2010: the year in music.

Forward

going into the year, it wasn't set up to be the power-house of releases that '09 was, but it turned out to be pretty good. i did a lot of back-tracking with music, and didn't listen to as many of oh'10's offerings as i would have liked to, but i definitely got in to some of the stuff i heard. there's a lot of shows i wish i had made it to, but some of the ones i did hit were the times of my life. next week's weather put out a new demo set (http://www.mediafire.com/?6v7y91jcq01we6y) and oh'10 was a musical success.

Shows
-big d and the kids table -- suny fredonia
-manchester orchestra -- kool haus
-big d and the kids table -- kool haus
-brand new -- suny fredonia
-warped tour -- awk, alk3, bouncing souls, every time i die, the casualties, sum 41, reel big fish (kinda), motion city soundtrack
-brad paisley, justin moore, darius rucker -- darien lake
-weezer -- CMAC
-green day -- darien lake
-the river city rebels -- club diablo

Shows I Regret Missing
-alkaline trio -- toronto
-against me! -- town ballroom
-brad paisley -- rochester - h20 iced over tour
-weezer -- memories tour
-all of reel big fish's warped set


Albums
-alkaline trio -- this addiction
-against me! -- white crosses
-bad books -- bad books
-big d and the kids table -- 2 songs/1 download digital ep
-bouncing souls -- ghosts on the boardwalk
-brad paisley -- hits alive
-darius rucker -- charleston, sc, 1966
-eminem -- recovery
-kevin devine -- she stayed as steam ep
-mad caddies -- consensual selections
-matt skiba -- demos
-manchester orchestra/kevin devine -- i could be the only one
-motion city soundtrack -- my dinosaur life
-mumford and sons -- sigh no more
-nofx -- the longest ep
-superchunk -- majesty shredding
-weezer -- hurley
-weezer -- death to false metal
-weezer -- pinkerton (deluxe edition)

A "Top 10" of the Year

10. eminem -- recovery
9. mumford & sons -- sigh no more
8. darius rucker -- charleston, sc, 1966
7. superchunk -- majesty shredding
6. brad paisley -- hits alive
5. bad books -- bad books
4. alkaline trio -- this addiction
3. weezer -- hurley
2. against me! -- white crosses
1. weezer -- pinkerton (deluxe edition)*
1. motion city soundtrack -- my dinosaur life

* it's hard to include this in a list of top 10's seeing as it is a reissue, but it's one of the best albums of all time, so it deserves an asterisk

10. eminem -- recovery

i've always had a soft spot for eminem. maybe it's because he's white. or maybe the real reason is because he's had a history of singing about real issues, not just the typical rap about partying and drugs and girls. so it's no surprise i stopped listening to him when that's what his music deteriorated into and it's no surprise i decided to check out his "return to form" record. it's pretty good. the singles are good and some of the other tracks are excellent. i love the intro to this album. however, some of the songs and some of the rhymes are corny as hell. he occasionally ends up trying too hard and i really cringe at how goofy some of it ends up.

9. mumford & sons -- sigh no more

came out in the uk in '09, but didn't arrive in the states until early oh'10. this album is a very fun listen. a lot of highs and lows, some good emotion and some solid depth. i've heard them compared to noah and the whale, and that comparison is downright wrong, they're too different. but seeing "little lion man" live on letterman was solid. that song itself is so powerful, easily one of my favorites of the year.

8. darius rucker -- charleston, sc, 1966

i hadn't heard much of darius rucker's solo stuff besides the big singles before i saw him on the H2O tour with brad, and even then i enjoyed him but didn't look into him. it took "come back song" to really take him serious. this is a good record. unfortunately, there are a few sleeper songs in the middle, but it starts off great and ends decently. "southern state of mind" is a great highlight, as is "i don't care" featuring brad. a song with paisley is so easily distinguishable right from the get-go. he has such a strong style to his guitar playing and he's so good at it.

7. superchunk -- majesty shredding

it took me a while to get into this record. i actually had to force myself to sit down and listen to it with headphones to finally get into it. but when i did, boy did i. this album rocks. it really does. the opening track is one of my favorite songs in their discovery. great, great album.

6. brad paisley -- hits alive

so much more than a greatest hits album. i was wrong last year when i said american saturday night was a let-down album. it really grew on me. and seeing him live really made me fall even harder for his music. and that's what makes hits alive so good, it's also a live album. brad himself is a terrific guitarist, and the rest of the "drama kings" can all play their asses off as well. incredibly talented, easily my favorite country artist/band out there right now.

5. bad books -- bad books

not exactly what i expected from kevin devine and manchester orchestra, but not a disappointment. at first i didn't like the single (you wouldn't have to ask), but like the rest of the album, it really grew on me. a lot of great tracks, but a few sleepers. "holding down the laughter" is such a fucking song.

4. alkaline trio -- this addiction

every alkaline trio has the potential that this album has. unfortunately for the past few albums, it doesn't quiet live up to that potential. yeah, this album has just as much filler as the last few, but the difference is the filler is much more memorable. i've always loved the trio but this is the first album of theirs i can listen to all the way through without getting bored of in a while. only downside, not enough dan. but "fine" is one of the best tracks he's ever penned.

3. weezer -- hurley

with a little more time spent on this album, i think it could have cracked the top 3 weezer albums of all time. unfortunately, it fades in and out and cuts abruptly in some weird ways. but, all the songs are excellent. i'm one of the few who has never hated a weezer release, i like them all, and hurley is no exception. the problem though, like with most weezer albums (but this more than others) is that it's too much of a collection of songs and not so much an album. the bridge of "where's my sex?" is one of the coolest weezer moments in a long time.

2. against me! -- white crosses

i need to apologize. i gave this album an AWFUL review when it came out and i thought it was complete trash. but i had the wrong opinion going into it. i was hoping for a thrash punk/folk punk record to blow my ears out. instead i got a much poppier sound than i was expecting and it really made me cringe at first. after lightening up and realizing how much i can appreciate a good pop rock song later in the year, i realized this album does a lot of great things. the bad songs are still bad, but the good and okay songs on it are actually really great. "because of the shame" and "bamboo bones" are excellent tracks, and the b-side "lehigh acres" is awesome. with them finally leaving sire, i still have a lot of hope for this band and can't wait to see them in february with dropkick

1. motion city soundtrack -- my dinosaur life

i liked these guys when they first came out. i was in my pop-punk stage and i thought "the future freaks me out" was a blast. so i sat in for their set at warped tour this year and i really enjoyed it. even the songs i didn't know, i could get in to. so i come home and i download my dinosaur life. and i'm blown away. this album is fucking phenomenal. from the uplifting "worker bee" to the darker "the weakends," this album is great all the way through. it carries so many great emotions and ideas. "pulp fiction" and "@!#?@!" are perfect geek-rock numbers and "stand too close" is the story of my relationship life, every girl i've ever been involved with can attest to that if they hear the song. justin pierre's vocals are awesome. really, i could talk about how much i love every track on this album for different reasons but i'll spare everyone the time. the only song i don't absolutely love is "history lesson," but hey, not many albums are perfect.

*pinkerton.

i can talk about this album for days and how much it means to me. it's perfect. everything about it. matt sharp is the man, rivers cuomo was out of his mind, pat wilson is from buffalo, there isn't a bad thing i can say about those 4 guys circa 1996 except maybe rivers being a control freak, but even so, without that, this masterpiece wouldn't have come to be. this album is so important, i'm willing to say there never would have even been a "my dinosaur life." matt sharp is the reason for motion city soundtrack, in my opinion (take pinkerton, the blue album, and return of the rentals, mix them together and through them into the 2000's and you have motion city soundtrack). the acoustic tracks are such a bonus, and the b-sides that were originally songs from the black hole tracks are awesome. "long time sunshine" is a masterpiece and how it took 14 years for this song to get an official weezer release is mind-boggling.

