This is a list of all the full-length albums, EPs, demos, splits, and singles that I listened to in their entirety during the month of November 2014. Afterwards are lists of movies I watched and things I read during that timespan, with notes on all. This was the first month in a long time in which I didn't go to a single show. What the hell is going on with me?
11/1/14
Red House Painters - "Songs For A Blue Guitar"
Static-X - "Wisconsin Death Trip"
11/2/14
Protest The Hero - "Fortress"
Meshuggah - "obZen"
Cephalotripsy - "Uterovaginal Insertion of Extirpated Anomalies"
11/3/14
Cradle Of Filth - "From The Cradle To Enslave" EP
11/3-11/5/14
Miranda Lambert - "Platinum"
11/5/14
Delay - "Circle Change"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
11/6/14
Districts/Regret, The Informer - split 12"
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - "This Is Somewhere"
Legion Of The Damned - "Ravenous Plague"
11/7/14
Killwhitneydead - "Hell To Pay"
11/8/14
Michael Endres - "Arnold Bax: Complete Piano Sonatas" Disc 1
11/9/14
Run The Jewels - "2"
Exalt - "No Son" digital single
Ghostlimb/Fischer - split 10"
Green Day - "Dookie"
Bootsy Collins - "Back in the Day: The Best Of Bootsy"
Augustines - S/T
11/11/14
88 Fingers Louie - "Behind Bars"
11/12/14
Erskine Hawkins - "Tippin' In"
11/13/14
Beck - "Morning Phase"
11/14/14
Hollow Earth - "Silent Graves" EP
Colossus Fall - "Sempervirens" EP
Calle 13 - "Multi_Viral"
Mushroom Attack - "The Fight Goes On" compilation CD
Samhain - "November Coming Fire"
11/14-11/15/14
Lauralyn Kolb - "Fanny Mendelssohn: Lieder"
11/15/14
Pink Floyd - "The Endless River"
Run With The Hunted - "The Sieve and The Sand"
Humanifesto - "A Declaration Of Intent"
11/16/14
The Gravitys - "Bring You Down"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Robert Plant - "Band Of Joy"
Chiodos - "Devil"
Dystopia - "The Aftermath"
11/17/14
Grethe Kausland - "A Taste Of..."
Julie Byrne - "Rooms With Walls And Windows"
Arison Cain - "The Love and The Volume"
La Luna - S/T EP
11/18/14
The Velvet Underground - "Gold" Disc 1
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib - "Pinata"
Otep - "Sevas Tra"
11/19/14
Eugene Ormandy - "Classical Juke Box Vol. 1"
Anastacia - "Resurrection"
Sanctuary - "Into The Mirror Black"
Monoliths/Wounded Knee - split 7"
Clean Bandit - "New Eyes"
11/20/14
Heart - "Bad Animals"
Pavel Bobek - "Buh Ma Me Rad"
The War On Drugs - "Lost in the Dream"
end of the summer - "Second" EP
11/24/14
Oceans - Winter Demo 2012
Canyons/Mons Wolff - split 7"
Descendents - "All"
Air Dubai - "Be Calm"
Scott Joplin - "The Entertainer"
11/25/14
Azealia Banks - "Broke With Expensive Taste"
Lint Vaccine - S/T EP
Polina/Bonehouse/Kaddish/Todos Caeran - 4-way split
Alestorm - "Sunset on the Golden Age"
The Cure - "Greatest Hits" Bonus Disc - 'Acoustic Hits'
Chico Hamilton Quintet - "The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings" Disc 4
11/26/14
Aphex Twin - "Syro"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
11/27/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
My Chemical Romance - "Thee Cheers For Sweet Revenge"
11/28/14
Zoccola - "Wet Nurse" digital single
Sanctions - "No Land"
88 Fingers Louie - "Back On The Streets"
The Kooks - "Listen"
Chicago Baroque Ensemble/Patrice Michaels Bedi - "The World Of Lully: Music Of Jean-Baptiste Lully"
Angel Olsen - "Burn Your Fire For No Witness"
Ocean Hands - "Dreamcatcher"
Animal Faces - "Half Asleep" EP
Jamie Cullum - "Interlude"
11/29/14
Eddie Money - "Sound Of Money: Greatest Hits"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Radiohead - "Pablo Honey"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
The Gravitys - "Unplugged at The Dial" EP
11/30/14
Pixies - "Bossanova"
Tabu Ley Rocherau - "The Voice Of Lightness" Disc 1, 1961-1971
Sharon Van Etten - "Are We There"
Transporting Planets - S/T EP
The Banner - "Frailty"
Simple Minds - "Big Music"
Paul Bowles - "Baptism Of Solitude"
MUSIC NOTES
- Every time I listen to "Songs For A Blue Guitar" I get even more depressed than I am naturally. One of the best albums ever recorded.
- R.I.P. Wayne Static
- Cephalotripsy kinda sucks but you gotta hand it to'em, from their name to their album's name to their lyrics, they are probably the most disgustingly offensive gore band ever, displacing even Cannibal Corpse and Dying Fetus...A high task, no doubt
- Man Cradle Of Filth is so much cheesier than I remembered
- It took me 3 fucking days to finish that Miranda Lambert album, not because it just totally sucks, but something about the production on modern pop-country, I can only take like 3 or 4 songs at a time before passing out
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Delay, Districts, Regret The Informer, Erskine Hawkins, Colossus Fall, Grethe Kausland, Julie Byrne, La Luna, Sanctuary, Monoliths, Wounded Knee, Pavel Bobek, Azealia Banks, Bonehouse, Chico Hamilton Quintet, Sanctions, Angel Olsen, Animal Faces, Tabu Ley Rochereau, Transporting Planets, Paul Bowles
- My band The Gravitys finally released our new album "Nutrition" onto the interwebs on Thanksgiving. Check it out. www.thegravitys.bandcamp.com
- On a somewhat related note, John from the band Ghost Noise hit me up mid-month to tell me that he had listened to "Bring You Down" again and really enjoyed it...that was a nice message to receive. Thanks for listening.
- Why do I keep giving Grace Potter & The Nocturnals and Otep a chance? I've never liked it before why do I think I will upon a second listen?
- As far as mediocre metal bands go, Legion Of The Damned and Alestorm are pretty damn mediocre
- Goddamn the new Run The Jewels and Freddie Gibbs albums are straight-up badass
- They're different types of punk entirely but in both cases I forgot about how good 88 Fingers Louie and Mushroom Attack were
- Beck just gets more boring with each passing year
- "November Coming Fire" is the best Samhain album
- Just the notion of a new Pink Floyd album was awesome to hear about, but the fact that its possibly their most beautiful album as well just blows me away..."It's What We Do"
- I listened to a substantially greater amount of classical music this month than probably any other month of my entire life
- The new Run With The Hunted kills. So does the new Sharon Van Etten.
- I just don't get the appeal of Chiodos
- That had better be the worst album Heart ever made because if there's something worse I'd be flabbergasted
- The War On Drugs doesn't deserve as much hate as Mark Kozelek has been sending their way but they do sound a bit too much like The Arcade Fire to not raise an eyebrow on my end
- I was actually pleasantly surprised by that Azealia Banks album, especially the last couple songs
- "Take me home tonight, I don't wanna let you go until the feeling's right"
- "Pablo Honey" is hella underrated
- "Bossanova" is the best Pixies album and you're wrong if you disagree
- Tabu Ley Rochereau wrote over 3,000 songs and released over 250 albums during the course of his career...Thats some impressive shit right there
- That Paul Bowles album is some deep, deep shit...Haunting
Zines:
Finished 11/8/14: NiteGuide Magazine Issue 5: May 2010
Finished 11/24/14: UC Irvine Magazine Summer/Fall 2014
Zine Notes:
- Not only is that NiteGuide Magazine from 2010 hella outdated but it's also probably the worst-written magazine I've ever read in my entire life.
- It's bullshit that Barack Obama did the commencement speech for 2014 UCI grads and not for mine
Movies
11/27/14: "Horrible Bosses"
Monday, December 1, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
Playlist for October 2014
This is the list of all the albums, EPs, demos, singles, etc. that I listened to in their entirety during the month of October 2014. Afterwards are lists of the movies I watched and zines I read as well as my notes regarding all. It's weird how I only went to like one show all month too what the fuck.
10/2/14
Lana Del Rey - "Ultraviolence"
inthebackground - "Letters to the Bay" digital single
Bokanovsky/Lakme - split 7"
7 Seconds - "The Crew"
10/3/14
Danzig - "III: How The Gods Kill"
Actress - "Ghettoville"
Acid Phyx - "Desolate Grave" demo
Bokanovsky - Demo MMXII
Strike Twelve - "Born Naked, Die Naked" EP
Fear Factory - "Transgression" Deluxe Exclusive Download Edition
10/4/14
Ryan Adams - S/T
Braineater - December 2013 Demo
Daydream - S/T EP
Defiant Trespass - "Struggle To Survive"
In This Moment - "Blood"
Jack White - "Lazaretto"
10/5/14
The Salad - "Suck You" EP
Osawatomie - Demo 2012
Ministry - "The Land Of Rape And Honey"
Testament - "Dark Roots Of Earth"
St. Vincent - S/T
The Depaysement - "IPOH horg fung"
Boysetsfire - First Demo
Boysetsfire - "Premonition, Change, Revolt" demo
Dropkick Murphys - "Do Or Die"
Slipknot - "Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses"
10/6/14
Bogsey & The Argonauts - "Skinned Knees"
end of the summer - "Second" EP
10/7/14
The Beatles - "Love" remix album
Uncle Dave Macon - "Travelin' Down The Road"
The Hotelier - "Home, Like No Place Is There"
10/8/14
Relaxer - "Lasers"
Lord Snow/Afterlife Kids - split EP
Immolation - "Close to a World Below"
Wide Streets - "Little Babies" EP
Deadmau5 - "For Lack Of A Better Name"
Ground Up - First Instrumental Demo CD
A Life Once Lost - "Iron Gag"
10/9/14
2Pac - "Greatest Hits" Disc 2
Milt Jackson - "Goodbye"
10/10/14
Rosanne Cash - "The River & The Thread"
Randy Wolf - "Fainting Spells" EP
Abest - "Asylum"
10/11/14
Sublime - "Stand By Your Van" live album
The Faceless - "Planetary Duality"
Remainder - "The Frozen World Thawed"
Gesalffelstein - "Aleph"
10/12/14
U2 - "Rattle and Hum"
Carl Schuricht & Arthur Nikisch - "Historic Recordings: Beethoven - Complete Recordings Vol. 20" Disc 1
10/13/14
Protest The Hero - "Fortress"
Fugazi - "Steady Diet Of Nothing"
10/15/14
Swans - "To Be Kind"
10/18/14
The Bennies - "Rainbows In Space"
Calculator/Innards/Capacities/Itto - "The Sound Of Young America" 4-way split
The Nerve Agents - "Days Of The White Owl"
California Bleeding - 2011 Tour EP
One OK Rock - "Jinsei x Boku ="
The Gaslamp Killer - "Breakthrough"
10/19/14
Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - "Gemini"
Last Exit - "Koln"
Sun Kil Moon - "Benji"
The Frights/Death Lens - "DeathFrights" split EP
Captive Bolt/Gary Francione - split 7"
Bad Brains - S/T
Man With A Mission - "Database" single
Imaginary Pants - "Kites At Night" EP
Jamie Jones - "Moan & Groan" single
Seven Lions - "Worlds Apart" EP
10/20/14
Pendulum - "Greatest Hits" Disc 1
Jelly Rolly Morton - "1926-1930" Disc 1
The Afghan Whigs - "Do to the Beast"
Tidemouth - "What I Meant To Say" EP
Cease Upon The Capitol - "The End Of History" EP
10/21/14
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - S/T
10/22/14
Hatebreed - "The Rise Of Brutality"
Dash Jacket - "Ten Thousand Things"
AlunaGeorge - "Body Music"
7 Seconds - "New Wind"
10/23/14
Dr. Feelgood - "Singles: The UA Years"
The Coltranes - "Man With The Hat" EP
10/24/14
FKA twigs - "LP1"
10/25/14
Atomic Psychopath - "The Album"
Lil Wayne - "Rebirth"
Odesza - "My Friends Never Die" EP
Orchestra Of Vienna Volksoper - "Johann Strauss II: Waltzes & Polkas"
Caveman Movies - "Evil Makes The World Spin"
10/26/14
Deez Nuts - "Rep Your Hood" EP
CDC - "The Split" EP
10/27/14
Laeirs - "Emotional Blackmail" EP
Sound Tribe Sector 9 - "Peaceblaster"
10/28/14
Danny Daze - "Your Everything" b/w "Fall Away From Love" 12"
Layne Redmond - "Roots of Awakening: Chanting the Chakras"
Fit For Rivals - "Steady Damage"
10/29/14
Fifteen - "The Choice of a New Generation"
end of the summer - "Three" EP
end of the summer - "Second" EP
10/30/14
Frank Wess, Freddie Green, Joe Newman, & Kenny Burrell - "Jazz For Playboys"
10/31/14
Samhain - "November Coming Fire"
Samhain - "Unholy Passion" EP
Samhain - "Final Descent"
MUSIC NOTES
- It's odd to me how people could either love or hate Lana Del Rey because she is just so nondescript and boring...I mean, she's attractive, and some of the songs are cool I guess, but what gives with all the hype in both directions?
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Bokanovsky, Ryan Adams, Relaxer, Afterlife Kids, Milt Jackson, Abest, Last Exit, Seven Lions, Cease Upon The Capitol, Dr. Feelgood, Odesza, Laeirs
- Worst of the month: Acid Phyx, The Salad
- Is anyone actually a fan of Fear Factory? How did they ever gain relevance or stature within the music community? I've never met a single person who has ever been stoked on Fear Factory and they've been around the entire time I've followed music
- I always thought Ryan Adams was like, the same person as John Mayer, and I fucking hate John Mayer, so I never gave Ryan Adams a chance, but the new Ryan Adams CD is pretty damn good. I never thought I'd say such a thing.
- Defiant Trespass is so much shittier than I had remembered, and I had remembered them as being pretty shitty to begin with
- In This Moment just gets more and more ridiculous with each release
- Jack White is hella overrated; I only liked 3 songs off his entire new full-length album
- Are The Salad consciously mocking or consciously mimicking The Garden? Or do they think they're doing something wildly new? Either way it's not a good look
- I haven't listened to every Testament album ever but I'm willing to bet that "Dark Roots Of Earth" is definitely amongst their worst
- I feel similarly to St. Vincent how I did about Lana Del Rey but St. Vincent is objectively better for sure
- The Depaysement is one of those bands you really, absolutely have to see live to appreciate because the recorded stuff doesn't do it justice whatsoever
- Holy shit I'm usually the strictest of Beatles purists, I hate covers or changes to their songs, but the "Love" remix album is fucking AMAZING...it makes you appreciate songs you've grown up your entire life loving in an entirely way...Paul McCartney is a BEAST at the bass guitar
- That was weird to listen back to the very first Ground Up CD we made, just for ourselves to review and change, because those original takes on songs that I myself wrote are so different from how they ended up at the end and there are some badass drum fills I wish we hadn't changed...Also there is a single track of me doing vocals to "Down With It" that's never been released or put on any of the demos I actually gave people so I might make a YouTube video for that soon
- "I was tweaking by myself one night, that's when I wrote this song..."
- For everything that people hate U2 about right now with the whole iPhone thing, I think it's fair to point out that we never should have stopped hating them for "Rattle & Hum"...That shit is awful
- "Complete Recordings Vol. 20" Disc 1 --- Damn Beethoven, you wrote way too much fucking music, choose your battles dude
- "Goddess Gagged"
- "To Be Kind" is a dense, dense listen and somewhat difficult to get through in one sitting but it is worth it.
- I used to listen to "The Days Of The White Owl" so damn much
- Despite the Red House Painters being pretty much my favorite band of the 90s after Smashing Pumpkins and maybe Fugazi, this was the first time I had ever listened to Sun Kil Moon...It's similar but it's also different and I don't like it nearly the same
- "I Love, I Jah"
- Apparently the guys who makes EDM as Seven Lions is a full-blown metalhead and bases his music on that more than any other electronic music he's surrounded by, and I can hear it
- Why do I like Pendulum so much more now than I did when I was into going to raves and shit?
- Grace Potter is fairly hot and she sings very well but goddamn her lyrics are fucking retarded
- "New Wind" is my favorite 7 Seconds album
- "She Does It Right" by Dr. Feelgood is definitely the riff of the month...so infectious
- Lil Wayne's "Rebirth" is even worse than you remember. Even worse.
- "Pour some liquor out for the ones we've lost."
- "end of the summer" : "The Choice Of A New Generation"
- I listened to way more old-school jazz this month than almost any month ever before
- "The devil sent me here to you and if'a you fear, you've reason to; Open up all seven seals; The beast has come to claim the youth. ARCHANGEL."
MOVIES:
10/1/14: "Funny People"
10/3/14: "Burn After Reading"
10/15/14: "The Truman Show"
10/18/14: "Workaholics" Season 4 Disc 1 DVD
10/20/14: "Inuyasha: Double Trouble" DVD
10/31/14: "Evil Bong 3: Wrath Of The Bong"
"Zombieland"
MOVIE NOTES
- "Funny People" makes me cry like every time
- "The Truman Show" is like my favorite movie right now
- That was the first time I ever watched an anime. I don't understand the appeal.
ZINES
10/20/14: "Abre Tus Ojos" Direct Action Claremont zine
10/21/14 - 10/27/14: "Death + Taxes" Sept/Oct 09 issue
SHOWS
10/25/14: (The Gravitys)/Liquid/Depictions Of Fear/Interracial Bookclub/Happy In Hemet/California Bleeding/Caveman Movies @ Happy Fest at Anthony Liquid's house
SHOW NOTES
- Even though I listed \_/ as having played at Happy Fest, we only played one song ("Eustress") with Anthony Liquid after Liquid's set was done. Depictions Of Fear was badass. Thanks for having us Tony.
