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Cobra Starship

While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets
2006
Decaydance

Cobra Starship - While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets (Cover Artwork)

Review by: Dan Perrone
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Published on October 10th 2006

After the pathetic statement by Jersey boy Gabe Saporta on leaving “half a million” to stay with Decaydance (facetious or not), it left most of us scratching our heads, asking: Who the hell does this guy think he is? At that point, there was no doubt that the upcoming Cobra Starship album would be a self-indulgent waste of time. Alas, though it may not be the greatest thing ever released, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets does in fact have a few redeeming qualities.

After an atrocious acoustic introduction, Saporta throws “Send My Love to the Dancefloor, I’ll See You in Hell (Hey Mister DJ)” at us, and while it’s not exactly a curveball, to say that the track is not completely infectious would be a crime. It’s here where it becomes apparent that taking the album too seriously would defeat the entire purpose of it: All Saporta wants is for us to be tapping our feet. The lyrics aren’t much and some tracks are downright fruity (“The Kids Are All Fucked Up”), but Gabe’s got his eye on the prize, and sometimes, it works.

The results are a success when he relies on a quick pace and a huge chorus to reel us in, while not straying too far from his dance-pop objective; some tracks seem straight from the Fall Out Boy playbook, which defeats the purpose of Cobra Starship. Still, “Keep It Simple” and “The Church of Hot Addiction” (with the great "HEY! HEY! HEY!") are too catchy to ignore, but the album ends with three consecutive stinkers, leaving the listener with only four or so tracks to hold on to.

So it’s not awful, just unfocused. It’s evident that Gabe Saporta can create an effective tune, but there’s a lot of trash on here that distracts from the central theme of While the City Sleeps. There are flashes of something solid, but eventually, the album just runs out of steam.

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Posted by Tangy on 2008-04-26 11:52:26
My Score:

I'd just like to point out that when this album was reviewed, punknews was infiltrated by sixty twelve year-olds

Posted by RolitaViv on 2007-05-07 22:00:56
My Score:

Ok so once againg no music sence!!!! this album kicked ass ok their concerts are so awsome...

Posted by ostuffx3 on 2006-11-14 20:50:58

wow theres not one song on the WHOLE album you all liked? well i like it so boo you whores. =)

Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 14, 2006 at 3:26 AM (EDT)
My Score:

It was an amazing and creative album. These guys get it right when all that shit on the radio is hyped up by mtv. "The Kids Are All Fucked Up" has to be one of the great songs of this year.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 2:33 AM (EDT)

smoke crack.

Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 13, 2006 at 1:00 AM (EDT)

obviously if you guys thought this album was horrible, then you seriously must be listening to shit

because this album was one of the best ive heard in a long time

Posted by rinjonjori on 2006-10-12 18:33:08
My Score:

"Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 1:58 AM (EDT)"

This guys should do the "one hit wonders' special that VH1 does in ten years. Gabe and William Beckkect will both be old and fat with little or no hair remembering how good it was.
Most of the commenters here will be in some crappy job wishing they went to that Cobra Starship show. Just kidding about that last part.

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, October 12, 2006 at 2:23 PM (EDT)

I always thought that Tyler and Heath were the best part of Midtown considering an album full of just Gabe singing would get annoying to me......kinda like Forget What you Know (though not terrible musically) and though I haven't heard much Cobra Starship I'm sure it gets annoying after awhile too. The best midtown song ever - No Place Feels Like Home - is one of the few without Gabe singing at all.

Posted by onegirlarmy on 2006-10-12 04:27:38

I'm curious to see if there's anyone that will comment on this that will actually like it. I'm betting no.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 11:34 AM (EDT)

"i'd rather listen to jefferson starship"-snakes
i'm with you on that one buddy,come on every one sing it with me " we built this city on rock n roll ! "

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 8:55 AM (EDT)

SNAKES ON A MOTHER FUCKIN' PLANE!!!! oh and shitty band

Posted by MikeStupid on 2006-10-11 08:02:52
My Score:

What a fucking stupid cover. Score is for that.

Posted by Anonymous on Wednesday, October 11, 2006 at 3:32 AM (EDT)

I can't believe Ted Leo sings on this record!

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 10:23 PM (EDT)

Oh, and just because I didn't use that word nearly enough:
shit, shit, shitty, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.....shit

Someone buy me a thesaurus for christmas...

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 10:21 PM (EDT)

Fuck, I really hope this dance-rock shit dies fast. If this shit lasts another 8 months I might even start to miss all those shitty sing/scream bands...but probably not.

Posted by ILOVESCOTT on 2006-10-10 21:19:45

wow most of this round of reviews sucks

Posted by testiclese on 2006-10-10 21:10:18

thats a sssssssssweet cover

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 6:52 PM (EDT)

what the fuck is up with punknews these days

we get decent reviews on both senses fails and cobra starships newest releases?

i should have stopped coming here long ago

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 6:24 PM (EDT)

Lame sauce.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 6:10 PM (EDT)
My Score:

DId someone say assrape!?

