So dudes/dudettes. There’s a chance I won’t be able to post at all next week (very high actually), but I will be back soon. To tide you all over, here’s some last of the summer jaaaams.
MP3:
The Vapids – Monkey Beach
Bouncing Souls – Shark Attack
The Boils – Skinhead Reggae Beach Stomp
Subb – LA Beach Bum
Mustard Plug – Summertime
Atom and His Package – Mission #1: Avoid Job Working With Assholes
Bomb The Music Industry – Jobs Schmobs
Chixdiggit – Quit Your Job
Buy:
Interpunk
If there is one staple band in punk rock, it probably would have to be NOFX. Actively playing music since 1983, NOFX has released a shit ton of albums and EPs over the years. How’s a NOFX fan supposed to keep up? Finally, the band recently released “The Longest EP” (a play on one of their earlier EPs, The Longest Line), which is a compilation of 30 songs that were found on EPs, compilations, and a few previously unreleased tracks.
Musically, you guys should know what to expect: melodic California skate punk rock. So instead of going over the style of music, I’ll just tell you what exactly is on here.
Songs from:
- The Longest Line EP
- 2 unreleased outtakes from the Fuck The Kids EP
-Bottles To The Ground EP
-Regaining Unconsciousness EP
-13 Stitches EP
-Rock Against Bush Volume 1
-Take Action Volume 4
-Never Trust A Hippie
-Coaster Vinyl Bonus Track
-Cokie The Clown EP
-NOFX / Drowning Rose Split
-The PMRC Can Suck On This
Yeah, that’s a lot of shit. If you’re a die hard fan and already have most of this, then you can skip it without really missing much, but if you’re not fanatical enough to collect all of NOFX’s stuff, then this is a good album to have to help round the collection.
More:
NOFX – Coaster
NOFX – So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes
NOFX – War On Errorism
NOFX – Pump Up The Valuum
Buy:
Fat Wreck
When I first read about Hostage Calm being compared to The Smiths or Pavement, I almost shrugged them off as “typical hipster bullshit” that I don’t like, with the added weight that they used to play hardcore. Usually would just ignore… but I decided to give their newest Self Titled album a listen, and let me tell you, it’s a lot tighter than I would expect.
Originally, with their first release “Lens”, the band played more melodic hardcore (and to be honest, I personally like the first album a lot better), but their Self Titled takes a much different turn. Focusing more on experimenting, the band incorporates latin beats, keyboards, slows the music down, and almost completely abandons their old hardcore roots. Obviously, this may piss off older fans, but take the album for what it is.
The band remains political and poignant, with songs such as Ballots/Stones, War On A Feeling, and Rebel Fatigue, while the music remains melodic (albeit poppy now).
While I’m disappointed that the band abandoned their roots, Hostage Calm’s Self Titled is worth taking a listen if you need some slower, easy listening music to put on in the background. Not my favorite album in the world, but I feel like this one might be a grower.
MP3:
Hostage Calm – A Mistrust Earned
More:
Over Stars and Gutters
Smoke or Fire – This Sinking Ship
Friends of Friends
I must say, I love Hate5six. This guy goes to a crapload of hardcore shows, and films in high quality, the entire set. Here are some of the sets I saw from This Is Hardcore (most importantly, Kid Dynamite!!!). Seriously, if you don’t care about the show, just watch the 1st minute of Kid Dynamite’s set to get an idea of the insanity. I’m in there somewhere.
Hands Tied
Hands Tied (Full Set) from hate5six productions on Vimeo.
Kid Dynamite
Kid Dynamite (Full Set) from hate5six productions on Vimeo.
More:
This Is Hardcore 2010
This Is Hardcore 2009
Kid Dynamite, And The Art Of Moshing Everywhere
Some days, you wake up and completely hate everything. When this happens, you need some brutal hardcore, and Some Girls fills that void. Although this California band broke up years ago, their 2nd EP “The DNA Will Have It’s Say” still often dominates my headphones.
Vocalist Wes (from Give Up The Ghost and Locust fame) is a madman on the microphone, and the music often flirts with grindcore (or more accurate, the music is grindcore and often flirts with hardcore).
Bringing in guest vocalist Karen from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs (ummm… what?) for the title track, Some Girls is a band that no hardcore fan should overlook.
MP3:
Some Girls – The DNA Will Have It’s Say
More:
Phobia – Cruel
Give Up The Ghost – Year One
Buy:
Interpunk
Words cannot express how stoked I have been over the past few months to know that I would finally get a chance to see Kid Dynamite. I’ve been waiting a long 8 years for this moment, and finally… at This Is Hardcore, I was going to see them. They were the only reason I went to the show (although I showed up earlier to catch a few of the other bands).
Ruiner:
When I got there, Ruiner was a few songs in, but I got to see the majority of their set still. I’ve seen Baltimore’s Ruiner open for Strike Anywhere before, and was impressed with them, even though not overly familiar with the music. Again, they put on a solid set, which had a bunch of kids doing that dojo abomination more commonly known as hardcore dancing.
Regardless, they played some solid hardcore in the veins of Hope Conspiracy. Tight.
Hands Tied:
Old school youth crew hardcore! I have only one EP by these guys, so I’m not overly familiar, but they were really the only old school hardcore band I saw on the set. Hands Tied plays hardcore similar to other youth crew bands such as Youth of Today or Gorilla Biscuits. The crowd was relatively calmer for them, and it seemed like they were playing a bit sloppily. Still, always appreciate some old school hardcore on a set, and they said that this wasn’t a reunion show, but that they were reuniting completely.
At this point I left to go grab some food, and returned in time for Pulling Teeth’s set.
