I remember the first time I listened to Maybe you've been brainwashed too. I had just bought the album on a dark night in October and I knew I had stumbled upon something great... I made sure there were no possible distractions and I pressed play on my CD player. The CD just blew me away... I knew I was listening to something special and that I had to make sure that other people heard it... And now, even though the band no longer exists, I don't feel that this album has had any of it's meaningful content taken away from it. It's been over 10 months since I bought the CD, and I still listen to it everyday. I know it's not the end of the world or anything, but it just seems like society in general is now missing out on a GREAT band.
Tribute by Jennifer Niemann
Until New Radicals came along I was suffering in music wasteland. There was never any artist or band that impressed me or held my interest. When I first heard the "single" I immediately loved it because the singer and the melody reminded me of my favorite, Todd Rundgren. Later of course, many reviewers heard it too. I went and bought the Cd and I was blown away by the way the music could either make my heart soar, my feet move, or my soul cry. It's been ages since I've heard non-confectionary love song. Where the words are painfully honest and the heart is on the line. No BS involved. I've lived a wild life, and I've been broken my many men, and after listening to songs such as "Flowers" & "Gotta stay high" I wondered if Gregg met me somewhere in his travels. Maybe I poured my drunken story out to him, a stranger, some time in a Chicago bar. Not true, but you get what I'm saying? He moved me. He said what I wanted to hear and now I can never tell him what he did for my soul. He made it so that we fell in love with him, male and female alike, he charmed us and now we will never hear him again. I'm angry because I grieve (Though thankfully he's not deceased), but I grieve what I'll never have. But I thank him for what he gave me.
Tribute by Christin Joseph
The New Radicals have been my refuge from the teeny-bopper stuff I normally listen to. Gregg's songs made me realize that things happen for a reason, and usually don't last forever.
I discovered the New Radicals in October or November of 1998, and recieved the CD for Christmas. It is definitely not one of the Cd's that I let get dusty from lack of use(like the spice girls). I listened to it everyday for a while, and now, even though I am listening to other things, I usually find time to listen to the Cd. It is one of my inspirations for the poetry and songs I write.
My mom doesn't understand, or care, how much I will really miss Gregg, because, yes, I know he's not dead or anything, but he will be missed greatly by many people. This site is full of people who probably feel the same as I do, and that's why I express my feelings on the message board, under the name of Chaos.
The New Radicals will greatly be missed. Amen and praise the Lord who helped me discover their music.
Tribute by Xtine Mendoza
Well, I was staring at the ceiling the other day with MYBBT playing on my CD player and i thought it isn't such a terrible thing that the New Radicals have split up! I still have the greatest album of all time and their music lives on and I'm not that disappointed anymore cos Gregg will be producing and Danielle Brisebois will be releasing a new album!' I`d say gregg is one intelligent courageous man! I mean, when he knew that he was no longer enjoying the thrills of performing, he quits! How many of those up and coming bands are willing to do that just when they`re at the edge of their careers? I think it takes a lot of courage to walk away from one of the best things that has happened to him and decide that it is not what he is meant to do...
Tribute by 'Someone'
Man, why did new radicals have to break up? They (he) was the best! I havent heard anything quite like it in a long time. It got a good mesage across, (sort of) if any of you heard him on Open House Party a few months ago, youd know what he means in "you get what you give". Gregg's music was excellent in a time of toilet bowl licking bands, with sorry ass music. It was different, which is why it was so good. He wasnt mega popular either, just 1 guy who wrote some great songs. I admire him. I even lent the cd to one of my friends, and told him I had never, or rarely ever heard anything like it, and he thought it was pretty cool. When I first heard that song, it was a much needed change of pace. (in other words it was about time something good came along) Unfortunately i havent seen the video to "you get what you give" except for a few seconds of it on that NOW2 commercial, cause eMpTyV and VH1 both suck more than a 2 month old baby. Frankly Im getting TIRED of hearing bsb, nsync, jennifer lopez, kid rock, lenny kravitz, and goo goo dolls, just to name a few, played about 100 times on the radio and tv. Does anyone know if the "someday well know" video was scrapped? If that gets played maybe theyll dig up "you get what you give" so i can finally see it...shoot I might even try TRL....umm...on second thought, maybe not. Anyways, it was about time something came along to disrupt the flow of shit on the airwaves, New Radicals was just that, too bad it didnt last. Oh and to you blink182 fanatics that bash new radicals..YOU WOULD anyone who likes watching a bunch of guys run through the streets naked, would. After all....whats your age again?