Let Down of the Year

-big d and the kids table -- 2 songs/1 download
coming off such a promising and creative album like fluent in stroll, these 2 songs are let downs. the first, "lash out" doesn't have enough low end, and no horns. it's a bummer. not our fault is pretty decent though. the problem i have is that i think this band is sacrificing creativity to please their fans. now, you want to please your fans, but at what expense? you shouldn't hamper yourself by it. but we'll see how the new album turns out. i love these guys too much to criticize too much.

-weezer -- death to false metal
very "eh." it's nothing special really, there's a few good tracks but most of it is so forgettable. rivers cuomo has such a back-catalog of songs, i figured this would be a lot better than it turned out to be. nice to see "turning up the radio" getting to see the light of day though, such a novel idea.

Thoughts on the Rest

-bouncing souls -- ghosts on the boardwalk
i purchased all the 7"s back in '09, so the music wasn't new to me. decent group of tracks but nowhere near the souls at their finest.

-kevin devine -- she stayes as steam ep
there isn't much kevin devine has done that i don't like (besides smoking cigs), and this ep is no exception. both tracks are excellent, and the two live tracks are excellent. ballgame was always one of his bests, no matter if it is "that song" in his discography, and "chelsea hotel no. 2" is a great track and he does it justice just fine.

-mad caddies -- consensual selections
i love the mad caddies. i can't deny it. such a unique take on ska, and man can their horns play. this is a good collection for sure, a lot of great tracks. love their more jazzy menacing side and there's a lot of it here. but some of their best punk tracks are missing for sure....ahem...macho nachos?!

-matt skiba -- demos
pretty much exactly what i expected. very low-fi, occasional sleeper songs (like a lot of alkaline trio recently) and some spectacular tracks. didn't wow me, but didn't disappoint me either.

-manchester orchestra/kevin devine -- i could be the only one ep
both songs were great on their respective albums, and both bands do the songs justice covering them. i've heard some negative reviews, but i definitely enjoy both the original and cover versions of each song.

-nofx -- the longest ep
great collection. their discography is so massive at this point, it's tough to get ahold of everything, and this ep has some great stuff on it for sure. nofx has been pretty consistant over the years, and this ep is a perfect example. the highs are never out of this world, and the lows are never so low you want to tune them out. they're always at a good level of consistency.

Best of Shows

i didn't go to anywhere near as many shows as i did last year. kind of a bummer. the ones i missed, i reallllly wanted to go, but scheduling problems and lack of money caused me to miss some. but some of the ones i went to were all time.

big d opened the year with one of the most fun shows i had ever been a part of at fredonia. the show was an embarrassment to the SUNY fredonia campus. they couldn't handle it. the audio guys were awful, the local bands who opened were jokes, and the school was not ready for the atmosphere that comes with big d. they tried to shut the show down and big d wouldn't have it. they played till the school cut the power. it was just a big fucking party and it was a testament to everything that is big d and the kids table. it was a free show, it was the band being close to the fans, and it was the band not letting anybody in the room down.

my second time seeing manchester orchestra at the kool haus was just as good, maybe better than the first. hearing colly strings live was a really touching musical moment for me as that song means so much to me. second time they played the venue, and the second time andy played "holland 1945" there. i don't know if it's tradition to them, but to me it is. every time they've played western new york, that song has been played.

i headed back to the kool haus a few weeks later for the best show of my life with big d. i wrote a big bit about it chronicling how awesome it was to hang out with the band after, and it really was just a friggin spectacular night. one i won't forget any time soon.

heading back to fredonia, not happy with how they handled the last show or how the ticket distribution was for this show either. brand new let down. i'm sorry, they did. they've been one of my favorite bands for years, but they played the shortest set i've ever seen and it was very medio-core. 15 songs in just over an hour, when they had over 2 and a half available hours (according to the schedule) and they used to easily fill 2 hours. left me wanting more.

warped tour was great. finally seeing alkaline trio was awesome. i dressed up as andrew wk and partied hard, motion city was solid, and it was the best time i had seen the bouncing souls by far. sum 41 are washed up. they were a joke. sorry if you think otherwise. unfortunately, i missed almost all of reel big fish's set, but i heard them from the parking lot and caught the last song (of course, "take on me")

brad paisley was excellent. unfortunately i drank way too much at this show, so some of the details are clouded, but boy can he play, and he played long. great songs, great show. "alcohol" became the theme of the summer of oh'10.

weezer don't disappoint live. seeing "el scorcho" live was a dream come true of sorts. they were great. they really were. never enough pinkerton, obviously, but still great.

i won the tickets to the green day show from 103.3: the edge. i was on the fence about going because of financial reasons, so getting front row pit tix for free was awesome. green day are the e street band of this generation. they played a marathon set and it was sonically perfect. they can play their balls off live and the show was great.

and last but not least, river city rebels rock.


Looking Ahead

a lot of good stuff coming up. the new noah and the whale track "wild thing" is very interesting and a huge departure for them. their new album is my most anticipated by a mile as their first two are easily two of the best things i've ever heard. new big d will be equally interesting to hear. also, new blink, foo, akron/family, manchester orchestra, and possibly brand new leave a lot to look forward to. i can't wait. it's been a good year, a good new beginning.


thanks
jc.

black friday: target 2010. and the holiday season.

i made a personal goal to make this holiday season the best it could possibly be. usually around this time i'm troubled by my own personal issues but this year a lot is going on around me with the people i care about. so, with the holidays being about family and the gift of giving and good will towards men, and everything else, i made a personal decision to put forth the effort to be as good of a person as i can be to those around me this holiday season. but, so many things trouble me about the holidays.

for those who have known me for a length of time, they know how frustrated i am with the commercialization of christmas, specifically how much longer the christmas season gets each year. i wait til thanksgiving to even think about starting to celebrate christmas, and that's a personal choice. if you chose to do something different, then fine. but all you're doing is buying into the commercialization of what used to be one of the most ethical holidays of the year. need proof of this? look no further than "black friday"

now, if you remember, 2 years back, 3 people died on black friday. a salesmen was trampled at wal-mart, and two men shot each other in a toys-r-us. fucking awful. disgusting. where is the holiday spirit in any of this? what gift and what reaction upon it being open, is worth taking the life of someone? it's selfish and disgusting.

so i was happy looking over the news last year and seeing no such incidents of major violence. but this year, in buffalo, ny, the place i call home, this disgusting behavior reared it's ugly head again. three times, all at target.

the one that attracted all the major news headlines is a store that is but five minutes from my house, and the employer of a girl i really care about. she was there, saw it happen, the whole nine yards; hell, there's even footage of it. so the doors open, a guy in a stupid yellow rain coat sprints in. a bunch of others start to run in, a guy trips and falls and starts to get trampled. instead of people stopping to help him out, they barge their way past him and cheer on their way to their beloved sales. the reactions are truly disgusting, these people did not care one bit how they were treating this guy. the guy survived and is okay, but he has said in interviews that he was fearing for his life. what the hell? what is so "christmas" about that?

another target, in the southtowns, had a registered sex offender flashing customers who bought the last of the televisions he was trying to get his hands on. are you serious? that same store, there were reports of a guy having four extras of these televisions and trying to sell them for $40 more than the list price. again, where the fuck is the christmas spirit? there is no good will towards men here, this is pure selfishness.

and then finally, at the niagra falls target, a woman had a seizure. yep, a seizure. and instead of customers helping her, EMT's reported that customers were pushing her out of the way and grabbing items around her.

people need to get the fuck over themselves, over their selfish desires, and realize there's more to life than their own bullshit agenda. good will toward men. where is it? please, show me where it is.

everyone needs to take some time to reflect this holiday season and realize what is truly important to them. and i gurantee you what's truly important in life is NOT a good deal on a television set at the expense of the health of others. these people have families too. please, let's get ahold of ourselves and figure out what christmas is really about again.

thanks.

