Single Awareness: Zebrahead – “Anthem” (2006)

If you had to ask me what type of music I never caught on to, I would include rap-rock in that mix. Sure you had a few songs here or there that managed to work as these fun radio hits, but for the most part, it was Top 40’s version of novelty. Maybe it’s because metal is a genre that largely upsets me because I have never felt that way in my life. I have never felt the urge to scream while the guitars grind and something that sounds like a drum pounds behind. Sure I liked rap, but certain things only go together so well. I never had a Limp Bizkit phase. I’ve enjoyed the awfulness of The Fanatic (2019) more than any of their music. 

Then there’s Zebrahead: a band who has somehow not soured with the passage of time. They were arguably even more of a novelty act, entering punk rock with a rapper with elements of heavy metal and traces of ska. If you listen to their album “Playmate of the Year,” you’d probably think they had a short shelf life, as most of their songs had this jokey undertone, of a band whose prospects were always going to be writing songs for Trevor Moore movies. There was no sustainability if you judge them from the beginning…

And thankfully, they fired the guy who thought that writing songs about peepholes was high art. I have a close friend who worked with the band and has some choice words for Justin Mauriello, though I don’t think you need to hear his opinion. After all, he is the dick who once refused to introduce me to the band when I dropped him off at the airport. All that you need to do is notice the shift between the solid “MFZB” album and their 2006 album, the first to feature new singer Matty Lewis called “Broadcast to the World.”

There is some bias going into this that I must admit. Because my friend was an early advocate for the band, I spent many years tracking the band’s music. I’d go to Circuit City and stumble upon their albums, finding time to listen to “Playmate of the Year” after I finished standardized testing a bit early. I admit that the album is inferior to what follows, but that doesn’t mean that a 16-year-old boy doesn’t find some amusement in songs like “I’m Money.” I would graduate to “MFZB” eventually, though I wasn’t prepared for what 2006 brought with “Broadcast to the World.”

If you thought that I listened to those other records a lot. It was the Myspace days, so I’d have to navigate my way to their page to hear the first single from the album. “Anthem” had everything that you’d want in a Zebrahead song. It was loud, fast, and could get you pumped up quicker than a can of Monster. 

Before I go further, I want to point out something obvious. Yes, I know that if you have a pop-punk band that you’re contractually obligated to release a song called “Anthem.” It’s one of those strangely rebellious titles that means you’re establishing your own allegiance, like some Mohawked L. Ron Hubbard. If you don’t throw your heart and soul into making “Anthem” as fast as possible, then what are you doing in this game?

I could make a whole list ranking every pop-punk song with that name because, frankly, it’s a bit ridiculous. There’s groups like Good Charlotte, NOFX, Story of the Year, and (just because they’re over-achievers) Blink-182 has TWO songs, though they only perform “Anthem Part II” live for reasons that escape me. 

I say this because that isn’t what makes Zebrahead special. In a lot of respects, their pre-“Anthem” era was like a best-kept secret among fans. They would release a concert documentary through The Show Must Go Off! series that served as a document of their raw potential. They weren’t just another rap ricj group. They were special because their music blended everything together and added this deeper emotional angst underneath. Everything was methodical, and I think there’s a lot of reason to praise “Anthem” as reflecting their growth as musicians.

They were still loud and fast, but what the song ultimately did was blend everything in more effective manners. The triumphant build of the guitars ushers in the song before breaking down to a ska-laced chorus, Ali Tabatabaee rapping over the verse while this excellent bass line plays in the background. The harmonies from Lewis begin to appear before he ultimately hands over vocal duties, leading from the bridge into the chorus. The partnership has rarely been stronger, and the way it manages to make “Get up, get up” sound new is saying a lot. By the breakdown, we get a guitar solo that is a whole lot of fun before Tabatabaee returns to shout “Let us go.”

This song is a sonic whirlwind. It may use every trick in the book, but what it ultimately does is find a way to use the youthful, rebellious spirit of the genre and make it into a new art form. This was going to make you jump and dance, bleeding out your ears as you pushed your stereo to its full potential. Even if you can argue that lyrically it’s not any different from their confessional style that informs every other song, it does so in a manner that can’t be easily imitated. This wasn’t a cheap rap-rock combo. It was an effort so full of great small moments that you wish this was what it took to make them more mainstream.

