2009 Thrasher SOTY is.......

Weeeeerd!

Are they gonna be doing their taxies all night?!?

Thanks to my co-workers for finding this gem.

De De De De Da Da. Da Da De Da Da. Let's Go!

I must admit, when I first heard A Day To Remember's Victory debut, For Those Who Have Heart, back in '07 I didn't really give a skat. I wouldn't say they sucked, but for me I feel they just got lost in the over saturated pool of new pop-punk/hardcore fusion bands (ie. Set Your Goals, Daggermouth, Four Year Strong) that were popping up faster than Diglets in a brothel at the time. These Floridians also add an interesting twist to the sub-sub-genre by writing in Drop C,which means one minute you're tapping your toes to some pop-punk when all of a sudden you find yourself kicking in some craniums to Acacia Strain like breakdowns. Now I love pop-punk, and I love brutal mosh-parts, but combined does that yield a double gnar? As history taught us, and by history I mean that dumb-ass Michelle Tanner trying to combine Oreo Ice Cream and Olives, a lot of times the answer is no. However I think that these guys do it extremely well, and comes off very organic rather than forced.

Last February, after weeks of debate I decided to pick up their new album, Homesick. While not my favorite album of the year, I was pleasantly surprised and I find myself going back to it in my spurts of music A.D.D. What really makes it for me is the opening track, "The Downfall Of Us All." It's quite possibly the best song they've written and demonstrates the perfect blend of catchy hooks and melodies, with heavy grotesque sounding guitar tones. I get tickled in the kidneys when I hear the gang vox "da da de-ing" the main riff to kick off the song. Why the eff didn't I think of that??



Anyways, I felt like talking about an album that came out 9 months ago BECAUSE, they just released special edition with expanded artwork, bonus acoustic songs, and a DVD with a shit ton of footage (Making of, Music Videos, Live Concert, Tour Documentary). I hate that Victory almost ALWAYS re-releases albums, but at least this one has enough stuff to justify another purchase.

http://www.myspace.com/adaytoremember

Chris Cole at The Berrics

Just caught some recent footage of Chris Cole filmed at The Berrics, which is a private skatepark owned by pro skateboarders Eric Koston and Steve Berra. I must say, Chris Cole + Children Of Bodom just reeks of radness and tastes so delicious too.

Representin' the Philly homies...

AFI Live in Sayreville NJ 10/10/09

Thanks to Erin, I got a chance to see my second love, AFI, at the Starland Ballroom in north Jersey this past Saturday. We would've perfered to attend the Philly stop next month, however it's on a Thursday night, and I'd much rather enjoy my Davey Havok fix without having to worry about waking up at 4am for work the next morning. Despite the fact that the Ballroom was in the middle of North Bumble-fuck NJ, and gets uncomfortably packed with people who were morally opposed to showering, this was one of the best overall shows I've been to in awhile.

First of all, there was only one opener, Gallows, who I was just as excited to see after hearing tons of great reviews for the past year or so, and they definately set it off. This was perfect, as we didn't have to sit through a bunch of shitty openers and be tired by the time AFI came on. Plus, this gave more time for both sets to wow the pants off of me, while still providing that slight chance we may get out before 11. Man am I getting old.

As expected AFI was amazing, and proved once again why they are still one of my favorite live bands to see. The only downside to their set was that 2 live staple songs "Totalimmortal" and "God Called in Sick Today" were listed MIA. I was a little weary about it at first, but I'm going to let it slide just because everything else was perfect. Now for the radness, I've compiled a brief list because I'm too lazy to write more full sentences.

1. Davey Havok's SPARKLING suit
2. Lou Koller from Sick Of It All coming out for "Kill Caustic"
3. Didn't expect "Ever and a Day"
4. Cover of "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure
5. Hunter's bass and Jade's tie matching Davey's SPARKLING suit
6. Davey's dance moves are hypnotic
7. People still chanting "Through Our Bleeding We Are One"
8. Fat people still love AFI as much as they did in 2001
9. Jade's live guitar tone rules
10. "Silver and Cold" was an interesting choice for the ender



Setlist:
1. Torch Song
2. Girl’s Not Grey
3. The Leaving Song, Pt. II
4. Veronica Sawyer Smokes
5. Ever And A Day
6. Kill Caustic
7. End Transmission
8. Love Is A Many Splendored Thing
9. Beautiful Thieves
10. Dancing Through Sunday
11. The Leaving Song
12. On The Arrow
13. Death of Seasons
14. Medicate
15. Love Like Winter

Encore:
16. Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover)
17. Miss Murder
18. Silver and Cold

Best...Star Wars Costumes...Ever

Oh cripes a Ninja!

