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| Bad AstronautTwelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment2006 Fat Wreck Chords 
 Review by: Chris See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on November 3rd 2006
Dealing with the loss of a loved one is difficult, regardless of who you are, what you do, or how it happened. When Derrick Plourde, former drummer of Lagwagon, and at the time drummer for Bad Astronaut, decided to take his own life, it impacted an entire community.
I saw more than hands with splinters from sticks,While Bad Astronaut has always been a vehicle for experimentation in the sometimes jaded and stagnant world of punk rock, the basic display of genuine feelings found in Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment is hard to look beyond. I don't generally find myself very emotional over records, but to look beyond what is presented here would be absurd. An obvious struggle is seen between two very different feelings, and the end result is an album, though deep in production value, is very raw with personal feeling. Though I can certainly understand the reluctance to finalize it, I'm glad we were able to witness a project being appropriately put to rest, the last goodbye from one friend to another. Joey really put it best, with the song "Beat:" Today, I finished what we started, People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Shit. long comment FAILED. One of the most touching and heartbreaking cds I've ever heard, and yet I still love every second Actually, it's called "Violet", and there's a verse missing on the Twelve Small Steps version. Also, I found something quite interesting. On the Joey Cape/Tony Sly Acoustic record, the version of "Violent" is the exact same version on Twelve Small Steps, just without percussion. Brilliant fucking album. "an album always incomplete" I wish violet was a little longer. First of all, Joey Cape could fart into a tin can, and I would buy the CD. Furthermore, I would give it 10 stars. Just try me Joey.... release an album called "Giant Joey Fart," and I'll be the first in line. This album is excellent, and a far cry from said "fart in a jar." Joey Cape can do no wrong.... Love it. i was weary reading some of the comments Not your typical "punk" album. Its very... well... Bad Astronaut like. They were never "punk" so to speak. Sure they had members from punk bands, but their musical style was always more of a ballad with a punk edge every now and then. (ie "The Passenger" or "Greg's Estate") If you want "punk" you will want to listen to other bands. However, sophisticated lyrics and the sheer emotion in the album make it really powerful. I think the people on this board who are/were dowing the album don't understand the impact of the loss of a loved one. The fact that Joey slaved over this album when it wasn't ready to be released and came out with something of this album's nature really says something about his musical talent inside/outside the studio. Also, it's not as easy as mixing in a band member's lyrics to a beat if the band member passes. Joey spent as much time as he could to produce what I think is a well rounded album. He could have, by all means, finished this thing really quickly with another drummer and other people collaborating, but this was HIS project and a devotion to Derrick. Granted he did use anotehr drummer in some songs to lay down tracks, but he did the best he could to preserve Derrick in the album. this cd is pure genius, anyone who cant appreciate it has no soul i just picked this up at midnight. this is for sure my cd of the year. my favourite album of all time is bad astronaut's previous release, "houston: we have a drinking problem", so it was always going to be hard for this album to live up to expectations especially since derrick never finalised his work on the album. The only thing about Bad Astronaut I like are their album covers. I thought all their releases were boring. Good review guy! Can't wait to buy this one, BA is one of my top 2 or 3 favorite bands of all time. If that really is you, Joey, and you come back to look at this: after a few listens, this album is sonically and lyrically haunting. thanks to joey for finishing this and cheers to derrick. RIP I don't know what the hell everyone's talking about. I think this is by far the best Bad Astronaut album, and easily one of the best things I've heard this year! I usually don't pay any attention to reviews or to what critics say, but to say some of the things that have been posted here is really a reflection of how negative and ill willed people can really be. The passing of Derrick was hard on all of us, and this project was done in his honor. I don't care what you think of the music, but I just can't understand how you could justify saying some of these things about someone who 1) You never knew, and 2) If you had known, you would realize just how great he was. Brian already posted that it was his mistake. "Christ. It's called "we fucked up". Sorry, there's nothing more to it." So seriously staffers, what is the deal with the early review? Score if for the moron who said this sucks more cock than I do. well considering Chris is staff chances are he might be reviewing an advanced copy, so it isn't like he is reviewing downloads.....or maybe he is, but that would be evil. Yeah, but see the org claims to have a policy on this: Mediocre album, not what i expected. Joey's still a pussy. And the best band album is still 'Passenger' AllMusic reviews stuff pre-release sometimes, too. Pobody's nerfect. why is this being reviewed when the street date in nov 14th? Good album. Brian, shhhh. You're hurting my claim in the Strike Anywhere show thread that this site is professional. Yeah, this isn't out until the 14th. My bad. I don't know why I thought this was released on Halloween. Score for band's name. Even if you argue that Derrick was weak for killing himself, this and Resolve aren't albums written by Derrick. Whether someone close to you dies of a car accident, cancer or suicide, that death will still have impact. If you'd ever bothered listening to Resolve, there are moments where Joey is basically asking Derrick why he did it. There are moments where he wonders what could make a person do it. And he also blames himself at points. Whether a person's suicide is weak or not, and it isn't always weak, has nothing to do with the anguish that those they leave behind go through. The depth of Joey's emotion after Derrick's death is what made Resolve so good, not the how and why of Derrick's death. if you want to release material in honor of your weak ass suicide friend you've been crying over for eons, release it on the internet for free, not as a halfass album My buddy was derricks roomate when he blew his brains out...said he was a pimp. what's with the early review! definitely in my top 5 most anticipated albums of the year...can't wait to hear this, "Houston" was in my top 10 of 2002, and that was a sick year for music (thrice-illusion, bad religion-process, lawrence arms-apathy, D4-situationist, etc.) best bad astronaut record.don´t care what all the haters say. eat me, nocigar! I may rate this higher later, but for now I'm giving it a 9, I need to listen to it more to come to a final conclusion. seriously, this cd fucking sucks I thought you guys didn't post reviews until albums were released? This review was pretty good, but here's how I'd make it better: i heard that joey is going to make the first video a remake of the aerosmith "angel" video and he is going to be the guy in the bed and derrick is going to be the ghost in the dress floating above him that he is singing to. THis is a good album agreed on the solo joey stuff. I love everything Bad Astronaut has released but aside from a couple of songs, this sucked more cock than Neil. Even Joey Cape has stated this album blows. seriously, this cd fucking sucks wait, i thought this was out on the 14th? I was really disappointed with this release for some reason. I thought you guys didn't post reviews until albums were released? his should be good wow, i had no idea this was out already. definitely love Bad Astronaut. score is for the review. |
