I might as well do something this stupid, right? It's the end of 2009, and I'm going to shoot right out of the gates and say that this year was the year of the 7". Punk Rock has always been known for having a very close relationship with limited edition, colored vinyl, but this year had a slew of EP's, as well as some plain old full lengths. Here's MY top ten releases of 2009.
10. Paint It Black-"Surrender" (Fat Wreck Chords).
This year, Paint It Black went into the studio with Kurt Ballou of Converge and cranked out 9 tracks to be released on two 7" records on two separate labels. The first of which was "Amnesia," the follow-up being "Surrender." Now, don't get me wrong; this is a GOOD record. It's four songs were short enough to fit on a 45, but ferocious to fit nicely into Paint It Black's celebrated catalog. As good of a record as this was, I feel it was lacking a lot of the melody of the band's previous efforts and was trying too hard to be a "raw" hardcore record. "Amnesia" was better by far.
That should be a pretty good transition to our number 9...
9. Paint It Black-"Amnesia" (Bridge Nine).
This was a good record. I felt it captured everything that you could expect from Paint It Black: Slight Aggression, lots of political/social commentary, and a ton of sing-along-worthy melody. I feel that "Bliss" may be the band's best song yet.
8. Snowing-"Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit"
Technical 90s-style Emo at it's best. These guys know what the hell their doing and the influence of Braid, Cap'n Jazz and the like is ever apparent. I think this band has a lot ahead of them, and I'm excited to hear more from them. It's available as a free download on Ifyoumakeit.com, and there should be a link to the vinyl as well.
7. Comadre-A Wolf Ticket.
Do I need to say anything here? Comadre delivers loud, fast, chaotic hardcore that reminds me of a lot of earlier Screamo like Saetia, Hot Cross, and Funeral Diner. Certainly a must-listen album.
6. Nightmares For a Week-"A Flood Tomorrow" (Music For End Times/Broken English).
Sense I first stumbled across this band on Myspace, I've been hooked. They're absolutely amazing. They mixed together so many different sounds and put them all into a wonderful Punk Rock record. I can't wait for a full length.
5. Big D and The Kids Table-Fluent In Stroll (Side One Dummy)
Ok, I'll admit, I hated this album at first. I thought it was horrible, and completely abandoned their old sound. After a while, I accepted this album as a great evolution for the band. It's still got a lot of Big D's classic Ska sound, just with less Punk influence. This isn't a terrible album after all.
4. Andrew Jackson Jihad-Can't Maintain (Asian Man)
Andrew Jackson Jihad is a wonderful band. Their brand of funny, catchy Folk Punk has had me hooked for a while. Can't Maintain is pretty much what you'd expect from AJJ with the addition of electric instruments. A very lovable record.
3. Banner Pilot-Collapser (Fat Wreck Chords)
Banner Pilot are becoming one of my favorite bands. They're undeniably catchy, and add enough grit that they can appeal to just about everyone. Think Kid Dynamite meets None More Black meets Jawbreaker meets Hot Water Music and you get the wonderful Punk outfit known as Banner Pilot.
2. Polar Bear Club-Chasing Hamburg (Bridge Nine)
Oooooh, Polar Bear Club.
1. Kudrow-"Lando" (Quote Unquote/Ernest Jenning/If You Make It)
This EP only came out a couple weeks ago, but we've been waiting for it for what feels like a year now. Kudrow is really taking a lot of 90's pop/indie/alternative influence and putting it into some solid Punk/Pop Punk tunes. Kudrow is going to be another band worth watching in 2010, as they are better than all the other bands the individual members participate in.
Ok, that's it. Happy New Year.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Kudrow "Lando" EP Review
In 2009, a trend has emerged of bands that have an extreme amount of reputation to live up to. We've seen it with smaller bands such as Hard Girls which features members of Shinobu and Pteradon and all three members are also in Jesse Michaels' newest group Classics of Love. On a larger scale, we've also seen Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones join forces as Them Crooked Vultures. What I'm getting at here is that this stuff entices me. Another band with a tremendous amount of high expectations is Brooklyn's Kudrow (y'know, Smelly Cat?) Kudrow is a 90's Alternative Rock inspired outfit comprised of Jeff Rosenstock (Bomb The Music Industry), Mike Campbell (Latterman, The Brass, and Laura Stevenson and The Cans), and Dave Garwacke (Halo Fauna, Thousandaires, Laura Stevenson, Golden Age of Radio, The State Lottery, and pretty much every band ever). While I've yet to purchase the vinyl, I plan on such. Quote Unquote Records and Ifyoumakeit.com have both put "Lando" up for a suggested donation, while Ernest Jenning Records will handle the vinyl release. This is quite a good record, I have proof.
Right as the EP's opener, "Commutilation," comes through the speakers, so does a thick layer of fuzz, and a welcome one at that. In fact, their sound is something that has been missing for a long, long time. Rosenstock and Campbell bring a thick, distorted wall of sound, backed wonderfully by Garwacke's rhythmic expertise. Think The Replacements but with bigger guitar and bass sounds....actually a HUGE bass sound. There's times where Jeff doesn't even need to play his guitar because Campbell takes so much space on his own with an absolutely voluminous bass sound.
In addition to the grit, Kudrow also brings the POP. These are some catchy tunes, reminiscent to The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., and Superchunk. The catchiest of them all has to be "Favreau," which starts with fuzzy bassline in the verse and explodes into a huge chorus with one of the best guitar licks I've ever heard Jeff Rosenstock play. "Blink-182 Reunion" starts with a really cool riff that grabs me every time. I also love how most of the songs on "Lando" follow what I like to call the "Pixies Formula," where the verses are quiet and the choruses explode.
The 4 song EP seems really short until the record's closer "Brooklyn Pool," which clocks in at just under 6 minutes and mixes the beautiful with the brash, and the silent with the extravagant.
Now, I'll admit I was expecting a lot from this band, considering the fact I love all their other groups, and I feel they delivered. This is a great little EP. That's the thing, it's too short and I want more. One can only imagine what a full-length from the group would be like.
If you have a record player, I recommend you get this 7". If you would rather download it, I suggest you donate.
"Lando" gets a 4.5 out of 5.
