Folking the System

The Measure [SA] - Lauren's Gonna Hate This 7"

2011-01-31T03:24:00.007-05:00

So I recently got a USB turntable, which is pretty bitchin'. Thus, I have been engaged in the slow, yet rewarding process of ripping my 7"s that I don't have digital copies of, and I eventually will work my way to the LPs. This benefits you, my thousands upon thousands of readers (i.e. random people stumbling upon this searching for mediafire links in google), as I will be posting some of these right here! O M G. The process has been fun to say the least, as I get to spend more time with my records, which is increasingly difficult these days, and I get to re-listen to a bunch of stuff I haven't touched in forever ("oh shit! I totally forgot I had this Dwarves record!").

The Measure [SA] are a band that means a lot to me (as I have detailed in earlier posts), and the news that they were disbanding was a bit of a blow to me. At least I had the pleasure of finally seeing them at The Fest 9 last year, and hopefully I will be able to see them in Gainesville again this year for their final show. This one-sided 7" (the b-side has a really awesome screenprinted artwork on the back) was originally included as a bonus with the initial pressing of One Chapter In the Book (their singles collection), and as a result is out of print and somewhat rare, although I'm sure you could acquire a physical copy pretty easily (I think I have 4-5, being the color nerd I am). The title song is one of the last recorded (or at least the last released) with Mike Regrets, and it is a vocally swaggering, musically hard hitting song, featuring choice lines such as "I'm beginning to think my friend is just another drink." It is followed up by their excellent cover of J Church's "Fascist Radio," whose deceased frontman Lance Hahn (RIP) graces the record sleeve. The 3rd track, "Pure Gold," is an audio documentation of several missed takes of the intro to "Portland," and is more or a less an entertaining throwaway.

On a related note (oh god pun fully unintended but hilarious to me), you should all pick up The Measure's newest LP Notes, released last fall. Its all sorts of awesome. It's got like, harmonicas and shit. The Pre-order pressing also came with an awesome bonus 7", and I'll probably post that sometime in the next couple weeks.

Enjoy

"Do You Know That New York Guy?": Jawbreaker - Live 8/31/92 at ABC No Rio, NYC

2011-01-07T01:16:00.008-05:00

This a pretty fun bootleg I came across early last year. The band is in the midst of a tour supporting Bivouac, but are playing a fair amount of songs that would eventually appear on 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, as well as covering Bad Religion's "Chasing the Wild Goose" (from their maligned experimental Into the Unknown album). The sound quality is ok, its a little muffled and has some weird noise effects going on, most likely from recording transfers, being 20 years old and all. For the most part its tolerable, but "Chesterfield King" is pretty gnarly. I mostly chose this one because of the Bad Religion cover and the early versions of 24 Hour songs, and all the other bootlegs I have from 1992 are from 924 Gilman, and I didn't want to post another of those. (I think I have 6 or 7 924 Gilman Jawbreaker bootlegs, half of which are from 1992, haha)

The banter is pretty worthwhile here, Blake and some members of the audience seem to be bouncing off of each other. Blake gets frustrated by heckling while trying to explain "Boat," as well at some other points, but not terribly so. The funniest is when they start calling him the guy from Anthrax, and Blake responds "I'm the guy from Anthrax, that's correct. That was a funny joke an hour ago, and now, not so funny! Hey, do you know that New York guy?"

yar.

Tracklist:

1. The Boat Dreams from the Hill
2. West Bay Invitational
3. Donatello
4. Face Down
5. Chesterfield King
6. Indictment
7. Parabola
8. In Sadding Around
9. Fine Day
10. Want
11. Tour Song
12. Chasing the Wild Goose

"Somebody say something snide please!": Jawbreaker - Live 8/11/90 at 924 Gilman St.

2011-01-06T00:19:00.004-05:00

JaThis is a great early bootleg from the Unfun era, which as it turns out is the source of the "Live at Gilman" bootleg 7" that a few people I know have. The band blazes through this set at a hardcore-esque level of energy (especially on "You're Right"), including the two Bivouac songs that appear on this. The tracks fade in and out, which somewhat detracts from the momentum of the recording. According to loosecharm.org, a great deal of banter, a cover of Freebird, and a jam played by Adam and Chris while Blake fixes a broken string are cut from this version. One day I will find a full version of this bootleg, and all will be alright in the world. Most of the time stage banter isn't very interesting, but I enjoy it being on a recording. I guess it makes it seem more authentic, and is part of the reason why I download so many live bootlegs. Nevertheless, enjoy this at maximum volume!

Tracklist:
1) Welcome to Our Band
2) Gutless
3) Down
4) You're Right
5) Softcore
6) Lawn
7) Big
8) Want
9) Seethruskin
10) Driven
11) Fine Day
11) Equalized
13) Shield Your Eyes
14) Eye-5

Download

Also: surprise! new layout!

New Year, (Give Me) More Beer

2011-01-02T02:23:00.007-05:00

In case you haven't heard, its the new year, which is cool, I suppose. 2010 was without a doubt one of the strangest years I've ever experienced. It was basically like the world's shittiest roller-coaster ride. Allow me elaborate:

Starting, oh, at about the beginning of 2009, it was nothing but going up that giant hill all slow and steady, for what seemed like forever, straight through 2010, and it was fantastic. The peak of this hill would be the end of July, when I suddenly dropped down without warning. What had been a wonderfully promising year turned into utter utter shit faster than I could believe. Now, I think I've gotten to the bottom of the drop, but now the car is stuck, and I have to wait for maintenance to come fix it. The worst part of the wait is having to sit there and stare at all the fun parts of the ride that I won't get to go through ("It's not fair, I came so goddamn close!") Its hard to believe its been five months, but I'm glad it flew by so fast. These past few months have been ungodly rough on me, but I made it through for two reasons: my friends and my music.

Why my friends saved me should be self-explanatory. They've been here for me this entire shitty saga, being nothing but supporting and awesome. From day one when I was left heartbroken, jobless, and potentially homeless, to now, when I'm bitter and drunk, but hopeful, they stuck by me, arm around my shoulder, and making me smile even when I didn't really want to be. Music has been my life since I was 13, which is when I discovered Jawbreaker. They were the band that changed my life, and they're still picking me up to this day. Without their songs, I might not have escaped these past few months fully intact. Numerous other bands/albums/songs helped me trudge through the shit, but none more the Jawbreaker.

So for the new year and for the band that will forever mean more to me than any two-faced harpy, starting today, I will be posting some Jawbreaker bootlegs all week. So here's to another lousy millennium!

Up first are the band's first two demos, recorded in 1989. Parts of the first demo appear on Etc, but there are several songs left off, including "World of Shit," which is the sole song that Chris Bauermeister sings.

Demo #1

Demo #2

Joe Strummer - Generations I + II

2010-12-22T16:17:00.004-05:00

8 years ago, we lost, in my opinion, one of the most profound and important musicians of rock and roll. I was only just getting into punk rock in 2002, so Joe Strummer's death did not have an immediate impact on me. However, words can barely express how much The Clash and the rest of Strummer's music means to me. They were one of the first bands I latched on to in my adolescence, and even though I was very much in a "punker-than-thou" mentality, The eclectic jukebox that defined the Clash's catalog, especially on albums like Sandinista!, never seemed to phase me in the slightest. I think I got London Calling and their first album around the same time, and being blown away, thinking "there's no way this is the same band." While Mick Jones was the pop genius heart of the songs, Strummer was the gruff, uncompromising soul. There are very few people I respect in this world, and Joe is one of them, even in death.

Watching the documentary "The Future is Unwritten," (which I highly recommend) gave me further appreciation of the man, especially of his resurgence towards the end of his life. His three albums with the Mescaleros, while not on the same level as The Clash, are fantastic albums in their own right. While Joe's projects between the Clash and the Mescaleros are few, there is enough material to justify the Generations collections that I am posting. I don't know who is responsible for putting these together originally, but whoever they are, they are awesome. These roughly 70 songs are a hefty upload, but it is worth it. They span an even larger range of sounds than Sandinista!, from his brief time with The Pogues to his South Park: Chef Aid contribution. There are also some great covers, Ramones, Bob Marley (with Johnny Cash), Jimmy Ciff, The Specials, The Stooges even a couple live Clash songs!

We miss you Joe!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

(password is folkingthesystem)

If ya'll are lucky, I may post the Live at Action Town Hall bootleg later.

Dillinger Four, Live at the Marquis Theater, Denver 6/12/09

2010-12-19T16:31:00.005-05:00

I have unfortunately yet to see the mighty D4 (who are one of my favorite bands) play live, and this bootleg, as great as it is, constantly reminds me of that fact. I really should have been at this show, but I happened to be in Nebraska digging up several thousand year old bison bones. Fortunately for myself, and for all of you, my great friend Josh recorded it for all posterity. So all credit for this should really go to him.

Japanther and the Brokedowns opened this show, but I don't know enough of their song titles, so their tracks are mostly unnamed. OH WELL.

The D4 set is really great, including the "encore" of two oldies (Holy Shit and Smells Like OK Soda). The between song banter of course is choice, and i've split up some of the longer stuff into their own tracks.

The three sets each have their own separate download link below! Also, i'm gonna start password protecting my uploads, because, ya know. Password is folkingthesystem. Enjoy!

D4:
1. Intro
2. Our Science is Tight
3. A Jingle for the Product
4. Superpowers Enable Me to Blend In With Machinery
5. Folk Song.
6. Gainesville
7. A Floater Left With Pleasure In the Executive Washroom
8. "Get Rich, Suck Dicks"
9. parishiltonisametaphor
10. Noble Stabbings!!
11. Q. How Many Punks Does It Take to Change A Lightbulb
12. Maximum Piss and Vinegar
13. Let Them Eat Thomas Paine
14. Mosh for Jesus
15. "Paddy's Sick"
16. clown cars on cinder blocks
17. Doublewhiskeycokenoice
18. "New Brains for Everyone"
19. OKFMDOA
20. D4 = Putting the "F" Back in Art
21. Holy Shit
22. Smells Like OK Soda

Brokedowns

Japanther

Phil Ochs - There and Now: Live in Vancouver 1968

2010-11-18T00:20:00.005-05:00

"It [Los Angeles] intrigues me like a beautiful sensual morgue"

Another great live offering from Mr. Ochs! I think this CD was released, oh 20 or so years ago. Phil remarks in a short intro that this gig was his first appearance in Vancouver, surprisingly.It has a pretty varied set list, featuring the standards like "The Bells," and "I Ain't Marching Anymore," as well as a good helping of songs from Pleasures and Rehearsals in stripped down form, much like the Montreal recording. Hooray for Canada? Its humorous to hear him forget a few of the lines of "Outside A Small Circle..." improvising with "da dada da da." This performance wasn't long after the infamous 1968 DNC, and Phil says some words on the matter in between "Where Were You in Chicago?" and "William Butler Yeats...". The audience laughs at some of his remarks, but Ochs' depression about the matter is subtly clear, especially when he bluntly states that America died in Chicago. That illuminating track alone is worth the entire album. Oh, and Allen Ginsberg playing the bells on...well, you should be able to figure that out.This wouldn't be Phil's last appearance in Vancouver, as two short years later he would play with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor for Greenpeace, as documented on the Amchitka live album.

I think I'm gonna take a break from posting Phil Ochs for a while (briefly I swear!) to post some punkier stuff, because The Fest 9 was utterly amazing, and I'm still riding that high two weeks later. I think I've got some cool stuff in my laptop vault. In the meantime, go check out BesidesAsides!

Download

Phil Ochs - Live 10/22/66, Salle Claude Champagne, Montreal

2010-10-26T15:10:00.005-04:00

Here's a pretty great long bootleg of Ochs in Montreal, 1966. It's a great mix of songs from his first three albums, and the soon to be released Pleasures of the Harbor. It also notably features songs from Tape from California and Rehearsals ("Joe Hill," "Doesn't Lenny..."), as well as "Song of My Returning," which wouldn't be officially released until 80's on A Toast... Of course what makes Ochs' live recordings, both official and bootleg, worthwhile is his between song banter, as well as hearing the songs with expanded arrangements stripped down, this being no exception. Enjoy!

1. Cross My Heart
2. Song of My Returning
3. The Bells
4. Flower Lady
5. Miranda
6. Joe Hill
7. I'm Gonna Say It Now
8. Pleasures of the Harbor
9. I Ain't Marching Anymore
10. Outside of A Small Circle
11. I've Had Her
12. There But For Fortune
13. Cops of the World
14. Crucifixion
15. Is There Anybody Here
16. Changes
17. The Party
18. Doesn't Lenny Live Here Anymore
19. The Power and the Glory

Download

Phil Ochs - On My Way: 1963 Demo Session

2010-10-11T00:36:00.003-04:00

This is a newly released gem, and I highly recommend you go out and purchase it if you enjoy it as much as I do. Although many of these demo session cds aren't really essential to a casual Phil Ochs listener's discography, they often contain songs that aren't available elsewhere. Such is the case with On My Way. Of particular note on this collection is "Bobby Dylan Record," which on the surface appears to be another satirical jab at Phil's favorite non political target, but is actually a narrative about the aftermath of a break-up, in which the protagonist pleads for his ex to "take my Bobby Dylan record off your wall" and not play it for another. Other songs that appear to be "new" are "Once I lived the Life of a Commissar," "First Snow" and several others. "Bullets of Mexico" also appears here in an early form as "The Ballad of Ruben Jaramillo."

The recording quality is about what you would expect from a demo session, although you can tell its been cleaned up. Phil offers explanations for many of the songs, as well as what chords to play, which is pretty cool. So...enjoy!

Download

Phil Ochs - Live at Newport

2010-09-29T03:21:00.005-04:00

Oh hello there, I didn't see you come in! I don't know if this CD is out of print, but if its not, it's certainly in low circulation. As great as this album is, I wish it was solely an entire Newport set, rather than selections from Phil's three appearances (1963, 1964, and 1966 (he was inexplicably snubbed in 1965, but he managed to sneak in and watch Dylan's electro-extravaganza, as the liner notes explain)) Maybe these are the whole sets, and they were just short, I don't know how the festival worked. Anyways, Phil live is a wonderous thing to listen to, if he is as nervous as he supposedly was, it doesn't show. What a Charmer, that Ochs is.