10/2/14
Lana Del Rey - "Ultraviolence"
inthebackground - "Letters to the Bay" digital single
Bokanovsky/Lakme - split 7"
7 Seconds - "The Crew"
10/3/14
Danzig - "III: How The Gods Kill"
Actress - "Ghettoville"
Acid Phyx - "Desolate Grave" demo
Bokanovsky - Demo MMXII
Strike Twelve - "Born Naked, Die Naked" EP
Fear Factory - "Transgression" Deluxe Exclusive Download Edition
10/4/14
Ryan Adams - S/T
Braineater - December 2013 Demo
Daydream - S/T EP
Defiant Trespass - "Struggle To Survive"
In This Moment - "Blood"
Jack White - "Lazaretto"
10/5/14
The Salad - "Suck You" EP
Osawatomie - Demo 2012
Ministry - "The Land Of Rape And Honey"
Testament - "Dark Roots Of Earth"
St. Vincent - S/T
The Depaysement - "IPOH horg fung"
Boysetsfire - First Demo
Boysetsfire - "Premonition, Change, Revolt" demo
Dropkick Murphys - "Do Or Die"
Slipknot - "Vol. 3: The Subliminal Verses"
10/6/14
Bogsey & The Argonauts - "Skinned Knees"
end of the summer - "Second" EP
10/7/14
The Beatles - "Love" remix album
Uncle Dave Macon - "Travelin' Down The Road"
The Hotelier - "Home, Like No Place Is There"
10/8/14
Relaxer - "Lasers"
Lord Snow/Afterlife Kids - split EP
Immolation - "Close to a World Below"
Wide Streets - "Little Babies" EP
Deadmau5 - "For Lack Of A Better Name"
Ground Up - First Instrumental Demo CD
A Life Once Lost - "Iron Gag"
10/9/14
2Pac - "Greatest Hits" Disc 2
Milt Jackson - "Goodbye"
10/10/14
Rosanne Cash - "The River & The Thread"
Randy Wolf - "Fainting Spells" EP
Abest - "Asylum"
10/11/14
Sublime - "Stand By Your Van" live album
The Faceless - "Planetary Duality"
Remainder - "The Frozen World Thawed"
Gesalffelstein - "Aleph"
10/12/14
U2 - "Rattle and Hum"
Carl Schuricht & Arthur Nikisch - "Historic Recordings: Beethoven - Complete Recordings Vol. 20" Disc 1
10/13/14
Protest The Hero - "Fortress"
Fugazi - "Steady Diet Of Nothing"
10/15/14
Swans - "To Be Kind"
10/18/14
The Bennies - "Rainbows In Space"
Calculator/Innards/Capacities/Itto - "The Sound Of Young America" 4-way split
The Nerve Agents - "Days Of The White Owl"
California Bleeding - 2011 Tour EP
One OK Rock - "Jinsei x Boku ="
The Gaslamp Killer - "Breakthrough"
10/19/14
Blue Sabbath Black Fiji - "Gemini"
Last Exit - "Koln"
Sun Kil Moon - "Benji"
The Frights/Death Lens - "DeathFrights" split EP
Captive Bolt/Gary Francione - split 7"
Bad Brains - S/T
Man With A Mission - "Database" single
Imaginary Pants - "Kites At Night" EP
Jamie Jones - "Moan & Groan" single
Seven Lions - "Worlds Apart" EP
10/20/14
Pendulum - "Greatest Hits" Disc 1
Jelly Rolly Morton - "1926-1930" Disc 1
The Afghan Whigs - "Do to the Beast"
Tidemouth - "What I Meant To Say" EP
Cease Upon The Capitol - "The End Of History" EP
10/21/14
Grace Potter & The Nocturnals - S/T
10/22/14
Hatebreed - "The Rise Of Brutality"
Dash Jacket - "Ten Thousand Things"
AlunaGeorge - "Body Music"
7 Seconds - "New Wind"
10/23/14
Dr. Feelgood - "Singles: The UA Years"
The Coltranes - "Man With The Hat" EP
10/24/14
FKA twigs - "LP1"
10/25/14
Atomic Psychopath - "The Album"
Lil Wayne - "Rebirth"
Odesza - "My Friends Never Die" EP
Orchestra Of Vienna Volksoper - "Johann Strauss II: Waltzes & Polkas"
Caveman Movies - "Evil Makes The World Spin"
10/26/14
Deez Nuts - "Rep Your Hood" EP
CDC - "The Split" EP
10/27/14
Laeirs - "Emotional Blackmail" EP
Sound Tribe Sector 9 - "Peaceblaster"
10/28/14
Danny Daze - "Your Everything" b/w "Fall Away From Love" 12"
Layne Redmond - "Roots of Awakening: Chanting the Chakras"
Fit For Rivals - "Steady Damage"
10/29/14
Fifteen - "The Choice of a New Generation"
end of the summer - "Three" EP
end of the summer - "Second" EP
10/30/14
Frank Wess, Freddie Green, Joe Newman, & Kenny Burrell - "Jazz For Playboys"
10/31/14
Samhain - "November Coming Fire"
Samhain - "Unholy Passion" EP
Samhain - "Final Descent"
MUSIC NOTES
- It's odd to me how people could either love or hate Lana Del Rey because she is just so nondescript and boring...I mean, she's attractive, and some of the songs are cool I guess, but what gives with all the hype in both directions?
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Bokanovsky, Ryan Adams, Relaxer, Afterlife Kids, Milt Jackson, Abest, Last Exit, Seven Lions, Cease Upon The Capitol, Dr. Feelgood, Odesza, Laeirs
- Worst of the month: Acid Phyx, The Salad
- Is anyone actually a fan of Fear Factory? How did they ever gain relevance or stature within the music community? I've never met a single person who has ever been stoked on Fear Factory and they've been around the entire time I've followed music
- I always thought Ryan Adams was like, the same person as John Mayer, and I fucking hate John Mayer, so I never gave Ryan Adams a chance, but the new Ryan Adams CD is pretty damn good. I never thought I'd say such a thing.
- Defiant Trespass is so much shittier than I had remembered, and I had remembered them as being pretty shitty to begin with
- In This Moment just gets more and more ridiculous with each release
- Jack White is hella overrated; I only liked 3 songs off his entire new full-length album
- Are The Salad consciously mocking or consciously mimicking The Garden? Or do they think they're doing something wildly new? Either way it's not a good look
- I haven't listened to every Testament album ever but I'm willing to bet that "Dark Roots Of Earth" is definitely amongst their worst
- I feel similarly to St. Vincent how I did about Lana Del Rey but St. Vincent is objectively better for sure
- The Depaysement is one of those bands you really, absolutely have to see live to appreciate because the recorded stuff doesn't do it justice whatsoever
- Holy shit I'm usually the strictest of Beatles purists, I hate covers or changes to their songs, but the "Love" remix album is fucking AMAZING...it makes you appreciate songs you've grown up your entire life loving in an entirely way...Paul McCartney is a BEAST at the bass guitar
- That was weird to listen back to the very first Ground Up CD we made, just for ourselves to review and change, because those original takes on songs that I myself wrote are so different from how they ended up at the end and there are some badass drum fills I wish we hadn't changed...Also there is a single track of me doing vocals to "Down With It" that's never been released or put on any of the demos I actually gave people so I might make a YouTube video for that soon
- "I was tweaking by myself one night, that's when I wrote this song..."
- For everything that people hate U2 about right now with the whole iPhone thing, I think it's fair to point out that we never should have stopped hating them for "Rattle & Hum"...That shit is awful
- "Complete Recordings Vol. 20" Disc 1 --- Damn Beethoven, you wrote way too much fucking music, choose your battles dude
- "Goddess Gagged"
- "To Be Kind" is a dense, dense listen and somewhat difficult to get through in one sitting but it is worth it.
- I used to listen to "The Days Of The White Owl" so damn much
- Despite the Red House Painters being pretty much my favorite band of the 90s after Smashing Pumpkins and maybe Fugazi, this was the first time I had ever listened to Sun Kil Moon...It's similar but it's also different and I don't like it nearly the same
- "I Love, I Jah"
- Apparently the guys who makes EDM as Seven Lions is a full-blown metalhead and bases his music on that more than any other electronic music he's surrounded by, and I can hear it
- Why do I like Pendulum so much more now than I did when I was into going to raves and shit?
- Grace Potter is fairly hot and she sings very well but goddamn her lyrics are fucking retarded
- "New Wind" is my favorite 7 Seconds album
- "She Does It Right" by Dr. Feelgood is definitely the riff of the month...so infectious
- Lil Wayne's "Rebirth" is even worse than you remember. Even worse.
- "Pour some liquor out for the ones we've lost."
- "end of the summer" : "The Choice Of A New Generation"
- I listened to way more old-school jazz this month than almost any month ever before
- "The devil sent me here to you and if'a you fear, you've reason to; Open up all seven seals; The beast has come to claim the youth. ARCHANGEL."
MOVIES:
10/1/14: "Funny People"
10/3/14: "Burn After Reading"
10/15/14: "The Truman Show"
10/18/14: "Workaholics" Season 4 Disc 1 DVD
10/20/14: "Inuyasha: Double Trouble" DVD
10/31/14: "Evil Bong 3: Wrath Of The Bong"
"Zombieland"
MOVIE NOTES
- "Funny People" makes me cry like every time
- "The Truman Show" is like my favorite movie right now
- That was the first time I ever watched an anime. I don't understand the appeal.
ZINES
10/20/14: "Abre Tus Ojos" Direct Action Claremont zine
10/21/14 - 10/27/14: "Death + Taxes" Sept/Oct 09 issue
SHOWS
10/25/14: (The Gravitys)/Liquid/Depictions Of Fear/Interracial Bookclub/Happy In Hemet/California Bleeding/Caveman Movies @ Happy Fest at Anthony Liquid's house
SHOW NOTES
- Even though I listed \_/ as having played at Happy Fest, we only played one song ("Eustress") with Anthony Liquid after Liquid's set was done. Depictions Of Fear was badass. Thanks for having us Tony.
Saturday, November 1, 2014
MEMORY REVIEW: Static-X
When
I was like 11 years old there was gonna be a block party for 4th of
July in my culdesac and for some reason I was the person providing the
stereo and they wanted to know how loud it went so I put on "I'm With
Stupid" because it was what I thought was the loudest CD I had at the
time and we put it on blast and I rode my bike down the street to see
how far it would be heard from....By the time you reached Salinas you
couldn't hear it anymore.
R.I.P. Wayne Static 1965-2014
Static-X - "I'm With Stupid"
R.I.P. Wayne Static 1965-2014
Static-X - "I'm With Stupid"
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Playlist for September 2014
This is a list of all the full-length albums, EPs, singles, demos, etc. that I listened to in their entirety during the month of September 2014. Afterwards are lists of the movies I watched, things I read, and stuff I saw live.
9/1/14
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - "Bloodlust"
Invade The River - March 2014 digital demos
Watercolor Paintings - "These Arms"
Bright Eyes - "The People's Key"
Voidcrush - "Tragically Inconvenient"
Quaaludes - S/T
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Ground Up - March 2008 Demo
Recluse - "Fading Into Darkness, Drowning In Myself" EP
9/2/14
Dragons - "Musical Witchcraft"
Dirt Squad - "Hajime"
Left Astray - "Don't Look For Me" EP
perpetual motion machine - S/T EP
Red Curtain - Demo
Fell Voices - "Regnum Saturni"
The Word Alive - "Life Cycles"
Laurindo Almeida e Charlie Byrd - "Tango"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/3/14
Avi Zahner - Summer 2011 Demo CD
Conheartist - "Surrounded By Drones"
Fleetwood Mac - "Mirage"
Alpha MC - "I Don't Give A Fuck" mixtape
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - "Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
8/4/14
GWAR - "America Must Be Destroyed"
Bivouac - "Sink/Swim" EP
Dinosaur Jr. - "Without A Sound"
Bad Religion - "All Ages"
9/5/14
fine pets - "No Gaze"
Best Supporting Actress - "The Many Moods Of"
Bamberger Symphoniker, Camerata Rhenania, Hanspeter Gmur, & Gerhard Vetter - "J.C. Bach: Sinfonias Op. 6, 9, &18"
Big Takeover - Demo
The Commodores - "Anthology" Disc 2
Where My Bones Rest - "Forget Me Love"/"Harmonix" digital single
9/6/14
Carnival Seasons - "The Town"
Luciano Pavarotti - "Pavarotti Forever" Disc 1
Dying Regret - 2-song promo CD
Snow Black - "Ebb & Flow" EP
Fugue - "Years"
Chemical X - Demo
Jimmy Reed - "I'm Jimmy Reed"
Wolfpack - "Hellhound Warpig" EP
Magpie - "Breathless" EP
Growing Pains - "Just The Same" digital single
9/7/14
Dead In Seconds - December 2013 digital single
Ladies' Code - "Code #01" EP
Magpie/Interracial Bookclub - split EP
Menace 2 Society - Demo 2014
Darto - "Hex"
Del Sestro/The Delicates - split EP
Al Caiola - "Tuff Guitar Tijuana Style"
Anti-Cimex - "Raped Ass" EP
Life Of Refusal - "Ackowledge/Ignore" EP
The Birthday Party - "Junkyard"
Envision - "Mind Control"
Dino Dvornik - "Enfant Terrible"
Kikeiji - "Plastic Scandal" EP
Colombian Necktie - "Twilight Upon Us"
Antioch Arrow - "The Lady Is A Cat"
Fire & Flesh - "Vengeance" EP
Leonard Rosenman - "The Lord Of The Rings" animated film soundtrack
Powerwolves - "Slaughtering The Machines" demo
Hideous Rebirth - "Partially Devoured"
Bricklayer - Demo
Foxfield - "Live at The Wire"
9/8/14
Moondog & The London Symphonic - "Sax Pax for a Sax"
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade"
Dying Messiah - "Heinous Spectacle
Cop Rot - "II" EP
From Hell - "Heresy"
Antonin Dvorak - "The Very Best Of"
9/9/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Battlehooch - Preview 2010 CD
AJ Froman - "Nocturno" EP
Footwork - "+JMGVM" EP
Gypsy Rose - S/T
Outlaws - "Ghost Riders"
V/A - "Old School Punk"
Sledding With Tigers - "Sorry ACxDC But I Recorded A Diss Track" digital single
Hysterics - "Can't I Live?" EP
The Invisible Monsters - "Vestibules Of The Dead" EP
9/10/14
Arthur Freed & Nacio Hero Brown - "Singin' in the Rain"
Them Savages - "Demos/Covers/B-Sides"
New Gods - "Sex & Destroy" EP
Klank - "Urban Warfare"
9/11/14
Weather Report - "Heavy Weather"
MobAttack - "A Night Of Disrespect"
Special Explosion - "The Art Of Mothering"
Lifted To Fall - "At Last I See" digital single
Herbert Stothart - "The Wizard Of Oz" original motion picture soundtrack
Soilwork - "Steelbath Suicide"
9/12/14
Wolfpack - "Lycanthro Punk"
Zeahorse - "Sulphur" digital single
Weed - "Deserve"
LoveKillCircus - "A Poet's Awakening" EP
Percee P - "Perseverance"
Barefoot Jerry - "Keys To The Country"
Led Zeppelin - "Mothership" Disc 2
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/13/14
nothing but a ghost - "from the walls of my room to the receiver in my phone"
Fake Tides - Demos
Yaphet Kotto - "The Killer Is In The Government Blankets"
Lanzo - "Law Of Attraction" EP
Arnold Schoenberg - "Pierrot Lunaire"
Helmet - "Monochrome"
Bad Kids - "Boys" EP
Scowler - "How To Find Light" EP
Aspect One - "Grit Mercenaries"
V/A - "Old School Punk"
9/14/14
Nelu Ploiesteanu, Stefan Iordache & Gheorghe Dinica - "Cantece de Petrecere"
James Taylor - "The Best Of"
Danger Junkies - "So Divine" digital single
Strangers Now/Enta - split EP
Immolation - "Here In After"
Stuff Smith - "Hot Jazz Violin"
7 Second - "Walk Together, Rock Together"
Noise Complaint - "Parasite"
Things Fall Apart/Light Black/Vowel/City Of Ifa - 4-way split
One OK Rock - "Mighty Long Fall"/"Decision" digital single
Jackie Lomax - "Home is in My Head"
9/15/14
Circle Jerks - "Group Sex"
The Insomniac Collective/High Tension - split EP
Stubborn Father - "2002-2012"
MAN WITH A MISSION - "Emotions" EP
Bruno Walter - "Mahler Symphony No. 4 in G"
Real Big Tits - "Suit Up" digital single
Converge/Napalm Death - split EP
The Young Dubliners - "With Due Respect: The Irish Sessions"
9/16/14
Hatebreed - "Perseverance"
Death - "Human"
Jimmy Ponder - "Steel City Blues"
Fall Out Boy - "From Under The Cork Tree"
Mouthful Of Snow - "The Truth Hurts, But You Would Still Like To Hear It"
nim - "a message from" digital single
The Real McKenzies - "10,000 Shots"
9/17/14
Amen - S/T
Hank Williams - "24 Of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits"
9/18/14
Cursive - "Burst & Bloom" EP
Deep Fields - "Salazar"/"Leonidas" digital single
Acidic Tree - "Forever Boneless" demo
The Young Dubliners - "Breathe"
Miss May I - "At Heart"
9/19/14
Smut Peddlers - "Failure"
9/20/14
Samhain - "Initium"
The Horrors - "Primary Colours"
Link 80 - "The Struggle Continues..."
The Naked Time - "Ferociously Adorable"
Monsters Of Folk - S/T
V/A - "Cure For FA" benefit compilation
Leon - S/T
9/21/14
KING 810 - "Memoirs Of A Murderer"
Lorenzo Perosi - "Transitus Animae"
Killwhitneydead - "Inhaling the Breath of a Bullet" EP
Terra Alive - "You Better Run Stevie Summers, My Family Owns This City" digital single
Coma Regalia/We Had A Deal - split 7"
Black Label Society - "The Blessed Hellride"
Jose Curbelo - "Rumba Gallega"
Soilwork - "Natural Born Chaos"
Empty Spaces - "All The Time"
Mothlight - "Calico"
Prong - "Beg To Differ"
9/22/14
Vesta Williams - "Everything-n-More"
Green Day - "Bullet In A Bible" live album
Bedhed - "A Product Of The Times"
Todd Congelliere - "Time to Be a Pussy" 7"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/23/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
The Faceless - "Autotheism"
9/24/14
Blind Lemon Jefferson - "Classic Sides" Disc 2
C.D. Truth - "1990-2005" Disc 2
Choix - S/T EP
Japanther - "Beets, Limes, and Rice"
Butcher Babies - "Goliath"
9/25/14
Zeki Muren - "Selahattin Pinar Sarkilari"
Wolfpack - "Allday Hell"
Fist Benders - "It's Raining"
Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell"
9/26/14
Maximum The Hormone - "Bu-ikkaesu"
Terror - "Always The Hard Way"
9/27/14
Oscar Castro-Neves - "Big Band Bossa Nova"
V/A - "theMovement" compilation CD
Lynch The Landlord - "Chuck knows everything about everything" EP
Dip Leg - "The Sympathy Without Love"
Anthrax - "Spreading The Disease"
Bud Powell - "Jazz Giant"
Neurosis - "Given To The Rising"
9/28/14
Lein - "Mothers" EP
Trachimbrod - "A Collection Of Hidden Sketches"
Otep - "Jihad" EP
The Cathedral Quartet - "Worship His Glory"
Killwhitneydead - "Never Good Enough For You"
Suffer Along - S/T EP
9/29/14
Remek - S/T LP
The Devil Wears Prada - "Dead Throne"
Gene Autry - "The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings"
Samhain - "Unholy Passion" EP
9/30/14
Brandon Thomas De La Cruz - "Three Songs" EP
Politess - 2012 EP
Carcass - "Symphonies Of Sickness"
MUSIC NOTES
- The (new) Bright Eyes album is badass...I kinda prefer the electronic stuff to his normal folk-indie stuff
- Worst of the month: Invade The River, Voidcrush, Growing Pains, Ladies' Code, Gypsy Rose, The Invisible Monsters, Klank, Lifted To Fall, LoveKillCircus, Danger Junkies, The Insomniac Collective, Amen, KING 810, Terra Alive, Black Label Society
- "Nutrition"
- Recluse is really good
- "Hajime" is a major step up from Dirt Squad's demos
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: perpetual motion machine, Fell Voices, Alpha MC, Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, The Commodores, Where My Bones Rest Easy, Snow Black, Darto, The Birthday Party, Envision, Moondog, Outlaws, Hysterics, Weather Report, Yaphet Kotto, Strangers Now, Jackie Lomax, Stubborn Father, Jimmy Ponder, Acidic Tree, Leon, We Had A Deal, Bedhed, Maximum The Hormone, Oscar Castro-Neves, Dip Leg, Bud Powell, Trachimbrod, Suffer Along, Remek
- I hate to even say the words but DAMN some of Fleetwood Mac's full-length albums are shit...If you were to subtract the songs that ended up on "Greatest Hits" CDs, "Mirage" is pretty terrible
- The way my music lists have worked for this month I somehow listened to the soundtracks to the animated "Lord Of The Rings" movie from the 80s, "The Wizard Of Oz," "Singin' in the Rain," and a goddamned Christian rock compilation CD...I have finally lost my fucking mind
- Honestly what was I thinking listening to a band called goddamn Klank? Or fucking Real Big Tits? Come on, Ian, get real...
- I never realized how much Troy hates his birthday
- Weed rules
- I listened to 2 albums called "Perseverance" this month; one hip hop and one hardcore
- Nu metal still sucks
- GET OFF THE PHONE!
- Ska is cool and punk is cool but ska-punk
- My friend Ben made a compilation album for a very good cause and you should all check it out; link included after the description: "This compilation is dedicated to raising money and awareness for FRIEDREICH'S ATAXIA (FA) a rare progressive neurological condition that causes damage to the nervous system. Its incidence in the general population is roughly 1 in 50,000. ALL payments for this comp will be donated directly to FARA (Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance). When FARA was founded in 1998, there were no treatment approaches or drugs in development for Friedreich’s ataxia. Since then, 15 compounds have reached clinical trials for FA, and there are currently 24 treatment approaches in development. Any fan of hardcore/punk can download this comp and GREATLY help the cause! With your help, we won't go untreated for much longer."
https://secondguessca.bandcamp.com/album/curefa-benefit-compilation
- "We are condemned where we stand."
- "Beg To Differ" is so much better than the other Prong album I had listened to
- That live Green Day album is fucking audacious
- What the hell happened to The Faceless? They're like a wannabe prog band now? And they suck? WTF?
