Mean Jeans
Singles

I hate summer. More than anything, I hate the people who, en masse, invade seas and mountains, hills and lakes, and thermal centers.

However, I love cities that on August 15 appear like the day after a nuclear explosion.

Anyway, to prevent my hatred from reaching serial killer levels, all I need is a smile, and it doesn't take much to get one—a book and a record to keep me company for three months. I've just started the book—a biography of Joe Strummer—and I've just taken out the record and put it on, a collection of singles, EPs, and various oddities created by the Mean Jeans about a decade ago. It's not coincidentally titled «Singles».

The Mean Jeans are a trio from Portland, Oregon, USA, a place that's birthed quite a few notable names, starting with the Kingsmen up to my favorites, the Wipers, just to say that the Mean Jeans are in good company.

Obviously, they look up to the Ramones as their guardian spirits, and they make it clear right away, adopting stage names like Billy Jeans (guitar), Junior Jeans (bass), and Jeans Wilder (drums), and scattering one-two-three-four everywhere along with catchy chorus lines oh oh oh wow wow wow sha na na that take center stage. However, they are far less evolved than the Ramones, especially from an ethical-social standpoint, in the sense that the Ramones have taken a few stances on these matters while the Mean Jeans avoid commitment like Dracula avoids garlic. Or rather, they do have one position, which is to live for partying, fueled by loud music, plenty of beer, and girls, all emphasized in capital letters in songs like «Possessed 2 Party (With U)» and «Steve Don't Party No More» – which is not included in the collection but comes with a video that perfectly conveys the trio's preached philosophy – stuff that makes the Beastie Boys of «Right to Party» look like Martin Luther King in Washington on August 28, 1963, by comparison. In short, the Ramones filtered through the experience of the terrifying, unforgettable Hard-Ons, only that from the Hard-Ons they mostly adopt the style (ultra-melodic punk-pop’n’roll at the speed of sound), setting aside their marked "red-light" attitude, because for the three from Portland, music and beer are enough to party, and if there are girls, all the better, otherwise the party goes on just the same. So, the Ramones, yes, but with a furious focus on the comic aspect of the story, 100% fun and disengagement. Or maybe someone wants to start a discussion about the cover?

The result is 20 songs – 17 originals plus 2 covers of songs by illustrious unknowns and one by Sparks – that combine in a miraculously raw sound and melodies that grab heart and soul, and illuminatingly capture everything the Mean Jeans did before debuting on long play with an album that's a total statement starting from the title, «Are You Serious?», but are you serious?

To clarify, one of the most fun bands and albums I've ever come across, one of those that instantly gives me all the smiles I need to survive another hateful summer.

See you in September and Mean Jeans at full volume!