Golly gee.

Phil Ochs - As I Walk Alone: Rare and Unreleased Demos

2010-09-27T19:32:00.005-04:00

This was a actually rather interesting find a few months ago, for several reasons:

1)I had actually gone to the record store to search for the newly released On My Way 1963 demo sessions (which I will probably post next).
2) I had never heard of it
3) It appears to be a Japanese bootleg of some kind, which is kind of absurd. The CD inserts are made with Staples photo stock (made obvious by the watermark on the backsides) and the tracklisting on the back is misnumbered and omits a few tracks. PURE FUCKING QUALITY!

Of course I paid more than I probably should have for this, considering the quality, but goddamn is it a hefty dose of rare demos. The scan below is of the back insert (which as mentioned omits a few tracks) which showcases a pretty fantastic photo of some good ol' police on activist brutality.

So at last, enjoy these 45 or so fantastic tracks!

Disc 1
Disc 2

Phil Ochs - Camp Favorites

2010-09-27T04:35:00.003-04:00

Ahoyhoy!

I'm not going to even both trying to explain the fact that its been over a year since I've posted, other than that I just didn't feel like it! So to reinvigorate things in a good fashion, I'm going to post a bunch of Phil Ochs.

To start things off, here is a rare artifact:

Yes, this is actually Phil Ochs, who anonymously appeared on this album in 1962. While it is more of a novelty for completists such as myself, it is interesting to hear Phil sing all these silly traditional songs. There is precious little info available on this album, but enjoy nonetheless!

Download Camp Favorites

Stay tuned for more!

Off With Your Head!

2009-02-19T21:52:00.002-05:00

Stay Tuned...

....for awesomeness!

Oh Hello, I Didn't See You Come In

2009-02-10T14:26:00.009-05:00

Welp, I guess its time to start this thing back up again! In the month-long hiatus a lot of stuff has happened in the music (that I like) world. I don't want to take up too much space, I'll be brief.

1) Ron Asheton of the Stooges died January 6th (lame)

Fun House and Raw Power are fucking amazing albums, and Asheton's guitar furious guitar playing, I'd argue, is the primary reason for that. yeah yeah Iggy is cool and all, but seriously, Ron can shred. He gave punk the hair on its balls, and that's that. shut it. RIP Ron, the first three albums combined are enough to forgive you guys for The Weirdness (shudder).

2) Lux Interior of the Cramps died almost exactly a month later (Feb. 4th, equally lame)
I honestly thought he died years ago, considering his persona and antics. Nevertheless, it is a bummer that he died. He was one of the greatest frontmen in punk for one of the greatest bands in punk. All the pseudo-psychobilly bands on Hellcat Records are in incredible debt to bands The Cramps. Hopefully he's entertaining mental patients in hell now.

Dear god, next thing you know, Mick Jones or Wayne Kramer might die (please don't)

3) Propagandhi's new album leaked yesterday(ohh fuck yeah)
this is the most recent news, and the most fucking exciting for me. I really liked Potemkin City Limits, don't get me wrong, but it seemed a little forced, and at times not them memorable...(but the good songs on it are some of the best they've ever written). Upon first listen, its definitely better than its predecessor. The opening track rips your fucking face off immediately, and they just keep fucking going. The addition of their second guitarist into the band has allowed them to develop their newer sound into regions beyond. This shit is on par with Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes. Once the record is sitting in my hands, I'll be able to judge it more thoroughly.

4) 10-4 Eleanor played at my house (almost bad, but turned out great!)
This show almost turned out to be disaster. Another band was supposed to play, but they dropped out without telling me, leaving us without a PA or a sizeable audience. After some scrambling and lots of apologizing, we managed to wrangle a PA from a friend up the street and the show, despite the tiny audience, went great. The boys play some top notch "orgcore" and its always a pleasure to see them. They also get kudo's points for their new EP, Words Cannot Express How Much Fuck This Band, which was packed in a giant 5 1/2" floppy disk casing.

5) Renegades played their last show at the house with The Masters of Suspicion and Goochie Boys (fucking insanity!)

All three of these bands brought a large crowd to my house. The last time I saw it that crowded for a show was for O Pioneers!!! in September. I opened up with a few new songs to my 5-6 fans in the room, and then let tMoS take the floor. My good friends played the best I've ever seen them. They've dramatically cut down the set to about 10 songs, dropping the covers (although we did coax them into playing "1000 More Fools" and "No Scrubs") and a few of the weaker songs. The crowd that didn't come from them even got into it! The Goochie Boys/Goochie Punx (whatever their actual name is) were a last minute addition and I had no idea what to expect. Turns out they fucking rule! They played very much 60's inspired garage rock/surf/trash and it was incredibly fun. RNGDS packed the house and turned my basement into the sweatiest dance floor ever. Fantastic last show, fantastic night in general.

-TSOL came out with a new album (hmmm...)

I haven't listened to this yet, but I can't imagine its anything groundbreaking or exciting. I'll just listen to Dance With Me and Beneath the Shadows instead.

-The Marked Men came out with a new album (sweet)
Great stuff really, but upon my first couple listens, it doesn't really sound much different then everything else they've put out. Still fun to listen to, and I bet they're killer live.

-I discovered how awesome Leonard Cohen is (awesome)
I think that really sums it up. Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tremendous album, and I need more!

-and of course my computer decided to stop recognizing my external hard drive, and I fear I've lost everything on it (super fucking lame)
I really don't know why it decided to stroke out on me, but it didn't and I can't fucking figure it out. Most of my music is backed up on cd, or I actually own it, but alot of my bootlegs I hadn't gotten around to burning yet. Same goes for my TV shows (all of South Park, Futurama, It's Always Sunny, and Spaced) and a few episodes of Mystery Science Theater. Hopefully everything works out, or I'm gonna be pissed.

that's all I can remember at this point...so till next time

The Year in Review -or- Fuck 2008, Here's to '09

2008-12-24T01:28:00.018-05:00

Man, what a fucking year. I couldn't be more happy that it's over. Well here's hopin' that 2009 will be my bounce back year. Ok personal bullshit aside, time for the music! It was a pretty solid year for music, not great, never the less, I assembled a lengthy 40 full length album "best of" on Rate Your Music, as well as lists for EPs/7"s and Comps/Collections. I'm only going to go in to detail for the Top Ten of the year, mention briefly the 11 honorable mentions, and if you want to see the full list, you'll have to go to my RYM page. In addition to their numerical ranking, which is less concrete than it seems, each album will get its own best of. So here we go!

#1. Album of the Year/Best Lyrical Album/Best "Fuck the Sophomore Slump" Album
The Gaslight Anthem-The '59 Sound: This was indeed one of the most anticipated releases of the year, by all of those who heard Sink or Swim, the band's stellar "come out of fucking nowhere" debut ('07 Album of the Year). I didn't think it was possible to follow up with an album that would be as good, let alone greater in many aspects as that. The second I found out it leaked I downloaded it, locked my bedroom door and listened intently. I was torn. "What the hell is with the reverb on his voice? What is this lame song singing about Tom Petty? I fucking hate Tom Petty!" etc. etc. Despite this, there were a few stand out tracks that kept me coming back. After all, I didn't like Sink or Swim at first, and then I saw them live and was hooked. The more I kept coming back to listen to songs like the title track, "Great Expectations," and "The Patient Ferris Wheel," the more it grew on me. I began to love every single track (except for "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,"I actually like the track, but fuck Tom Petty...) I got over the production and listened to what it was really about: the music. The lyrics hit me like a semi-truck, and I welcomed the collision. I only wish this record came earlier in the year, but along with #2, it helped me get through the tough times. Musically, its as if soul, punk, folk, and americana had a wonderful bastard child. The punk is less pronounced than its predecessor, but the urgency is still there on many of the songs, and as a result, they sound mature, but not boring. There was a point in August where I listened to this almost daily because I couldn't get enough of it, and I still barely can't. This band is gonna be huge, and they deserve it. I'll be just glad to say I got to see them play in a bowling alley in Asbury Park before they started playing stadiums. (sound familiar? cough cough) Rating: 9.6/10

#2. Best Album to Kill Yourself To/Best Pop-Punk Album/Best Debut Full-Length
Off With Their Heads-From the Bottom: I had high hopes for this album, and it totally delivered. Though I was hoping for more "new" songs that I hadn't heard from myspace prior to its release or previous 7"s, it is none the less a fantastic fucking album. Its dark, morbid pop-punk that has renewed my faith in the genre. Its catchy as fuck, makes you want to pogo around your room, and tie that noose at the same time. My roommate came upstairs once and said to me "Dude, I think I've been listening to too much Off With Their Dudes..." "Why? You feel like shit?" "Yeah..." It's an album that makes you feel like shit and great at the same fucking time. As long as Ryan keeps singing about life sucking ass, and not actually offing his head, we should be fine. Rating: 9.4/10

#3. Best "Album that was supposed to come out this year, but officially might not til 2009, but was way too good to wait"/Best Sound Progression
O Pioneers!!!-Neon Creeps: O Pioneers!!! new album was also highly anticipated for me. I had only recently gotten into them at the end of last year, and I loved their brand of Hot Water Music-influenced folk-punk. On Neon Creeps, Eric and the boys step away from the sound and go for something entirely of their own. Featuring shorter, more concise lyrics, late 80's Dischord musical vibes, a voice thats less screaming but still beautifully rough, and a bass guitar (!!!), it's the direction I wish Against Me! took, instead of the poppiness (or should I say poopiness, har har har) of New Wave. These guys played in my basement in September, and mostly showcased the new stuff, and I was blown away even then. I'm surprised more people don't know this band than do, but I guess I spend too much time on punknews.org and Vinyl Collective. I've been spreading the love for this band to my friends for a while, and this album finally got their attention. Rating: 9.4/10

#4 Best Come From Behind, Damn This Is Awesome! Album/Best Electric Folk-Punk Album
The Riot Before-Fists Buried In Pockets: Richmond, VA's The Riot Before were a band that took me forever to get into. They were getting frequently repped around the internet, and needless to say I wasn't too impressed by Horseshoes and Handgrenades, and So Long, the Lighthouse was ok, but not great. I eventually changed my views on the latter, and the former still has some faults in my eyes. Two things brought this about. Seeing these guys open for The Gaslight Anthem, and this album. The flow and "theme" of this album works wonderfully, with tales of losing faith in your beliefs at the same time as touring the country, sleeping on floors and playing in basements. They take the major Against Me! influence, and take it in their own directions. The lyrics to "I Have My Books" gets me everytime, very simplistic and powerful. This band is full of heart and passion, and I can't wait to see where they go musically. Like O Pioneers!!!, I've been spreading this band's awesomeness all around. Hopefully one day they can cross the Mississippi on tour and play my basement. Rating: 9.2/10

#5 Best Album to Play Outside a Church/Best Hardcore Album
Paint It Black-New Lexicon: Like Off With Their Heads renewed my faith in pop-punk, Paint It Black were one of the bands (like Modern Life is War, Fucked Up, and Verse) that renewed my faith in hardcore. The 80's are over, and most people's conception of hardcore is the metal-influenced screaming crap that plagues the airwaves, or the way too bro-ed out guys on steroids stuff (granted the latter was always prevalent, but at least it still sounded punk). Paint It Black keeps the punk in hardcore, but still brings it in new directions, but doesn't over do it like Fucked Up did on their new album. Dr. Dan just spits venom at every injustice in society, and religion is the prime target. His intelligent lyrics are what puts this album above and beyond their contemporaries, sort of like what Greg Graffin did for Bad Religion. This album made me want to chuck shit around in my room and punch a hole in the wall first time I heard it. I listened to it while mowing the lawn once and I wished there was a priest in front of me. Its hard to say whether or not this album is the best yet, because I love all three of their full lengths. I guess its almost on par with Paradise, and slightly better than CVA. I seriously need to see this band live, like what the fuck, come to Colorado. Rating: 9/10

#6. Best Comeback Album/Runner Up Best Pop-punk Album/Runner-Up Best Album to Play Outside a Church
Dillinger Four-C I V I L W A R: Holy shit, has it really been 6 years? 2002 was the first time I heard this band ("Noble Stabbings!!!" on the Atticus: Dragging the Lake comp) and I immediately like them. They were one of the first real punk bands I listened to in my post-blink 182 hangover stage freshman year of high school. They have always stood out to me as the best pop-punk band ever. The kept the hooks and the catchiness, but still had the aggression of hardcore, and no frills whatsoever. The fans have waited forever for this to come out. When I finally had it on my hard drive (yes I downloaded the leak, you serious? I bought the vinyl of course!), I almost couldn't believe it. I was almost worried when I first listened to it, but those fears were squashed. Its not quite up there with Midwestern Songs for the Americas or Versus God, but I like it more than Situationist Comedy. The Paddy songs are few, and sound slightly forced, but are still great. The real gems are the ones created by Erik Funk. Goddamn can that dude write a catchy motherfucking tune. "The Classical Arrangement" is a lyrically fantastic, scathing attack on religion. "Gainesville," the poppiest track on the album stands out for its sunny outlook, but honestly, how could you not feel that way at The Fest? However, the greatest song is "Ode to the Great American Snake Oil Distributor," and the chorus of "smash your fucking halo" is glorious and I was singing it all day long for weeks after I heard it (still am). The album's closer, "clown cars on cinderblocks" has a special place in my heart. This was totally worth the wait. Rating: 8.8/10

#7 Best Cowpunk/Alt-country Album/Runner-up Best Lyrical Album
Two Cow Garage-Speaking in Cursive: This album was a real grower on me. I picked it up after listening to some songs on their myspace page, and thinking their whole alt-country Lawrence Arms style sound was pretty fucking cool. It wasn't until I started listening to the lyrics that the album really clicked with me, and jumped up several spots on this list. "Humble Narrator" is one of the best openers I've heard in a while and highlights the dynamics this band has. A few songs really strike me personally, like "Folksinger's Heart" ("older brother, oldest son, I was never really good at either one..." "it was arrogant to think from the start that you were the only backyard Dylan with a folksinger's heart") The "Swingset Assassin" song is also a pretty cool story of the writer's music tastes. There are a couple weaker tracks, those song by the other vocalist, but overall this is a fantastic album.
Rating: 8.6/10