- The new Fist Benders album kicks ass
- I've heard "Cemetery Gates" like a million times but this time it made so much more sense
- Bossa Nova music fucking rules
- "It's A Madhouse"
- I listened to Gene Autry's Christmas Classics on my own accord WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME
- Samhain is without a doubt Danzig's shittiest band and I feel like that's a point that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone to argue
MOVIES
9/2/14 : "Beerfest"
9/7/14: "The Island"
9/9/14: "Disturbia"
9/12/14: "Storm of the Century" 2DVD
9/19/14: "Zack And Miri Make A Porno"
9/28/14: "Pineapple Express"
"Youth In Revolt"
LIVE
9/6/14 : Interracial Bookclub/Liquid/Snow Black/Magpie/Happy In Hemet @ The Wheelhouse Bar
9/10/14 : Pilgrims/Them Savages/Ms. Moody @ The Dial
9/17/14 : Mouthful Of Snow/Dharma @ The Dial
9/1/14
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - "Bloodlust"
Invade The River - March 2014 digital demos
Watercolor Paintings - "These Arms"
Bright Eyes - "The People's Key"
Voidcrush - "Tragically Inconvenient"
Quaaludes - S/T
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Ground Up - March 2008 Demo
Recluse - "Fading Into Darkness, Drowning In Myself" EP
9/2/14
Dragons - "Musical Witchcraft"
Dirt Squad - "Hajime"
Left Astray - "Don't Look For Me" EP
perpetual motion machine - S/T EP
Red Curtain - Demo
Fell Voices - "Regnum Saturni"
The Word Alive - "Life Cycles"
Laurindo Almeida e Charlie Byrd - "Tango"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/3/14
Avi Zahner - Summer 2011 Demo CD
Conheartist - "Surrounded By Drones"
Fleetwood Mac - "Mirage"
Alpha MC - "I Don't Give A Fuck" mixtape
Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians - "Shooting Rubberbands At The Stars"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
8/4/14
GWAR - "America Must Be Destroyed"
Bivouac - "Sink/Swim" EP
Dinosaur Jr. - "Without A Sound"
Bad Religion - "All Ages"
9/5/14
fine pets - "No Gaze"
Best Supporting Actress - "The Many Moods Of"
Bamberger Symphoniker, Camerata Rhenania, Hanspeter Gmur, & Gerhard Vetter - "J.C. Bach: Sinfonias Op. 6, 9, &18"
Big Takeover - Demo
The Commodores - "Anthology" Disc 2
Where My Bones Rest - "Forget Me Love"/"Harmonix" digital single
9/6/14
Carnival Seasons - "The Town"
Luciano Pavarotti - "Pavarotti Forever" Disc 1
Dying Regret - 2-song promo CD
Snow Black - "Ebb & Flow" EP
Fugue - "Years"
Chemical X - Demo
Jimmy Reed - "I'm Jimmy Reed"
Wolfpack - "Hellhound Warpig" EP
Magpie - "Breathless" EP
Growing Pains - "Just The Same" digital single
9/7/14
Dead In Seconds - December 2013 digital single
Ladies' Code - "Code #01" EP
Magpie/Interracial Bookclub - split EP
Menace 2 Society - Demo 2014
Darto - "Hex"
Del Sestro/The Delicates - split EP
Al Caiola - "Tuff Guitar Tijuana Style"
Anti-Cimex - "Raped Ass" EP
Life Of Refusal - "Ackowledge/Ignore" EP
The Birthday Party - "Junkyard"
Envision - "Mind Control"
Dino Dvornik - "Enfant Terrible"
Kikeiji - "Plastic Scandal" EP
Colombian Necktie - "Twilight Upon Us"
Antioch Arrow - "The Lady Is A Cat"
Fire & Flesh - "Vengeance" EP
Leonard Rosenman - "The Lord Of The Rings" animated film soundtrack
Powerwolves - "Slaughtering The Machines" demo
Hideous Rebirth - "Partially Devoured"
Bricklayer - Demo
Foxfield - "Live at The Wire"
9/8/14
Moondog & The London Symphonic - "Sax Pax for a Sax"
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade"
Dying Messiah - "Heinous Spectacle
Cop Rot - "II" EP
From Hell - "Heresy"
Antonin Dvorak - "The Very Best Of"
9/9/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Battlehooch - Preview 2010 CD
AJ Froman - "Nocturno" EP
Footwork - "+JMGVM" EP
Gypsy Rose - S/T
Outlaws - "Ghost Riders"
V/A - "Old School Punk"
Sledding With Tigers - "Sorry ACxDC But I Recorded A Diss Track" digital single
Hysterics - "Can't I Live?" EP
The Invisible Monsters - "Vestibules Of The Dead" EP
9/10/14
Arthur Freed & Nacio Hero Brown - "Singin' in the Rain"
Them Savages - "Demos/Covers/B-Sides"
New Gods - "Sex & Destroy" EP
Klank - "Urban Warfare"
9/11/14
Weather Report - "Heavy Weather"
MobAttack - "A Night Of Disrespect"
Special Explosion - "The Art Of Mothering"
Lifted To Fall - "At Last I See" digital single
Herbert Stothart - "The Wizard Of Oz" original motion picture soundtrack
Soilwork - "Steelbath Suicide"
9/12/14
Wolfpack - "Lycanthro Punk"
Zeahorse - "Sulphur" digital single
Weed - "Deserve"
LoveKillCircus - "A Poet's Awakening" EP
Percee P - "Perseverance"
Barefoot Jerry - "Keys To The Country"
Led Zeppelin - "Mothership" Disc 2
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/13/14
nothing but a ghost - "from the walls of my room to the receiver in my phone"
Fake Tides - Demos
Yaphet Kotto - "The Killer Is In The Government Blankets"
Lanzo - "Law Of Attraction" EP
Arnold Schoenberg - "Pierrot Lunaire"
Helmet - "Monochrome"
Bad Kids - "Boys" EP
Scowler - "How To Find Light" EP
Aspect One - "Grit Mercenaries"
V/A - "Old School Punk"
9/14/14
Nelu Ploiesteanu, Stefan Iordache & Gheorghe Dinica - "Cantece de Petrecere"
James Taylor - "The Best Of"
Danger Junkies - "So Divine" digital single
Strangers Now/Enta - split EP
Immolation - "Here In After"
Stuff Smith - "Hot Jazz Violin"
7 Second - "Walk Together, Rock Together"
Noise Complaint - "Parasite"
Things Fall Apart/Light Black/Vowel/City Of Ifa - 4-way split
One OK Rock - "Mighty Long Fall"/"Decision" digital single
Jackie Lomax - "Home is in My Head"
9/15/14
Circle Jerks - "Group Sex"
The Insomniac Collective/High Tension - split EP
Stubborn Father - "2002-2012"
MAN WITH A MISSION - "Emotions" EP
Bruno Walter - "Mahler Symphony No. 4 in G"
Real Big Tits - "Suit Up" digital single
Converge/Napalm Death - split EP
The Young Dubliners - "With Due Respect: The Irish Sessions"
9/16/14
Hatebreed - "Perseverance"
Death - "Human"
Jimmy Ponder - "Steel City Blues"
Fall Out Boy - "From Under The Cork Tree"
Mouthful Of Snow - "The Truth Hurts, But You Would Still Like To Hear It"
nim - "a message from" digital single
The Real McKenzies - "10,000 Shots"
9/17/14
Amen - S/T
Hank Williams - "24 Of Hank Williams' Greatest Hits"
9/18/14
Cursive - "Burst & Bloom" EP
Deep Fields - "Salazar"/"Leonidas" digital single
Acidic Tree - "Forever Boneless" demo
The Young Dubliners - "Breathe"
Miss May I - "At Heart"
9/19/14
Smut Peddlers - "Failure"
9/20/14
Samhain - "Initium"
The Horrors - "Primary Colours"
Link 80 - "The Struggle Continues..."
The Naked Time - "Ferociously Adorable"
Monsters Of Folk - S/T
V/A - "Cure For FA" benefit compilation
Leon - S/T
9/21/14
KING 810 - "Memoirs Of A Murderer"
Lorenzo Perosi - "Transitus Animae"
Killwhitneydead - "Inhaling the Breath of a Bullet" EP
Terra Alive - "You Better Run Stevie Summers, My Family Owns This City" digital single
Coma Regalia/We Had A Deal - split 7"
Black Label Society - "The Blessed Hellride"
Jose Curbelo - "Rumba Gallega"
Soilwork - "Natural Born Chaos"
Empty Spaces - "All The Time"
Mothlight - "Calico"
Prong - "Beg To Differ"
9/22/14
Vesta Williams - "Everything-n-More"
Green Day - "Bullet In A Bible" live album
Bedhed - "A Product Of The Times"
Todd Congelliere - "Time to Be a Pussy" 7"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
9/23/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
The Faceless - "Autotheism"
9/24/14
Blind Lemon Jefferson - "Classic Sides" Disc 2
C.D. Truth - "1990-2005" Disc 2
Choix - S/T EP
Japanther - "Beets, Limes, and Rice"
Butcher Babies - "Goliath"
9/25/14
Zeki Muren - "Selahattin Pinar Sarkilari"
Wolfpack - "Allday Hell"
Fist Benders - "It's Raining"
Pantera - "Cowboys From Hell"
9/26/14
Maximum The Hormone - "Bu-ikkaesu"
Terror - "Always The Hard Way"
9/27/14
Oscar Castro-Neves - "Big Band Bossa Nova"
V/A - "theMovement" compilation CD
Lynch The Landlord - "Chuck knows everything about everything" EP
Dip Leg - "The Sympathy Without Love"
Anthrax - "Spreading The Disease"
Bud Powell - "Jazz Giant"
Neurosis - "Given To The Rising"
9/28/14
Lein - "Mothers" EP
Trachimbrod - "A Collection Of Hidden Sketches"
Otep - "Jihad" EP
The Cathedral Quartet - "Worship His Glory"
Killwhitneydead - "Never Good Enough For You"
Suffer Along - S/T EP
9/29/14
Remek - S/T LP
The Devil Wears Prada - "Dead Throne"
Gene Autry - "The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings"
Samhain - "Unholy Passion" EP
9/30/14
Brandon Thomas De La Cruz - "Three Songs" EP
Politess - 2012 EP
Carcass - "Symphonies Of Sickness"
MUSIC NOTES
- The (new) Bright Eyes album is badass...I kinda prefer the electronic stuff to his normal folk-indie stuff
- Worst of the month: Invade The River, Voidcrush, Growing Pains, Ladies' Code, Gypsy Rose, The Invisible Monsters, Klank, Lifted To Fall, LoveKillCircus, Danger Junkies, The Insomniac Collective, Amen, KING 810, Terra Alive, Black Label Society
- "Nutrition"
- Recluse is really good
- "Hajime" is a major step up from Dirt Squad's demos
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: perpetual motion machine, Fell Voices, Alpha MC, Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, The Commodores, Where My Bones Rest Easy, Snow Black, Darto, The Birthday Party, Envision, Moondog, Outlaws, Hysterics, Weather Report, Yaphet Kotto, Strangers Now, Jackie Lomax, Stubborn Father, Jimmy Ponder, Acidic Tree, Leon, We Had A Deal, Bedhed, Maximum The Hormone, Oscar Castro-Neves, Dip Leg, Bud Powell, Trachimbrod, Suffer Along, Remek
- I hate to even say the words but DAMN some of Fleetwood Mac's full-length albums are shit...If you were to subtract the songs that ended up on "Greatest Hits" CDs, "Mirage" is pretty terrible
- The way my music lists have worked for this month I somehow listened to the soundtracks to the animated "Lord Of The Rings" movie from the 80s, "The Wizard Of Oz," "Singin' in the Rain," and a goddamned Christian rock compilation CD...I have finally lost my fucking mind
- Honestly what was I thinking listening to a band called goddamn Klank? Or fucking Real Big Tits? Come on, Ian, get real...
- I never realized how much Troy hates his birthday
- Weed rules
- I listened to 2 albums called "Perseverance" this month; one hip hop and one hardcore
- Nu metal still sucks
- GET OFF THE PHONE!
- Ska is cool and punk is cool but ska-punk
- My friend Ben made a compilation album for a very good cause and you should all check it out; link included after the description: "This compilation is dedicated to raising money and awareness for FRIEDREICH'S ATAXIA (FA) a rare progressive neurological condition that causes damage to the nervous system. Its incidence in the general population is roughly 1 in 50,000. ALL payments for this comp will be donated directly to FARA (Friedreich's Ataxia Research Alliance). When FARA was founded in 1998, there were no treatment approaches or drugs in development for Friedreich’s ataxia. Since then, 15 compounds have reached clinical trials for FA, and there are currently 24 treatment approaches in development. Any fan of hardcore/punk can download this comp and GREATLY help the cause! With your help, we won't go untreated for much longer."
https://secondguessca.bandcamp.com/album/curefa-benefit-compilation
- "We are condemned where we stand."
- "Beg To Differ" is so much better than the other Prong album I had listened to
- That live Green Day album is fucking audacious
- What the hell happened to The Faceless? They're like a wannabe prog band now? And they suck? WTF?
- The new Fist Benders album kicks ass
- I've heard "Cemetery Gates" like a million times but this time it made so much more sense
- Bossa Nova music fucking rules
- "It's A Madhouse"
- I listened to Gene Autry's Christmas Classics on my own accord WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH ME
- Samhain is without a doubt Danzig's shittiest band and I feel like that's a point that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone to argue
MOVIES
9/2/14 : "Beerfest"
9/7/14: "The Island"
9/9/14: "Disturbia"
9/12/14: "Storm of the Century" 2DVD
9/19/14: "Zack And Miri Make A Porno"
9/28/14: "Pineapple Express"
"Youth In Revolt"
LIVE
9/6/14 : Interracial Bookclub/Liquid/Snow Black/Magpie/Happy In Hemet @ The Wheelhouse Bar
9/10/14 : Pilgrims/Them Savages/Ms. Moody @ The Dial
9/17/14 : Mouthful Of Snow/Dharma @ The Dial
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Playlist for August 2014
This is a list of all the albums, EPs, singles, etc. that I listened to in their entirety during the month of August 2014. Below that are lists of the movies I watched, zines I read, and bands that I saw live, as well as notes regarding each.
MUSIC
8/1/14-8/7/14
Smashing Pumpkins - "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" 2CD
Nirvana - "Nevermind"
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Green Day - "Dookie"
8/8/14
Mental Decay - "Run and Hide" EP
Bouncing Souls - "Maniacal Laughter"
8/9/14
Necrophagist - "Onset Of Putrefaction"
New Order - "Singles" Disc 2
Recluse - "Fading Into Darkness, Drowning In Myself" EP
So Stressed - "Attracted To Open Mouths"
Minor Threat - First Demo
8/10/14
The Tossers - "On A Fine Spring Morning"
Rogue Rats - S/T
8/11/14
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Jimmy Martin - "1954-1974, Vol. 4"
Crisis Arm - "Rend"
Green Day - "Dookie"
8/13/14
The Sky Above And Earth Below - "Parting Ways"
HIM - "Dark Light"
8/14/14
Blue Oyster Cult - S/T
Homegrown Hypocrisy - S/T
Black Cross - "Art Offensive"
The Glass Daggers - "Feel Good Destruction"
Underneath The Gun - "Forfeit Misfortunes"
Crisis Arm - "Rend"
8/15/14
Death By Stereo - "Day Of The Death"
8/16/14
Dead Kennedys - "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Pisces Iscariot"
8/18/14
Fractalline - "Polymath Theory"
Ordstro - "Fall MMXII" cassette
Big D & The Kids Table - "Good Luck"
Wire - "Pink Flag"
8/19/14
Our First Brains - 2014 Tour EP
Ordstro - Summer 2011 Tape
Void Boys/Hillary Chillton - split EP
Protest The Hero - "Kezia"
8/20/14
Joyride! - "bodies of water"
Mechachief - "Intruders"
Dreamdecay - "NVNVNV"
Wunami - S/T
Badlands - Demo
Dream Caste - "A Calmer Room" EP
Iron Maiden - "The Number Of The Beast"
Paper Thin - S/T EP
Stephen Steinbrink - "Arranged Waves"
Biblical Violence - "smmmece" digital single
V/A - "Fresh Cuts Vol.6" Guitar Center promo CD
8/21/14
Human Hands - S/T
8/22/14
Gravespell - "Gaia Terminus"
8/23/14
Vexx - S/T 10"
8/24/14
Rotting Christ - "Khronos"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Struckout - "I'd Hate Me Too"
Hope - "Feeling Like A Buck Fifty"
Knights Of The Abyss - "Shades"
8/15/14
High Tension - Live Demo
Adamantium - "From The Depths Of Depression"
Bouncing Souls - "Maniacal Laughter"
8/26/14
Cursive - "The Difference Between Houses & Homes"
Vril - January 2013 digital demos
8/27/14
Snotrocket - Demo
Nomads - "Night.Owls//Mayhem.Aficionados//Death.Seekers" EP
Cold Lovers - "Mouth" EP
Full Of Hell - "Music From The Dial" live EP
Boilerman - "Loss Leaders"
Death March - "Fuck Your Fucking War" EP
The Valenteens - "Fun in the Sun With..." EP
Silverstein - "Discovering The Waterfront"
Noisem - "Agony Defined"
8/28/14
Nation Of Ulysses - "13-Point Program To Destroy America"
Banana Moose - "Part II" EP
The Caution Children - "Safe Crusades/No Judgements/And Baby"
Captain J Sperry - "Demon.Stration1" demo
8/29/14
Prawn - "Short Stay, Long Road" EP
Badblood - "End Me" EP
No Sir - "Holy Land" EP
Converge/Dropdead - split EP
Weatherbox - "Follow The Rattle Of The Afghan Guitar"
8/30/14
Silverstein - "Discovering The Waterfront"
8/31/14
Drive Like Jehu - "Yank Crime"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Run Forever - "Settling"
HBH - "Slackin' It" EP
MUSIC NOTES
- I basically just listened to whatever Troy put on the CD player for the first couple weeks that we lived at the new apartment, and that was pretty much just the 4 CDs listed at the top of the list. For at least a week.
- "Born To Lose"
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Recluse, The Sky Above And Earth Below, Fractalline, Badlands, Dream Caste, Gravespell, Snotrocket, Nomads, The Caution Children
- "Immoral, Inconvenient People..." .... "Rend" is such a good album
- "I never fit in anywhere, and now I don't I fit here. No hope, nothing to believe in."
- I had no idea Troy would like Big D & The Kids Table so damn much
- Protest The Hero fucking kicks ass; I can't believe the bassist left
- Fucking Wunami, goddamn
- Every time I listen to Stephen Steinbrink I'm blown away
- How did Hope get so thoroughly forgotten? They were badass
- "From The Depths Of Depression"
- Noisem KICKS ASS but when I saw them live I couldn't hear any of the solos
- After hearing "13-Point Program To Destroy America" I'm almost shocked at how blatantly Refused ripped it off on "The Shape Of Punk To Come"....it's just too obvious
- That was the first time I ever listened to Drive Like Jehu
- "Nutrition" is finished. Hit me up if you want a copy.
- HBH was by far the worst band I listened to last month. Maybe the worst of all 2014.
LIVE
8/7/14 - Crisis Arm/Pilgrims/Little Bear/(The Gravitys)/Obsolete Sun @ The Dial
8/15/14 - (Ian C. with special guest Troy Campbell)/Plastic City Pariah @ Che Cafe
8/29/14 - Dropdead/Full Of Hell/Noisem/The Coltranes/Badblood @ The Dial
LIVE NOTES
- On the 7th we played one of the best Gravitys sets we ever did and covered The Ramones perfectly before my good friends in Crisis Arm left for tour. On the 15th I played the worst set I have ever played in my entire life and then left my notebook at the venue. Alcohol is a hell of a drug...
- Dropdead is a quality live band. Extremely solid every time.
ZINES
8/8/14 - Crisis Arm - "Rend" lyrics/art accompaniment
8/19/14 - KYEO Speaks 8
8/28/14 - HUBY #4
MOVIES
8/9/14 - "Fun With Dick And Jane"
"It"
"The Wolf Of Wall Street"
8/10/14 - "Chappelle's Show Season 1" Disc 1
8/12/14 - "Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam"
"Ride Along"
8/13/14 - "We Are Marshall"
8/17/14 - "Her"
"Pastor Shepherd"
8/18/14 - "The Purge"
8/19/14 - "Afflicted"
"The Fighter"
8/22/14 - "Beerfest"
8/27/14 - "The Professional"
8/28/14 - "Stargate"
8/30/14 - "American Pie 2"
"The Glass Castle"
8/31/14 - "The Butterfly Effect"
"Fight Club"
MOVIE NOTES
- That's like, way more movies than I normally watch in a single month
- Despite it being one of my mom and my brother Troy's favorite movies, that was the first time I had seen "It"....it's all about togetherness and being there for one another and facing your inner demons and I liked it.
