Scott Heisel of Alternative Press

I've got blogs.

2009-04-21T11:38:00.002-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the 12th installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Manchester Orchestra's Mean Everything To Nothing
THE SCOOP: As of right now, this is the best album of 2009. I don't even know what else to write about how incredible this record is anymore; please, just listen to it. (I can't stop, myself.)
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Shake It Off," "I've Got Friends," "In My Teeth," "I Can Feel A Hot One"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Art Brut's Art Brut Vs. Satan
THE SCOOP: Welcome back, Eddie Argos & Co.! Art Brut's brilliant first album, Bang Bang Rock 'N' Roll, seemed to be a flash in the pan after 2007's capital-B boring It's A Bit Complicated was its follow-up. Thankfully, the band rediscovered just why they're so good (punky songs, noodly riffs, clever, sardonic lyrics) and they delivered big time on this disc. It's still not as good as Bang Bang Rock 'N' Roll (but not much is), however it's a solid four stars all the way. Jason Pettigrew's going to hate what I'm about to write, but Art Brut are essentially the English version of the Hold Steady.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshake," "The Replacements," "What A Rush," "Summer Job"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

SUPERGROUP, SUPERFLOP:

Tinted Windows' Tinted Windows
THE SCOOP: I won't lie: When I first heard about this supergroup, featuring Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne on bass, James Iha of Smashing Pumpkins on guitar and Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick on drums, I got really excited. Then I found out Taylor Hanson from Hanson was singing, but I was okay with it, since the experience of the three veterans would almost ensure this record would be a pop masterpiece. I was so, so, so wrong. Tinted Windows is a bizarre teen-pop cash-grab record, copping most of its sound from the Jonas Brothers back catalog. It's truly unfortunate that the immense amount of talent in this band would set the bar so low for themselves on this release.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Fountains Of Wayne's Welcome Interstate Managers and Cheap Trick's Live At Budokan double disc
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: As Cities Burn's Hell Or High Water, Chimaira's The Infection, Depeche Mode's Sounds Of The Universe, Earth Crisis' To The Death, Meg And Dia's Here, Here And Here, The Photo Atlas' To Silently Provoke The Ghost EP, The Secret Handshake's My Name Up In Lights, Westbound Train's Come And Get It

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

Stadium blog.

2009-04-14T17:23:00.005-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the 11th installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Metric's Fantasies
THE SCOOP: Up until this disc, I've never been a fan of Metric (it might have something to do with a former AP editor playing them incessantly and our office having paper-thin walls), but Fantasies has completely won me over. Gone are the brash, bratty moments on their previous full-lengths; instead, there's more dreamy keyboards, powerful vocals from Emily Haines and just the right amount of rocking out. I dig. I totally dig.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Stadium Love," "Sick Muse," "Help I'm Alive," "Gimme Sympathy"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Silversun Pickups' Swoon
THE SCOOP: I enjoyed SP's first release, Carnavas, but it also had a weird habit of putting me to sleep whenever I played it -- partially due to its bloated runtime, partially due to frontman Brian Aubert's eerie falsetto vocals. Swoon still has plenty of the latter, but is definitely more focused; there's still plenty of room for soaring vocals, ethereal keyboard layers and some seriously chunky guitar riffs, but they're all reeled in ever so slightly from Carnavas's sprawl. Ironically, Swoon is only four minutes shorter than its predecessor, but you can totally tell.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Panic Switch," "Catch And Release," "The Royal We," "There's No Secrets This Year"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ANYONE CAN SEE THE ROAD THAT THEY WALK ON IS PAVED IN USED COPIES OF THEIR BREAKOUT ALBUM:

Fastball's Little White Lies
THE SCOOP: Yup, Fastball is still together. Yup, that Fastball, the "The Way" one. To put it into perspective, I bought just about every one-hit wonder in the alt-rock spectrum in the '90s, and even I avoided picking up a copy of All The Pain Money Can Buy. Plain White T's, if you're reading: This is your future. Invest wisely.
CRUCIAL JAMS: I'll take "the rapists" for $200, Alex.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: As I Lay Dying's This Is Who We Are DVD, Fact's Fact, I See Stars' 3D, Peelander-Z's P-Pop High School, Agoraphobic Nosebleed's Agorapocalypse, Graf Orlack's Destination Time Today, Farewell To Freeway's Only Time Will Tell, Catherine's Inside Out

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

What would I blog to you now?

2009-04-08T12:09:00.003-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the tenth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Jimmy Eat World's Clarity Live
THE SCOOP: One of the best rock albums of the past decade played front-to-back in front of a hometown crowd? Why would you not want to buy this? (Full disclosure: I flew out to Tempe, Arizona, for this show, and I'm pretty sure you can hear me go, "WHOOOO!!!!" here and there.) What's even cooler is the band are selling it themselves, so you know the money's going right into the pockets of those who truly deserve it.
CRUCIAL JAMS: The complete album (obviously), plus the live bonus tracks "What Would I Say To You Now?" and "No Sensitivity"
BUY IT NOW: JimmyEatWorld.com (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:>

Polar Bear Club's Sometimes Things Just Disappear
THE SCOOP: Okay, yeah, this album actually came out in 2008 (and technically came out in December 2007, natch), but today is the day it's officially made available on vinyl, which it so sorely deserves. Thanks go to Bridge Nine Records for giving this record one hell of a nice packaging job, with a gatefold sleeve and even a bonus CD copy of the album with all purchases. PBC are legitimately going to be huge, so don't blow it and buy this now -- if for no other reason than to flip on eBay in nine months.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Convinced I'm Wrong," "Our Ballads," "Burned Out In A Jar," "Hollow Place"
BUY IT NOW: B9Store.com (vinyl)

THIS LIVE CD/DVD WON'T BLOW YOU AWAY, BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT'LL STAY:

The Hold Steady's A Positive Rage
THE SCOOP: If you know me, you know how much I love love love the Hold Steady. Still, I have to say that the DVD portion of A Positive Rage is wholly underwhelming. It's a tour documentary that just shows the band getting progressively bigger each show. Nothing exciting really happens; there's no drama, either. Considering how much this band drink, I was really hoping for some funny drunken footage, but alas, twas not to be. The audio side of A Positive Rage is a live album recorded on Halloween 2007 in Chicago, so it's heavy on the Boys & Girls In America songs (which is A-OK by me, as that's my favorite record of theirs). It sounds good for what it is, but I feel like this package could've been a whole lot more.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "You Can Make Him Like You," "Lord, I'm Discouraged," "Citrus"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Beastie Boys' Check Your Head [reissue], Bob Mould's Life And Times, Doves' Kingdom Of Rust, Left Alone's Left Alone, Single File's Common Struggles, The Color Of Violence's Youthanize, the Thermals' Now We Can See, Youth Group's The Night Is Ours

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

A shipwreck in the blog.

