The Network: Money Money 2020

The Network: Money Money 2020
Label:
Release Date: 2003
Review Date: 2004

It’s fun to be young, rich, and have a lot of time on your hands. Sell a shitload of records and you too can start your own record label, meet your heroes, jam with them, crank out a cd and release it. The Network’s Money Money 2020 is a collaboration between members of Devo and Green Day, which sounds like a good idea, but ends up being truly de-evolved. Instead of a yielding something new and exciting from a collaboration of talented individuals the results are like watered down versions of both bands. Latter day Devo efforts are already watered down versions of Devo, and young blood hasn’t done much to help. Almost immediately the tracks have a recognizeable Green Day presence. Devo too, but not as much. Some tracks are better than others like “Reto”, and “Roshambo” but most of them just seem underdeveloped and overproduced. Money Money 2020 reeks of something that was put together in a couple of weekends just because they could. It’s sad to see these guys fall victim to the “just add keyboards, robots, x-rays, and affect an accent” school of new old wave.

This record is interesting as demos for a Green Day new wave concept album or bootleg, but if you want to hear a rehashing of Devo-type themes there are other bands that do it better, such as Servotron or oddly enough Menthol on their Danger! Rock Science release. Better yet, checkout the Epoxies or the Briefs for punk/new wave that doesn’t sound like a ventriloquist of yesterdays groundbreaker. Good album cover though.

Online Action: adelinerecords.net