#8 Best Album From A Genre I Didn't Know I Liked Until This Year/Best Album to Shake Your Ass to.
Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves-Roll With You: Well goddamn! This album is awesome! I didn't know a white dude could sing soul so well! So well that I decided maybe I should check out this whole crazy genre. Now I can't get enough of Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, James Brown, etc. You can tell Eli has a deep appreciation for his forebearers, and Roll With You covers a wide range of style, from the slow, deep ballads to the pseudo-funky dance numbers. A few of the songs on this sound pretty musically similar, but whatever, the sound is great. Everytime there is a party at my house, you can be sure this album will be in the rotation at least twice.
Rating: 8.5/10

#9 Best Album by a New Favorite Artist/Best Folk Rock Album
Frank Turner-Love Ire & Song: As I stated in my previous post, I just discovered this man, and all I can say is holy shit, why haven't I listened to him earlier? Turner echoes fellow Brit Billy Bragg in his sound and is not afraid to add some new elements to his acoustic guitar songs. He carries elements of his 2007 album Sleep is for the Week, with songs about becoming disenchanted with the protest scene ("Love Ire & Song), being heartbroken ("Substitute"), songs about his friends("I Knew Prufrock Before He Was Famous"), and songs about being a 20-something in London and not having a direction (all over). Despite the bitterness, there is still rays of hope shining through in some of his songs, like the title track and his touching ballad about a deceased friend. Basically a great album for this point of my life. Bravo.
Rating: 8.5/10

#10 Runner-Up Best Hardcore Album
Verse-Aggression: Although it may seem a bit silly to name a hardcore album Aggression, but it does put the focus of the album to the forefront. They are incredibly pissed off at the state of the country and they are going to let the listener know all about it. The highlight of the album is the three part "Story of a Free Man." This was a pleasant year end surprise that pits Verse up with the cream of the hardcore crop.
Rating: 8.4/5

Rest of the Best
#11: Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas-Bristle Ridge, Rating: 8.4/10 (Best Folk Album)
#12: Jon Crocker- The Dust Will Settle, Rating: 8.3/10 (Runner-Up Best Folk)
#13: The Slackers-Self Medication, Rating: 8.2/10 (Best Ska Album)
#14: Street Dogs-State of Grace, Rating: 8.2/10 (Best Album to go "hey! hey! hey!" to)
#15: Lagrecia-On Parallels, Rating: 8.1/10 (Best First & Only Album)
#16: The Cute Lepers-Can't Stand Modern Music, Rating: 8.1/10 (Best Powerpop Album/Runner-Up Best Album to Shake Your Ass To)
#17: Drag the River-You Can't Live This Way, Rating: 8/10 (Runner-Up Best Cowpunk/Alt-country/Best Album That Plays Itself Twice)
#18. Tim Barry-Manchester, Rating: 8/10 (Runner-Up Best "Fuck the Sophomore Slump Album")
#19. TV Smith-In the Arms of My Enemy, Rating: 8/10 (Best Acoustic Folk-Punk Album)
#20. Heathers-Here, Not There, Rating: 7.9/10 (Cutest Band of 2008)

Honorable Mentions:
Billy Bragg-Mr. Love and Justice.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds-Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
The Tossers-On A Fine Spring Evening.
Monikers-Wake Up.
Shorebirds-It's Gonna Get Ugly.

Best EPs/7"s
#1. The Gaslight Anthem-Senor and the Queen
#2. Gatorface-Sick and Stupid
#3. O Pioneers!!!-s/t 7"
#4. Jello Biafra with Brown Town West-Jezebel
#5. Tim Barry-Live at Munford Elementary
#6. Statues-Same Bodies, Same Faces
#7. The Gaslight Anthem-Sink or Swim Demos
#8. The Cute Lepers-Terminal Boredom b/w Prove It
#9. Cobra Skulls-Never Be A Machine
#10. Andrew Jackson Jihad-Only God Can Judge Me
#11. Mischief Brew-Jobs In Steeltown
#12. Bomb the Music Industry/Mustard Plug-Under the Influence, Vol. 3
#13. Career Suicide-Cherry Beach EP
#14. The Measure [SA]-Means to An End
#15. V/A-Incestival-Orlando's Worst 4-Way Split (NMDS, Gatorface, Virgins, Polluted Youth)

Honorable Mentions
Billy Bragg-I Keep Faith
The Measure [SA]-Songs About People...and Fruit N' Shit
O Pioneers!!!/Mike Park-Split 7"
O Pioneers!!!/Announcement-Split 7"
Killed By the Bull-Return of the Spell

Best Comps/Collections
#1. Hot Water Music-'Til the Wheels Fall Off
#2. The Measure [SA]-One Chapter in the Book: A Collection of Standard Waits and Measurements
#3. Statues-Terminal Bedroom
#4. Mischief Brew-Boiling Breakfast Early
#5. Frank Turner-The First Three Years

10 Best Shows of 2008 (Total shows this year=27)
#1. The Gaslight Anthem/The Riot Before/Scream Hello/Laserhead, Asbury Lanes, Asbury Park NJ, May 30th.
#2. Against Me!/Ted Leo + The Pharmacists/Future of the Left, Gothic Theater, Denver Oct 21st
#3. The Revival Tour w/ Chuck Ragan/Tim Barry/Ben Nichols/Jon Snodgrass/Austin Lucas, Marquis Theater, Denver Oct 23rd
#4. O Pioneers!!!/10-4 Eleanor/The Masters of Suspicion, my basment, Sept 4th
#5. Alkaline Trio/American Steel/Sleeperhorse, Cervantes Ballroom, Denver, Aug 2nd
#6. Planesmistakenforstars' Final Show w/ Mustangs and Madras/Kingdom of Magic, Marquis Feb 16th.
#7. Hot Water Music/Only Thunder/Mustangs and Madras, Gothic Sept 7th
#8. Ghost Mice/Heathers, my basement, July 20th
#9. Pinhead Circus (reunion show)/Sleeperhorse/Eyes and Ears, Marquis July 26th
#10. Streetlight Manifesto/Zox (ug)/Dan Potthast, Ogden Theater, Denver Apr 8th

Biggest Dissappointments of 2008 (no particular order)
-Against Me!'s short, lackluster show at the Aggie Theater in Fort Collins Feb 29th
-Having to leave Rise Against early when they started playing good songs.
-planesmistakenforstars breaking up (great last show though)
-The Bronx-The Bronx (III) (its ok, but I was hoping for somthing better)
-Alkaline Trio-Agony and Irony (at least it was better than Crimson)
-The Copyrights-Learn the Hard Way (still in my top 40, but its their weakest album)
-The Ergs! breaking up, and me not being in NJ for their last show
-Flogging Molly-Float (bummer)
-Me not being in NJ for the Bouncing Souls 3 night extravaganza again
-Kevin Seconds and His Ghetto Moments-Rise Up Insomniacs!
-Rise Against-Appeal to Reason (but honestly, what did I expect?)
-This Bike is a Pipebomb-Convertible
-Static Radio NJ-An Evening of Bad Decisions (They went from Kid Dynamite to Lifetime, lame.)
-Anti-Flag-Bright Lights of America
-New Mexican Disaster Squad breaking up
-Family moving from New Jersey to San Diego (epic lame)

Hyped Albums of 2008 That I Don't Get
-The Hold Steady-Stay Positive
-Lemuria-Get Better
-Banner Pilot-Resignation Day
-Bridge and Tunnel-East/West
-Dead to Me-Little Brother
-Polar Bear Club-Sometimes Things Just Dissappear
-Star Fucking Hipsters-Until We're Dead
-The Steinways-Gorilla Marketing

Other Notables of 2008
-reissues of The Replacements' Tim and Pleased to Meet Me
-reissues of Alkaline Trio's Goddamnit (w/ awesome DVD and demos) and Maybe I'll Catch Fire (vinyl again woo!)
-The Falcon's first EP being issued on vinyl (Congrats Vinyl Collective Cooperative on that success!)
-Me snagging a white copy of The '59 Sound
-Ghost Mice, Heathers, O Pioneers!!! and Jon Crocker are some the nicest people I've ever met
-Being one of 3 people singing along to Gaslight Anthem at the Rise Against show in November
-Gatorface and Virgins (the two bands that formed from NMDS wake) are totally awesome
-listening to way too much 60's garage rock than I should have
-discovering the awesomeness of Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945"

Looking Foward to in 2009?
-Playing a show with Off With Their Heads in a bike shop in Feb!
-new Propagandhi album?!
-new Bomb the Music Industry!, Bouncing Souls (sort of), Austin Lucas
-hopefully new albums from Andrew Jackson Jihad, A Wilhelm Scream, The Lawrence Arms
-Ska is Dead 4!
-Reel Big Fish w/ Streetlight Manifesto (I've seen this show like 12 times, but its always fun)
-The Gaslight Anthem at the Gothic
-Maybe I can finally stop being so goddamn single

and last but not least here is my 2008 Super Awesome Mixtape/Playlist!

Download link

1. The Gaslight Anthem-The Patient Ferris Wheel
2. Off With Their Heads-Self Checkout
3. O Pioneers!!!-Stressing the Fuck Out
4. The Riot Before-I Have My Books
5. Paint It Black-Shell Game Redux
6. Dillinger Four-Ode to the Great American Snake Oil Distibutor
7. Two Cow Garage-Folksinger's Heart
8. Eli "Paperboy" Reed & The True Loves-The Satisfier
9. Frank Turner-Love Ire & Song
10. Verse-Old Guards, New Methods
11. Chuck Ragan & Austin Lucas-Judgement Day
12. Jon Crocker-Six Day Sinner's Son
13. The Slackers-Every Day is Sunday
14. Street Dogs-The General's Boombox
15. LaGrecia-The Montage
16. The Cute Lepers-Terminal Boredom
17. Drag the River-BrOOtal
18. Tim Barry-Texas Cops
19. TV Smith-In The Arms of My Enemy
20. Heathers-Honey Please?!
21. Billy Bragg-O Freedom
22. Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds-Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!
23. The Tossers-Whiskey Makes Me Crazy
24. Monikers-80 Proof
25. Shorebirds-Nutter
26.-I Walk the Line-Black Wave
27. Henry Fiat's Open Sore-Faster Phil Spector, Kill Kill!
28. Teenage Bottlerocket-Nuthouse
29. Virgins-Another's Gun
30. Statues-Dead or Alive
31. Gatorface-Sick and Stupid
32. Cobra Skulls-Never Be A Machine
33. Andrew Jackson Jihad-Jesus Saves
34. Tom Gabel-Anna is a Stool Pigeon
35. Mustard Plug-Waiting Room (Fugazi cover)
36. Mischief Brew-Jobs in Steeltown
37. Static Radio NJ-Bothered
38. The Ergs!-blahblahblahfuckyoublahblahblah
39. Bouncing Souls-Man In Black

hope everyone has a wonderful new year's, and look forward to a revamped folking the system. more music reviews! more playlist downloads! more new bands to shove down your throats! more posts! gratuitous female nudity!

Blag?

2008-12-14T22:40:00.004-05:00

School has been kicking my ass lately, and I've been neglecting this thing. I'm incredibly happy this semester is over, despite liking most of my classes, I just need a break to do nothing for a while and reboot my system. Right now I'm suppose to be writing a paper on Indian revolutionaries that is due Tuesday, but of course I got distracted. Maybe record my new songs on better equipment. I've been wanting to play some shows outside my house for a while, but just haven't had the time. Last night we had a fancy smancy wine and cheese party last night, and I got drunk enough to play a few songs. That was pretty fun, even my aborted "Holland, 1945" cover that I forgot the chords too...oh well.

Speaking of shows, the awesome Jon Crocker played a show at my house last week after a last minute email. It had been snowing all day, so we ended up only playing for a crowd consisting of my roommates and my bandmates. The thermostat was also broken that night, turning my house into a sauna. so that was fun. He's a fantastic musician, and his cd "The Dust Will Settle" made it into my top ten list this year (take that Street Dogs!). I look foward to seeing him if he comes through again. Pictures will be posted later

what else what else....

I just recently discovered the illustrious Frank Turner, whose name I had been hearing for a while, but I had never checked out music. Turns out he is phenomenal. This song "Substitute" from his new album "Love, Ire & Song" particularly stood out to me.

The first girl that I fell for was a fair and faithful fighter
She smouldered with a will to save the world
I did my best to help her, yeah I stood shoulder to shoulder
On the front lines with my visionary girl

I wish that she had cared for me
But in the end her ideologies
Occupied the fortress of her heart
I wrote her 15 songs, but still we had to part

And if music was the food of love
Then I'd be a fat romantic slob
Well music, it's my substitute for love

The last girl that I loved she was a low and lusty liar
She set my heart on fire, but made me choke
Her beauty was a sight to see, but she didn't save it all for me
I found other fires by following the smoke

I wish that she had either cared for me or
let be me
But she chased me from mind and from my home
I wrote her 16 songs, but I ended up alone

And if love is really all that we need
Then even all my singing is never gonna save me
Music it's my substitute for love

Well I've had many different girls inside my bed
But only one or two inside my head
These days I cuddle up to my guitar instead
But oh, what I would give, not to stumble but to really fall in love
And I could substitute my singing for the sound of someone sleeping next to me

word up Frank Turner.

Also, in glorious holiday tradition, the giant glowing red pentagram is back on our roof after 2.5 hours of nailing, stretching, and high mathematical calculations. This year we went with the inverted model. Hail Satan! pics to come soon!

My next post will be an epic "Best of 08!" sort of deal.

God Lives in NYC

2008-11-24T15:26:00.007-05:00

Tom and Kevin played a "reunion" set this past weekend at the Knitting Factory. They played all of Crime plus a bunch of other amazing songs. You've got to be fucking kidding me.