Download "Lando" from these sites:
Ifyoumakeit.com
Quoteunquoterecords.com
Buy the 7" here:
Ernestjenning.com
Visit Kudrow's Myspace here:
Myspace.com/yokudrow
Right as the EP's opener, "Commutilation," comes through the speakers, so does a thick layer of fuzz, and a welcome one at that. In fact, their sound is something that has been missing for a long, long time. Rosenstock and Campbell bring a thick, distorted wall of sound, backed wonderfully by Garwacke's rhythmic expertise. Think The Replacements but with bigger guitar and bass sounds....actually a HUGE bass sound. There's times where Jeff doesn't even need to play his guitar because Campbell takes so much space on his own with an absolutely voluminous bass sound.
In addition to the grit, Kudrow also brings the POP. These are some catchy tunes, reminiscent to The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., and Superchunk. The catchiest of them all has to be "Favreau," which starts with fuzzy bassline in the verse and explodes into a huge chorus with one of the best guitar licks I've ever heard Jeff Rosenstock play. "Blink-182 Reunion" starts with a really cool riff that grabs me every time. I also love how most of the songs on "Lando" follow what I like to call the "Pixies Formula," where the verses are quiet and the choruses explode.
The 4 song EP seems really short until the record's closer "Brooklyn Pool," which clocks in at just under 6 minutes and mixes the beautiful with the brash, and the silent with the extravagant.
Now, I'll admit I was expecting a lot from this band, considering the fact I love all their other groups, and I feel they delivered. This is a great little EP. That's the thing, it's too short and I want more. One can only imagine what a full-length from the group would be like.
If you have a record player, I recommend you get this 7". If you would rather download it, I suggest you donate.
"Lando" gets a 4.5 out of 5.
Download "Lando" from these sites:
Ifyoumakeit.com
Quoteunquoterecords.com
Buy the 7" here:
Ernestjenning.com
Visit Kudrow's Myspace here:
Myspace.com/yokudrow
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Barnaby Jones S/T
Holy crap. Quote Unquote's onto something here. They're doing an album a day until Labor Day. This is the first. A self-titled from a Long Island Hardcore band called Barnaby Jones. I've heard about them a little bit here and there, though this is the first I've listened to them. What can I say here? It's a solid hardcore album, which people just don't make anymore. It's also the first hardcore record released on Jeff Rosenstock's donation label, Quote Unquote Records. The songs are very aggressive and very melodic at the same time a la Dan Yemin. The vocalist does not sing (except on "The Death Seat") , but it works, as the rest of the band keep some melody in the mix. Each song is as good as the last, and there are no weak spots here.
That may be my only (slight) complaint. There's really not much breathing room here. The album comes out swinging and doesn't really stop. At the same time, I like that. In fact, you can really ignore my complaints here.
Who wants this album, you ask? If you like Lifetime/Kid Dynamite/Paint It Black, or Gorilla Biscuits, or This Is Hell, you want this album.
Go download this album on Quoteunquoterecords.com and throw them some money. I can't stress the donation thing enough, you don't have to pay for their music, but if you want these bands to keep doing this and have Jeff release it, they need your donations. This record is certainly worth money. I wouldn't lie to you.
It gets a 5 out of 5 for being the best hardcore album ever.
That may be my only (slight) complaint. There's really not much breathing room here. The album comes out swinging and doesn't really stop. At the same time, I like that. In fact, you can really ignore my complaints here.
Who wants this album, you ask? If you like Lifetime/Kid Dynamite/Paint It Black, or Gorilla Biscuits, or This Is Hell, you want this album.
Go download this album on Quoteunquoterecords.com and throw them some money. I can't stress the donation thing enough, you don't have to pay for their music, but if you want these bands to keep doing this and have Jeff release it, they need your donations. This record is certainly worth money. I wouldn't lie to you.
It gets a 5 out of 5 for being the best hardcore album ever.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Nightmares For A Week Interview
Everyone's a virgin at some point, but it's always nice when two people lose that status together. In this case, I lost my interview virginity at the helm of Nightmares For A Week's very first interview. For those that don't know, Nightmares For A Week is an absolutely amazing Punk band from Kingston, NY. I've been kinda bummed on most local punk lately, so these guys were a godsend. Don't get me wrong, there ARE some good local Punk bands, but NFAW are doing something rather refreshing. They recently released their debut EP "A Flood Tomorrow" physically on Music For End Times (run by Zach and Paul of Dead Unicorn, another fine Kingston band) and digitally on Broken English Records. I've been trying to coordinate this interview for probably a month now, so I finally got to meet up with them at Zena Rockstock at the Colony Cafe in Woodstock (easily one of my favorite venues, in all honesty). I showed up kinda late, because of my lack of a driver's license and Tim Heidcamp having a job. When Tim, Craig Brandt and I arrived, the Ricochet (Jacob Daniel's band) was at least half way through their set, and they were pretty good. I found Bill and Steve from NFAW outside after the Ricochet's set and told them who I was and they remembered and agreed to do an interview. Sean-Paul came out after a few seconds, and we then walked behind the Colony where we started the interview.
Real quick. Name, age, influences:
Sean-Paul: Sean-Paul, 28, my influences would be Descendents. The Descendents would be the main influence, also bands like Gorilla Biscuits.
Bill: My name is Bill, I’m 25 years old. I play guitar and sing, and my influences would be anything from Dinosaur Jr. to Minor Threat, there’s lots of bands out there.
Sean-Paul: Say Echo and the Bunnymen!
Bill: Yeah, Echo and the Bunnymen
[laughter all around]
Steve: I’m Steve, I’m 21, and my influences would be Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age.
How long have you been playing music?:
Sean-Paul: I started playing when I was 16, so 12 years ago.
BIll: I started playing guitar when I was in high schoo, so 14 or 15 years.
Steve: I’ve been playing since age 16.
This is really just for Bill and Sean-Paul, Were you in any bands before Anadivine?
Sean-Paul: Yes.
Bill: I was in all his bands.
Sean-Paul: I was in a band called Jerk Magnet with Bill, which turned into Anadivine. Then I was asked to fill in for all the local bands.
