I’ve stated before that I like melodrama in my music…well, turns out that statement is not entirely true. I like melodrama when it’s delivered tongue-in-cheek. If it seems to me that the singer realizes how whiny he is, and is kind of doing it as a joke, I can appreciate it. However, when that melodrama is delivered with hella conviction, I’m going to be a little skeptical.
I may not like what The Get Up Kids do, but I can’t deny that they do it well. They don’t try to hide what they’re doing. With lines like “Constants aren’t so constant anymore.” and “Tonight for me translates to yesterday for you.” (Both of those are in the same song, may I add) you’ll be ingesting well beyond your recommended daily dose of teenage emotions all within the 45 minutes of Something to Write Home About.
The band seems unable to shake that adolescent tendency towards anger and confusion, as all of Something to Write Home About seems to be about doomed relationships, rebellion, and not knowing one’s purpose in life. As a teenager, I know how easy it can be to become obsessed with these topics, as I see it happening to people all around me. Once you realize that not everyone is out to get you, and that you have to suck it up because life is only getting harder, these feelings stop. You’ve suddenly matured the equivalent of ten years, and you’re a little more prepared to face the real world. Music like Something to Write Home About perpetuates these annoying childhood beliefs, and it’s kind of hard to listen to if you’re past that stage.
There are tons of people not past that stage though. And they eat this up.
Swole Ear 
Nice job kid. Sorry your youth is gone, but as it gets harder, it also gets better. You do more in three paragraphs than some reviewers do in three pages — and, so far at least, you haven’t mentioned Bono, so you are okay with me.