2009-03-31T11:16:00.003-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the ninth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Silverstein's A Shipwreck In The Sand
THE SCOOP: Silverstein have always gotten a bad rap with the punker-than-thous. Sure, frontman Shane Told might have impeccably flattened hair, but half of this band wears jean shorts onstage -- and there is nothing less scene than jorts. The band's fourth proper LP finds them diving deeper into their metal and hardcore influences with the help of Cancer Bats' Liam Cormier ("Vices") and Scott Wade, formerly of Comeback Kid ("Born Dead"), with a heady lyrical concept that at times makes the disc sound like Boys Night Out's Trainwreck ("A Shipwreck In The Sand"). Seriously, this band gets better and better with each release -- people need to start taking them seriously.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Vices," "Broken Stars," "We Are Not The World," "I Knew I Couldn't Trust You"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Peter Bjorn And John's Living Thing
THE SCOOP: Yes, they were the whistling band (and if you still haven't heard "Young Folks," you're blowing it because it's one of the most ubiquitous indie-rock singles of the decade that's actually enjoyable) and yes, their initials double as an abbreviation for peanut butter and jelly (or, alternately, Pam Beesly and Jim). But they prove with their fifth(!) album that they're no one-hit wonder. Living Thing is danceable without sounding trite, with plenty of minimalist instrumentation underneath some pretty adorable Swedish accents. Vampire Weekend-esque Afropop shows up occasionally ("Living Thing"), and there's even a subtle hip-hop influence ("Nothing To Worry About"). Of course, Pitchfork gave it a 5.5/10, which means it's actually more like a 7.9. Hipsters gotta hate something...
CRUCIAL JAMS: "It Don't Move Me," "Nothing To Worry About," "Lay It Down," "I Want You!"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

HEY MAN, NICE CASH-IN:

Filter's The Very Best Things (1995-2008)
THE SCOOP: You know what's sad? Click on the link in the band name above. Filter have sold more than two million records in the U.S. alone, and they can't even get "filter" as their MySpace URL -- they had to go with "filter1." That just about sums up the inconsequential nature of this greatest-hits set. Honestly, who out there can name more than two Filter songs off the top of their head (those two obviously being "Hey Man, Nice Shot" and "Take A Picture")? I think everyone in the AP office who still listens to Filter (essentially Tim and Jason) would tell you to buy Short Bus instead.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Hey Man, Nice Shot" is still a total jam, even though it's been Jock Jammed into oblivion
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Impending Doom's The Serpent Servant, Strung Out's Prototypes & Painkillers, Death Cab For Cutie's The Open Door EP, Great Lake Swimmers' Lost Channels, In The Red's Volume 2, Pansy Division's That's So Gay, Yeah Yeah Yeahs' It's Blitz!, Vice On Victory's Glitter & Gold

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

Punk rock blog.

2009-03-24T11:18:00.004-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the eighth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Little Brazil's Son
THE SCOOP: Besides having a name that sounds like a fancy brand of cigarette, Landon Hedges has been chipping away at the indie-rock bubble with Little Brazil since 2002, and with his band's third album, Son, he has finally realized his potential. A concept album about a splintering marriage, Son sounds like if Josh Caterer from Smoking Popes listened to a shit-ton of Cursive, the Promise Ring and Hey Mercedes and decided to crank the amps to about 13 or 14 without losing lyrical sincerity. Remember, just because you haven't already heard of them doesn't mean Little Brazil aren't good; I highly, highly recommend this record.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "What's The Problem," "Wasting Time," "Perfection," "Wedding Glass"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

MxPx's On The Cover II
THE SCOOP: Cover albums are tricky--if you deviate too far from the source material, people can't relate to your selections; if you play them too closely to the original, people accuse you of being uncreative. MxPx straddle that line very carefully and deliver a wide variety of total mega-jams, including the Dead Milkmen's "Punk Rock Girl" (seriously one of the best songs in the history of the world) as well as "Linda Linda" by sorta-obscure '80s Japanese punk band the Blue Hearts (it's definitely worth tracking down the source material in this case). Kudos to Mike Herrera and the boys for once again making pop-punk fun again.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Linda Linda," "Punk Rock Girl," "Somebody To Love," "Suburban Home"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

I'D LIKE TO BUY SOME TALENT, PAT:

Vanna's A New Hope
THE SCOOP: This sorta-metalcore band from the outskirts of Boston showed significant promise with 2007's Curses, an album filled with guitar atmospherics reminiscent of mid-period Thrice and decently solid songwriting. But that album's follow-up, A New Hope, just feels empty and rehashed, like the band members haven't figured out how to advance themselves as musicians at all. It really is a bummer, because I always felt like this band had a really good album in 'em. Maybe next time.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Strawberry, grape, boysenberry
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Beep Beep's Enchanted Islands, Fireworks' All I Have To Offer Is My Own Confusion, Damion Suomi's Damion Suomi, Mono's Hymn To The Immortal Wind, O+S' O+S, These Green Eyes' Relapse To Recovery, Mastodon's Crack The Skye, the Decemberists' The Hazards Of Love

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

When I hit the blog.

2009-03-17T11:54:00.000-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the seventh installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Ace Enders & A Million Different People's When I Hit The Ground
THE SCOOP: Holy hell, do I love this disc. I didn't get down with Ace Enders' former band, the Early November, until their triple-disc magnum opus, The Mother, The Mechanic And The Path, but I'm stoked that I get to be on the ground floor for Enders' newest batch of brilliant emo-rock songs. This sprawling album (14 songs over nearly 52 minutes) features balls-out rockers, piano ballads and plenty of bouncy pop-rock, all of which sounds like the best album Jimmy Eat World didn't make. Seriously, buy this thing right now.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Where Do We Go From Here," "When I Hit The Ground," "The Only Thing I Have (The Sign)," "Take The Money And Run"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), Amazon (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

NOFX's Backstage Passport DVD
THE SCOOP: Sure, it's not a new album, per se (although I did get an advance of Coaster last week and it's pretty great), but NOFX's Backstage Passport Fuse TV series has been ported to DVD, along with a bonus disc of hours of footage deemed "too hot for TV." Even if you don't like NOFX's music (bummer for you), there is still so much entertainment to be found in these episodes, as well as plenty of a human element most people probably figured Fat Mike didn't have. Highly recommended.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Um, it's a DVD. However, if you don't already own Punk In Drublic, you're totally blowing it.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical)

"WE SAID MEH! M-E-H, MEH!"

This Providence's Who Are You Now?
THE SCOOP: The above Simpsons reference pretty much perfectly sums up my feelings toward This Providence and their new album. It's background music for a swooped-hair dentist's office: patently inoffensive with nothing out of the ordinary that would risk scaring the patient--er, listener. Honestly, do you really want to associate getting a root canal with this band's music? Too late, I already do.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Go buy a Gatsbys American Dream CD instead. Any Gatsbys American Dream CD.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), Amazon (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Catherine's Inside Out, Graf Orlack's Destination Time Today, I Killed The Prom Queen's Sleepless Nights And City Lights DVD, Kylesa's Static Tensions, MSTRKRFT's Fist Of God, the One Thought Moment's Deaf In The Dead Zone, Sum 41's All The Good Shit

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

What have I blogged?

2009-03-10T11:06:00.003-04:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the sixth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Cursive's Mama, I'm Swollen
THE SCOOP: Tim Kasher mines his fractured psyche once more for the enjoyment of thousands with Cursive's latest LP, the absolutely stellar Mama, I'm Swollen. The album is probably the best example of a bridge between Kasher's work in Cursive and his folksier band, the Good Life, as the mid-section of this album could've come right off of Album Of The Year ("Donkeys," "Caveman"). "Mama, I'm Satan" even comes off a bit like mid-period Radiohead. However, the loud, angsty parts are louder and angstier than ever before -- I've previously blogged about the epic scale of the disc's closing track, "What Have I Done?" and I will continue to rave about its absolutely incredible composition and weight. Tim Kasher's best-ever song? It's certainly in my top five.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "What Have I Done?" "I Couldn't Love You," "We're Going To Hell," "From The Hips"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

New Found Glory's Not Without A Fight
THE SCOOP: I've always respected New Found Glory (hey, any band who like Chamberlain is a friend of mine), but to be 100 percent honest, I never liked them before 2008's Tip Of The Iceberg EP injected some much-needed hardcore back into their shoulda-been-patented pop-punk sound. I'm stoked that NFG's Epitaph debut, Not Without A Fight, somewhat continues that trend. The disc falls off a bit toward the end, but first five songs alone (especially the Lifetime-esque "Truck Stop Blues") make this a solid investment (moreso than Citibank stock, anyway).
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Don't Let Her Pull You Down," "Truck Stop Blues," "47"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

REVOKE MY PUNK MEMBERSHIP CARD:

Propagandhi's Supporting Caste
THE SCOOP: To borrow an old Punknews.org meme, words cannot express how much fuck this band. Never liked 'em, never will -- the only good thing they gave us was John K. Samson and the Weakerthans. Granted, that's one of the best things in the history of the world ever, which is why I will say one nice thing about Supporting Caste: It sounds kinda good, in a totally "I still don't like this band" way.
CRUCIAL JAMS: A Wilhelm Scream's Ruiner.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Anarbor's Free Your Mind EP, Riverboat Gamblers' Underneath The Owl, the Number Twelve Looks Like You's Worse Than Alone, Austin Lucas' Somebody Loves You, Burn Halo's Burn Halo, Razorlight's Slipway Fires

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

Things too visible to blog.