Tribute by Melany Joy Beck
I've finally found my cosmic brother. As an independent musician/songwriter/fledglingproducer who's had it with the corporate salad shooter, I can empathize with Gregg Alexander and his art probably too well. Getting annoyed with the direction that music has gone in for the past 20 years I thought I would never hear anything again that sounded even novel. Oh a few songs, couple bands here and there, but nothing too grand. Then a friend who was aware of my jaded tastes recommended the New Radicals. It was good. The sentiment was mine exactly. Then I learned how true to his music he was and I am getting the impression that he is sensitive and tempermental as well. And that's wonderful. Make music because you want to and because you mean it. Not because you want to buy stuff. I look forward to any of his future projects. I think he's got a lot to say and I know at least I will be listening.
Tribute of Robin Van Oirbeek (August 2nd, 2000)
Well, it may seem kinda weird, but I bought Maybe you've been brainwashed too just two days ago after reading these reactions. I was stunned by the equal feelings of other people about his first single You get what you give and I decided that I must buy it. And I did and don't regret it. Gregg has the gift of putting the perfect music with the perfect lyrics. That makes him a genius. I'm kinda a romantic guy and so I'm doomed to live in a world which isn't in harmony with my ideas and feelings, but every time I put on my stereo to listen to Gregg's wonderfull music, I get a little closer to the utopia I try to create in my mind. He and his music is perfect...to me at least!
Tribute by Mark Jurado
I discovered the band quite some time ago, when the single "You Get What You Give" was out. I think that the album is one of the best I've heard in 2 or 3 years...just start to finish, it speaks to me on this level that almost no other band has been able to reach.
In September of 1999, I was badly injured in a car accident. I was in the hospital for several days, alone, just thinking. I wasn't very mobile, and if I'd had a cd player there I couldn't have operated it. But the music I was listening to when the accident happened...'maybe you've been brainwashed too..'...the music played in my mind. And I think it saved my life.
I distinctly remember lying in that dark room, at night, not being able to sleep because I had slept for the past 20 hours already. I wanted to die. Mentally, I wanted to give up. I was sick of hurting. But for whatever reason, as I was about to give up, i remembered the part of the song that goes "isn't it a wonderful world, Carolina? / look at the birds in the sky / Jehovah made this whole joint for you, Carolina / so isn't it wonderful to be alive?". I mean, maybe I feel worthless...but couldn't I go on, and be happy somehow, if I just try? Even if it's only because of something simple, like seeing some birds up in the sky? I decided, God gave me life to accomplish something, even if I wasn't sure what that was...he didn't want me to throw it away. And I think he used the New Radicals to tell me that. To tell me not to give up. To tell me that it was wonderful to be alive.
In a couple of days, I went home from the hospital. Today I lead a normal life. But this whole time, I knew basically nothing about the band. And tonight, while listening to the album again (yes, i rescued the disc from my crashed car) I decided to get online and see if I could find any info about a new album, or a tour or anything. When i arrived at NewRadicals.net, I read the line "Well, the New Radicals are over. But the music will live on!", and I cried.
It saddens me that there will never be another New Radicals record, after the touching album they produced on (so far as I know) their first effort. I was hoping there would be a tour or something in the future, so there would be a chance i could at least see the people who touched my heart so much, and maybe even meet them and tell them how much what they did meant to me. I suppose now that won't be possible. But, even if it just meant a post to this discussion group, I wanted someone to know that just because a band is gone, or they weren't as commerically successful as they might have been...that doesn't mean that they didn't touch someone's life. I know that this band touched mine.
Peace, Love, and Happiness,
Mark.