I forget if I ever heard them on the radio, but I do know that because of Myspace it felt like one of those hotly anticipated records that was inescapable. Years of knowing the band’s potential meant that this was going to be a big deal, and it was thankful that the first song not only was a triumph, it blew most of their previous work out of the water. “MFZB” may have been the standard bearer for their potential, but “Broadcast to the World,” as the title suggests, was going to take things even further. They were big in Japan (debuting in the Top 10 with this album), but they needed to prove themselves elsewhere.

The chorus also features one of the best lyrics that Zebrahead has ever written:

Feel like everyone else just needs to see through different eyes

From the outside looking in we shout the anthem of our lives

On the surface, it’s saying something familiar. We are all shouting anthems in an attempt to better understand ourselves. However, there is something about the clarity with which this passage is sung that gets to the point. It isn’t just about, as the song would later suggest:

This is the anthem

Out to all the misfits

If you feel you don't belong

If you don't give a shit

About authority

About majority

About conformity

Shout it out

This was an attempt to find a better understanding. Much like the genre mash-ups, everyone needed to learn to have tolerance for each other. We need to understand Zebrahead when they sing about feeling isolated. We all feel this way. To exclude anyone is to only continue this trend of ignoring the value of each other.

This felt especially true of their music video. On one hand, every band with a limited budget has had a video like this. It’s one where a bunch of random stuff happens around a house party. In fact, there’s not really a bigger point beyond that, and yet this feels like Zebrahead themselves: what can they fuse together and get away with?

In the world of the “Anthem” music video, almost anyone who’s anyone is at the party. You have those geeks, running around in goofy jogger wear. There are people playing video games, and two luchadors fighting in the backyard. Jocks collide with the punks, forming a three-minute long arc about learning to accept each other. Then, in one of the most inspired pieces of random in the whole video, a guy barges into the bathroom while a man in a bear costume is sitting on the toilet. There’s nothing more to it than an eventual hug-out, but it reflects the microcosm that is Zebrahead’s world. Everyone’s invited, and it’s important to find ways to get along with each other.

Oh yeah, and Lemmy Kilmister from Mötorhead is there. Considering that some of the band’s merchandise has featured their logo paying homage to the metal icons, it makes sense that they would invite him over for a game of cards. With that said, it’s still strange that Zebrahead managed to pull a get like that.

The video is wild, and the thing that I especially love about it is the exuberance. Despite the underlying theme of acting out against the system, there is no sense of tearing things apart (or at least for negative purposes). If anything, the opening of the video finds the bands in a sped-up montage setting up their gear for an unrelated practice in the garage. “Anthem” is interpretive, standing in for just about anyone who needs a form of expression, and thankfully it goes down smooth. For a few minutes, we are equal. We are capable of enjoying each other’s company and recognizing what everyone brings to the picture. 

They even have a version featuring horns from the guys in Reel Big Fish. It’s not particularly great, but it shows just how far-reaching their collaborative base could reach.

Since the statutes of limitations are probably lifted, I can probably say this without getting in trouble. When I was starting out in journalism class, we had a lot of alone time to work on our own projects. I spent most of that first year listening to “Broadcast to the World” in the corner, enjoying every last note. 

I am unsure how much I would love it now, though many of those songs are still in my head. The first three songs (“Broadcast to the World,” “Rated U for Ugly,” and “Anthem”) is an excellent run that will get you energized, ready to take on the day. As far as I’m concerned, there still remains few bands who have felt like Zebrahead. You can argue that many sounds like them, but their craft has such a unique focus that it was something greater, managing to appeal across the board by challenging the instrumental structure of a song. The hooks were rarely better, and “Back to Normal” is an emotionally effective song.

For what it’s worth, I would listen to their next album “Phoenix” and find plenty to like about it too. They had a pretty fun cover of The Spice Girls “Wannabe” (seriously). However, they were like that bell in “The Polar Express.” The older that I got, the less I listened to them. For three albums, they were unsurpassed. Maybe it was because my friend admits that their body of work became more uneven after this point, or that I’m a square now and only ever listen to movie scores and Broadway cast albums. I don’t know if it would have the same charm if I would get into it like I used to.

That’s the beauty of “Anthem.” It came out at the right time when I was young enough to buy into something like it. This was the moment where everything could be described by jumping and throwing your fist in the air. I knew how that felt. I don’t know how you keep that energy going the older that you get. Then again, X just released “Alphabetland” and proved how much 70-year-olds believe that age is just a number. For all I know, they’re still releasing masterpieces that are waiting for me to discover.

If not, I’ll just keep listening to the anthem of our lives. It may not mean what it used to, but it still puts a smile on my face.