Does This Look Infected?

Does This Look Infected?
Studio album by Sum 41
Released November 26, 2002
Recorded Summer of 2002 at Avatar Studios, New York City, New York and Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario
Genre Punk rock, pop punk, melodic hardcore
Length 31:06
39:18 (United Kingdom Edition)
Label Aquarius (Canada)
Island/Mercury (United States)
Producer Greig Nori
Sum 41 chronology
All Killer No Filler
(2001)		 Does This Look Infected?
(2002)		 Chuck
(2004)
Singles from Does This Look Infected?
  1. "Still Waiting"
    Released: November 18, 2002
  2. "The Hell Song"
    Released: February 10, 2003
  3. "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)"
    Released: June 23, 2003

Does This Look Infected? is the second studio album by the rock band Sum 41. It was released on November 26, 2002.

Despite containing less profanity compared to the first album, this is the band's only album to feature the Parental Advisory label. Both an explicit version and edited version have been released.

Music, lyrics and composition

The album is a lot more aggressive, dark and heavy than Sum 41's previous studio album, All Killer, No Filler.[1][2][3] It also less elements of pop music than All Killer, No Filler.[1] Described as horror punk,[4] punk rock,[5][6][7][8][3] pop punk,[9][10][4][11] and melodic hardcore,[4] the album uses elements of heavy metal,[6][12][7][13][4][11][14] hardcore punk,[3] thrash metal,[4][12] d-beat[4] and, on the song "Thanks for Nothing",[3] hip hop.[14] Although the album has been described as pop punk by some sources, Counterculture.co.uk considered it an album that shows Sum 41 abandoning the pop punk genre for a more standard punk rock style.[6] Amy Sciarretto of ARTISTdirect wrote that Does This Look Infected? soldifies Sum 41 as "true punk stalwarts".[15] The music on Does This Look Infected? has been compared to bands such as The Offspring, P.O.D., Metallica, Rancid, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Bad Religion, NOFX, Green Day and Blink-182.[6][12][7][16][17][4]

Deryck Whibley at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2003.

The album's lyrical topics are darker than the lyrical topics on All Killer, No Filler.[18] Sum 41's vocalist Deryck Whibley said "A lot of stuff happened in the past year that opened our eyes to new things," Whibley said. "The whole last year has been really crazy around the world. There's been so much stuff going on and it's been so televised. I think we've all become more aware. When we were writing the last record everything was happy go lucky. Now this time we've seen a little bit more and our eyes have been opened up a little bit."[9] The album's lyrical topics include hatred, war, internal demons, disliking the world, suicide, drugs, insomnia, and HIV.[9][19][18][11][20] The song "Mr. Amsterdam" is about an embittered guy. Deryck Whibley said "'Mr. Amsterdam' is sort of about a guy who hates everything, very bitter person who kind of hates the world," he explains. "He's against the world."[16] The song also is about the complacency of pop culture that was contemporary in 2002, the year that Does This Look Infected? was released in, and technology that was really new during the year that the album was released in.[9] Deryck Whibley explained the meaning of "Mr. Amsterdam" saying "We depend so much on new technology to make sure that we don't have to do anything," Whibley said. "Everything's being laid out so we can sit at home and do nothing and never leave our homes. You can order all your groceries from the computer. You can do anything you want. You can just sit there and become fatter. And I think that's bad."[9]

Dave Baksh, a member of Sum 41, explained the meaning of the song "All Messed Up", saying "There's a song called 'All Messed Up,' which is about doing drugs . . . just what we feel when we're on drugs."[19] When Deryck Whibley spoke about what "All Messed Up" is about, he said "It's about those kinds of nights," Whibley said. "It's just about being really messed up and in that whole cracked-out kind of state."[9] "The Hell Song" is about a friend of Sum 41 who contracted HIV. Deryck Whibley spoke about "The Hell Song" saying "It’s one of my favorite songs on the record," Whibley said. "It's about this girl I used to date who I've known forever. Just last Christmas she found that she was HIV positive, and it was so brutal. She doesn't sleep around. She's only had two or three boyfriends and one of them used to cheat on her all the time, and then he got it and gave it to her. It's the heaviest thing that's happened in our group of friends."[9] "No Brains" is about a former band member of Sum 41. Deryck Whibley explained the song's meaning saying "That's just a basic 'fuck you, I'm done' kind of song," Whibley said. "This guy was our old singer and I was best friends with him. We had this big falling out."[9] Deryck Whibley explained what the song "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)" is about. He said "It's not about being fucked up or drunk," Whibley said. "It's more about the aftermath when you're hearing everything you've just done the night before, and you're like, 'Ah, fuck, I'm better off dead.' I don't regret any of the things I do and I don't mind doing them, I just hate hearing about it. Being told every morning, 'Dude, what did you do last night?' drives me nuts."[9]

