Psych-pop outfit Fuckin Whatever melds the genius of Circa Survive’s Anthony Green with the sheer magnetism of Taking Back Sunday’s John Nolan and Adam Lazzara. With Grouplove’s Benjamin Homola supplying additional percussive elements, the genre-fluid supergroup injects the kind of energy we need in 2021. “Trash,” a particular standout on the group’s first EP, a self-titled five-piece, is a hippy-approved acid trip in the desert.
Videos by American Songwriter
“I was trying to write a self-deprecating love song that is sort of about an unhealthy relationship where you let someone love you because they are mean to you and that is the only way you can accept love,” Green tells American Songwriter. “I thought about making a dance song out of that for some reason. Making a dance song out of the idea that you can’t accept love without them having them think you are a piece of shit makes it a little bit easier to deal with.
“You definitely don’t need to be or shouldn’t be in a relationship with someone who tells you are trash or treats you like a piece of shit and kicks you around,” he adds.
In addition to his pedigree with Circa Survive over nearly 20 years, Green’s band roots date back to 1997 and include such endeavors as Jeer at Rome and Saosin, as well as countless solo records under his own name. Along the way, it’s always been the camaraderie of being in a band ─ and having “automatic friends,” as he saw it ─ that has kept him going. “I wanted to get into music cause I felt like if I was in a band then I was a part of something,” he says. “You contribute to a group. You add to the sonic harmony of everything.
“It wasn’t one specific thing” that got him into music, he continues. “I would watch everything from the Beatles to Bad Brains, Elvis to James Brown… Bjork. I saw music as pure escapism. I was inspired to be around that and to be able to do something that made you feel good and made people feel free.”
Even more, it’s “the alchemy of songwriting” that gives him an undeniable creative charge. “You can take something that is kind of tough or complex and give it a twist and give it a meaning and sort of make it a little bit easier to cope with. It helps you feel things that the English language can’t really express. The music gets between the feelings, to the nuances of the feelings. The real grey areas. And it can be a really therapeutic way of dealing with an issue.”
While he doesn’t quite “consider myself as somebody that is qualified to give advice,” he does take a moment to offer up a nugget of wisdom. “In most ways that I can think of, I’m still just learning the ins and outs and the do’s and don’ts of songwriting. I’m not necessarily somebody who has had enough experience to be giving other people advice,” he says. “But I know that when I say something in a song that is honest it resonates more with me. That’s not necessarily great songwriting advice. That could be awful songwriting advice. It depends on what your goal is. I guess what I would say is: never stop trying. Just work until the song feels right.”
In the aftermath of Fuckin Whatever’s debut, Green eyes a solo record and “a couple of other projects that have music coming out,” he teases. “I’m just gonna keep making music until 10 days after I’m dead.”