Bill: Before Jerk Magnet was L.T.S. then Jerk Magnet, then came Anadivine. After Anadivine was a band called The Median
(Author's Note: If I screwed any of this up, please tell me and I will fix it)
How about you, Steve?
Steve: Yes, I was in a band called Astronauts for, like, 4 years. Played bass in Barbecue Bash. Ghosts Among The Dead.
Bill: He’s been in more bands than we have!
Who’s writing most of the music for Nightmares?
Sean-Paul: bill writes the music.
Bill: Then they bring it to life.
So Bill writes the lyrics and you guys all flesh it out?
Steve: Bill bill brings the bone, then we add the flesh.
[laughter, a rather common thing with these guys]
This is kind of a stupid question, but for some reason I feel the need to ask. The name: Fireman, right?
Sean-Paul: Yes.
If this isn’t too hard....gear?
Sean-Paul: I play primarily Fender Precision Basses, through a Sans-Amp RBI and a Music Man 100 head, and playing through an Ampeg 410. I also use a limiter pedal, so I have the bass, then the limiter, the Sans-Amp, the head and the cab.
Bill: I play a Fender Telecaster through a 65 Fender Reverb reissue 410 combo. I primarily use a Tube Screamer I built from a kit, and I have a few other pedals.
Steve: I play DW drums and Zildjian A Cymbals.
How has the reception for “A Flood Tomorrow” been so far?
Sean-Paul: As far as the physical copy go. It’s been great. The shows vary, but we’ve sold a lot of CDs.
Steve: Word!
You recently signed to Broken English Records. How’ve they been in comparison to Music For End Times?
Bill: I don’t know if we can compare the two. [laughs] I mean, they’ve both been pretty good. They’re both a great deal of help. End Times is run by Zach and Paul from Dead Unicorn. Paul has helped with T-Shirts, and Zach has written our press release and really helped us with promotion. As far as Broken English goes, John helped produce our record for us, well, half of it. That right there is great. Normally, labels don’t help record the bands.
Favorite band to play with?
Steve: Definitely the Ricochet, Frankie and His Fingers, Caterwaul.
Bill: We played a couple times with our good friends in a rockabilly band called Dead Luck Devilles.
Sean-Paul: Los Doggies!
Bill: Los Doggies are the shit!
All in a staggered fashion: The Viking!
Bill: We’ve only played with them once, but they’re a metal band from Schenectady, and we just don’t get put onto those bills.
Sean-Paul: But they’re our bros.
I collect vinyl, any plans?
Sean-Paul: I wish.
Bill: We’re not sure about the full length. We might press vinyl and then include a code for a download.
How about ideas for variants? Different colors and such?
Bill: We’d love to do that. Sean-Paul’s always talking about Dear You [the Jawbreaker album] on blue.
I have that, actually.
Sean-Paul: I just don’t want to pay 60 bucks for it.
[laughs]
How about other involvements, jobs, other projects?
Steve: I have this band, and I helped the Ricochet on their album.
Bill: This is it!
Sean-Paul: Well, I own and operate a studio, Leaning Tree, but things have really been slowing down there because this has taken over.
How about future plans for the band?
Bill: Play as many shows as we can. Keep on truckin’.
How about the full length?
Bill: We have a ton of new material. We just need to get a label.
Broken English won’t be doing it?
Bill: I think it was just kind of a one-off thing.
Anything else?
Bill: Thank you. Thanks for writing out the questions.
Thanks so much to Nightmares For A Week for doing the interview. You guys rule.
Real quick. Name, age, influences:
Sean-Paul: Sean-Paul, 28, my influences would be Descendents. The Descendents would be the main influence, also bands like Gorilla Biscuits.
Bill: My name is Bill, I’m 25 years old. I play guitar and sing, and my influences would be anything from Dinosaur Jr. to Minor Threat, there’s lots of bands out there.
Sean-Paul: Say Echo and the Bunnymen!
Bill: Yeah, Echo and the Bunnymen
[laughter all around]
Steve: I’m Steve, I’m 21, and my influences would be Dave Grohl, Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age.
How long have you been playing music?:
Sean-Paul: I started playing when I was 16, so 12 years ago.
BIll: I started playing guitar when I was in high schoo, so 14 or 15 years.
Steve: I’ve been playing since age 16.
This is really just for Bill and Sean-Paul, Were you in any bands before Anadivine?
Sean-Paul: Yes.
Bill: I was in all his bands.
Sean-Paul: I was in a band called Jerk Magnet with Bill, which turned into Anadivine. Then I was asked to fill in for all the local bands.
Bill: Before Jerk Magnet was L.T.S. then Jerk Magnet, then came Anadivine. After Anadivine was a band called The Median
(Author's Note: If I screwed any of this up, please tell me and I will fix it)
How about you, Steve?
Steve: Yes, I was in a band called Astronauts for, like, 4 years. Played bass in Barbecue Bash. Ghosts Among The Dead.
Bill: He’s been in more bands than we have!
Who’s writing most of the music for Nightmares?
Sean-Paul: bill writes the music.
Bill: Then they bring it to life.
So Bill writes the lyrics and you guys all flesh it out?
Steve: Bill bill brings the bone, then we add the flesh.
[laughter, a rather common thing with these guys]
This is kind of a stupid question, but for some reason I feel the need to ask. The name: Fireman, right?
Sean-Paul: Yes.
If this isn’t too hard....gear?
Sean-Paul: I play primarily Fender Precision Basses, through a Sans-Amp RBI and a Music Man 100 head, and playing through an Ampeg 410. I also use a limiter pedal, so I have the bass, then the limiter, the Sans-Amp, the head and the cab.
Bill: I play a Fender Telecaster through a 65 Fender Reverb reissue 410 combo. I primarily use a Tube Screamer I built from a kit, and I have a few other pedals.
Steve: I play DW drums and Zildjian A Cymbals.
How has the reception for “A Flood Tomorrow” been so far?
Sean-Paul: As far as the physical copy go. It’s been great. The shows vary, but we’ve sold a lot of CDs.
Steve: Word!
You recently signed to Broken English Records. How’ve they been in comparison to Music For End Times?