currently listening: vince guaraldio trio -- a charlie brown christmas

and of course "baby, it's cold outside" (if you read this, you know who you are, i'm still waiting to watch "elf" with you)

thanksgiving: an honest cliche, all arrogance aside

i've always been one to say thanksgiving was my favorite holiday, and for good reason. it isn't commercialized to the extent of other holidays, it's maintained it's moral values, it brings family together, allows me to eat great food (although i never eat as much as i plan to), and most of all, it is founded on a great principal. now yes, if you look back, the stuff you're taught in grade school is bull shit, about the pilgrims and indians and everyone getting along....okay, the story got a little twisted, but that's fine. the fact of the matter remains, thanksgiving is about being content with what you have, being thankful for the good fortune you have, and to reflect on just how well off a lot of us over in america really are.

so, what am i thankful for? i can say i'm thankful for a lot this year. it's been a good year for me really. it got off to a bad start and the past little while has been iffy, but the majority of my year has been amazing. for the first time in a long time i can say i'm thankful for both my dad and especially my mom. my dad has become somebody i actually enjoy spending time with again, and without his financial support i'd probably be screwed by now. my mom, if i wrote about all the things i'm thankful for with her, i'd be here for days. she's amazing and i love her to death and want nothing but the best for her, regardless of what's happening now.

i'm thankful for how lucky i've been with school. i'm going to make it out of school with both a coaching and teaching degree and i have hardly done any work to acquire these things. i've gotten by on just my natural talents and help from some great people in my life. i'm thankful for my athletics. i love my rugby team and i am so happy to have found a position coaching wrestling, it's great to have it back in my life.

but above all, i am eternally grateful to the people in my life who have ever cared about me enough to make me aware of it. there's times i'm a miserable prat and hate everything and times i feel terribly alone, but there's a good handful of people, some i've known for years and some i've known only for a couple months, who have gone out of their way to be there for me, and without them, i don't know where i would be.

so thanks everyone, happy thanksgiving, and yeah, now it's okay to start celebrating christmas.

currently listening to: brad paisley -- american saturday night

brand new -- the devil and god are raging inside me

mad caddies -- songs in the key of eh

halloween: the most wholesome holiday in the american calendar?

i think so.

i mean, i think so at the family level. as pleasing to the eyes as it may be, i hate girls at an adult level using halloween as an excuse to dress up like a total whore. i feel it's demeaning and rather two-faced. but that's a completely different issue, this is supposed to be an uplifting piece.

now let us look at the holiday as a whole. it's supposed to be this scary day that celebrates death, gore, and all kinds of disgusting things.

also, as much as i hate to admit it, but "it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown" is probably one of the more depressing peanuts specials i've ever seen. it doesn't end well at all. linus and charlie just admitting defeat as the credits role? come on schultz, that was crap.

but behind all this depressing and dark imagery is a lot of great things. first of all, it's not all scary costumes. you see little kids becoming their idol for the day, whether it be an athlete, a superhero, or even an animal (my mom's 5 year old neighbor was rocking a sick dinosaur costume, heather wheeler would have been jealous). it's a great bit of imagination and optimism presented to the kids.

and it's not overly marketed!

hell, considering how over-marketed christmas has become (there's been a full christmas section at home depot for a month now), halloween almost slips right through the cracks. sure there are your attractions; there's your haunted houses, and candy displays. also, there's your partycity's who have great buisness for a couple weeks (even though the only song they ever seem to play on their PA is michael jackson's "thriller"). but i like that it's maintained a semi-grass-roots holiday. it isn't shoved in your face like christmas is.

but still, why is it the most wholesome holiday in the calendar? you might be thinking "what about thanksgiving?" hell, thanksgiving is great on a family level, but halloween transcends the family level by a mile. kids are encouraged to walk from house to house, yeah, STRANGERS houses, and ask for candy. and people openly give the kids free food. now you're always taught when you're younger "oh check the candy for glass or poison or nuclear warheads" but come on, that doesn't happen anywhere near as much as it's warned. halloween encourages goodwill towards the fellow man, something christmas used to encourage. it encourages togetherness, discourages selfishness, and allows for kids to have the time of their life if they so choose to, once a year.

and that is why halloween is the most wholesome holiday in the american calendar, charlie brown.

bring on the christmas music.

currently listening to:

motion city soundtrack -- my dinosaur life

brad paisley -- american saturday night

bad books -- bad books

noah and the whale -- first days of spring

jackass.

something i waited a very long time for, something that's stayed a part of my life sense jr high, something that consistently brings a smile to my face....

"hi, i'm johnny knoxville! welcome to jackass!"



the whole concept behind that opening line alone has an element of hilarity. it's almost a formal invitation to some of the most nonsensical crap you will ever witness.

so here we are, jackass 3d, the third film installment, possibly capping off 10 years of antics, a tv show, numerous spin offs, cky, don't try this at home, 2.5, the list goes on and on. i still remember where i was the first time i saw the first movie, and i remember the night number 2 came out and who i was with. i remember sitting in one of the front rows of the theater, and i remember not being able to stop laughing for the majority of the movie. it truly was one of the funniest things i had ever seen.

so as i combed the internet for details of jackass 3 from the moment it was confirmed, i couldn't help but hold the group to outrageously high expectations. sure, i wasn't too happy about the jackassworld website shutting down, and i was definitely disappointed about the 3d announcement because i believed the whole concept of 3d was gimmicky; but nevertheless, i was excited. and as i pounded my last miller high life before walking into the theater with my 3d glasses on, i was excited.

but, hmm...

the absolute most epic thing the jackass guys had ever done came to the tune of carl orff's "o fortuna" with epic smoke machines, slow motion, and a giant shopping cart. number 2 folllowed it up as best as it could with "the ecstasy of gold," so, now, with the prospect of 3d, what amazing intro was up next?

let down.

where was it? yeah, it was funny, but it bucked tradition and i didn't care for the results. it just seemed way too "yeah, we're using 3d now, so we're gonna showcase the hell out of it, disregarding the artistic integrity that came with the first 2 intros." whatever, i still laughed.

the next hour and a half had me bursting with mixed feelings. was this movie good? oh absolutely. i laughed my ass off numerous times. but was it a nonstop laugh like number 2? not so much. there were times where they seemed to be trying too hard to show growth. there were cameos that seemed forced, with the nitro circus guys, the dudesons, and all the other dickhouse productions. it just seemed unnecessary. again, very "look how far we've come."

there were also times where it was the exact opposite. while the first two movies were chocked full of bits that were obviously written and edited to be movie quality, there were some bits that seemed to call back to the days of the tv show. back when bits would be full of people just dicking around in front of a camera till, in the words of knoxville "i think we got it." now don't get me wrong, some of these bits were hilarious. the jet engine bit was a perfect example. i thought it was going to suck based off of the preview, but they made it hilarious. still, something just seemed out of place about it in a major motion picture.

but still, there were so many pros to this movie. some of the slow motion footage was incredible. it didn't necessarily induce gut-wrenching laughter, but was visually hilarious. some of the cameos that went unnoticed were great, with eric koston and tony hawk sneaking on screen for a bit, eddie barbanell, and of course, my personal favorites, the guys from weezer.

a popular concept for this movie was taking old bits and making them "better." sometimes it worked wonders, other times, they could have done so much more. one of my all time favorite bits was ryan dunn's "snake river launch" but the "snake river redemption" just didn't seem to live up to the name. yeah, he busted his ass, but part of what was so good about the original bit were all the antics surrounding the actual jump. while on the topic of that bit, by the way, where the hell was brandon dicamillo? not a single cameo. but i digress, one of the best bits of the movie, and one of the few points where 3d really shined, was the call back to the poo cocktail. absolutely hilarious and absolutely disgusting, perfect jackass combo. and it was great to see steve-o get the closing bit. one of the best parts of the movie, at least for me, was seeing how healthy he looked.

