Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Sing in Japanese

  • Cole Faulkner posted
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Me First And The Gimme Gimmes

Sing In Japanese - Fat Wreck Chords

I consider myself a pretty open-minded guy.  I typically follow the age-old “don’t judge a book by its cover” rule, and I am willing to check out new and odd looking foods, hear out opposing opinions, and try hard to avoid succumbing to stereotypes.  But everyone has their limits, and after listening to Me First And The Gimme Gimmes’ latest EP, Sing In Japanese, I may have just found mine.

The six-song EP by everyone’s most beloved punk super group cover-band is a cash grab if I’ve ever seen one.  And while it was probably fun for Fat Mike and the crew to sit down and sing some Japanese pop, this is clearly some sort of odd ploy to reach their Asia-Pacific fan base and bridge the obvious language gap and is not intended for their English core.

And before I go any further, I’m going to drop the disclaimer that I’ve listened to and reviewed many foreign language bands – in fact, as far as I know, I’m the only English speaking critic on the independent punk circuit who has a full resume of reviewing underground Czech punk music (generally favourably as well if I may add).  But Me First And The Gimme Gimmes is not a foreign language band, and the song’s they’ve chosen to cover sound more like English covers by Japanese cover bands (if that makes sense).  It’s not that I hate these songs, I simply have no interest in them (they’re clear J-pop songs – the type you hear during the opening sequence on Anime series), and their Me First And The Gimme GImmes affiliation doesn’t make me interested either.

In fact, I’m going to stop there, and simply state that if you know any of these six J-pop songs, it might be a curious distraction to hear their “punked up” renditions.  But most likely, you will not know these songs – a pre-requisite to wanting to invest in a cover album.  So while this might be a thoughtful “gift” to the Me First And The Gimme Gimme Japanese fanbase, it is entirely unnecessary for all but the most die-hard completists.