Quantcast

Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers

Music
cover art

Tickle Me Pink

Madeline

(Wind-Up; US: 1 Jul 2008; UK: Available as import)

The chorus to “Typical”—the first single from Colorado emo-rock outfit Tickle Me Pink’s debut Madeline—features the snide line “You can’t play me like that / It’s a matter of fact / You’re nothing more / Than a typical whore,” easily making this a frontrunner for being the most misogynist single of 2008. Perhaps if the group displayed a sense of humor or a knowing glance of irony, then this track could be interpreted as anything but hamfisted schoolboy frustration, but, unfortunately, Tickle Me Pink take themselves far too seriously, resulting in a painfully bland set of screamo-by-numbers tunes that overstay their welcome as soon as they arrive. Though acoustic ballad “Beside the Others” at least aims for heartfelt catharsis, its tired clichés (the opening line is “How could she be / With a wretch like me?”) knock down any hope of the band creating any sort of identity out of the Warped Tour mindset. Worst of all? The most intriguing aspect of the live concert DVD that accompanies this set turns out to be the moments when a security guard begins forcibly removing fans from the stage. At least there, the guard is displaying a real emotion: out and out frustration.

Rating:

Evan Sawdey began contributing to PopMatters in late 2005 after contributing for years to his college newspaper The Knox Student. Evan became the Associate Interviews Editor for PopMatters in the summer of 2008, and then the full Interviews Editor a year after that. Since joining, Evan's work has been quoted/featured in a wide array of publications including SLUG Magazine, The Metro (U.K.), the Gulf Times, Soundvenue Magazine (Denmark), and multiple national newspapers. Evan has been a guest on WNYC's Soundcheck (an NPR affiliate), was the Executive Producer for the Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle album (available for free at GoodWithWordsAlbum.com), and wrote the liner notes for the 2011 re-release of Andre Cymone's hit 1985 album A.C. (Big Break Records) and the 2012 re-releases of the JoBoxers' 1983 debut album Like Gangbusters, 'Til Tuesday's 1985 debut Voices Carry, and Plastic Bertrand's 1978 album AN 1 (all Hot Shot Records). He is a current member of The Recording Academy and resides in Chicago, Illinois. You can follow him @SawdEye should you be so inclined.


Media
Tickle Me Pink - Typical (Live)
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Mommy Fearest: 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' (Blu-ray) (Short Ends and Leader) [Wed, 12:30 pm]
2012 Nelsonville Music Festival (Notes from the Road) [Wed, 12:00 pm]
20 Questions: Hannibal Buress (Sound Affects) [Wed, 11:00 am]
Cannes 2012: 'Reality' + 'In the Fog' (Reviews) [Wed, 8:08 am]
Love, and Other Indelible Stains (Columns) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Sigur Rós: Valtari (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Lemonade: Diver (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Cory Branan: Mutt (Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
Big Science: Difficulty (Capsule Reviews) [Wed, 2:00 am]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  6. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  7. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  8. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  9. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  10. The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader)
  11. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  12. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  13. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  14. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  15. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  16. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  17. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  18. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  19. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  20. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
  21. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  22. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  23. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  24. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  25. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  26. The Walkmen: Heaven (Reviews)
  27. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  28. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  29. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
  30. Various Artists: Occupy This Album (Reviews)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.