One Nine Nine Four Teaser

Does anyone know if this is still coming out Oct. 9th? Can't wait.

Speaking Of AFI...

Stumbled on this old video on the tube from the Black Sails in the Sunset release party back in 1999. Am I the only human that loved/remembers Davey Havok's mini-braids?




Nine years later, a solid cover of "Just Like Heaven" by the Cure.

AFI - Crash Love

I was lucky enough to get my pawz on the new AFI record, Crash Love, the other day (Did anyone else know that Hot Topic puts CDs out early?) and I gave it 2 days to sink into my veins. I've been an AFI fanboy for close to a decade now, so my opinion is fairly biased, but after a few spins around the block I can already rank it above Decemberunderground. While there are a handful of upbeat and somewhat "pretty" sounding songs, ie "Veronica Sawyer Smokes," a good chunk of the album has that glam-rocky feel that "Miss Murder" had. Just listen to "I'm Trying Very Hard to be Here" or the first single "Medicate" and tell me they don't make you want to strut down the street and slap the sweat off some joker's face who just doesn't quite understand why you are strutting down the street. Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think "Sacrilege" may be the first song they've blatantly written about religion since "Prayer Position."

While I know they'll probably never write another Black Sails in the Sunset (personal fave), I'm totally down with their desire to challenge themselves as musicians and explore the realms of songwriting. At this point fan backlash is almost a given when AFI does something new. They got shit for Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes in '97 (too heavy), Black Sails in the Sunset in '99(too Goth), Art of Drowning in 2000 (still Goth), Sing The Sorrow in '03 (too Mainstream), and Decemberunderground in '06 (too WTF?). It's funny because the same people twisting their testes for changing their sound, are the same people saying stuff like "Oh Pennywise has put out the same record for 15 years...BORING!" Unbelievable. I guess you just can't win.

In any case, Crash Love, will be playing on my iPod for a few weeks and yes, I'm going out tomorrow to get the "Deluxe Edition" AND I will be getting it on vinyl as well when I see it. Can't wait to see them at the Starland Ballroom in a few weeks. Woot Woot!

Apparently there is a new Hatebreed record coming out tomorrow too. The songs I heard on their MySpace page sound BRUTAL. Gotta get that too.

Cheers!

Teenage BottleRocket - "Skate Or Die"

Here's Teenage BottleRocket's video for "Skate or Die" off of their new record, They Came From the Shadows. These guys keep crankin' out quality Ramones inspired tunes, and are gonna make you love REAL Pop-Punk again. Well them and these guys. Enjoy!

New 64GB iPod Touch

After the 120GB classic I got last Christmas was decommissioned this summer(Apparently they don't like multiple belly flops onto asphalt), I found myself doing some painful soul searching. Do I stick with what works and go with another classic, or dare I try the fancy pants Touch going for a whopping wallet pounding 400 bones. I love the large capacity of the classic, but the multi-touch screen, WiFi, external speakers, voice control, and the option to download"apps" just sound simply delicious. Apple ended up giving the camera to the Nano this year which is a bummer, but I'll let it slide.


Needless to say I ended up purchasing the new 3rd gen Touch yesterday, despite having to swim through a sea of lamewads and dingleberries that swarmed the Apple Store first. I'm still discovering all of the little intricacies to it, and trying not to drive into a pole while changing tunes in my car, but I'm loving it and I'm suffering no buyer's remorse.

For more info on Touch, visit apple.com, obviously.

New Blog for Eric

I've decided to give the blogging another go, despite my failed attempts in the past. In other words I can't remember passwords or usernames to get into them. I think I'm gonna use this one for randomness, things I like at the moment, pics, whatever. Hopefully I'll stay up to date with this.

Love um!