all in all, the movie definitely struck gold a few times. all the april and phil bits were spectacular. phil's total lack of caring has made him grow ever more hilarious to me. dave england is still my favorite cast member and pontius continues to offer hilarious one-liners. bam margera having one of the funniest bits of the movie was a shocker, although it was completely at his expense and to the pleasure of a bunch of snakes. but still, i kept thinking to myself at different parts in the movie "come on, get better!" i was just expecting an out-doing of jackass number 2, and what i got was simply another out-doing of jackass number 1. redoing the tooth pull with danger ehren was unnecessary considering the footage already exists with don vito. and i don't really know how much 3d added to most of the movie, some shots looked great, others didn't really do much for me.

i can't talk too much shit on this movie cause it really was hilarious, it just wasn't another step up collectively. it definitely had it's faults and let-downs because of what the first 2 movies brought to the table, but there were absolutely some great new things to add to the mix. with the weezer track and the call-back to the early days in the credits, i can't help but think that this will be the last horah from a motion picture standpoint (although 3.5 has been confirmed). and i'm fine with that. it's been a great 10 years of laughter. i've enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.


currently listening to: hurley, my dinosaur life, brad paisley
currently reading: jurassic park

at the start.

well. i can't believe this. i had all my thoughts summed up on this matter and then i accidentally clicked one of those fucking adds on the side of the facebook page and lost the whole thing. i suppose this is why i shouldn't write my notes in facebook.

these thoughts will no longer be anywhere near as poignant as originally intended, but i'll try my best to replicate.

it's unfortunate that i'm always the most inspired when i'm in a bad mood, cause it makes me come off as a lot more miserable than i am. i'm not a miserable person. at least not anymore.

but the past few days i have been a little down, and it's gotten me thinking about a lot of things. and really what i've noticed is the majority of times, no feeling is ever as good as the first time you are entering into something new. something that really turns out to be great. the feeling you get when you are first involving yourself or familiarizing yourself with something is just such an amazing experience to look back on, but it's frustrating cause you don't ever know when these feelings are happening and there's no way to get them back.

what do i mean? like the first time you hear a great album. or when you first move into a new place. or when you first meet a new person you really grow to care about.

these feelings could last a day or two, or they could last a lot longer. they could last up until something changes your perspective or changes the relationship you have with such thing. it's like when you first meet a new girl. really hitting it off and the whole getting-to-know-each-other, happy with each other's company original feelings are amazing. until that first fight or something, then it all changes and it's tough to ever get that original momentum back.

that leads to problems, at least for me. it's hard not to dwell on times where things were great, new, exciting, whatever. but it's not like you can hop in a delorean and time travel back to them. oh how i wish.

so what's the sense in all this? i have no idea. i'm sure it has something to do with a "savor the moment" mentality, but can you really? you never know when something is going to turn out to be great. you don't know going into your first listen that the album you have is going to be amazing, hell it could be terrible. the girl could be a bitch. you can't see the future so it's tough to savor a feeling if you don't know when it's going on.

as i type this i can't help but think of a line from big d's song "safe haven." maybe the best way to go about all of this is not to be too uptight, enjoy every positive moment you have and simply "relax, slow down, take a breath, and breathe."

currently listening to:
noah and the whale--peaceful the world lays me down (specifically "second lover")
motion city soundtrack--my dinosaur life
weezer--pinkerton
the rentals--return of the rentals.

those sunglasses really tied the room together

this weekend, in an unfortunate kayaking accident, i lost my goofy-ass yellow sunglasses i've been wearing for the majority of this year.

now yeah, they're just a pair of sunglasses, yeah they were cheap as hell, and yeah i'm going to go buy another pair tomorrow (possibly a different color though, thus not to tarnish the legacy of the yellow ones), but they had a lot of sentimental value to me.

so in remembrance.

i picked those sunglasses up back in February, at a time where i was making a conscious effort to become a more positive person and enjoy life a lot more. those sunglasses traveled across the country with me playing rugby, traveled to concerts with me, bars, work, many a drunken evening when i should have lost them but they stayed so oddly snug around my neck, ever so un-budging. they helped me develop an odd sense of personality, where i was no longer a miserable ass who hated everything, but a goofy kid who had more fun than the average guy. along with odd spray-paint t-shirts and bright colors, they were symbolic is what i'm trying to say.

we shared a lot of memories, me and those goofy yellow sunglasses. i thought i had lost them last week when a screw fell out, but no, i repaired them, and got another week out of them. i thought i dodged a bullet, but i only dodged a boomerang and on the 4th of july, the epitome of my new-found optimism, a truly amazing weekend, they sank to the bottom of lake erie.

so here's to them. this beer's for you.
and to the fish who finds them at the bottom of the lake...treat them well. they were good to me, and they'll be good to you.

Big D and the Kids Table.

david mcwane may be the last person on earth to wear cargo pants.

but he may also be the most genuine person ever to make a living wearing said cargo pants. for a while i've relentlessly harolded his band's, 2009 release "fluent in stroll" as the best record i had heard since brand new's "the devil and god are raging inside me." and maybe it's time some reasons were given as to why this record, as well as this band, are some of the best in music right now.

i've never been a lucky person, but i will say my luck in regards to concerts has been fantastic. upon the release of both of the above-mentioned records, both bands seemed to find western new york as a hot-spot for the subsequent tours. i managed to catch brand new 5 or 6 times touring in support of the devil and god, and i've caught big d 4 times sense stroll's release.

now the two albums and the two live shows are incredibly different. one is the most emotionally havoc-inducing album i've ever heard while the other is the most upbeat. and brand new's live show is filled with artsy light shows and is very art-first, band-interaction-second. big d's shows have/had a bit of a light show and a film projection for a while, but their shows are unpredictable and just absolute fun. they don't give a fuck on stage. well, that's not true, they do about one thing, making sure they put on a damn good show.

a few months ago i saw them at SUNY fredonia, it was a free show, and it got shut down about half way through the set. well, it was supposed to have gotten shut down, but in the words of brian klemm, the new guitar player, "there were like 600 kids there, what were we going to do? just stop and leave them disappointed?" the band played until they shut the power down. the last half of noise complaint was nothing but stage diving, david mcwane lost in the crowd, and horns and drums (as all the electronic instruments had lost power). there was no alcohol allowed at the show for obvious reasons, but the guy i ended up standing with managed to sneak a few in and we gave one to dave....one of the best decisions i've ever been a part of.

fastforward to last thursday, the scene is rochester, ny, at the water street music hall. we roll into rochester with a case of pbr in the backseat and pull into the cheapest parking lot i know, about 2 blocks from the venue. we have some beers, and load up my buddy's leather jacket with extra (yup, same guy who snuck them into fredonia). we're walking to the venue and who do we see? brian klemm standing outside a convenient store. does he recognize us from fredonia? not at first, but after a few seconds reminding he absolutely does. just as cool of a guy as he was when i was heckling him about having to fill sean p rogan's shoes (former guitar player) during the setup at the last show. we get to the venue, after having to run back to my car. who do we run into again? brian klemm. this time he initiates the conversation. i end up talking to him again the entire time he's setting up his equipment, this time not heckling, but talking about gear and guitar choices and roommate situations (he lives with reel big fish's aaron barrett). i was trying not to sound like i was interviewing him but i ended up asking questions about sean leaving (yup he's done for good), where dan stoppelman is (long time trumpet player sat out this tour cause he was "burnt out") and the next record (which they're writing in june).

show goes off. great show, really heavy on the old songs unlike the past few shows plus a brand new one that's to be on a split 7". LAX closes the set and a ton of people end up on stage (scene of my first ever stage dive....i usually hate when people get on stage cause they never know when they've overstayed their welcome, so i got off quick). during the show dave said something about buying the tour manager a shot after the show. of course, my buddy jumps at the opportunity and basically drags him off stage. i buy brian a shot for being such a cool guy. after some banter we end up with an invitation to drink beer while the band is packing out.

and so began the coolest musical moment of my life, the one that really cements this band as one of the most genuine and coolest in music.

