Cardenas 1

Daniel Cardenas

Professor Granillo

English 101

26 January 2020

Entertainment’s Power Is Dangerous

When reminiscing on past life experiences, people only remember the good moments of

the past. Humans tend to romanticize past memories, ignoring reality, whether intentionally or

not. Nostalgia is must relevant in music people listened to in their adolescents with people

reminiscing on problematic rock bands like Brand New. Brand New’s discography is filled with

themes of sexism and misogyny; viewing men as superior to women and hardly seeing women as

humans through the imagery in videos, lyrics, performances, and controversies surrounding the

band. Yet, society tends to perpetuate the band’s misogynistic views as the entertainment they

provide to fans outweighs their terrible views in their eyes, enabling these messages to the world

results in an even more sexist society.

Brand New is a third wave emo rock band who have had their fair share of controversies.

The band was formed in the year 2000 and consists of four members: drummer Brian Lane,

bassist Garrett Tierney, guitarist Vincent Accardi, and the lead singer Jesse Lacey (Hopkin).

Brand New has multiple songs with millions of streams on many different music platforms,

showing people today that were fans many years ago still enjoy Brand New’s music. Looking at

some of the band’s most recognizable songs and delving into their lyrics, it is very evident the

band is problematic to society’s due to the messages of hatred toward women that they send to

listeners.
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Having no decency towards the opposite gender identifies an individual with sexist

beliefs, in this scenario it identifies a whole band. In Brand New’s most infamous song, “Me vs.

Maradona vs. Elvis,” leader singer Jesse Lacey sings, “I got desperate desires and unadmirable

plans/My tongue will taste of gin and malicious intent/Bring you back to the bar, get you out of

the cold/My sober straight face gets you out of your clothes/And they're scared that we know all

the crimes they'll commit/Who they'll kiss before they get home” (Lacey). Lacey explains, he

plans on getting a girl at the bar drunk enough so that he can take full advantage of her,

meanwhile he purposefully stays sober. Also, he is very aware this is evil as he claims it is a

unadmirable plan, yet even this realization couldn’t make him stop himself. The band further

promotes misogyny in society, through their lyrics, as he shows no respect for a woman and

takes all power away from her so that he can do as he pleases. These same misogynistic views

are continued and furthered built upon by Brand New in their song “…My Nine Rides Shotgun.”

Seeing women as obsolete and replaceable objects is the epitome of misogyny in the

world, so it comes to new surprise that this is exactly how Brand New, Jesse Lacey specifically,

see them. Jesse Lacey sings, “Give me one night inside of your thighs/A million girls would kill

to be you right now” (Lacey). The singer attempts to pressure the woman in the song into sex as

it is what he wants. Lacey explains, if this woman does not do what he is telling her to do, he’ll

find one of the million other girls who he believes will do what he wants. It’s sexist to see

women as nothing more than sexual objects and Lacey clearly shows he views women as only

useful for sex as he’ll replace anyone that doesn’t have sex with him with someone that will.

With these misogynistic lyrics, the band’s audience members subconsciously begin to believe in

these sexist views, making sexism more apparent than it already is in society. The constant

theme of misogyny heard in their lyrics is also evident in the music videos the band produces.
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Brand New further strengthens views of their displeasure with women through the

visualization seen in their music videos. In the music video for Brand New’s song, “Sic Transit

Gloria…Glory Fades,” the male character, portrayed by Jesse Lacey, is seen controlling a girl’s

body and immediately he attempts to take her shirt off by having her slide her shirt’s strap off

(00:02:30-00:02:40). The man in the video attempts to do this right away when he realizes he has

this power, proving he only wants this girl for sexual purposes. Younger people watching this

video will be led to believe that viewing women like this is okay as the people in the band they

enjoy see women only for their physical appearance and sexual relations. The band’s fans choose

to ignore the sexist acts committed by the man in this video as it comes from the minds in the

band they love. The fans would rather perpetuate Brand New’s ideologies of misogyny because

the music provides entertainment to their lives even if it’s for only a short duration. The idea of

ownership of women that many misogynists share is also seen less directly with a man deciding a

woman’s fate in a different music video from Brand New.

Some people are so opposed to the other sex, they are willing to commit violent acts out

of pure prejudice. The music video for Brand New’s song “The Quiet Thing That No One Ever

Knows” is all about a couple getting into a car crash and the woman in the relationship being

hospitalized. However, the end of the video rewinds to the beginning and reveals that the man

ends up dying from the car crash while the woman is the one who lives (00:00:00-00:04:01). The

reality of this video and hearing the lyrics in the background send the idea that the man was fed

up with the relationship and this woman altogether. He was seeking to get both him and the girl

killed as a way out of this situation because he didn’t know how else to leave his marriage. The

video is a visual representation of the band’s thoughts due to it revolving around the song they

made and sharing the same ideas. The video demonstrates the extensive lengths misogynists may
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go to out of hatred. The visualization has a possibility to influence viewers to also feel as if they

also have the ability to control a woman’s fate in life, however it most likely won’t be to the

exaggerating extent of death. Looking at the fans attending Brand New’s live performance, there

is no doubt that misogyny and sexism has already seeped into the minds of Brand New’s loyal

fan base.

