Less than a year after releasing their first LP "Climate of Fear", here's San Antonio, Texas' hardest, Bitter End, back with some new material: 7 inches of wax featuring 3 new songs that do nothing but keeping alive the legacy of brutality of their previous efforts. These new tunes definately bring their metal influences to a new peak, showing an even more mature band, resulting as the perfect mix of Slayer, Best Wishes-era Cro-Mags and NYHC bands such as Killing Time, Breakdown or Leeway. Introduced by 2 minutes of pure Slayer-esque metal madness, the band delivers the two songs, "Purgatory" and "Power Struggle", with extreme intensity and power, alternating thrashing riffs with some slow-paced breakdowns with true style! Fifteen minutes of hardcore that does nothing but confirming Bitter End as one of the best bands around right now!

CEREMONY - STILL NOTHING MOVES YOU [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/ceremony
www.bridge9.com

If you haven't heard of Ceremony, you've probably been living in a cave for the last couple of years, or are just too dumb to listen to them. Anyway, theren's no doubt that this band is going to live a pretty deep mark in the hardcore scene for the years to come, and their new record is yet another proof of this statement. I can't think of too many bands that are able to play hardcore in such a violent way, with such a punk attitude and such an incredible intensity. They melt shotgun-fast parts with slower and gloomier parts, and at times you don't know if you're listening to a 2008 hardcore band or to an early Swans demo. I don't have too many words on this band, they're all useless, just get this record. Now.

COLD WORLD - DEDICATED TO BABIES WHO CAME FEET FIRST [Deathwish Inc.]
www.myspace.com/thecoldworld
www.deathwishinc.com

This first Cold World full-length has probably been one of the most awaited records this year and, I must admit it, just like it happened with every single thing they released in the past, it took me a couple of listens to get into the new CW sound. From first to last, the 15 tunes featured on "Dedicated To Babies Who Came Feet First" is a bag of bricks thrown at you from a mile-high skyscraper, moshaholic hardcore with strong Biohazard (Billy Graziadei's the producer of this record!) and Life of Agony influences. Lyrics on this record perfectly picture the life of people living their 20's in this modern world, a jungle of hardships and violence. As usual rap and hip-hop influences pop up here and there through some pretty sweet interludes. Featured on one of the songs is Floorpunch's Mark Porter as well as Blacklisted's George Hirsch. Since day one, Cold World set themselves apart from the crowd, this record confirms that they're true leaders of what's going on today in hardcore.

COMMON CAUSE - THE POWER TO CHANGE [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/commoncauseoc
www.poweredrecords.com

What else can pop to your mind when you hear names such as Eyeball, Damage Control or Onward if not youth crew hardcore and straight edge? Started in 2005 by singer Dan and guitarist Jon, Common Cause's been shaking grounds since their first demo-tape, and that couldn't have been different considering the 5 songs featured on it. After a 7" released in late 2006, here's their debut LP and yeah, you got it, it's great! Eight songs that are strongly influenced by Youth of Today, Hard Stance, The Abused and Straight Ahead, still, in my opinion, with some Oslo hardcore elements thrown here and there. These guys are touring machines, and I'm pretty sure they'll be hitting your town, so make sure you don't miss them!

DEAL WITH IT - END TIME PROPHECIES [Dead & Gone Records]
www.myspace.com/dealxwithxit
www.deadandgonerecords.com

Deal With It caught my attention since their "World Coming Down" 7" released last year; seeing them live, even though only one time, had me liking them quite a lot; well, this first LP makes me shout "Oh shit!". All I can say is that "End Time Prophecies" rocks from the beginning to the end, from the amazing artwork by Ed Repka to the last chord of the last song. While their previous record sounded like the band was still kinda confused about where they were heading, this new material shows a much better band in terms of songwriting, while lyrically the concept behind this record still rotates around the condition of humanity nowadays. Cro-Mags, Killing Time and Leeway-driven hardcore to make your feet stomp. Grab this shit - humanity is history.

ENERGY - INVASIONS OF THE MIND [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/thisenergy
www.bridge9.com

First time I heard of Energy was through their interview on There's Nothing Like It Fanzine #2, but I honestly didn't listen to the band in that occasion. I now find myself listening to their Bridge 9 Records debut full-length "Invasions of The Mind" and, even though I can't say I missed on something huge, this band is definately an interesting one. The 11 songs of melodic hardcore featured on this record take inspiration from a huge range of bands, going from Ignite to AFI, from the Misfits to Gorilla Biscuits and the result is pretty cool. This may not be a record I'd take with me on a desert island, but it definately a damn catchy one! These guys will be on tour with H2O, Bane and Cruel Hand in the US, and with Slapshot and All For Nothing, so check them out!