we're standing on the sidewalk while the band is up on an elevated loading-dock-type platform. we're shooting the shit and trying not to act TOO much like excited fans, and they tell us to come inside so they don't have to look down on us. and this is the whole band, everybody is coming over to talk to us. and they're all really really cool people. we exchanged stories, drank beer, and hung out like friends. at one point i even got dave's girlfriend in trouble and i tried my best to smooth the waters (which dave simply replied "i'm just going to give her shit, ya know, like you'd give a buddy"). i helped them search for ryan's phone (sax), brian gave me the chords to "known to be blue," we talked favorite live songs, the idea of pressing how it goes on vinyl (they're considering), and talked about the new album. apparently it's going to be a thrash punk, ska, and stroll record with some more folky stuff on it. dan and paul (trombone) are supposed to be on it even though they haven't been on the road.

however, there was some stuff that bothered me amongst the night of absolute awesomeness that i was a part of. while talking to steve (bass), i mentioned how a lot of the stroll songs were missing off the set. and what followed was a lengthy conversation about how the reception was very mixed and it was unsettling for himself and the rest of the guys (some were quicker to admit to it than others). at one point steve went as far as to say "it's frustrating, the reception is divided and the guys who don't like it are VERY vocal about not liking it. i hate going on like punknews.org and reading 'oh go kill yourself, your album sucks.'" i didn't know what to say, i had already told them how important the album was to me, but all i could think was this band that laid it all out there and made a truly unique album is letting stupid mindless critics get the best of them, and i wish that wasn't how it was.

i mean, these guys are your DIY band, they live on the road, play free shows, and will drink beer with you after the show like you guys are long-time buddies. i don't know if it gets any better than that. i don't know if there's more i could ask for out of these guys. i mean, the old guitar player used to post guitar lessons on youtube for their songs...that's awesome. these guys deserve to be huge, but instead they're losing members like wildfire and they're stuck playing the smaller room of water street. and i can't help but think the reason sean left and dan got burnt out is because of the reaction to fluent in stroll. i hope not because it is a truly amazing record.

there is no better band out there right now, and the live show i saw at the town ballroom back in november, the amount of fun i had at fredonia, and how cool these guys were in rochester just proves it time and time again. not to mention they always answer their fan emails...who the hell still does that these days? they've been doing it for as long as reel big fish, but without the major label and the "sell out" big hit. instead their "big hit" is a song telling the west coast snobs to fuck off and that they'd rather work for everything they have.

yeah, that's the song that says "fuck" like 25 times. that's their "hit." but we'll keep on doing our best, even though our lives are a mess. these guys are so good at what they do and they deserve so much more.

a pic...cause it happened.

the Buffalo Sabres: what they mean to western new york.

to be short, they mean everything. and they mean everything for so many reasons.

let's take a look back a few years ago, before the president's trophy, before ryan miller was a household name. the team was a mirror image of the city it represented. they were on the verge of bankruptcy, future was in doubt, owner was corrupt. things were grim. but there were some steadfast honest men. lindy ruff still stood in the back of the bench with his suite and tie, much like the arena stood on the outskirts of a city that was looking grim.

but something magical happens in this city when the team is winning.

you walk down elmwood avenue on a sunny spring day and you're no longer reminded of the poor, grim spiral the city of buffalo has fallen into. you forget all about the crooked politicians, the lack of jobs, and the ugly areas of town. but you see smiling faces, blue and gold everywhere, flags flying from cars that are honking their horns in that familiar quarter note quarter note triplet pattern. "lets go buff-a-lo"

this city is blue collar to it's core and how can one not admire that? we've had a football team that hasn't made the playoffs in a decade but yet we still make sure they sell out every game almost every year. neither the sabres nor the bills have ever won a championship in the current professional leagues. but nobody thinks about that this time of year. they wear the colors, grow their playoff beards (even though some people's, like my own, are not coming in well at all), drink their beers, and cheer for the buffalo sabres.

they stand outside the arena, packed in front of a big screen tv, rain or shine, and cheer as loud as they can. half the people don't even have a full look at the screen, but something as small as coming back from a commercial makes them all erupt in noise. that's something special. the moral of this city, a city that's been beaten down for years with shrinking job markets, highest gas prices in the nation, and has endured so much, is lifted every time that puck is dropped. every goal the blue and gold score. every time ryan miller stands on his head to make an immaculate save. every time someone sees a fellow sabres fan.

who knows what will happen down the line. there's a lot of hockey left to be played if this team is going to go all the way. and after a disappointing game 2 against boston, one can only hope. i for one want to see these spirits be lifted to their fullest potential. if the sabres can do what they need to do, it could do so much for this city. bring some respect and some positive emotion into an area that so desperately needs it.

so, heres to the sabres. this town needs you guys, and we love you like family. come on boys.

White Crosses -- Against Me!

i would love to hear what warren oakes true honest heart-felt opinion of this record is.

i wanted to like this album. i wanted to like this album SO badly. everyone counted this band out. new wave was it, the band sold out, they sucked, they were worthless now. no. i constantly told everyone they were wrong. yes, new wave was overly polished, but it wasn't bad. just all of you wait. they still got it. tom gabel plays a show on the 4th of july, 2008. holy fuck, these songs are awesome. hell, i read someone say "these are the best sense the 'cowboy' and 'disco' days"....i agreed.

i shoulda known when "heart burns" came out. this band was toast. the songs i loved, the songs i got kicked out of a local club for playing (anna is a stool pigeon is apparently too political for a festival dubbed "infringement"), were just too good to be true. we need drum machines, we need over-production, we need to fuck these great songs up. bottom of the line, great songs turned out awful on record. but my hopes weren't given up. there were strokes of genius. "cowards sing at night" sounded great, as did a few of the others. and the tour tom went on, man the sets were brilliant. he was playing what the fans wanted, he was tom from against me! again, not tom gabel. he was who i grew to love.

i should have known it was too good to be true.

fast forward from 2008 to 2009. i'm still defending this band, hell, they're playing house parties and tiny-ass club/basement shows again. baby, i'm an anarchist! they go on tour with CHEAP ticket prices. new songs appear on youtube and in bootlegs. fuck! they sound great. hell, there's this song tentatively titled "hot shots" with a fiddle and it might be the most bad ass thing i've ever heard. there's a few cheesy songs, especially one about suffocation in the modern western world, but there's enough heart and spirit in the performance that i can get past it. hell, against me! is back and proving everybody wrong!!!!!
oh wait.
tom gabel's blog shows up, saying he wants warren out of the band. warren leaves, does the thing i would forever expect someone as class-act as warren to do, and says he appreciates everything he had. again, I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!

so now white crosses is available to hear. it's out there. it is what it is. and it is everything i SHOULD have expected but nothing that i DID expect.

where's hot shots?! where's the heart those bootlegs had? it's overproduced, it's glossy, and honestly, i don't know where the heart went from the band that i considered to be the most genuine in music.

White Crosses (3/5) -- my opinion of this song has not changed sense i heard it on record for the first time. the hook is awful, the lyrics are cheesy and the musicianship is that of a very piss-poor pop-rock band. this bad pop-rock is a trend that unfortunately will carry throughout the album. apparently, this is the "new sound?"

I Was A Teenage Anarchist (3.5/5) -- i had heard this song in the bootlegs pre-album leak. i didn't mind it. i never truly held a grudge on the band for not being so die-hard anarchist. tom became very liberal, which i didn't agree with, because political parties are the downfall of this country, but everyone grows. the band was young when they were so die-hard, and i looked at this song as a "yeah, i know where i came from" song. on record, it isn't that. it's uninspired "piss off old-time fans" music. it isn't there. it shuns the old fans and wreaks "i've lost my muse"

Because of the Shame (3.5/5) -- now i need to say i spent a lot of time letting this record sit. it leaked a couple weeks ago, and i even took the time to sit down and listen front-to-back while reading tom's lyrics he posted. this song is one of the few genuine tracks you'll find on the record. obviously about someone he used to care about, this song is one of regret and memory. it is what it is, it isn't a great song, but is better than much of the album just because it carries legit feelings.

