Powerman 5000 - Destroy What You Enjoy

Genre rock Publisher DRT Entertainment External Links Official Powerman 5000 Website Official DRT Entertainment Website

It is a sad fact there are just some bands out there who will never be taken seriously by snotty music writers. Powerman 5000 is one of those bands. It's not that they've changed their image more than forty times. It's not that they used to dress in ridiculous futuristic super hero costumes. Hell, it's not even that their name is Powerman 5000. The reason the band will never be taken seriously by critics is...well OK it is the name, but also because their music has never been the least bit original or even remotely inspired. From the start, image was far more important to them and for the vast world of uber-passionate music snobs, that simply will not cut it.

The group has however, acquired a loyal fan base that apparently consists of enough people to have kept them going since 1989. When I received their latest album, Destroy What You Enjoy for review, I left it sitting on the kitchen table where these little masterpieces are usually spawned. That same day, a friend visited with her ten year old son Brandon. The kid spotted the CD on the table and to my incredulity, said that Powerman 5000 was his favorite band of all time. After a brief drilling, to make sure that this was true, I was struck with a brilliant idea: Let the kid review the album! So, that is exactly what I did seeing as how it was not possible for me to do it without negative rock snob bias. Here is what he wrote:

"Powerman 5000 is my favorite band. I have all of their CDs and this one is my favorite. It rocks a lot more than any of their old ones. My favorite song is 'Wild World' because it is really fast and loud. I think everyone should listen to Powerman 5000 because they are cool."

Sounds like a recommendation from a true fan to me. Powerman 5000 fans, if you're out there, and you're reading this, Brandon, who seems to be one of your kind, highly recommends Destroy What you Enjoy. Personally, the lame Social Distortion influence and run of the mill three-chord punk gets real old, real quick. Lead singer Spider (Michael Cummings) One's pointless lyrics and tired screeching make it hard to get through even one song. Perhaps going from electro-clash, to metal, to punk in one career span has caused the boys to wear out their welcome. Powerman 5000's loud, obnoxious music may be forever damned to the realms of WWE entrance themes and extreme sports video games.