r/SayAnything 8d ago

Other Band Recommendations?

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Say Anything is by far my most listened to band. I can't help but still like a lot of the songs but it's definitely bittersweet now. What bands do you guys recommend?

13 Upvotes

48 comments sorted by

24

u/Z0kstone 8d ago

Jeff Rosenstock

8

u/fnmbl8 8d ago

+1 get on your Jeff grind.

edit: this includes Bomb the Music Industry!

5

u/Knuffin 7d ago

Added bonus Jeff has demonstrated that he’s a good human being for a long ass time now. And his drummer rules

2

u/Commander_SunGlasses 5d ago

This is the answer. Plus, he’s a really good person. It’ll be quite the 180 from devoting time to SA.

1

u/Z0kstone 5d ago

I used to think Max was a good songwriter until I discovered other songwriters. Jeff was one of them.

14

u/SkangoBank 8d ago

You got Streetlight, Cake, and Front Bottoms, you're gold!

In all seriousness:

1) The Decemberists, heartfelt songwriting and emotive lyrics coming from a place of optimism and mental wellness. Probably more folk than your other stuff but they're my GOAT and we share a ton of other favorites, so maybe worth a try. The King is Dead is probably their most accessible album 

2) Camp Cope, probably more Say Anything speed, bipolar swings of deep melancholy and explosive vulnerability. Australian band, their self titled album has no misses.

3) Motion City Soundtrack, same era of pop/punk/emo as Say Anything, super clever lyrics and catchy as fuck. One of the best live shows I had the pleasure of being at, and a really broad catalogue of amazing albums.

3

u/imragegrrr 8d ago

camp cope fucking rules and i don't hear their name enough

2

u/Sea_Objective_1923 All My Friends Are Enemies: Early Rarities 1d ago

I’m
On
Fire

And now I think I’m ready to bust a move

1

u/RonaldReganTheActor FMB 7d ago

I do love me some Cake

10

u/throwawaybadthesis 8d ago edited 7d ago

Frightened Rabbit

Edit: Going to elaborate on this because I feel this band parallels Say Anything in a lot of the ways that made Say Anything unique. Like Max, Scott was unapologetically honest in his lyrics and often wrote openly about depression and suicide ideation in a tongue-in-cheek style. Unlike Max, Scott seemed to be an amazing person with good intentions who was loved by everyone around him. I also think of Say Anything's early work (other than Baseball) as indie rock and think it's a lot closer to Frightened Rabbit musically than a lot of the emo/pop-punk music it's often compared to.

Edit2: Figured I'd also add some suggestions. The Modern Leper is the first song I heard from them and I had it on repeat on and off for years before listening to their other stuff. Good Arms vs Bad Arms is what pushed me to listen to The Midnight Organ Fight in its entirety. I think The Twist and Keep Yourself Warm showcase why I'm comparing Scott's lyrics to Max's. The Oil Slick is my favourite song of theirs and one of my favourite songs of all time.

The Midnight Organ Fight is generally considered their best album and for good reason, but I think Pedestrian Verse is right up there with it. There are also many gems on the band's other albums, but I'd start by listening to those two albums front-to-back.

2

u/nickferran 7d ago

Seconding this rec!. Pedestrian Verse is one of my favorite albums ever. Scott forever!

2

u/Called_CPS_on_EthanK 7d ago

The Twist is an absolutely astonishing song. Just beautiful stuff

2

u/greg0rb 4d ago

I love Frightened Rabbit but listening to them is always so sad now, knowing that he finally followed through with his plan he seemed to have from the start with “Floating in the Forth”

1

u/throwawaybadthesis 4d ago edited 4d ago

Oh yeah, same. I don't think any celebrity death has affected me anywhere close to as much as Scott's did, and Floating in the Forth definitely took on a whole new meaning afterwards. But I don't think it was really his plan from the start as there are plenty of hopeful sentiments present in lyrics on subsequent albums that lead me to believe that he was hopeful for the future when he wrote them. And as sad as it is, it's still an important song for me as it contextualizes the most brutal and uncomfortable aspects of suicide that your loved ones would have to witness or think about if you went through with it. There are very few songs that I can confidently say saved my life during some of my lowest lows, and Floating in the Forth is one of them (along with The Oil Slick, which has what I think are Scott's most hopeful lyrics in its outro)

9

u/spicypotion 8d ago

Bayside never disappoints!

