Soundtrack to the Summer

Summer is, in my humble opinion, an amazing time to be a music fan. Most of your favorite bands are on at least tour and there are always a plethora of cds released too. This summer I have just three cds that I feel I need to tell everyone about.


First up is Alkaline Trio's Agony and Irony. I love this cd so much. I have never owned one of their recordings before, but I have heard my fair share and was a casual fan. I heard good things about this and just picked it up on a whim. Easily, the best $14 I've ever spent.


Ah, Cute Is What We Aim For. A band so many people have hated on since they came out with their first disc, The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch. I think they're one of those fun bands, but sound like sooo many others out now. I was not really looking forward to this one at all, but I saw the video for the first single, Practice Makes Perfect, and was quite taken. Sure the subject matter is the same (love lost, being young and all the baggage) but this time around it seems sincere and it's catchy, but not sugary.


lastly, Hit the Lights, a band that almost collapsed because of the departure of their singer last year. It sucked, but luckily guitarist Nick took over the vocals and saved the band. Ok, so it wasn't quite that dramatic, but Nick's voice quality is above and beyond Colin's and the songs are solid. Again, another on I have on repeat.

So those are my favorites this season, and the fall is looking pretty good too. I highly suggest picking up one of these three for the remaining days of summer and just jammin out with friends.

Pop Punk

Alright I'll admit it, I'm re-falling in love with pop punk. My first taste came courtesy of Punchline (not only talented, but genuinely nice guys. Say "hi" to them at their next show.) From there it went to Yellowcard, the Starting Line, New Found Glory, Something Corporate, etc.

As I grew older in some cases my tastes matured as well, but there are so many days I find myself listening to not only those bands, but newer pop-punkers such as All Time Low, Forever the Sickest Kids, and There for Tomorrow.

Sometimes I think I'm going to be one of those moms who hears what my kids are listening to and say, "Yeah, but it was better when Blink did it."

Vinyl Retail Comeback?

Apparently retailers are giving vinyl another shot, thanks to the recent re popularization of the medium.

CNN has the story.

I think it's pretty cool. I'm not a collector, but I have heard collectors said how hard it is to get records, so I think this is a positive for all involved.

Blink 182

For shits and giggles I threw Blink 182's Take Off Your Pants and Jacket into my stereo the other day. I hadn't listened to it in a long while and for some reason had a jones to listen to grown men sing about being teenagers. Anyway, after a couple listens I realized I don't hate Blink 182 as much as I thought I did. I think I grew out of their juvenile antics and incessant gross jokes and just gave up on them musically as well.

I realized in listening to them though, that for the one or two lame-ass songs about poop/sex/farts/etc. that they know how to write songs. The fact that I hate Tom Delonge's whiny voice does take a little away from his songwriting skills, but that explains why I hate Angels and Airwaves and couldn't care less about him. (Never mind the fact that he's also a serious head case now.) Mark Hoppus on the other hand, I still love the man. His voice is solid, he writes songs that are catchy and he's not nuts. And the fact that Travis stuck with him and go on to form +44 has to say something about the man's business practices.

Anyway, listening to Blink 182 as a 20-year-old is a vastly different experience than it was when I was 14- and 15-years-old.


The Rock Show (my favorite song on Take Off Your Pants and Jacket)

Tune Up

There's a pretty rad new program in the works. It's called "Tune Up"and it cleans up your iTunes library so you don't have that Track 7 or unknown artist info anymore. It also finds missing album art, which is cool, if that kind of thing matters to you.

It's not out yet, but you can sign-up for updates about when the Beta will be released to the public. Definitely worth checking out if you have slight OCD about your music collection.

Breaking Baby News

This just in from Mr. and Mrs. Wentz:

"While many have speculated about this, we wanted to wait until after the first trimester to officially confirm that we are expecting our first child. This is truly the most joyous time in our lives and we are excited to share the happy news and start our family."

- Pete and Ashlee Wentz

Congrats and good luck to them.

P.S. Am I the only person who thinks, that on some insane level, Wentz will make a rad dad?

Alternative Press covers Punk

The July issue of Alternative Press has the 23 bands who shaped punk, in celebration of their 23rd anniversary. Some of the bands featured are Fugazi, Descendents, Bikini Kill, Bad Brains, Black Flag and Buzzcocks.

In all honesty, I have heard about all these bands, but only actually listened to two. I'm interested to see the rest of the list and see who the people at Alt. Press hold responsible for punk music. Also interested to see if they mention any bands from the "new school" (ie. Green Day or Blink 182).

Anyway, check out the July issue which will be in stores sometime next week.

