Search - Ataris :: Look Forward to Failure

Best EP I've ever bought.

07/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Having just graduated from high school, I look back on, among other things, the music to which I listened. This CD pretty much fell into my lap one night in January (friend reccomended it to a friend who played it that night), and I'm really, really glad it did. Perhaps I only like it so much because I have a lot of memories tacked on to it, but in reality, "Look Forward to Failure" is possibly the best example of unpretentious pop-punk I've ever heard. Blink is really in right now, and I personally hate the Offspring, but the Ataris aren't really more than they try to be- a band who writes songs about the teenage male experience. Right now, my favorite song is "My Special Girl", but "San Dimas", "My So-Called Life", and "My Hotel Year" rock too. The other two have a place and a time, but can't compare with the others. Kudos to the Ataris. I say with no hesitation that this album (EP- sorry) is the soundtrack of my senior year (with only minor competition from The Slackers' 'The Question' and Limp Bizkit's 'Three Dollar Bill'). I'm buying it as a birthday present for a friend who's just starting his senior year. Basically, if you're in high school, this is just great background music. Give it a chance."

Only A Clever Name

mr.e | New Zealand | 07/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's one of the greatest punk rock EP's ever produced. Ironically titled Look Forward To Failure, in retrospect we can see clearly that The Ataris only had success to look forward to after this release, especially with their Blue Skies album that won them an eternal place in punk rock history.



This EP skites six songs, two of which are pretty good and remaining four hover around, if not on, legendary status. And since only one of these four tracks are available on other releases, it makes this EP a must have for Ataris fans and punk rock enthusiasts. The tracks that demand respect I speak of are San Dimas High School Football Rules, My So Called Life, a heavier than Blue Skies version of My Hotel Year and the best of them all, Between You And Me.



The two 'pretty good' tracks Not A Worry In The World and That Special Girl definitely are better than your average album filler. The inner notes state that San Dimas and That Special Girl are to appear in their upcoming album Blue Skies - Not that it ever ended up happening.



I should mention that Mark Hoppus steps up for the cameo vocals on That Special Girl, but really it's a minor role and nothing that a Blink 182 fan would get overly excited about.



I recommend you buy this ironically named EP so your ears can benefit from what it has to offer."

The Ataris the way they were meant to sound

Mike Reed | Utah | 09/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Forget So Long Astoria. This is how The Ataris should be heard. These 6 songs pack emotion into pop-punk (but it's not emo - that's an important distinction) and come off sounding like a combination of the Descendents and the Smoking Popes. They avoid the emo trap they would later fall into by packing these songs with equal doses of emotion and humor. "My So-Called Life" is a tribute to an actress on the TV show of the same name, and the classic "San Dimas High School Football Rules" takes its name from Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Even though it's only an E.P, Look Forward To Failure is a quintessential Ataris record."