2009-03-03T12:16:00.004-05:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the fifth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Of Machines' As If Everything Was Held In Place
THE SCOOP: Love the label or hate it, Rise Records has done one hell of a job of mining the newest and hottest in metal and hardcore bands. This is the label that discovered the Devil Wears Prada, Fear Before The March Of Flames, Drop Dead, Gorgeous and plenty more, so it's usually a smart decision to pay attention to their new releases. Case in point: As If Everything Was Held In Place, the debut album from Of Machines. The band takes much of their influence from the Underoath (circa Define The Great Line) as well as Translating The Name-era Saosin, meaning these songs are head-spinning, atmospheric post-metalcore with electronic flourishes and absolutely insane clean vocals. (Dude sings higher than Anthony Green, for real.) This will definitely be a band to keep your eye on.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Things Too Visible To See," "It Must Belong Somewhere," "Lost In Translation"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Neko Case's Middle Cyclone
THE SCOOP:The sometimes-New Pornographer returns once more with a delightful album full of wistful alt-country, delicate folk and plenty of fun pop, all bolstered by Case's gorgeous, smokey voice. This is something you and your parents can totally get down with. Plus, it has, by far, the best cover art of 2009 thus far. For real.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "People Got A Lotta Nerve," "Middle Cyclone," "This Tornado Loves You"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

OH, RIGHT, THIS IS ALSO COMING OUT:

U2's No Line On The Horizon
THE SCOOP: I've never heard of 'em. I hear they sound like Angels & Airwaves, though.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Anything besides "Get On Your Boots." That song is the worst.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: Buried Inside's Spoils Of Failure, Say Hi's Oohs & Aahs, A Plea For Purging's Depravity, Drag The River's Bad At Breaking Up, Revolting Cocks' Sex-O Olympic-O, Wretched's The Exodus Of Autonomy

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

Blogger in plain clothes.

2009-02-24T17:37:00.003-05:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the fourth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Defeater's Travels
THE SCOOP: Originally issued last year on Topshelf Records, Defeater's debut album was noticed by the good-looking gentlemen at hardcore tastemaker label Bridge Nine, who signed the band and are reissuing the album today. I'd compare the young band's sound to labelmates Verse and Have Heart, yet it's a bit more straightforward and faster than both (think Comeback Kid playing Modern Life Is War's Witness). It's so hard to find a good hardcore band these days, which is why I'm happy to say I've found a great one.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Prophet In Plain Clothes," "Blessed Burden," "Everything Went Quiet," "Moon Shine"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

husband&wife's Dark Dark Woods
THE SCOOP: Indiana is frequently labeled as a "flyover state" -- a state where planes fly over it to other, better destinations, instead of stopping there. And to be fair, Indiana's kind of a dull place. However, there must be something in the water of Bloomington, Indiana, as that city's given us Murder By Death, Defiance, Ohio, Good Luck and now indie-rock group husband&wife. Their third album is a follow-up to 2006's brilliant Operation:Surgery, and keeps alive the band's amalgamation of Pedro The Lion, Mineral, Nada Surf, and other, similarly talented bands. This simple album doesn't have crazy recording techniques on it or unusual instrumentation (although there's very nice use of horns in a smattering of tracks); it's just good ol' Midwestern tunes.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "I Got Fat," "Support Yourself," "Comp Jam," "You Remain Unloved"
BUY IT NOW: Crossroads Of America Records (physical), (digital)

ALSO OUT TODAY: August Burns Red's Lost Messengers: The Outtakes EP, Copeland's The Grey Man EP, God Forbid's Earthsblood, Lamb Of God's Wrath, MC Lars' This Gigantic Robot Kills, School Boy Humor's School Boy Humor

What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!

You were the blogger.

2009-02-17T11:50:00.001-05:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the third installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and worst) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Thursday's Common Existence
THE SCOOP: Okay, I'm gonna level with you -- Common Existence isn't Thursday's best album (that award goes to A City By The Light Divided, and I don't care if you disagree with me). However, if this were Pitchfork (and thank god it ain't), ACBTLD would get a 9.8 and Common Existence would probably get a 9.3 or something. This album is a total rager from start to finish; it proves that no matter how many wringers this New Jersey post-hardcore sextet get put through, they always are able to come out on top. Truly inspirational, and worth owning (hell, it's only $7.99 on Amazon right now).
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Resuscitation Of A Dead Man," "As He Climbed The Dark Mountain," "Friends In The Armed Forces," "You Were The Cancer"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:

Morrissey's Years Of Refusal
THE SCOOP: Every few years when England's eternally hopeless romantic Morrissey puts out a new album, it's invariably hailed by eager critics as "his best work in years!" before they relegate it to the bottom of the iPod a few weeks later. It's not that Morrissey's not good; every Morrissey album is at least tolerable. But rarely does the dude make great albums anymore, which is why I'm so jazzed to recommend Years Of Refusal. This album is a far more rock affair than a number of his previous ones, with a tighter, more energetic backing band (who obviously have a sense of humor, too). Will any of these songs be the ones he's remembered for in 50 years? Eh, it's questionable. But I bet these things are fun as hell to witness (and perform) live.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Something Is Squeezing My Skull," "All You Need Is Me," "It's Not Your Birthday Anymore," "I'm OK By Myself"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME WITH:

The Appleseed Cast's Sagarmatha
THE SCOOP: The Appleseed Cast progresses further down the post-rock spiral on what I think is their 37th full-length (it's actually their eighth, but man, it sure feels like 37). This band started off so promisingly a decade ago as a heavier Sunny Day Real Estate, then quickly got caught up in delay pedals and other guitar effects (and a new rhythm section) that has made each successive album after 1998's awesome End Of The Ring Wars a snoozefest (although 2000's Mare Vitalis is pretty solid, too). Maybe if I smoked pot, I would appreciate this kind of meandering, now nearly all-instrumental post-rock more, but I'll stick with being sober and listening to Mono and Explosions In The Sky.
CRUCIAL JAMS: I seriously couldn't make it all the way through a single song.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

Dead city blog.

2009-02-10T20:01:00.003-05:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the second installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and worst) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

O Pioneers!!!' Neon Creeps
THE SCOOP: We recently did a full-page AP Recommends piece on this Houston-based beard-punk band led by vocalist/guitarist Eric Solomon, and literally the same day we did the photo shoot, his band quit on him (for the third time). Needless to say, Solomon's had a bit of a hard time keeping a steady lineup together, but luckily he was able to write and record OP!!!'s sophomore album, Neon Creeps, with the brilliant musicians who make up fellow Houston band Papermoons. If you've ever heard O Pioneers!!! before and were unimpressed, don't worry; I wasn't really, either. But Solomon & Co. totally nailed it on this 10-song disc, a perfect amalgamation of early Hot Water Music and early Against Me!.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Stressing The Fuck Out," "Saved By The Bell Was A Super Good Show," "Dead City Sound," "Cool Kid City"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

SNAG THIS NEXT:

Beastie Boys' Paul's Boutique: 20th Anniversary Edition
THE SCOOP:Before there was Girl Talk, there were the B-Boys -- originally considered a "commercial failure" after its release in 1989, like many things (wine, cheese and the Olsen twins), Paul's Boutique got better with age and is now considered a landmark in hip-hop due to its absolutely incredible laundry list of samples used in its creation (over 100 in total). Now, 20 years later, it gets what it finally deserves with a fancy digital remastering job, new packaging and more.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Hey Ladies," "Shake Your Rump," "B-Boy Bouillabaisse"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

YOU'D BE BEST OFF AVOIDING:

The Lonely Island's Incredibad
THE SCOOP: Okay, don't get me wrong: I do find Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg hilarious as all hell, and his cohorts in the Lonely Island (aka the guys who help him make all those side-splitting digital shorts), Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, bring the funny too. But here's the thing: Musical comedy albums have virtually zero replay value. (Sorry, Flight Of The Conchords fans -- that shit just ain't funny.) Yeah, these dudes have made some incredible music videos, but honestly, do you really think you're going to enjoy listening to "Dick In A Box" without the hilarious visuals accompanying it? (Granted, the physical version of this album comes with a bonus DVD, but still.) Go ask your older brother how often he plays those Adam Sandler CDs he bought when he was your age. See? Told you so.
CRUCIAL JAMS: Regardless of what I just wrote above, "Jizz In My Pants" is pretty damn solid.
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

Bloggerish.