Bill: I don’t know if we can compare the two. [laughs] I mean, they’ve both been pretty good. They’re both a great deal of help. End Times is run by Zach and Paul from Dead Unicorn. Paul has helped with T-Shirts, and Zach has written our press release and really helped us with promotion. As far as Broken English goes, John helped produce our record for us, well, half of it. That right there is great. Normally, labels don’t help record the bands.
Favorite band to play with?
Steve: Definitely the Ricochet, Frankie and His Fingers, Caterwaul.
Bill: We played a couple times with our good friends in a rockabilly band called Dead Luck Devilles.
Sean-Paul: Los Doggies!
Bill: Los Doggies are the shit!
All in a staggered fashion: The Viking!
Bill: We’ve only played with them once, but they’re a metal band from Schenectady, and we just don’t get put onto those bills.
Sean-Paul: But they’re our bros.
I collect vinyl, any plans?
Sean-Paul: I wish.
Bill: We’re not sure about the full length. We might press vinyl and then include a code for a download.
How about ideas for variants? Different colors and such?
Bill: We’d love to do that. Sean-Paul’s always talking about Dear You [the Jawbreaker album] on blue.
I have that, actually.
Sean-Paul: I just don’t want to pay 60 bucks for it.
[laughs]
How about other involvements, jobs, other projects?
Steve: I have this band, and I helped the Ricochet on their album.
Bill: This is it!
Sean-Paul: Well, I own and operate a studio, Leaning Tree, but things have really been slowing down there because this has taken over.
How about future plans for the band?
Bill: Play as many shows as we can. Keep on truckin’.
How about the full length?
Bill: We have a ton of new material. We just need to get a label.
Broken English won’t be doing it?
Bill: I think it was just kind of a one-off thing.
Anything else?
Bill: Thank you. Thanks for writing out the questions.
Thanks so much to Nightmares For A Week for doing the interview. You guys rule.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Snowing-Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit
Well, first off I would like to bring to your attention a wonderful video/music site called Ifyoumakeit.com. Ifyoumakeit.com is run by Halo Fauna/State Lottery/Kudrow/The Golden Age of Radio/Thousandaires drummer Dave Garwacke (who's last name is strangly similar to mine). The site features videos of live shows from a large host of punk/indie bands (so many, that I can't even give you a few names, just go to the site), as well as their acoustic series "The Pink Couch Sessions." Halo Fauna's Eric Ayotte and Dom Armao also created a rather hilarious series of short films called 31 Movies In 31 Days. In addition to their videos, the site also hosts free/donation downloads from many bands, most of which have been documented on film as well.
This is where this EP comes in. Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit has been on the site for a while, but I've had yet to listen to it. I downloaded it out of curiosity as I very often do, and I was pretty impressed. Mind you, Snowing isn't doing anything new or groundbreaking here. The band reminds me a lot of Braid. It sounds like there's two singers, and the instrumentation is incredibly technical. Actually, this band is the closest thing to Braid since...well...Braid.
To make this review short and sweet, this 5 song EP is quite a good one. The guitars are pretty mind-blowing, much like Braid. The songs are very, very catchy. I'll want to learn all these songs tomorrow, it's much too late to do so now. They saved the best, heaviest hitting song for last with "Methuselah Rookie Card." It's a solid cut, and we can only hope for more from this band. I'm going to do some research on these guys for sure.
I'll give this one a 3.5 out of 5, because there's plenty of room for further development here, but I recommend you download (AND DONATE!).
This is where this EP comes in. Fuck Your Emotional Bullshit has been on the site for a while, but I've had yet to listen to it. I downloaded it out of curiosity as I very often do, and I was pretty impressed. Mind you, Snowing isn't doing anything new or groundbreaking here. The band reminds me a lot of Braid. It sounds like there's two singers, and the instrumentation is incredibly technical. Actually, this band is the closest thing to Braid since...well...Braid.
To make this review short and sweet, this 5 song EP is quite a good one. The guitars are pretty mind-blowing, much like Braid. The songs are very, very catchy. I'll want to learn all these songs tomorrow, it's much too late to do so now. They saved the best, heaviest hitting song for last with "Methuselah Rookie Card." It's a solid cut, and we can only hope for more from this band. I'm going to do some research on these guys for sure.
I'll give this one a 3.5 out of 5, because there's plenty of room for further development here, but I recommend you download (AND DONATE!).
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Rock Band Downloads: Now Anyone Can Do It. But Is That Really a Good Thing?
Recently MTV Games and Harmonix, the companies behind the smash hit music video game Rock Band 2, announced that independent artists and game developers can now submit tracks to the game's download service. For those who don't know, Rock Band is like a "instrumental karaoke" game of sorts, rivaled by it's elder Guitar Hero. Rock Band and Rock Band 2 have a rather expansive download service where you can actually download new songs, and now it's getting just a little more expansive.
Upon the news of this announcement, indie rock juggernaut Sub Pop Records announced that they would release their ENTIRE CATALOG on Rock Band 2 stating that it would be "another format, just like CDs or Vinyl". I don't know if they're counting the old singles series and everything, but that's still a lot of releases. A few others have announced such desires as well. I might even jump on that bandwagon ("The Manifesto" on Rock Band anyone?).
I guess what I'm confused about is how a song on a video game that only plays correctly if the person playing it is good enough can count as a "format" for a release. It'll be weird when some vinyl and digital only labels start having to say "available on 500 red, 300 orange cream, 200 purple marble, digital, easy, medium, hard, and expert." I'm honestly curious to see how this works for some independent labels. With the fall of Lumberjack Mordam, maybe some labels might actually try this.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty cool that anyone can submit their music to the game. The mentality of some people, such as the people at Sub Pop, thinking that this would be a whole new format to release music on. I mean, it's fun to be able to play the songs, but don't market it to be the greatest thing ever, and don't expect to make bank off of this.
Time will only tell how this works and if it would benefit the already ailing (and corrupt) music industry in any positive way.
This may have made zero sense whatsoever, but I don't care, It's my blog.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time, I'm off to go play Seaweed's self-titled on a plastic guitar and force my dad to sing it or something.
