but you have to give that "true to myself and my family" shit a rest because bro-hymns don't really mean shit in the real world. it's dog-eat-dog. plain and simple.

[surfwaxsideshow]

lights and sounds is honestly one of the worst songs I've ever heard

[sell the sunris]

I find it funny how people now say Ben was the heart of the band. He was a really decent dude, nice enough to me when I met him before the Underdog E.P came out, but I never saw him as the face of the band. Yellowcard's gimmick was always being a pop-punk band with a violin. Sean was the one up there doing backflips on stage and shoving the mic in fans faces to sing the back-ups. No matter how highly you think of him as a guy, he was definately not "the heart and face" or "made and broke" Yellowcard. Sure, the way the band, or rather, members of the band treated him has brought YC tons of hate, but regardless, if he had just up and left of his own free will and said something like "I loved the band, they got me where I am today, I want to spend more time doing my label" and that was all there was to it, NO ONE would have said a fucking word about it. Original fans may have been a bit bummed, but that's it.

The band looked like douches to their fans, bit off way more they could chew, and put out a record that, even though it was mediocre, everyone took that as "fucking terrible" in light of band events. The album wasn't great, okay at best, but you need to look at the music objectively. If you have personal problems with the band and they way they treat people, that's a perfectly valid reason not to support them, but listen to the music and at least be able to distinguish between the band as a musical entity and the band as people. I know people who have always hated YC and would have disliked the record anyway, but there are a large number of fans who hated the album without giving it a real listen. I'm not saying you have to like it or even support, but judge the music separately.

[Merch_Mike]

i hated the album when it first came out but after deciding to give it some more listens, i actually like it now... its one of those albums that takes time to grow on you...

[savesthedave28]

That was a rough article. Ben Harper was working will call at the Orlando Warped Tour and MTV is writing lengthy articles on Yellowcard's failure. I hope they haven't blown all of their money from Ocean Avenue.

[gengen]

my dear lord, that is the worst logic i have ever heard. how can you be so naive to assume that "scene" kids were directly responsible for yellowcard's failure? i'm not sure if you realize this or not, but "scene" kids make up a very small percentage of kids in this country/world. their success is directly attributed to marketing and promotion. their last album did so well because it was pumped nonstop by mainstream radio. it was fashionable at the time. people are always going to love and swallow up what's on the radio. ever wonder how so much generic, shitty music gets played on the radio? it's all promotion. perfect example: fall out boy. christ, if radio success was a measuring stick of great music, then bands like fugazi and operation ivy would be the world's U2 or bow wow.

seriously think about it, how many 1 hit wonders have there ever been? you think that dude that sang that how bizarre song fell off the charts because he didn't stay true to his roots and forgot where he came from? listen, i love tough-guy hardcore probably more than anybody on this board, but you have to give that "true to myself and my family" shit a rest because bro-hymns don't really mean shit in the real world. it's dog-eat-dog. plain and simple.


"scene" kids might not be directly responsible, but im 99.99% that should they not have been the douche bags they turned out to be, yellowcard would be flying high now. "scene" kids make up a small percentage, if millions of hot topic shopping, warped tour attending kids are a small percentage. this website alone has 70k registered users and this site has yet to achieve warped or hot topic status (im seriously rooting for you tate). im sure yellowcard would have loved all of them to buy their record.

if their success was attributed to marketing and promotion, then their record would have been crazy successful. take a look at the lights and sounds one sheet and you will see that the vcast campaign alone cost about 2 million dollars. they spent more money on marketing and promoting this record than any other record ive seen in a long time. yellowcard was everywhere i turned.

bro-hymns mean shit to me. fuck the real world.

[PopPunkKid]

Of course. This always happens with bands. They come out with a successful album that has a youthful, catchy and natural sound to it, then for their next album they try to bush their boundaries and it fails. It hasn't only happened with Yellowcard, but also with Good Charlotte (Chronicles of Life & Death? Damn how quick did that burn out), Sum 41 (Does This Look Infected? did alright, but it didn't come near All Killer No Filler's success), and of course the classic one is Weezer- but the difference is that Pinkerton was a failure at first, but then people realized it was a masterpiece.