2009-02-03T10:41:00.004-05:00

Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the first installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and worst) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!

IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:

Two Tongues' Two Tongues
THE SCOOP: I could write about how much I adore this collaboration between Saves The Day's Chris Conley and David Soloway and Say Anything's Max Bemis and Coby Linder, but I've already done that in the new issue of AP (which, coincidentally, is also out today). I seriously don't understand some of the negative feedback I've seen online to this record -- if you like either of the two bands this band spawned out of, you'll like this album; if you like both of the bands this band spawned out of (like I do), you'll love this album. It's an uplifting collection of songs that shows a musical bond strengthened by mutual respect and friendship, and I cannot get enough of it.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Crawl," "If I Could Make You Do Things," "Wowee Zowee," "Try Not To Save Me"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

SNAG THIS NEXT:

P.O.S.'s Never Better
THE SCOOP: Minneapolis-based MC Stefon "P.O.S." Alexander's been everywhere over the past few years, opening for everyone from Gym Class Heroes to Minus The Bear to Underoath, with a Warped Tour stint wedged in between. He'll be returning to Warped for all of this summer, but not before he drops his third album, Never Better, today. We gave it four-and-a-half stars in the new issue of AP, and it definitely isn't just hype -- Alexander has created an album seldom heard in hip-hop, channeling Talib Kweli ("Low Light Low Life"), Sage Francis ("Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)"), Dalek ("The Basics (Alright)") and more into an incredibly innovative take on the genre. Guest appearances by None More Black's Jason Shevchuk ("Terrorish") and the Velvet Teen's Judah Nagler (the title track) really drive this thing home. Plus, have you seen the packaging on this CD? Insane! Watch:

CRUCIAL JAMS: "Terrorish," "Drumroll (We're All Thirsty)," "Savion Glover," "Goodbye"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon (physical), (digital)

WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T BUY:

The Fray's The Fray
THE SCOOP: Out of all the bands currently coming out of Colorado, this is the one that sells a million records? The world's a cruel place. I suppose if you really want an album full of "How To Save A Life" soundalikes that will be the background music for Grey's Anatomy seasons 5-8, I won't stop you. But the following bands are/were from Colorado and are worth much more of your time and money than the Fray: Fear Before, the Photo Atlas, 3OH!3, Only Thunder (active); Planes Mistaken For Stars, the Gamits, the Blackout Pact, Vaux (defunct)
CRUCIAL JAMS: N/A
BUY IT NOW: What, didn't you see the headline?

Resuscitation of a dead blog.

2009-01-31T18:07:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the lack of communication. Things have been busy over in AP Land. Lots of big ideas being thought up, even bigger ideas about to be implemented. Tim will surely tell you more about some of this on his blog in the near future, but I just wanted to let you know that starting next week, my blog will be changing somewhat -- I'll still be writing in it, and talking about music I love (and why I dislike the fact that Tim continues to wear virtually the exact same kind of shoes as me every day to work -- seriously, who does that?), but the focus will be placed on new releases. Basically, you can count on me to bring you a new blog every single Tuesday that encompasses the best (and worst) of what music's being released that week. Consider me the perpetual older brother who will continue to recommend good new music to you instead of, say, I Set My Friends On Fire, Cash Cash and Hey Monday. (I mean that comment in the most insulting way possible.)

Anyway, look for my new column to launch this coming Tuesday right here -- no need to change your RSS reader or update your bookmarks.

PS - "Trogdor" just came up in my iTunes. Nice!

Goodbyes have been blogged.

2009-01-24T14:56:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, we launched the 76th and potentially final episode of the AP Show, our bi-weekly new-music podcast co-hosted by myself and Jason.

I'm really bummed about it. Legitimately. It reminded me of when I was a junior in college. I had this '91 Plymouth Sundance (maroon with maroon interior) -- not the coolest car on the block, but it was mine, covered in stickers, stocked with an abundance of mixtapes (the CD player was stolen out of it -- womp womp) and always up for a multi-hour road trip to see a killer show. The car was obviously not that good of a vehicle, but I had some serious sentimental attachment toward it.

Its final hurrah was when I was driving back from Chicago with my girlfriend at the time; we went into the city the night before to see the Anniversary at the Metro. It was approximately a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Chicago back to our college in Rock Island, Illinois (all the way on the other side of the state), and it was late January/early February at the time, so it was very cold. Long story short, about a half-hour outside of the city, my car threw a rod and put a fist-sized hole in its engine. (Call it vehicular suicide.) Black smoke poured out from underneath the hood, so we immediately pulled over and ran for our lives (I was legitimately convinced my car was going to blow up, which in retrospect would've been all sorts of awesome).

Eventually, we got towed back into the city, and the next day, I got the bad news from the mechanic: It was going to cost over $2,000 to fix the thing. The car wasn't worth more than $200 at the time. The worst part is, I actually considered the repairs for two weeks before finally deciding to put the car down (but not before I went back down to the mechanic's and had a friend of mine take pictures of me hugging it).

It's funny how you develop attachments to things that might not be working quite so well. Then when someone finally rips the Band-Aid off, it hurts for a second but then you realize what a relief it is for it to be gone. The AP Show was an incredible experience for me to be a part of; we did 76 shows in two-and-a-half years, about the first half of which we were lucky enough to air on XM Satellite Radio (which was a collegiate dream of mine to do). I absolutely loved recording the show, programming the playlist, responding to letters and the whole thing, even though there were plenty of times when it stressed me out. The past couple shows, all of us involved knew the show wasn't working as well as it could be, but no one wanted to say anything. That's why Mike Shea, my boss, gets paid the big bucks: He emailed us before show 76's taping and simply said, "This is gonna be the last one." After a bit of protest from me, I realized it really was the right call.

That being said, don't think this is the end for AP when it comes to online audio. Mike is still hosting his wildly successful long-form interview series, The AP Podcast (in fact, he's interviewing Ronnie Winter from the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus today and Chris Conley from Saves The Day tomorrow), and I'm still handling the always-fun AP Acoustic Sessions (and we have some really cool ones lined up). Plus, Mike's already approached Tim and I about individually hosting new podcasts that are more focused than the AP Show ever was, and I gotta tell you, I'm really excited about both of them.

So if you were an AP Show fan, don't fret: There will always be something new coming from us that we think you'll dig. In the meantime, download the final episode here and let me know what you think.

Take what you blog.

2009-01-21T17:10:00.001-05:00

One of my all-time favorite bands are the Clash. I don't think I could ever properly put into words how much this legendary band's songs have inspired and moved me, which is why I'm always wary of someone covering one of their songs. (Did you ever hear that awful tribute album that came out in the mid-'90s featuring 311 and Silverchair? Woof. Side note: I guaran-damn-tee Tim Karan owns this CD.)

