Throwback Thursday - Simple Plan

Our first TBT takes me back to my school days, when I was just so misunderstood, and the entire world was against me. About the time I hit 13, I needed music to speak to me, and only one band delivered with their debut album: Simple Plan with ‘NO PADS, NO HELMETS…JUST BALLS’. Easily one of Canada’s most successful pop-punk exports, these boys seemed to capture the heart of every moody teenager; be it the girls who hugged their pillow wondering why the boy they ‘loved’ so much wouldn’t speak to them, or the lads who couldn’t understand why their voice had to change to a ridiculous pitch just when they started to notice how awesome/devastating girls could be. Merely looking at the titles of some of the songs from the album will tell you exactly why my teenage self just hit repeat and threw himself on the bed, with ‘I’d Do Anything’, ‘I’m Just A Kid’ and ‘Perfect’ just screaming “I HATE EVERYONE” for the world to hear (oh we all did it, don’t judge me!).

‘I’d Do Anything’ kicks the album off, and why shouldn’t it? It has Mark Hoppus (of Blink 182 fame, for those living under rocks during the early 2000’s) providing some guest vocals! For me, it perfectly captures the young love phase we all go through, from wanting to run away, to literally wanting to do anything just to get noticed by the right person. 'I’m Just A Kid' has a title that tells you all you need to know, many a teenager will have most likely quoted this on MySpace or even tattooed some lyrics onto their arm with a biro. 'When I’m With You' and 'Addicted' are perfect if you just found out that the girl you like from the year above is secretly sleeping with a bloke who doesn’t go to your school; and then 'Perfect' rounds the album off nicely, a good old fashioned ‘I’m angry with my Dad’-type song that definitely needs to be blared out.

As far as debut albums go, Simple Plan, without question, hit the ground running back in 2002. It’s pretty clear why they were so internationally recognised. 4/5 (my 15 year old self just cried a little, but come on, it’s pretty downhearted stuff).

Tracks to check out:

-       “I’d Do Anything”

-       “I’m Just A Kid”

-       “Perfect”

Mike Bray

@SmilerBray180