http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/music/bal-li.music18oct18,0,6045732.story?track=rss
10-18-07
Music
|
Sun
pop
music
critic
October
18,
2007
It's
something
that
grated
on
his
nerves.
So
Puddle
of
Mudd
front
man
Wes
Scantlin
wrote
a
song
about
America's
current
obsession
with
celebrity
culture.
On
the
title
track
of
Famous,
the
alt-metal
band's
new
album
released
this
month,
he
rants
about
those
who
seem
to
live
for
paparazzi
cameras.
Over
a
chugging
beat
and
Nirvana-like
guitar
riffs,
Scantlin
snarls:
"I
just
wanna
be
famous
...
cause
all
the
Playboy
bunnies
take
my
money
from
me/Show
up
at
all
the
Oscars/Smoke
out
Dennis
Hopper/The
money
is
for
nothing
and
the
chicks
are
for
free
...
"
"Yeah,
man,
it's
straight-up
poking
fun
at
fame,"
the
singer-guitarist
says.
"It
doesn't
seem
so
hard
to
get
your
15
minutes
of
fame
these
days.
All
these
talentless
people
getting
busted
for
coke,
driving
down
the
street
getting
DUIs,
and
they
become
famous.
Man,
I
was
in
my
room
for
13
years
practicing
guitar.
Now
you
don't
have
to
work
at
it.
Just
do
coke,
get
busted,
you're
famous."
Scantlin
and
his
band
mates
-
bassist
Douglas
Ardito,
guitarist
Christian
Stone
and
drummer
Ryan
Yerdon
-
lead
the
album
with
the
scathing
song.
And
the
rest
of
Famous,
the
follow-up
to
2003's
gold-selling
Life
on
Display,
packages
the
band's
profane,
sometimes-witty
observations
of
rock
'n'
roll
life
in
slickly
crafted
productions.
Puddle
of
Mudd
will
perform
cuts
from
the
new
CD
tomorrow
night
at
Rams
Head
Live.
"We
were
psyched
about
this
record,"
says
Scantlin,
who's
calling
from
a
tour
stop
in
Fort
Lauderdale,
Fla.
"We
put
a
lot
of
hard
work
in
it.
We
wanted
to
get
under
people's
skins
with
this
but
have
some
fun
playing
good
rock
'n'
roll."
Puddle
of
Mudd
doesn't
break
any
new
artistic
ground
with
Famous,
the
band's
third
release
on
Flawless,
Fred
Durst's
Geffen-distributed
label.
But
the
sound
of
the
new
CD
is
decidedly
more
streamlined
than
Life
on
Display
and
Come
Clean,
the
band's
multiplatinum
breakthrough
from
2001.
Undoubtedly,
the
contributions
of
modern-rock
tunesmith
Brian
Howes,
who
has
penned
hits
for
Daughtry,
added
extra
coats
of
polish
to
the
band's
blunt
approach.
"Ninety-eight
percent
of
the
time,
I
feel
like
I
walked
away
with
great
songs,"
Scantlin
says.
"I
thought
it
wasn't
going
to
work
at
first.
But
I'm
glad
it
did.
We
bounced
ideas
off
each
other,
and
the
songs
worked,
man."
Precise
and
sprinkled
with
perhaps
overly
familiar
elements
of
post-grunge
rock,
Famous
is
studded
with
tunes
(surging
ballads,
rowdy
up-tempo
numbers)
that
sound
perfectly
tailored
for
radio.
But
Scantlin
says
ubiquitous
airplay
wasn't
the
sole
aim
for
the
new
record.
"We're
not
shooting
for
everything
to
be
on
the
radio,"
he
says.
"That's
just
the
way
it
was
written.
I
grew
up
listening
to
commercial
radio
-
going
to
sleep
with
the
clock
radio
on.
So
I
got
that
in
me,
I
guess,
man."
It
also
could
be
a
calculated
effort
to
catapult
Puddle
of
Mudd
back
to
multiplatinum
sales.
The
band
hasn't
repeated
the
runaway
success
of
Come
Clean,
which
featured
the
smashes
"Control,"
"Blurry,"
"Drift
&
Die"
and
"She
Hates
Me."
That
album
climbed
into
Billboard's
Top
10
and
sold
more
than
5
million
copies
worldwide.
But
with
the
release
of
Life
on
Display
two
years
later,
the
popularity
of
the
California-based
band
dipped
considerably.
The
CD
spawned
two
big
hits
-
"Away
From
Me"
and
"Heel
Over
Head"
-
but
barely
sold
a
million
copies.
Afterward,
the
band
went
through
personnel
changes:
Drummer
Greg
Upchurch
bolted
for
a
spot
in
3
Doors
Down,
and
guitarist
Paul
Phillips
left
because
of
creative
differences
with
Scantlin.
Finding
replacements
for
his
old
band
mates
is
part
of
the
reason
for
the
four-year
gap
between
Life
on
Display
and
Famous.
But
now
with
new
musical
energy
in
the
group,
Scantlin
is
looking
ahead.
"We
don't
worry
about
success
in
the
past,
man,"
Scantlin
says.
"I
think
this
new
record
is
going
to
do
very
well.
Even
if
it
doesn't,
I
still
feel
good
about
it.
If
it
feels
good
to
me,
I
figure
it'll
feel
good
to
other
people.
Plus,
man,
it's
just
nice
to
be
back
out
there,
touring
again."
See
Puddle
of
Mudd
at
8
tomorrow
night
at
Rams
Head
Live,
20
Market
Place.
Tickets
are
$25.
Call
410-244-1131
or
go
to
ramsheadlive.com.
Copyright
©
2007,
The
Baltimore
Sun