Pulling Teeth:
Thrashier hardcore, these guys put on an energetic set, albeit criticizing the other bands for not using their microphone to talk about anything important (before hand while I was at lunch apparently, there was a bro-core band talking about how important it was to work out every day and eat lot’s of chipotle).
Pulling Teeth were tight, but by this point, I was really itching to see Kid Dynamite. Probably will check out Pulling Teeth’s recorded stuff however.
Wisdom In Chains:
Pennsylvania’s bro-core heroes apparently. These guys actually put on a decent set, as I was pleasantly surprised at last year’s This Is Hardcore as well. Sure, all of the fans are your stereotypical hardcore bros, but I’m always surprised by how much straight up punk influences the band has in it’s songs… And “Fighting In The Streets” is just straight up tiiiiight.
Grey Area:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlGjIgrTWLI?fs=1]
Holy shit! Surprise Grey Area set! Coming on stage saying “Well, we heard Kid Dynamite was playing this show, so we felt bad because, what’s a Kid Dynamite show without Grey Area opening?” Daaaamn straight, and I tried to stay on top of the crowd for a decent amount of their set. Unfortunately, they played a short set, but since Kid Dynamite was up next, it was hard to be pissed.
Setlist:
Reminder
Take My Chances
Colossus
Better Man
Before Me
Kid Dynamite:
At this point, I was so ridiculously nervous… I’ve been waiting years, thinking I would never see one of my favorite bands, I get chills just thinking about it… Yeah go ahead, make fun of me, but I was beyond stoked.
I can get into all the details of the show (frenzied, stage dives, pile ons, amazing), but I think you should just watch these videos instead:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn9LN3VRhVI?fs=1]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7ZrS2jBL9A?fs=1]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auuIJf9RR7s?fs=1]
Setlist:
two for flinching
heart a tact
pause
k05-0564
living daylights
bookworm
copout
cheap shot youth anthem
table 19
news at 11
got a minute?
never met the gooch
ph decontrol
pacifier
sos
fuckuturn
pits and poisoned apples
death and taxes
scary smurf
showoff
give em the ripped one
shiner
I feel kind of bad for Joe Hardcore, because after having Kid Dynamite play, there’s no way he’ll ever be able to top this year’s lineup.
MP3:
Kid Dynamite – Heart A Tact
Kid Dynamite – Cheap Shot, Youth Anthem
More:
This Is Hardcore 2009
Kid Dynamite, And The Art Of Moshing Everywhere
Buy:
Jade Tree
Anytime somebody tells one of my friends that they listen to everything, she always responds back with “oh yeah? Everything? Do you like crust?” Probably being one of her only friends who actually DOES like crust (although I will admit, I don’t listen to everything…) I got to say, I’ve been listening to Phobia’s 2006 release “Cruel” quite a bit lately, because fucking hell it’s good.
Phobia’s Cruel is straight meditation music, specifically if when meditating you like to smash a brick in your face about 50 times (hey, it’s therapeutic, we don’t judge here.) The music itself is unrelenting crust grindcore that doesn’t let up for a minute.
If you dig this type of shit, this cream of the crop right here.
Fun fact: I thought I had my headphones in, but apparently I just played Phobia for my entire office, on full blast.
MP3:
Phobia – Loud Proud and Punk as Fuck
More:
Phobia – Means of Existence
Swallowing Shit
Disfear – Live The Storm
Toxic Narcotic
Buy:
Willowtip
Hey you fucking shoobies, listen up! Summer is almost over here in the Northeast (and screw you lucky bastards who have warm weather year round), so you better go make some final trips to the beach before mother nature goes all Jack Frost on your ass.
While you’re down catching some rays, you’re gonna want some kickass music to listen to (not that pop shit they blast every time I head to the Jersey shore), so you might want to check out surf punk band Dry Feet’s debut album, “Philadelphia Beach”.
Fronted by hardcore band Lighten Up’s singer Perry, if I could describe “Philadelphia Beach” in two words, it would be raaaadical dude. Featuring 8 songs, with about half of them being instrumental jams, and the others being some sick surf punk tunes.
But alas, just like the summer, Dry Feet’s Philadelphia Beach will be over before you know it, with those 8 songs totaling about 12 minutes. Check it out you damn bennys.
More:
Lighten Up – Absolutely Not
Buy:
Dry Feet
There’s certainly something about Dillinger Four that seems to be universal. Kind of like The Bouncing Souls, I’ve never come across anyone who didn’t love these Minneapolis punks (and if not love, at the very least dig them).
Most people are familiar with all of their four studio albums (four albums since 1998? C’mon dudes…) but many are unfamiliar with their EPs that they released way before they ever released their debut LP “Midwestern Songs Of The Americas”.
D4′s 1997 “More Songs About Girlfriends and Bubblegum” is a solid, four song EP that is classic Dillinger Four. While not as polished as any of their studio albums, musically the album is full of the infectious hooks and choruses that D4 is famous for.
Definitely take a listen if you’re a Dillinger Four fan. The EP itself is out of print, so if you can find a copy on ebay or something, definitely grab it, it’s worth it.
MP3:
Dillinger Four – Thanks For Nothing
More:
Dillinger Four – Situationist Comedy
Dillinger Four – Civil War
Off With Their Heads – In Desolation
Buy:
Out of print dudes.
So, in case you didn’t hear the news, Prop 8 in California (the law that made it illegal for homosexuals to marry) was defeated in court yesterday, on the basis of “that shit’s fucked up!” (this may or may not be an exact quote from the judge).
Seriously, the fact that gay marriage is actually an issue in our country today is fucking ridiculous, and this is a huge win for the gay rights movement, and anyone who gives a shit about civil liberties at all (and if you’re listening to punk, I’m assuming you do).
So in conclusion, EAT IT homophobes.
