Music Review // The Vaniers "Charlie"

 

For those who remember music back in the early 2000's there was this swarm of bands that came out that seemed to all have this rock n roll mixed with punk sound and they were all called "The ___".   The Hives come to mind first here, as The Vaniers would fit in with that era of sound very well.   This song just has that rock n roll quality that I enjoy so much and can just feel like this would also be a live performance worth seeing.

This music video revolves around the band playing this song and that gives it this sort of Refused feeling as well.  I could imagine The Vaniers playing a show with Perennial for sure.  But this is just that type of fast paced rock that I enjoy playing loud but also there is a message behind this song.  

As the title says, this song is about Charlie and he wants to be a star.   But as the song also says, Charlie's dad doesn't think Charlie is going to make it very far.   This could be about someone in the band or in any band really, but I feel like as kids we always have these wild dreams of growing up to become a famous rock star or movie star and as parents it is their job to sort of keep us grounded and realize, hey, you may never play in the NBA so get that degree to fall back on.

But, at the same time, so many college degrees now are becoming worth about as much as the paper they're printed in, I say go for it.   Try and be what you want to be.  And I think that's the point of the song, for Charlie.  It's better for Charlie to try and be a rock star and fail than to take a job as a manager at the local Home Depot and never try living out his dreams.  Use this song as The Vaniers as a reminder to not let regret take over your life.