Gabetown Low

So this is a little old (a couple days, a week maybe) but I just remembered it.



It's Gabe Saporta (Midtown, Cobra Starship) and three-fourths of All Time Low performing the Midtown song, Become What You Hate. Very rad. Gabe looks like he's having a ton of fun playing the bass and just jamming out on non-dancey music.

You'll Be Accepting My Apology

I haven't posted in a week. I'm slacking again. This time around it's not because of being busy, more like I have not too much music related I want to talk about. I have a couple ideas for just general posts, but they're all only baby ideas I need to nurse into full-blown concepts. I swear in the next couple days something of merit will come along. Stay tuned.

Emo is Not the Answer

So apparently a 13-year-old girl in England killed herself and now her parents are blaming My Chemical Romance and "emo" music. This highly enlightened article from the Daily Mail has all the details.

As always, AbsolutePunk has a thread discussing it. Most posts are exactly what I thought as I read the article.

My take: Parents are lazy. They need to stop blaming pop culture for their lack of parenting. The girl was an adolescent, easily the shittiest time in any person's life. She told her parents she was going to kill herself and they basically laughed her off. Way to go, assclowns. She made this threat after being told she couldn't stay at her friend's house. Not surprised by her response, she was 13! And blaming My Chem, Blink 182(!) and Good Charlotte, c'mon, let's get real. Stop being a peripheral parent and pay attention to your kids.

One last thing, stop making emo out to be goth. I'm so over this labelization of music and pop culture as well as morons beau regarding shit and making it out to be that which it is not. I think we all need to take a step back and reevaluate.

Save Chicago Culture

Update: The bill has been shelved. The Sun Times has all the info.


The city of Chicago is attempting to pass an ordinance that will make it more difficult to put on shows in the city limits. Save Chicago Culture, is a group opposed to this legislation. Their site also does a better job of explaining than I could even try.

So, I've never been to Chicago but plenty of bands I listen to have come from the Chicago scene and many others have played shows in the city at venues that will be affected if this becomes law. I'm a big advocate of supporting the local scene as well as independent bands.

If this passes, it will be a great disservice to not only the bands who get their start in the local, little clubs, but also the kids who attend these shows and the city itself.

Forever the Sickest Kids

In my AP Tour Part Two post I mentioned the opening band, Forever the Sickest Kids. The other night I went to Target to get food while at work and just happened back to the music section and what did I find? FTSK's little cd, Underdog Alma Mater, for only $10. Needless to say I immediately picked it up and listening to it as soon as I got back to work.

Most of the tracks are definitely songs to dance around in your panties to (like my friends and I have been to known to do) or throw in the car stereo, turn up loud, put-your-sunglsses-on-and-be-happy-it's-summer.

Anyway, so yeah go buy that cd, because it's well worth the cash, and try to catch them at Warped Tour this year because they are high-energy live.

Repeat, well kind of

I know I already posted about the Starting Line's "break", but with it becoming official this past weekend I've been hit again. It just kind of sucks that one of the bands I attribute to my current love of punk, pop-punk, etc. is, more than likely, done.

Ok, so TSL isn't the first band to end, but this one has meant more to me than some of the others (yeah, you Something Corporate and Blink 182). Maybe it's because Kenny's lyrics literally got me through the first half of high school and all the drama (ie."love" life) that comes with it, but still. It always sucks to see an amazingly talented band end. I know the guys will continue to make music and will be much happier in their new ventures. I'm sure it's better to stop now, then to grow to resent what they have done with TSL.

Anyway, check out the four videos Absolutepunk.net did with the guys, in which they talk about the break, among other things.

Pos or Not

Proving all of us cynics wrong once again, MTV has done something good for humanity. Their 24-hour college network, mtvU, has teamed up with the Kaiser Family Foundation as well as Poz magazine to create a game called, Pos or Not, which challenges on-line players to determine whether someone is HIV positive or negative based on little information and a picture.

From the website, "By showing that you can’t tell people’s HIV-status by the way they look or by their gender, age and interests, the game confronts stereotypes about who is affected by HIV/AIDS – while providing information about how to prevent the spread of the disease. Ultimately, Pos or Not aims to break down the barriers that prevent people from using protection, getting tested and talking openly about HIV."

Some notable players of the game include Rise Against, Motion City Soundtrack, Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Say Anything and the Spill Canvas.

I love this game and the idea behind it. I also love how these bands are getting behind something that is truly one of the most important issues to people in my generation.

Summertime

It is now officially the summer concert season. I haven't heard too much about many good tours coming through this part of the world, but there are a few shows I plan on attending.