However, I am a pretty big Lily Allen fan. When I saw her at Stubb's at South By Southwest in 2007, she came on a half-hour late, played for only 20 minutes, shit-talked the NME during her set (as they were the sponsors of the showcase) and half-assed her way through all her songs, and I loved every single second of it. I think she's as cute as a cancer stick-puffing button can be. (I may have even sent a text message to the screen above the stage before her set began, and it may have said, "Lily, will you marry me? <3 Scott.") Anyway, when I heard that Lily (or Ms. Allen, if you're nasty) contributed a cover of the Clash's "Straight To Hell" to the upcoming War Child: Heroes compilation benefitting War Child (out Feb. 29 on Astralwerks), I got excited. One of my biggest musical crushes covering my all-time favorite Clash song? What's not to love?

Then I heard it.

To be honest, I still don't know if I like it or not. I'm such a huge fan of the music of the original that I was bummed to see much of that thrown to the wind. However, I geeked out hard when all of the sudden, I heard both Lily Allen and Joe Strummer singing the second verse in tandem. Also, even though I do miss the original music, I do give her props for covering a song and actually deviating from its traditional structure (even though the vocal line is the same).

What do you think of it?

Where the blogs have no name.

2009-01-19T10:00:00.003-05:00

U2, you have completely lost the plot. Listen to "Get On Your Boots," the first single off the band's upcoming album No Line On The Horizon -- it sounds like an unfortunate mashup of Muse and Alice In Chains (side note: Tim's ears just perked up), with some of the most godawful lyrics I've heard on a major-label rock release since whenever Nickelback's last record came out. I've never been the biggest U2 fan, but I can appreciate their high points, and I even have a soft spot for some of their dumber songs (see: "Vertigo," "Elevation"), but this thing just stinks. Of course, I'm only one opinion; what do you think?

No Line On The Horizon comes out March 3 via Interscope.

Burst and blog.

2009-01-17T23:59:00.001-05:00

I saw Cursive tonight. Holy hell, they were awesome. They sprinkled five new songs into their set, my favorite of which has been titled "What Have I Done?" by fans online. Stop whatever you're doing and spend the next eight minutes watching a video of this absolutely incredible song. (This video isn't from tonight's show, but this performance is easily on par with tonight's.)

I want to give Tim Kasher a big hug. I also want to hear Cursive's new album (which is supposedly titled Mama, I'm Swollen) ASAP. ASA-freakin'-P.

(Just once) let's blog something different.

2009-01-14T15:45:00.000-05:00

Question: Whatever happened to Boys Night Out? Their website hasn't been updated in eight months, and their MySpace, although logged into today, appears equally as dormant, content-wise. One of the first big pieces I was ever assigned at AP was writing a feature about BNO and their awesome 2005 concept album Trainwreck, a record which I still think holds up almost four years later as an inventive take on the pop-screamo genre, with an incredible story (one of the few concept albums I own that I can actually understand what's happening) and killer tunes backing it up. Check out the video for "Medicating" below:

It saddens me that BNO have all but shut down after the release of their self-titled third album in 2007, a disc that was highly underrated -- I still don't care much for Lou Giordano's production on the album (the drums sound soooo wimpy, and the cymbals sound like they were recorded a mile away), but tracks like "Get Your Head Straight," "Up With Me," Hey, Thanks" and "Apartment 4" are successes in terms of sheer poppiness and clever lyricism. Watch "Up With Me" below:

For about a year between late '04 and late '05, the buzz around BNO seemed unstoppable. They were on the road with Saves The Day and Emery, did a stint on the '05 Warped Tour as the Smartpunk Stage headliner and were even tapped to open that fall's Nintendo Fusion Tour with Fall Out Boy (aka the tour that sent FOB, as well as curtain-jerkers Panic At The Disco, into the stratosphere). Yet somehow, all the positive press and word of mouth never caught on like it was supposed to, and it seems like the band members have more or less given up on the group. (I imagine I'd have a hard time staying motivated if I were in a band reduced to opening for Scary Kids Scaring Kids, too.)

It's mindblowing to me sometimes to see how quickly this scene can eat itself. In what world is dreck like Millionaires, Brokencyde or Hypercrush considered better or more enjoyable than Boys Night Out? How come Alesana can release, like, 15 albums in a nine-month period yet we're approaching the two-year mark for new BNO material? Why can't good music just prevail, once and for all?

But I digress. Boys Night Out, if you're reading this, give yourselves what you deserve: one more show, saying goodbye to those of us who still care. I bet there's more of us than you think.

Copablog.

2009-01-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

It was difficult to drag myself out of my house this weekend, what with 134 feet of snow hitting the greater Cleveland area (note: It may have been more like 6-8 inches), but tonight, I braved the cold (and my strange desire to watch the Golden Globes) to go see AP Tour veteran Sonny and his band, who were on tour with Innerpartysystem.

I got to the show and almost immediately ran into Sonny himself, and it was great to catch up for a few minutes. Regardless of what you've read online, Sonny told me that he's currently not signed to Atlantic Records, although that doesn't mean he won't be. (Another example of punk-gossip websites jumping the gun and not checking their sources...) He also told me that he's hoping to have his long-anticipated debut EP out this spring, with the follow-up full-length out this fall. I, for one, am stoked to finally get studio recordings of the songs I've been hearing the kid play live since last April.

But before Sonny went on, I was treated to a great set by atmospheric electro-pop quintet Paper Route. Their sound reminded me of a thicker, more synthetic version of Mute Math, with two vocalists and plenty of bells and whistles buried deep within their sound. I was feeling it, but unfortunately I didn't have enough cash on me to buy their EP. Alas, streaming audio will have to do for now...

I moved closer for Sonny's set, and was seriously blown away with how far he and his band have come since their AP Tour stint. The live lineup has ballooned to six people, and the songs have developed a strong aura of confidence and focus. Sonny radiated with energy onstage, bouncing through the set with reckless abandon, occasionally wailing on a free-standing bass drum set up next to him. He wasn't the only one doing this; I counted at least four free-standing bass drums onstage being played by various members of the band in almost every song. It's obvious Sonny has decided to make hone his music into being much more beat-driven and pulsating, almost like an organic version of a DJ's set at a nightclub. There was also a really dazzling light display set up behind drummer Sean Friday that looked like seven flourescent lights hanging lengthwise, but rotated quickly through a series of seven colors. It was very eye-catching and suited the music perfectly.

The best part about Sonny's set was that it reminded me why I enjoyed him so much on the AP Tour: He absolutely loves what he is doing. This is a kid who was on top of the screamo pile fronting From First To Last, and he walked away from all the fame to pursue what was in his heart, even though at the time, I don't even think he knew what was going to come out. Sonny's come incredibly far in the two years since he quit FFTL, and I for one can't wait to see what he's going to create in the future. Enough with the mindless hating already, message board trolls. It's time to realize Sonny Moore is really, really frickin' talented.

Don't stop living in the blog.

2009-01-09T14:39:00.000-05:00

Ever wonder where the magic happens? Well, wonder no longer:

(Click the pic for a significantly larger version.)

In terms of clutter, this is actually significantly reduced right now. Those stacks of CDs on the left-hand side of my desk are typically about a foot taller each, and the CD rack in the background generally has much, much more stuff on it. (The stuff on the windowsill only continues to grow, however.) I've been trying to clear out some of the music in my office over the past week, plowing through dozens upon dozens of random discs sent to me over the past six months or so that continually gets pushed down to the bottom of the pile. Lo and behold, I actually unearthed a few real gems that I wanted to share with you. Here are three CDs I'm glad I discovered.

Wino - A Bottle Of Pills With A Bullet Chaser
This double-disc discography of overlooked Louisville noise-rock act Wino was released this past Election Day by the fine folks over at Temporary Residence Ltd., home of such great bands as Mono, Envy and Explosions In The Sky. Wino were straight outta the Jesus Lizard/AmRep school of rock 'n' roll, meaning it was loud, muscular, discordant and at times downright uncomfortable to listen to, but there was no way you weren't going to pay attention to it. All of their material is out of print now, so TempRes put everything on these two CDs (including six previously unreleased songs) and made it available for your consumption. I definitely recommend it. If you wanna try before you buy, download "Dutch Oven" here.

