MACHINE GUN KELLY: HERO OF 2020? (A HOT TAKE ON “TICKETS TO MY DOWNFALL”)

Never would I ever have imagined Machine Gun Kelly would be one to count on for making the album of the year we can collectively rally behind, but here we are: welcome to 2020. 

A surprise fest for the ages. 

IDK about y’all, but up until this point I’ve never pinpointed exactly how to feel about ol’ MGK (AKA Richard Colson Baker). All I knew were the basics: he’s a white rapper from the Midwest; opened for Fall Out Boy on the Mania tour; played Tommy Lee in the Mötley Crüe biopic, The Dirt (an obviously impending Criterion Collection nominee); and has an irrefutable bromance with Pete Davidson & is apparently dating Megan Fox. 

Previously, I just always had a vague feeling he was *maybe* a tad annoying. Like, in a newbie on the scene slinging attitude left & right to those who’ve come before them kind of way. Mainly due to that whole diss track back & forth he got into with Eminem a few years back.  

But still – I didn’t follow it all closely enough to ever have definitive opinions, so always neutral I stayed. That is, until this past January when word began circulating that he was working on something new. It was supposed to be totally different from his signature hip-hop stylings, more rock-influenced, & not to mention – produced by the one & only Travis Barker.

“Tickets To My Downfall” it was going to be called, a pop-punk departure they set out to create in hopes to fuse the classic sound we know & adore with a fresh, modern take. 

(Plus inspire Gen-Zs to lay off the TikTok dances for a hot sec & start learning to play guitar)

Which, holy hell, did they ever! Literally carrying the torch to prove the genre is anything but dead, this supremely personal album is exactly what we needed amidst this dumpster fire of a year. Seriously, it makes you do a double take & wonder *is* this 2008? Are we coming off the high of yet another Warped Tour? Did Katy Perry just debut her hit single “I Kissed A Girl” & we still have the pleasure of flocking home after eighth period to catch the final minutes of TRL? It sure feels like it.

And speaking of feels – ALL THE FEELS WE HAVE. Because this album is simply fantastic. Like chicken pot pie or a giant pan of lasagna – it’s comfort. Poppy, punky, head-boppy, angst-laden comfort.

Is it the greatest piece of music mastery our ears will ever experience? No. Would our third grade English teachers be proud of the unapologetic disregard of capitalization throughout the track list? Definitely not. But is it a hell of a lot of nostalgic-driven, full-of-all-the-feels fun—YES. 

Bless you, Travis Barker. Bless you, Colson Baker. Bless all of the other artists & creatives who had a hand in it as well. If you haven’t given this album a listen, by all means…please do.

My personal favorite tracks are “nothing inside”, “play this when I’m gone” & “title track”. 

What are y’all’s thoughts?! 

xxAA

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