Upon the news of this announcement, indie rock juggernaut Sub Pop Records announced that they would release their ENTIRE CATALOG on Rock Band 2 stating that it would be "another format, just like CDs or Vinyl". I don't know if they're counting the old singles series and everything, but that's still a lot of releases. A few others have announced such desires as well. I might even jump on that bandwagon ("The Manifesto" on Rock Band anyone?).
I guess what I'm confused about is how a song on a video game that only plays correctly if the person playing it is good enough can count as a "format" for a release. It'll be weird when some vinyl and digital only labels start having to say "available on 500 red, 300 orange cream, 200 purple marble, digital, easy, medium, hard, and expert." I'm honestly curious to see how this works for some independent labels. With the fall of Lumberjack Mordam, maybe some labels might actually try this.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's pretty cool that anyone can submit their music to the game. The mentality of some people, such as the people at Sub Pop, thinking that this would be a whole new format to release music on. I mean, it's fun to be able to play the songs, but don't market it to be the greatest thing ever, and don't expect to make bank off of this.
Time will only tell how this works and if it would benefit the already ailing (and corrupt) music industry in any positive way.
This may have made zero sense whatsoever, but I don't care, It's my blog.
Thanks for reading.
Until next time, I'm off to go play Seaweed's self-titled on a plastic guitar and force my dad to sing it or something.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
"Mid-Way Through 2009" Roundup
Ok, it's July, 7 months into the year. So, I decided I'd give my opinions on what's been good and what's been bad this year.
Here goes nothing.
GOOD:
Bomb The Music Industry-Scrambles(Quote Unquote/Asian Man): I have a real obsession with this band, but for good reason. Sure this album is kind of drifting from the ska sound a little, but I like the new sound more. This is certainly picking up where 2007's Get Warmer left off and going even further. A great (free) record.
NOFX-Coaster/Frisbee(Fat Wreck Chords): NOFX is NOFX. They're always great. "Creeping Out Sara" is hilarious, they still sound great this far in, they aren't stopping anytime soon, so get it.
Carry the Torch: A Tribute to Kid Dynamite(Black Numbers): Come on! It's some of the coolest bands ever covering songs by THE coolest band ever. Can you go wrong? No.
Paint It Black-Salem(Bridge Nine): You read my review. You bought the vinyl. You know it rules. The end.
Gallows-Grey Britain(Warner Bros.): PLEASE DO NOT GIVE ME ANY FLACK! So what they're on a major label? The Ramones were on Warner Bros.! This album is a pretty solid continuation of 2006's Orchestra of Wolves, and from what I can see so far, they aren't milking it for singles this time. That got annoying, there must have been a 45 of every song on Orchestra. It's pretty good, enjoy it with a glass of tea (they were not going to avoid an English joke!).
Shinobu-Strange Spring Air(Quote Unquote): Shinobu is a really great band. Not to sound like a stereotypical journalist, but Shinobu really DOES sound like the "new Pavement." They manage to sound pretty....and cause a ruckus at the same time. If you like Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. or Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, try Shinobu out.
Nightmares For A Week-A Flood Tommorrow EP(Music For End Times): Like Red and Blue, I'm from Kingston (god, that was cheesy). Since I'm from Kingston, I should support the local punk bands, right? Well, there aren't really too many, they've all dissolved, most of the punk is in Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls now and it's really gross hardcore about forties and blunts, too. My opinion of local punk changed with the arrival of Nightmares For A Week. Their name alone shows that they share a favorite band with me, Jawbreaker. I've also seen them play "Want." They kinda threw me off writing an original song called "Tour Song," though. I think the best song on the EP has to be "Bear Mountain," in my opinion anyway. They are a very good live band, and a very good band in general. I highly recommend seeing them live and while you're there you should get this disc. Seriously. They're playing with Frankie and His Fingers at the Basement on Broadway in Kingston, NY on the 26th of July. It's all ages kiddies, so be there.
BAD:
Big D and the Kids Table-Fluent In Stroll(Side One Dummy): You knew this would be here. What a disappointment? What would the Specials think? What would the Mighty Mighty Bosstones think? This isn't a ska album, not even in a traditional way. It's just garbage. I think what we need to do as Big D fans is walk from our respective hometowns to Allston Village, Massachusetts and picket until we get a good, old fashioned Big D record just like Big D used to make.
(Authors Note: I'm very sarcastic in my writing very often. I don't think we should really walk to Boston. Why do you think they invented cars?)
NOFX-Coaster/Frisbee(Fat Wreck Chords): The album is just as brilliant as it is similar to every other album. I guess we have no right to demand "The Decline 2." It's gotta be hard to write an 18 minute skate-punk song.
SilversteinA Shipwreck In The Sand(Victory): I shouldn't even mention this band on this blog, but I've liked Silverstein since I was in the eighth grade, didn't have a girlfriend, had a lot of angst, and skateboarded so much it could have been a social disorder. I kinda thought this would redeem them after what they did with Arrivals and Departures but my assumption was only based on a few songs. Those few songs are great, the rest? Not so much.
I don't really have anymore complaints this year. Not yet, anyway.
Stay tuned for more reviews and such, and thanks for following a solid month of mediocre music journalism.
Here goes nothing.
GOOD:
Bomb The Music Industry-Scrambles(Quote Unquote/Asian Man): I have a real obsession with this band, but for good reason. Sure this album is kind of drifting from the ska sound a little, but I like the new sound more. This is certainly picking up where 2007's Get Warmer left off and going even further. A great (free) record.
NOFX-Coaster/Frisbee(Fat Wreck Chords): NOFX is NOFX. They're always great. "Creeping Out Sara" is hilarious, they still sound great this far in, they aren't stopping anytime soon, so get it.
Carry the Torch: A Tribute to Kid Dynamite(Black Numbers): Come on! It's some of the coolest bands ever covering songs by THE coolest band ever. Can you go wrong? No.
Paint It Black-Salem(Bridge Nine): You read my review. You bought the vinyl. You know it rules. The end.
Gallows-Grey Britain(Warner Bros.): PLEASE DO NOT GIVE ME ANY FLACK! So what they're on a major label? The Ramones were on Warner Bros.! This album is a pretty solid continuation of 2006's Orchestra of Wolves, and from what I can see so far, they aren't milking it for singles this time. That got annoying, there must have been a 45 of every song on Orchestra. It's pretty good, enjoy it with a glass of tea (they were not going to avoid an English joke!).