- I had read some bad reviews beforehand but DAMN "Ride Along" sucks
- "Her" wasn't as tear-jerking as I had been led to believe but it was definitely the best movie I've seen in quite a long time
- "Pastor Shepherd" is a weird fucking movie, ESPECIALLY after reading about its background...I'm not entirely sure what angle this guy is going for to be honest.
- I am Christian Bale's character in "The Fighter" and Troy is Mark Wahlberg....It sucks
- I have watched "Beerfest" wayyyyy too many times
- "The Professional" is so much creepier than I remember
- Troy went to bed before "Stargate" was over and honestly I don't blame him
- "The Glass Castle" is a ridiculous, ridiculous movie
- Troy had never seen "Fight Club" before WTF
MUSIC
8/1/14-8/7/14
Smashing Pumpkins - "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" 2CD
Nirvana - "Nevermind"
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Green Day - "Dookie"
8/8/14
Mental Decay - "Run and Hide" EP
Bouncing Souls - "Maniacal Laughter"
8/9/14
Necrophagist - "Onset Of Putrefaction"
New Order - "Singles" Disc 2
Recluse - "Fading Into Darkness, Drowning In Myself" EP
So Stressed - "Attracted To Open Mouths"
Minor Threat - First Demo
8/10/14
The Tossers - "On A Fine Spring Morning"
Rogue Rats - S/T
8/11/14
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Jimmy Martin - "1954-1974, Vol. 4"
Crisis Arm - "Rend"
Green Day - "Dookie"
8/13/14
The Sky Above And Earth Below - "Parting Ways"
HIM - "Dark Light"
8/14/14
Blue Oyster Cult - S/T
Homegrown Hypocrisy - S/T
Black Cross - "Art Offensive"
The Glass Daggers - "Feel Good Destruction"
Underneath The Gun - "Forfeit Misfortunes"
Crisis Arm - "Rend"
8/15/14
Death By Stereo - "Day Of The Death"
8/16/14
Dead Kennedys - "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Pisces Iscariot"
8/18/14
Fractalline - "Polymath Theory"
Ordstro - "Fall MMXII" cassette
Big D & The Kids Table - "Good Luck"
Wire - "Pink Flag"
8/19/14
Our First Brains - 2014 Tour EP
Ordstro - Summer 2011 Tape
Void Boys/Hillary Chillton - split EP
Protest The Hero - "Kezia"
8/20/14
Joyride! - "bodies of water"
Mechachief - "Intruders"
Dreamdecay - "NVNVNV"
Wunami - S/T
Badlands - Demo
Dream Caste - "A Calmer Room" EP
Iron Maiden - "The Number Of The Beast"
Paper Thin - S/T EP
Stephen Steinbrink - "Arranged Waves"
Biblical Violence - "smmmece" digital single
V/A - "Fresh Cuts Vol.6" Guitar Center promo CD
8/21/14
Human Hands - S/T
8/22/14
Gravespell - "Gaia Terminus"
8/23/14
Vexx - S/T 10"
8/24/14
Rotting Christ - "Khronos"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Struckout - "I'd Hate Me Too"
Hope - "Feeling Like A Buck Fifty"
Knights Of The Abyss - "Shades"
8/15/14
High Tension - Live Demo
Adamantium - "From The Depths Of Depression"
Bouncing Souls - "Maniacal Laughter"
8/26/14
Cursive - "The Difference Between Houses & Homes"
Vril - January 2013 digital demos
8/27/14
Snotrocket - Demo
Nomads - "Night.Owls//Mayhem.Aficionados//Death.Seekers" EP
Cold Lovers - "Mouth" EP
Full Of Hell - "Music From The Dial" live EP
Boilerman - "Loss Leaders"
Death March - "Fuck Your Fucking War" EP
The Valenteens - "Fun in the Sun With..." EP
Silverstein - "Discovering The Waterfront"
Noisem - "Agony Defined"
8/28/14
Nation Of Ulysses - "13-Point Program To Destroy America"
Banana Moose - "Part II" EP
The Caution Children - "Safe Crusades/No Judgements/And Baby"
Captain J Sperry - "Demon.Stration1" demo
8/29/14
Prawn - "Short Stay, Long Road" EP
Badblood - "End Me" EP
No Sir - "Holy Land" EP
Converge/Dropdead - split EP
Weatherbox - "Follow The Rattle Of The Afghan Guitar"
8/30/14
Silverstein - "Discovering The Waterfront"
8/31/14
Drive Like Jehu - "Yank Crime"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Run Forever - "Settling"
HBH - "Slackin' It" EP
MUSIC NOTES
- I basically just listened to whatever Troy put on the CD player for the first couple weeks that we lived at the new apartment, and that was pretty much just the 4 CDs listed at the top of the list. For at least a week.
- "Born To Lose"
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Recluse, The Sky Above And Earth Below, Fractalline, Badlands, Dream Caste, Gravespell, Snotrocket, Nomads, The Caution Children
- "Immoral, Inconvenient People..." .... "Rend" is such a good album
- "I never fit in anywhere, and now I don't I fit here. No hope, nothing to believe in."
- I had no idea Troy would like Big D & The Kids Table so damn much
- Protest The Hero fucking kicks ass; I can't believe the bassist left
- Fucking Wunami, goddamn
- Every time I listen to Stephen Steinbrink I'm blown away
- How did Hope get so thoroughly forgotten? They were badass
- "From The Depths Of Depression"
- Noisem KICKS ASS but when I saw them live I couldn't hear any of the solos
- After hearing "13-Point Program To Destroy America" I'm almost shocked at how blatantly Refused ripped it off on "The Shape Of Punk To Come"....it's just too obvious
- That was the first time I ever listened to Drive Like Jehu
- "Nutrition" is finished. Hit me up if you want a copy.
- HBH was by far the worst band I listened to last month. Maybe the worst of all 2014.
LIVE
8/7/14 - Crisis Arm/Pilgrims/Little Bear/(The Gravitys)/Obsolete Sun @ The Dial
8/15/14 - (Ian C. with special guest Troy Campbell)/Plastic City Pariah @ Che Cafe
8/29/14 - Dropdead/Full Of Hell/Noisem/The Coltranes/Badblood @ The Dial
LIVE NOTES
- On the 7th we played one of the best Gravitys sets we ever did and covered The Ramones perfectly before my good friends in Crisis Arm left for tour. On the 15th I played the worst set I have ever played in my entire life and then left my notebook at the venue. Alcohol is a hell of a drug...
- Dropdead is a quality live band. Extremely solid every time.
ZINES
8/8/14 - Crisis Arm - "Rend" lyrics/art accompaniment
8/19/14 - KYEO Speaks 8
8/28/14 - HUBY #4
MOVIES
8/9/14 - "Fun With Dick And Jane"
"It"
"The Wolf Of Wall Street"
8/10/14 - "Chappelle's Show Season 1" Disc 1
8/12/14 - "Shaquille O'Neal Presents: All Star Comedy Jam"
"Ride Along"
8/13/14 - "We Are Marshall"
8/17/14 - "Her"
"Pastor Shepherd"
8/18/14 - "The Purge"
8/19/14 - "Afflicted"
"The Fighter"
8/22/14 - "Beerfest"
8/27/14 - "The Professional"
8/28/14 - "Stargate"
8/30/14 - "American Pie 2"
"The Glass Castle"
8/31/14 - "The Butterfly Effect"
"Fight Club"
MOVIE NOTES
- That's like, way more movies than I normally watch in a single month
- Despite it being one of my mom and my brother Troy's favorite movies, that was the first time I had seen "It"....it's all about togetherness and being there for one another and facing your inner demons and I liked it.
- I had read some bad reviews beforehand but DAMN "Ride Along" sucks
- "Her" wasn't as tear-jerking as I had been led to believe but it was definitely the best movie I've seen in quite a long time
- "Pastor Shepherd" is a weird fucking movie, ESPECIALLY after reading about its background...I'm not entirely sure what angle this guy is going for to be honest.
- I am Christian Bale's character in "The Fighter" and Troy is Mark Wahlberg....It sucks
- I have watched "Beerfest" wayyyyy too many times
- "The Professional" is so much creepier than I remember
- Troy went to bed before "Stargate" was over and honestly I don't blame him
- "The Glass Castle" is a ridiculous, ridiculous movie
- Troy had never seen "Fight Club" before WTF
Monday, September 15, 2014
EP REVIEW: Hysterics - "Can't I Live"
I listened to this EP a few days ago and immediately after it was over I played it again, something is that is a major rarity in my listening patterns. I usually go from release to release to release without much of a pause in between but when this one ended I just had to hear it again.
Hysterics is an all-female thrashy punk band from Portland with a vocalist that has absolutely badass ripping screams. This EP was released as a 7" by M'Lady's Records earlier this year, who also released Vexx's similarly dope 10" but in my opinion this is even doper. In a way they have a fast, basic approach to their songs that's at once almost street punk a la Blatz while simultaneously reminding me of seriously-angry bands like Uniform Choice or, in the case of the hyperfast delivery in "Psychotic Drain," SOA. You can just tell in her scream, the gritty and powerful barks, that she means what she's saying.
There are a few moments when the thrash culls slightly, like the deep echoey part in "Now I See What I Have Lost" and the mid-tempo rock n roll swagger in "Please Sir," which at 4 minutes is by far the longest track on the EP. I didn't read the lyrics but with a title like "Please Sir" and a refrain of "I want some more" I've got to assume it's a somewhat flippant/ironic comment on institutional misogyny etc. This track has the kind of continuous growing trudge that brings to mind Ceremony's "Sick" due to its constant repetition that builds and builds upon the same layer until it's weighing itself in.
EP closer "No Vision" is expressive in a nearly Embrace-type way, bringing to mind the song "No More Pain" in particular, but of course with more intensely biting screams than MacKaye's near-talking delivery. The seemingly facetious imploring to "give me your blessing/thank you!" also brought to mind the kind of irreverent, nearly-cryptic yet still question-raising lyrics on Nirvana's first album, but that might just be because my brother has been playing "Bleach" like, all the damn time lately.
This is highly recommended to fans of harsh yet listenable hardcore punk, especially those of you keen on killer female vocals; this chick really wails.
http://mladysrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mlr-044-cant-i-live-7-ep
Hysterics is an all-female thrashy punk band from Portland with a vocalist that has absolutely badass ripping screams. This EP was released as a 7" by M'Lady's Records earlier this year, who also released Vexx's similarly dope 10" but in my opinion this is even doper. In a way they have a fast, basic approach to their songs that's at once almost street punk a la Blatz while simultaneously reminding me of seriously-angry bands like Uniform Choice or, in the case of the hyperfast delivery in "Psychotic Drain," SOA. You can just tell in her scream, the gritty and powerful barks, that she means what she's saying.
There are a few moments when the thrash culls slightly, like the deep echoey part in "Now I See What I Have Lost" and the mid-tempo rock n roll swagger in "Please Sir," which at 4 minutes is by far the longest track on the EP. I didn't read the lyrics but with a title like "Please Sir" and a refrain of "I want some more" I've got to assume it's a somewhat flippant/ironic comment on institutional misogyny etc. This track has the kind of continuous growing trudge that brings to mind Ceremony's "Sick" due to its constant repetition that builds and builds upon the same layer until it's weighing itself in.
EP closer "No Vision" is expressive in a nearly Embrace-type way, bringing to mind the song "No More Pain" in particular, but of course with more intensely biting screams than MacKaye's near-talking delivery. The seemingly facetious imploring to "give me your blessing/thank you!" also brought to mind the kind of irreverent, nearly-cryptic yet still question-raising lyrics on Nirvana's first album, but that might just be because my brother has been playing "Bleach" like, all the damn time lately.
This is highly recommended to fans of harsh yet listenable hardcore punk, especially those of you keen on killer female vocals; this chick really wails.
http://mladysrecords.bandcamp.com/album/mlr-044-cant-i-live-7-ep
Thursday, September 11, 2014
DEMO REVIEW: MobAttack - "A Night Of Disrespect"
MobAttack is a d-beat style punk band from Corona. They label themselves as "tradional hardcore punk" on their bandcamp page but they've got to be referring to what was called "hardcore" in England not the States, because this brings to mind bands like Conflict, Discharge, or even maybe Disorder much more than what's "traditionally" called "hardcore" here in California.
This 2-song demo is alright but there are just so many bands in this vein from the last 30 years that its difficult for any of them, much less a startup, to really stand out at all. The first song has a repeating 2-chord verse with thrashy, kinda sloppy drums and for the 'chorus'/chant part its like they're just going down the fretboard playing muted harmonics. It's called "Join The Resistance," and again Conflict came up in my mind as the nearest point of reference. Take that as you will.
The second song, "Disaster or Disarmament" (real topical, guys) has a bit more substance but unfortunately the main riff in the song is pretty much the exact same chords as "Crippled With Fear" by State Of Fear, and for me that's like a classic so it was kind of hard to hear this song without hearing that also subconsciously. There's a real crappy solo at the end, although not out of step for d-beat/street punk stylings, and then the demo's over.
This was released over a year ago and they don't appear to have any new music out since, but they do have some shows listed so I'm gonna just believe that somewhere in their set are songs more memorable or worthwhile than what's on this demo.
http://mobattack.bandcamp.com/album/a-night-of-disrespect
This 2-song demo is alright but there are just so many bands in this vein from the last 30 years that its difficult for any of them, much less a startup, to really stand out at all. The first song has a repeating 2-chord verse with thrashy, kinda sloppy drums and for the 'chorus'/chant part its like they're just going down the fretboard playing muted harmonics. It's called "Join The Resistance," and again Conflict came up in my mind as the nearest point of reference. Take that as you will.
The second song, "Disaster or Disarmament" (real topical, guys) has a bit more substance but unfortunately the main riff in the song is pretty much the exact same chords as "Crippled With Fear" by State Of Fear, and for me that's like a classic so it was kind of hard to hear this song without hearing that also subconsciously. There's a real crappy solo at the end, although not out of step for d-beat/street punk stylings, and then the demo's over.
This was released over a year ago and they don't appear to have any new music out since, but they do have some shows listed so I'm gonna just believe that somewhere in their set are songs more memorable or worthwhile than what's on this demo.
http://mobattack.bandcamp.com/album/a-night-of-disrespect
Monday, September 8, 2014
ALBUM REVIEW: Dying Messiah - "Heinous Spectacle Of Mutilation"
Another day, another underground brutal death metal album with programmed drums and lots of cool samples. I really hate programmed drums and I don't get why so many death metal bands make releases using them. I mean, I guess I understand the desire to get your songs out there so assholes like myself can hear them but its so distractingly un-organic to hear the exact same cymbal and snare sounds for 40 minutes. It's especially grating when they're programmed to do (literally) inhuman grind speeds, like the chatter going on in "Gone Before The Bodies Drop." It's so fast that its actually kinda stupid and the click of the false snare is so loud as to drown out the guitars. It almost sounds like some late-90s techno buildup right before the lights go down. Moby still holds the world record for fastest BPM in a song and fake grind drums sound alot like that Moby song. Sorry.
Otherwise, this is a pretty badass album with concepts sicker than alot of more metaphysical/metaphorical death metal bands out right now. This is straight up gore metal along the lines of Exhumed or (of course) Cannibal Corpse, with imaginative songs like "Skinned Alive And Crucified," "Bound Duct Taped And Drowned," and "Crushed Into Cranial Fragments." There's also the sexist element that again, only the most 'brutal' of death metal bands really embrace, as evidenced by songs like "Whoring Out The Innocent" and the ever-so-subtle "Motivated By Misogynistic Hatred." I wonder what that song is about. Other topics include "MethLab Mutilation"s and "The Bible Pimp" so if anything at least these sick bastards have some scope with their subject matter.
Their disgusting subject matter.
The guitars on this entire release are relentless and bring a vibe of very old school death metal, particularly the aforementioned Exhumed, and the vocals are low and unintelligible all the way as well. There's a slight reprieve for a spooky clean intro to "Hacksaw Slaughter" but soon enough that bludgeons its way as well. I just cannot get over the false sound of the programmed drums but at this point it seems like more than half the death metal releases I come across these days are filled with computer drums so I guess I'll just have to get over it.
It would be alot cooler with real drums though.
http://dyingmessiah.bandcamp.com/album/heinous-spectacle-of-mutilation
Otherwise, this is a pretty badass album with concepts sicker than alot of more metaphysical/metaphorical death metal bands out right now. This is straight up gore metal along the lines of Exhumed or (of course) Cannibal Corpse, with imaginative songs like "Skinned Alive And Crucified," "Bound Duct Taped And Drowned," and "Crushed Into Cranial Fragments." There's also the sexist element that again, only the most 'brutal' of death metal bands really embrace, as evidenced by songs like "Whoring Out The Innocent" and the ever-so-subtle "Motivated By Misogynistic Hatred." I wonder what that song is about. Other topics include "MethLab Mutilation"s and "The Bible Pimp" so if anything at least these sick bastards have some scope with their subject matter.
Their disgusting subject matter.
The guitars on this entire release are relentless and bring a vibe of very old school death metal, particularly the aforementioned Exhumed, and the vocals are low and unintelligible all the way as well. There's a slight reprieve for a spooky clean intro to "Hacksaw Slaughter" but soon enough that bludgeons its way as well. I just cannot get over the false sound of the programmed drums but at this point it seems like more than half the death metal releases I come across these days are filled with computer drums so I guess I'll just have to get over it.
It would be alot cooler with real drums though.
http://dyingmessiah.bandcamp.com/album/heinous-spectacle-of-mutilation
Sunday, September 7, 2014
ALBUM REVIEW: Hideous Rebirth - "Partially Devoured"
Hideous Rebirth is a "brutal" death metal band very much in the line of Dying Fetus, Suffocation or even Cannibal Corpse. Their recent album "Partially Devoured" was released earlier this year on Gore House Productions and I streamed it earlier tonight as I was folding my laundry.
The first few songs were strong enough, the guitarists certainly know what they're doing and there's enough time changes to keep you interested, but the drums are clearly programmed and that's a major distraction for me. I wasn't really thinking too much of it one way or the other, it was cool stuff on the whole minus the minor drum annoyance so I was just letting it play through.
That was until, however, I looked at the screen to see what the current song was called. It was called "Butthole Portal."
Hideous Rebirth, how in the fuck am I supposed to take you seriously when you have a song called goddamned "Butthole Portal?" That's something Green Jelly would call a song; I feel like that'd be too stupid even for 90's GWAR. The song itself is okay but its just such a terrible song title that I felt compelled to write this review.
Let's just act like I never looked at the tracklisting and talk about the music. This is very technical death metal that shifts from brutal heavy mosh parts into shredding grind-like parts with ease and there is a dual vocal approach featuring both curdled highs and guttural lows. Almost every song starts with some kind of macabre sample or another, although a couple I'm pretty sure I've heard on other albums.
Upon looking up the band's Facebook page, it appears that this release was recorded entirely by founding member Duane Gutierrez so that would explain the programmed drums. He's recruited members of Ossification and In The Form Of Flesh to fill out the band so hopefully new stuff comes soon and it doesn't have embarrassingly juvenile song titles
.
http://gorehouseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/partially-devoured
The first few songs were strong enough, the guitarists certainly know what they're doing and there's enough time changes to keep you interested, but the drums are clearly programmed and that's a major distraction for me. I wasn't really thinking too much of it one way or the other, it was cool stuff on the whole minus the minor drum annoyance so I was just letting it play through.
That was until, however, I looked at the screen to see what the current song was called. It was called "Butthole Portal."
Hideous Rebirth, how in the fuck am I supposed to take you seriously when you have a song called goddamned "Butthole Portal?" That's something Green Jelly would call a song; I feel like that'd be too stupid even for 90's GWAR. The song itself is okay but its just such a terrible song title that I felt compelled to write this review.
Let's just act like I never looked at the tracklisting and talk about the music. This is very technical death metal that shifts from brutal heavy mosh parts into shredding grind-like parts with ease and there is a dual vocal approach featuring both curdled highs and guttural lows. Almost every song starts with some kind of macabre sample or another, although a couple I'm pretty sure I've heard on other albums.
