be your own pet

i used to hate be your own pet. when i first saw them it was at the siren fest in coney island, ny, in the summer of...2006, i want to say? possibly 2005. either way, i hated it. i thought jemina pearl was insane and it actually made me uncomfortable that she would swear so much. isn't that weird?!

anyway i saw them again accidently, when they opened up for le tigre. slightly more annoying.

but, being a big believer in second, and in this case third, chances, i downloaded the song 'bicycle bicycle you are my bicycle' and that was the end of hate. i finally 'got' what they were doing and i have enjoyed them since.

my impression of what some music bloggers thought would happen is that they would mature and wouldn't have the same fun, loud, teen-punk element to them. but, while they have successfully matured as musicians, lyrically it's like they never changed. and i like that. sometimes you just want something that you know will be constant.

what's disappointing is that they signed with universal and without asking them, the label took three songs off without asking them because they were deemed 'too violent.' which is too bad, because one of the songs, 'becky,' is becoming one of my favourites.

"When I found out that the songs were going to get taken off, I was just like, 'Is there anybody I can talk to?' " Pearl said. "It's like, I don't even really know who these people are. There's no one you can talk to to try to argue your case. Other than that, Universal has been great. But I guess that's just what happens when you decide to have something to do with a major label. They're going to be scared of anything that's not completely cookie cutter."

Pearl paused to take a breath. "I also feel like it's a good thing to have an outlet," she continued. "Like, maybe I would be a very violent person if I didn't have the chance to sing about what I want to sing about and express things I want and it's definitely helped me from being a destructive person in my life. And I think tons of people relate to that, so it's kind of frustrating that they want to censor me or whatever." (full story)

i've put the album up for download, but i've added the three rejected songs to the zip.


be your own pet - get awkward


tracklisting
01. super soaked
02. the kelly affair
03. twisted nerve
04. heart throb
05. bitches leave
06. bummer time
07. you're a waste
08. food fight!
09. zombie graveyard party!
10. what's your damage?
11. creepy crawl
12. the beast within

bonus tracks
01. black hole
02. becky
03. blow yr mind

download