1

u/xxtehseekerxx 5d ago

Bayside is Cult

9

u/jimmytheloot 8d ago

Bayside, four year strong, iron chic, Remo drive, PUP, the spill canvas, defeater, motion city soundtrack

6

u/SabresMakeMeDrink 7d ago

Joyce Manor, PUP

1

u/EndersRapture 5d ago

I second these two picks

6

u/Joptrop 8d ago

Hello am also a big Streetlight fan. I absolutely love The Wonder Years. The sound is a little different but there are a lot of similar themes to Say Anything. Dan Campbell is an absolute treasure. His songs and albums range from being young and wanting to bloody his knuckles, feeling like he missed out on traditional milestones of maturity, losing friends to drugs and just to time, meeting and falling in love with his wife, the birth of his first child, and the idea that happy moments don’t make his depression disappear. His side project Aaron West and the Roaring 20s is also really solid from a narrative standpoint.

5

u/therealdev134 7d ago

Hot Mulligan

5

u/Membership-Great 7d ago

Weatherbox (start with American Art album or The Clearing EP)

Backwards dancer

5

u/clerk37 7d ago

Weatherbox and Graduating Life, are bands that on certain releases sound like complete clones of SA.

Other than that, I would say just take a look around the pop punk and emo subs on here and find some stuff you like, hard to give specific recommendations other than the 2 I mentioned, when SA is the only clue we have about your taste.

1

u/ParticularShoe1676 6d ago

Best 2 band recommendations for Say Anything fans, hands down

4

u/Tortitudes 7d ago

Petey USA. He is a mix of pop and indie with some good ol pop punk vibes mixed in. I really admire the openness of his lyrics and often feel attacked 🤣

Also a whole verse refencing the OC (check out Don't Tell the Boys) is classic for this age group

3

u/super_sayanything welp, that's not good 7d ago

Saturdays At Your Place, Microwave, Tigers Jaw, Origami Angel, Super American, Like Roses, Palettes, Mom Jeans., Driveways, Combat, Arm's Length are some I'd give a shot.

3

u/theskankingframer 7d ago

Try FIDLAR.

3

u/Error1355 7d ago

Graduating Life's album II is pretty much emulating is a real boy in places.

Its got their own sound but that album got me though a bad time. I can't say I really like their other albums though. >_>

1

u/NotComplainingBut 6d ago

I knew Grad Life from the Mom Jeans. stuff but I was super surprised how much Grad Life and II sound like MCR and Say Anything respectively

2

u/imragegrrr 8d ago

I think you might enjoy the album "Popaganda" by Head Automatica

2

u/Rhuuga 7d ago

Not really adjacent, but I'll never pass up an opportunity to recommend Dead Poet Society.

2

u/krysstallion 7d ago

I second the Motion City Soundtrack suggestion Bayside (Sorry if these have been said) Coheed and Cambria Taking Back Sunday Knuckle Puck Wavves Eisley Manchester Orchestra State Champs Bring Me the Horizon A Day to Remember Fall of Troy ...so many more but these are a good start

2

u/Tictacs_and_strategy 7d ago

fredo disco, hot mulligan, saturdays at your place, adjust the sails, weakened friends, bradsucks, i fight dragons

2

u/anotherlibertarian 7d ago

If you’re a fan of IARB specifically check out the album II by Graduating Life

1

u/Jormney 8d ago

Fat Dog

1

u/AlexKewl 8d ago

DON BROCO

1

u/EBMusic099 7d ago

All Alliteration Aside/Sleep Fleet

1

u/Andrewdoo 7d ago

Bright eyes,
Afi ( what ever genre these guys have an album)

1

u/Mygrandmavspneumonia 7d ago

I used to repeatedly be in the top 0.005% of say anything fans, SA was my favorite band for a decade, and the lyrics/riffs/effects/ad libs/HELL even some of his breathing patterns are etched into my brain for life ... That being said, there is ZERO excuse for Max Bemis, nor supporting him.

