My wife and I were listening to Strung Out’s Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues the other day and commenting just how great that record is, and while Heartsounds might not sound exactly like Strung Out, it’s easy to listen to their debut album, [...]
My wife and I were listening to Strung Out’s Suburban Teenage Wasteland Blues the other day and commenting just how great that record is, and while Heartsounds might not sound exactly like Strung Out, it’s easy to listen to their debut album, [...]
Latin For Truth and their album Eleven Eleven is really really good but flawed. It’s like a combination of Living With Lions, New Found Glory and some good but semi-ridiculous pseudo-heavy East coast-y hardcore parts. I guess it’s posi popcore. There’s [...]
Does an entire covers album full of 90’s alternative radio hits sound like a good idea for a hardcore-influenced pop-punk band? I didn’t think so either, but that’s exactly what Four Year Strong’s latest release, Explains It All is. Bad [...]
Since this is all about pop punk, does anyone remember the Big Show 2 in Elgin? Zoinks! played that show as did Slapstick, The Bollweevils, Oblivion, No Empathy, Boris The Sprinkler, Jon Cougar Concentration Camp, 4 Squares, and more. I can’t even remember who I [...]
Did you know that on January 2nd, 2010, Chicago’s Metro will be the host of the Greatest Show Ever featuring the likes of CYSTSFTS faves Kid, You’ll Move Mountains and Venna as well as Picture Books and Crayolala. Best of all, [...]
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, twelve drummers drumming… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. If I was lucky she’s send me a bottle of something strong… perhaps a bottle of Woodford Reserve, Makers Mark, Stranahan’s, Bakers, or [...]
Everyone that reads this blog should know that I’m a big Jeff Caudill fan and if you don’t then you haven’t been paying attention and I need to ask, “What are you even doing here?” How’s that for disclosure? [...]
If you like pop punk and you aren’t listening to Teenage Bottlerocket, my questions for you are then, “Why the hell not,” “Are you crazy,” and, “You’ve gotta be smoking crack, right?” In short, the new album from these [...]
On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, eleven pipers piping… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s.
MP3:
The Minus 5 - Your Christmas Whiskey
My Morning Jacket - Christmas Time Is Here Again
New Bomb [...]
Today I got a notice from my hosting provider that they had removed a couple songs I posted due to copyright infringement. The group is Tegan & Sara and the request was sent from someone who I’m assuming is their (or their label’s) legal representation when it comes to stuff [...]
So this is it. My favorite full-length albums of the year. So many other blogs post their top songs of the year, but I guess I’m a bit more old-school (and probably older) than most of them. I prefer the album format rather then just ranking singles against one another. [...]
Wow. How is it possible that there was this much good music released in 2009? I’ve been frantically trying to play catch up throughout the Fall and have just been overwhelmed. Even so, this list was relatively easy to compile. It’s made up of 30% what you might call punk [...]
I do believe that The Low Anthem may be the first band from Rhode Island that I’ve ever heard and if they are any indication what that state has to offer musically, we’d all better start looking for [...]
I saw The Mercury Program at the Fireside Bowl years ago with The Firebird Band and swiftly grabbed a hold of almost their entire discography to that point, and then… nothing. A whole lot of nothing coming from the band. So [...]
On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, ten lords a-leaping… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. For whatever reason, holiday-themed music makes me want to drink something strong, how about you? Anyhow, Jim from Kid You’ll Move Mountains [...]
First, to clarify, my daughter’s name is spelled differently. T-E-A-G-A-N. That fact alone made this post difficult to write. Okay?
So with Sainthood the Quin sisters have followed up their wildly (and for me oddly) enjoyable 2007 album The Con (which followed the enjoyable [...]
For the past few months it seems like everyone has been talking about The Swellers (from Michigan). Well, I’ve finally picked up a copy of their latest album Ups And Downsizing and, frankly, at first I was completely underwhelmed. The band [...]
One of my favorite albums of all time is Sludgeworth’s Loser’s Of The Year from 1993. It’s a slightly obscure gem full of Chicago pop punk that features the legendary Dan Schafer (aka Danny Vapid from Screeching Weasel and The Riverdales) on [...]
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. Ladies dancing? This ain’t the Silver Slipper Saloon so don’t expect any dancing ladies, especially considering the nature of these songs. The [...]
I’ve been a fan of the Columbus, Ohio band Two Cow Garage for a few years now and, thus, was excited (but apprehensive) at the prospect of the band’s frontman, Micah Schnabel, releasing his solo debut this year. We [...]
Former Hot Water Music frontman Chuck Ragan has been nothing if not prolific since he started his solo career a few years ago. He’s released a live album, Los Feliz, a ton of 7” records, a collaboration with Austin Lucas called Bristle [...]