Upon looking up the band's Facebook page, it appears that this release was recorded entirely by founding member Duane Gutierrez so that would explain the programmed drums. He's recruited members of Ossification and In The Form Of Flesh to fill out the band so hopefully new stuff comes soon and it doesn't have embarrassingly juvenile song titles
.
http://gorehouseproductions.bandcamp.com/album/partially-devoured
EP: Kikeiji - "Plastic Scandal"
Kikeiji was a punk band from Japan that played in the early to mid 1980s. Unlike many other well-known Japanese hardcore/punk bands from that time period, however, Kikeiji relies very little on 'noise' factors or any overtly obvious 'metal' tendencies; instead they hearken back to UK anarcho punk sounds, bringing to mind the Subhumans in particular. Much to my liking with this type of punk, the bass is well pronounced throughout the 4 songs on this release, originally put out as a 7" on ADK Records in 1983.
This short release manages to branch a few different sounds within the general realm of what was going on in early punk: The first track has an angry-ska feel on some of the guitar parts that again, brings to mind Subhumans or maybe even Zounds if they were a bit more distorted, while the third track has a rock-fuck groove going on like an even more rollicking version of the Big Boys. The fourth track is the type of slow, repetitive, chant-like punk song that's almost post-punk but not all the way there, with fairly cool echoey guitar 'solo' middle parts to add to a sense of eeriness.
This is a really cool release and I'd highly recommend downloading it if you can find it. I had gotten it from the blog 7inchpunk.com but that's been shut down it looks like. If you somehow come across some old Japanese punk records and this is in there, buy the lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL0JXZXBIpw
This short release manages to branch a few different sounds within the general realm of what was going on in early punk: The first track has an angry-ska feel on some of the guitar parts that again, brings to mind Subhumans or maybe even Zounds if they were a bit more distorted, while the third track has a rock-fuck groove going on like an even more rollicking version of the Big Boys. The fourth track is the type of slow, repetitive, chant-like punk song that's almost post-punk but not all the way there, with fairly cool echoey guitar 'solo' middle parts to add to a sense of eeriness.
This is a really cool release and I'd highly recommend downloading it if you can find it. I had gotten it from the blog 7inchpunk.com but that's been shut down it looks like. If you somehow come across some old Japanese punk records and this is in there, buy the lot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL0JXZXBIpw
Saturday, September 6, 2014
ALBUM REVIEW: Carnival Seasons - "The Town"
Carnival Seasons is a rock band from Southern California that labels themselves "alternative" although all the songs are extremely radio-polished and contain many corporate-rock tropes from the last 10 to 15 years. They seem like alright musicians, especially lead guitarist Danathan Nguyen who has satisfying if somewhat unoriginal solos strewn throughout the release, but the type of 'good musicians' that are probably versed solely in mainstream rock music to the point of being almost entirely reliant on well-established models for songwriting and presentation.
The vocalist has a fairly strong voice for what he does, but unfortunately his style of singing is pretty much exactly what I do not like in a rock singer. He has a bit of gravel to his delivery that at best reminds one of Rod Stewart or the guy from Stereophonics, but at worst brings to mind Rob Thomas or the guy from Fuel in the post-Pearl Jam drawl that I thought died off a decade ago, mixed in with some of the annoying quasi-RnB bending of syllables that modern radio bands like Neon Trees or even Maroon 5 sometimes do. The similarity to the guy from Fuel was especially apparent in the song "When Are You Coming Back" which had a chorus of "stayeeee with mayeeee" and similar unnecessary extensions of words. The following track "Untrained Actions" has a bevy of "oooh-whoaa-whooaaa" stuff going on like arena-lite-rock popular right now. Kings Of Leon. Mumford And Sons gone electric. Imagine Dragons with less electronics. Shit like that. It's really not my style but alot of people seem to like this kind of singing and its not like the guy is off key or anything. It's just not my bag at all.
Musically, all the songs are fairly well-constructed and played but so generic that they feel recycled. The second song, "Rolling Out Tonight," starts with jangly, over-reverbed guitars that are impossible to hear without thinking of 80's U2 or one of Angels & Airwaves many interchangeable songs, a feature that's played out to even more obvious extents in the album closer "We Are One." Meanwhile, "Lazy," while being perhaps my favorite song on the entire album, borrows a Green Day riff and takes out any semblance of snottiness.
Maybe the main thing that fundamentally turns me off from bands like this is the forced sense that this is "important music." The delivery has all the saccharine hopefulness and wonder-of-the-world bullshit that plagues many modern rock bands into seeming like cheesy rewrites of "Do You Realize?" They're like one of those bands who has a single hit on KROQ and gets to be the token 'really earnest kinda-indie band' on the annual Weenie Roast lineup.
If you like the stuff I've listed above then give this band a listen I guess, but all in all, I personally can't recommend this album. As I've clearly indicated, this just isn't in the vein of what I like at all. The two tracks that were the most okay, "Lazy" and "Not In Control," still sounded like faceless entries into a 90's comedy soundtrack or suited to be played during a scene transition in "The Real World."
No teeth.
http://carnivalseasons.bandcamp.com/
The vocalist has a fairly strong voice for what he does, but unfortunately his style of singing is pretty much exactly what I do not like in a rock singer. He has a bit of gravel to his delivery that at best reminds one of Rod Stewart or the guy from Stereophonics, but at worst brings to mind Rob Thomas or the guy from Fuel in the post-Pearl Jam drawl that I thought died off a decade ago, mixed in with some of the annoying quasi-RnB bending of syllables that modern radio bands like Neon Trees or even Maroon 5 sometimes do. The similarity to the guy from Fuel was especially apparent in the song "When Are You Coming Back" which had a chorus of "stayeeee with mayeeee" and similar unnecessary extensions of words. The following track "Untrained Actions" has a bevy of "oooh-whoaa-whooaaa" stuff going on like arena-lite-rock popular right now. Kings Of Leon. Mumford And Sons gone electric. Imagine Dragons with less electronics. Shit like that. It's really not my style but alot of people seem to like this kind of singing and its not like the guy is off key or anything. It's just not my bag at all.
Musically, all the songs are fairly well-constructed and played but so generic that they feel recycled. The second song, "Rolling Out Tonight," starts with jangly, over-reverbed guitars that are impossible to hear without thinking of 80's U2 or one of Angels & Airwaves many interchangeable songs, a feature that's played out to even more obvious extents in the album closer "We Are One." Meanwhile, "Lazy," while being perhaps my favorite song on the entire album, borrows a Green Day riff and takes out any semblance of snottiness.
Maybe the main thing that fundamentally turns me off from bands like this is the forced sense that this is "important music." The delivery has all the saccharine hopefulness and wonder-of-the-world bullshit that plagues many modern rock bands into seeming like cheesy rewrites of "Do You Realize?" They're like one of those bands who has a single hit on KROQ and gets to be the token 'really earnest kinda-indie band' on the annual Weenie Roast lineup.
If you like the stuff I've listed above then give this band a listen I guess, but all in all, I personally can't recommend this album. As I've clearly indicated, this just isn't in the vein of what I like at all. The two tracks that were the most okay, "Lazy" and "Not In Control," still sounded like faceless entries into a 90's comedy soundtrack or suited to be played during a scene transition in "The Real World."
No teeth.
http://carnivalseasons.bandcamp.com/
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
DEMO REVIEW: Snotrocket
Snotrocket is a band from Connecticut that was listed in some capacity in the recent KYEO Speaks #8 zine. Recently I've been making lists of all the music listed in zines I read and then just chipping away at it in between other stuff using a convoluted algorithm to determine which list I will use. When I described the entire process to my brother the other day he looked at me with sadness in his eyes because yet another level of my inner lunacy had been revealed.
Anyway, from the name of the band I had assumed Snotrocket would be a Guttermouth/Vandals-type joke-punk band, but the band actually plays mid-paced melodic punk that reminds me strongly of Jawbreaker or a less strained Hot Water Music. It's a decent listen, very well recorded especially for a demo, but doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from a lot of other bands coming out during this so-called "emo revival." The last 3 songs were a bit stronger than the first 3 but its not like the openers sucked or anything.
"I Don't Know Why" was probably my favorite in terms of the melody, and lyrically "Tell Me When You're Gone" is definitely the best if just for the wrenching disconnect they convey. Its presented as though the singer were telling someone he didn't want to actually see that they can stay at his apartment because they have nowhere else to go for the night; the fact that he is helping them out, however, doesn't mean that he actually wants to be around them. "Just do whatever. I don't really care" / "You can sleep on the couch or in the bed. I don't know when I'll be back home. I didn't want you to come but you said you had nowhere else to go." The title of the song says the rest.
There are female vocals occasionally, including the closing song "On Our Own," which seems to be expressing both a tenacious self-reliance as well as a sense of singular, resigned lonliness.
For fans of earnest punk that straddles the line of (non-wacky) pop punk on one end and 90s emo on the other, Snotrocket is a solid band I'd suggest checking out. It's just unfortunate about the name...
http://snotrocket.bandcamp.com/
Anyway, from the name of the band I had assumed Snotrocket would be a Guttermouth/Vandals-type joke-punk band, but the band actually plays mid-paced melodic punk that reminds me strongly of Jawbreaker or a less strained Hot Water Music. It's a decent listen, very well recorded especially for a demo, but doesn't do a whole lot to differentiate itself from a lot of other bands coming out during this so-called "emo revival." The last 3 songs were a bit stronger than the first 3 but its not like the openers sucked or anything.
"I Don't Know Why" was probably my favorite in terms of the melody, and lyrically "Tell Me When You're Gone" is definitely the best if just for the wrenching disconnect they convey. Its presented as though the singer were telling someone he didn't want to actually see that they can stay at his apartment because they have nowhere else to go for the night; the fact that he is helping them out, however, doesn't mean that he actually wants to be around them. "Just do whatever. I don't really care" / "You can sleep on the couch or in the bed. I don't know when I'll be back home. I didn't want you to come but you said you had nowhere else to go." The title of the song says the rest.
There are female vocals occasionally, including the closing song "On Our Own," which seems to be expressing both a tenacious self-reliance as well as a sense of singular, resigned lonliness.
For fans of earnest punk that straddles the line of (non-wacky) pop punk on one end and 90s emo on the other, Snotrocket is a solid band I'd suggest checking out. It's just unfortunate about the name...
http://snotrocket.bandcamp.com/
Monday, August 18, 2014
ALBUM REVIEW: Fractalline - "Polymath Theory"
Fractalline is a Los Angeles metal band who is playing tonight with my friends in the band Madrost up at the World Class Doll Hut in Anaheim. Although I don't plan on going to the show, I thought I'd check out their stuff to familiarize myself with some new SoCal metalz.
I had expected some kind of lazy crossover thrash because that just seems to be the go-to approach for metal bands from this area lately, but Fractalline have a more modern sound, bridging thrash with death metal and lower-pitched djent/deathcore parts. The song "Digital Eden" in particular had an After The Burial-esque bouncy rhythm but at no point does it devolve into pointless chugadun breakdowns.
My main complaint would be that the drums, especially the cymbals, sounded like they were maybe digitized or programmed or otherwise played on an electronic set; it just didn't feel organic the way drums for any genre should sound. The artwork is a bit cheesy as well but this is an underground metal release after all. Those minor gripes aside, all the performances were proficient throughout the album and there were some really cool bass parts in songs like "Flawless Design" and the (ironically titled) "Singularity" suite. The vocals were adept, if nothing especially fresh, and overall it was a pretty tight album.
Recommended for fans of Fallujah, After The Burial, etc.
http://fractalline.bandcamp.com/album/polymath-theory
I had expected some kind of lazy crossover thrash because that just seems to be the go-to approach for metal bands from this area lately, but Fractalline have a more modern sound, bridging thrash with death metal and lower-pitched djent/deathcore parts. The song "Digital Eden" in particular had an After The Burial-esque bouncy rhythm but at no point does it devolve into pointless chugadun breakdowns.
My main complaint would be that the drums, especially the cymbals, sounded like they were maybe digitized or programmed or otherwise played on an electronic set; it just didn't feel organic the way drums for any genre should sound. The artwork is a bit cheesy as well but this is an underground metal release after all. Those minor gripes aside, all the performances were proficient throughout the album and there were some really cool bass parts in songs like "Flawless Design" and the (ironically titled) "Singularity" suite. The vocals were adept, if nothing especially fresh, and overall it was a pretty tight album.
Recommended for fans of Fallujah, After The Burial, etc.
http://fractalline.bandcamp.com/album/polymath-theory
Friday, August 1, 2014
Playlist for July 2014
This is a list of all the albums, EPs, demos, etc that I listened to in their entirety in the month of July 2014. Afterwards are some lists of the stuff I read, movies I watched, and bands I saw live. My notes for all follow.
MUSIC
7/1/14
Mad Sin - "Break The Rules"
Olivias - S/T demo
Slingshot Dakota - "Dark Hearts"
Cannibal Corpse - "Gallery of Suicide"
Pale - "Fact, Fiction, Opinion" EP
7/2/14
Cut Teeth - "Televandalism"
Seizure - "All Hail The Fucking System" EP
Todos Caeran - "Town Of Cats"
Bouncing Souls - "Hopeless Romantic"
Valiant - "Bury Your Past" digital single
Touche Amore - "Is Survived By"
Sunset Pilgrims/Villages - split EP
Entombed - "Clandestine"
7/3/14
fIREHOSE - "Flyin' the Flannel"
Jethro Tull - "Stormwatch"
Hillary Chillton - "Bourbon Breath" EP
Between The Buried And Me - "The Great Misdirect"
Hoover - "Lurid Transversal of Route 7"
Lein - "Duel" demo
7/4/14
Remainder - "Set Aside Your Fears"
Meth And Goats - "Leisure Time"
Calvin Jalandoni - S/T
Fifteen - "The Choice Of A New Generation"
Sublime - S/T
7/5/14
Cold World - "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First"
Anodes - S/T
7/6/14
Logan Greene - "Never Coming Home" EP
Wu Tang Clan - "Forever" Disc 2
Underoath - "They're Only Chasing Safety"
Guts/Anchorless - split EP
Underminded - "Hail Unamerican!"
Adult Books - S/T EP
Calmosa - "Virtues" EP
Los Olvidados - "Listen To This! Original Recordings 1981-1983"
Hank. - "Pinched"
Ocean Man - "Something Worth Living For" EP
Explosions In The Sky - "Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Will Live Forever"
Green Day - "Insomniac"
Isaac - "Chased By The Devil" digital single
The Hound - "The Recovery" EP
Matsuri - "Endship"
Proto Nova - "Modern Renaissance Man" EP
999 - "Separates"
Daniel Johnston - "Retired Boxer"
Birote The Musical - "Shag Me Tender"
7/7/14
Outrage - S/T
For Want Of - "Smoke" EP
Just Nick/Paper Ceilings - split EP
Cerce/Stresscase - split EP
Ratatat - S/T
Restaurnaut - "Contributions 2011" digital single
Matsuri/Moldar - split 12"
Fissure - S/T EP
Human Behavior - "Golgotha"
Mahria/Watcher - split 7"
Dredg - "El Cielo"
AEGES - "The Bridge"
Adobe Homes - "Ristra"
7/8/14
Parliament - "Up For The Down Stroke"
Silver Snakes - "Year Of The Snake"
Jethro Tull - "Songs From The Wood"
Steeples - "Close, at Hand" EP
DivaCup - Demo 2014
Smashing Pumpkins - "Adore"
7/9/14
Mammoths/Living & Wrestling - Split
Big Bad Buffalo - "American"
Daukis - "Fascist Statement"
Ty Segall Band - "Slaughterhouse"
Indian Taker - "Tule Fog" EP
From First To Last - "Heroine"
Omnis - Demo CD
Mother Speed/Take It Back - split tape
7/10/14
Andrew Johnathan - "Between You And Me And Ghosts"
7/11/14
Ramones - "Adios Amigos!"
Dystopia - "Humans=Garbage" 7"
Crisis Arm - "Fetch" EP
7/12/14
Ramones - "Mondo Bizarro"
7/13/14
The Wrath - "Overcoming Failure" EP
Signal Man - S/T EP
In Loving Memory - "Negation Of Life"
Sledding With Tigers - "A Necessary Bummer"
Golden Bats - "IV"
Watercolor Paintings - "When You Move"
V/A - "Fest 12" 6-way split
Griever - "Inferior" EP
Pswingset - "All Our False Starts"
Age Of Collapse - "Burden Of Beast"
Wolfnote - Demo 2013
Inspired & The Sleep - "Pool Guard" digital single
Tel Fyr - "Sermon 15" digital single
Tel Fyr - S/T
Capsize - "I've Been Tearing Myself Apart" EP
Begrime Exemious - "Wasteland of Damnation" EP
Jehova's Fitness - "The Village Of My Mind"
Cope - S/T EP
Skrewdriver - "All Skrewed Up"
Volcano Science Project - "Time Saver" digital single
Punch - "Nothing Lasts" EP
Radiohead - "The Bends"
7/14/14
Larry - "DiPi"
Napalm Death - "From Enslavement To Obliteration"
Devo - "New Traditionalists"
AFTEREPTILES - S/T EP
John Cota - "III" EP
Moss Icon - "Lyburnum Wit's End Liberation Fly"
Greys - "Drift" EP
The Casualties - "Resistance"
7/15/14
Fugazi - "End Hits"
Olibata - "Fall Mind" mix
Arcing - "Doubt" EP
Maimed For Life - S/T EP
Eager Sea - "Everything is Temporary" EP
City Of Caterpillar - S/T
7/17/14
Men Of Bissau - "To Heal In Paradiso"
System Of A Down - S/T
7/18/14
Indigesti - "Osservati Dall'Inganno"
Sleep - "The Clarity"
Snapcase - "Lookinglasself"
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade"
7/19/14
Ghostlimb - "Infastructure"
Melting Corpse - "Ramirez" demo
Melting Corpse - Live 2010 Demo
7/20/14
24-7 Spyz - "Gumbo Millennium"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Husker Du - "Metal Circus" EP
Spoonboy/Colour Me Wednesday - split LP
Dr. Dre - "2001"
Remainder - "The Frozen World Thawed"
Bogsey & The Argonauts/The Last Centurion/Little Bear - "Not Today You Mayan Bastards" 3-way split
KRS-One - "Return Of The Boom Bap"
U2 - "The Joshua Tree"
The Home Team - "Black Sheep" EP
Warren G - "Regulate...The G Funk Era"
7/22/14
Sam Kinison - "Have You Seen Me Lately?"
The Suburbanists - "Can I Go To Hell Already?" EP
Albert King - "Born Under A Bad Sign"
7/23/14
U2 - "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"
Nathan Soul/Kirby Jayes - "Punks Are People Too" split EP
Ice-T - "VI: Return Of The Real"
Gogol Bordello - "Multi Kontra Culti Vs Irony"
7/24/14
Red Curtain - Demo
Glass And Ashes - "Aesthetic Arrest"
I'm Glad It's You - "June" EP
Off With Their Heads - "All Things Move Towards Their End"
V/A - "This Is Lemon Grove"
Stressors - Summer Tape 2013
Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Fuck With Fire"
Fallujah - "The Flesh Prevails"
7/25/14
V/A - "Jock Rock 2000"
Mothership Psychosis - "Waxing and Waning"
Fifth Hour Hero - "Not Revenge...Just A Vicious Crush"
At The Drive-In - "Vaya" EP
Sparta - "Wiretap Scars"
7/26/14
Petra - "Jekyll and Hyde"
Crevasse - S/T 2-song demo
Bridge And Tunnel - "Homecoming"/"Mixed/Media/Messages" digital single
Animosity - "Empires"
V/A - "Punk Rock Strike"
Hope - "Feeling Like A Buck Fifty"
Blink 182 - "Cheshire Cat"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" Disc 1
The Church - "El Momento Descuidado"
7/27/14
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Still Remains - "Of Love And Lunacy"
7/29/14
Foo Fighters - "One By One"
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Uniform Choice - "Screaming For Change"
Ministry - "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste"
7/30/14
Fake Tides - Demos
Nirvana - "Bleach"
The Queers - "Love Songs For The Retarded"
Tom Grrrl - "I Miss Jamal" digital single
Onion Flavored Rings - "Funny" 7"
Heathers - "I Know" cassette
Pretty Boy Thorson & The Falling Angels - "Ain't It Funny"
Girlpool - S/T EP
7/31/14
Ground Up - 2008 demo
Poison Idea - "Pick Your King" EP
Youth Of Today - "Can't Close My Eyes" EP
NOTES
- Most boring/not necessarily "bad" bands of the month: Pale, Isaac, Daniel Johnston, Steeples, DivaCup, The Suburbanists, Fake Tides
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Todos Caeran, fIREHOSE, Hoover, Remainder, Hank., The Hound, For Want Of, Big Bad Buffalo, In Loving Memory, Age Of Collapse, Moss Icon, Glass And Ashes, I'm Glad It's You, Off With Their Heads, Nirvana, Pretty Boy Thorson & The Falling Angels
- "I don't know what other people think or what they think is love, but I know what it means to me: I fall in love so easily. I'm A Hopeless Romantic."
