No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls

Category: (Music)

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157 used, starting at $0.22

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Editorial Reviews

You can tell a lot about a band by the company it keeps. Simple Plan's close chums include Good Charlotte and Blink 182, giving one a fair hint of the sound the group's debut, though, judging by song titles like "I’m Just a Kid," "The Worst Day Ever," and "God Must Hate Me," it’s clear these Canadian pop-punkers are aiming for a younger demographic still. Ignore the bikini-clad babes that festoon the sleeve--there’s none of Blink 182’s smutty double-entendres here. Frontman Pierre Bouvier writes about skipping school, crashing dad’s car, and lusting after girls that don’t know he exists. "Every day," he sob, "is the worst day ever." The music itself is far from glum. "I’d Do Anything" is a beaming Green Day-style chugger, while "When I’m With You" is a tale of obsession and heartbreak that owes more to the Go-Go's than Rancid. Seasoned punk fans will be put off by the excessive juvenilia, but the new wave should lap this up. --Louis Pattison

Customer Reviews

GOOD DEBUT CD..

Reviewed by DARRYN, 2009-12-19

ITS BEEN DONE BEFORE...THEY MIGHT HAVE JUST CAUGHT THE LAST WAVE OF POP PUNK....THEY DID A GOOD JOB OF IT..\
A GOOD DEBUT ALBUM....
HOW EVER "I'M JUST A KID" IS REALLY.. REALLY BAD.....!!!
I COULDNT IMAGINE THEM SINGING THAT IN A FEW YEARS TIME..EVEN NOW???
BEST SONG- "PERFECT"

Great Band, Great Album!

Reviewed by Chris B., 2008-06-17

I love the band. I got their newest self-titled album the day it came out, and I've loved every song. But about this album, it's got a lot of well written songs, although it's not anything at all like Blink-182 or Green Day or any of the other bands that people keep comparing Simple Plan to. They are their own sound, with their own music. They appeal mostly to a young demographic right with this album and with Still Not Gettin' Any, but they have definitly matured with the newest one. Bottom line? If you are into the new pop-punk style, get this album!

Best Band Ever!!!

Reviewed by Lyze, 2008-01-25

This is the first band that I have felt a true connection to. I don't agree with the people saying that this band sucks. In a way I think that Simple Plan is trying to reach out and tell the world what it's like to lose your family or have a bad life and yet still pull through because great things will happen to you. This band is truly a good band and if your reading these reviews don't only believe that they are bad because some people said they didn't sound right or the music was awful. Try for yourself what they sound like. You never know what they might sound like to you. I know many people who say they are bad and yet I still love them. They have great songs like Perfect who show what a bad relationship that a boy had with his father and yet it still turned out OK in the end. Really give these guys a chance and tell for yourself what you think of them.

Music without compromise

Reviewed by Selo, 2007-05-02

If the radio hits "I'm Just A Kid" and "Perfect" don't instantly thrash you in the face with the entire theme of this album when they first reach your ears, it seems nothing could. Both albums from Simple Plan, the Canadian quartet who have slammed their way into the hearts of thousands of young listeners, have a very adolescent feel, even more so than bands like Good Charlotte or Linkin Park. As countless commentators have pointed out, they're by no means emo or hardcore--but they must be accepted for what they are, not run over for what they aren't.

From budding crushes gone wrong ("When I'm With You", "I'd Do Anything", "Addicted") to parental conflicts ("One Day" and "Perfect") and everything in between, Simple Plan definitely appeal to the youngest audience possible--or at least the youngest listeners can be when they start developing individual tastes in music. One look at the CD's cover seems to tell you what fantasies were swirling in these pop-punkers' minds, but one listen to the actual songs proves that not even early Blink 182's slapstick act can stand up to these guys. You simply can't tell them to act their ages.

But does this blueprint work when put into action? Past a few mediocre songs and vocals that can get annoying, ultimately, it does. Surprisingly, the track that best shows what these rockers are capable of isn't one that voices any tween frustrations, but rather a catchy one praising the singer's one-of-a-kind girlfriend: "My Alien", in which frontman Pierre Bouvier claims that "she has two arms to hold me / And four legs two wrap around me" over a catchy, munching guitar beat.

As a start their debut proves that they can not only produce memorable riffs and tunes that are perfect to sing along with, but its apt title proves that they can deliver energetic music without compromise, despite a theme that isn't nearly as perfected or as universally approved of as that of their peers.

Zero Stars Suckers!

Reviewed by Anonymous, 2006-12-30

College Kid (20 yrs old)
Sorry, don't have password

Will somebody tell me why this band is still in existence? I mean c'mon is this what people call music? This crap isn't even close, all it is is a bunch of whiny men (I use that term very losely) complaining about how much their lives sucked in high school. Let me tell you somethin' a**holes, there are a lot of kids today who've had to go through more pain than you could ever dream of going through. I had a very happy childhood, so this isn't about my personal life. I know kids that have dealt with horrible things, yet have come out stronger and better and still don't complain. It makes me sick to think that people actually feel sorry for these gutless losers. I wonder if Pierre's parents forgot to circumcise him, maybe that's why he sounds sexually frustrated.

Seriously, how can anybody like these losers. Here's the lyrics to one of their songs:
I'm just a kid
my life is a nightmare
nobody cares tonight (AW, poor baby, do you want your mommy now, jackass)
And I don't give a s**t if these lyrics aren't correct to all you adolescent peabrains who reviewed before. I am fed up with babies like these imbeciles getting attention for their "traumatic childhoods" when there are kids constantly being abused, thrown around from home to home, and treated like animals every day. You think because a pretty girl didn't want to go out with you was so traumatic, you're entitled to everyone's sympathy. Here's my advice: F**K OFF! Btw, at least your parents halfway cared about you, you ungrateful, spineless bastards.

P.S. By the way, for all you SP lovin' morons who think you're so cool because they are "heavy" or "rock hard": you're not. My Pantera CD's can and always will blast this band right off the planet. Think I'm playin', see for yourself, idiots. SP wouldn't know what heavy is to save their lives. It is time for good music like Pantera, Metallica, Stone Sour, Black Sabbath, Demon Hunter, Breaking Benjamin, Tool, AIC, etc. and individuals with talent to make headway again. HAve a nice life, babies.