• June 2: Mr. Small's, The Spill Canvas rolls through with Steel Train and a couple others
• June 26: Alkaline Trio and Bayside at Club Zoo. I hate that venue, but love those bands so much. I have to try and get tickets
• July 15: Peabody's in Cleveland will be hosting All Time Low, Hit the Lights, Valencia and one other. We're totally road tripping for that one.
• July 29: Warped Tour! The ultimate summer concert experience. Lots of good bands this year as well as easily the best person to go to shows with.

I suggest hitting up Ticketmaster's web site, as well as Mr. Small's and your favorite band's MySpace to see who's gonna be when this summer.

AP Tour Part Two

Ok, so warning, this may get long-winded as well as ranty at points. I'm just saying.

So first, my sister and got there an hour and 15 minutes before doors were set to open. Awesome? No, the line was already wrapped around the building. At least there was dedication, although it was mostly for All Time Low. Whatever, I like them too, but still.
We get to the doors and my bag is violently searched through. Calm down, Mr. Security, I left my guns at home, this is pop punk show, not hip-hop battle.

Anyway, we got inside and grabbed a prime spot on the left side of the stage, right next to the speakers, but it was worth it. I don't really like hearing super high or super low noises anyway.

First up, Forever the Sickest Kids are officially my new favorite band. The people around us seemed to know all the words to all their songs. Amazing. Those boys played their skinny little asses off. Very high energy.

Sonny was up next. Computers and whiny voice. Enough about that, moving on.

The Matches: Again, high energy. I saw the sweat literally falling off of those guys. They definitely know how to put on a show. The crowd didn't seem as into them as I was. Oh well, their loss.

The Rocket Summer: Bryce is a bamf. At one point, he used this looping thing, so he played all the instruments and looped them to play and then he took the mic and it was crazy. For sure a highlight of the night. The crowd was stoked for their whole set. The best part is that he is such a humble dude.

Last up, All Time Low. Seriously, madness ensued before they even hit the stage. From the first song, Six Feet Under the Stars to the last Dear Maria, Count Me In, everyone was dancing, clapping, bouncing around and singing every word. The vibe was awesome and that was easily one of the best performances I've seen in a while and definitely the best one I've seen from them. Ironically, when I saw them at Diesel a little over a year ago, I couldn't stand them. Now, I'm like a 15-year-old girl (in a good way) when it comes to them.

All around good time last night. Oh, I almost forgot, All Time Low did an encore of Remembering Sunday which Alex started acoustically and then the rest of the band joined him to finish it off. A-friggin-mazing. I may post the video later.

For sure, one of the top 5 shows I've ever seen.

AP Tour Part One

I literally just got home from the AP Tour. My ears are ringing (I was standing right next to the speakers), my body aches, my voice is going and I feel so fucking amazing.

A more thorough update/review/reaction to follow, hopefully tomorrow after I get some sleep. For now though, just know that I have a new favorite band, as well as so much more admiration and respect for three bands I already love.

Fall Out Boy "Beat It"

First things first, I love Fall Out Boy. Yeah, whatever, I've lost "scene points" (or gained a shit ton). Anyway, they recorded a cover of MJ's classic, Beat It, and made a video for it. The video is full of MJ references and in typical FOB fashion is fun...BUT I kinda hate it. To me, it's just poorly done and my major beef is that John Mayer is the one tearing up the guitar solo and he's not even in the video. Ok, scheduling conflicts, blah, blah, blah, but still. It's all over the place that he's on the song and he's not in the video.

Anyway, take a look for yourself.

• MTV
• Music Videos
• MTV Shows
• Entertainment News

Gwen Stacy

I feel a little late to the party on this one, or I could be ridiculously early. Either way, I'm slowly falling into like with Gwen Stacy, a rather talented hardcore/metalcore band. I honestly don't know much about them, but their name has been popping up all over the interweb as of late and I would just skip over them. Today, however, I decided to take a look at their new music video and must say I am impressed. I do believe I will continue to explore about this band and hopefully become a fan.

Motion City goes acoustic

Motion City Soundtrack will be releasing an acoustic EP via iTunes on May 6. The ep is five songs of their latest release, Even If It Kills Me. The band's label, Epitaph, promises a physical release sometime in the fall.

Track list:
01) Fell In Love Without You
02) It Had to Be You
03) Broken Heart
04) Can't Finish What You Started
05) Point of Extinction

I'm excited. I love MCS and am interested in hearing what they sound like acoustic. I'm sure it's going to give the songs something more, since it'll be stripped down. Plus Justin doesn't really have an "acoustic stripped down voice", but I think he can pull it off.