Set:
(Just Tom)
"I Dreamed Bob Dylan Was a Friend of Mine"
"Random Hearts"
"Amputations"
"Joy"
"Harsh Realms"
"Anna is a Stool Pigeon"
"Wagon Wheel"
"Jordan's First Choice"
"Tonight We're Gonna Give It 35%"
(Tom and Kevin)
"Walking is Still Honest"
"What We Worked For"
"Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious..."
"I Still Love You Julie"
"Shit Stroll"
"Impact"
"Ya'll Don't Wanna Step To Dis"
"Burn"
"We Did It All for Don"
"8 Full Hours of Sleep"
"Sink, Florida, Sink"

Douchefest 08!

2008-11-14T01:18:00.003-05:00

Ok the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but its still a fairly accurate description of the crowd at Rise Against last night. I went primarily to see Gaslight Anthem and Alkaline Trio, and both delivered.

I was bouncing with excitement for the 30min wait between my arrival at the Fillmore and when Gaslight took the stage. I told everyone around me who cared to listen about how the opening band was going to to trump every other band they would see tonight From the second they busted into "Great Expectations," I could tell that I was one of a handful of Gaslight fans in the audience. From what I could see, there was only one other dude in the audience singing along (I happened to run into him again while boarding the bus back to Boulder, funnily enough) but I didn't fucking care. I sang as loud as I could, and I'm sure everyone around me was getting annoyed. The set was '59 Sound heavy, as expected, but I went to the show so I could hear just that. Still wish they would have played "Drive" though. It was weird hearing them over such a loud system, as opposed to say, Asbury Lanes' or the Marquis Theater's. It seemed they won a good portion of the crowd over, and hopefully they hooked the Rise crowd enough for them to buy merch. I wasn't expecting to buy anything, but I couldn't pass up on the shirt that was a mockup of the Asbury Lanes' sign.

Great Expectations
The Patient Ferris Wheel
The '59 Sound
We Came to Dance
Old White Lincoln
Wherefore Art Thou, Elvis
Angry Johnny and the Radio
The Backseat
(this may be out of order in a couple places)

I used to really like Thrice back in the day, but I stopped listening to them after The Artist in the Ambulance. The opened their set with two songs from that album ("Hoods on Peregrine" and "Melting Point of Wax") and then proceeded to bore the shit out of me for the rest of their set. Although the cover of Helter Skelter was pretty cool...

Alkaline Trio played a phenomenal set filled primarily with oldies, but I wish they could have played longer. Matt Skiba's new look is a bit weird, but whatever, they fucking played "Cringe!" The pinnacle of the night was when they brought out Brian from Gaslight, and played a fantastic cover of "Astro Zombies" Goddamn that was amazing. Not too many Misfits fans in the house though...

Private Eye
Calling All Skeletons
I Lied My Face Off
I Found Away
In Vein
Emma
Cringe
Sadie
Goodbye Forever
Astro Zombies

I'll give it Rise Against, their recent material may kinda suck, but they still know how to put on a good fucking show. The amount of lighting they have seems to grow exponentially every show, and it adds a lot, to say the least. I stayed towards the middle of the crowd, near the pit, because I didn't feel like getting crushed while listening to mediocre new material. I had to leave early to go write a paper on Gandhi, but the set was surprisingly good despite a couple songs. As I made my way to the door, Tim started talking about the crowd not knowing their first album, and as their guitarist nonchalantly played a chord in the backround, I said audibly "no fucking way." My suspicions were correct, and they went into "Everchanging." I was on a tight schedule to catch the bus, but I couldn't miss this song. Thankfully I made the bus (with only seconds to spare) and got back to Boulder, rubbed the Misfits cover in my roommate's face, and finished my crappy essay about non-violence.

New Song (I think its the first track off the new album)
Give It All
State of the Union
New Song
Ready to Fall
Re-Education (Through Labor)
Chamber the Cartridge
Everchanging

I wish I knew what else they played...

and to top it off, I found the greatest news ever

http://brooklyndiy.blogspot.com/2008/11/jerk-house-110808.html

Blake Schwarzenbach is back and ready to unleash his musical fury on the world once again. (and with Aaron Cometbus none the less!)

I Remember Halloween...

2008-11-04T00:49:00.005-05:00

...or most of it.

This past weekend was awesomely fun, minus the loss of the Descendents' Frank Navetta (RIP my friend). The Masters of Suspicion and I teamed forces (and its looking to be a permanent team) to play Misfits covers all night at two locations

First show was the Bulldog Bar on E. Colfax in Denver. We went there not knowing what to expect, but knew not to expect much. We were right. The staff were incredibly nice and accommodating, despite their bar not being much of a music venue. For starters, the stage was about 3 feet deep and 15 wide. You try fitting 4 band members and gear, and still have room to breath in that cramped space. We also had trouble setting up their PA system (shouldn't they have set that up before any of the bands arrived?), and then found that the bar's only mic didn't work. Thankfully we brought one of ours as a back up. With the regulars looking awkwardly at us, and our 10 or so fans (my roommate, drummer's girlfriend, my parents and 4-5 of their friends, and one Misfits fanguy who was actually pretty cool) cheering on, we busted into our set with Halloween. We made best with what we had, I had a hard time singing with the loose mic rotating away from my mouth, and trying to backup vocals was near impossible. We had a ton of fun, and even our screwups weren't so bad. We finished in about 30-40 minutes, packed up as the next band was arriving, and drove back to Boulder

Our good electronica friends/neighbors RNGDS had just finished setting up when we arrived. Much to the enjoyment of all, they had built floor lighting boxes complete with flashing colors, strobe lights, and a smoke machine. Awesome. They were substantially less drunk than last time, and had brought us all a much better PA, and played well, even being dressed like Sunny and Cher. Dance parties are always fun at the Soulquarium.

After a long breakdown, we got our gear in the basement as quickly as possible, soundchecked and were ready to go. It was incredible. The whole basement was alive and energized, and everyone nearly died of heat exhaustion. I don't even think we screwed up more than twice, and it wasn't even noticeable. We were all much more comfortable in a basement surrounded by friends and people who enjoy the music, and also having, you know, room, and uhh, three microphones. I was jumping all over the place, and I'm surprised I didn't give my self a concussion from the ceiling. Especially considering how much mead I drank. Singalongs and dancing were abound, and I nearly got knocked over by my friend dressed as a giant vagina (filled with teeth none the less)!

Here was our set:

Halloween
Where Eagles Dare
We Are 138
Skulls
Night of the Living Dead
Hybrid Moments
Astro Zombies
London Dungeon
Teenagers From Mars
Some Kinda Hate
She
I Turned Into A Martian
Horror Business
Violent World
Bullet
Braineaters
Last Caress
Braineaters + Astro Zombies (Reprise, haha)

After we finished, a DJ friend of RNGDS "spinned" some tunes the rest of the night in the basement. One of my friends asked if I was going to play some Jack's Smirking Revenge, and I agreed after some more mead and a smoke. With what voice I had left, I went through a few new songs for a few friends and my bandmates outside. That was pretty fun as well. I guess I passed out at some point, and woke up confused in my clothes, and my Flava Flav clock annoying the shit out of me.

The next day I had work, which was relatively exhausting, followed by painting signs for my Amnesty Int'l group, and then another party, after which I walked home at 3am. Alright time for some pics! I'm sure more will surface, and I'll post those at some point too if I find them worthy. More will probably be on the Masters of Suspicion myspace eventually.

It looks like half of the images are getting cut off, so you'll have to click on them to see the full

OH! one more thing. I acquired a copy of the entire Denver Revival Tour audio, and I uploaded it on Mininova. So go forth and download!

The Classical Arrangement

2008-10-30T01:07:00.004-04:00

I've heard the things you've spoken
The conviction in your eyes
I believe that you believe them
But I can't empathize
You wanna live life your way
And not let others do the same
The world turns to a desert while you pray for rain

I'm glad you found your answers
In your parents' fairy tales
Spin around in circles with no wind to push the sails
Mythology and magic, religion's all the same
The world turns to a desert while you pray for rain

And I have faith, I have faith in me
Faith in things that I can see
And I have learned some things about devotion
Stop judging me and I won't judge you
We're all looking for our own truth
And we are only tiny droplets in the ocean
Drops in the ocean

So I got Dillinger Four's new LP in the mail the other day. I actually got about 8 LPs in a 2 day span from friday-saturday, which is always fun. I haven't even had the time to listen to all the awesome new music I got, (Fucked Up, Two Cow Garage, Weakerthans, Lagrecia, Chuck Ragan/Austin Lucus (more on those two later!), Ghost Mice/Andrew Jackson Jihad, Mischief Brew!!!) but back to D4. Honestly, this album is stronger lyrically than it is musically. Musically its a pretty standard D4 album, lots of gruff midwestern pop-punk, but less hardcore sprinklings than their first two full lengths. So its a pretty solid "progression" from Situationist Comedy. But this album boasts some pretty strong lyrics which is what puts it in the top 10 albums of the year for me (right now its #6 on my preliminary list). The above example is one of my favorite songs on the album. Its incredibly minimalist instrument for the majority of the song puts the emphasic on the lyrics, a scathing attack on religion, a theme that pops up previously on (what I consider) the album's best song ("Ode to the Great American Snake Oil Distributor"). Further standouts are "Fruity Pebbles," a Paddy sung ode to a fallen friend, the opening track "Jingle for the Product" (I'm a sucker for whoa-ohs), and the closing track, "clown cars on cinderblocks" whose lyrics I feel such an emotional connection to, I'm gonna post them, and you can't do anything about it!

December drags on
It's thirty-one days too long
This silence is killing me
I fear it when I'm tryin' to sleep

It's been one thing then another
Taking all the strength that I can muster
Not to pull the plug
When did I run out of luck?

Watching for the double-cross
I always knew I wouldn't escape without a scratch
Felt my feet on solid ground
Until I saw those fingers
Your fingers
Were crossed behind your back

Drown the pain with cheap champagne
And wake me when it's time to go
I'm far to faded to celebrate it
This clock is moving way too slow
One more year like this one
I could never make it on my own

I smoked my last cigarette
I emptied any bottle that dared cross my path
Lying in this spinning room
I contemplate the remnants of my life
And curse away the past

Drown the pain with cheap champagne
And wake me when it's time to go
I'm far to faded to celebrate it
This clock is moving way too slow
One more year like this one
I could never make it on my own

I'd offer up a sacrifice
If I thought it would do any good this time
I recognize the pain I've caused
But I can not pay these crimes
I'm not sure I expect to be here New Year's Day

word.

In other news I totally didn't have the time over the weekend to make a post regarding the complete and utter awesomeness that was The Revival Tour. I went down to the good ol' Marquis Theater on Thursday by myself (as usual) and it was on the most fun shows I've been in a while. It was also nice to be up front and watch the music without fear of being crushed. Its been a while since i've been to a non-punk show. The show started at around 8 with all of the members currently on the tour (Chuck Ragan, Ben Nichols, Tim Barry, Austin Lucas, and Jon Snodgrass) playing a few songs together before splitting off an allowing each member to play individually before everyone coming back together at the end. Of course there was contributions between a few of the members at times (especially Chuck and Austin) and that added to the overall brotherly comraderie feel to the tour. Austin Lucas looks like like the last person you'd expect to be playing traditional folk/country, but the former crustie played some amazing tunes from his forthcoming album on Suburban Home (and at times yelling at Virgil, who runs the label and its sister Vinyl Collective, to clap along) as well as his split with Chuck.

Jon Snodgrass played next, and also played considerably well, and had a sizeable amount of fans in the audience, due to Drag the River being from Colorado and all. I really need to check out more of their music...Tim Barry, who was is always a treat came up next with his simple songs (with simple boring chords to quote him) infected with Richmond, beer, and traveling. He has a penchant for talking alot though, which is perfectly fine, it adds more personality to the performance. And Tim is certainly a man with a lot of personality. He briefly mentioned the Iraq Veterans Against the War, who had a table in the back, and how amazing and important they are in general. The veterans there even joined him on stage for "South Hill", and that was pretty cool. Ben Nichols of Lucero (whose album Nobody's Darlings is goddamn amazing), who looks pretty damn funny with a full beard, did his best to get through his set, despite how visibly drunk he was (and that only intensified over the night, haha).

Chuck Ragan came out (by came out I mean got up off of the box he was sitting on on the side of the stage most of the night) and went straight into his passionate folk songs from his debut full length, some from his Austin Lucas split, and even a Hot Water Music song (God Deciding!) and some folk standards. He played the longest of the night, since he was technically the "headliner" and ring leader of the whole tour. After he finished his "solo" set, he was joined by the rest of the tour members for a few more group songs. I began to get antsy, as I had to catch the 12:06am bus back to Boulder, and time was getting short. However as that time approached, they still weren't finished, and it was too much fun to leave. I made a good decision, and it was totally worth watching that extra 15 minutes of show in exchange for 45 minutes in the bus station.

Finally, the Masters of Suspicion super awesome Misfits cover show is shaping up pretty good. We have about 17-18 songs down, and a couple more that are rougher than the rest that we probably won't play. In addition to the Soulquarium basement party show, we will also be playing at the Bulldog Bar in Denver right before. So that will be interesting to say the least. Hopefully we can get a good turnout. Cause honestly, who doesn't love getting drunk and playing/listening to the Misfits? I sure do!

Word.

We Found Our Own Reasons To Sing

2008-10-22T02:45:00.004-04:00

I nearly died on the highway driving fast through the rain. I was determined to get there as early as possible and get just left of center at the front of the stage. to hell with the wait. I struck up a conversation with some people from Parker about how shitty the barricade being there was, and then we talked about previous shows.

Future of the Left started at 8pm sharp. Their post-punk/indie style kind of bored me for most of their set, but there were a couple songs that got me nodding. Their bass was way to fucking loud, it drowned out the guitar and the singing. and I happened to be right in front of his monitor. Their last song was my favorite of their set, even more so when their bassist climbed over the barricade (and myself) played in the middle of the impromptu pit, and the proceded to pull himself up (with some help from the audience) into the balcony and play up there. It was astounding.