Hospital Bombers - Footnotes
This band hail from Amsterdam (yes, the Amsterdam), but they sing in English, which is beneficial to a stupid American such as myself. Not sure what to expect based on the band name and cover art, I was pleasantly surprised at the lo-fi rock mixed with folk-punk on Footnotes, which came out this past October on Canadian label Saved By Radio. The more amped-up moments are reminiscent of the (International) Noise Conspiracy, but most of the disc feels like the Weakerthans hanging out with the Mountain Goats while Defiance, Ohio plays in the background. Download "Neighborhood" here or you can stream the whole disc here.

Kiss Me At The Gate - Tape & Scissors
Forgive me for my ignorance, but I had absolutely no idea there was a rock scene in Birmingham, Alabama. (Call it Northerner's Ignorance.) Female-fronted four-piece Kiss Me At The Gate put out their debut album this past October on Superphonic Records. It's an exciting blend of Eisley-esque atmospheric pop with an indie-punk edge reminiscent of the Rocking Horse Winner or Pohgoh. You can download four MP3s from the disc here, but unfortunately, that doesn't include the album's best song, "Come On." Thankfully, you can stream that number at their MySpace page.

All right, back to digging into these stacks. If you don't hear from me in 72 hours, assume I'm buried under a sea of plastic and aluminum and send help.

Clash city bloggers.

2009-01-06T02:10:00.003-05:00

I go to a lot of shows. Here's where I spent my 2008, and who I spent it watching:

1. 1/8 - The Swellers/Fireworks/Reverse The Curse @ The Davenport, Parma Heights, OH (proof)
2. 1/18 - Roosevelt Jenkins/Soma Star/E-Zel @ Subterranean, Chicago, IL
3. 1/29 - The Dillinger Escape Plan/Every Time I Die @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
4. 1/29 - Chuck Ragan/Ben Nichols @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH (proof)

5. 2/2 - Hot Water Music/Lucero/Able Baker Fox @ The Metro, Chicago, IL (proof)
6. 2/6 - Crime In Stereo @ The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
7. 2/10 - The Audition (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
8. 2/10 - The Audition/Envy On The Coast/Danger Radio/Another Day Late @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
9. 2/13 - Flogging Molly (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
10. 2/18 - Paul Baribeau/Eric Ayotte/Super Bobby/Andy (lastname?) @ The Soggy Dog House, Lakewood, OH (proof)
11. 2/20 - The Loved Ones/The Gaslight Anthem/The Arrivals/Hifi Handgrenades @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH (proof)
12. 2/23 - Tub Ring/Foxy Shazam @ Beat Kitchen, Chicago, IL
13. 2/25 - Foo Fighters/Serj Tankian/Against Me! @ Allstate Arena, Rosemont, IL
14. 2/26 - Meg & Dia/The Color Fred/Ace Enders And A Million Different People @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH

15. 3/2 - The Hives/The Donnas @ The Agora Theater, Cleveland, OH
16. 3/13 - The Audition @ Red 7 Patio, Austin, TX
17. 3/13 - Municipal Waste/Genghis Tron @ Emo's Annex, Austin, TX
18. 3/13 - The Night Marchers/The Spits @ Emo's Jr., Austin, TX
19. 3/13 - NOFX @ Red 7, Austin, TX
20. 3/14 - O Pioneers!!! @ Headhunters, Austin, TX
21. 3/14 - The Weakerthans/Lightspeed Champion @ volume, Austin, TX
22. 3/14 - Anthony Green/Paper Rival @ Red 7, Austin, TX
23. 3/14 - Hot Water Music/Paint It Black/Dead To Me/The Gaslight Anthem @ Red 7 Patio, Austin, TX
24. 3/14 - Human Giant/Eugene Mirman/Morgan Murphy/Gary Gulman/Jeremy Neal/Bryan Gutman @ Esther's Follies, Austin, TX
25. 3/14 - The Cribs @ Stubb's, Austin, TX
26. 3/15 - The Saint Alvia Cartel/Tat @ Emo's Jr., Austin, TX
27. 3/15 - Forever The Sickest Kids/The Gaslight Anthem @ Emo's Annex, Austin, TX
28. 3/15 - All Time Low/Anthony Green/Does It Offend You, Yeah?/Georgie James (acoustic) @ Emo's IV, Austin, TX
29. 3/15 - Chiodos/The Matches/Portugal. The Man/Foxy Shazam @ Emo's, Austin, TX
30. 3/18 - Every Time I Die/From First To Last/The Bled/August Burns Red @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
31. 3/24 - Weatherbox (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
32. 3/29 - Aloha/Anathallo/Owen/Unwed Sailor/Paper Rival @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH

33. 4/1 - Anthony Green (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
34. 4/3 - Baroness @ Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
35. 4/5 - Defiance, Ohio/Delay/Vietnam Werewolf/No Target Audience @ The Tower, Cleveland, OH (proof)
36. 4/13 - Portugal. The Man (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
37. 4/13 - Minus The Bear (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
38. 4/13 - Minus The Bear/The Big Sleep/Portugal. The Man @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
39. 4/19 - The Rocket Summer/All Time Low/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
40. 4/20 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Jannus Landing, St. Petersburg, FL
41. 4/22 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Juanita's, Little Rock, AR
42. 4/23 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Pop's, Sauget, IL
43. 4/24 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Forest Hills Lodge, Loves Park, IL
44. 4/25 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ The Rave, Milwaukee, WI
45. 4/26 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Newport Music Hall, Columbus, OH
46. 4/27 - The Rocket Summer/All Time Low/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Club Infinity, Buffalo, NY
47. 4/29 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Toad's Place, New Haven, CT
48. 4/30 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Crocodile Rock, Allentown, PA

49. 5/1 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ Diesel, Pittsburgh, PA
50. 5/2 - All Time Low/The Rocket Summer/The Matches/Sonny/Forever The Sickest Kids @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
51. 5/3 - Snoop Dogg/Jimmy Eat World/Paramore/Set Your Goals/The Rocket Summer/MxPx/Vinnie Caruana Of The Movielife with Set Your Goals @ The Meadowlands Sports Complex, East Rutherford, NJ (The Bamboozle)
52. 5/4 - The Color Fred/Anthony Green/The Starting Line/As Tall As Lions/Forever The Sickest Kids/Circa Survive/All Time Low/Scary Kids Scaring Kids @ The Meadowlands Sports Complex, East Rutherford, NJ (The Bamboozle)
53. 5/12 - Scary Kids Scaring Kids (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
54. 5/14 - The Mars Volta @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
55. 5/16 - Motion City Soundtrack/The Hush Sound/Phantom Planet @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater At Tower City, Cleveland, OH
56. 5/17 - Cinematic Sunrise @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
57. 5/18 - Bomb The Music Industry! @ The Soggy Dog House, Lakewood, OH (proof)

58. 6/7 - Andrew W.K./Mouth Of The Architect/Blueprint @ Ohio University South Green, Athens, OH (Lobsterfest) (proof)
59. 6/13 - Death Cab For Cutie @ Plain Dealer Pavilion, Cleveland, OH
60. 6/15 - Ryan's Hope @ Pirate's Cove, Cleveland, OH (proof)

