Let's Hear It For Love: Will the Smoking Popes Ver. 2.0 Survive in the 2K6?

I first became aware of the Smoking Popes over 10 years ago because of a little coming-of-age flick called "Angus." They contributed a song ("Mrs. You and Me") to the soundtrack, which I was a fan of since it had Weezer, The Riverdales, and plenty of other bands who went onto obscurity.

I'd forgotten all about the band until five years ago when I was talking to Kris Roe about bands that inspired us to make music and he brought up the Popes. A few weeks later, I was shopping at Ameoba Records in San Francisco and I found "Destination: Failure" and "Born To Quit" in a clearance bin. I quickly snatched them up since they had been long out-of-print.

Months after my find, Double Zero released "Live" and "The Party's Over," a collection of so-so covers that was to be their swan song.

Now over a decade after hearing my first Smoking Popes song (and relentlessly ripping off "Star Struck One" and "Just Broke Up" in various bands), they've reunited, signed with Victory, and are releasing another live album (with DVD, of course).

This is sort of a weird thing for me to wrap my head around since lead singer Josh Caterer broke up the band after accepting God and, in turn, forming Duvall, a band that is sonically identical to the Smoking Popes, yet walks that thin line of "are they/aren't they" Christian rock. Many of the Popes' songs center around heartache and honesty and in his heyday, Caterer was never shy about throwing a swear word or four into his tunes.

I guess I also see this reunion as being a bit forced since many bands, namely Bayside and Alkaline Trio, have made their careers based around lifting the Smoking Popes' self-loathing-lyrics-backed-by-up-tempo-pop-punk sound. They're probably just trying to get their due. And I can honestly say that there's probably no reason why they shouldn't. There's a new generation of heartbroken kids who need some refreshing tunes to save them from John Hughes-penned angst and out-of-control make-up rock. The Smoking Popes have those kind of songs, let's just see if they continue to hold up, or if they'll be regurgitated in a world of screamo-ing.

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Smoking Popes
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Bayside