-Neill Cawley
AIM-Longlivetheduck2

-Score is for assrape.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 5:57 PM (EDT)

The review would have been more truthful if it had read something like this:

"Alas, though it may not be the greatest thing ever released, While the City Sleeps, We Rule the Streets does in fact have one redeeming quality...it eventually ends."

Posted by maverick on 2006-10-10 17:40:24

Ugh. The word "misshapes" makes me nauseous just thinking about that place.

-Scott

Posted by primeevil7 on 2006-10-10 16:47:56

I don't think we're getting Midtown back, no matter how hard we try.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 4:30 PM (EDT)

This is fucking garbage. This Gabe kid goes to Misshapes one night and decides he can be in a dance band? Please. You were in Midtown.

Check out The Rapture's new record Pieces of the People We Love if you want to see what this guy was going for. He was way off the mark.

Posted by Deadpan on 2006-10-10 16:26:35
My Score:

Yeah, I love the Snakes On A Plane song too.

Which one do you reckon wins the prize of "Biggest waste of cash you bought just so you could legally own Snakes On A Plane (Bring It)"? This, or the Snakes On A Plane album? I can't believe I actually bought that.

Score's for Snakes On A Plane.

Posted by danperrone on 2006-10-10 16:11:28

damn why didn't i assrape this one

nivek, you did something cool for me, don't talk like a tool

Posted by maverick on 2006-10-10 15:07:25
My Score:

This record is one of the most unmemorable I've heard in years. The star is for the Snakes On A Plane song, because that's super-catchy. Everything else on this record is white noise.

-Scott

Posted by niveK82 on 2006-10-10 14:56:32

"this was my sincere attempt at writing a short concise review"

So this was your review and not one of your firend's?

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 1:28 PM (EDT)

Could the cover art possibly be more phallic?

Posted by baseball on 2006-10-10 12:54:40

i always did enjoy Midtown

Posted by Snakes on 2006-10-10 12:22:54
My Score:

i'd rather listen to Jefferson Starship, and thats not saying much

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 10:41 AM (EDT)
My Score:

this is fucking retarded. this whole dance pop emo disco is the worst shit ever, from hellogoodbye to the transplants to the new afi to this ex-one of the best pop punk bands now I suck major ass-gabe spatapoopoo head fuck this shit fuck this shit!!!

Paul

Posted by crazytoledo on 2006-10-10 10:38:55

I really liked the song from the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack. However, I can't see myself getting into more than maybe one or two of the other songs here.

Posted by inagreendase on 2006-10-10 10:05:50

How close is this to Midtowns style?

Nowhere near.

Posted by tylerdurden8136 on 2006-10-10 08:50:48
My Score:

I honestly can't get into one song on this album other than the SOAP tune.

Posted by insinceredave on 2006-10-10 07:04:31

Midtown used to be a guilty pleasure for me. How close is this to Midtowns style?

Posted by SlackMFr on 2006-10-10 06:10:34

Anything to do with the Sounds fucking sucks. Has anyone ever heard that shit band? Bitch can't sing at all! Plus she looks like a man in drag. Scary lady she is.

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 1:58 AM (EDT)

These fuckwads had to defend there band was created for snakes on a plane.

Was Cobra Starship just made up for the Snakes on a Plane movie?

Absolutely not! As you can see, Cobra Starship has been a MySpace member since June 23 of 2005! Long before Snakes on a Plane even existed. Those of you who were early fans will remember the first song Gabe worked on to hone his skills: Hollaback Boy, a raunchy spoof of Gwen Stefani's Hollaback Girl. (The song created such a stir that Elle Girl helped Gabe sneak into Gwen's L.A.M.B. show during the fall '05 NY fashion week to ask her about Hollaback Boy on camera. They ran Gabe's story in the January 2006 issue.) Not only that, but by then Gabe had already written the song "Bring It" and it already contained the line "pop the cheap champagne we're going down in flames." (Those of you who have the demo version that was leaked on ap.net can attest to that.) So when Gabe heard about Snakes on a Plane he knew that this was the coming together of the Cobra's plan--that these were not just a string of coincidences, but rather pieces of a puzzle illuminating the path to his destiny . . . or some bullshit like that

Posted by danperrone on 2006-10-10 01:44:09

this was my sincere attempt at writing a short concise review

Posted by joeymagnet on 2006-10-10 01:27:59
My Score:

bring back motown !

Posted by Dante3000 on 2006-10-10 01:14:02

I remember that the guy from Gym Class Heros said he didn't show up on the album because they had to get it done in a hurry.
I'm glad to see they rushed because this work of perfection and not because Decaydance wanted to pump the Snakes on a Plan momentum.
-Dante

Posted by Anonymous on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 1:00 AM (EDT)

this is the band that did the Snakes on a Plane song right? that song was catchy as hell. and the band's name fits pretty well...

Posted by 88-fingers-tony on 2006-10-10 00:59:49

agreed.

Posted by DarrenMcLeod on 2006-10-10 00:24:15

album was boring as hell. i'm surprised it got 2 stars.

bring back midtown.

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