u/The_Goon_Boss

I've been a fan for over 8 years, and the original teens of denial was my first experience with the band. I was 17-18 around the time and immediately connected with the albums topics of youthful anger, the angst of growing up and trying to find your place in society, the pressure of your peers, etc. I became obsessed with the raw, edgy energy dripping from the songs. They felt so real, so personal, I was able to see my own experience with growing up in the concepts Will brought up. Needless to say, the original holds a very important place in my heart.

This new project, Joe's story, feels so.. cheap in comparison, so bland in its approach to these same themes and topics. And when I say cheap, Im talking from a creative standpoint, not actual production quality, although I could probably write a whole other post about the jarring unpleasant mixing between the old vocals and new.

This project feels sanitised.

It feels sterile.

Worst of all, it feels safe.

I understand Will's approach here, coming back to an album from a difficult time in his life, and trying to re-approach it from his current view on the world, but it just doesn't work here. The original was written by an angry young man, someone who was still figuring out who they were as a person, someone who wasn't afraid to express themselves, and say what they felt.

To then come back 10 years later, as a fully formed adult, and try to clean up the message, to force your own current morals and beliefs onto your younger selfs beliefs, just doesnt sit right with me. It feels like censorship. It feels borderline Puritan, and it just leads to worse writing. In my opinion, drugs with friends includes the most egregious changes.

"Wet my pants" (piss my pants)

"Dying alien" (walking piece of shit)

"Malicious witness" (shitbag civilian)

My problem isn't the lack of swearing here. Please don't think Im saying that. You can still create extremely effective and engaging messages in your art without it. My problem with these changes is how bad they sound in the actual song. They just sound dumb. I feel like I'm listening to a kidz bop version of a song I know and love, lacking any of the actual weight and energy the original lyrics had. It instantly loses the edge coming from the original, coming from that young man putting his own anger and frustrations into his lyrics to express himself.

Overall, Im worried as a fan about the precedent this remake might have on their future works. I care heavily about this band, and I dont want to see them sacrifice creativity or expression.

Im also quite disappointed to see how some fans have been handling the release on the sub here. I've seen multiple people's valid opinions and concerns be dismissed with "well you don't have to listen", or, "the original is still there," as if that has any relevance? Obviously, it's the internet. There will always be people that would rather shut others down instead of actually engaging in debate, but again, it's just something I myself noticed that bummed me out seeing.