Album Review - Dropping Daylight

Artist – Dropping Daylight
Album – Brace Yourself

Emo is the new pop. Bands like Dropping Daylight and My Chemical Romance are the new Backstreet Boys and N'sync (they may even have a gay member to back up my claim). All you need is a voice from News Jersey or Ohio (or at least someone that sounds like they're from New Jersey or Ohio) and the music of Hoobastank played at faster RPM’s. Add a little mascara and some bad clothes, and you have an emo band. Never is this more obvious than with Dropping Daylight’s debut Brace Yourself.

Now I have been known to praise some emo records, and I admit that there is some emo I actually enjoy. I may snicker at the clothes, but the riffs are hard to ignore. That is not the case this time. Its not that Brace Yourself is bad, its just all been done before. The first single, the title track, calls upon Taking Back Sunday vocals over Hoobastank’s music, which works better than it sounds but still can’t hold itself up on its own. “Apologies” sounds like the forced token sympathetic song, and “War Song” doesn’t stand out among the anti-war songs we have been barraged with lately.

There aren’t any tracks that really stand out, which makes the record sound forced and hurried. It could be that Dropping Daylight just hasn’t had time to evolve, but the more likely scenario is that this is the sound of a dying genre. Let’s face it, emo has lasted longer than grunge and pop, and now we have hit the bottom of the barrel. This record reminds me that emo’s days are numbered and I am glad. It is time for something new. A grunge comeback, maybe?

2 out of 10
-B

If you like this record, try:

Taking Back Sunday – Louder Now
Hoobastank – The Reason
Lostprophets – Start Something

Lushus Nectareen

It has come to my attention that Tom Hanks has been in a lot of movies. Seeing as how I just watched Dragnet, I am now going to list his top 5 movies. Why? Because I am bored and sick and I don’t have any candy or cookies to cheer me up. So there.

1 – Big
2 – Dragnet
3 – Road to Perdition
4 – The ‘burbs
5 – Forrest Gump

-B
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?

Album Review - Heavens

Artist – Heavens
Album – Patent Pending

I would like to start off by stating that I am a huge fan of Matt Skiba. One might even make the claim that my fandom borderlines the status of, ahem, “hardcore”. I love everything Alkaline Trio has done, as well as Skiba’s solo efforts. Having said that, I am trying really hard to make myself like Heavens. It’s hard. Don’t get me wrong, the tunes are decent, they just don’t go anywhere. All the songs seem to flow together like one long drone, with no ups or downs. Patent Pending reeks of Sisters of Mercy, which contributes to the dull song structure, but that doesn’t mean it’s all bad.

The new single “Patent Pending” is pretty catchy; almost like a punk rock Strokes. Come to think of it, take the strokes second album and remove the flair and pop, break it down to revolving riffs and drum machine beats, and you have Heavens. “Dead End Girl” is pretty smooth and catchy, but the track still suffers from the dull drone of the rest of the album. I know it sounds like I am being harsh, and I admit that I am, but I was just really disappointed. I had a lot of hopes for this record when I first heard of it, and it’s not living up to my expectations.

I will give the band credit for doing it all on their own, with not much of a backing band. Heavens essentially is Matt Skiba from Alkaline Trio, and Josiah Steinbrick from F-Minus; both great bands, but together it just gets boring. It is nice and smooth and polished, so I expect the Depeche Mode kids to dig it, but don’t expect it to be anything like either of the two bands previous work. Let’s just hope that there is a follow up album to improve on.

3 out of 10
-B

If you like this record, try:

Sisters of Mercy – First and Last and Always
The Strokes – Room on Fire
Depeche Mode - Violator

Album Review - Sirens Sister

Artist – Sirens Sister
Album – Echoes from the Ocean Floor

I was quite upset when I had heard the news that one of my favorite bands, Vendetta Red, broke up. They were one of the few emo bands that went a different route (read: good) and their second major label record, Sisters of the Red Death, is a great record. Thankfully, we have Sirens Sister, which includes three members of Vendetta Red. Their debut Echoes from the Ocean Floor could be classified as the third Vendetta Red record, but Sirens Sister gets a little more experimental in its sound while maintaining Vendetta’s grunge riffs and dark lyrics.