Before Ted Leo + Pharmacists began their dance friendly set, I was tapped on the shoulder by a girl who recognized me from the Streetlight Manifesto show that I went to on my birthday the week prior. We struck up a conversation, and I turned out she and her friend had come to the Gothic by the way of bus from Boulder. I told them I avoided coming to Englewood via bus like the plague, and offered them a ride back to Boulder after the show. I just couldn't let them wait for the bus in the cold following the show, like I had done so many times before. Ted Leo and company (his pharmaceutical company of course) went through a great set, even though they didn't seem to have that many fans. I shook around like a epilleptic through every song. I only recognized a few, and even less by name. "Where Have All The Rude Boys Gone" and some songs from Shake the Sheets were the highlights.

I began to get anxious as they began setting up their gear. The last two times I had seen them were lackluster and dissappointing to say the least. But I still had hope, despite what some of my friends asserted. I knew they still had it in them to pump out a great show. My nose even miraculously cleared up, no longer impeding my singing ability in anticipation for the main event. Their roadies had a problem with one of the amps creating some godawful feedback, and once that was sorted out and everything was soundchecked.

Under red light, they grabbed their instruments and busted straight into "Cliche Guevara" and at that moment I knew the night was going to be amazing. They followed up with 3 songs from New Wave, including the worst song they've ever written. However the worst was over. They followed up with 4 songs in a row from Reinventing Axl Rose, and in that span, I almost lost my voice and passed out from sheer excitement. They were doing what they do best: not stop. They just pound through their set to fit as many songs in as possible, and keep the energy going at a maximum. As Tom strummed the opening notes to Miami, a song I hadn't seen them play in years, that excitement only grew. I took a break from singing for the next song, rocked out like a maniac for "Americans Abroad,"and then took another break during Borne On the FM Waves of the Heart. Good thing as the next song was the not often heard "TSR." following that short yet triumphant burst, they closed their "official" set with some less energetic tunes, but included "Pretty Girls" which I've never seen them play ever.

They took a long break before their encore, and Tom came out alone and played a song from his "solo" album, entitled "Only Cowards Sing at Night." With its chorus of "come back home johnny, come back home from Vietnam" its a clear jab at the McCain Train (wreck). What happened next caused me to audibly yell "oh my fucking god!" as they started playing "The Disco Before the Breakdown." The only surprise encore song that has topped that was when they played "What We Worked For" in Boulder last year. They closed the night out right with two of the greatest sing alongs they have written: "Sink, Florida, Sink" and "We Laugh at Danger (And Break All The Rules)." sadly, no one took the iniative to bum rush the stage as is typically appropriate, but it didn't matter. I got Andrew to hand me the setlist, I made my way to the merch booth, found my new acquaintences and flew back to boulder to write this.

Fuck the haters. This band means the world to me.

Cliche Guevara
New Wave
White People For Peace
Stop!
Pints of Guinness Make You Strong
Reinventing Axl Rose
Those Anarcho Punks Are Mysterious
Walking Is Still Honest
Miami
From Her Lips to God's Ear (The Energizer)
Americans Abroad
Borne On The FM Waves of the Heart
TSR (This Shit Rules)
Pretty Girls (The Mover)
Don't Lose Touch
Thrash Unreal
--------------
Only Cowards Sing At Night
The Disco Before the Breakdown
Sink, Florida, Sink
We Laugh At Danger (And Break All the Rules)

In Defense of Denver

2008-10-10T14:23:00.003-04:00

Dispatch from the front:

So I went and saw Street Dogs last night. surprisingly this was the first time i've ever actually seen them headline and not open. So that was pretty cool I guess. I got to the Marquis right before locals Frontside Five started the night off right. I see them pretty regularly opening for other bands, and every time they seem to get better. However, I was surprised to see that they're singer was not present, and their two guitarist had taken over lead vocal duty. Even more surprising was when their singer actually came up to sing for one song ("Drinkin' Until Dawn"), but then left right after. I don't quite understand what the deal is, but whatever, good times. Especially the Minor Threat and Naked Raygun covers! ("I Don't Wanna Hear It" and "Rat Patrol" respectively). Their covers set the stage for the night, as every single band would at least cover 1 song.

Flatfoot 56 came up next, and I had never heard anything about them except that they were kind of like Chicago's Dropkick Murphy's, in the same way that The Tossers are Chicago's Flogging Molly. Armed with distorted guitars, drums, a mandolin, and bagpipes, they kept the energy in the room at a high their whole set. Although their "frontman" kinda annoyed me with his, shall we say, overt macho-ness. They played some good tunes, but kinda seemed like dicks. Maybe just their main guitarist/singer. Whatever. In addition to their mid-set Cro-Mags cover, they ended their set with "Amazing Grace," but not after first making the room split, and run at each other like punk Braveheart.

fuck you Time Again, and fuck your Pennywise cover.

Hooray for Street Dogs! They wasted no time coming out after everything was set up, unlike most headlining bands, and ripped right into "Mean Fist," the first track off of their new album. The kept the pace going with a great mix of new, standard, and old school. The ongoing joke between my friends and I is that the Street Dogs always play the same set everytime we see them. With a new album, this show broke tradition with a healthy amount of songs from State of Grace. and they didn't close with "Fighter!" crazy right? I know! Mike was charismatic and talkative as always, dedicating songs to fallen friends and fallen soldiers, and lauding the "unity pit" that was going nonstop. At one point Mike stated something about them "being a band since 2003" and I looked at the banner behind him, and it stated "Street Dogs est. 2002." Nice. I almost considered not going to this show because I figured I wouldn't be missing much, plus Masters of Suspicion and I need to practice the Misfits (little more on that later). However, I think I made the right decision, goddamn I love Street Dogs. I even got to get on stage and sing "Borstal (Boston) Breakout!"

I grabbed the setlist, and its the most detailed one I've ever seen. Not only did the put all the details for the show (venue, openers, date, etc), they put the tuning for every song next to the title.

Meanfist
Guns
Not Without A Purpose
Kevin J O'Toole
--------------------
In Defense of Dorchester
Back to the World
Drink Tonight
------------------
Two Angry Kids
----------------
Final Transmission
Tobe's Got A Drinking Problem
Katie Bar the Door
General's Boombox
----------------------
Justifiable Fisticuffs (on the set list marked as "audible old school" as they took requests, haha)
Rise Above (Black Flag)
Fatty
-------------
(Encore)
Free
Savin Hill
Borstal (Boston) Breakout (Sham 69)

In other news, The Masters of Suspicion, my roommate, and I will be covering The Misfits all night at our Halloween party, so that will be pretty fucking sweet. There was also talk of covering other bands as well, but we will see how practice goes (once we get going of course). I'll post audio from their most recent show at the Buffalo Rose at the bottom.

O Pioneers!!! new album, Neon Creeps, leaked, and its at the top of the list for albums of the year for sure. I have a copy (hopefully) in the mail system somewhere for me...

The Masters of Suspicion
Sloppy Seconds: Live 10/2/08 at The Buffalo Rose, Golden CO
1. Kenny G Experience
2. Alchoholocaust
3. No Scrubs
4. Stool Pigeon
5. Intervention
6. Give My Love to Rose
7. 1000 More Fools
8. Fistfuck
9. Larry Walker
10. Uncle Benny
11. Heaven Is A Place On Earth
12. Fisticuffs
13. Lager Lullaby
14. Fools and Kings
15. Gunslinger

(Goddamn.)

2008-09-30T19:34:00.000-04:00

Dear mother,
This is just survival.
Cannot promise your children everything,
But you would lie so they can sleep tonight.
Defeat tasted nothing like you said.
Still 22 days left till the end of the world.
My legacy was making you a man
For a justice I could not change.
This is one voice not to forget;
"Fight every fight like you can win;
An iron fisted champion,
An iron willed fuck up."

Can anybody tell me why God won't speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you're on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven't given up on me.

Dear shithead,
This isn't happening;
The sky is really falling,
The paint's all made of lead,
There's asbestos in the walls,
Hell's coming to rip off the doors
To your priveleged heaven.
Do you want to love and feel it?
You can look but you can't taste it.
You can reach but you'll never have it.
We are untouchable;
Untouchable is something to be.

Can anybody tell me why God won't speak to me?
Why Jesus never called on me to part the fucking seas?
Why death is easier than living?
You can be almost anything
When you're on your fucking knees.
Not today,
Not my son,
Not my family,
Not while walking is still honest,
And you haven't given up on me,
And you haven't given up on me,
And you haven't forgotten me...

(this song rips out my heart).

Old Time Hockey

2008-09-27T15:05:00.000-04:00

RIP

100 Years of War

2008-09-24T02:24:00.002-04:00

100 Years Of War

Praise Al Gore, the Wait is Over

2008-09-15T12:12:00.005-04:00

God bless Al Gore indeed.

C I V I L W A R is fantastic.

and NN2S is back!

Fuck Fuck Fuck

2008-09-11T13:30:00.003-04:00

New Mexican Disaster Squad broke up today

I'm not terribly surprised, but it still bums me out.

The Ergs! broke up a couple days ago as well, which is also pretty lame.

fuck.

well at least the new Gatorface and Virgins records come out this fall!

I Have My Books

2008-09-09T21:34:00.004-04:00

Well I'm not gonna call you right
cuz that'd feel too much like failure
oh and i'm not one for begging
naw naw naw naw
I am an island
I won't admit that I actually need
naw I'm fine with just me
insist constantly
and I always repeat
I always repeat
and the other night
when I was trying to get
underneath her clothes
she said, Brett, don't we already know
where all this will go
yeah tomorrow
oh you'll just try to get rid of me
and i had to agree
yeah see there's something in that morning sun
oh it just floods through the windows
and fills
would a night
would a night
would a night
would a night
would a night seem so empty
so i'm just gonna
leave that phone be
I'll stay all alone
I'll stray replete
and I'll always
I'll always
I'll always
I'll always
I'll always
I'll always
I'll always

I got The Riot Before's new cd today. Damn its good. I remember them playing this song live at Asbury Lanes, and I got chills. This album is really, really, really good. I'll elaborate later on, after I give it proper listening treatment.

I Hate This Place, But I Love These Chords

2008-09-08T15:32:00.014-04:00

What an awesome fucking weekend. And by weekend I mean from Thursday to Sunday. And by awesome I mean just those two days. Friday and Saturday were pretty fucking boring. Actually Friday wasn't too bad, I played risk with a couple friends, and I fucking love Risk. anyways:

Thursday:

O Pioneers!!! was a smashing success. We had a great turnout, the basement was packed, and the all the bands were fucking awesome. I look foward to both O Pioneers!!! new album coming out this month (hopefully) and 10-4 Eleanor's new whatever they are recording this month. Seriously go check out 10-4 Eleanor, they have that whole gruff midwestern melodic punk thing that everyone is into (myself included). So I guess that means they're orgcore. They brought a bunch of friends down from Fort Collins, who got the (basement) floor moving during their set. They were sort of on a mini-tour with OP!!!, as they were playing all three Colorado dates (Ft. Collins, Boulder, CO Springs), which is pretty cool for them. Masters of Suspicion played first, and it was one of their best performances yet, although I wish they would bring some new songs to the table.

After 10-4's set, everyone went upstairs as OP!!! began setting up. I was outside for a while talking to people, and as I heard noise drifting upstairs faintly from the basement, I figured the band was just doing sound check. After a couple minutes, I decided to head down to see how set-up was going, only to realize they had started their set already! I only missed a couple songs, but the rest of the set was fucking awesome, as I expected. It was a lot of new material, because of their recently acquired bassist, who hadn't learned all of the songs yet. From what I heard, the new album will destroy (again, as I expected). Eric announced the crowd that Aaron had been a douche all day, and promised a t-shirt and a CD for the first person to punch him in the balls. There was one attempt by 10-4's guitarist, but according to Eric, it "wasn't hard enough." After waiting a few minutes, I made my way to the bathroom, which was behind the band. It was there I saw my opening, and Aaron immediately keeled over in pain. It was hilarious, but I still kinda felt bad. Nobody likes getting punched in the balls. I smoked a bowl with him and and a couple others, and everything was cool. Speaking of which, the band had awesome fucking beer coozies that had "O Pioneers!!!" on one side, and "Drink More Weed" on the other. After OP!!! finished, everyone hung out for a few more hours, chatted, played ukele, got more drunk and high, and all the other usual post-show activities. It seems like house shows at "The Soulquarium/The Soulq/The Sulk" are becoming a regular occurance, and I'm ecstatic to be one of the few places in Boulder that actually has punk bands

Fuck the Fox.

Sunday:

Hot Water Music! Words cannot express how excited I was for this show, as they were one of the bands that broke up before I was able to see them live. I caught the bus down to Denver, and walking out of the bus I ran into two friends, and then walking out of the station I ran into a dude who was at my house for the O Pioneers!!! show, and two of his friends. We took the next bus to The Gothic Theater, which is a bitch and half to get to, especially on Sunday, and this trip was no different than my last attempt to go to a show there (Gogol Bordello, in the middle of December, finally arrived, and the show was sold out). Finally got there about 8, as the opening band, Mustangs and Madras, was playing. I saw them previously, opening for Planes Mistaken for Stars' final show, and my opinion on them hasn't changed. They were kinda boring, but the baritone sax their frontman played was interesting, if anything. Only Thunder came up next, and were much more enjoyable, and had a decent amount of fans in the crowd. It was really hard to hear their full sound, being directly in front of their lead guitarist the whole time, and that's more or less all I heard.

I stayed put, and luckily I was right in front of Chuck Ragan when Hot Water Music took the stage. Everything about their set was amazing. The venue wasn't too packed, there were no douchebags (very key), the song selection was awesome (a lot from No Division and Forever and Counting), and everyone in the band had a big smile on their face the entire time. You could tell they love doing what they do, and I hope this realization on their part will keep them off their hiatus. As much as I love Chuck Ragan's solo work, and enjoy The Draf t, they just don't compare to the raw intensity and passion of Hot Water Music. When Jason's bass malfunctioned, right when he was supposed to have a solo (I believe during "Our Own Way", George just kept drumming, and Chuck and Chris joked back and forth, and as I have come to expect, Chris was drunk. Not so much as last time I saw him with The Draft, but noticeably so. When the bass problems were sorted out, they kicked right back into it. I managed to snag the set list and shake Chuck Ragan's hand when they finished, and that was worth more than any t-shirt.

