Destination Failure

Amazon.com
Chicago's Smoking Popes deliver another stellar batch of buzzsaw punk-pop anthems about love and love lost on their second major-label album. Josh Caterer's emotional crooning still sounds a lot like Morrissey's, but mopey teenagers would be much better off listening to the Popes than Moz, because the joy inherent in their tunes always points the way out for the worst case of the blues. (Just pogo a bit, and everything is sure to feel better.) "Let's hear it for promises and something sealed with a kiss/Let's hear it for big mistakes that you just couldn't resist," Josh sings in "Let's Hear It for Love," which is pretty much the band's theme song. But the group really won my heart with the cover of "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. How can you help but love these guys? --Jim Derogatis

Destination Failure,Smoking Popes,Capitol,Alternative Pop/Rock,Pop,Punk-Pop,Rock,Rock/Pop

Destination Failure

Average customer rating:

Finally a pop-punk band that doesn't sound like pop-punk.
One of the best albums of the 90's
A band I looked for for years (literally)
Yes, enjoy your pants
"Destination" Aced!

Destination Failure
Smoking Popes
Manufacturer: Capitol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Punk-Pop | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Born to Quit
The Party's Over
Live
At Metro
Volume & Density

ASIN: B000002U57
Release Date: 1997-08-26

Tracks:

Star Struck One
No More Smiles
I Know You Love Me
You Spoke To Me
Paul
Can't Find It
Capitol Cristine
Before I'm Gone
Megan
Let's Hear It For Love
Pure Imagination
I Was Right
They Lied
End Of Your Time
Pretty Pathetic
Follow The Sound

Amazon.com

Chicago's Smoking Popes deliver another stellar batch of buzzsaw punk-pop anthems about love and love lost on their second major-label album. Josh Caterer's emotional crooning still sounds a lot like Morrissey's, but mopey teenagers would be much better off listening to the Popes than Moz, because the joy inherent in their tunes always points the way out for the worst case of the blues. (Just pogo a bit, and everything is sure to feel better.) "Let's hear it for promises and something sealed with a kiss/Let's hear it for big mistakes that you just couldn't resist," Josh sings in "Let's Hear It for Love," which is pretty much the band's theme song. But the group really won my heart with the cover of "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. How can you help but love these guys? --Jim Derogatis

Customer Reviews:

Finally a pop-punk band that doesn't sound like pop-punk........2002-01-15

While other pop-punk bands (i.e. Blink 182, Sum 41, and countless others whose names I forget, but likely end with numbers) seem to get stuck in a rut trying hard to sound like a pop punk band, the Popes simply take the aesthetic of pop-punk and play what they want to play. The chord progressions contain more than 4 chords a song, the instrumentation isn't always bashing you in the face, and the singer doesn't sound like some whiney Joey Ramone or Johnny Rotten sound-alike. Most of all, their songs are interesting and fun, but not just for the sake of being interesting and fun. They're just good songs. (Not to mention "Pure Imagination" is possibly the best cover I've ever heard)

Let's hear it for the Smoking Popes.

One of the best albums of the 90's.......2001-07-03

The Smoking Popes blend heatfelt lyrics and melodies of love, love, oh yeah and more love into 3 minute pop songs that will make you want to cry. Destination Failure is an incredible cd and is one of the best cds of the 90's yet it still is not one of the Popes finest. This cd is highly recommend to any music fan and if you like this cd be sure to check out "Get Fired" and "Born To Quit." Please do your self a favor and listen to the Smoking Popes.

A band I looked for for years (literally).......2001-06-05

The Smoking Popes are a band I literally hunted down for about three years. I had heard their song "Need You Around" from the album "Born to Quit" and fell in love, but always caught the first half, or second half, and never heard the DJ announce the bands name before the song lost its pace. Due to a great deal of time I spent listening to music in used CD stores, I eventually heard the song again and almost died--the rest of the album matched it perfectly. Destination Failure is their third release and almost but not quite tops "Born to Quit" in my mind. A little more commercial and marketed better, the album was a bigger success and got more exposure as they toured. Still, I give it five stars. Who could resist Caterer's classic lounge singer style with guitars backing him that make you want to rock? The band picks from Weezer somewhat, with ultra-slow lyrics and hyperactive guitar lines with plenty of bass. If you haven't listened to Smoking Popes before, prepare yourself, because you may not know whether you're supposed to feel aggresive, or depressed, or giddy, but you'll be sure to appreciate their unique style and a mood all their own.

Yes, enjoy your pants.......2001-01-13

A great CD from a band that I beleive doesn't get enough credit. Great lyrics, and some pretty good licks that remind you of their not so poppy past. This album would get five stars if 1991-1998 and the Live album didn't exist. This is a good primer course in the Popes, you might say, even though it came at the end of their career.

"Destination" Aced!.......2001-01-11

There are few albums I can just pop into my cd player and listen to straight through, let alone be patient enough to listen to them for that long. "Destination Failure" is one of them. Having only two Smoking Popes cds, this is my favorite among the two. It blends good light-hearted rock, catchy lyrics, and awesome vocals together to come up with a treat that would taste like a dark chocolate Ghirardelli bar times ten (coming from a chocolate lover, that is VERY good). The best song on the album, "No More Smiles," is a remorseful tune about the heartbreak of love. It passes the test of being a true-to-life song. "I Know That You Love Me," which is equally good and catchy, is actually, as I once heard Josh mention in an interview, a song about faith and having a relationship with God. The greatest thing about this song is you could interperet it that way--or you could just pass it off as another love song, which still makes it equally fun. "Let's Hear It For Love" and "Pure Imagination" (a great rendition of the "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" song) are above par, as is "Megan" and "Capital Cristine". It's a shame that this wonderous band had to break up. They will definitely be missed in Chicago by their adoring fans, and in other parts of the US (maybe even the world. Smoke on, Popes!

*I actually knew Josh's wife and had the pleasure of meeting Josh one time at a party. He was, overall, a very cool guy and I find it very saddening that their music is the only memory they left behind for us.

Destination Failure
Average customer rating:
Destination Failure

Manufacturer: Dmitri Northman
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA6N0Y
Release Date: 2004-09-14