Break-up is a dirty word

Last month, I posted the Starting Line is going on "indefinite hiatus", and now Yellowcard is doing the same. Ryan Key (lead vocals and guitar) had this to say: "You know, you are the first person that has ever asked that in an interview. That's kind of weird. I have to finally answer it. We really don't have any plans. We are calling it an "Indefinite Hiatus." After this tour, so, I don't know. It could be a year, 10 years, or 6 months. It's been an interesting time in this business and our record label. It's just. We kind of need a break. I think it appears everything is ok on its surface but we definitely need a little bit of time to figure out our personal lives. It doesn't have anything to do with turmoil in the band. It's more of a, facing adulthood now, and we can't stay in Neverland forever. You know what I mean. I think we just need a break. Hopefully we will get back to making another record sometime, if not it may be our last but we don't really know. We're just keeping the door open."

Seriously, two of my all-time favorite bands are now "on hiatus" which usually means "breaking up". Ugh, I can't catch a break. But good luck to all the guys and whatever they do in their time off.

New Cute Is What We Aim For song

Cute is What We Aim For has a new song, Doctor, up on their MySpace. I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. I've been a fan of their's since they began, but fell out of lust because I just got tired of the trite lyrics of their last cd. If this song is any indication of the rest of the new cd, Rotation then I'm rather excited for it.

MTV is stealing my backpocket bands

Apparently MTV thinks Bayside is Buzzworthy. The video for Carry On was featured on TRL a couple weeks ago and has been getting spins on MTV2. The attention has of course caused some tension in the world of Bayside fans (and the haters alike). Anthony, the band's lead singer, decided to address criticism and posted a blog on the band's MySpace.

My take on the whole thing: Bayside won't change who they are for MTV, but they will gladly take the exposure. I personally, hate MTV, but without it honestly wouldn't have heard of some of my all-time favorite musicians/bands.

In other MTV news, All Time Low will be on TRL tomorrow via an interview they did yesterday. Yay, for them, but also boo, simply because I hate 15-year-old who want to have sex with half the band. (That's another post altogether.)

Rock for Health

Rock for Health, is easily my new favorite organization. They're a non-profit outfit which educates musicians and tries to help them get health insurance while on tour.

This is the greatest thing ever. Almost all musicians and bands that make music their life have no health insurance. Tons of bands lately have had accidents and if injuries happen, they're screwed. I am all about this idea and am going to support this cause 100 percent.

A couple bands which support Rock for Health: Bayside, Between The Trees, Meg & Dia, Sonny, The Rocket Summer, The Spill Canvas, Circa Survive, Chiodos, just to name a few.

Taking Back Sunday update

Taking Back Sunday, wrote a little blog update about the cd they're working on. I'm excited for this; it's been far too long since they released Louder Now and a new cd means a tour and TBS never disappoints live.

Dance, dance

Wow, I'm a slacker in the worst way. Sorry, I've been busy and I'm sure this little blog doesn't get much attention.

Moving on, new favorite band alert: Metro Station. Amazingly catchy dancy, technoy, fun music. They have a video for their song "Control" up on YouTube, but alas, embedding is disabled and I'm not savvy enough to find a way around that.

Anyway, check them out. They are definitely a good summer time mix band.

Marriage of the century

So Pete Wentz and Ashlee Simpson are getting married. Apparently this is news. I know I'm not any better than anyone reporting on it, but I feel compelled to blog about it. Maybe it's because this relationship just seems so fake to me. Whatever.

So yeah, congrats to them and I hope this is legit and they make it last.

Punk Goes Crunk

When I first heard this idea I was like "ugh", rockers doing rap didn't seem like the best idea in the world. Let's just say, on a few of the tracks I was right. The Devil Wears Prada for example, a screamo band doing rap= bad idea. The Maine did Akon's "I Wanna Love You", which first of all, is the radio edit, so it sounds bad, but The Maine's vocalist doesn't do justice to Akon's unique voice.
Hot Rod Circuit did a service to Snoop Dogg on his "Gin and Juice". They kept the stripped down feel of the song and kept true to the lyrics. Another favorite, Scary Kids Scaring Kids version of Notorious B.I.G and Bone, Thugs N Harmony's "Notorious Thugs".
Overall, I can't hate on the cd, but I think maybe half the songs shouldn't have been on there, simply because they aren't that well known or seem awkward when covered by a bunch of little white boys.

Why am I not surprised?

There was a report in the Guardian that said 95% of people ages 18-24 copy music in one form or another. The surprising part: it's not all from file-sharing programs. People still directly copying CD's (like me sometimes) and there are people who still copy from the radio! That last part made my eyes bug out, I'm not even kidding you. The radio, really? C'mon I haven't done that since I was in I think 6th or 7th grade.