[fullerm]

im glad you children on this thread are living in a parallel universe where there only exists two yellowcard albums. im sure when they were blowin up on trl with ocean avenue you said you loved them before they were popular and said you had their "first" cd before anyone else did. one for the kids is the ONLY good yellowcard album and i stopped listening to that in 2003. ocean avenue sucked and this new cd is probably just as wonderful.

[betterthanyou]

I think its funny how this album failed because it was "too dark and mature". Like the band started making experimental acid-trip music with samplers and xylophones or something. This album was just as dumb as their first. The only problem was that in between albums people woke up and realized how excruciatingly awful this band is. It happens all of the time. Panic At The Disco's next album will probably have the same result. They'll get big enough to realize that there's a musical world outside of their tiny "scene" and feel embarrassed to be making such lame crap. They'll talk about their new mature songs and hip new influences and make an album that flops as well. Then they'll blame it on the new sound, when in reality, people just got past the hype in between albums and realized that they're the aural equivalent of getting your hands staple-gunned to your eyeballs.
I'm calling it now.


very smart dude...seriously

[ohsweetirony]

this is what happens when you kick out half your band and your singer turns into a coke head and your violinist does too many backflips.

[sell the sunris]

im glad you children on this thread are living in a parallel universe where there only exists two yellowcard albums. im sure when they were blowin up on trl with ocean avenue you said you loved them before they were popular and said you had their "first" cd before anyone else did. one for the kids is the ONLY good yellowcard album and i stopped listening to that in 2003. ocean avenue sucked and this new cd is probably just as wonderful.
read all the posts in full before you speak in generalizations, kid.

[redeyes]

every body needs to ease up off the loss of ben. yes he was a great song writer and his absense was probably the largest factor in the failure of this al bum. however things are different this time around. ryan mendez is now going to be a full-time member of this band entering recording, which didn't happen last time. and those of us who used to listen to staring back know this is an amazing song. that guy really knows how to make good music, sit back and watch. plus having the dude from inspection 12 doesn't hurt at all either. this is a bit of a supergroup now, there next cd can't possibly be bad. listen to "in recovery" and "on" and tell me you really expect a bad album with these cats working together now.

[sweetforever]

I forgot that Lights and Sounds came out this year:rolleyes:

[Scuba Chris]

The dude from Inspector 12 is Pete the bassist and Ryan and Pete basically wrote all of Lights and Sounds so it's not like the next album will be different because of his inclusion.

And I originally hated Lights and Sounds. I thought the album was terrible, however I started giving it a couple more listens in the past month or two and it really isn't that bad of an album. Sure it is very different from anything they have written previously and Ryan's lyrics aren't the best. Also, Ryan's vocals were very disappointing but I am going to give him a slight pass on that because of the vocal chord issues he just went through so I imagine that had to contribute. Musically though, Lights and Sounds is by far their best album. The progressions and melodies might not be as catchy as OA or OFTK but are very impressive nonetheless. There are still a couple tracks on L&S I skip but it has definitely found its way into my rotation.

[unwritten]

It really wasn't a bad album. It just had absolutely no lasting power with me.

[SuperJoe]

"scene" kids might not be directly responsible, but im 99.99% that should they not have been the douche bags they turned out to be, yellowcard would be flying high now. "scene" kids make up a small percentage, if millions of hot topic shopping, warped tour attending kids are a small percentage. this website alone has 70k registered users and this site has yet to achieve warped or hot topic status (im seriously rooting for you tate). im sure yellowcard would have loved all of them to buy their record.

if their success was attributed to marketing and promotion, then their record would have been crazy successful. take a look at the lights and sounds one sheet and you will see that the vcast campaign alone cost about 2 million dollars. they spent more money on marketing and promoting this record than any other record ive seen in a long time. yellowcard was everywhere i turned.

bro-hymns mean shit to me. fuck the real world.

okay, first of all, warped tour ticket sales have yet to even strike 1 million yet (i'm not sure that they've even hit 750,000), and hot topic sales really don't mean shit either, seeing as their main revenue is driven from merchandise and novelty items, rather than record sales. and you're assuming that just because a band is coveted on this (or other) websites, that kids will automatically love it and pick their album up. i probably love less than 5% of the bands covered on this website.