61. 7/7 - Dropkick Murphys/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones @ Charter One Pavilion, Chicago, IL
62. 7/8 - Less Than Jake/Goldfinger/Suburban Legends @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
63. 7/10 - Alkaline Trio/American Steel/The Fashion @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
64. 7/15 - Hit The Lights (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
65. 7/15 - All Time Low/Hit The Lights/Valencia @ Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
66. 7/17 - Jack's Mannequin/Say Anything/Against Me!/We The Kings/Norma Jean/The Academy Is.../From First To Last/A Day To Remember (Warped Tour) @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheater At Tower City, Cleveland, OH
67. 7/17 - The Hold Steady/The Loved Ones @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH (proof)
68. 7/19 - 2*Sweet/Fireworks/This Time Next Year/The Universe & Me @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
69. 7/27 - The Bronx/Sky Eats Airplane/Oreskaband/Automatic Loveletter/Against Me!/Dr. Manhattan (Warped Tour) @ Toyota Pavilion, Scranton, PA
70. 7/28 - Four Year Strong/3OH!3 (Warped Tour) @ Raceway Park, Englishtown, NJ
71. 7/29 - Four Year Strong/HorrorPops/Motion City Soundtrack/Broadway Calls/Pierce The Veil/Against Me!/The Color Fred/Automatic Loveletter/Greeley Estates (Warped Tour) @ Post Gazette Pavilion At Star Lake, Burgettstown, PA
72. 7/30 - The Bronx/The Human Abstract/The Aggrolites (Warped Tour) @ Riverbend Amphitheatre, Cincinnati, OH
73. 7/31 - Gil Mantera's Party Dream/Protest The Hero/Forever The Sickest Kids/The Randies/MC Chris/Animo/Oreskaband/Alesana (Warped Tour) @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Noblesville, IN

74. 8/1 - Angels & Airwaves (Warped Tour) @ Marcus Amphitheater, Milwaukee, WI
75. 8/2 - Say Anything/Reel Big Fish/Against Me!/Street Dogs/Four Year Strong/Every Time I Die/Norma Jean (Warped Tour) @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
76. 8/3 - Cobra Starship/Motion City Soundtrack/The Bronx/Anberlin/Set Your Goals/Against Me!/Norma Jean (Warped Tour) @ Canterbury Park, Shakopee, MN
77. 8/5 - Rx Bandits (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
78. 8/7 - Anthony Green/Good Old War/Person L @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
79. 8/18 - Mark Rose @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH

80. 9/8 - Journey/Heart @ Blossom, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
81. 9/12 - Bound Stems/Maritime @ The Hideout, Chicago, IL
82. 9/20 - Fear Before/Damiera/I Am The Ocean/NSDWHOA!/Set Free Among The Dead Themselves @ The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
83. 9/21 - Mock Orange @ The Hi-Fi Concert Club, Lakewood, OH

84. 10/2 - The Gaslight Anthem (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
85. 10/2 - Rise Against/Alkaline Trio/Thrice/The Gaslight Anthem @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre @ Tower City, Cleveland, OH
86. 10/7 - The Matches @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
87. 10/9 - Bayside/The Matches/Valencia @ The Metro, Chicago, IL
88. 10/10 - The Lawrence Arms/The Bouncing Souls/Shot Baker @ House Of Blues, Chicago, IL
90. 10/10 - Ben Folds @ Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL
91. 10/12 - ALL/The Casualties/Paint It Black/Teenage Bottlerocket/Black President/The Ergs!/The Mighty Mighty Bosstones/The Methadones/HorrorPops/Dummy/Prizzy Prizzy Please/D.O.A./Static Radio NJ/Mustard Plug/Valient Thorr/The Vandon Arms/Love And Squalor/Overated (Riot Fest) @ Congress Theatre, Chicago, IL
92. 10/17 - Family Force 5 @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
93. 10/20 - Minus The Bear @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
94. 10/23 - Anberlin/Scary Kids Scaring Kids/Straylight Run @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
95. 10/24 - The Promise Hero/JJ & The Kickdrums @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
96. 10/24 - The Life And Times @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
97. 10/27 - Shiny Toy Guns/Jonezetta/The Delta Fiasco @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
98. 10/29 - H2O/Bane @ Peabody's, Cleveland, OH
99. 10/30 - Young Livers/Bridge And Tunnel/O Pioneers!!!/Landmines/OK Pilot @ 1982, Gainesville, FL
100. 10/31 - Bouncing Souls/Less Than Jake/Strike Anywhere/Ann Beretta/The Casting Out/Rehasher @ The Venue, Gainesville, FL
101. 10/31 - Chris Wollard & The Ship Thieves @ The Atlantic, Gainesville, FL
102. 10/31 - Paint It Black @ a parking lot, Gainesville, FL

103. 11/1 - Dillinger Four/Paint It Black/None More Black/Atom And His Package @ The Venue, Gainesville, FL
104. 11/1 - Bomb The Music Industry!/O Pioneers!!!/Andrew Jackson Jihad/Delay @ The Kickstand, Gainesville, FL
105. 11/1 - Olehole @ 1982, Gainesville, FL
106. 11/1 - Mose Giganticus/Pegasuses XL/The Rick Johnson Rock And Roll Machine @ George's Meat And Produce, Gainesville, FL
107. 11/1 - Dirty Tactics/The Swellers @ Market Street Pub, Gainesville, FL
108. 11/1 - Brett Adams/Austin Lucas/Jay Northington/imadethismistake @ Holiday Inn Room 319, Gainesville, FL
109. 11/2 - Foundation/The Takers/The Wading Girl/Austin Lucas @ Common Grounds, Gainesville, FL
110. 11/2 - Shot Baker @ 1982, Gainesville, FL
111. 11/2 - Bomb The Music Industry!/Bridge And Tunnel/Porches/Andrew Jackson Jihad @ Holiday Inn Room 316, Gainesville, FL
112. 11/6 - A Wilhelm Scream/Polar Bear Club/The Facials/Friends Back East @ Pirates Cove, Cleveland, OH
113. 11/8 - 3OH!3 (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
114. 11/10 - Jack's Mannequin/Fun @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
115. 11/12 - Silverstein/Escape The Fate/Alesana @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
116. 11/16 - Person L/Audrye Sessions @ Hi-Fi Concert Club, Lakewood, OH
117. 11/18 - A Rocket To The Moon (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
118. 11/19 - Hawthorne Heights/Emery/Tickle Me Pink @ The Agora Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
119. 11/20 - Steel Train/Dear And The Headlights @ Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH
120. 11/22 - The Maine (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
121. 11/22 - All Time Low/Mayday Parade/The Maine/Every Avenue @ House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH
122. 11/24 - Reverse The Curse/O Pioneers!!! @ The Soggy Dog House, Lakewood, OH

123. 12/4 - Jeremy Enigk/Nicholas Megalis @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
124. 12/5 - Sing It Loud (acoustic) @ Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH
125. 12/14 - Taking Back Sunday/Envy On The Coast/The Fight Within @ Toledo Civic Theater, Toledo, OH
126. 12/28 - Mustard Plug/Deals Gone Bad/Dan Potthast/The Drastics @ The Metro, Chicago, IL
127. 12/31 - The Forecast/Tonight The Prom @ Janina's Tavern, Chicago, IL

Total number of shows: 127 (down from 128 last year) - average of one show every 2.87 days
Total number of venues: 67 (up from 56 last year)
Total number of cities: 31 (up from 20 last year)
Total number of states: 12 (up from 10 last year)
Total number of countries: 1 (same as last year)

Most-visited venues:
4. (six-way tie) Peabody's, Cleveland, OH; Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH; The Soggy Dog House, Lakewood, OH; Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre At Tower City, Cleveland, OH; The Metro, Chicago, IL; 1982, Gainesville, FL
3. House Of Blues, Cleveland, OH (11)
2. Lava Room Recording Studio, Cleveland, OH (14)
1. Grog Shop, Cleveland Heights, OH (15)

Most-watched bands:
5. Sonny (11)
4. The Rocket Summer (13)
3. (tie) Forever The Sickest Kids/The Matches (15)
1. All Time Low (16)

Top 10 sets I saw in 2008:
10. 10/2 - Thrice @ Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre @ Tower City, Cleveland, OH
9. 11/16 - Person L @ Hi-Fi Concert Club, Lakewood, OH
8. 7/17 - The Hold Steady @ Beachland Ballroom, Cleveland, OH
7. 6/7 - Andrew W.K. @ Ohio University South Green, Athens, OH (Lobsterfest)
6. 3/2 - The Hives @ The Agora Theater, Cleveland, OH
5. 8/2 - Say Anything (Warped Tour) @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park, IL
4. 3/13 - NOFX @ Red 7, Austin, TX
3. 2/2 - Hot Water Music @ The Metro, Chicago, IL
2. 11/1 - Bomb The Music Industry! @ The Kickstand, Gainesville, FL
1. 10/31 - Paint It Black @ a parking lot, Gainesville, FL

How many concerts did you go to last year? What was your favorite? Did you and I happen to be at any of the same shows without even knowing it? Do tell!