Anyway, the point is, is anyone really surprised by this information? We were coming of age when the Napster thing happened. Hell, most of us used Napster. I think reports like this are such a waste of money. It's like having a report telling us water is good for you or prolonged exposure to the sun may cause skin cancer. Can we spend this type on money on reports that may actually help the world? K, thanks.

revamp

So, since this blog is no longer meant for school and I'm having fun with it, I think I'll keep it. I'm going to rework it a little, the nature of the posts will be a little different and I may actually post everyday. We'll see.

This is the first song for your mix tape

The mix tape. A simple enough concept, a bunch of semi-related songs on a disc. But under the surface, a good mix has to have a few elements that make it good. Apparently, there are websites devoted on how-to make a good mix. Personally, I'm a trial and error kind of girl. I've made enough mixes for myself that have been truly terrible, but once in a while, a good one comes along. On the few occasions I've been given mixes, my favorites have been the ones which had specific themes and songs that I actually liked.

The mix tape is such a part of the "scene" that absolutepunk.net has a thread on its forum dedicated to it. Below, you'll find other helpful links for making the perfect mix for yourself, potential significant other, or the girl down the street you've decided to start stalking. (kidding on that last one...kinda)

wikiHow: How to Make a Perfect Mix Tape or CD

The Art of the Mix: the website dedicated to making mixed tapes and cds

How to Make the Perfect Mix Tape: the fine folks at Esquire pose this scenerio: You've got 1,000 songs and no idea how to put them together. This will help you.

Tiny Mix Tapes: a site with news and other goodies, including a "mix tape generator"

Ruckus

So one of my absolute best friends from high school informed me today of this rather amazing website called Ruckus. I had never heard of it before, but it's a site that allows college students to legally download, high quality music. There is a list of participating schools who have a partnership with the site, but even if your school isn't listed you can still join, as long as you have a valid student e-mail address (one ending in .edu)

The aforementioned best friend said the site is ridiculously convenient when there's a release you're not sure about, you can listen to it for free, instead of spending valuable cash on something you'll listen to once.

If anyone else has used this or is planning to check it out, please comment and let me know your thoughts.

Edit: The only thing I've come across that sucks about this is that it's not compatible with iTunes and the songs can't be burned because of the licensing agreement Ruckus has with the record companies. Oh well, it's still cool to use to check out music you're unsure about buying.

Emo vs. Scene Kids Round 1

Mexico has the general population rioting against emo kids. Now, Australia has emo kids going against "scene kids". (I wish I made this crap up, but I don't, I just report on it).

Ok, so let's take a look at this from a logical stand point. In all reality all of this is just a bunch of teenagers hating on each other. Really, it happens all over the world, everyday. The only difference is now they all feel they're fashionable and original and have a catchy (or melodramatic) soundtrack.

There are even wiki pages on how to be scene and emo, so now you can be clear on what exactly it takes to be considered one or the other. Sidenote: I feel like this is a 21st-Century update of West Side Story, minus the whole interracial love aspect.

Just so you know what to look out for:

here's a "typical" emo boy


and "scene" girls

Ska is not dead

I was talking to a friend of mine last night about music and he mentioned the band The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, which happens to be one of my top 10 favorite bands. Anyway, in talking about that I starting thinking about ska music in general. It's hard to find ska bands anymore, just because so many people have moved away from the genre, but there are still a couple bands plugging away with all eleven-hundred members. (Just kidding, but ska bands, because of the horn sections, tend to have at least 6 members.)

So for your edification here are a few of my personal favorite ska bands.

Big D and the Kids Table: Warped Tour veterans, who after 12 plus years of being a band, are still sticking to the DIY ethic they've had since the beginning. Last winter the went out on their first large-scale headlining tour.

The Toasters: Often credited as "America's longest active ska band", these guys have been pluggin away since 1981. I only recently got into this band, but am glad that I did.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones: Easily the most recognizable name from the ska genre. They kind of led the ska explosion in the late 90s. I'm sure you all have heard their song The Impression That I Get. They recently reunited after a four year hiatus and released a compilation album this past December.

Mexico emo wars

A couple days ago, I ran into a story about "emo" kids being attacked in Mexico. The story has developed over the past few days and all the videos I've seen are in Spanish, but from what I've read and seen, these are full blown attacks on "emo" kids. It's crazy that these kids are being physically harmed because of the way they look and the music they listen to. I know it's happened to other sub-cultures, especially those in the punk scene, but still seeing this in the 21st century boggles my mind.