Yes, you read that correctly. We are revisiting our favorite records of ten years ago again in 2009 and reminiscing (this time) about 1999 and after going through my record collection all I can say is, “Holy Shit!” So many of my all-time favorites were released [...]
On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, eight maids a-milking… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. While I’m stuck here in cold and snowy Chicago, I’ll be dreaming of sunnier and warmer places that I think of when [...]
On their sixth-full length, The Treatment, Indiana’s Early Day Miners have somewhat changed directions without really changing at all. There are still the repetitive and atmospheric elements of the band’s sound full intact, but there’s much more melody here than I [...]
On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. I mean, who can resist Christmas songs by the artists below? If I had anything else witty or clever to write I [...]
If there is one thing that Minneapolis, Minnesota has in spades, it’s a rich history of rock music. On one side you’ve got a line that can be drawn from The Replacements to Soul Asylum to Lifter Puller and The Hold' [...]
This list was impossible to make and is incomplete and subjective at best. Yeah, this is a list of what I consider to be the 30 greatest bands of the past 30 years, and by “greatest” I mean some combination of the most popular, longest-lived, most prolific, most innovative, and [...]
Over the last few years it has somehow become hip and cool to like metal bands again despite metal being and inherently uncool genre. Sure, there’s lots of shredding and Guitar Hero idolization associated with metal acts, but these bands still sing about dragons [...]
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. When listening to the New Found Glory song below, my four year old daughter Hailey commented, “Dad, that’s a rocking Christmas song,” [...]
Holy shit this one is awesome! One of my favorite Weasel songs, a few tracks from the Honest Don’s days, and way more. I’m not sure If I’ve ever told this story here, but I saw Diesel Boy with Strung Out at the Fireside [...]
I’ve gotta thank Bryan from Nine Bullets for pointing me in the direction of Florida’s Truckstop Coffee because, damn, their new album, For Dear Life, is better than good and without his recommendation I would (most likely) never have heard [...]
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five golden rings… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. Are you overwhelmed yet? I sure am. I love love love The Firebird Band’s “Gift” and even though it really isn’t a [...]
I’d been hearing a few people singing the praises of Red Collar’s latest full-length, Pilgrim, before I ever had a chance to hear the record for myself. That’s the kind of set up that can lead to high expectations. Pilgrim, however, managed to exceed [...]
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four calling birds… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. These are perfect for a quiet holiday evening drinking red wine, bourbon, or your drink of choice while snow is falling outside [...]
The first Ann Beretta album I heard was their acoustic EP so it isn’t much of a stretch to think that Rob & Russ (both from Ann Beretta and also Inquisition before that) are playing together in Foundation, a country/roots-rock band. It’s actually funny [...]
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me three French hens… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. In this case, some of the worst/most annoying/most awkward Christmas songs I’ve ever heard, and these aren’t meant to be novelty or joke [...]
I’ve been meaning to write a little something about this album for what seems like forever now. Searchlight Needles is the latest full-length from Cabinet Of Natural Curiosities, a group founded by Jasmine Dreame Wagner and based in both Missoula, [...]
How good is Strike Anywhere? I mean, seriously? Their new album Iron Front (the band’s first since 2006’s Dead FM) is full of potently blistering melodic hardcore punk. It isn’t anything you haven’t heard before from Strike Anywhere, but Iron Front is razor-sharp; [...]
I’ve been waiting for what seems like forever for a new record from Cincinnati’s 500 Miles To Memphis, and while this isn’t technically the, I was still super excited when I got this in the mail a few weeks back. This 5 [...]
On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me, two turtle doves… and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. One of those songs is Low’s “Just Like Christmas.” It’s probably my favorite non-traditional Christmas song, so (over the course of these twelve [...]
Hamburg, Germany is the city where The Beatles cut their teeth in the early 1960’s and has, thus, become somewhat of a mythical place in the history of rock music. So even though that isn’t the context that it’s presented in here [...]
How does it go again? On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree and a whole bunch of Christmas MP3’s. Something like that, right? Well, the season is finally upon us so here come Christmas [...]
Writing about heavy music and not sounding (at least marginally) like an idiot is a difficult thing for me. I mean, how many times can you use words like “crushing,” “thunderous,” “dense,” and “complex” before it all starts to read the same? That being said, [...]
I can’t believe it’s almost that time of year again. Before I finalize my favorite albums of 2009 list, I thought I should revisit my 2008 list. Last December I listed my 50 favorite albums of the 2008, but (like every year) it is an inexact art/science. There are bound [...]
If you are a fan of Chicago punk rock (and punk rock in general) you are almost certainly a fan of Naked Raygun or at least appreciative of their huge influence. That fact is inescapable and impossible not to recognize on former [...]
I’ve heard the phrase, “If it’s too loud, you’re too old,” spoken many times, but I, now, might finally actually know what it means. Age Sixteen’s debut full length Open Up Finders, Please is packed full of chaotic but somewhat melodic [...]