Shinobu-Strange Spring Air(Quote Unquote): Shinobu is a really great band. Not to sound like a stereotypical journalist, but Shinobu really DOES sound like the "new Pavement." They manage to sound pretty....and cause a ruckus at the same time. If you like Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. or Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, try Shinobu out.
Nightmares For A Week-A Flood Tommorrow EP(Music For End Times): Like Red and Blue, I'm from Kingston (god, that was cheesy). Since I'm from Kingston, I should support the local punk bands, right? Well, there aren't really too many, they've all dissolved, most of the punk is in Poughkeepsie and Wappingers Falls now and it's really gross hardcore about forties and blunts, too. My opinion of local punk changed with the arrival of Nightmares For A Week. Their name alone shows that they share a favorite band with me, Jawbreaker. I've also seen them play "Want." They kinda threw me off writing an original song called "Tour Song," though. I think the best song on the EP has to be "Bear Mountain," in my opinion anyway. They are a very good live band, and a very good band in general. I highly recommend seeing them live and while you're there you should get this disc. Seriously. They're playing with Frankie and His Fingers at the Basement on Broadway in Kingston, NY on the 26th of July. It's all ages kiddies, so be there.
BAD:
Big D and the Kids Table-Fluent In Stroll(Side One Dummy): You knew this would be here. What a disappointment? What would the Specials think? What would the Mighty Mighty Bosstones think? This isn't a ska album, not even in a traditional way. It's just garbage. I think what we need to do as Big D fans is walk from our respective hometowns to Allston Village, Massachusetts and picket until we get a good, old fashioned Big D record just like Big D used to make.
(Authors Note: I'm very sarcastic in my writing very often. I don't think we should really walk to Boston. Why do you think they invented cars?)
NOFX-Coaster/Frisbee(Fat Wreck Chords): The album is just as brilliant as it is similar to every other album. I guess we have no right to demand "The Decline 2." It's gotta be hard to write an 18 minute skate-punk song.
SilversteinA Shipwreck In The Sand(Victory): I shouldn't even mention this band on this blog, but I've liked Silverstein since I was in the eighth grade, didn't have a girlfriend, had a lot of angst, and skateboarded so much it could have been a social disorder. I kinda thought this would redeem them after what they did with Arrivals and Departures but my assumption was only based on a few songs. Those few songs are great, the rest? Not so much.
I don't really have anymore complaints this year. Not yet, anyway.
Stay tuned for more reviews and such, and thanks for following a solid month of mediocre music journalism.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Wild "The Wild EP"
So every summer, I find a new band that, for at least that moment, seems like they could easily become a new favorite. This band may very well fill that description. From time to time I do some poking around at Quoteunquoterecords.com, and I'll download something. (Author's note: Quote Unquote Records is fantastic, by the way. You've probably heard of them as they're the first donation based record label). Jeff Rosenstock (of Bomb The Music Industry! fame) certainly has an excellent ear as his label's newest signing, The Wild, is a fantastic little Folk-Punk band from Atlanta (I've done zero research other than that). I just downloaded their EP about 15 minutes ago in my Salt Lake City hotel room, and I'm fairly blown away. The songs are beautiful, and have some very "sing-along" qualities to them. They appear to be a four-piece from their picture on the site, with the typical instruments, though one of the guitarists plays harmonica as well (not a rarity in Folk-Punk, I guess.) As I said I haven't done any research on them yet, but I should. This EP is fantastic! Have I said that before?
Lyrically, each song tells a bit of a story as well as carrying some political subject matter. The guitar sounds are very pretty, with just enough jangle to do the trick. The singer's voice is very smooth with pretty much no growl, which is perfect for these songs. There's a female backing vocalist, as well, whose voice locks in perfectly with the lead singer's voice.
The best song would have to be the closer, "Oh, Alex," which has a sort of "slow-dance" feel to it.
I'm going to go learn more about this band, and you should download this EP at Quoteunquoterecords.com for free (but I'm going to DONATE and you should too!)
This is getting a 5 out of 5.
Quoteunquoterecords.com
Lyrically, each song tells a bit of a story as well as carrying some political subject matter. The guitar sounds are very pretty, with just enough jangle to do the trick. The singer's voice is very smooth with pretty much no growl, which is perfect for these songs. There's a female backing vocalist, as well, whose voice locks in perfectly with the lead singer's voice.
The best song would have to be the closer, "Oh, Alex," which has a sort of "slow-dance" feel to it.
I'm going to go learn more about this band, and you should download this EP at Quoteunquoterecords.com for free (but I'm going to DONATE and you should too!)
This is getting a 5 out of 5.
Quoteunquoterecords.com
Friday, July 3, 2009
Cantine Field Battle of the Bands
This evening (July 3, 2009), I went to the Battle of the Bands at Cantine Field in Saugerties, NY. This is normally a punk rock blog, but none of the bands here really apply, not that it's an issue. The entire lineup was as follows:
Benni's Nightmares and Dreams, an ensemble led by my 12th grade Music theory teacher, Benni Spirig, and a bunch of darling little children playing trumpets, trombones, flutes, guitars, percussion instruments, and singing. This act was hilarious as Spirig was just yelling counts at his kids the whole time. As Connor Kennedy put it, "He sounded like the Count from Sesame Street." It was a fun set, though. They played "Pink Panther," "8 Days a Week," "School of Rock," and "Come Together."
Depot Street, Connor Kennedy (who also plays guitar and banjo for my band, The Good Fight), Connor Milton (of 7.62), Sean Ferraro (of Call It Quits), and Evan Shornstein (of The Defenders) who was subbed for tonight by Joe Marino (Some other band?) playing their "Rockin' blend of blues, jazz and funk. With a good deal of jamming." I'm partially biased because these guys have become friends of mine, but they were pretty good. The jamming was certainly in full effect here. The only thing that really got in their way was the set up of the house PA. But after it was set up, it was smooth sailing. They started with a blues jam, then played "Mustang Sally," "Red House" and honestly, it's 2 in the morning, and I forget what else they played. The two Connors had their fair share of solos, and at the end of "Red House," Kennedy hit the ceiling with his guitar, and I cringed just a bit.
