| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this album is a minefield of behavior to be avoided, or a rich source of conversation about tough subjects like alcoholism ("The Story of My Old Man"), crack cocaine ("The Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous"), obsessive love ("My Bloody Valentine"), and suicide ("The Day That I Die").
We hear the tinkly strains of an antique music box morph into punk rock guitar crescendo, only to end in a splintering crash, in the first two minutes of THE YOUNG AND THE HOPELESS. This might symbolically signal Good Charlotte's intentions to deal with leaving the nursery and with growing up in a world that's sometimes exciting, often tedious, and probably unreliable. "The Anthem" describes education thus: "And my high school it felt more to me/ Like a jail cell a penitentiary/Go to college, a university/ Get a real job that's what they said to me/ But I could never live the way they want." Contempt for rich whiners drives "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous."
When you listen to some of the subversive themes on this CD, it's no wonder the band is popular with young teens. But if rebellion is the name of Good Charlotte's game, it's spiced with self-aware humor that keeps them out of the principal's office, and a flickering optimism, found in tracks like "Wondering," that maybe love conquers all.
Families can talk about the self-destructive, dangerous behaviors discussed in the songs.
| Artist: | Good Charlotte |
| Release date: | September 1, 2002 |
| Label: | Sony Music |
| Genre: | Punk Rock |
| Parental advisory: | No |