- Touche Amore isn't nearly as annoying as I had remembered
- How was this the first time that I ever listened to fIREHOSE? It's like exactly what I'm into...same thing with Albert King, like, HOW? Same thing with Planes Mistaken For Stars but like, in a different fashion.
- I will never understand why people were so fixated on Underoath when I was in high school...Like, they're cool, but shit people acted like they were the next coming of Christ...Pun? Intended?
- Big ups to my boy Jason Crook, The Hound is cool stuff
- Splits can never possibly be as good as individual releases. Splits are a waste of time, most of the time.
- "Songs From The Wood" is much better than "Stormwatch" but "Stormwatch" is still really good so that just goes to show how awesome "Songs From The Wood" really is
- I've had "Behold! The Nightmare" stuck in my head since the 8th
- I listened to "Adios Amigos" the day before Tommy Ramone died. I know a lot of people completely already understand and relate to my adoration and deep love for The Ramones, and a lot of other people will never understand how I could possibly have such a strong feeling towards something that I guess is kinda childish and stupid and shallow. But that second group of people, they are the ones in the wrong. The Ramones are the greatest band there ever was. Better than The Beatles. There, I said it. The Ramones, because of what they MEAN, are better than The Beatles. If you don't get it, whatever. You're hopeless and I don't wish you the best. "I'm glad to see you go." Gababa gabba. Rock n roll will never die.
- When is Griever gonna release more music? It's been awhile
- White-power apologists have tried to tell me throughout the years that Skrewdriver's first album was non-racist so I would probably like it since I like Oi music so much but Skrewdriver isnt even really that good whatsoever; Their racist venom from the later years probably made the early stuff seem cool to some kids who are, like I said, APOLOGISTS, but in rock n roll terms "All Skrewed Up" is not that interesting or substantial.
- "From Enslavement To Obliteration"
- Devo could suddenly become America's Official National Band and they would still be underrated
- My friend Miller has really good taste in music but it's also very peculiar. Screamo and techno. But like, not what you're thinking of.
- Why would I listen to an entire Casualties album? In 2014? Why?
- In a way I'm ashamed of saying it because they are such an obvious band in some ways but goddamn System Of A Down has some badass guitar parts
- Holy fucking shit Indigesti may very well be the best hardcore punk there ever was, I just wish I understood Italian
- Sleep has a new album/song out and like, I just don't even give a fuck. It's Sleep. Nothing new.
- "Zen Arcade" is not the best Husker Du album and you are insanely wrong if you try to tell me otherwise.
- Ghostlimb is on another level. Other hardcore bands should try to be even a little bit as cohesive as they are.
- "Shrooms Of Doom"
- "Gumbo Millennium" is probably the best single dollar I ever spent. Talk about a life-changing 99 cents.
- "It's called Nutrition."
- "Y'all forgot about Dre"
- U2 is holy. Thats why they suck so much.
- "Have You Seen Me Lately?"
- That Ice-T album was actually pretty good, if maybe a bit unrealistic
- You will never be able to sell me on Gogol Bordello. That shit sucks. There's a reason Romani music is so overlooked. Because it sucks.
- Damn Fallujah's new album may be the best metal album released in 2014. It is truly enormous and heavy and THERE.
- I love you DevMo
- Learning that Petra is a Christian band made their entire album make so much more sense. But they still suck.
- Me and Troy moved and when we did that we listened to Blink 182
- It's impossible for me to convey how differently I see the album "Bleach" now that we are living where we are.
- "Even when silence is broken..."
- "I'M QUEER."
- Pretty Boy Thorson is something you should listen to if you have a drinking problem. It will make a lot of sense.
- My guitar playing was a lot more on-point when I played hardcore.
MOVIES
7/12/14: "The End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones"
7/26/14: "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby"
7/27/14: "Dave Chappelle: Killing Them Softly"
ZINES
7/15/14: No, We Can't Just Get Along: Exploring Hip Hop, Gang Unity, and the LA Rebellion excerpt by Jeff Chang
LIVE MUSIC
7/27/14: Toasted Plastic/Beisbol/(The Gravitys) @ The Dial
7/28/14: Tough Stuff @ The Dial
LIVE NOTES
- I'm like, not even excited about music anymore. Music is lame.
MUSIC
7/1/14
Mad Sin - "Break The Rules"
Olivias - S/T demo
Slingshot Dakota - "Dark Hearts"
Cannibal Corpse - "Gallery of Suicide"
Pale - "Fact, Fiction, Opinion" EP
7/2/14
Cut Teeth - "Televandalism"
Seizure - "All Hail The Fucking System" EP
Todos Caeran - "Town Of Cats"
Bouncing Souls - "Hopeless Romantic"
Valiant - "Bury Your Past" digital single
Touche Amore - "Is Survived By"
Sunset Pilgrims/Villages - split EP
Entombed - "Clandestine"
7/3/14
fIREHOSE - "Flyin' the Flannel"
Jethro Tull - "Stormwatch"
Hillary Chillton - "Bourbon Breath" EP
Between The Buried And Me - "The Great Misdirect"
Hoover - "Lurid Transversal of Route 7"
Lein - "Duel" demo
7/4/14
Remainder - "Set Aside Your Fears"
Meth And Goats - "Leisure Time"
Calvin Jalandoni - S/T
Fifteen - "The Choice Of A New Generation"
Sublime - S/T
7/5/14
Cold World - "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First"
Anodes - S/T
7/6/14
Logan Greene - "Never Coming Home" EP
Wu Tang Clan - "Forever" Disc 2
Underoath - "They're Only Chasing Safety"
Guts/Anchorless - split EP
Underminded - "Hail Unamerican!"
Adult Books - S/T EP
Calmosa - "Virtues" EP
Los Olvidados - "Listen To This! Original Recordings 1981-1983"
Hank. - "Pinched"
Ocean Man - "Something Worth Living For" EP
Explosions In The Sky - "Those Who Tell The Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell The Truth Will Live Forever"
Green Day - "Insomniac"
Isaac - "Chased By The Devil" digital single
The Hound - "The Recovery" EP
Matsuri - "Endship"
Proto Nova - "Modern Renaissance Man" EP
999 - "Separates"
Daniel Johnston - "Retired Boxer"
Birote The Musical - "Shag Me Tender"
7/7/14
Outrage - S/T
For Want Of - "Smoke" EP
Just Nick/Paper Ceilings - split EP
Cerce/Stresscase - split EP
Ratatat - S/T
Restaurnaut - "Contributions 2011" digital single
Matsuri/Moldar - split 12"
Fissure - S/T EP
Human Behavior - "Golgotha"
Mahria/Watcher - split 7"
Dredg - "El Cielo"
AEGES - "The Bridge"
Adobe Homes - "Ristra"
7/8/14
Parliament - "Up For The Down Stroke"
Silver Snakes - "Year Of The Snake"
Jethro Tull - "Songs From The Wood"
Steeples - "Close, at Hand" EP
DivaCup - Demo 2014
Smashing Pumpkins - "Adore"
7/9/14
Mammoths/Living & Wrestling - Split
Big Bad Buffalo - "American"
Daukis - "Fascist Statement"
Ty Segall Band - "Slaughterhouse"
Indian Taker - "Tule Fog" EP
From First To Last - "Heroine"
Omnis - Demo CD
Mother Speed/Take It Back - split tape
7/10/14
Andrew Johnathan - "Between You And Me And Ghosts"
7/11/14
Ramones - "Adios Amigos!"
Dystopia - "Humans=Garbage" 7"
Crisis Arm - "Fetch" EP
7/12/14
Ramones - "Mondo Bizarro"
7/13/14
The Wrath - "Overcoming Failure" EP
Signal Man - S/T EP
In Loving Memory - "Negation Of Life"
Sledding With Tigers - "A Necessary Bummer"
Golden Bats - "IV"
Watercolor Paintings - "When You Move"
V/A - "Fest 12" 6-way split
Griever - "Inferior" EP
Pswingset - "All Our False Starts"
Age Of Collapse - "Burden Of Beast"
Wolfnote - Demo 2013
Inspired & The Sleep - "Pool Guard" digital single
Tel Fyr - "Sermon 15" digital single
Tel Fyr - S/T
Capsize - "I've Been Tearing Myself Apart" EP
Begrime Exemious - "Wasteland of Damnation" EP
Jehova's Fitness - "The Village Of My Mind"
Cope - S/T EP
Skrewdriver - "All Skrewed Up"
Volcano Science Project - "Time Saver" digital single
Punch - "Nothing Lasts" EP
Radiohead - "The Bends"
7/14/14
Larry - "DiPi"
Napalm Death - "From Enslavement To Obliteration"
Devo - "New Traditionalists"
AFTEREPTILES - S/T EP
John Cota - "III" EP
Moss Icon - "Lyburnum Wit's End Liberation Fly"
Greys - "Drift" EP
The Casualties - "Resistance"
7/15/14
Fugazi - "End Hits"
Olibata - "Fall Mind" mix
Arcing - "Doubt" EP
Maimed For Life - S/T EP
Eager Sea - "Everything is Temporary" EP
City Of Caterpillar - S/T
7/17/14
Men Of Bissau - "To Heal In Paradiso"
System Of A Down - S/T
7/18/14
Indigesti - "Osservati Dall'Inganno"
Sleep - "The Clarity"
Snapcase - "Lookinglasself"
Husker Du - "Zen Arcade"
7/19/14
Ghostlimb - "Infastructure"
Melting Corpse - "Ramirez" demo
Melting Corpse - Live 2010 Demo
7/20/14
24-7 Spyz - "Gumbo Millennium"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Husker Du - "Metal Circus" EP
Spoonboy/Colour Me Wednesday - split LP
Dr. Dre - "2001"
Remainder - "The Frozen World Thawed"
Bogsey & The Argonauts/The Last Centurion/Little Bear - "Not Today You Mayan Bastards" 3-way split
KRS-One - "Return Of The Boom Bap"
U2 - "The Joshua Tree"
The Home Team - "Black Sheep" EP
Warren G - "Regulate...The G Funk Era"
7/22/14
Sam Kinison - "Have You Seen Me Lately?"
The Suburbanists - "Can I Go To Hell Already?" EP
Albert King - "Born Under A Bad Sign"
7/23/14
U2 - "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb"
Nathan Soul/Kirby Jayes - "Punks Are People Too" split EP
Ice-T - "VI: Return Of The Real"
Gogol Bordello - "Multi Kontra Culti Vs Irony"
7/24/14
Red Curtain - Demo
Glass And Ashes - "Aesthetic Arrest"
I'm Glad It's You - "June" EP
Off With Their Heads - "All Things Move Towards Their End"
V/A - "This Is Lemon Grove"
Stressors - Summer Tape 2013
Planes Mistaken For Stars - "Fuck With Fire"
Fallujah - "The Flesh Prevails"
7/25/14
V/A - "Jock Rock 2000"
Mothership Psychosis - "Waxing and Waning"
Fifth Hour Hero - "Not Revenge...Just A Vicious Crush"
At The Drive-In - "Vaya" EP
Sparta - "Wiretap Scars"
7/26/14
Petra - "Jekyll and Hyde"
Crevasse - S/T 2-song demo
Bridge And Tunnel - "Homecoming"/"Mixed/Media/Messages" digital single
Animosity - "Empires"
V/A - "Punk Rock Strike"
Hope - "Feeling Like A Buck Fifty"
Blink 182 - "Cheshire Cat"
Smashing Pumpkins - "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" Disc 1
The Church - "El Momento Descuidado"
7/27/14
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Still Remains - "Of Love And Lunacy"
7/29/14
Foo Fighters - "One By One"
Nirvana - "Bleach"
Uniform Choice - "Screaming For Change"
Ministry - "The Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste"
7/30/14
Fake Tides - Demos
Nirvana - "Bleach"
The Queers - "Love Songs For The Retarded"
Tom Grrrl - "I Miss Jamal" digital single
Onion Flavored Rings - "Funny" 7"
Heathers - "I Know" cassette
Pretty Boy Thorson & The Falling Angels - "Ain't It Funny"
Girlpool - S/T EP
7/31/14
Ground Up - 2008 demo
Poison Idea - "Pick Your King" EP
Youth Of Today - "Can't Close My Eyes" EP
NOTES
- Most boring/not necessarily "bad" bands of the month: Pale, Isaac, Daniel Johnston, Steeples, DivaCup, The Suburbanists, Fake Tides
- Favorite "new finds" of the month: Todos Caeran, fIREHOSE, Hoover, Remainder, Hank., The Hound, For Want Of, Big Bad Buffalo, In Loving Memory, Age Of Collapse, Moss Icon, Glass And Ashes, I'm Glad It's You, Off With Their Heads, Nirvana, Pretty Boy Thorson & The Falling Angels
- "I don't know what other people think or what they think is love, but I know what it means to me: I fall in love so easily. I'm A Hopeless Romantic."
- Touche Amore isn't nearly as annoying as I had remembered
- How was this the first time that I ever listened to fIREHOSE? It's like exactly what I'm into...same thing with Albert King, like, HOW? Same thing with Planes Mistaken For Stars but like, in a different fashion.
- I will never understand why people were so fixated on Underoath when I was in high school...Like, they're cool, but shit people acted like they were the next coming of Christ...Pun? Intended?
- Big ups to my boy Jason Crook, The Hound is cool stuff
- Splits can never possibly be as good as individual releases. Splits are a waste of time, most of the time.
- "Songs From The Wood" is much better than "Stormwatch" but "Stormwatch" is still really good so that just goes to show how awesome "Songs From The Wood" really is
- I've had "Behold! The Nightmare" stuck in my head since the 8th
- I listened to "Adios Amigos" the day before Tommy Ramone died. I know a lot of people completely already understand and relate to my adoration and deep love for The Ramones, and a lot of other people will never understand how I could possibly have such a strong feeling towards something that I guess is kinda childish and stupid and shallow. But that second group of people, they are the ones in the wrong. The Ramones are the greatest band there ever was. Better than The Beatles. There, I said it. The Ramones, because of what they MEAN, are better than The Beatles. If you don't get it, whatever. You're hopeless and I don't wish you the best. "I'm glad to see you go." Gababa gabba. Rock n roll will never die.
- When is Griever gonna release more music? It's been awhile
- White-power apologists have tried to tell me throughout the years that Skrewdriver's first album was non-racist so I would probably like it since I like Oi music so much but Skrewdriver isnt even really that good whatsoever; Their racist venom from the later years probably made the early stuff seem cool to some kids who are, like I said, APOLOGISTS, but in rock n roll terms "All Skrewed Up" is not that interesting or substantial.
- "From Enslavement To Obliteration"
- Devo could suddenly become America's Official National Band and they would still be underrated
- My friend Miller has really good taste in music but it's also very peculiar. Screamo and techno. But like, not what you're thinking of.
- Why would I listen to an entire Casualties album? In 2014? Why?
- In a way I'm ashamed of saying it because they are such an obvious band in some ways but goddamn System Of A Down has some badass guitar parts
- Holy fucking shit Indigesti may very well be the best hardcore punk there ever was, I just wish I understood Italian
- Sleep has a new album/song out and like, I just don't even give a fuck. It's Sleep. Nothing new.
- "Zen Arcade" is not the best Husker Du album and you are insanely wrong if you try to tell me otherwise.
- Ghostlimb is on another level. Other hardcore bands should try to be even a little bit as cohesive as they are.
- "Shrooms Of Doom"
- "Gumbo Millennium" is probably the best single dollar I ever spent. Talk about a life-changing 99 cents.
- "It's called Nutrition."
- "Y'all forgot about Dre"
- U2 is holy. Thats why they suck so much.
- "Have You Seen Me Lately?"
- That Ice-T album was actually pretty good, if maybe a bit unrealistic
- You will never be able to sell me on Gogol Bordello. That shit sucks. There's a reason Romani music is so overlooked. Because it sucks.
- Damn Fallujah's new album may be the best metal album released in 2014. It is truly enormous and heavy and THERE.
- I love you DevMo
- Learning that Petra is a Christian band made their entire album make so much more sense. But they still suck.
- Me and Troy moved and when we did that we listened to Blink 182
- It's impossible for me to convey how differently I see the album "Bleach" now that we are living where we are.
- "Even when silence is broken..."
- "I'M QUEER."
- Pretty Boy Thorson is something you should listen to if you have a drinking problem. It will make a lot of sense.
- My guitar playing was a lot more on-point when I played hardcore.
MOVIES
7/12/14: "The End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones"
7/26/14: "Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby"
7/27/14: "Dave Chappelle: Killing Them Softly"
ZINES
7/15/14: No, We Can't Just Get Along: Exploring Hip Hop, Gang Unity, and the LA Rebellion excerpt by Jeff Chang
LIVE MUSIC
7/27/14: Toasted Plastic/Beisbol/(The Gravitys) @ The Dial
7/28/14: Tough Stuff @ The Dial
LIVE NOTES
- I'm like, not even excited about music anymore. Music is lame.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Three Wishes
I was at a warehouse show with some friends, and after the second band finished their set we were all milling around the parking lot. Ryan grabbed me to go smoke a bowl with him and his friend who had a backwards hat on. The car was in the lot behind the venue, next to an emaciated tree being held up by posts in an industrial island. I got into the back passenger side seat.
As we passed the pipe around, Ryan posited a fairly straightforward question, as far as stoned inquiries go anyway: If some kind of Aladdin scenario were to ever befall us, were a genie to grant us three wishes, what would those wishes be? What do we really want?
His friend answered pretty quickly, "unlimited weed." We all agreed that that was a strong answer but Ryan pointed out that such a concept should be expanded to general multiplicity, so that one could not only have unlimited weed but also unlimited food & drink, whatever. Point well made.
Traditional superhero-type 'powers' like flying, invisibility, transportation, etc. were being bounced around the car, and believe me I would have no qualms with any of those things being bestowed upon me, but somehow none of those things felt like the right answer to me. Those are physical attributes, mere characteristics; what is a 'power' beyond a means to an end?
What value does ability have without purpose?
It's not something I've never pondered before. Surely, that laughter in the university hallway held some weight, right? Reading of the universe, beholding the absurdity,
Feeling the unimportance...
Surely.
As the chatter continued in the front seat I stared out the window towards the tree, withering in a concrete holster and being force-fed nutrients so it will stay alive. Why should it stay alive? As a reminder? A condolence to those paved? Do those futile leaves desire their existence?
Forever in the stone.
"So what do you say, Ian?"
I had no answer.
"What's your wish?"
I had no answer so I changed the subject so I wouldn't have to think about it but I couldn't stop thinking about it because when a knife cuts into your heart it's best to just leave it in there; if you take it out everything is gonna spill and you're gonna have to clean it up. Just turn the knife until it fits.
The smoke was gone and we got out of the car, and I never had to answer their question.
As we passed the pipe around, Ryan posited a fairly straightforward question, as far as stoned inquiries go anyway: If some kind of Aladdin scenario were to ever befall us, were a genie to grant us three wishes, what would those wishes be? What do we really want?
His friend answered pretty quickly, "unlimited weed." We all agreed that that was a strong answer but Ryan pointed out that such a concept should be expanded to general multiplicity, so that one could not only have unlimited weed but also unlimited food & drink, whatever. Point well made.
Traditional superhero-type 'powers' like flying, invisibility, transportation, etc. were being bounced around the car, and believe me I would have no qualms with any of those things being bestowed upon me, but somehow none of those things felt like the right answer to me. Those are physical attributes, mere characteristics; what is a 'power' beyond a means to an end?
What value does ability have without purpose?
It's not something I've never pondered before. Surely, that laughter in the university hallway held some weight, right? Reading of the universe, beholding the absurdity,
Feeling the unimportance...
Surely.
As the chatter continued in the front seat I stared out the window towards the tree, withering in a concrete holster and being force-fed nutrients so it will stay alive. Why should it stay alive? As a reminder? A condolence to those paved? Do those futile leaves desire their existence?
Forever in the stone.
"So what do you say, Ian?"
I had no answer.
"What's your wish?"