The first single “Hold On” is just now getting some airplay, and it is a good tune, but the record has so much more to offer that it makes me wonder why they chose it as their first single. The songs seem like their more fun to listen to than Vendetta, even if their not quite as good. “Closer & Closer” would fit right in at a bar in New York, mixing their emo sound with a more upbeat tempo. It’s Jimmy Buffet as a 20 year old in today’s world. The real joy of the album is “So Long”, a song about being forgotten by that one you can’t forget. It pulls from the Beatles slower stuff with a piano line that you’re sure you have heard before even though you can’t place it. It drove me nuts until I realized I haven’t actually heard it before.

The record rounds out pretty good. With a lot of these emo bands releasing albums with only one or two tracks worth listening to, it’s nice to see one that has long term playability. Echoes… is not released on a major record label, so maybe we’ll see a re-issue with some other tracks, but for now its definitely worth your $10, if you can find it. I had to go to a local independent record store to find it, so forget Best Buy. But trust me, it’s worth the search.

7 out of 10
-B

If you like this record, try:

Vendetta Red – Sisters of the Red Death
Finch – What It Is To Burn
Matchbook Romance – Stories & Alibis

The Hamburglar

I would tell you all where I have been, but that information might compromise our agents in the field. I can understand how you would worry about me and assume only the worst when not having heard from me in the past couple of weeks, seeing as how I lead such a dangerous double life as a secret agent for the CI…I’ve said too much. Let’s just say that I have been struggling to survive through one hell of a head cold/sinus infection/plague. This thing is kicking my ass, but god dammit, it will be defeated. Victory will be mine, but at what cost? Is it too high a price to pay? I am willing to take that chance. This is the kind of shit I do for you people, and nobody ever sends me a thank you or some cookies. I feel so unappreciated.

-B
Every time I call you’re running out the door

The Wickerman

The Wickerman.

I’m going to let that title sink in for a few moments…

Got it? Ok, now here’s the hard part; will somebody tell me what the fucking purpose of this movie is? I mean I enjoyed the movie, don’t get me wrong. But it just feels like Silent Hill without the blood and freakiness. Did I learn something from this film? Yes, I learned that if I ever meet a girl in a bar and she wants me to take her home she is probably part of a cul…I’ve said too much.

-B
If you want to find out what’s behind these cold eyes, you’ll just have to claw your way through this disguise

Cats Cradle

I was reading a very interesting article today in the latest issue of Rolling Stone, and it made me kind of sad. The interview was with Kurt Vonnegut, who is by far one of the greatest writers of the last century. His novels Cats Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five are among some of the greatest pieces of American literature, and if you have never read them I suggest you forgo the next pitcher of beer and use that money towards the purchase of either of these novels. They are well worth their price.

What made me sad was the realization that we will soon be losing another great writer. And let’s face it; we’re running out of the good ones. I would gladly trade all the Nora Roberts’ in the world for just one more Tom Robbins, Vonnegut, Dickenson, or Kafka. It may be a sad truth, but it’s the truth none the less; they just don’t make them like they used to.

What separated Vonnegut from his peers and predecessors was not just his format (using short paragraphs as a way to hold a readers attention and such) but his descriptive story telling of blending futuristic society’s with today’s modern life. We could see his characters and civilizations clearly in our head as if they were a normal part of our life, even though they never existed to begin with.

Vonnegut is (or more accurately, was) working on a new novel titled If God Were Alive Today, but he claims he has given up on it. Given Vonnegut’s gloomy outlook on life, I don’t doubt his claim, but it’s a shame. It would be nice to see him put out one more novel. But if that never happens, he can at least take comfort in the knowledge that he has written timeless masterpieces that will never lose their relevance. Check out the interview if you get a chance, and if you haven’t already, pick up one of his books and be prepared to have the door to your mind kicked open.

-B
Can I just have one more moondance with you, my love?

Another Round

I love beer. That is no secret. However, it appears that my body doesn’t give a shit that I like beer. As of now (or more accurately, since I was born) I am no longer allowed to drink alcohol. At all. Ever. No more drunken escapades, no more havin’ a beer and watching the game, none of that. God hates me.