and i'm not even going to touch on your failure to see how success is attributed to marketing and promotion. cause clearly incessant touring and lots of DIY hardwork is what pushed every pop act to the top of the charts. i remember when britney spears was doing underground gigs and selling demo tapes out the back of her lebaron. and how does you not seeing a campaign any larger mean anything? are you some sort of an authority on it? if yellowcard was everywhere you turned, then they would have had a 3rd video by now. obviously someone's campaign trailed off....

but you're probably right. their failure is probably a direct effect of turning their backs on the "scene."

and while i'm at it, might i also say good job on cashing in on straight edge ethos with your shirt business. i'm sure ian would be proud because consumerism was definitely what he was all about.

[mybreakingpoint]

what goes around, comes around. these guys are douches with exception of the drummer. they're right up there with Mest on my "Biggest Assholes in Bands" list...

[CloseYetFar]

Ocean Avenue was much better...Lights and Sounds was just okay..They should have just stuck with their old style.

[IcedOpethBlind]

i really like Lights & Sounds.
solid musicianship, vocals could be better though.

[atouchoverrated]

Lights and Sounds is a good album, couldn't say that i didn't see this one coming though. I dont think Capital did a terrible job promoting this album at all, like someone said they spent over two mill on the Vcast commercial alone. That commercial was everywhere, it was all over radio and TV and i still see advertisements for L & S on fuse as well.

I'm not really sure why this album flopped, i just think in the two years between albums people kinda got over Yellowcard and moved onto the next big thing. The demand is still out ther for the type of music Yellowcard is capable of producing (think FOB, P!TD, Green Day, My Chemical Romance) but i dont know if they are ever going to get that chance again.

[ethicka]

I think its funny how this album failed because it was "too dark and mature". Like the band started making experimental acid-trip music with samplers and xylophones or something. This album was just as dumb as their first. The only problem was that in between albums people woke up and realized how excruciatingly awful this band is. It happens all of the time. Panic At The Disco's next album will probably have the same result. They'll get big enough to realize that there's a musical world outside of their tiny "scene" and feel embarrassed to be making such lame crap. They'll talk about their new mature songs and hip new influences and make an album that flops as well. Then they'll blame it on the new sound, when in reality, people just got past the hype in between albums and realized that they're the aural equivalent of getting your hands staple-gunned to your eyeballs.
I'm calling it now.
bingo.

[mickmadethelist]

I wasnt the lack of touring, because if you dont have a good cd out noone will see your headlining tour to begin with. I didnt take sides when ben left, i waited to see what the album would sound like, and it sounds like he was the logical one. i did buy lights and sounds...played it once...thought about how crappy it was...and now its the bullet when i play russian roulette when i put my ipod on shuffle

[ethicka]

Why does the sophomore effort on a big label always a struggle? We don't need to hear about how fucked up the music business is and how it's changed them. It's like bitching about getting your first real job after college/high school. Damn, that's the way life is!

With that said... so many bands try to change up their sound/do something different. They forget that what made them passionate about music is what thrilled the fans. We don't want something completely different. We just want something new and good (think Enema of the State to Take Off Your Pants and Jacket... nothing major, but definitely distinct).

i did buy lights and sounds...played it once...thought about how crappy it was...and now its the bullet when i play russian roulette when i put my ipod on shuffle

HAHAHA!

[MotionIsntMeaning]

I can understand why a band would want to change their sound to something more mature or something that showcases their musical talent more, but it doesnt seem to work with fans. The latest Finch, Thrice, Thursday, and Yellowcard albums really didnt do well commercially. I think all these albums are pretty decent but they are a big change in sound from their previous albums. Promotion probably had some effect on sales but I think its more that people were expecting a certain sound and they got something totally different.

[Jamie Pham]

haha

[JeffyB]

their gay fuck y-card

[*crying stars*]

i miss the one for the kids sound.


at least they weren't trying to market themselves so much.

[stickfigures]

I liked yellowcards first two albums. I didn't even bother buying l&s because I was smart and waited for my friend to buy the cd which wasn't all that good. I stick with the old yellowcard stuff though.

[Julia Conny]

Wow, I didn't know that Ocean Avenue sold just under 2 mil.