Set:
A Flight and A Crash
Wayfarer
Rooftops
--------------
Trusty Chords
Giver
Paper Thin
--------------
Better Sense
Jack of All Trades
Choked and Separated
----------------------
All Heads Down
Moonpies for Misfits
The Sense
---------------------
Just Don't Say You Lost It
Swinger
Hard to Know
-------------------------
Our Own Way
Remedy
Manual
------------------------
(Encore)
At the End of A Gun
Alachua
Turnstile

Thank you Hot Water Music, for allowing me to no longer hate the Gothic Theater

oh, and for making awesome music, that too.

I Like May Day Better

2008-09-01T16:00:00.003-04:00

I'm not a big AFL fan (although the CIO used to be awesome in the 1930s), but I enjoy any day off I can get. Happy Labor Day!

Also:

If you live in/near/around Denver/Boulder, be there, or be square!

Alex Visits Civic Center Park And Escapes Unscathed

2008-08-29T02:17:00.005-04:00

The DNC came and went, as did the protests. Sadly, the numbers were far lower then I, the organizers, and the police expected. Sunday was an amazing, euphoric day, and Monday began that way until close to 100 protesters were peppersprayed, shot at, and beaten back by police that night. Tuesday passed with little action, much to my group and I's dismay. Wednesday proved to be better with a fantastic march led by the Iraq Veterans Against the War after the Rage Against the Machine concert (which I did not attend). Thursday had some actions, but went by relatively uneventfully. As I expected, the media went into an orgy of Obama praise, complete with Martin Luther King Jr. comparisons, which I find insulting to the latter's legacy. Obama is nothing but another politician, nothing more. Words like "hope" and "change" have been stripped of any meaning and have been turned into another marketing slogan for vast presidential merchandising. I can't even begin to count the number of what appeared to be designer Obama apparel that I saw while waltzing down 16th Street Mall. This man isn't just some hip fad that everyone can just get over come November 5th. He more likely than not will be the guy running our country for the next 4-8 years. Its not something to take lightly.

Well since the theme of the DNC protests was "Re-create 68," and Phil Ochs attended the infamous protests in Chicago 1968, here is disc 2 of Farewells and Fantasies! Enjoy!

Phil Ochs
Farewells and Fantasies (Disc 2)
1. The War Is Over
2. I Ain't Marching Anymore (Electric)
3. White Boots Marching In Yellow Land
4. Is There Anybody Here?
5. Santo Domingo
6. Song of a Soldier (Demo)
7. Cops of the World
8. Bracero
9. Canons of Christianity
10. I Kill Therefore I Am
11. Confession (Demo)
12. William Butler Yeats Visits Lincoln Park An Escapes Unscathed
13. A Toast to Those Who Are Gone
14. Changes
15. The Doll House
16. When In Rome

So It Begins

2008-08-25T16:19:00.001-04:00

Video

Suspicioncore!

2008-08-23T03:35:00.003-04:00

I know I said I would upload the other two discs of Phil Ochs, but those will have to wait.

Instead, two things.

First: The demo for Jack's Smirking Revenge, entitled "Bitter Songs For Bitter People" is now up on my last.fm page for both streaming and download. So go check it out! Mind you, the songs were recorded on my computer with a crappy microphone, so they are a bit subpar sound quality. Oh well, I'm still proud I managed to record em all.

Second: My friends' band The Masters of Suspicion, who played our house again last night, were kind enough to give me a demo/live bootleg of their own. It is their only recorded output that I know so far. So that is up for download right here:

The Masters of Suspicion
Live 7/17/08 at Buffalo Rose, Golden CO
1. Fistfuck
2. Heaven Is A Place On Earth (Belinda Carlisle)
3. Intervention
4. Stool Pigeon
5. Lager Lullaby
6. 1000 More Fools (Bad Religion)
7. Kenny G Experience
8. Uncle Benny
9. Larry Walker
10. Alcoholocaust
11. No Scrubs (TLC)
12. Fools and Kings
13. (Unknown)
14. Gunslinger

My Have the Years of Our Youth Passed On

2008-08-20T21:19:00.006-04:00

Big post today, mostly because its been a great week, after a lackluster, rainy, cold weekend, full of dead musicians.

I knew it was gonna be a good day when I received my copy of The '59 Sound in the mail on Monday, and I have listened to it at least twice a day since. Seriously, I don't have a doubt in my mind that this will be record of the year, no matter what the mainstream outlets say. The only band that could possibly come close is The Riot Before, whose album Fists Buried In Pockets comes out in September. I have not felt such an emotional connection to an album in a long time, and it feels wonderful. Every song just spills passion out of my speakers and into my ears, and even the only semi-dud on the album ("Even Cowgirls Get the Blues") is only disliked for personal reasons (I hate Tom Petty). From the brilliant opener "Great Expectations" to the equally great title track, with its heartfelt lyrics about a friend dying in a car crash, to the fantastic "The Patient Ferris Wheel" (which i referenced in a previous post), the album builds on the solid foundation of Sink or Swim, and furthers their Against Me! meets Hot Water Music meets Springsteen meets soul sound. Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Chris Wollard of HWM even sing backup vocals on "The Patient Ferris Wheel!" Much like its predecessor, this album is packed with homages to their influences, from Springsteen (all over the album, duh), Petty (see above, ug), Miles Davis (Miles Davis & The Cool), Buddy Holly, Bob Seger (Great Expectations, eh), and even Casablanca (Here's Looking At You, Kid). Seriously, go buy this album.

I woke up Tuesday morning to find the fantastic news that Dillinger Four's new album Civil War will be released on October 14! 5 minutes later, I was watching a hilarious video of Paddy from D4 and Ryan from Off With Their Heads getting drunk at The Fest V and lighting themselves and OWTH's merch money on fire with grain alcohol. Then it was a long, but fun day at work, but followed by hanging out with various friends at the house until the wee hours of the night. Following a conversation with a friend about how awesome Phil Ochs is, I am officially on a kick. Like my buddy said, its easy to get mad at Bob Dylan for getting so popular, because he overshadowed so many great folk musicians from the same time period, like Ochs (who tragically took his own life in 1976). I will post all 3 discs of the out of print boxset "Farewells and Fantasies" that provides a great introduction to Ochs, from his fiery and witty folk troubadorship, to his poppier, experimental side. Disc 1 is posted at the bottom.

Today I went on a trek to the record store and picked up the following:

Johnny Cash-At Folsom Prison and San Quentin (2xLP)!!!!!!
Johhny Cash-Bitter Tears (LP)
Bruce Springsteen-Greetings From Asbury Park, NJ (LP)
Bruce Springsteen-Born to Run (LP)
Phil Ochs-Pleasures of the Harbor (LP)
The Replacements-Let It Be (CD)

It should be self explanatory why those make me incredibly happy. The fact that I found the Johnny Cash albums nearly gave me an erection. Tomorrow is my roommate's 21st birthday, so we shall be getting drunk and merry, and The Masters of Suspicion will be playing.

Phil Ochs
Farewells and Fantasies (Disc 1)
1. What's That I Hear?
2. The Bells
3. Morning
4. Bound For Glory
5. Highwayman (Live)
6. Power and the Glory
7. That's What I Want to Hear
8. Links On the Chain
9. Love Me, I'm A Liberal (Live)
10. Too Many Martyrs
11. In the Heat of Summer
12. Here's to the State of Mississippi
13. I'm Going to Say It Now
14. One More Parade
15. Draft Dodger Rag
16. I Ain't Marching Anymore
17. We Seek No Wider War
18. Ringing of Revolution
19. When I'm Gone
20. Song of My Returning
21. There But For Fortune

Not another...

2008-08-17T03:42:00.001-04:00

seriously, awesome people need to stop dying.

and it needs to stop fucking raining

For real this time

2008-08-10T17:08:00.002-04:00

RIP

At Least We're Still Friends

2008-08-03T03:43:00.005-04:00

I finally saw Alkaline Trio live last night. For the past 5-6 years I have been constantly missing them every time they come to town, usually being in Colorado when they are in New Jersey, or vice versa. I couldn't be happier that they played at Cervantes rather than the Fillmore or the Ogden (or similar venues). I also couldn't be happier that American Steel opened for them (disregarding Sleeperhorse, who were boring as always), as they have become one of my favorite bands over the past year or so. They number of American Steel fans in the audience was really low, which I didn't really expect. There were only about 10 or less of us rocking out in the front, which annoyed the teenage girl fans of Trio, but I couldn't care less. American Steel played a Destroy Their Future-heavy set, which I expected and enjoyed, as that album destroys (pun intended). Rogue's March and Jagged Thoughts got two songs each, but I was just happy to hear "Loaded Gun." Despite their limited time, they played a solid set for their limited fans, warming everyone up for the Trio.

Sons of Avarice
Or, Don't You Remember?
Shrapnel
Razor Blades
Rainy Day
To The Sea
Smile On Me
Loaded Gun
Every New Morning
Love and Logic
Mean Streak

With the lights dimmed and the candles place atop the amps lit, Alkaline Trio took the stage to the usual screams, clapping, and shouting. Matt then wasted no time and went into the first song from Agony and Irony, "Calling All Skeletons." The final chords from the song had barely finished ringing when they began playing the opening riff to "Clavicle." From that moment, I knew it was going to be a great fucking show. That feeling was further cemented when they busted out "I Lied My Face Off" The Trio soldiered through their set, taking songs from all their albums, thankfully only taking 5 from Agony and Irony and 2 from Crimson. Thankfully of those 7 songs, only one of them sucked ass ("Love Love, Kiss Kiss"). Sadly, Goddamnit's only representation was "Clavicle." I honestly expected at least one or two more from the album, considering it was just reissued. The band pulled a few cheesy "band" moves, that is to say, replacing words in certain songs with "Colorado" or "Denver" ("Mercy Me" and "This Could Be Love"). I was kinda let down when Matt replaced "Night On Earth" with "Totalimmortal" in "Warbrain," but was still ecstatic they played it. After leaving the stage following "This Could Be Love," the chants for "Radio" began. After opening their encore with "For Your Lungs Only," the band gave the people what they wanted. Singing along in unison to the chorus with everyone in the room was one of the best feelings I've ever gotten at a concert. So Alkaline Trio, I forgive you for your lackluster past two albums, as long as you keep pumping out sets like this. The only way it could have been better was if I went to the Occult Roots tour in '06 (with Against Me!), or saw them in '98-'99

Calling All Skeletons
Clavicle (!!!)
I Lied My Face Off (!!!)
I Found Away
In Vein
Private Eye
Time to Waste
Blue Carolina
Warbrain (!!!!)
Goodbye Forever (!!!)
Emma
Armageddon
Mercy Me
Love Love Kiss Kiss
Crawl
Help Me
Bleeder (!!!)
This Could Be Love
------------------
For Your Lungs Only
Radio

punkrockneverstop

2008-08-01T01:34:00.006-04:00

I love The Measure [SA] for several reasons

1)They make awesome music (upbeat, folk-influenced punk)
2)They are from New Jersey (New Brunswick, Hub City Hardcore!)
3) They only release on vinyl, hence the [SA] which stands for strictly analog. (ok the released their first LP on CD eventually, but whatever)
4)Their singer Lauren has a great voice and sure is a cute one.
5) In continuation of point #3, their strictly analog-ness got me into actual record "collecting" Since they are still fairly unknown in wider punk circles, collecting all of the colors and variants of their records is pretty cheap and easy to do. I am only missing 3 colors of the Historical Fiction 7" (the one with Rosa Parks on the cover, and 1 color of the O Pioneers!!! split (the one with Vonnegut). They are still the only band I truly have a "collection" for
6) The fact that the theme for their records is putting people like Rosa Parks, Kurt Vonnegut, and Audry Hepburn on the cover. (Lauren does all the artwork)

Their debut album Historical Fiction (top left corner) is wonderful, lyrically and musically. The only drawback is their other guitarist/singer Mike, who is sloppy with vocal delivery, which kinda drags down otherwise good songs. But he has since left the band after the Means to An End 7" (red one in the bottom left corner with Humphrey Bogart on the cover). Other than his singing, I really like his songs lyrically, so its a shame he's leaving. But most likely, their next album will be a lot stronger. They have a collections LP, another split, and a new EP coming out, so I'm pretty excited for those.

So here is the Historical Fiction LP. If you like it, I highly recommend you buy it!

The Measure [SA]
Historical Fiction

1. Just Go
2. Key Ring
3. Little Things
4. Letters From the Earth
5. Ballad
6. Autonomously
7. We'll Always Have Asbury Park
8. Angell Street
9. So Much For That Vow
10. Media Free
11. Sleep
12. It's Me or the Marlboro Man
13. Desperation Song
14. Trainage

"Time's a locomotive that'll run you over anyway!"