The most influential artists are the ones who have their fans practicing the same practices

the artists do. Looking back at a Brand New live performance in 2002, the majority of the

audience are men, but there are some women there. However, most of the women present are

near the back of the venue behind the cameras as we hear women chattering in the background of

the video (00:06:30-00:07:00). At first glance, this may seem harmless and nothing out of the

ordinary, but the band’s views of sexism has obviously bled into the audience. The women are

either too afraid or were pushed towards the back of the crowd as the men in attendance feel as if

their entertainment is valued more than a woman’s and moved these woman out of the way so

the men can get to the front, treating these women in the audience with no respect. This just goes

to show how influential a misogynistic band like Brand New is to society. The men are given a

feeling of superiority over women through the band’s songs and the sexism the lyrics endorse,

also the women in attendance may have subconsciously become to believe these misogynistic

views about themselves because they enjoy the band’s music and want to be entertained. Years

later, it became clear the band’s views on women weren’t just used for entertainment purposes

by the numerous sexual scandals surrounding Brand New, specifically the lead singer Jesse

Lacey.

It’s no surprise that the member containing the most misogynistic views is the band

leader. Lead singer Jesse Lacey has been accused of sexual misconduct in recent years. One of
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his supposed victims is Nicole Elizabeth Garey. When Garey was only 15 she claims, “‘He

solicited nudes from me… demeaned me, and made it clear that my sexuality was the only thing

I had to offer’” (qtd. in Stern). A similar situation happened with a woman named Emily Driskill

starting when she was 17. Driskill claims Lacey would force her into sexual video chat sessions,

manipulated her into sexual situations on camera and even recalls a disturbing situation with the

singer where “He closed the door behind them, pushed her against the wall, and kissed and

touched her in ways she didn’t want” (qtd. in Yoo). Lacey states this was due to being a “sex

addict and ‘habitual cheat’” (qtd. in Lovece). However, being a sex addict doesn’t result to

dirsrespecting women, let alone underage girls. If these accusations are true, the misogynistic

views seen in the band’s songs aren’t just there for entertainment purposes, they are the values of

the members themselves, specifically Jesse Lacey. Lacey does not see women as human, as

Garey mentioned he sees them only for sex, doing as he pleases. The harsh reality is, Brand

New’s male fans see this treatment of women as unordinary since a person they grew up

idolizing thinks it’s okay to do this. In the most frightening scenario, this may lead to similar

sexual acts being committed by fans if it hasn’t already. Fans begin to believe, “Jesse Lacey can

do it, so I can too!”

Society perpetuates misogyny in the world due to seeking entertainment even if they are

aware the entertainment will only last a short duration. Brand New’s discography endorses rape,

sexualization and hatred of women, men superiority complex, and scandals reveal that their

lyrics aren’t just lyrics, it’s their true beliefs. It’s up to supporters of the band to realize, the

music they find entertaining is not worth the degrading views on women the music spreads to all

of its listeners, causing more sexism in a world where sexism is already very prevalent on a daily

basis.
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Works Cited

Brand New. “Brand new live 2002.” YouTube, uploaded by sweeps010, 12 Sep. 2016,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHJ75pDIms&list=WL&index=2&t=0s.

Brand New. “Brand New – Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades.” YouTube, uploaded by

BrandNewVevo, 12 Dec. 2011, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3YVKTxTOgU.

Brand New. “Brand New – The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows (Official Video).”

YouTube, uploaded by BrandNewVevo, 13 Dec. 2011,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgtkPKZ2OPk.

Brand New. “Me vs. Maradona vs. Elvis.” Deja Entendu, Triple Crown Records, 2003.

Brand New. “…My Nine Rides Shotgun.” Your Favorite Weapon, Triple Crown Records, 2001.

Flanagan, Andrew. Brand New Frontman Jesse Lacey Apologizes for Sexual Misconduct,

Postpones Tour. NPR, Washington, 2017. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2048/login?url=https://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2457/docview/1

963279511?accountid=38295.

Hopkin, Kenyon. “Artist Biography By Kenyon Hopkin.” AllMusic,

www.allmusic.com/artist/brand-new-mn0000517607/biography.

Stern, Marlow. "Brand New Frontman Jesse Lacey Confesses to Serial Sexual Misconduct: The

Lead Singer and Guitarist for the Acclaimed Long Island-Based Alternative Rock Band

Issued a Rambling “apology” on Facebook Saturday After Allegations Emerged this Past

Week." The Daily Beast, Nov 12, 2017. ProQuest,

http://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2048/login?url=https://ezproxy.canyons.edu:2457/docview/1

963035188?accountid=38295.