Absolutepunk.net had a thread about the story and I think it's worth checking out what other people had to say about these attacks.

Bayside "Carry On"

Easily my favorite band as of late, Bayside, have released a new video off their latest effort, The Walking Wounded. The video is for Carry On and can be seen below.

In other Bayside news, The Walking Wounded will be re-released July 22. The re-release will include live acoustic tracks as well as a DVD documenting the Spring 2008 tour, the music videos from The Walking Wounded as well as the live acoustic performance.

Bayside "Carry On"

(the astute viewer will notice the subtle shout out to the clothing line Glamour Kills in the beginning of the video)

Pretty. Odd.

Panic at the Disco released their sophomore record Pretty. Odd. today and it's actually quite a catchy little pop record. I'm sure if you've seen any reviews you know that the boys of Panic are heavily influenced by the 60's and 70's this time around. We had the cd playing in the car and my mom said, "This is very Beatles-esque." That pretty much sums it up.

The only track which stands out in my mind is Northern Downpour. It's a rather simple song, but it's sooo poppy it gets stuck in my head. The entire album is a far cry from the record which made them a household name, A Fever You Can't Sweat Out. Personally, I liked Fever more. It makes me think of dancing in the car in the summer time. Pretty. Odd. is a mellow, background soundtrack.

key tracks: Nine in the Afternoon, Northern Downpour, When the Day Met the Night


first single off Pretty. Odd. Nine in the Afternoon

Old school

I was looking through this little blog and noticed, for the most part, I've been writing about the new music I listen to and am a fan of, except those two posts which mentioned the Clash. Anyway, this time around, I will share my "gateway" bands with you. These are the bands that led me to punk and the various sub-genres associated with it.

In high school I dated a kid who was way more into music than me. Thanks to him I was introduced to the Descendents. Known for their short, fast, tongue-in-cheek approach, this band introduced nerdy coolness to the masses. Seriously, how much nerdy can you get than a lead singer named Milo who is now a biochemist?

The aforementioned former boyfriend was also a fan of Operation Ivy. In the short span they were a band, Op Ivy had a huge influence that can still be seen in today's music (think Green Day).

In listening to Op Ivy, I got into Rancid, the band Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman formed after the dissolution of Op Ivy. I'm sure most people have at least heard of Rancid because of their association with Good Charlotte a few years back or because of Tim's other band, the Transplants, with Travis Barker (Blink 182 and +44).

Below, are a couple videos I found on the interweb. Enjoy kids!


The Descendents I'm the One


Operation Ivy Take Warning (live 1988)


Rancid Ruby Soho

Say it ain't so, Joe

American Idol's 11 contestants performed the Clash song, "Should I Stay or Should I Go" in a Ford commercial last night.



Please, share your thoughts. I'd love to see what you all think of this.

the kids aren't alright

I'm pretty sure you've all heard someone say, "That kid's soo emo." And you may have even agreed, but do you know what being emo even means? Yeah, I didn't think so. Well thanks to this sweet little site you can find out all you need to know about emo kids, hardcore kids and various other "scencesters." While you're checking out the descriptions of the scenesters, look to the right and maybe listen to some of the bands listed or visit one of the web sites. Who knows, you may just find a new favorite.


Scenesters aka Scene Kids

Introductions and Reintroductions

In my continued efforts to expose the world to the music I so very much love, I'm going to introduce, or in some cases reintroduce, you to a few bands I can't live without.



Those fine young men are Yellowcard. You've heard the name thanks to their album, Ocean Avenue. It was like the soundtrack of a couple summers ago. The point is they released a new album called Paper Walls and that is easily the best album I've heard in a long time. Standout tracks include Shadows and Regret, Afraid and The Takedown.



Next up we have Bright Eyes. He dated Winona Ryder and so his name is eh, kinda familiar. Whatever, he's a favorite on the indie circuit and writes crazy good songs. The fact that he's cute makes 15-year-old girls happy, but the rest of us like his songs. Download the albums, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash in a Digital Urn, immediately.



Last up, is Say Anything. The brainchild of Max Bemis, this band has had it's share of turmoil in its history. Max is honest about his battles with bipolar disorder and his Jewish heritage in his songs and interviews. He's also amazingly talented at writing not only catchy hooks, but lyrics that stick in your head for days. Say Anything's latest double disc opus, In Defense of the Genre, is undoubtedly one of the best cds in the last six months.

Internet killed the radio (and video) star

The Internet. In my humble opinion, this is easily the greatest invention ever. Never mind the fact that I can get everything I need in less than 3 seconds, I love the fact that I am now able to find out about bands I otherwise would never have heard about. True, there are those few bands I have found because of concerts my favorite bands have played (I'm looking at you All Time Low, The Years Gone By and The Morning Light). The Internet also boasts an impressive number of sites which allow users to find out about music in milliseconds. Here are just a couple I've used and am quite addicted to.