Suffocation (3.75/5) -- i spoke of this song above. i never truly loved it, but it sounded solid on the bootlegs, it was very inspired sounding. this is a perfect example of over-production should not be part of against me!. this song is weak as fuck on record, and the "ugh" after the first "suffocation" in the chorus is legitimately laughable. but, one saving grace for this song is the continuation of a story tom penned many years ago. it seems very likely that this song is a continuation of the gay couple from "disco before the breakdown" (the song), "searching for a former clarity" (the song), and "the ocean." in that context, it gives the song a little bit more depth.

We're Breaking Up (2.5/5) -- tom gabel is now happily married. he talks about it in his blog all the time. who is this song about? warren? i hope not, warren was way more bad ass for a song that sounds like a piss-poor simple plan song. this song wreaks "i want to be a popular pop-rock band, but don't know how to do it." this song is hard for me to even get through.

High Pressure Low (3/5) -- after i get past the opening riff, which sounds like one i wrote after playing guitar for a couple months, when i was trying to write my first songs, it KIND OF comes together. if you read the lyrics, it tries to inspire and it tries to stand for political opposition and criticism, but again, the over-production just sucks the life out of the song....and that main riff is so piss-poor.

Ache With Me (4.5/5) -- one of the few high points of the record. new wave was a decent record, even though many shun it from existence. but one thing it lacked was acoustics, something every other against me! release had. this song is seriously solid. it could never fit in with the first few records, but who's asking it to? bands grow. this is a progression i could have been okay with. unfortunately it's only one song, and it's one of the few that sounds genuine. decent song. decent song.

Spanish Moss (3.5/5) -- this song is one that doesn't honestly make me feel one way or the other. it was originally a 4, but after listening to it, the bridge sounds very forced. this song could be filler on a good album, but on a medio-core album, this song is one that is very listenable.

Rapid Decompression (4/5) -- i suppose this song is the "single." and i suppose it's a good idea on behalf of tom and what's left of the boys. it's pretty close to the new wave sound, and has more aggression than most of the album combined. it isn't a bad song, it's pretty decent, but some of the background vocals are very forced and are just way too much to handle. it really is one of the best on the album though, and that isn't just because it sounds more like against me! than the rest of the album.

Bamboo Bones (4.5/5) -- at first listen this song would have been just another piece of shit on the album to me, but after giving the album 2 weeks, this song is far and away the best song on the record. it has heart, it has a good riff, it actually has decent lyrics and a decent message. this song is the perfect closer on the album much like the ocean was the perfect closer on new wave. unfortunately, white crosses isn't up to par with new wave, and bamboo bones isn't up to par with the ocean....but this song is really good. this is the only song i ever see myself wanting to listen to after i listen to the entire album.


IN CONCLUSION (3.25/5)
i wanted so bad to like this album, but it suffers so bad from a change of style that does not fit this band. this band has effectively shunned it's old fans and has tried to build a new image for itself. and this image doesn't work. against me! was never a pop-rock band, hell, it wasn't even a pop-punk band. i heard someone say in an interview with tom on a canadian rock station (102.1, the edge) that thanks to against me!, punk rock is alive and well. maybe 5 years ago, but at this point, against me! is the poster-child for punk rock being something that is no longer relevant. and it hurts me to say it because i used to think this band had more heart than any band making music. the old tom gabel, even from the searching for a former clarity days, would beat the piss out of this tom gabel.

life, karma, and the death of pessimism

when conan o'brien went off the air, i really took his final remarks to heart. yeah, it may sound stupid, but the guy got choked up and what he said really effected me.

"nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. but if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen. i'm telling you....amazing things will happen."

now i've taken this and i've tried to apply it to my own life but for the longest time i would doubt it. i've always been a pessimist, and when i would see the worst people in the world just constantly succeed, i would doubt conan's thoughts on the issue. but maybe he's right. and the idea of "karma" didn't just come out of thin air. it came from somewhere. so, while trying to maintain my positivity, i widened view of the world. the scumbags get theirs. look at all the political scandals right now. congressman massa is only the latest of a slue of scumbag politicians finally getting what was coming to them. elliot spitzer, rod blagojevich, governor patterson, the list goes on. tiger woods, another example. these people weren't kind people, they were terrible people. with the exception of tiger woods, odds are the others lied and cheated their way to the top, and now they are getting what they deserved.

karma is a legitimate thing and i'm believing in it more and more the more i look for it. another example, my current place of employment. i've vowed to make it the last corporation i ever work for. the home depot, i suppose it's high-end retail. but regardless, there are a lot of great people who work there as normal associates. many are kids like me, many have other jobs, many are retired. a lot of the managers....lazy, incompetent, and unintentionally unsympathetic. these people's lot in life as an assistant manager of a retail store is proof of what conan o'brien said. they didn't work hard, they weren't kind, they were lazy, and they got what they worked for.

now i looked to see how far i could apply this, and i've been meaning to write something about my great grandma who's been battling cancer for over a year, and maybe this is the time to do it. but a curve ball was thrown my way last week when my aunt died unexpectedly. i instantly thought this had something to do with all this. she was young, i believe 39. she was over-weight, she wasn't the nicest person to be around, and she seemed to have ruined my uncle and detached him from the family. we never saw them, not even on christmas. once, maybe twice a year tops, and they only lived 10 minutes away. it's sad, it really is. and maybe karma did have something to do with it, but i can't speak ill on her, because it isn't fair that she left behind a husband who truly loved her and two kids who were still in high school. that's way too young to lose a parent, regardless of the circumstances. i went into the funeral unemotional but felt being there was the right thing to do, but seeing that family cry their eyes out at the church was tough for me to watch. i tried to talk to the younger boy, but seeing i don't know him at all, it was tough. but, to tie a running theme, all i told him was to stay positive, be a good person, and life will get better. of course, easier said than done. i know from experience.

now back to my great-grandmother. she was diagnosed a while back, and at one point she was in the ER. she wasn't supposed to make it out of last year. she wasn't supposed to make it through summer. a month ago i went and visited her and the news i was hearing made me feel it would be the last time i ever see her. what do you say to someone when it might be the last time you see them? well, according to her, "i guess no one can live forever." it's hard to have that kind of an optimistic sense of humor in her situation. but with her memory fading and her motor skills suffering, she still is one of the most kind people i've ever met. and i think that's why she's exceed so many of the doctors timetables. it's pretty crazy.

so it's time to bury my pessimism 6 feet down. at least most of it. i think it'll always be impossible to get rid of it completely. but optimism is working out, i like being happy. you can't ignore the bad things in the world, you need to still address them or nothing will get done, but there's a lot in life you can change by having a better outlook. karma is something that can be a good motivator. i am nowhere near the best person i know. i feel i have all the potential to be if i wanted to. and i definitely get mine when i deserve it for being a bad person, and i think everyone will sooner or later (i'm looking at my father on this one, just hopefully it won't be too serious, just enough that he realizes his own personality flaws).

so here's to life. lets all try and go out of our way once in a while to be there for people. i mean, the other day i bought the guy asking for change outside wilson farms a bag of chips (unfortunately he was gone by the time i came back out). but hey! it's the thought that counts.


currently listening: brad paisley, noah and the whale, new alk3

coming soon: against me! -- white crosses. a review in the style of the one i did for daisy

love.

first of all. this is not a review of tom delonge's latest musical bowel movement.

it's hard to pin down what exactly love is. i've been listening to this band "noah and the whale" a lot lately, and it's pretty much the topic of their discography. one album, the up-side of love, and the other, the down-side of love. now i'll probably reference this band a lot throughout this piece of literature because they have really had a profound effect on my life. the first time i heard them came at the perfect time for me, and their first album (second that i heard) really hits me where i am now.

i've heard a lot about love. i've heard that your first love is second only to your "true love" and that love is something that comes and goes. i've also heard that love is only true when it's unconditional and shared by both parties. fuck all of that.

from what i've discovered, true love is something that will never ever go away; no matter how upset you are with someone, no matter how much you hate how they are acting, how they are treating you, or how resentful you are. if you experienced the feeling of true love it will never ever ever ever ever go away.

