Art Alexakis: the new voice of the left

Few alt-rock bands have survived the post-grunge era as well as Everclear. The trio, led by frontman Art Alexakis, hasn't done anything unsuccessful, but throughout its history, the band has suffered from the criticism that and all its music sounds the same.\nThe two-CD set, Songs From an American Movie, vol. 1 and 2 were a shift in style for the Portland group. Experimenting with other ideas (mandolins and digital sampling among them), paid off in the sense that every song didn't sound the same. The set was commercially successful, and probably welcomed a few new fans to the Everclear fold.\nWith hits like "Wonderful" and "AM Radio" from the American Movie set, it's unlikely that a lust for funds drove the band to create Slow Motion Daydream, the true sequel to So Much for the Afterglow, the group's biggest album to date. \nDaydream is cleaner, tighter and more exciting. It lacks the nostalgic feel of the American Movie albums and revisits Alexakis' classic themes: bucking the desire for popularity, his own unstable family life and drugs. \nSo while American Movie was like a love letter written to his daughter, Daydream is more the high school angst hidden in raw, poppy guitars that made Afterglow so popular. It's not as personal as his earlier work, but the wit and sarcasm are pumped to levels unheard of in previous albums. \nIn a day and age where mockery of the American system is reserved for liberal college newspapers and The Onion, Alexakis takes no prisoners in throwing jabs at John Ashcroft, celebrity obsession and middle class culture. At almost 40, Alexakis is at the age where he should be toning down, concentrating on "family values" and promoting tax cuts to the wealthy. Instead, he's emerging as a strong voice of the left, alongside Eddie Vedder and Alec Baldwin. \nYet his voice may be more powerful that both the aforementioned personalities in that he can reach a younger and more influential audience. In a society where it's become increasingly hip to wave the American flag and try to fit in, Alexakis is saying to the younger generation: Be yourself, question authority and have fun.\nWith its dirty guitars and occasional ballad, Daydream is the catchiest Everclear album to date, and has the ability to transcend the generation gap. It's a shot of nostalgia for everyone who heard "Santa Monica" and thought, "Hey, I could play that, and I've never picked up a guitar," or just got caught up in the pop-anger of the songs. At the same time, Everclear is more punk than Pink or Avril Lavigne, and that should resonate with younger fans.\nDaydream sounds like Everclear, with a few of the same chords and even similar rhythms as previous works, but Alexakis somehow manages to transform those chords and rhythms into something new. At the same time, Everclear is reaching out to the MTV audience, screaming to be listened to and then mocking the tools that will inevitably buy Daydream, because that's what all the cool kids do.