“He’s like a less cute version of you, but he’ll have to do. He’s like a Wal-Mart version of you, but he’ll have to do, he’ll have to do.”

What Life Sounds Like #16 - “Less Cute” by Say Anything

Before Spotify, before Pandora, I discovered almost all my new music through an internet radio station called idobi. It was pop-punk at its finest, catchy guitar hooks and teenage angst, all New Found Glory, Taking Back Sunday, Straylight Run, Sugarcult, The Early November and Yellowcard. As I grew up in an area with no good alternative radio station, idobi was a godsend. Through that I was exposed to the kind of rock ‘n roll I’d never heard before, the kind of music that illustrated what it was like to be a confused teenager, fed up with life and love and society.

There was this one song idobi would always play: “Woe” by a band called Say Anything. I didn’t like it at first. It was grating, blunt, awkward. The vocalist crooned, “All the words in my mouth that the scene deemed unworthy of letting out banded together to form a makeshift militia and burrowed bloodily through my tongue and my teeth.” It was weird. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. I didn’t like it. But then time passed and I kept hearing that song and something weird happened: I realized I did like it. Say Anything was a band unlike anyone else, and the lyrics read like twisted, bloody poetry. It was all crazy hooks and vivid metaphors about formaldehyde. It was weird, but it was wonderful. And I fell in love with Max Bemis and Say Anything.

They’ve become one of my favorite bands of all time. Max, the lead singer, is an inspiration, battling anxiety and bipolar disorder for years. His lyrics read like a confession, and he doesn’t hold back. He uses deep, dramatic imagery to put his point across, and it’s incredible successful. It’s weird as hell, but it works.

One of my favorite songs off Say Anything’s most recent album (self-titled) is this gem: “Less Cute.” Instead of being a traditional love song or a breakup song, it’s about fostering a relationship with someone because you feel the need to replace a lost love. It’s weird. It’s twisted. But it’s beautiful. Can’t wait for the newest Say Anything album to come out.