Post to Fan the Flames of Discontent

2008-07-31T02:01:00.006-04:00

"I will hold your burning flag in my hand as I watch your empire fall."
-Coup D'Etat

So I'm currently listening to Refused's furious 1996 album, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent. Although it is no Shape of Punk to Come, its still awesome in its own right. Its a pure unadulterated radical Swedish hardcore blast that I picked up at a Borders of all places a couple years ago. I've been neglecting hardcore recently in favor of more mellow music, or at least poppier. What was I thinking? I fucking love this shit! This is modern hardcore the way it was meant to be played (see also Modern Life Is War and New Mexican Disaster Squad). In honor of crazy anarchist hardcore bands, here's a

Playlist to Tear It All Down To:
1. Refused-Coup D'Etat
2. Strike Anywhere-Amplify/Blaze
3. Paint It Black-The New Brutality
4. Western Addiction-Matrons of the Canals
5. The Suicide Machines-Your Silence
6. New Mexican Disaster Squad-Get the Bullet Out
7. Rise Against-Blood Red, White, and Blue
8. Please Inform the Captain This Is A Hijack-Defeat or Humiliate the United States of America
9. Crass-You're Already Dead
10. Anti-Pasti-No Government
11. Conflict-One Nation Under The Bomb/Blind Attack
12. Flux of Pink Indians-Some of Us Scream, Some of Us Shout
13. Oi Polloi-Resist the Atomic Menace
14. Aus Rotten- The System Works for Them
15. Discharge-Protest and Survive
16. Articles of Faith-What We Want Is Free
17. MDC-Corporate Deathburger
18. Born Against-Shroud
19. Bad Religion-Damned to Be Free
20. TSOL-Abolish Government/Silent Majority
21. Choking Victim-Fuck America
22. Morning Glory-The Whole World Is Watching
23. Dead Kennedys-Stars and Stripes of Corruption
24. Subhumans-Black and White (Live)

Download Link

"Remember the Day the Country Died"
-Subhumans

Pretty Pathetic

2008-07-29T18:06:00.003-04:00

You should have heard me sobbing
As I drove home that night
Got into bed and stayed there
For days I just laid there
Having been permanently changed
But we won't get into that now
Let's take it from the start

You should have seen me smiling
Like the world was mine
She used to call me baby
Softly, sometimes
But if I dwell on those days too long
I feel like my life is over
And that's no good
So let's move on

To the part where I begin to sense
Her distance
I panic and hold on tighter
But that makes it worse
How am I supposed to take it
When she said:

"This is something I'm going through,
It's got nothing to do with you"

I had a special evening all planned out
Desperately determined to reignite
Some spark between us
She had to feel something for me
A love as strong as ours
Doesn't just go away
You can't just turn it off
Unless she was lying all those times
But I don't think so
I really don't think so
The way she used to look at me
Made me a thousand feet high
The meaning of the word cool
Not the same geek
Who fumbled through his words that night
The ugliest night

I said some pretty awkward things
I got the feeling that she felt sorry for me
I should have seen it was hopeless and left it alone
But I had to go on embarrassing myself

"I miss what we had I need you so badly,
I miss what we had I need you so badly"

I must have sounded pretty pathetic, I know
That's why I don't blame her for what she said
But listen to me rambling
We don't know each other that well
But you're so easy to talk to
I feel like I can tell you almost anything
I hope I haven't put you off
I have a tendency to do that
Why don't I just be quiet?

how the hell did I forget about this band and this song?

I Don't Wanna Be A Pinhead No More

2008-07-28T01:57:00.006-04:00

I experienced my first (and most likely last) Pinhead Circus show last night. The late, great band decided to play a one-off reunion show at the Marquis Theater, and I thankfully, was already in Denver. I had only heard a few songs by them prior, but according to my friends, they were the greatest band to come from Colorado. Thankfully Rancid was playing in Denver as well that night, so it was mostly an older crowd, which worked out great for me. Seeing as the rest of my friends in attendance were over 21, I managed to score a bunch of free drinks, and so by the time Pinhead took the stage, I was in a good place. What I experienced was one of the funnest shows I've ever been to. The crowd wasn't full of douchebags, and thus, said douchebags didn't crowd the pit. It just really sucked that I had never gotten into the band before the show, which would have made the experience that much better. From what I heard, the set was great, full of raw and honest melodic punk rock, and according to my friends, it was probably one of the best sets they've heard them play. Every so often, the band would take a jab at Rancid and The Offspring (who were also playing a different show that night), and telling the crowd they were awesome for supporting their local assholes rather than millionaire gutter punks. So that was pretty funny.
After the show, we bummed around LoDo for a bit before heading home, and were nearly killed by a drunk driver on the highway. Thankfully we were unscathed except for a shattered headlight and increased adrenaline. I finally ended my night arriving home at 5am with the sun slowly creeping over the plains.

In other news, I finally saw The Dark Night today, and it totally fucking kicked ass.

God Isn't Dead, But I'll Get That Bastard Someday

2008-07-26T04:12:00.010-04:00

Time: 2:14am
State: Drunk (though slowly but surely sobering)

Its always interesting when you're told that your ex-girlfriend was a bitch to you and you deserve better and that you should open your heart and love God by two different people on the same day. The former was told to me about 4-5 hours ago by my roommate over a few beers with some friends and the latter was told to me by a complete stranger while I was attempting to exit the post office.
Since the latter is a slightly more interesting story, I'll refrain from going into details of the former. I had just finished mailing a package to the primary subject of the former, when the antagonist (?) of this story approached me while I was nonchalantly read the fliers on the wall near the exit door. He mentioned how fucked up it was that red bull was attempting to advertise that drinking it would improve studying ability. I agreed with him, hoping that the forecoming conversation wouldn't last longer than a minute or two, and I could continue my plans to ride to the library. The conversation instead lasted several minutes longer, and morphed into something I didn't expect. A discussion of my belief in an ultimate creator. The man asked me if I believed in God, and I told him what I told everyone who asks me the same question. I don't necessarily deny the existence of higher power/creator, but I certainly don't concretely believe in the existence of one. If God exists, awesome, but If he/she/it doesn't, well hopefully I live a fulfilling life. And I certainly don't subscribe to any religion.
He then began to tell a parallel story of how I should embrace God the same way an infant embraces its mother, despite not really knowing why it does. He went on for a few minutes, saying that even though I reject religion, I should wake up each morning and tell how God how much I love him/her/it despite not understanding him/her/it. Needless to say it was an interesting encounter, and all though I'm not going to do what he suggested, It certainly made me think. I've been approached by religious people before, and usually they try to convert me to their religion. Usually it's Mormonism. But this random guy managed to put resisting consumerism and embracing my supposed creator in the same conversation. It definitely kept me on my toes, even if I still think he's wrong.

In light of the conversations of failed love and faith in God, I'm listening to the awesome and under-appreciated Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains. Songs of drugs, drunkenness, depression, loneliness, anarchy, and being a bum all in one awesome 1-2 man package, depending. I wish I could write simple, honest, yet amazing songs as good as this. Here is everything that they/he have/has released that I "own."

The Anarchy Means I Hate You Demo
1. Only Two Of My Friends Are Actual People
2. Church Hymn for the Condemned
3. Fuck the Dictionary
4. DIY Orgasms
5. Below Good and Evil
6. I'm So Punk I Hate Punk
7. Put Arsenic In The Frosting Next Time
8. Untitled
9. PUNKROCKANARCHY

All Power to the Wingnuts!
1. "No Trespassing" Waltz
2. Spraypaint and Alleyways (Crackhouse Song)
3. Homebum Song

Love Songs for the Apocalypse
1. New Mexico Song
2. Church Hymn for the Condemned
3. Whiskey Is My Kind of Lullaby
4. Acid Song
5. Election Song
6. I Want Cancer for Christmas
7. Harmony Parking Lot Song
8. Untitled
9. DIY Orgasm

Caught In the Act of Not Being Awesome (live) (combined with Is Dead)
1. New Mexico Song
2. Put Arsenic In the Frosting Next Time
3. Harmony Parking Lot Song
4. Election Song
5. Acid Song
6. Church Hymn for the Condemned
7. Whiskey Is My Kind of Lullaby
8. DIY Orgasms

Is Dead!
1. Free As the Rent We Don't Pay
2. Sellout Song
3. Skaggy
4. Crackhouse Song
5. Tampa Bay Song
6. "No Trespassing" Waltz
7. Where is My Coffee (Where Is It?)

No Album
Fuck Cops
It's Not My Revolution Oi
Life Starts Now, Wait Give Me A Second
The Politics of Holy Shit I Just Cut Open My Hand On A Broken Bottle

Up the Punks Up The Punks Up The Punx

2008-07-21T18:59:00.012-04:00

So the Ghost Mice show in my basement last night went great. About 25-30 people tops, half of which I didn't meet until that night. I nervously debuted Jack's Smirking Revenge, and thankfully my friends and everyone else there, including the bands, were all really nice and supportive. The fact that Heather from Ghost Mice was sitting in front of me bobbing around brought a smile to face, not to mention the applause and cheers (jeers?) from everyone. I don't think I thanked anyone for that, and I left out some songs that I meant to play, I was so hot, sweaty and nervous that I completely forgot I had other songs to play. My favorite moment was when I got everyone to clap along to Nausea. I wish I at least recorded that song, I know someone who would have appreciated hearing it. Oh well here was my setlist at least:

Sounds Like A Good Album Title
After All, Who Needs Courage When You Have...A Gun?
I Never Once Saw God Playing Skeeball
Alright Alright, If It'll Make You Happy, I'll Overthrow Society
Nausea (Not the Band)
Boxcar (Jawbreaker)

Heathers started almost immediately and without warning, and everyone who hadn't heard them before (I only had heard their songs on myspace) were blown away by how fucking good they were. Great at harmonizing, write a good pop hook, and, to quote half of my friends, irresistibly cute. If I had they $5 , I would have gotten their cd, but I can always order it from Plan-It-X later on.

Ghost Mice started playing, after a short break so everyone could escape the hot basement for a bit. Since there were some people there who went to the Denver show the previous night, Chris promised that they would try not to play songs they already played. So we got treated to some songs they apparently don't typically play, plus two new songs (!). Despite having to constantly yell at two of my roommate's friends to shut up and not be assholes while the band was playing or trying to talk to the audience, everything went great, and everyone had a lot of fun.

Setlist: (out of order, and from what I can remember)

The Moon Will Rise
Monsters Get Slain
Sing Out
Lightning Bolt
Song For Tomorrow
Spain (?)
Boy Meets Girl
New Song 1
Gone Gone Gone
The Devil and My Family
Free Pizza For Life
Up The Punks
The Good Life

After packing up, and talking with anyone who wanted to talk, the bands, another dude whose name escapes me, and I went to Cosmo's to get pizza, and that was fun time, listening to Ellie and Louise's stories from Ireland, Chris and Hannah's stories from Gainesville and Bloomington, and trying to say Tomato in a myriad of different silly ways. I bid goodbye to everyone when were all going to bed, as they were leaving early in the morning for Kansas. Hannah said not to be a stranger anytime I was in Bloomington, and the girls said the same if I was ever in Dublin. Hopefully it won't be long till I see those wonderful people again. Also thanks to Hannah for leaving her breadsticks for me to eat for breakfast this morning

Self Checkout

2008-07-10T02:30:00.004-04:00

Sick of going out of my mind everytime I see
Somebody that looks like you, it's killing me
Because I think you're there for me
And when I realize your not, it's back to this mess
So please, take note, I'm going crazy
Did you get a chance to read the letter I sent to you?
Or did you throw it away cuz of everything I put you through?
I guess I understand
Just realized I'm looking for help from a friend
And you, you're the only one I can trust
I wanna tell you all about how I try so hard to keep it under track
I wanna tell you about the times I fuck up and wake up flat on my back
I wish I could call you to pick me up
I know its too much to ask
So I sit up and light a cigarette
And tell my self over and over again
It was all just a dream
And it's time to come clean
And it's time to move on
No matter how hard it seems
It was all just a dream

Off With Their Heads' new album went on sale today, and I managed to grab a secret tour edition (/200) from the No Idea distro page. I also was able to listen to it (like I am now) on punknews' stream. In addition to The '59 Sound, its a top contender for album of the year. Seriously, it fucking destroys. Its one of the albums that come into your life at the right time, and it never leaves, much like Hospitals did. Speaking of The Gaslight Anthem and vinyl, their new album also went on sale today, resulting in major shenanigans at both Vinyl Collective and Side One Dummy webstores, resulting in the latter being completely crippled. VC almost suffered the same fate, but thankfully only had a major slowdown. Despite the problems, I was able to get a hold of a White /500, after 30min of frustration. Huzzahs are in order!

Huzzah!

Other than that, I didn't really do much today other than play an unhealthy amount of GTA San Andreas. Since I can't take my anger out with a gun in real life for a myriad of obvious reasons, nor can I punch a cop off his motorcycle, I have to do it while playing a black dude in pseudo-los angeles. Which is fine with me. Also, I finally finished Johnny Cash's fantastic autobiography Cash.

Huzzah!

I think I'm gonna read me some On The Road next.

Alright, Alright, If It'll Make You Happy, I'll Overthrow Society

2008-07-08T04:59:00.003-04:00

sometimes things just fall into place in your head:

We talked dreams of
wheatpaste and spraypaint
tear gas and blockades
revolution™ and freedom™
and fiction
maybe the only place left
where can still find them
tattered pages in these books
centuries old to today
in lyrics, poems, and liner notes
that seem permanent
as spoken words drift away
like my belief in these slogans and catch phrases
the needle on my record has begun to skip
my mind begins to ache
is there any point in isms
or do they just hold us back
from realizing our true potential
or will we continue to lack
the common sense to realize
we've been trying to to cross
these broken bridges
to many times before

but no
we mustn't lose faith
in ourselves or each other
because that's the all
that has kept us going
from paris to catalonia
it all boils back to belief
in our dreams and conversations
whispered under bedsheets
and into tapped phones
and twice opened letters
or heart drenched paint
on stairwell walls
and bedroom ceilings
chords hastily strummed
words sloppily sung
to a room full
or to just one accomplice
I won't lose faith.

Another Side of Folking the System

2008-07-07T02:33:00.005-04:00

I ain't lookin' to compete with you,
Beat or cheat or mistreat you,
Simplify you, classify you,
Deny, defy or crucify you.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

No, and I ain't lookin' to fight with you,
Frighten you or uptighten you,
Drag you down or drain you down,
Chain you down or bring you down.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

I ain't lookin' to block you up
Shock or knock or lock you up,
Analyze you, categorize you,
Finalize you or advertise you.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

I don't want to straight-face you,
Race or chase you, track or trace you,
Or disgrace you or displace you,
Or define you or confine you.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

I don't want to meet your kin,
Make you spin or do you in,
Or select you or dissect you,
Or inspect you or reject you.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

I don't want to fake you out,
Take or shake or forsake you out,
I ain't lookin' for you to feel like me,
See like me or be like me.
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you.

what a great fucking album. found it at the record store used the other day. Listen to it now. I don't know why I stayed away from Bob Dylan for so long. I was really missing out. Now if I could only find "Freewheelin'" on vinyl...