Pandora Radio: Pandora is part of the Music Genome Project, "the most sophisticated taxonomy of musical information ever collected," according to its web site. Basically, users create "stations" based on bands and songs they enter into the search box and Pandora customizes the stations base on the user's musical preferences and the qualities shared by the music the user likes and music the user may like.

Last.fm: Another radio service, Last.fm calls itself "the social music revolution". While similar to Pandora in that Last.fm allows users to listen to artist on their site and find similar artists, as well as make stations, it differs in that you can also download Last.fm to your computer and import the music on your computer to it and make stations and recommendations from the music you already have.

Purevolume: Back in the day (meaning when I was a freshman in high school), my friends and I swore by mp3.com, to find new music and listen to it. Purevolume is kind of like mp3.com's little brother, but cooler. The site hosts tons of different artists and genres and has charts which rate which bands/artists are most popular for a given time period. It allows you to search for particular bands/artists or just browse the charts for genres from pop to alternative to Christian.

There are tons of sites you can access to find new music, but these are just the three I've been using lately and love. Plus, there's always MySpace for new music.

(punk) rock the vote

By and large punk always has and always will be associated with those who lean to the left of the political spectrum. Is it really any surprise then, that today's "punk" rockers are involved with getting the youth to vote in the upcoming presidential election?

In January, Pete Wentz, co-hosted a fundraiser for Barack Obama. Wentz's band mates, Patrick Stump and Joe Trohman have also thrown their support to Obama. Friends of FOB, including members of Rise Against, attended the party, to show their support.


Trohman, Tim (Rise Against), Wentz at Obama Fundraiser in January

Emo/Indie darling Conor Oberst, better known as Bright Eyes, has also shown support for Obama, by speaking and playing at rally before the Nebraska primary. Ok Go, have also shown support for Obama by playing a show the night before Super Tuesday in New York. Indie-alt-country darlings, Wilco, have also publicly supported Obama.

While not exactly "punk rock" Will. I. Am. of the Black Eyed Peas made a video supporting Obama which features Ryan Key, the lead singer and guitarist of Yellowcard, technically a pop-punk band.

Cynics are prone to say all this celebrity endorsement won't help, I disagree. The "punk" scene is about youth, Obama's reaching out to the youth of this country and who better to reach out to than the discontent portion of this society? At its heart, punk is about rebellion and frustration and I think in the political arena that exists in this country, Obama is about as punk rock as you get.


Will. I. Am video feat. Ryan Key

Listen up and fall in love

A couple posts ago, I wrote about the AP Tour which features The Rocket Summer, All Time Low and three other up-and-coming bands. These fine bands are only a handful featured on Alt Press's annual "100 Bands You Need to Know in [insert year here]". I feel obligated to share a few other bands that made this year's list. So read on, download lots and find a new favorite band.

First up we have The Audition from the Windy City. I saw them a couple years ago with Mae at Mr. Small's and fell in love. They're live show is amazing and these boys are gonna blow up thanks to their latest release, Champion. You heard it hear first.

Next up, we have The Maine. These talented youngsters (all members are 18 or 19!), take their fashion and musical cues from Cute Is What We Aim For and All Time Low. But don't think they're just carbon copies of Cute and ATL, nope, these boys are indeed the real deal; their debut effort The Way We Talk, is proof.

Last on the list are two singer-songwriters, who sound absolutely nothing like anything else in this post. First up, is a feisty little Brit named Kate Nash. Her lyrics are part Lily Allen, part Alanis Morissette, part Regina Spektor, but the girl is all fun.

Finally, to end this ridiculously long post, is Sea Wolf, aka Alex Brown Church. AP compares him to Elliot Smith and I'm inclined to agree. Sea Wolf's vocal style is extremely similar to Smith's and his bare bones approach to accompanying music is in line with Smith as well as Bright Eyes.

2008, the year of Ramen

Fueled by Ramen is a busy little label this year. Yesterday they posted the trailer showing off their upcoming releases. Fall Out Boy, who are technically no longer a FBR band, has the "honor" of being the soundtrack to the trailer. In a nutshell, eight of the fourteen (that 14 includes FOB) FBR bands have something hitting stores this year.



I'm pretty stoked for the new Cute Is What We Aim For, Panic at the Disco and The Academy Is... discs. It'll be good to hear new music from Cute and Panic, as it has been too long since they've released their last efforts.