Looking to kill some time? Check out previous installments of this list: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004

The greatest blog that ever lived (variations on a shaker hymn).

2008-12-31T00:35:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me knows my favorite album of all time is this:

Out of the thousands of albums I've owned (and the thousands more I've had the chance to listen to via my career path), not a single record comes close to creating the intense feelings of love, loss, loneliness, depression, desire and confusion that Pinkerton does. It's the only album I own on CD, cassette and vinyl. I have the entire disc memorized, and used to play it out in my head during the last 36 minutes of any given college class to pass the time (I always felt especially accomplished when I'd sing the final "I'm sorry" from "Butterfly" right when the teacher would let the class out).

One of the benefits of being at my parents' house for the holidays (besides my mom's laptop and wireless internet) is their ridiculous digital cable package. Working in the field of rock writing, while full of fringe benefits, has yet to reveal a way to score free cable, and as such, I get about 12 channels on my TV in Cleveland. But here, I've been indulging in multi-hour marathons of Deadliest Catch and Project Runway, watching a rerun of the mtvU Woodie Awards and more, but what I stumbled upon takes the cake: It's an hour-long concert film called Across The Sea: Weezer Live In Japan.

Filmed in 2005 on the band's Make Believe tour, Across The Sea was originally supposd to get a DVD release but that's still not materialized. Only a clip of one song had leaked out on YouTube until recent months, when the full thing started airing on some channel called Palladia (which I'm tuned to right now). After about 10-15 minutes of uninteresting candid footage, the concert begins, and man, is it a fun one: "Don't Let Go" finds Rivers Cuomo sans guitar, running around the stage like a madman doing aerobics. Rivers uses "Surf Wax America" as a chance to try out his growing Japanese-language skills, before Brian Bell and Scott Shriner nail the "You take my car, I'll take my board" a capella in front of a few thousand adoring Japanese fans. Cuomo even lets Shriner sing lead on "Dope Nose" and Bell take the mic for "Why Bother," perhaps foreshadowing their most recent album's dalliances with lead vocal-swapping. But the true gem of the special is the song it took its name from, "Across The Sea."

I would be very, very hard-pressed to find a Weezer song more honest, personal and raw than "Across The Sea." The centerpiece of Pinkerton, the song tells the story of Cuomo falling in love with a Japanese girl who sent him fanmail. What starts off as innocent appreciation mutates into Cuomo blindly falling in love with the girl before digging deep into his psyche and wrestling with his own feelings of inadequacy and desolation. It is, in a word, incredible. There's a reason the band very rarely play it live, even though many other Pinkerton songs continually make appearances in concert. What's super-fascinating about Rivers' performance on this song is, unlike the rest of the concert, where he's running all over the stage, clowning around with bandmates and cracking jokes with the fans, for "Across The Sea," he is stock-still, obviously focused on both his guitar part and his vocal delivery, both of which are (in typical Rivers fashion) virtually note-for-note perfect. It's obvious that (at the time of recording) nine years later, after everything the band have been through and everything Rivers has gone through personally, "Across The Sea" still means something special to him.

I feel like I'm rambling, so I'll just shut up now and let you watch the clip of the song (big ups to Weezed for getting the whole special on YouTube):

Happy new year, everyone. I hope you are each able to find a song in this coming year that will move you for the rest of your life just like how I found this song so many years ago.

Do you still blog me?

2008-12-27T20:20:00.002-05:00

My girlfriend and I are about to whip up a mean pair of stuffed pork chops, so I have to make this quick:

1. As some of you may know, I used to be an editor for Punknews.org before AP was so nice as to actually offer me money in exchange for skilled labor. The kind folks over at the 'Org asked me to write up a list of my personal best albums and songs of 2008, and I was more than happy to oblige. You can read it here, if you're interested in seeing what dominated my stereo this year.

2. The lady and I just got back from seeing Seven Pounds. I can't really talk about the movie without giving too much away, but I will say that it's most definitely worth seeing (even when tickets are $10.75 a person -- Chicago's movie theater prices are OUT OF CONTROL), and very sad and touching. Go see Milk first, because that film was brilliant, but after that, see this (and after that, see Slumdog Millionaire, which I saw the other day with my folks -- it's one of the strangest yet most honest love stories I've seen in a very long time).

3. Remember my blog the other week about Head Automatica on The Tonight Show? Of course you do. Well, thanks to loyal blog reader Toya, I've been alerted to the clip's presence on the ol' interweb. The video is below; skip to roughly the five-minute mark to watch Daryl Palumbo's eyes bug out of his head. Hilarious stuff:

Hope all your holidays are going well. I stepped in a foot-deep puddle last night and now my only pair of shoes smell kind of like sewage. Anyone got a pair size 14 wides lying around their house? Lemme know!

(Coffee's for bloggers.)

2008-12-24T17:42:00.002-05:00

All right, the results are in: It was close, but Fall Out Boy won our clash of the titans with Folie A Deux debuting at No. 8 with 150,000 sold. The All-American Rejects' When The World Comes Down came in seven spots back at No. 15, with 112,000 units shifted. That means the winner of my "guess the winner" contest is...

beener48, who guessed FOB would debut at No. 1 (whoops!) with total sales of 148,000. His guess was the closest to 150k I received (the position number would've only been used for a tie breaker). beener48, send an email to editorial@altpress.com with the subject line "CONTEST WINNER" and include your full name, address and T-shirt size (also, tell me which shirt you want out of our store).

As for the rest of you, thanks for participating -- and I'm still shocked that no one picked AAR. This was actually a lot closer of a race than you think, especially when you figure that FOB's Infinity On High sold 260,000 copies its first week and AAR's Move Along did only 90,000 its first week. Looks like one band is on the rise and one's on the decline...

In other news, I called 911 for the first time last night -- I was driving from Cleveland to Chicago through an absolutely awful storm, and in my rear view mirror, I saw a semi truck jackknife into the grassy median, then flip over. It was super intense. I hope the driver is okay, and that his or her holiday season only improves from here.

If I could make you blog things.

2008-12-21T23:29:00.002-05:00

So I've been playing the Two Tongues record nonstop this past weekend, as I'm writing the review for an upcoming issue. The short version? This shit is totally, utterly awesome. If you don't know, Two Tongues are Chris Conley (vocals/guitar) and David Soloway (bass) from Saves The Day and Max Bemis (vocals/guitar) and Coby Linder (drums) from Say Anything, and their self-titled debut comes out Feb. 3, 2009, on Vagrant. It is a beast, let me just say that. Here's "Crawl," the first track off the disc:

Crawl - Two Tongues

There's another song off the record, "Wowee Zowee" (what's up, Pavement reference) on the band's MySpace page that I highly recommend, as well.

I really, really wish more bands would intermingle like this more frequently. Sure, it's cool to see the singer of one band walk onstage during another band's set to throw in some guest vocals here and there, but I'm talking about taking two songwriters from different bands, throwing them into a room and having them write brand new music together. Too many bands are content to write and record in their own little bubble (no offense to Cartel); I just wish they would venture out and explore the notion of songwriting with someone else. Who knows what kind of gold you could strike?

With as much as Kevin Devine tours with Brand New, why hasn't he written a collaborative record with Jesse Lacey yet? Or considering how many side bands Craig Owens has, would it be that much more of a stretch for him to sit down with Anthony Green and create something completely new? (The Sound Of Animals Fighting doesn't count.) I think I personally would love to see Ted Leo and Against Me!'s Tom Gabel sit down and write an album's worth of songs together (and maybe throw the Weakerthans' John K. Samson in there for good measure). Now it's your turn: What two contemporary songwriters would you love to see hook up and make a new band?