We now return you to your regular scheduled programming...

Expect this entry to be a little disjointed. It's been awhile and I have a few things to say that aren't at all related to each other.

I call this The Good, The Sad, and the God-awful.

The Good:
First, a quick summary of things that i think are awesome.

I love Four Year Strong. Honestly, I haven't listened to punk music since high school (though i was pretty obsessed back then). I told a friend of mine this and his reaction was "really? the same person whose favorite band is margot and the nuclear so & so's?" uh... yeah, i guess it's possible. My two favorite tracks are "Bada Bing! Wit' a Pipe!" and "Wrecked 'em? Damn near killed 'em!" But really the whole album (Rise or Die Trying) is really good.

Another band i recently fell in love with... The Howlies. They can only be described as surf punk. I saw them last wednesday. despite the small crowds, they put on a fantastic show. That means a lot to me, because i feel like too often bands get pissy when there isn't a "big enough" crowd and don't really give it their all. The Howlies were great; the lead singer was just precious, and their harmonies were fantastic. Some clutch songs were "Aluminum baseball bat" and "angelina"

Random songs to give a listen-
M. Ward- never had nobody like you
Ivan Ives- got it
overnight- I know
golden bloom- doomsday devices


The Sad:
When i went out to buy paste magazine the other day, i was a little saddened to find they've decided to stop putting cd's in their issues. You still get music. But you have to go to their website and enter in a little code that can be found in your issue. This gives you access to a zip file with all the songs on it (and album art too). While I understand the logic of it (most people immediately rip it onto their computer, they are wasting a lot less plastic, etc.)I'm still going to miss having something tangible. Long after everyone traded in their cd cases and sony disc players for a sleek little ipod I've still got my alphabetically ordered cd collection. It's sad to know that i'll never get to add another Paste cd to that section. I really liked watching the cd art evolve. I'm just being overly nostalgic, i know. But the free cd was what drew me to the magazine in the first place. If i had the money i'd probably go back and order the thirty issues i don't already have so that i could have them all. yes, like pokemon.


The God-awful:
I would like to commend Hipster Deathmachine for duping me into seeing their horrible horrible set. This may seem obvious to some, but i think the band needs to be reminded that just because your band has a trombone does not mean you can call yourselves a ska band. It's been a long time since i've sat through something that...painful.



yeah... that's it.
:/

So, i've been reading too much of spin.com

And now i'm all jealous because there have been thousands of concerts and i missed them all (except for ham1 and elfpower @ chronic town), wrapped up as i was in my internships.

So, this isn't really a post so much as it is a list of upcoming concerts i really want to go to (in order of preference), if anyone wants to join me on an adventure.

broken social scene @ the electric factory (philly)- Nov 9th
margot and the nuclear so & so's @ crocodile rock (allentown)- sept 6th
of montreal @ the electric factory (philly)- oct 31st
tilly & the wall @ cornell 0ct 14 or @ starlight ballroom(philly) 24th
ryan montbleau band @ the kenswick theatre in glenside(near philly) nov 14th
Weezer(& tokyo police club!) @ susquehanna center Sept 27th
Ryan montbleau @ Philly folk festival Aug 15th (impromptu road trip, anyone?)

I tend to look for stuff in the philly area because 1) i know where all the good venues are and 2) I have a built in place to stay. So that's what i want.

I'd also like to implore the fratellis to come back to the us. Their "tour" of new york, california, and washington (wtf?) left much to be desired. Though it did give me yet another reason to move to seattle.