I had no answer so I changed the subject so I wouldn't have to think about it but I couldn't stop thinking about it because when a knife cuts into your heart it's best to just leave it in there; if you take it out everything is gonna spill and you're gonna have to clean it up. Just turn the knife until it fits.
The smoke was gone and we got out of the car, and I never had to answer their question.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Playlist for June 2014
This is a list of all the albums, EPs, demos, singles, etc. that I listened to in their entirety during the month of June 2014. Afterwards is a list of the live performances I saw in that time period, as well as my notes regarding both.
MUSIC
6/1/14
Ghost Noise - "This Is The Next Part of Your Dream"
end of the summer - "Second" EP
end of the summer - "Three" EP
Remembering Never - "She Looks So Good In Red"
6/2/14
Chasms - "Riser" EP
6/3/14
The B-52s - "Cosmic Thing"
KMFDM - "WWIII"
6/4/14
Pedestrian - "Everyone I Know Who Skis Is Dead"
Suicide Silence - S/T EP
The B-52s - "Cosmic Thing"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
6/5/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
6/6/14
Madonna - "Ray Of Light"
51D - S/T EP
Midlife Crisis Winery - Demo
6/7/14
Jimi Hendrix - "People, Hell, and Angels"
The Mamas & The Papas - "16 Greatest Hits"
6/8/14
Violent Femmes - S/T
Violent Femmes - "Crazy" digital single
Hail, Adventurer! - S/T
Coalspur - "Others"
Black Flag - "Six Pack" 7"
Sparks - "Hello Young Lovers"
Francie Moon - "Free to a Good Home"
Minuet - S/T
The Pretenders - "The Singles"
Parallax Scroll - "Floaters"
Banshee - "Raoul" digital single
6/9/14
John George Campbell - "The Family Album"
Open Mike Eagle - "Sir Rockabye" EP
Leonard Lawrence - July 2013 Demos
6/10/14
Calexico - "The Black Light"
Code 13 - "Discography 1994-2000"
6/11/14
The Gravitys - June 2011 Demo
The 144 - "Goodbye Cool World"/"Rock and Roll" digital single
Paleface - "One Big Party"
Duffy & The Beer Slayers - S/T
6/12/14
Damages - "Unlucky Love in Lonesome Twenty-Something Hell" EP
Riboflavin - "Trapped in the Toy Aisle"
Secret Machines - S/T
6/13/14
Jack's Smirking Revenge - "A Monumental Shame"
Mouse Ear - S/T 7"
Cool Drinks - S/T demo
Crisis Arm - "Fetch" EP
6/14/14
Ocean Hands - "Singles" CD-R
Pinegrove - "Mixtape Two"
Graf Orlock - "Destination Time: Today"
Wolf Parade - "Four-Song" EP
6/15/14
Tiger Army - "Music From Regions Beyond"
6/16/14
Chic - "C'est Chic"
Kaioken - Demo
Flaccid - Demo
Langdon Alger - "Following the Lizard King"
6/17/14
Khanate - "Clean Hands Go Foul"
6/19/14
School Of Seven Bells - "Disconnect From Desire"
6/20/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Plague - "Unholy Offerings" EP
Diamond Rugs - S/T
Leer - "SPRINGBREAKNOPARENTS"
Transcendence - "Morbid Reality" EP
Battles - "Mirrored"
Sum 41 - "All Killer, No Filler"
Madrost - "Maleficent"
6/20/14
P$O - 7-song demo CD
Refused - "This Just Might Be...The Truth"
Television - "Marquee Moon"
Devastation (DVT) - "Rebel Streets"
6/21/14
Faith No More - "Who Cares A Lot? The Greatest Hits" Disc 1
Tiny Hawks - "People Without End"
Susy's Owner/Contron - Split
D.A.V.E. The Drummer - April Mix Pt. 1
Bucket Full Of Teeth - "IV" EP
Whitman - "Sinking" EP
The F.U.s - "FU82" EP
You, Me, and Us - "Stay Inside" EP
Fatty Cakes - "1998 Lisa Frank Diary" EP
Steve Miller Band - "Greatest Hits 1974-78"
drowning with our anchors - "You Can Never Go Home Again"
John Thill - "Broken Freeways"
Necrophagist - "Onset of Putrefaction"
6/22/14
Born Against - "Battle Hymns of the Race War" 10"
D.K. Slider - "The Greatest" digital single
Tawny Peaks - "In Silver River"
Wisp - "The Shimmering Hour"
Demimonde - "Gentrify This!" EP
Whore Paint - "Swallow My Bones"
Ground Up - 2008 4-song demo (mastered version with bass)
6/23/14
Svvipht Noir - "Farce Alarm" digital single
Regents - S/T EP
V/A - "Cali Co-Op Vol.1" mixtape
Leftmore - "Smile, It's Not That Bad"
The Nerves - S/T EP
6/25/14
Mother Room - "Scorched"
Operation Ivy - "Energy"
6/26/14
Necrophagist - "Epitaph"
6/27/14
Solids - "Blame Confusion"
We Were Skeletons/MNWA - split EP
Dangers - "Five O'Clock Shadow on the Edge of the Western World"
6/28/14
Sunn O))) & Ulver - "Terrestrials"
Out Of Focus - S/T EP
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "What Hits!?"
His Hero Is Gone - "Monuments To Thieves"
6/29/14
Blonde Redhead - "Misery is a Butterfly"
Eastern Bakery - S/T EP
Kidcrash - "Naps" EP
The Wrath - 5-song demo CD
Just Friends - Demo 2013
Dysplasia/Detroit - "Repulsed" split LP
Korn - "Issues"
Karoshi Boy - "Nothing Is" EP
Rude Geeks - "Naughty Language/Strains of Bullshit" digital single
Opeth - "Ghost Reveries"
6/30/14
Hell/Mizmor - split 12"
Detroit - "Vs. North America" tour tape
Nodes Of Ranvier - S/T
Ash Borer - "Bloodlands"
None Of The Living Remain - "Grim to the Brim"
Between The Buried And Me - "Alaska"
Dangerously Sleazy - "Bad Things Just Happen" EP
Brain Eater/thediscordofaforgottensketch - split EP
No Truce/Crucified - split EP
Witch Prayer - "The High Priestess Reigns Again" EP
Santana - "Abraxas"
MUSIC NOTES
- I had "Amethyst" by Ghost Noise stuck in my head for like a week straight
- I might do a needlessly in-depth review of "Cosmic Thing" one of these days
- KMFDM is a drug against war
- How in the blazes does Jimi Hendrix have a new album out???
- Jackson Doty aka Hail, Adventurer! is probably my favorite local guitarist besides of course myself
- This was a pretty good month for 'new finds', some of the bands I 'discovered' this month really hit me hard. Favorite new finds for June: Coalspur, Minuet, Diamond Rugs, Leer, Tiny Hawks, Contron, Bucket Full Of Teeth, Tawny Peaks, Wisp, Svvipht Noir, Solids, Dangers, Kidcrash, Just Friends, Dysplasia, Ash Borer
- I listened to that Coalspur album twice in a row. I never do that. Check them out they're excellent.
- That single Pretenders listing is a poor indication of how often I was listening to "Talk of the Town" on repeat this month..."Maybe tomorrow; Maybe someday, When you've changed your place in this world..."
- The one or two solid songs on my dad's CD are drastically overpowered by the many, many godawful ones
- Worst of the month: Leonard Lawrence (boring/overdone/predictable); Riboflavin (so over the top cutesy that they have a song about goddamn Disneyland); Ocean Hands (trying to be Neon Trees I think); Fatty Cakes (mind-blowingly annoying); Dangerously Sleazy (sloppy and lame)
- "This is hardcore for the kids, not for the fucking system. If we're not doing it for ourselves, you see, it makes no difference."
- I thought Paleface was gonna be like post-HC or something, not the quasi-folk stuff it really is...Disappointment
- I can't believe I forgot about how much I loved that Secret Machines CD..."Last Believer Drop Dead" and "I Never Thought To Ask" are both like modern classics in my mind, especially the latter...Fucking beautiful
- Graf Orlock never gets old
- "Music From Regions Beyond" is far and away Tiger Army's worst release, which is a shame because it's also their most successful, so a lot of people probably got a poor idea of them from that - especially with that terrible 80s-inspired song, sheesh
- "Freak Out! Le Freak, C'est Chic!"
- Man, Khanate is dark but just way too droney for my tastes...let's not even get started on Hell.
- SVIIB will always hold a special place in my heart...ILU
- Diamond Rugs is a side project from the Deer Tick guy and it sounds so much like Deer Tick its stupid...but I like Deer Tick so its also okay by me
- That was the first time I listened to more than Sum 41's radio hits and I feel completely justified in talking all that shit for the last decade
- There is a lot of shitty throwback/skate thrash coming out of this area again and it makes me look at former me like the dumbass I really was
- Every song on that Refused album has like the exact same guitar stuff going on but my god is it badass
- I never realized how fucking stupid most of Steve Miller's lyrics are...just turrible
- I can't put my finger on who the dude from Born Against reminds me of the most...there are elements of Guy Piccioto or maybe even D Boon but like, more core
- I can't believe I scoobied around and waited until AFTER Tawny Peaks played at The Dial to listen to their stellar album and learn that date was part of their FINAL TOUR.....I'm such a dumbass
- I didn't like Jason's singing on "Eve" (as duly noted in my review on this blog) but his solo acoustic project Svvipht Noir is very very good
- How did I sleep on Dangers for so long?
- RHCP is so annoying most of the time but goddammit if "Behind The Sun" isn't a burner for the ages
- "Issues" isn't nearly as terrible as I imagined it was gonna be; that said, its still really not my shit. Johnathan Davis is just the worst.
- I know I've listened to that Karoshi Boy EP at some point earlier but this time around I liked it a lot more
- "You're gonna have to die young."
- I was hoping that Detroit would be so much doper than they are...That's an cool name
- Ash Borer is some heavy, evil shit
- It's weird how the first time I ever listened to "Alaska" I wasn't really into metal at all yet and it was like the most technical thing I'd ever heard...Nowadays it's like second nature to hear songs put together the way they do but goddamn if this wasn't part of the blueprint for whats normal in metal today
- thediscordofaforgottensketch almost got put on my "Worst Of" list because I didn't like a single one of their songs, but I can see how they could be good and maybe I just heard them at a weird time...Its just too off for me but maybe it comes together on their album or something
- That No Truce/Crucified split really makes me miss my earliest days getting into hardcore, even though these bands came after that period, it just seems like modern hardcore isn't the same...
- Some of my friends are tripping on Witch Prayer right now, and I like them okay, but I don't get being like really stoked on them yet...Then again they're still very new
LIVE PERFORMANCES
6/1/14 - In Tetra Heights @ The Dial
6/2/14 - Crisis Arm/All Your Sisters/Pale/Chasms/60 Cycle Hum @ The Dial
6/6/14 - Cash'd Out @ Uptown Tavern
6/19/14 - Kaioken/Eros/(The Gravitys)/The Swift Beats/60 Cycle Hum @ The Dial
6/25/14 - Crisis Arm/King Woman/Mother Room/Foie Gras @ The Dial
6/28/14 - Ill Com/Happy In Hemet/Interracial Bookclub/(The Gravitys)/The Violent Mindfield @ Morgan's Tavern
LIVE NOTES
- All Your Sisters is goddamn heavy
- I usually don't like cover bands but a bunch of older couples started old-school couples dancing for some of Cash'd Out's set and it was really dope
- That Gravitys set was the first time Jason had played live with us since 2011. Eros covered "Weird Fishes" really well, and then I hurt my back headbanging to Kaioken. It is an injury that still persists.
- That second time seeing Crisis Arm last month was one of the best times I think I've ever seen them play. Which is saying a lot since I've seen them about 20 times
- One of my coworkers came to our show at Morgan's Tavern in Riverside, making it the first time someone from my office has come to see me play in the 2 years I've been here...and it wasn't even a local show. Odd.
TIME NOTES
- I can't believe this year is already halfway over. It really did fly by.
- Congratulations to the Class of 2014
MUSIC
6/1/14
Ghost Noise - "This Is The Next Part of Your Dream"
end of the summer - "Second" EP
end of the summer - "Three" EP
Remembering Never - "She Looks So Good In Red"
6/2/14
Chasms - "Riser" EP
6/3/14
The B-52s - "Cosmic Thing"
KMFDM - "WWIII"
6/4/14
Pedestrian - "Everyone I Know Who Skis Is Dead"
Suicide Silence - S/T EP
The B-52s - "Cosmic Thing"
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
6/5/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
6/6/14
Madonna - "Ray Of Light"
51D - S/T EP
Midlife Crisis Winery - Demo
6/7/14
Jimi Hendrix - "People, Hell, and Angels"
The Mamas & The Papas - "16 Greatest Hits"
6/8/14
Violent Femmes - S/T
Violent Femmes - "Crazy" digital single
Hail, Adventurer! - S/T
Coalspur - "Others"
Black Flag - "Six Pack" 7"
Sparks - "Hello Young Lovers"
Francie Moon - "Free to a Good Home"
Minuet - S/T
The Pretenders - "The Singles"
Parallax Scroll - "Floaters"
Banshee - "Raoul" digital single
6/9/14
John George Campbell - "The Family Album"
Open Mike Eagle - "Sir Rockabye" EP
Leonard Lawrence - July 2013 Demos
6/10/14
Calexico - "The Black Light"
Code 13 - "Discography 1994-2000"
6/11/14
The Gravitys - June 2011 Demo
The 144 - "Goodbye Cool World"/"Rock and Roll" digital single
Paleface - "One Big Party"
Duffy & The Beer Slayers - S/T
6/12/14
Damages - "Unlucky Love in Lonesome Twenty-Something Hell" EP
Riboflavin - "Trapped in the Toy Aisle"
Secret Machines - S/T
6/13/14
Jack's Smirking Revenge - "A Monumental Shame"
Mouse Ear - S/T 7"
Cool Drinks - S/T demo
Crisis Arm - "Fetch" EP
6/14/14
Ocean Hands - "Singles" CD-R
Pinegrove - "Mixtape Two"
Graf Orlock - "Destination Time: Today"
Wolf Parade - "Four-Song" EP
6/15/14
Tiger Army - "Music From Regions Beyond"
6/16/14
Chic - "C'est Chic"
Kaioken - Demo
Flaccid - Demo
Langdon Alger - "Following the Lizard King"
6/17/14
Khanate - "Clean Hands Go Foul"
6/19/14
School Of Seven Bells - "Disconnect From Desire"
6/20/14
The Gravitys - "Nutrition"
Plague - "Unholy Offerings" EP
Diamond Rugs - S/T
Leer - "SPRINGBREAKNOPARENTS"
Transcendence - "Morbid Reality" EP
Battles - "Mirrored"
Sum 41 - "All Killer, No Filler"
Madrost - "Maleficent"
6/20/14
P$O - 7-song demo CD
Refused - "This Just Might Be...The Truth"
Television - "Marquee Moon"
Devastation (DVT) - "Rebel Streets"
6/21/14
Faith No More - "Who Cares A Lot? The Greatest Hits" Disc 1
Tiny Hawks - "People Without End"
Susy's Owner/Contron - Split
D.A.V.E. The Drummer - April Mix Pt. 1
Bucket Full Of Teeth - "IV" EP
Whitman - "Sinking" EP
The F.U.s - "FU82" EP
You, Me, and Us - "Stay Inside" EP
Fatty Cakes - "1998 Lisa Frank Diary" EP
Steve Miller Band - "Greatest Hits 1974-78"
drowning with our anchors - "You Can Never Go Home Again"
John Thill - "Broken Freeways"
Necrophagist - "Onset of Putrefaction"
6/22/14
Born Against - "Battle Hymns of the Race War" 10"
D.K. Slider - "The Greatest" digital single
Tawny Peaks - "In Silver River"
Wisp - "The Shimmering Hour"
Demimonde - "Gentrify This!" EP
Whore Paint - "Swallow My Bones"
Ground Up - 2008 4-song demo (mastered version with bass)
6/23/14
Svvipht Noir - "Farce Alarm" digital single
Regents - S/T EP
V/A - "Cali Co-Op Vol.1" mixtape
Leftmore - "Smile, It's Not That Bad"
The Nerves - S/T EP
6/25/14
Mother Room - "Scorched"
Operation Ivy - "Energy"
6/26/14
Necrophagist - "Epitaph"
6/27/14
Solids - "Blame Confusion"
We Were Skeletons/MNWA - split EP
Dangers - "Five O'Clock Shadow on the Edge of the Western World"
6/28/14
Sunn O))) & Ulver - "Terrestrials"
Out Of Focus - S/T EP
Red Hot Chili Peppers - "What Hits!?"
His Hero Is Gone - "Monuments To Thieves"
6/29/14
Blonde Redhead - "Misery is a Butterfly"
Eastern Bakery - S/T EP
Kidcrash - "Naps" EP
The Wrath - 5-song demo CD
Just Friends - Demo 2013
Dysplasia/Detroit - "Repulsed" split LP
Korn - "Issues"
Karoshi Boy - "Nothing Is" EP
Rude Geeks - "Naughty Language/Strains of Bullshit" digital single
Opeth - "Ghost Reveries"
6/30/14
Hell/Mizmor - split 12"
Detroit - "Vs. North America" tour tape
Nodes Of Ranvier - S/T
Ash Borer - "Bloodlands"
None Of The Living Remain - "Grim to the Brim"
Between The Buried And Me - "Alaska"
Dangerously Sleazy - "Bad Things Just Happen" EP
Brain Eater/thediscordofaforgottensketch - split EP
No Truce/Crucified - split EP
Witch Prayer - "The High Priestess Reigns Again" EP
Santana - "Abraxas"
MUSIC NOTES
- I had "Amethyst" by Ghost Noise stuck in my head for like a week straight
- I might do a needlessly in-depth review of "Cosmic Thing" one of these days
- KMFDM is a drug against war
- How in the blazes does Jimi Hendrix have a new album out???
- Jackson Doty aka Hail, Adventurer! is probably my favorite local guitarist besides of course myself
- This was a pretty good month for 'new finds', some of the bands I 'discovered' this month really hit me hard. Favorite new finds for June: Coalspur, Minuet, Diamond Rugs, Leer, Tiny Hawks, Contron, Bucket Full Of Teeth, Tawny Peaks, Wisp, Svvipht Noir, Solids, Dangers, Kidcrash, Just Friends, Dysplasia, Ash Borer
- I listened to that Coalspur album twice in a row. I never do that. Check them out they're excellent.
- That single Pretenders listing is a poor indication of how often I was listening to "Talk of the Town" on repeat this month..."Maybe tomorrow; Maybe someday, When you've changed your place in this world..."
- The one or two solid songs on my dad's CD are drastically overpowered by the many, many godawful ones
- Worst of the month: Leonard Lawrence (boring/overdone/predictable); Riboflavin (so over the top cutesy that they have a song about goddamn Disneyland); Ocean Hands (trying to be Neon Trees I think); Fatty Cakes (mind-blowingly annoying); Dangerously Sleazy (sloppy and lame)
- "This is hardcore for the kids, not for the fucking system. If we're not doing it for ourselves, you see, it makes no difference."
- I thought Paleface was gonna be like post-HC or something, not the quasi-folk stuff it really is...Disappointment
- I can't believe I forgot about how much I loved that Secret Machines CD..."Last Believer Drop Dead" and "I Never Thought To Ask" are both like modern classics in my mind, especially the latter...Fucking beautiful
- Graf Orlock never gets old
- "Music From Regions Beyond" is far and away Tiger Army's worst release, which is a shame because it's also their most successful, so a lot of people probably got a poor idea of them from that - especially with that terrible 80s-inspired song, sheesh
- "Freak Out! Le Freak, C'est Chic!"
- Man, Khanate is dark but just way too droney for my tastes...let's not even get started on Hell.
- SVIIB will always hold a special place in my heart...ILU
- Diamond Rugs is a side project from the Deer Tick guy and it sounds so much like Deer Tick its stupid...but I like Deer Tick so its also okay by me
- That was the first time I listened to more than Sum 41's radio hits and I feel completely justified in talking all that shit for the last decade
- There is a lot of shitty throwback/skate thrash coming out of this area again and it makes me look at former me like the dumbass I really was
- Every song on that Refused album has like the exact same guitar stuff going on but my god is it badass
- I never realized how fucking stupid most of Steve Miller's lyrics are...just turrible
- I can't put my finger on who the dude from Born Against reminds me of the most...there are elements of Guy Piccioto or maybe even D Boon but like, more core
- I can't believe I scoobied around and waited until AFTER Tawny Peaks played at The Dial to listen to their stellar album and learn that date was part of their FINAL TOUR.....I'm such a dumbass
- I didn't like Jason's singing on "Eve" (as duly noted in my review on this blog) but his solo acoustic project Svvipht Noir is very very good
- How did I sleep on Dangers for so long?