"Still Waiting" was written after the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.[9] Deryck Whibley explained the meaning of the song saying "It's not directly about 9/11 or the war on terrorism," he said. "It's about the war on everything. It's about the world as we know it. It's no secret that the world doesn't get along and there's all this hatred. It's everything to do with how this world functions."[9] Sum 41's vocalist Deryck Whibley stated on the band's DVD Sake Bombs And Happy Endings that the album's song "A.N.I.C." is a "special love song" dedicated to Anna Nicole Smith. According to him, "A.N.I.C." stands for "Anna Nicole is a Cunt". Sum 41 member Dave Baksh said that Anna Nicole Smith is "a fuckin' loser" and also said "Look what she's doing to herself."[19] Sum 41 stopped including the song in their live performances after Anna Nicole Smith died of an overdose in 2007.[21] However, they put "A.N.I.C." back to their setlist during the 2012 summer European leg of the Screaming Bloody Murder Tour, However, when Sum 41 would perform the song live after Anna Nicole Smith's death, the band wouldn't show any disrespect towards Anna Nicole Smith, with Deryck Whibley saying that the song "A.N.I.C." stands for "Deryck Whibley is a Stupid Fucking Cunt".

Bonus DVD

The unedited version includes a bonus DVD which is entitled Cross The T's and Gouge Your I's. The DVD has footage of Sum 41's alter ego band, Pain for Pleasure, titled "Reign In Pain", as well as various humorous segments like "Going Going Gonorrhea", "Campus Invasion", and "Pizza Heist and Other Crap". Also included in the DVD are the Pain for Pleasure tracks "Reign In Pain" and "WWVII Parts 1 & 2", the Autopilot Off songs "Long Way to Fall" and "Nothing Frequency", the No Warning songs "Short Fuse" and "Ill Blood", and some web-links.

Cover and title

The cover for Does This Look Infected? features drummer Steve Jocz dressed up as a zombie. It was chosen months before the title was. The album was almost delayed by the label because the band members did not have a name for it on time until Whibley thought of the name Does This Look Infected?. The whole band laughed at the idea and chose it as their album title. The same thing is also used on the band's EP Does This Look Infected Too?, except Jocz was replaced with Whibley, also dressed as a zombie.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[22]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[23]
Entertainment Weekly(B-)[3]
NME7/10[11]
Rolling Stone[14]

Critical reception

Does This Look Infected? has received positive reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, the album has a 75 out of 100. E! Online said that it "has a clutch of songs that mix chord-y abandon with raging rock riffs--and a heck of a lot of good times." Blender also gave it a positive review, saying "So Sum 41 have grown up... a little.... It's all relative, and, crucially, it still rocks." The album has been acclaimed by the fanbase, and has been considered a fan favorite. The album was included at number 28 on Rock Sound's "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time" list.[24]

Commercial performance

The album gained commercial success, with singles "The Hell Song" and "Still Waiting" mainly gaining success on the modern rock charts. The album has sold over 860,000 copies worldwide, but the album didn't gain quite as much success as the band's previous album "All Killer, No Filler".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Sum 41. 

No. Title Length
1. "The Hell Song"   3:18
2. "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)"   2:29
3. "My Direction"   2:02
4. "Still Waiting"   2:38
5. "A.N.I.C."   0:37
6. "No Brains"   2:46
7. "All Messed Up"   2:44
8. "Mr. Amsterdam"   2:56
9. "Thanks for Nothing"   3:04
10. "Hyper-Insomnia-Para-Condroid"   2:32
11. "Billy Spleen"   2:32
12. "Hooch"   3:28
Total length:
 31:14

Personnel

Sum 41
Artwork
  • Morning Breath – album design[25]
  • Jonathan Mannion – photography
Management
  • Greig Nori & Ari Martin – management for Nettwerk management
  • Lewis Largent, Rob Mitchell & Robert Stevenson – A&R
  • Rob Mitchell – A&R administration
  • Tony Vanias – recording administration
  • Livia Tortella – marketing
  • Gizelle Jacobs – business affairs
  • Bernadette Walsh – production coordinator
Production
  • Greig Nori – producer
  • Ben Sanders – additional vocal recording assistant
  • Ian Bodzasi, Steve Chawley, Chris Gordon, Brian Montgomery, Ross Peterson, Anthony Ruotolo, Owen Tamplin, & Phil Wakeford – assistant engineers
  • Josh Wilbur – Pro Tools engineer
  • Ed Krautner – engineer, additional engineering & mixing
  • Greg Gordon, Femio Hernandez, Joel Kazmi, & L. Stuart Young – additional engineers
  • Dan Moyse – drum technician
  • Artie Smith – guitar technician
  • Howie Weinberg – mastering at Maserdisk, NYC
  • Tom Lord-Alge– mixing on "The Hell Song"
  • Andy Wallace – mixing
  • Steve Sisco – mixing assistant

