Since Futures is supposedly about Jimmy Eat World’s own personal growth and reflection, I figure might as well take this opportunity to do some of my own. Once upon a time, Jimmy Eat World was cool. Maybe I’m just saying this because years ago I thought any band that wasn’t on the radio or MTV was cool, and now I’ve realized that what really makes a band cool is talent, sometimes politics and activism, and usually just the fact that they’d be doing the same thing whether they got paid or not. Clearly I’ve grown and matured as a listener.

But in Jimmy Eat World’s case, they seem to have done things a bit backwards. ’Cause first they "made it," and then they decided to get political in their songwriting. The problem here is they started adding guitar solos and "deep" lyrics to their songs, making it far less pop-punk and far more adult-alternative. And I can get down with some pop punk, but this album sounds more like something the kids would have cried about in the mid-‘90s. It actually made me somewhat angry to listen to. Seriously, these guys should stick to writing songs about girls.

The best part of this album is the video for the song "Pain." OK, so the video’s not actually on the album, but apparently it’s of a kid reacting to being forced to listen to the song by throwing himself down stairs and banging his head into the wall. It’s an interesting approach for a band to take when trying to sell music, but it makes me laugh to think about it that way. That’s the nicest thing I have to say about Futures.