[dai the flu]

I find it funny how people now say Ben was the heart of the band. He was a really decent dude, nice enough to me when I met him before the Underdog E.P came out, but I never saw him as the face of the band. Yellowcard's gimmick was always being a pop-punk band with a violin. Sean was the one up there doing backflips on stage and shoving the mic in fans faces to sing the back-ups. No matter how highly you think of him as a guy, he was definately not "the heart and face" or "made and broke" Yellowcard. Sure, the way the band, or rather, members of the band treated him has brought YC tons of hate, but regardless, if he had just up and left of his own free will and said something like "I loved the band, they got me where I am today, I want to spend more time doing my label" and that was all there was to it, NO ONE would have said a fucking word about it. Original fans may have been a bit bummed, but that's it.

The band looked like douches to their fans, bit off way more they could chew, and put out a record that, even though it was mediocre, everyone took that as "fucking terrible" in light of band events. The album wasn't great, okay at best, but you need to look at the music objectively. If you have personal problems with the band and they way they treat people, that's a perfectly valid reason not to support them, but listen to the music and at least be able to distinguish between the band as a musical entity and the band as people. I know people who have always hated YC and would have disliked the record anyway, but there are a large number of fans who hated the album without giving it a real listen. I'm not saying you have to like it or even support, but judge the music separately.

this post went so underappreciated i had to say something. good call.
i've had so many people tell me LAS sucks without even giving it half a second's chance, simply because of the ben situation. i can understand being mad about his departure, even if you dont know the whole story, but dont judge their music poorly because of it.
is it great? no. is it as horrible as everyone says? no.
if yellowcard had never blown up and they were still everyone's favorite underground unknown gem of a band that everyone name-drops to gain scene-cred, this exact same cd would've been adored and hyped beyond belief.

[Un-AmericanPunk]

I think its funny how this album failed because it was "too dark and mature". Like the band started making experimental acid-trip music with samplers and xylophones or something. This album was just as dumb as their first. The only problem was that in between albums people woke up and realized how excruciatingly awful this band is. It happens all of the time. Panic At The Disco's next album will probably have the same result. They'll get big enough to realize that there's a musical world outside of their tiny "scene" and feel embarrassed to be making such lame crap. They'll talk about their new mature songs and hip new influences and make an album that flops as well. Then they'll blame it on the new sound, when in reality, people just got past the hype in between albums and realized that they're the aural equivalent of getting your hands staple-gunned to your eyeballs.
I'm calling it now.

Man, I HATE Panic at the disco. I kinda like 2 of their songs, but other than that.... they're completely horrible. I also hate hearing from people how they sound "exactly" like Fall Out Boy. The singers sound similar but nowhere near exactly the same. Other than that though, they really shouldn;t even be put in the same genre. Panic at the disco has a really distinct synth dance sound. Both of their singles so far are pretty much based off some sampled or synth or whatever thye used to make the sound and Fall Out Boy doesn't have anything like that.

[Un-AmericanPunk]

As for Yellowcard, I love Lights and Sounds. Way better than everything else they've done (Ocean Avenue was my favorite album for like 2 years so it's saying something that this one is better). They did screw up a lot though in the marketing aspect. First, they lost Ben. I personally didn't think it was that big of a deal and I have to agree with Dai the Flu. I also think they shouldn't have had Lights and Sounds as their first single. They should have led with Rough Landing, Holly. That song is simply amazing and it's not all that different from old YC. It would have been perfect because it's new and you can tell how they've changed in it, but it isn't so different that people wouldn't know what to expect. Then they should have put How I Go as the next single. That song is also amazing and all the Ryan Cabrera and James Blunt fans would have eaten it up (unless of course it was just too good for what they're used to) as well as real fans. I'm not sure if it can help them now though.

[IamTheINDUSTRY]

um ben harper? could that possibly be the reason why you suck now ryan?

[ntb60]

You treat your bandmates like crap and write a record thats quite simply not good, and strange, your fanbase seems to thin out considerably. Stay What You Are

[Suchasucker]

In my opinion, the failure of their album has little to do with the album itself. It's about how they treat the members (ex-members rather) of their band.

All the people I know, who own the previous albums and did not bother to buy the new one, did it solely because of the situation with Ben (along with the other previous member dramas).

