Well it's finally Halloween, although in all honesty I've been celebrating all damn week listening to the Misfits ( seriously... huge Misfits kick lately , don't be too surprised if you see even more posts about them in the upcoming weeks). I dressed up as Bruce Springsteen last night, and if I go out again tonight... fuck it, Bruce again as homage to my original home state which recently got battered by some bitch named Sandy. Anyways, here's a Halloween mix for all you punk rockers, so let's get fucking weird. [...]
I don't know if it's because it's almost Halloween, or maybe because my Jersey roots force me to... but I've been on a serious Misfits kick as of late (I mean, I often am... but now it's even intensified). Chances are if you're a fan of punk, you damn well know who The Misfits are, but for the 2% of readers who might not, The Misfits formed in NJ back in 1977 and pretty much are the gods of the whole B-rated campy horror punk genre. The album I find myself gravitating towards the most is Static [...]
"Penis of unyielding death" is it's official name. Well I was originally going to post a bunch of Misfits reviews in the spirit of Halloween, but for those who don't know, us East Coasters (I'm in Philly) are apparently about to get battered by a storm. The lovely lady known as Hurricane Sandy is supposed to do a number on us, and has been dubbed Frankenstorm by newscasters. Personally, I'm used to the over-hyped, sensational, storm bullshit... but the weather pros have stated and I quote "We're not over-hyping this storm". Right. I'm more [...]
I remember the first time I saw Richmond pop-punkers Hold Tight. I went to a house show here in Philly and they were playing with one of my favorite local hardcore bands Lighten Up (RIP). I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was completely blown away by their feel good pop-punk, and I picked up their debut Can't Take This Away , and it was love at first listen. Two EPs and a split later, they recently released their second LP Blizzard Of 96. While their past few EPs experimented with hardcore (which I [...]
Long time no see homies! I just got back from a trip to Vegas for the first time in my life, and what a fucking place. I never been there before, and for someone with A.D.D, that place is one giant distraction after another. Pulled all nighters practically every night, my entire trip was pretty much sponsored by energy drinks and questionable decisions (that worked out very well in the end). Everything in that city is over the top, and I can see why people I know hate it, but it's definitely what you make of it. I [...]
This past Thursday, I learned that Southern Cali late 80s hardcore act Chain of Strength played a free show up in New York City. I was already going to Texas Is The Reason's reunion show , so I wasn't going to be able to catch them, but I have been on a serious Chain Of Strength kick as of late now. Over their relatively short career, Chain of Strength released two EPs, which were released as a full length entitled The One Thing That Still Holds True. One of the more overlooked straight edge * [...]
Last night I headed out to New York City's Irving Plaza with some friends in order to catch post-hardcore legends Texas Is The Reason reunion show at Revelation Records Anniversary show. Unfortunately I could not catch any of the other nights (Youth Of Today is playing Saturday), but I was stoked to catch TITR. Gameface: We got there in time to catch 1990s South Cali band Gameface. I'm not overly familiar with Gameface, but they played a decently enjoyable set with a lot of people in the crowd singing along to each [...]
Last night I headed out to New York City's Irving Plaza with some friends in order to catch post-hardcore legends Texas Is The Reason reunion show at Revelation Records Anniversary show. Unfortunately I could not catch any of the other nights (Youth Of Today is playing Saturday), but I was stoked to catch TITR. Gameface: We got there in time to catch 1990s South Cali band Gameface. I'm not overly familiar with Gameface, but they played a decently enjoyable set with a lot of people in the crowd singing along to each [...]
Man, sometimes midwestern punk just hits the right spot. With Minneapolis dudes Banner Pilot's latest (ok, it was released last year... I was a bit slow on the write up... deal with it) Heart Beats Pacific the band delivers some of the catchiest tunes punk has to offer. Heart Beats Pacific is the third release from Banner Pilot, and it doesn't sway far from their original formula. On account I'm obsessed with their first full length of Resignation Day , I am more than OK with that move. Playing catchy, incredibly melodic [...]
Propagandhi is a cruel mistress. I have been listening to these Canadian punks since the year 2000 when Today's Empire, Tomorrow's Ashes came out, and they have easily been one of my favorite bands since. However, in the span of those 12 years, I only had the opportunity to see them once, and that was a mere 3 years ago ... so I essentially went 9 years without seeing my favorite band. Fucking hurts dude. When Propagandhi announced they were coming to Philly to support the release of their latest Failed States (which [...]