-B
Karma police, arrest this man

Endos-FUN-copy

How I spent my Saturday:

6 am – waking up

6:30 am – my parents picking me up to take me to the hospital

7 am – getting to the hospital

7:30 – having an IV put in my wrist, a bunch of cords attached to me via sticky circles with clamps on them to connect me to some machine

8 am – having my throat sprayed with some shit that tastes like bananas that numbs my throat so it feels weird to swallow and kind of stings a little

8:30 – being slightly (but not enough) sedated while a doctor sticks a thick camera attached to a tube down my throat as he injects veins inside my throat to stop internal bleeding…and he didn’t even take me to dinner and a movie(

8:40 – doctor pulls tube out only to make me swallow it again for yet another round of injections

8:45 – doctor plays with tube for shits and giggles

9 am – doctor pulls tube out of my throat as I pass out hoping for nothing more than the sweet icy cold hand of death to brush across my shoulders, but I’m not that lucky

9:30 – I go home and pass the fuck out.

Now that’s how I spell fun!

-B
You could be my Yoko Ono

Album Review - Stone Sour

Artist – Stone Sour
Album – Come What (ever) May

It’s always nice to hear that a member of Slipknot has a side project. In fact, I’m surprised that it doesn’t happen far more often. I mean, they have more than enough band members to spawn a career’s worth of side project material. However, it seems that Corey Taylor is the only one doing anything worth talking about and that is putting out records with his original band, Stone Sour. Their second release is a step up from their debut, but it still lacks the originality it needs to separate itself from the Saliva-Soil cliché. While Stone Sour may reek of radio-friendly rock, their songs are better than the aforementioned bands could hope for.

Starting off Come What (ever) May is a track called “30/30-150”, and while I don’t know what the hell that may stand for, it’s a good solid rock tune. Musically the record has hints of Slipknot, which I guess is only natural, but tracks like “Hell & Consequences” and the hit single “Through Glass” are far catchier than “Wait and Bleed”. The drums are easier on the ears and the guitars have a more traditional hard rock feel, which is always nice after banging your skull into a trashcan lid for an hour while listening to Slipknot talk about killing you in the least of romantic ways. They also manage to keep the heavy with only five members, which makes me question the validity of the other five Slipknot scary boys, but I guess someone has to dance on stage.

The highlight of Come… is the last track “Zzyxz Rd.” which kind of reminds me of Motley Crue’s “Home Sweet Home” only nowhere near as cheesy. The track consists mostly of piano and Taylor’s lyrics about missing his wife and kids, but when the drums and acoustic guitar kick in it adds a sense of genuine grief. This track also has the best line I have heard in a while “they throw me a bone just to pick me dry”, which is clever considering the subject matter. All in all it’s a pretty good record; I just hope that they find a way to separate themselves from the rest of the pack.

7 out of 10
-B

If you like this record, try:

Stone Sour – Stone Sour
Slipknot – Iowa
Cold – The Year of the Spider

Fuck Red Lights

Why does weird shit always happen to me? I mean seriously, it’s like all the streetlights turn red once they see the hood of my Mustang rolling down the road. As if they are all conspiring with one another to prevent me from getting to my ultimate destination. They laugh at my sorrow as I sit at the light, with no cars to be seen within miles, all alone with my music and my red fucking light. The red light just stares, as if daring me to run it so that some donut-eating ticket-writing mustache-wearing douche bag can fly out of nowhere like Starsky & Hutch. Then he’ll condescendingly walk up to my window and as me where the fire is, while he chuckles at his cleverness. He’ll write me a ticket for running a light that never should have been red in the first place, all so that the red light can have some fun at my expense. I hate you red light, I hate you like I hate Nazis. Fuck red lights; fuck them in their stupid asses.

-B
Pressure, pushing down on me, pressing down on you

I'm Alive!

Yes it is true, there is still life left in this body. I was rushed to the hospital by the nice ambulance folks last night because I thought it would be cool to throw up a lot of blood. I mean, all the cool kids are doing it, right? Anyway, I am back to life and at home and still feeling like shit but getting better. Thanks go to Cole for staying with me incase I threw up again and inevitably going to the emergency room with me, and Leah for watching over me as I am kind of a baby and am in constant need of comforting. Maybe tomorrow I can actually write something.

-B
I know that this can be more than just flashing lights and sounds.