I refuse to support bands that act like that, and it seems that many others (based on sales) felt the same way.

[thisisrightnow]

Their new album is one of the worst I've ever heard. Hopefully their next album is more along the lines of Ocean Avenue. I didn't exactly support their decisions in kicking out Ben or even Alex, but if they made another good album like Ocean Avenue or even One For the Kids, I'd listen to it. I want the old Yellowcard back, from the 2003 era. Them kicking out Ben was also a huge reason why I didn't buy the new album. It's not right.

[TheBaroness]

Lights and Sounds failed because it didn't have a target market - it was too 'mature' for the pop-punk kids who loved Ocean Avenue, yet their stigma of being a pop-punk band would have cost them listens with an older crowd who may ordinarily have been more conditioned to enjoy L&S. What's more, vocal nodes or no vocal nodes, Ryan Key can't sing for shit. Thing is, no one noticed before because you would expect that of pop-punk vocalists. It was just painfully exposed on their newer release.

[avitabully]

Man, I HATE Panic at the disco. I kinda like 2 of their songs, but other than that.... they're completely horrible.

You kinda like something from a band that you HATE?

You're an idiot.

[emerson1892]

Would everyone be bashing yellowcard if this site had pushed their cd more?, meaning if Jason Tate still liked the band even with ben out of it would there really be this many hypocritical people? I know for myself when I heard that yc "kicked" ben out I was like fuck yc and then the rumors started flying which fueld my yellowcard hatred. (I dont even know the band or the situation, so for all I know is that Ben had a heroin problem.)

Then I dl'd the cd and I was like this shit sucks ass. That was after one listen, honest to god I was shoping with my gf in Feb.and we were in one of those exclusivly girl stores and the song Rough landing, Holly came on and I was like shit this song is good. I checked out the cd again, its really not that bad there are a few songs on there that I could do with out. Of course its not going to be another Ocean ave or One for the Kids or even that shitty one they re-issued, how is a band supposta change and mature by using the same formula on each cd? I really commend a band when they try something new. I mean they (yc) didnt reinvent the wheel here, and im not even saying that this cd is a far stretch from Ocean ave. but give it an honest listen and if you still hate it bash all you want but make your own oppinions not just hearsay from a website, and for the people who dont like yellow card, why bother even posting? hitting us with a "yc drinks moose piss" comment really proves nothing. Lets just see how many people enjoy the new Over It, its already getting a huge push from Jason, and nobods even heard a word about it, but lets not forget they put out a great cd last year hell even Over Its first two cds were really good, but as you know this website has the ability to make or break a band.

[emerson1892]

Btw if you look at the liner notes, Ben wrote and arranged almost the entire cd, so dont say it was lyrics and and production, because you will look like and asshole.

[followthattune]

Although Lights and Sounds is not as catchy as Ocean Avenue or any of the earlier Yellowcard releases, it is solid with the exception of a few tracks. Waiting Game is one of their best songs to date in my opinion. When i saw them a few weeks back they still put on a great show and played alot of the Ocean Avenue songs. L&S wasn't a total failure, i think they've learned and as a result, i think their next release will be better if people will just give it a chance.

[Chris_FirstTime]

As for Yellowcard, I love Lights and Sounds. Way better than everything else they've done (Ocean Avenue was my favorite album for like 2 years so it's saying something that this one is better). They did screw up a lot though in the marketing aspect. First, they lost Ben. I personally didn't think it was that big of a deal and I have to agree with Dai the Flu. I also think they shouldn't have had Lights and Sounds as their first single. They should have led with Rough Landing, Holly. That song is simply amazing and it's not all that different from old YC. It would have been perfect because it's new and you can tell how they've changed in it, but it isn't so different that people wouldn't know what to expect. Then they should have put How I Go as the next single. That song is also amazing and all the Ryan Cabrera and James Blunt fans would have eaten it up (unless of course it was just too good for what they're used to) as well as real fans. I'm not sure if it can help them now though.

Well said, I love how that 'How I Go' somg is about the movie 'Big Fish'

[handofgod]

their gay fuck y-card
*They're gay. Fuck yellowcard.

If you're gonna be a dick, don't be a retarded dick.

[Julia Conny]

yellowcard isn't worth all these harsh words.