i'll share an example that doesn't so much involve myself. i've spoken before in my various writings about my parents and their seemingly lack of love for one another. my entire life they have hated each other, they have argued with each other through me, they have despised each other and done whatever they could to "stick it" to the other.

but.

i am a firm believer, no matter what anyone says, that a drunken state of emotion can be one of the most honest any human being may ever share. alcohol may have been the undoing of my parents because my mom doesn't drink and my dad has two distinct sides to him when he does. he is either very loving or very resentful and very angry. one night this past summer, talking financial woes, my father told me that he hates his relationship with my mom but no matter what transpired he still loves her deep down and thinks he always will. true love.

no matter what transpires and what terrible emotions that one feels towards someone, if they truly loved that someone they will forever. now that's not to say that one can only love once. i don't know if that's true, and i hope to God at this point that it isn't. i would like to experience true love again, this time one that is unconditionally shared. it's hard to love when it is conditional coming from the other direction.

now that's not to say there wasn't love with me, i believe there truly was, and will till the day i die. i have so many memories that creep up that remind me there was. but over the past month or so i've been bitter at these memories. i've shunned them and said they were all bullshit and that it was two different people. now it may have been different sides of two people, but i don't want to shun those feelings, cause they were real when they happened, and nothing can ever take those away.

i feel charlie fink didn't mean it when he said "i don't think that i ever loved you" on the final track of "first days of spring." no, i feel he was bitter when he wrote and sung that line. he's over the situation and wants to put a period on it. but he was wrong in the way he did. he shouldn't have pretended the "love love love" he sang about on "5 years time" was fake. it clearly wasn't. and every time i hear the title track of "first days of spring" i kinda choke up a bit at the chorus. "for i'm still here hoping that one day you may come back." it's tough. because it's hard to find the balance.

i no longer dwell on what i guess would be my "first love" and i've been very resentful of it as of late, and when i hear that line, i believe it and i relate to it. but i don't really believe that i want that person back. no instead i believe i long for the feelings in the memories i cherish.

now one problem with love ending is the way it goes about. often times people only focus on the negative, the bad side of things. and that will leave a stale taste in one's mouth. don't. i can't think of anything worse than when asked "do you ever miss me?" the response is "no." it's done out of bitterness and anger, and it's unnecessary. don't deny something that at a point in life was something that honestly made you happy.

true love is something that will never ever go away, and focusing only on the negative is foolish. great memories and great feelings shouldn't be ignored, but they should be recognized as what they are. memories. they aren't the present day.

i feel i will always love what i felt and i'm not going to pretend it's not true, but i'm over it. i recognize it for what it is. a great feeling i will always share--but it's not real life anymore.

true love is an incredible thing and hopefully one day everyone, myself included, will be able to experience unconditional, shared feelings with someone.

life is pretty great.

currently listening to:
noah and the whale.peaceful the world lays me down

2009: the musical year in review

Forward
This was the best musical year of my life. Literally every single band I’ve ever truly loved throughout my life came out with new music this year. And most didn’t disappoint. I attended some great shows, I released my first ep as “next week’s weather” (download at
http://www.mediafire.com/?2y5wwgnwmtm), and I heard some spectacular music. Besides new releases, I dove into the back catalog of some new and old favorites and discovered some great stuff. But this is a place for new music right now, and all the new stuff I experienced this year.

Shows
-ron white -- ub center for the arts
-lewis black -- shea’s
-brand new/rise against -- ub spring fest
-manchester orchestra -- rochester water street
-the bouncing souls -- town ballroom
-kevin devine and the god damn band -- mohawk place
-warped tour -- cleveland
-brand new/robbers -- grog shop cleveland
-rancid/rise against -- erie county fair agre center
-blink 182 -- darien lake
-weezer/blink 182 -- toronto molson amphitheatre
-akron/family/jeffrey lewis and the junkyard -- mohawk place
-the mad caddies -- extreme wheels
-big d and the kids table -- town ballroom
-brand new -- kool haus day 1
-brand new -- rochester dome arena

Shows I Regret Missing
-brad paisley -- darien lake
-brian regan -- ub center for the arts
-bruce springsteen and the e street band -- hsbc arena
-the get up kids featuring kevin devine -- town ballroom
-green day -- Hamilton
-weezer -- toronto acc
-the rest of warped (nofx in particular)



Albums
-against me! -- the original cowboy
-akron/family -- set ‘em wild, set ‘em free
-and you will know us by the trail of dead -- century of self
-animal collective -- merriweather post pavilion
-big d and the kids table -- fluent in stroll
-the bouncing souls -- 20th anniversary 7”s
-brad paisley -- american Saturday night
-brand new -- daisy
- foo fighters -- greatest hits
-green day -- 21st century breakdown
-jeffrey lewis -- city and eastern TAPES
-kevin devine -- brothers blood
-kevin devine -- I could be with anyone ep
-manchester orchestra -- mean everything to nothing
-manchester orchestra -- 14 years of excellence ep
-noah and the whale -- the first days of spring
-nofx -- coaster
-rancid -- let the dominoes fall
-robbers -- flesh ep
-them crooked vultures -- them crooked vultures
-weezer -- raditude


A “top 10” of the Year

10. Against me! -- the original cowboy
9. …and you will know us by the trail of dead -- century of self
8. Noah and the whale -- the first days of spring
7. Akron/family -- set ‘em wild, set ‘em free
6. Green day -- 21st century breakdown
5. Kevin devine -- brothers blood
4. Brand new -- daisy
3. Weezer -- raditude
2. Manchester orchestra -- mean everything to nothing
1. Big d and the kids table -- fluent in stroll


10. Against me! -- the original cowboy
The original recordings of my favorite punk record of all time. How I could not love it was beyond me. Didn’t touch the first release, but still a great collection of songs….I mean…. a great ALBUM.

9. …and you will know us by the trail of dead -- century of self
Everyone loves source tags and codes. I love worlds apart. This record fits in the middle for me. Its trail of dead, they have such a great thick sound and I love it. Their albums are excellent as whole concepts. Unfortunately, this is a live-recorded album, and instead of adding energy, it takes away some of the thick layered sound worlds apart has.

8. Noah and the whale -- the first days of spring
Wow. This album was sent my way from an old high school friend late in the year (early December) when I was going through some rough shit. This album was an absolute soundtrack to my life at the time, completely fitting my mood both lyrically and musically. It’s a beautiful listen. Absolutely excellent.

7. Akron/family -- set ‘em wild, set ‘em free
These guys are truly magical. What they do on record is amazing. And this record is no exception. My second favorite of theirs, held only behind their self titled. The mood and energy is unlike any other. Unfortunately memories have made me not want to listen to this album as much as I should cause it really is an underrated release of the year.

6. Green day -- 21st century breakdown
Psshhhh where to start…. People loved american idiot. I loved american idiot. Now I hate american idiot. But I love 21st century breakdown. The sound is very thick and rich, and I love that. This album may be the most underrated record of the year just because it didn’t explode like it should have. The story is stronger than that of american idiot, the message is more intelligent, and it’s as relevant as ever. Great great underrated record and I don’t care what anybody else says.

5. Kevin devine -- brothers blood
His most “whole” album to date. I don’t listen to it a lot, but I started loving a few tracks, and then loved a few more and a few more and now every time I listen to it I like it more as a whole. A lot of great songs. Some need to grow on you, but it’s some of his best work. Not his BEST, but damn close. (I could be with anyone ep was a collection of b-sides/demos/etc and it was unfortunately forgettable)

4. Brand new -- daisy
I’ve said everything I think I can say about this record. I was expecting so much and it JUST BARELY missed. Lyrics are weak and theres some serious sloppy production, but this is comparing it to the devil and god are raging inside me, which is the best record ever created (no, I’m not joking). The album is good, just not as great as their other stuff.