Download Link

I've Never Felt So Strange Standing In The Jersey Rain

2008-07-04T13:42:00.011-04:00

Happy Freedom Day!

It's been a while since I've posted, mostly due to my own laziness. A lot has happened, I left New Jersey, George Carlin died the same day, and the next day my family began the big move across the country to San Diego. Its a weird feeling, losing your home for the past 5 years. Being a military brat, I always felt that I really had no home, being that we moved every 2-3 years. But for some reason, I'll always consider myself from NJ. I spent 3/4 of my high school years there, discovered music, love, and good friends there, and it was the longest my family has ever lived in a single place. I don't know how long my family will be in Southern California, but I know that I will never consider it my home, no matter how fun it will be to make Anchorman jokes. I've always considered Colorado my second home ever since my Dad moved out here however many years ago (7? 8?) , and now it is my only home. That itself is weird. I'm not very good at saying goodbyes, so for the most part, I avoided them. My last couple days in town, I tried my best not to see anybody (except Jules) not because I didn't want to see them, but because I didn't want to have to deal with the awkward "well goodbye, possibly for years, possibly not, see you around I guess" Leaving my best friend was also weird for a myriad of reasons, even we avoided a drawn out goodbye, despite knowing what lay before us (and not knowing at the same time). Hopefully she isn't lost forever.

Well In music related happenings, its been a good few weeks. The Gaslight Anthem's new album The '59 Sound leaked, and it is fantastic. Not quite Sink or Swim, but still fucking great. It has potential to be album of the year, but there are still some albums left to be released. At the least, it is in the top 3. I haven't felt this good about a band since I first heard As the Eternal Cowboy. I also picked up Street Dogs' new album State of Grace, which is already sounding like their best to date (it even has a kickass cover of The Skids' "Into The Valley". Although Fading American Dream is a tough act to follow. Warped Tour was interesting but fun. I got in for free, thanks to Amnesty International. I spent most of the day tabling under the Non-Profit tent, and got to meet a bunch of cool people from other organizations. Apparently we were sitting right next to the Iraq Veteran Against the War who wrote "Letter From Iraq" and we didn't even know it! I managed to catch the sets of 3/6 bands I wanted to see. The Bronx were the first band to play all day, and they kicked ass to say the least. During the last song, which if I remember right, was "History's Stranglers," their singer jumped into the pit and sang down there the entire time. I look foward to their two new albums coming out this year. It seems they were 100% serious about making a mariachi album. Awesome. Street Dogs also played a kick ass set full of new material, and Cortie ended up getting punched in the ear, and even today it looks purple. The last band we saw was the mighty Against Me! at 3:00. The song choice was kinda "meh" (mostly due to closing with "Thrash Unreal", weird right?) but I still had a ton of fun, and it was cool to see "Piss and Vinegar" live. I nearly died of heat exhaustion from going crazy during "Walking Is Still Honest" Despite the mostly lackluster choice, the band themselves played in top form, despite being interrupted by a fight/douchebag of some kind in the middle of "New Wave"

I also went on a CD re-organization rampage, fueled by the sounds of Billy Bragg and The Weakerthans (Bob Dylan came too), and it was a resounding success. Nobody cares but me!

Well that's all for now, enjoy the traditional freedom tub!

A Playlist for the past 3 weeks:

1.Alkaline Trio-San Francisco (Remastered!)
2. The Gaslight Anthem-The Patient Ferris Wheel
3. (Young) Pioneers-We Ain't Even Married
4. Alkaline Trio-My Friend Peter
5. Leftover Crack-Gay Rude Boys Unite!
6. The Bronx-History's Stranglers
7. Street Dogs-Into The Valley
8. Against Me!-Piss and Vinegar
9. The Bouncing Souls-Letter From Iraq
10. Andrew Jackson Jihad-Jesus Saves
11. Billy Bragg-Which Side Are You On?
12. The Weakerthans-Confessions of A Futon Revolutionist
13. Bob Dylan-All I Really Want To Do
14. The Measure [SA]-Fourth of July

download link

Out On An Island

2008-06-11T00:40:00.005-04:00

I feel like making a post, but have nothing really on my mind to write about, other than the fact that Cobra Skulls' Sitting Army totally fucking rules. So in lieu of posting anything witty, insightful, or even remotely interesting, here's assorted lists of things to have with me on a desert island. making these lists is kinda challenging, cuz picks your favorites is easy, but if your theoretically stuck on desert island, you want to get a good mix of differentmusic/books/movies what have you, as well as ones that you can analyze for extended periods of time (see Crass and Lord of the Rings). Oh well, here goes something

7 Albums
1. Against Me!-Crime As Forgiven By... (quality not quantity)
2. The Clash-London Calling
3. Dead Kennedys-Plastic Surgery Disasters
4. Jawbreaker-24 Hour Revenge Therapy
5. Crass-Yes Sir, I Will (learn to love each and every of the 43 minutes)
6. Billy Bragg-Back to Basics
7. Streetlight Manifesto-Everything Goes Numb

7 Books
1. Homage to Catalonia-George Orwell
2. Lord of the Rings (all 3 books in 1)
3. 1984-George Orwell
4. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater-Kurt Vonnegut
5. Frankenstein-Mary Shelley
6. A People's History of the United States-Howard Zinn
7. How To Survive On A Desert Island (with only 7 albums, 7 books, 7 movies, a record player, a dvd player, a tv, minimal food and water, a marijuana plant, 1 other person, and all the skills you learned in boy scouts)-must be written by someone, somewhere...

7 Movies
1. Pulp Fiction
2. Fight Club
3. South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut
4. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
5. Night of the Living Dead or Dawn of the Dead
6. Grandma's Boy
7. Star Wars (Original 3 pieced together into one disc of awesomeness)

1 Person
1. Julie Rutan

A Brief Yet Triumphant Post

2008-06-04T02:01:00.006-04:00

So Tom Gabel released a new Against Me! demo song called "Graceful Confession." And as I have come to expect from him, its beautiful and honest. Leave it to him to write another song I can instantly relate to, and wish was my own. here is the song and the lyrics:

Graceful Confession

Your talent outshines all that I could ever do or say
and me and my jealousy, I stole your songs and passed them off as my own
As much as I would like for it not to show
you can smell the stink on my breath and in my clothes, it's so obvious
oh if I could only be half the things you write about in your songs
if I could only mean half as much to anyone

and in my arrogance I write pages of anger hate and spite
all of the reasons I have to trust... absolutely no one
today I heard you on my stereo and it shamed me,
yes it shamed me to think that I could be so unoriginal
oh if I could only be half the genius that you are
to feel such honest want, to show love
I would show you love
I would show you love
I would show you love
oh if I could only feel half as resolute in my beliefs,
if I could only sing with such bravery
I can not explain how much you mean to me
without your words, I would be lost.

fuck, that pretty much sums up how I feel about Against Me! I mean, they were the reason I decided to learn how to play guitar and write my own songs, even if I only ever played their songs to my friends. The countless times we have sung along to "Baby, I'm An Anarchist" or "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong," and me wishing I could write a song that would burst the whole room into chorus. No matter how often I learn to play other songs or write my own, I always go back to playing Against Me!'s songs or attempting to learn each new song that comes out.

So thank you, Tom Gabel and the rest of Against Me! for creating such awesome fucking music and being a constant source of inspiration to me, from the first time I heard the Crime EP out of my shitty stereo with one working speaker, to this second right now.

Whiskey Love

2008-06-03T01:11:00.004-04:00

So its 1:11am and I'm getting drunk. Still have typing abilities though. Enough to form a few coherent sentences at least. I guess since I'm drinking whiskey, I'll make a short playlist inspired by the greatest liquor ever distilled.

Download Link

1. Dillinger Four-Doublewhiskeycokenoice
-from the album Midwestern Songs of the Americas (1998)
2. Flogging Molly-Swagger (live)
-from the album Alive Behind the Green Door (1997)
3. American Steel-Whiskey, Women, and Blackguarding (Ain't No Cure For A Broken Heart)
-from the album Rogue's March (1999)
4. Planes Mistaken For Stars-Hollowpoint and Whiskey (Live)
-from the album Look At Me Now Teachers!: Live at CBGB (2002)
5. Alkaline Trio-Take Lots With Alcohol
-from the album From Here to Infirmary (2002)
6. The Pogues-Whiskey You're the Devil
-from the album Red Roses For Me (1984)
7. Dropkick Murphys-Bastards On Parade
-from the album Blackout (2003)
8. The Lawrence Arms-Heaven Help Me
-from the album Ghost Stories (2000)
9. Johnny Hobo and the Freight Trains-Whiskey Is My Kind of Lullaby
-from the album Love Songs for the Apocalypse (2005)
10. Woody Guthrie-Rye Whiskey
-from the album Library of Congress Recordings (Disc 1) (1940)

damn i really got sidetracked writing this, its now 3:17. happy drinking!

Walking Is Still Honest

2008-06-02T15:19:00.004-04:00

So I drove my best friend's car back to her house after borrowing it for the weekend. I then made the 45 minute walk back to my house. Thank god it was a nice day, and not too hot. I was surprised at how long it took, considering its a 5 minute drive, and I'm notorious for walking way too fast. I would have taken my brother's bike, but it was rusted to the point of uselessness, and my bike is on the other side of the country. So I walked, and it was great. Its interesting to think about how dependent on driving I am whenever I come back to New Jersey. Back in Boulder, I can bike/walk/ride the bus (or a combination of the latter two) practically anywhere in town, and even down to Denver. To make matters worse, I've never had my own car, and thus have to drive my family's Suburban. In high school my girlfriend lived 5 minutes away, and I always drove to her house in a giant 8 passenger SUV, rather than simply riding a bike. In retrospect, it was incredibly stupid of me. I was probably still in the mindset of "bike's are uncool and I have to much dignity to be seen riding around on one" Hell my HS was a mile or so down the street, and I never once biked there. Now of course, my mindset has changed and I love riding my bike. But in NJ Im a slave to the gas guzzler, and Eatontown's public transportation is more or less useless unless I'm going up and down the main street. We who live in Boulder are privileged to have such an extensive bus and bike path system in our town. One of the few things the yuppies did right.

So here's a playlist not for driving a car to.

Download Link

1. The Measure [SA]-Hit the Ground Running
-from Off With Their Heads split 7" (2007)
2. Bomb the Music Industry!-Bike Test 123
-from the album Get Warmer (2007)
3. Bad Religion-A Walk
-from the album The Grey Race (1996)
4. 7 Seconds-Walk Together, Rock Together
-from the album Walk Together, Rock Together (1985)
5. Operation Ivy-One of These Days
-from the album Energy (1988)
6. Big D and the Kids Table-Shining On
-from the album Strictly Rude (2007)
7. Defiance, Ohio-Bikes and Bridges
-from the album Share What Ya Got (2004)
8. The Clash-Walking the Slidewalk
-from album The Vanilla Tapes (1979)
9. This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb-Murder Bike
-from the album Dance Party With...(2001)
10. Andrew Jackson Jihad-You Don't Want To Fuck With Me
-from the album Candy Cigarettes and Capguns (2005?)
11. Johnny Cash-I Walk the Line
-from the album With His Hot and Blue Guitar (1957)
12. Against Me!-Walking Is Still Honest
-from the EP Crime As Forgiven By...(2001)

So It Begins...

2008-06-02T03:26:00.008-04:00

So its 3:30, i'm in bed, and for some silly reason i decided to create a blog. Why? I don't really know, maybe it will be "fun"

So currently I am listening to the man whose charming face is gracing this page. Woody Guthrie really was an amazing character. The guy has written hundreds of songs, most of them not even released, and most of them survive only in lyric form. Thankfully there are bands that appreciate him enough to put music to his lyrics. Anti-Flag did a good job (well the best Anti-Flag can do these days) with "Post War Breakout", I guess. They even titled one of their sings "This Machine Kills Fascists." Dropkick Murphys big hit single (ug) "Shipping Up to Boston" is actually a fantastic song, and most people don't even know that it is Woody Guthrie's. "Gonna Be A Blackout" is also a Guthrie tune, and they also did a great job on that. Ghost Mice covered "Prettyboy Floyd" on their split with Defiance, Ohio , which was great. Andrew Jackson payed homage to him in the middle of the song "Survival Song" by playing the chorus to "Do-Re-Mi." Billy Bragg and Wilco did that that whole 2 album of tribute covers to Guthrie too, which was a great thing, even if I don't like Wilco. Billy Bragg owns those clowns. That's all I can think of right now though

Of course everybody knows "This Land Is Your Land," everyone had to have sung it in some lame elementary school production at some point. Its one of those songs that most people don't even know the full meaning of, and its not their fault. As kids we only learn the first happy "yay america"-esque verses (or so are they interpreted), and not the rest of the song. So here are the lyrics

This land is your land This land is my land
From California to the New York island; From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters
This land was made for you and Me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that endless skyway:
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
And all around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me.

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling,
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting:
This land was made for you and me.

As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me, As I go walking that freedom highway; Nobody living can ever make me turn back This land was made for you and me.

kinda changes the song a bit doesn't it?
Anyways, now go listen to some Guthrie and his pure honest working class music.

I'll post the Guthrie half of this album (its a good intro to both artists) tomorrow, I'm quite tired.

Download Link

1. This Land Is Your Land
2. Pastures of Plenty
3. House of the Rising Sun
4. Hard Travelin'
5. John Henry
6. Do-Re-Mi
7. Vigilante Man
8. Hard, Ain't It Hard?
9. Dust Bowl Blues
10. Talking Dust Bowl Blues
11. Pretty Boy Floyd
12. I Ain't Got No Home
13. Worried Man Blues
14. Cumberland Gap
15. Stackolee
16. Mule Skinner Blues
17. Babe O Mine
18. A Picture From Life's Other Side
19. Better World A-Coming
20. So Long, It's Been Good To Know You