There seems to be a huge revival of melodic pop punk bordering on emo going on right now... you know, with bands like Title Fight and Latterman selling out reunion shows. I don't know where this came from, but I do know that one of the earliest and most influential bands and albums of this genre is constantly getting overlooked. Weston's Got Beat Up is a one of the most underrated gems in pop punk history. Weston formed back in 1990 in Bethlahem, PA. While the band broke up in 2001, the breakup was short lived [...]
I want my hardcore like I want my sex: spontaneous, noisy, and crazy as fuck. An Albatross's 2001 debut Eat Lightning Shit Thunder delivers exactly that, and then some. Playing some of the most sporadic music that the genre has to offer, these Wilkes-Barre (now Philadelphia) dudes are able to cram in more influences and styles within their 11 song, 10 minute album than most bands do in their entire discography. On Eat Lightning Shit Thunder you'll hear hardcore, circus music, and 8-bit and every goddamn thing in between. A must have [...]
Ahh California: beautiful coastlines, nice weather, and some of the strangest motherfuckers you'll ever meet. I just got back from a week out in Cali, spent most of the time in San Francisco with a few days in Los Angeles and I have to say... LA is a strange, strange city. Nothing like we have out here on the east coast. I actually left San Francisco the day 7 Seconds was playing Gilman's... needless to say, I was pretty bummed on that. I did decide I needed a souvenir, and what better souvenir than a black flag shirt? [...]
When it comes to Propagandhi, people are split into three distinct groups. You have those who are fucking obsessed, those who only dig their early stuff ( Less Talk More Rock , How To Clean Everything ), and those who don't like Propagandhi at all and their opinion is irrelevant. I am in the obsessed category, and completely fucking loved their 2009 release of Supporting Caste and wasn't sure if Failed States would hold up. With 15 new songs (12 if you get the regular version, but the deluxe version is totally worth it with 2 extra [...]
I just got back from the lovely little borough of Brooklyn, so I didn't a chance to post this until now, but this past Sunday, I headed to Philadelphia's small bar The Fire to catch So-Cal punk rockers Guttermouth. I've been listening to these guys for over 14 years and yet, never had the opportunity to see them. Besides being one of the bands that originally got me into punk rock to begin with, my good friend just saw them down in DC and told me that they played one fuck of a good set. Needless to say... fucking stoked. [...]
Texas Is The Reason are for better or for worse... one of the most influential bands of their time and genre. While incredibly short lived with only one full length and one EP, they along with Lifetime and Sunny Day Real Estate are considered to be one of the main influences of the 90s emo genre (oh no, I said the dirty word! Saying "emo" on a punk site is like yelling "socialist" at a GOP convention). Now before you stop reading and dismiss them immediately, it's worth noting that early emo had a very different definition than [...]
Sometimes a person's treasure is right in their old backyard (or some other lame saying like that of your choice here). Example: I've had Connecticut hardcore act With Honor's Self Titled EP since it was released back in 2003, and except for the very occasional listen over the past 9 years, I never really really thought too much about it. It wasn't until a few days ago when I had my music on shuffle, With Honor came on and my reaction was immediately "holy fucking shit... I actually love this." Playing melodic yet aggressive hardcore similar [...]
It's that time of year again, when we all celebrate the final days of summer (at least here on the east coast...), and take off a day of work to celebrate the working men and women (and as we pointed out before, is a complete socialist holiday, so if you talk shit about socialists, you should probably go to work.) There's some big labor day concerts near me, although tickets are way too expensive, and the only band worth seeing is X (the others on the lineup are Pearl Jam, Skrillex, Jay-Z... ok Jay-Z might be worth seeing). [...]
It's been over a decade since New York's Morning Glory released their debut This Is No Time To Sleep and they have remained pretty quiet as far as new music goes, having only two other releases. Now Morning Glory returns with the August 28th, 2012 release of their full length Poets Were My Heroes and there are definitely some solid songs on here. Formed from the ashes of Choking Victim, there have always been traces of the crack rock steady sound that associated acts such as Leftover Crack and INDK have made popular in [...]
This past Friday, I headed out to see one of my all time favorite pop-punk bands around, Teenage Bottlerocket. It's a rare occasion for me to be able to see them (in the years I've been listening to them this was only going to be my 4th time... due to the fact they are from Wyoming and rarely make it out to the east coast), and I've been stoked for months about this Barbary show. Add the fact that I love their latest release Freak Out, and you've got one fucking winning combination. Unfortunately, I got there really [...]
Battle of the Midwestern Housewives
Boards of Canada – Reach For The Dead
Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe Protein Punched by City Light, Magic Man and Smallpools
WONGIE SONG OF THE WEEK: jessie j feat big sean and dizzee rascal - wild
Equatorial Guinea