- RHCP is so annoying most of the time but goddammit if "Behind The Sun" isn't a burner for the ages
- "Issues" isn't nearly as terrible as I imagined it was gonna be; that said, its still really not my shit. Johnathan Davis is just the worst.
- I know I've listened to that Karoshi Boy EP at some point earlier but this time around I liked it a lot more
- "You're gonna have to die young."
- I was hoping that Detroit would be so much doper than they are...That's an cool name
- Ash Borer is some heavy, evil shit
- It's weird how the first time I ever listened to "Alaska" I wasn't really into metal at all yet and it was like the most technical thing I'd ever heard...Nowadays it's like second nature to hear songs put together the way they do but goddamn if this wasn't part of the blueprint for whats normal in metal today
- thediscordofaforgottensketch almost got put on my "Worst Of" list because I didn't like a single one of their songs, but I can see how they could be good and maybe I just heard them at a weird time...Its just too off for me but maybe it comes together on their album or something
- That No Truce/Crucified split really makes me miss my earliest days getting into hardcore, even though these bands came after that period, it just seems like modern hardcore isn't the same...
- Some of my friends are tripping on Witch Prayer right now, and I like them okay, but I don't get being like really stoked on them yet...Then again they're still very new
LIVE PERFORMANCES
6/1/14 - In Tetra Heights @ The Dial
6/2/14 - Crisis Arm/All Your Sisters/Pale/Chasms/60 Cycle Hum @ The Dial
6/6/14 - Cash'd Out @ Uptown Tavern
6/19/14 - Kaioken/Eros/(The Gravitys)/The Swift Beats/60 Cycle Hum @ The Dial
6/25/14 - Crisis Arm/King Woman/Mother Room/Foie Gras @ The Dial
6/28/14 - Ill Com/Happy In Hemet/Interracial Bookclub/(The Gravitys)/The Violent Mindfield @ Morgan's Tavern
LIVE NOTES
- All Your Sisters is goddamn heavy
- I usually don't like cover bands but a bunch of older couples started old-school couples dancing for some of Cash'd Out's set and it was really dope
- That Gravitys set was the first time Jason had played live with us since 2011. Eros covered "Weird Fishes" really well, and then I hurt my back headbanging to Kaioken. It is an injury that still persists.
- That second time seeing Crisis Arm last month was one of the best times I think I've ever seen them play. Which is saying a lot since I've seen them about 20 times
- One of my coworkers came to our show at Morgan's Tavern in Riverside, making it the first time someone from my office has come to see me play in the 2 years I've been here...and it wasn't even a local show. Odd.
TIME NOTES
- I can't believe this year is already halfway over. It really did fly by.
- Congratulations to the Class of 2014
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
INTERVIEW: Paul Collins from The Nerves/The Beat
Last October I interviewed Paul Collins when he came to perform at The Dial warehouse in Murrieta with his longstanding band The Beat. For those who are unfamiliar, Collins is a fairly iconic figure in early DIY rock n roll, having first performed in the seminal 1970s groups The Nerves and The Breakaways before starting The Beat and continuing to perform with various incarnations of the band for over 30 years. He is sometimes referred to as "the King of Power Pop" due to his various groups' contributions to the development and popularity of the style, as well as his unwavering dedication to its survival through non-stop DIY touring. Considering his influence both to the power pop genre and to underground tour networking in general, I made a point to get some words in with him while he was in town to better understand his perspective on these aspects of American rock culture that he's spent the better part of his life dedicated to.
It took me way too long to transcribe this but here's how our conversation went:
Ian: This is Ian speaking with Paul Collins from The Nerves, The Beat, The Breakaways, many other incarnations; First of all, how are you doing tonight?
Paul: I'm good, I'm happy to be in Hemet
I: Actually we're in Temecula right now
P: Oh, Temecula
(laughter)
[We were in Murrieta]
I: I just have a couple questions because you have kind of embodied the DIY thing for a long time. I did notice when I was looking up The Nerves - I've been a fan for a long time but this was the first time I really looked into your history - you had set up a tour way back in the day when you guys were first starting out and you kind of did that all by yourself, before that was really the thing to do
P: I believe it was one of the first DIY national tours ever.
I: How did you go about [booking that]? Did you contact the bands themselves or the clubs themselves...?
P: We contacted the clubs. I just did my research which was by looking at newspapers or calling, getting people - actually, one time I think I called a police station to find out the clubs where they were busting people! Just, this is back in the day, before Internet and cell phones and all that so you had to - actually the tour, the claim to fame was that I [literally] booked it on a dime, because I would go to a payphone and I would call the operator and I would say, 'how much is a call to Chicago?' '$2.15 for the first 3 minutes.' So I would call back and say, 'hey I was calling Chicago, a number in Chicago, and I got cut off!' and they'd say, 'well how much did you put in?' and I'd say '$2.15!" So if you had the right amount, they believed you. 'Okay sir, we'll reconnect you." So I had to do all my business in 3 minutes.
I: Damn that's pretty cool. So to juxtapose that, and I'd agree that's one of the earliest methods of underground touring...
P: Yeah we were so pre-"DIY" that we didn't know it was "DIY"
I: You just had to do what you had to do
P: That's right
I: And so now, it's like, you were on kind-of bigger labels, you did stuff in the '80s like "American Bandstand" - I can't even believe that - and now you're doing the DIY tour circuit again, how do you feel about [then versus now], do you see like a parallel or do you feel like there's a different [vibe]?
P: It's totally different. The biggest thing that changed everything was the Internet. I mean you can network online. That makes a big difference. And there's a lot more bands to network with and the concept of DIY is a lot more accepted. But it's [also] still the same, the nuts and bolts are still the same: you're going out there by yourself or with another band, and it's rough & tumble and down & dirty & gritty, and you're still struggling for exposure and to get people to come out -- To Get People To Come Out. You know, rock n roll, at its nucleus, is in the clubs, and it's always been that way. You go see a band, you get turned onto them, and you get that whole experience of feeling that music live
I: In person
P: That's where the energy level is. I mean, records are great too, records are great because they travel all over the world, and some guy in New Zealand can listen to your record that you made in New York or in California. But it's come full-circle; I mean that's why all the bands are out, from Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga all the way down. The road is where it's at now.
I: That's something I had wanted to ask you about - in your career you've had experience with larger arena-type acts; did you ever feel like you had a disconnect with them because you had this understanding of the "DIY" ethic early on when the 'rockstar' attitude was probably even more prevalent than now; Can you speak to that at all?
P: No, I mean I've been hustling all my life, I've always been hustling. We met some of those big people but we were never at [the level of] one of them. It's a big deal, I mean, I don't know what its like to walk out onstage in front of 20,000 people or 60,000 people. I can't wrap my frame around that one. Definitely, some people play for more people than I play for in 5 years in one night. So, right now I've come to accept my position in this and I just out and do it. My main thing right now is just to get the people in the room. That's all it's about for me, whether it's 5, 10, 20, 100, 200...
I: Like you were saying, [you're] just doing what you're doing; a lot of the music that you've made is strongly associated with 'power pop,' often seen as one of its foundations. How do you feel about that term, 'power pop'? Do you feel that it is something that does actually characterize what you've done?
P: When it first came out, we hated it. We thought it was, you know, bogus and empty; and of course we considered ourselves a rock n roll band, sure. But power pop is a genre of rock n roll, and I what I say to people now about this whole thing - because it is a pro and a con, it's kind-of a stigma, like power pop is nerdy or whatever or that it's not mainstream (and well, it isn't mainstream) - but, power pop to me embodies all the best parts of any great rock n roll: great songs, great guitar licks, great melodies, great harmonics...
I: And quickly done a lot of the time; [songs] don't take, like, forever
P: I read a review, or I heard something, whatever, I read or heard something about Elton John's new album. It said, if he spends more than 40 minutes on a new song, he gets bored. So, some stuff happens quickly, some things take a long time to find their place, you know? Power pop today, it doesn't mean anything of what it did back then. Back then it was a curse. Today its not a curse anymore and I embrace it because - for better or worse - that's what people say I do, so I'm not gonna fight it. But it's an underground genre, and it's still a genre that really needs a lot of help. Bands that do this kind of music, it's tough! You can't go out there and make a living doing this! I mean, I'm doing it now by the skin of my ass. And I'm thankful for that, but in general, it's not like "indie rock." It's not like "garage rock" where [they can go] make 30 grand in a night. Why? Why? Is it because this music isn't good? Because it's inferior? It doesn't have the same kind of merit or quality? It's fucked up. But it's the way it is. And a lot of times, just like, getting people exposed to it - once they get exposed to it they love it - but it's so underground and it's so niche, it's struggling for its survival. I think after now, power pop is in its second generation, so there's no doubt - there can be no doubt - that it's a valid, legitimate genre. But it's still fighting for its life. Plus, the power pop today, is not, you know...I think I see it as a much more elastic genre than it was back in the day. Kids today - they absorbed the music from the past and they make it their own. It's an influence that can be combined with a number of other ones.
I: And at this point, there are so many "pasts"; kids are looking at all these different things, and obviously because of the Internet we're able to find things that in the past was a bit more difficult to mine into
P: People in general have this mania to classify things, but at the end of the day it's still rock n roll. To me, Chuck Berry is rock n roll and Sex Pistols are rock n roll. Although they're not the same, they're still rock n roll.
I: I completely agree with you...Kind of related to that [idea of genres being related], I noticed that you have an alternative-country side band or something?
P: A lot of people say that. I went through a period where I put out an album or two like that, but I don't have a side project.
I: Okay maybe I'm misreading into that
P: No, people have said that
I: Did you ever do anything, like, in the country circuit?
P: Listen, if I went to Nashville, they would shoot me in my head. I am so...I am not country, even if I have songs that might remotely sound a bit country. Most rock n roll musicians love country; country and rock n roll and blues, they're all intertwined. I mean, rock n rollers love Johnny Cash.
I: And Willie Nelson
P: A bunch of cats
I: Alright well I need to actually go get ready for my own set, and I'm really stoked for yours. This is gonna be great.
P: Wait, you're playing a set?
I: Yeah I play in the band right before you
P: Which one?
I: I play in a band called The Gravitys
P: Oh cool
I: But that's besides the point
P: Are we gonna have people here tonight, Ian?
[In a fortunate turn of events, several of my own friends happened to show up and pass by the van right at this moment]
I: I'm trying; Here's some people!
P: There ya go, there's some people
I: Hopefully there's gonna be more...
P: Alright let me ask you, why is it so hard to get people out?
I: Honestly I don't know; My experience has been that nowadays bands are so damn aggressive, you know? [In] my band, I play like an acoustic guitar plugged into an electric amp and I'm pretty melodic with it, and that's always been my goal because a lot of my friends are in hardcore bands or in metal bands or things like that. Sometimes, like, kids just wanna mosh. They're so into the aggressive side of things that they're forgetting about the actual songcraft.That's what I think is kinda lost in the shuffle of saying 'I can play faster than you' or 'I'm more technical than you;' they forget about songcraft I think. So there's this built-in crowd around that and they're just not as interested in more song-based music I think.
P: So maybe we should start a thrash metal band.
[Laughter]
I: I don't think so. I don't want that to happen. Well I'm gonna tie this up cuz I do need to help my drummer
P: Well, listen, thank you for helping us get the word out. You're a part of The Dial?
I: Yeah!
P: Well thats very cool
I: Indeed...Well my last question that I try to ask anybody I interview, and it's kinda arbitrary: what would you say is your favorite breakfast food?
P: My favorite food now is the way they serve breakfast in Australia, which is: fried eggs with some fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, toast, crispy bacon, and sometimes they put a little bit of steamed spinach. They call it "brekky." It's awesome.
I: That sounds very good. Alright Paul, thanks for the time and insight
P: Good luck on your set!
I: Thank you!!
It took me way too long to transcribe this but here's how our conversation went:
Ian: This is Ian speaking with Paul Collins from The Nerves, The Beat, The Breakaways, many other incarnations; First of all, how are you doing tonight?
Paul: I'm good, I'm happy to be in Hemet
I: Actually we're in Temecula right now
P: Oh, Temecula
(laughter)
[We were in Murrieta]
I: I just have a couple questions because you have kind of embodied the DIY thing for a long time. I did notice when I was looking up The Nerves - I've been a fan for a long time but this was the first time I really looked into your history - you had set up a tour way back in the day when you guys were first starting out and you kind of did that all by yourself, before that was really the thing to do
P: I believe it was one of the first DIY national tours ever.
I: How did you go about [booking that]? Did you contact the bands themselves or the clubs themselves...?
P: We contacted the clubs. I just did my research which was by looking at newspapers or calling, getting people - actually, one time I think I called a police station to find out the clubs where they were busting people! Just, this is back in the day, before Internet and cell phones and all that so you had to - actually the tour, the claim to fame was that I [literally] booked it on a dime, because I would go to a payphone and I would call the operator and I would say, 'how much is a call to Chicago?' '$2.15 for the first 3 minutes.' So I would call back and say, 'hey I was calling Chicago, a number in Chicago, and I got cut off!' and they'd say, 'well how much did you put in?' and I'd say '$2.15!" So if you had the right amount, they believed you. 'Okay sir, we'll reconnect you." So I had to do all my business in 3 minutes.
I: Damn that's pretty cool. So to juxtapose that, and I'd agree that's one of the earliest methods of underground touring...
P: Yeah we were so pre-"DIY" that we didn't know it was "DIY"
I: You just had to do what you had to do
P: That's right
I: And so now, it's like, you were on kind-of bigger labels, you did stuff in the '80s like "American Bandstand" - I can't even believe that - and now you're doing the DIY tour circuit again, how do you feel about [then versus now], do you see like a parallel or do you feel like there's a different [vibe]?
P: It's totally different. The biggest thing that changed everything was the Internet. I mean you can network online. That makes a big difference. And there's a lot more bands to network with and the concept of DIY is a lot more accepted. But it's [also] still the same, the nuts and bolts are still the same: you're going out there by yourself or with another band, and it's rough & tumble and down & dirty & gritty, and you're still struggling for exposure and to get people to come out -- To Get People To Come Out. You know, rock n roll, at its nucleus, is in the clubs, and it's always been that way. You go see a band, you get turned onto them, and you get that whole experience of feeling that music live
I: In person
P: That's where the energy level is. I mean, records are great too, records are great because they travel all over the world, and some guy in New Zealand can listen to your record that you made in New York or in California. But it's come full-circle; I mean that's why all the bands are out, from Bruce Springsteen and Lady Gaga all the way down. The road is where it's at now.
I: That's something I had wanted to ask you about - in your career you've had experience with larger arena-type acts; did you ever feel like you had a disconnect with them because you had this understanding of the "DIY" ethic early on when the 'rockstar' attitude was probably even more prevalent than now; Can you speak to that at all?
P: No, I mean I've been hustling all my life, I've always been hustling. We met some of those big people but we were never at [the level of] one of them. It's a big deal, I mean, I don't know what its like to walk out onstage in front of 20,000 people or 60,000 people. I can't wrap my frame around that one. Definitely, some people play for more people than I play for in 5 years in one night. So, right now I've come to accept my position in this and I just out and do it. My main thing right now is just to get the people in the room. That's all it's about for me, whether it's 5, 10, 20, 100, 200...
I: Like you were saying, [you're] just doing what you're doing; a lot of the music that you've made is strongly associated with 'power pop,' often seen as one of its foundations. How do you feel about that term, 'power pop'? Do you feel that it is something that does actually characterize what you've done?
P: When it first came out, we hated it. We thought it was, you know, bogus and empty; and of course we considered ourselves a rock n roll band, sure. But power pop is a genre of rock n roll, and I what I say to people now about this whole thing - because it is a pro and a con, it's kind-of a stigma, like power pop is nerdy or whatever or that it's not mainstream (and well, it isn't mainstream) - but, power pop to me embodies all the best parts of any great rock n roll: great songs, great guitar licks, great melodies, great harmonics...
I: And quickly done a lot of the time; [songs] don't take, like, forever
P: I read a review, or I heard something, whatever, I read or heard something about Elton John's new album. It said, if he spends more than 40 minutes on a new song, he gets bored. So, some stuff happens quickly, some things take a long time to find their place, you know? Power pop today, it doesn't mean anything of what it did back then. Back then it was a curse. Today its not a curse anymore and I embrace it because - for better or worse - that's what people say I do, so I'm not gonna fight it. But it's an underground genre, and it's still a genre that really needs a lot of help. Bands that do this kind of music, it's tough! You can't go out there and make a living doing this! I mean, I'm doing it now by the skin of my ass. And I'm thankful for that, but in general, it's not like "indie rock." It's not like "garage rock" where [they can go] make 30 grand in a night. Why? Why? Is it because this music isn't good? Because it's inferior? It doesn't have the same kind of merit or quality? It's fucked up. But it's the way it is. And a lot of times, just like, getting people exposed to it - once they get exposed to it they love it - but it's so underground and it's so niche, it's struggling for its survival. I think after now, power pop is in its second generation, so there's no doubt - there can be no doubt - that it's a valid, legitimate genre. But it's still fighting for its life. Plus, the power pop today, is not, you know...I think I see it as a much more elastic genre than it was back in the day. Kids today - they absorbed the music from the past and they make it their own. It's an influence that can be combined with a number of other ones.
I: And at this point, there are so many "pasts"; kids are looking at all these different things, and obviously because of the Internet we're able to find things that in the past was a bit more difficult to mine into
P: People in general have this mania to classify things, but at the end of the day it's still rock n roll. To me, Chuck Berry is rock n roll and Sex Pistols are rock n roll. Although they're not the same, they're still rock n roll.
I: I completely agree with you...Kind of related to that [idea of genres being related], I noticed that you have an alternative-country side band or something?
P: A lot of people say that. I went through a period where I put out an album or two like that, but I don't have a side project.
I: Okay maybe I'm misreading into that
P: No, people have said that
I: Did you ever do anything, like, in the country circuit?
P: Listen, if I went to Nashville, they would shoot me in my head. I am so...I am not country, even if I have songs that might remotely sound a bit country. Most rock n roll musicians love country; country and rock n roll and blues, they're all intertwined. I mean, rock n rollers love Johnny Cash.
I: And Willie Nelson
P: A bunch of cats
I: Alright well I need to actually go get ready for my own set, and I'm really stoked for yours. This is gonna be great.
P: Wait, you're playing a set?
I: Yeah I play in the band right before you
P: Which one?
I: I play in a band called The Gravitys
P: Oh cool
I: But that's besides the point
P: Are we gonna have people here tonight, Ian?
[In a fortunate turn of events, several of my own friends happened to show up and pass by the van right at this moment]
I: I'm trying; Here's some people!
P: There ya go, there's some people
I: Hopefully there's gonna be more...
P: Alright let me ask you, why is it so hard to get people out?
I: Honestly I don't know; My experience has been that nowadays bands are so damn aggressive, you know? [In] my band, I play like an acoustic guitar plugged into an electric amp and I'm pretty melodic with it, and that's always been my goal because a lot of my friends are in hardcore bands or in metal bands or things like that. Sometimes, like, kids just wanna mosh. They're so into the aggressive side of things that they're forgetting about the actual songcraft.That's what I think is kinda lost in the shuffle of saying 'I can play faster than you' or 'I'm more technical than you;' they forget about songcraft I think. So there's this built-in crowd around that and they're just not as interested in more song-based music I think.
P: So maybe we should start a thrash metal band.
[Laughter]
I: I don't think so. I don't want that to happen. Well I'm gonna tie this up cuz I do need to help my drummer
P: Well, listen, thank you for helping us get the word out. You're a part of The Dial?
I: Yeah!
P: Well thats very cool
I: Indeed...Well my last question that I try to ask anybody I interview, and it's kinda arbitrary: what would you say is your favorite breakfast food?
P: My favorite food now is the way they serve breakfast in Australia, which is: fried eggs with some fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, toast, crispy bacon, and sometimes they put a little bit of steamed spinach. They call it "brekky." It's awesome.
I: That sounds very good. Alright Paul, thanks for the time and insight
P: Good luck on your set!
I: Thank you!!
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