The Number Seven is an awesome post-hardcore band featuring Adam Sauer, Kyle Smith, Chris Pratz, and Mark Corulla. I had wanted to see them for a while. If they ever release anything legitimate, even locally, you best believe I'll have a review. They opened and closed the set with their two best songs, "A2, You Sunk My Battleship" and "Reskinning the Wound" respectively. They played pretty well. They seemed to have a lot of doubt of themselves afterward, but Connor and I were thoroughly impressed. I gave Adam a big hug after they played.
7.62 was a metal/hard rock band, also featuring Connor Milton. Also in the band was James Mason who I knew from the Muddy Cup open mics. They were pretty cool, all their songs were originals, and there was some cool twin-lead stuff going on. The vocal harmonies between Mason and the band's lead singer were pretty solid. Me and Connor Kennedy enjoyed their set with some fried dough and some cheese fries.
I'll be honest, I thought the Face of Fear was horrible. I heard, like, one song from start to finish and the judges were laughing the whole time. Kyle doesn't pull off the whole "girl's clothing" thing. Sorry.
Who was next?
My memory is slipping.
Oh yeah!
Embers Fai..er...I mean...Embers Fall. If you ask me, the whole thing was one big 20-minute-open D breakdown. At one point, the breakdown stopped, and the keyboardist started playing "The Entertainer," followed by the singer going "Y'all want some ice cream?" The whole song comes back in, then at the end everything fades to a rather creepy version of the piano classic played with heavy use of the pitch bend wheel. The guitarist did a sweet around the world at one point, though. Those are cool, right?
The next band, Gabriel, was a screamo band with two singers and no bassist. I guess you don't need one when you have two singers. I guess they were at least decent, though. The people who are into that kind of thing seemed to dig it, so they must be ok at least.
Then came a Pop Punk band called Daddy Long Legs, or Power Lines, depending on who you talk to. They also didn't have a bassist, as he had just left the band. Honestly, you couldn't tell, they had the space filled somehow. The guitarist was indeed a good one, and their drummer was insane, his kicks were thumping and he was hitting everything pretty heavily, but still with a lot of skill. This band was very good. Definitely a good change of pace from all of the screamo/metal bands.
The last band was Stimulus Package. 'Nuff said there.
Sooooooooooooo, we've all been standing out in this grassy swimming pool for hours, who's the winner?
In third was Embers Fall, whatever.
In second was Depot Street, that was pretty cool. They're like family for me.
In first was 7.62, who seemed to have been really excited to have one, and that's pretty cool. I have a feeling this was their first performance, but don't quote me there. They were pretty good, though.
I had fun up there, eating fried food, getting soaked, and heckling Embers Fall. If there is one next year, which nobody knows yet, I'll go. Maybe I'll even play. Who knows?
Benni's Nightmares and Dreams, an ensemble led by my 12th grade Music theory teacher, Benni Spirig, and a bunch of darling little children playing trumpets, trombones, flutes, guitars, percussion instruments, and singing. This act was hilarious as Spirig was just yelling counts at his kids the whole time. As Connor Kennedy put it, "He sounded like the Count from Sesame Street." It was a fun set, though. They played "Pink Panther," "8 Days a Week," "School of Rock," and "Come Together."
Depot Street, Connor Kennedy (who also plays guitar and banjo for my band, The Good Fight), Connor Milton (of 7.62), Sean Ferraro (of Call It Quits), and Evan Shornstein (of The Defenders) who was subbed for tonight by Joe Marino (Some other band?) playing their "Rockin' blend of blues, jazz and funk. With a good deal of jamming." I'm partially biased because these guys have become friends of mine, but they were pretty good. The jamming was certainly in full effect here. The only thing that really got in their way was the set up of the house PA. But after it was set up, it was smooth sailing. They started with a blues jam, then played "Mustang Sally," "Red House" and honestly, it's 2 in the morning, and I forget what else they played. The two Connors had their fair share of solos, and at the end of "Red House," Kennedy hit the ceiling with his guitar, and I cringed just a bit.
The Number Seven is an awesome post-hardcore band featuring Adam Sauer, Kyle Smith, Chris Pratz, and Mark Corulla. I had wanted to see them for a while. If they ever release anything legitimate, even locally, you best believe I'll have a review. They opened and closed the set with their two best songs, "A2, You Sunk My Battleship" and "Reskinning the Wound" respectively. They played pretty well. They seemed to have a lot of doubt of themselves afterward, but Connor and I were thoroughly impressed. I gave Adam a big hug after they played.
7.62 was a metal/hard rock band, also featuring Connor Milton. Also in the band was James Mason who I knew from the Muddy Cup open mics. They were pretty cool, all their songs were originals, and there was some cool twin-lead stuff going on. The vocal harmonies between Mason and the band's lead singer were pretty solid. Me and Connor Kennedy enjoyed their set with some fried dough and some cheese fries.
I'll be honest, I thought the Face of Fear was horrible. I heard, like, one song from start to finish and the judges were laughing the whole time. Kyle doesn't pull off the whole "girl's clothing" thing. Sorry.
Who was next?
My memory is slipping.
Oh yeah!
Embers Fai..er...I mean...Embers Fall. If you ask me, the whole thing was one big 20-minute-open D breakdown. At one point, the breakdown stopped, and the keyboardist started playing "The Entertainer," followed by the singer going "Y'all want some ice cream?" The whole song comes back in, then at the end everything fades to a rather creepy version of the piano classic played with heavy use of the pitch bend wheel. The guitarist did a sweet around the world at one point, though. Those are cool, right?
The next band, Gabriel, was a screamo band with two singers and no bassist. I guess you don't need one when you have two singers. I guess they were at least decent, though. The people who are into that kind of thing seemed to dig it, so they must be ok at least.
