This review is part of a series looking back at significant albums on their anniversaries. Through the benefit of hindsight we will be viewing the album not just as it was released, but how it stands the test of time, as well as its place in the band’s discography and the genre in general.
Epic Records – 27 March 2001
An underrated and subversive gem
Back in the days before comic book films created cinematic universes, there was a comic book trio who heroically overcame greedy corporate monsters to defend the youth of America. In 2001, long before Robert Downey Jr began working with S.H.I.E.L.D to form The Avengers, Josie McCoy and her band of Pussycats, Val and Melody uncovered and defeated major label MegaRecords and its use of subliminal messaging to to control teens and young adults.
The film came along at peak-TRL time, cd sales were at their apex, and a wave of pop princesses and boy-bands had spent the better part of the last 2 years dominating the charts, so the plot was perfectly fitting and poignant. The soundtrack was even better, written by some of the best in power pop. Everything about the film is and was underrated, the subversiveness missed by far too many. Essentially it’s the plot of Zoolander with a female garage band rather than male models.
This film featured an unheard of eight original tracks written for the fictional Josie and The Pussycats, plus three covers and an additional two songs for the secondary fictitious band DuJour and those songs were written by some of the greats. I think the voice of the soundtrack has to belong to Kay Hanley of Letters to Cleo, who provides the vocals for Rachel Leigh Cook’s Josie. Hanley is also credited with co-writing “Shapeshifter.”
In addition to the Letters to Cleo frontwoman you can also find Adam Schlessinger of Fountains of Wayne penning tunes such as album standout “Pretend to Be Nice” and “Come On.”
Other recognizable songwriters involved in the project include Babyface (also executive producer) along with members of Gigolo Aunts, Counting Crows, Jellyfish, The Go-Gos and that dog.
Immediately, lead track “3 Small Words” let’s the listener know this is not your parent’s Pussycats. The original animation’s late 60’s pop sensibilities take a back seat to turn of the millenial pop-punk. The new Josie and the Pussycats sound like a subtly sexy, less sex-obsessed Enema of the State era Blink-182. A riff heavy romp of double entendres and blasting drums tailor-made to sing along to by tween girls (or 19-year-old me), the album opens with a sugar-high that keeps hold throughout “Pretend to be Nice.”
While the song finds Josie desperately striving for acceptance and affection, the backing instruments are the crux of the track, understated yet raucous they drive the underlying aggression and self-loathing that comes from being with someone who isn’t nearly as invested in the relationship.
The album slows down on the era’s obligatory unrequited love album needed for every movie aimed at teens. “You Don’t See Me” finds Josie pining for affection and attention with little music fanfare behind her, only a hushed keyboard behind an acoustic guitar.
Every Hanley sung track feels smart, subversive and fun even after 2 decades but a real high level of attention and humor went into the two tracks by movie boy-band DuJour. Mimicking the stylings of Backstreet Boys and ‘N SYNC, “DuJour Around The World” embraces the cheesiness of its lyrical content. “Backdoor Lover” is a clearly of-its-time romp through as many suggestive innuendos as one could squeeze into four minutes.
There really is not a bad track on the soundtrack and it is hands down one of the most underrated albums of the decade. Rarely can so many established songwriters come together to create an image for a band, but in taking a fictitious trio and creating a new signature sound, the artists behind Josie and The Pussycats have crafted a subversive and honest pop album belying the satirical themes of commercialization in pop-music.
Bad Dad (occasionally called Ed) has been on the periphery of the punk and punk-adjacent scene for over twenty years. While many contributors to this site have musical experience and talent, Ed’s musical claim to fame comes from his time in arguably the most punk rock Blockbuster Video district in NJ where he worked alongside members of Blanks 77, Best Hit TV and Brian Fallon. He is more than just an awful father to his 2 daughters, he is also a dreadful husband, a subpar writer, a terrible dresser and has a severe deficiency in all things talent… but hey, at least he’s self-aware, amirite?
Check out the pathetic attempts at photography on his insta at https://www.instagram.com/bad_dad_photography/