In related FBR news, Fall Out Boy will be releasing a live CD/DVD soon, entitled **** Live. The discs were recorded during last year's Honda Civic Tour stop in Phoenix, AZ.

FBR alum, Punchline, will be releasing a new CD sometime this summer. According to Steve, the lead vocalist and guitarist of the band, the disc is called Just Say Yes.

New Hampshire...Rocks?

What would happen if Atreyu and Drop Dead, Gorgeous had a musical baby? The offspring would be Our Last Night, a metal/screamo/hardcore band from New Hampshire. The band was "inspired by hardcore and metal" and "deliver an onslaught of taut thrashing riffs and intense hardcore breakdowns that meld perfectly with lush melodic landscapes and soaring, irresistibly catchy choruses," according to their bio from Epitaph.

The band was formed by childhood friends who were frustrated with playing cover songs and just jamming. Oh and the best part...the lead vocalist is only 15! Ridiculous, I know.

Their debut on Epitaph, The Ghosts Among Us, was released this past Tuesday. The album, along with their previous two releases are available for download on iTunes.


Tear Her:I Will Be Revenged from their second release, Building Cities From Scratch

This is not the end, no this is the beginning

It was announced yesterday that The Starting Line will be taking a break, according to a post on their FriendsOrEnemies journal. In part the post reassured fans this is not a break-up, the band just needs to take time off after 8 years of non-stop touring and recording. The post went on to list the bands plans for the time just prior to the break as well as their plans during the break.

I heard a few weeks back that The Starting Line was planning a major announcement and I kind of guessed this is what it would be. Actually, I thought they were going to break up, but this is slightly better news. I'm a huge fan of the band; their latest release Direction is by far their best work. They were able to write songs as 15-year-olds that connected with their peers and continued to write songs in their 20s that still connect with those same 15-year-olds who bought the first album.


from friendsorenemies.com by Ryan Russel

I know that you're a sucker for anything acoustic

I'm a sucker for an acoustic guitar. I can't help it, there's just something about the emotions that seem to be related to that particular instrument. Anyway, as of late I have been listening to two musicians who write amazing songs and play acoustic guitar.

First up, is 21-year-old Chad Sugg, better known as Backseat Goodbye. This kid is amazing. He has self-released a couple of recordings and recently inked a distribution deal with The Militia Group. His first full-length album, Dressed Up Like Dreams, will be released April 29. He's also releasing a book of poetry called Monsters Under Your Head in May. The talent this boy possesses is insane. His voice is...unique and for some people takes a little getting used to. My personal favorite songs are Hey, Technicolor Eyes and My Favorite Color.


backseat goodbye "red balloon"

City and Colour is the other musician I've had on repeat as of late. City and Colour is Dallas Green of alexisonfire. He was featured on Absolutepunk.net a couple weeks back. His voice is haunting. He reminds me of Ryan Adams, if Ryan Adams was actually good. But seriously, not only does he have amazing delivery, he kinda reminds me of that nerdy cool guy everyone went to high school with.

Check out this video: City and Colour "Waiting..."

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new Clash documentary due in April

According to Alternative Press' website a new documentary entitled, The Clash Live: Revolution Rock will be released on DVD April 15. The documentary follows the band's live shows from their beginning to playing Shea Stadium in 1982. An edited version will be aired on PBS throughout March.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm probably going to buy this DVD. I love the Clash. They were my intro to the world of punk and for that I am always going to be a fan. Plus, they're friggin amazing.

a trailer for The Clash Live: Revolution Rock

Alt Press Tour '08

In a little over two weeks this year's edition of the Alternative Press Tour will take to the road and traverse the country until the beginning of May.

The Rocket Summer and All Time Low are this year's co-headliners as well as next month's cover boys. Each band has their own cover of Alt Press, as part of the "100 Bands You Need to Know in 2008". Currently the covers are each band's default photo on their respective myspace pages.

The AP Tour stops at Diesel May 1. Supporting TRS and ATL are the Matches, Sonny (formerly of From First to Last) and Forever the Sickest Kids.

Piano Rock

First and foremost I love music. I also love Pittsburgh and the cute boys who live in Pittsburgh. So when all of my loves come together, I get a little excited. Needless to say, when I first saw Pittsburgh's very own The Morning Light last year opening for Cute What Is What We Aim for at Diesel, I was ridiculously excited.

My excitement exploded recently when The Morning Light signed to Fearless Records, home of Plain White T's, A Static Lullaby and At The Drive-In, and began work on their first full-length release. This summer the boys will be playing on the 14th installment of the Warped Tour and I know I will be front and center when they take the stage.


The Morning Light at Club Diesel