Music / Guitar Romantic

Modern kicks which will make you shiver and shake.

"During a time when Julian Casablancas’ detached cool and Jack White’s straight-faced blues worship were at the forefront of the largely self-serious “rock is back” albums, Guitar Romantic was refreshingly fun. It paired Cheap Trick-ian riffs with songs about getting high and falling in love. The band ushered in tambourines, finger snaps, bubblegum melodies, barroom pianos, and ripping guitar solos. And their lyrics were funny. (From 'Sleeping Aides and Razorblades': 'You know the first time you left me, babe, it was so hard/ And it didn’t hurt you told all my friends I’m a reee-tard!')"

— Evan Minsker, MTV

Guitar Romantic was the debut album of The Exploding Hearts, an ill-fated Pop Punk group from Portland, Oregon. Little-noticed on its April 2003 release, Guitar Romantic nonetheless became a minor cult hit on the strength of a supportive Pitchfork magazine review and illegal mp3s from Germany. Not four months later, a van accident claimed the lives of three quarters of the band; this had the perverse effect of bringing press to the original album, canonizing it as a classic of the genre.

Tracklist:

1. "Modern Kicks" (3:18)
2. "I'm A Pretender" (2:31)
3. "Thorns In Roses" (2:42)
4. "You're Black And Blue" (2:05)
5. "Sleeping Aides And Razor Blades" (2:36)
6. "Rumours In Town" (2:32)
7. "Throwaway Style" (2:58)
8. "Boulevard Trash" (2:10)
9. "Jailbird" (3:37)
10. "Still Crazy" (4:04)

Personnel

• Adam Cox: vocals, guitar
• Matt Fitzgerald: bass
• Terry Six: guitar
• Jeremy Gage: drums

Sleeping Tropes and Razor Blades

• Alliterative Title: "You're Black and Blue".
• Break-Up Song: "Modern Kicks", "Jailbird", "Sleeping Aids And Razor Blades".
  And it hurt when you left
  Ya know you're hurtin' yourself
• Cradle of Loneliness: "Modern Kicks"
  I'm all alone and I'm getting stoned, staring off in space.
• Drugs Are Bad:
  • "Jailbird"
  Girl we're caught in the act of sniffing glue
  And you just keep getting high now so what can I do?
  • Sitting alone and "just getting stoned just leaves the protagonist of "Modern Kicks" shivering and shaking, pondering a frustrating relationship.
• Face on the Cover: A group shot of the band.
• Just Friends: "Rumours In Town" regards a couple who've "never really been an item". May also be Friends with Benefits.
• Obsession Song: "Jailbird", which is about a guy who is in jail over a girl he loves desperately, but can't get.
• One Album Band: Punk Rock's most famous Downer Ending. A few posthumous singles made it out, though.
• One-Word Title: "Jailbird".
• Self-Deprecation: The singer in "Boulevard Trash" has been missing since the age of ten and considered turning himself in for the comically small $100 reward.
• Silly Love Songs: The album is primarily love songs, some more bittersweet than others.
• Unrequited Love: "Jailbird".
  I see you talking to a squirrel
  Kissing its lips, why not mine?
  So kiss me, please!

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