3. Weezer -- raditude
Another incredibly underrated release. This record holds some of weezer’s worst songs from their career, but it also holds a return to them writing good music. Make believe sucked, lets face it. And the red album was an attempt at experimentation that didn’t quiet pay off. Rivers wants to be a pop star, and if you’ve figured that out, you can really enjoy this record. Some of the best stuff they’ve done in years is on this album, as well as some of the catchiest.

2. Manchester orchestra -- mean everything to nothing
I’ve said it a couple times already but great thick sound to this album. They were going for the pinkerton sound and it definitely paid off on some tracks. The first half of this album is genius and the only problem is the 2nd half of the album gets a little muddy and indistinguishable. But this was the best follow-up their first effort could ask for. A really great record and a good listen. (“14 years of excellence” is the slower side of the band’s sessions and it’s a good listen as well, a good companion to this album)

1. Big d and the kids table -- fluent in stroll
The. Best. Record. I’ve. Heard. In. Years. I haven’t heard anything this good sense the devil and god are raging inside me. I loved their last 2 releases and when I heard bits and pieces of this record before it came out I was disappointed. But the first time I listened to it, I’ll never forget, I was riding in the car, and I just started laughing. This record is the greatest feel-good record of all time. But it has attitude. For a band that was highly liberal, they didn’t just claim victory. No, they wrote a song about how they have a long way to go. Besides that, they wrote some great fictional stories, and they wrote some great relatable music dealing with your cares and your relationship woes/high points. It’s near perfect. Some of the lyrics are a bit dorky, but like early weezer, it doesn’t take away from the record one bit. A spectacular piece of music from top to bottom. (make sure you get the version with the bonus track “don’t ask me”)


Let down of the year

-nofx -- coaster
A band ive never expect a lot from, but have always expected consistancy from, put out a phoned in musical effort. The lyrics are strong, but the melodies and the arrangements are weaker than ever. I guess this is what comes from a band that openly admits that they’ve already made their best music?

-brad paisley -- american Saturday night
My current favortie country artist, this album has some excellent songs but as a whole doesn’t stack up to an album like 5th gear. Not to mention his new liberal stance is one I don’t enjoy swallowing considering the state of our country.


Thoughts on the Rest

-animal collective -- merriweather post pavilion
Any record that comes out in january and is already regarded as “album of the year” makes me very skeptical upon listening. As a matter of fact, I was so skeptical I put off listening for some time. It is a good record though. I’ve just never loved the band or their style, and the same goes for this record. I enjoy it but I don’t love it. Fact of the matter, with 11 months of music to come, you can’t say “this is as good as it gets.” Words don’t taste good when you have to eat them.

-the bouncing souls -- 20th anniversary
Released on 4 7”s, it just doesn’t have the heart the old music had. Flat out. Good songs, but the fire isn’t there.

-foo fighters -- greatest hits
I’ve previously owned all the past foo releases, so the only thing new to me were the two new songs “wheels” and “word forward” but both these songs are in my top songs of the year. They are really amazing and seeing them on storytellers and hearing their meanings just made them that much more powerful for me. Two of my favorite foo songs. Unfortunately the tracklisting for this “greatest hits” record is truly lacking some of their best stuff.

-jeffrey lewis -- city and eastern TAPES
Technically I think this album came out in 2008 but he was my favorite discovery of the year. Just some shmuck with an acoustic guitar covered in stickers who opened for akron/family. And I almost missed him, cause me and the girl I was with almost left to go back to my place to drink before the show. SO glad I stayed. The guy captivated me, incredibly unique. And this album is so low-fi, its really special. The 08 thing is the only reason its not high in my top 10

-rancid -- let the dominoes fall
Not their best, not their worst. Fits right in with the thick of their catalog. I give them credit for going for it, but the lack of lars songs and tim’s new desire to frontman really holds this record back. The acoustic side is a nice touch.

-robbers -- flesh
Vin Accardi from brand new’s brother’s band. I started listening to them before this ep was released and I picked it up at their show. I liked ‘em as soon as I heard them, and they have a really cool sound. Good stuff here.

-them crooked vultures -- them crooked vultures
I loved the first single. I had heard the album described as a proper follow up to the first queens of the stone age record and I couldn’t agree more. Unfortunately I feel the same way I do about this as the first queens record. I like it but I can’t love it. It’s too jam-heavy and not enough feeling for me. Still a good release though. In my book, Dave Grohl can do no wrong.




Best of Shows

I started off the year attending my first two ever stand-up comedy shows by two of my favorite comedians (yeah, I like ron white, fuck off.) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Both guys exceeded my expectations by a mile.

next highlight/lowwwwlight came brand new and rise against. I was pumped for this show. brand new was supposed to headline, they were going to shred, they had been recording a new album and no one knew anything about it, my expectations were outta control. rise against was announced as the headliner after the show had almost sold out, and brand new was bumped to support. huge let down. UB realized their mistakes though I think when half the crowd left before rise against. and for the record, rise against is the worst live band I ever saw.

manchester orchestra and the bouncing souls came within a few days of each other. I almost didn’t go to the manchester show and I’m glad I did. they didn’t disappoint one bit. the bouncing souls however, played a pretty short set and I was expecting more.

seeing Kevin Devine playing with the god damn band for the first time sense the brand new tour was a treat. they were spot on, they were funny, and like always, kevin blew my mind. how a guy can be that nice and that caring and that intelligent blows my mind. He’s a huge inspiration.

my day spent in cleveland was a musical experience. it was originally just going to be brand new playing in a bar. that alone was enough to make me beyond pumped. but then robbers were going to be the opener. excellent. wait? warped tour is the same day? Big d is on warped? oh my god. and NONE of it disappointed. brand new played an insane set, robbers were great, and big d….oh man…..awesome. for only playing a half hour warped set, they still were the best of the day. only regret is having to leave warped early and missing flogging molly and nofx.

rise against sucks, rancid are still legends.

Blink-182? oh yeah, they got back together. And they toured with fucking Weezer! me and two of my friends had promised we would never miss them if they got back together….so we went and saw them twice. We had to, weezer was playing with them on the second date. The first date was a day to get fucked up and enjoy life from the grass. The second date was a trip. Floor seats, overnight hotel, dehydration, no working gps, a stolen shoe……but both shows were incredible. Weezer was epic and blink were all we had ever hoped for.

akron/family are a magical experience. They were the coolest guys to talk to, and discovering jeffrey lewis and the junkyard was a huge plus. The show was just a huge jam session and I enjoyed it, I wish they had played a few more songs however. Only problem is this is a memory that hurts to relive because of who I attended the show with.

mad caddies, lowest attended show of theirs in a decade. Oh well, I had fun, and it was a perfect warm-up for the shows that came that weekend.

big d and the kids table not only had my album of the year, but my concert of the year. Ill Scarlett opened, and I hadnt heard them before but one of my friends assured me I would love them. They were good. Not going to lie. Big d though…..oh my god. I could not have asked for anything more. They played the perfect set. All the best off their new album and enough classics to make it beyond special.

toronto is always the place to go see brand new. I will not miss a chance to see them there unless I absolutely have to. So they were playing two nights back to back. I got tickets to both nights, but that reason I can’t enjoy akron/family is the reason this show kinda sucked. I missed the second night cause I no longer had anyone to go with. The first night they played a generic set (because the second night they were going to unload). I hoped for more in rochester, unfortunately I was let down. It was the same show as in toronto. Now I’ve seen brand new a lot, and they’ve never played the same show twice prior to these two dates. I was unlucky, I missed the sick show do to an unfortunate situation. But oh well, thus is life. I saw them play a one-of-a-kind show earlier in the summer.


Oddest Thing of the Year

Andrew W.K. is a fraud? He’s a corporate creation that has had various actors? What the fuck.


Needless to say, I look forward to this coming february when he’ll set the record straight.

The new year will be interesting. New against me! is coming, this is their last chance to redeem themselves in my eyes (especially after kicking out warren). alk3 has a new one on the way. Warped tour will be a unique experience. Hopefully my music career will find itself. Other new promising releases will surely appear, and I’m looking forward to it. When the music hits, aren’t you supposed to feel no pain?


--jc