Then came a Pop Punk band called Daddy Long Legs, or Power Lines, depending on who you talk to. They also didn't have a bassist, as he had just left the band. Honestly, you couldn't tell, they had the space filled somehow. The guitarist was indeed a good one, and their drummer was insane, his kicks were thumping and he was hitting everything pretty heavily, but still with a lot of skill. This band was very good. Definitely a good change of pace from all of the screamo/metal bands.
The last band was Stimulus Package. 'Nuff said there.
Sooooooooooooo, we've all been standing out in this grassy swimming pool for hours, who's the winner?
In third was Embers Fall, whatever.
In second was Depot Street, that was pretty cool. They're like family for me.
In first was 7.62, who seemed to have been really excited to have one, and that's pretty cool. I have a feeling this was their first performance, but don't quote me there. They were pretty good, though.
I had fun up there, eating fried food, getting soaked, and heckling Embers Fall. If there is one next year, which nobody knows yet, I'll go. Maybe I'll even play. Who knows?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Paint It Black "Amnesia" 7" review
Paint It Black seem to be up to something currently. A few months ago, they announced that they would be releasing 7"s on various labels for the "foreseeable future." Not long after that, they announced that the first of these EPs was going to be released on vinyl and digital only by Bridge Nine Records, the fine lads who have released records from recent greats like Crime In Stereo, Verse, Have Heart, Polar Bear Club, and even the most recent album from NY's own H2O. Just yesterday (June 16, 2009), "Amnesia" was released. My vinyl hasn't come in yet, as I only ordered it last night, but it's available in three colors (300 in muddy rainbow, 700 in grey marble, and 1000 in white) and there is a free download when you order the vinyl.
The second I placed my order, I downloaded the EP and loaded it into iTunes, and my, oh my! THIS RECORD IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST EVIL THING DAN YEMIN HAS EVER MADE!!! I'm not even kidding. For all intensive purposes, "Amnesia" is to Dan Yemin as Skewbald/Grand Union is to Ian Mackaye. The songs are grittier and louder than anything PIB has put out so far.
As soon as the EP's first track, "Salem," comes on, you're hit with one of those eery sounding, distorted bass lines a la "Atticus Finch." Dan's voice, in this song particularly, sounds so shredded and abrasive that you may think that it isn't Dan, but it is. His voice certainly dragged me in on this cut.
"Homecoming" is a fun sounding major-key jam. It reminds me of a few of the songs off New Lexicon. This is my favorite track on side 1.
"Nicotine" continues in the fashion of "Salem" with it's bass-heavy riff and it's slow, doomy meter.
Side 2 comes out swinging with the record's title track, which is probably my favorite on the record altogether. It's probably going to end up being a good crowd-pumping song in PIB's live show.
Anyone who's checked Punknews.org in the past month or so will remember reading that the band described the last track "Bliss" as "Fugazi having a 3 way with Jawbreaker and Nirvana." You know? That's about right. Only complaint I have about this song is that musically, there's a lot going on, and the vocals are quite droning in comparison. Before I end up getting e-mails or whatever, I realize this is hardcore but Andy Nelson is a pretty good singer, and his voice has been on quite a few sing-alongs in PIB's catalog, why couldn't he have done anything here?
That's really my only complaint about the whole record, there's no "sing-alongs," which every Paint It Black record has at least one (actually, way more than that) of. It's still a good cut, but that's one thing I noticed during my first listen.
I'll admit, I'm a HUGE fan of Dan Yemin's work. Whether it's Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, PIB, Armalite or even Resurrection, I've always been a fan. If you're as much of a Dan Yemin devotee as I am, I think you should get this record. If you're a vinyl nerd, you should get this record. If you're an EXTREME vinyl nerd, you should get all three colors. If you're going to get this record at all, I recommend you do it soon before B9 runs out.
Get on over to b9store.com right away to get this, you won't be disappointed.
I'll give this a 4 out of 5
B9store.com
Bridge9.com
Paintitblack.org
Myspace.com/paintitblack
The second I placed my order, I downloaded the EP and loaded it into iTunes, and my, oh my! THIS RECORD IS QUITE POSSIBLY THE MOST EVIL THING DAN YEMIN HAS EVER MADE!!! I'm not even kidding. For all intensive purposes, "Amnesia" is to Dan Yemin as Skewbald/Grand Union is to Ian Mackaye. The songs are grittier and louder than anything PIB has put out so far.
As soon as the EP's first track, "Salem," comes on, you're hit with one of those eery sounding, distorted bass lines a la "Atticus Finch." Dan's voice, in this song particularly, sounds so shredded and abrasive that you may think that it isn't Dan, but it is. His voice certainly dragged me in on this cut.
"Homecoming" is a fun sounding major-key jam. It reminds me of a few of the songs off New Lexicon. This is my favorite track on side 1.
"Nicotine" continues in the fashion of "Salem" with it's bass-heavy riff and it's slow, doomy meter.
Side 2 comes out swinging with the record's title track, which is probably my favorite on the record altogether. It's probably going to end up being a good crowd-pumping song in PIB's live show.
Anyone who's checked Punknews.org in the past month or so will remember reading that the band described the last track "Bliss" as "Fugazi having a 3 way with Jawbreaker and Nirvana." You know? That's about right. Only complaint I have about this song is that musically, there's a lot going on, and the vocals are quite droning in comparison. Before I end up getting e-mails or whatever, I realize this is hardcore but Andy Nelson is a pretty good singer, and his voice has been on quite a few sing-alongs in PIB's catalog, why couldn't he have done anything here?
That's really my only complaint about the whole record, there's no "sing-alongs," which every Paint It Black record has at least one (actually, way more than that) of. It's still a good cut, but that's one thing I noticed during my first listen.
I'll admit, I'm a HUGE fan of Dan Yemin's work. Whether it's Lifetime, Kid Dynamite, PIB, Armalite or even Resurrection, I've always been a fan. If you're as much of a Dan Yemin devotee as I am, I think you should get this record. If you're a vinyl nerd, you should get this record. If you're an EXTREME vinyl nerd, you should get all three colors. If you're going to get this record at all, I recommend you do it soon before B9 runs out.
Get on over to b9store.com right away to get this, you won't be disappointed.
I'll give this a 4 out of 5
B9store.com
Bridge9.com
Paintitblack.org
Myspace.com/paintitblack
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