Charts

Album

Chart (2002) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart 56
Canadian Albums Chart 8
French Albums Chart 28
Swiss Albums Chart 17
UK Albums Chart 39
US Billboard 200 32

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2002 "Still Waiting" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 106
U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks 7
Australian Singles Chart 43
French Singles Chart 44
German Singles Chart 90
Swiss Singles Chart 97
UK Singles Chart 16
"The Hell Song" U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks 13
UK Singles Chart 35
2003 "Over My Head (Better Off Dead)" U.S. Hot Modern Rock Tracks 33

Certifications

Country Certification Sales
Canada Platinum[26] 100,000+
Japan Platiinum[27] 200,000+
United Kingdom Silver[28] 60,000+
United States Gold[29] 500,000+

References

Citations
  1. 1 2 "To Sum it up, band likes to keep it light". Jacksonville.com. February 21, 2003.
  2. ↑ Stuart Green (February 1, 2003). "Sum 41 Does This Look Infected?". Exclaim.ca.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Sinclair, Tom (2002-11-29). "Does This Look Infected? Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "All Messed Up: A Look Back At Sum 41's 'Does This Look Infected?'". The Carouser.
  5. ↑ "Sum 41 - Does This Look Infected?". Entertainment.ie. December 10, 2002.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Rowan Shaeffer. "Sum 41 : Does This Look Infected?". Counterculture.co.uk.
  7. 1 2 3 Webster, Cody (December 23, 2002). "Sum 41 – Does This Look Infected? Review". 411MANIA.
  8. ↑ John Robb. "Does This Look Infected? by Sum 41". Playlouder.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Wiederhorn, Jon (November 14, 2002). "Sum 41 Sober Up On Does This Look Infected?". MTV.
  10. ↑ Andrew Blackie (August 21, 2007). "Sum 41: Underclass Hero". PopMatters.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "NME album reviews - Sum 41: Does This Look Infected?". Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  12. 1 2 3 Graham 'Gruhamed' Hartmann (November 16, 2012). "Sum 41 Celebrate 10th Anniversary of ‘Does This Look Infected?’ With Nostalgic NYC Show". Loudwire.
  13. ↑ "Sum 41 "Does This Look Infected?"". E! Online.
  14. 1 2 3 Sum 41 Does This Look Infected? at the Wayback Machine (archived October 13, 2007) Rolling Stone KELEFA SANNEH (RS 911 – December 12, 2002)
  15. ↑ Amy Sciarretto (November 5, 2012). "Exclusive: Sum 41 Tour "Does This Look Infected?" 10th Anniversary Tour Update". ARTISTdirect.
  16. 1 2 D'Angelo, Joe. "Sum 41: Testing Their Metal (Part 2)". MTV.
  17. ↑ Erwin, Ben (December 13, 2002). "Sum 41’s latest more than warmed-over ‘Dookie’". The Daily Eastern News.
  18. 1 2 Chris Heath. "'Does This Look Infected?'". Dotmusic.
  19. 1 2 3 Karen Bliss (October 3, 2002). "Sum 41 Get Infected". Rolling Stone.
  20. ↑ Hell Song by Sum 41 Songfacts
  21. ↑ http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3536
  22. ↑ "Does This Look Infected? Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-04-11.
  23. ↑ Does This Look Infected? - Sum 41 | AllMusic
  24. ↑ Bird, ed. 2014, p. 71
  25. ↑ Morning Breath Inc
  26. ↑ "Gold & Platinum Certification - December 2002". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
  27. ↑ "GOLD ALBUM 他認定作品 2003年3月度" [Gold Albums, and other certified works. March 2003 Edition] (PDF). The Record (Bulletin) (in Japanese) (Chūō, Tokyo: Recording Industry Association of Japan) 522: 13. May 10, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 29, 2014. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  28. ↑ "Certified Awards Search" (To access, enter the search parameter "Sum 41" and select "Search by Artist"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
  29. ↑ "RIAA Gold & Platinum Certification". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 2013-12-25.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (September 2014). "The 51 Most Essential Pop Punk Albums of All Time". Rock Sound (London: Freeway Press Inc.) (191). ISSN 1465-0185. 

External links

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