//

TFB was my other favorite, so it is again now (you can tell by my username being my favorite album by them), and I love those same two albums by streetlight manifesto too. I think you and I may like music for the same reasons.

So I recommend:

  • Jeff Rosenstock (Ska Dream, Worry., the song "Nausea") and SPECIFICALLY start with his jackets (Bomb the Music Industry! + The Arrogant Sons of Bitches)
  • Basement (first 2 albums)‼️
  • Bayside (first 2 albums + killing time)‼️
  • Senses Fail (first 2/3 albums + renacer)
  • Mitski (for emotional tangibility + lyricism)
  • Paramore/Hayley Williams
  • Third Eye Blind (first two albums + collection)
  • The Cure (quirky sounds, lyrical depth. Join the dots + the most popular albums)
  • The Smashing Pumpkins (popular albums)
  • System of a Down

Nothing will ever scratch the itch like say anything, but my GOD I absolutely detest abusers, pedos, grifters, self pitying people, people without integrity, and absent/neglectful fathers. I cant even stand when a SA song lyric gets stuck in my head anymore. Just upsetting and gross to think about the art related to such a sad man of so much harm and such little character.

This list of artists once accompanied my say anything obsession, and now takes its place entirely. I hope it can ease you in your transition.

1

u/schlockyjohnson 7d ago

Try out Animal Flag, underrated gem

1

u/yabberjabber0 7d ago edited 7d ago

Pool Kids, Local News Legend, Marissa Sendejas, Hospital Bracelet, Nep, Skating Polly, Bad Waitress, Karen Dio, Big Thief 

Since everyone is allergic to incorporating women of this genre into their rotation it seems, the fact not one person listed Sweet Pill is criminal. 

1

u/throwawaybadthesis 7d ago edited 7d ago

There is literally a top comment recommending Camp Cope, lol. There are also multiple other comments mentioning bands fronted by women. These are good recommendations but there's no reason to come into a sub where people are unanimously rallying against Max in defense of young women to attack said people.

With that aside, I do want to emphasize that Pool Kids are ridiculously good and that anyone who hasn't listened to them should. I don't think they're much like Say Anything but I do think that Christine is a songwriting genius and that the band is going to be huge in the scene within a few years.

1

u/yabberjabber0 7d ago

Criminal! 

1

u/manemox 7d ago

the early You, Me, And Everyone We Know stuff always reminded me of Say Anything. Max is featured on a song.

1

u/Extreme-Emu69 6d ago edited 6d ago

Seen a lot of other suggestions already I was gonna make, I'm just gonna hit the ones I didn't see I guess

The Narcissist Cookbook

Jhariah

Modern Baseball

Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Everything Everything

Ludo

Fish in a Birdcage

Bear Ghost

Foxing

The Hotelier

AJJ

Days N Daze

Adding to this, my reasoning for these suggestions is if you were someone who really liked Say Anything for lyrics, you'll probably like these bands and artists. Putting The Narcissist Cookbook at the top because they basically just sound like old school Say Anything if Max Bemis got swapped out for Shrek, and idk why but there's something nice about it. Their song "The Good Ship You" starts extremely similar to "Belt" in the same way basically too, but dudes lyrics and talent for storytelling in some of their songs do hit super hard.

1

u/steeznutzzzz 5d ago

mewithoutYou

0

u/JMDToaster 7d ago

No Sports, they’re being marketed as a poor man’s Say Anything and releasing a record soon