AUXbituary: Good Charlotte (1996-2011)

by Tyler Munro

September 5, 2011

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Today we remember the music, the message… the make-up. Today we remember the hope, the hootenannies… the haircuts. Today, we remember Good Charlotte. Gone, but not forgotten.

Good Charlotte taught us that the rich and famous were always complaining. They were the experts, after all: when that song came out, Joel Madden was dating Hilary Duff. She was 16, he was 25 and everyone was uncomfortable because of it. But you can’t question true love, just like you can’t mourn what we’ll always have. The music will not go away, not even the super shitty stuff they put out in the second half of their career.

Here’s what will go away: the little things. They’re what we’ve got to hold onto. We can’t dwell on the sometimes under publicized fact that Good Charlotte ended up sort of a pop-punk Spinal Tap; the band somehow went through 8 drummers in ten years, three alone in 2005.

One of the first things I thought when I heard about the tragic stage collapsing at last month’s Pukkelpop was, “fuck, I hope Good Charlotte’s okay.” And for a bit there, they were.

But the dream might actually be over. Good Charlotte has announced that they’re headed into a hiatus. Though for some the band died with Benji’s guy-liner, Good Charlotte has spent the better part of the last decade re-inventing themselves and with their departure we’re left with a globular void in pop-punk or dance-rock or whatever the hell it was they played in the end there.

Fucking quitters.

The band that begged for us to hold on could not do the same. The band that gave us the motivation proclamation couldn’t succeed beyond musical stagnation. We’ll always remember the happy times. Good Charlotte’s music and videos survive as snapshots of our youth. The BMX-session pool parties and senior citizen punk shows.. y’know, regular kid stuff.

We can’t say for sure why they broke up or what’s next. What we can say is that, when last seen earlier this summer, it was nearly** impossible to tell Joel and Benji apart. As the Madden twins creep towards their mid-30s, we can’t call either of them fat one. That’s got to be worth something, right?

Good Charlotte might be gone, but don’t be sad: look on the bright side. No more Good Charlotte!

**Benji’s got neck and knuckle tattoos, so you know he means business, while Joel’s only got glamour ink. He’s always been such a poseur!

Tags: Music, News, Good Charlotte, Obituary

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