HAVE HEART - SONGS TO SCREAM AT THE SUN [Bridge 9 Records]
www.myspace.com/haveheart
www.bridge9.com

I still remember listening to the first Have Heart demo and thinking how much these guys were good, seeing them 5 years later being still around and getting better and better is simply amazing, and it shows how hard work ethics and dedication pay well in the end. This new chapter in HH's story marks yet another evolution in their sound and, in my opinion, overall as a band. Musically they're kinda picking up where they left off on "The Things We Carry", although getting emotion and power to a new level, while lyrically things here get more and more deep and personal. I'm pretty sure we all agree that this is a one of a kind band, and the10 songs they crafted for this record do nothing but confirming this, as well as setting new standards for the generations of hardcore bands to come.

INTERNAL AFFAIRS - DALEK [Triumvir]
www.myspace.com/internalxaffairs
www.triumvir3.com

The news of Internal Affairs splitting up bummed me out so fucking much, especially because they were about to embark for another European tour, and I got so damn siked to see them once again. Anyway, before parting ways, the band recorded a 12" EP, released by Orange County based streetwear company Triumvir, featuring an amazing artwork by renowned artist Dalek. Released as an amazing pack featuring 4 different vinyl colors as well as 2 t-shirts, the record itself features 4-tracks of Internal Affairs trademark: fast, thrashing and pissed off hardcore, with poisonous lyrics and an icing on the cake made of a good dose of breakdowns and nice mosh parts. Although I'm pretty sure we will all be missing this amazing band, there's no doubt we once again have another good Internal Affairs record to listen to! Internal Affairs x Dalek x Triumvir - forever.

RHYTHM TO THE MADNESS - WELTSCHMERZ [Powered Records]
www.myspace.com/rhythmtothemadness
www.poweredrecords.com

I can't do anything about it, I love this band. Since the day I've listened to the 2 songs featured on their demo-tape I've been saying they're the best band that came out of Europe recently, try to prove me wrong. The follow up 7", "Soul Doubt", did nothing but proving that, while this debut LP, well, it just shreds. Line-up has changed since their last release, with Ced from Rise And Fall joining on 2nd guitar, making things heavier than ever. Seems like these dudes have been listening to a lot of Slayer and Motorhead along with the Cro-Mags - a lot of grooves, solos, thrashing riffs and heavy breakdowns in these 8 songs, written on their search for the truth, on their crusade against devilishment. Hardness like never before from these Belgian soul survivors, a record you MUST NOT sleep on.

WAR PIGS - NO HOPE, NO FAITH, NO POINT [Leave 'Em Records]
www.myspace.com/warpigshc
www.myspace.com/leaveemrecords

Straight outta Doylestown, Pennsylvania comes War Pigs, which is, like I've already previously stated, one hell of a band! This first 7" they're putting is at the same time the first release for Ohio's Leave 'Em Records - and what an amazing release it is for both parties involved. Something as good and as original as this is not too easy to find nowadays, and it's just lovely: a mixture of the most classic hardcore with AC/DC, Black Sabbath and Stooges influences - hardcore meets rock'n'roll in its purest form, with a simply amazing result! These 4 songs are able to get these dudes away from pretty much everything that's going on today, and let me tell you I expect even better things from them in the futre, as I don't wanna think about how good an LP from this band could be! Get it at THIS link.

WHILE YOU WAIT - A LIFE FOR A LIFE [Indelirium Records]
www.myspace.com/whileyouwaitmusic
www.indeliriumrecords.com

Straight outta Italy, and featuring past and current members of an endless list of bands, While You Wait is a pretty young band. Born in 2007 from an idea of the man behind Indelirium Records, the band started working really hard writing tunes to put out their debut release. Finally, after a demo used to spread their name, here's their debut MCD "A Life For A Life". The record features 6 songs in which you can hear some strong influences from band ranging from American Nightmare to From Ashes Rise, going through Go It Alone and Grade. Vocals are damn harsh and the quality of the recording definately played a nice trick. Overall, if you're into the latest breed of hardcore, melting melody and aggression, this is definately a band you have to check out!

Now playing:

• Bad Brains - Quickness
• Ol' Dirty Bastard - Return To The 36 Chambers
• House of Pain - House of Pain
• Madball - Demonstrating My Style
• HR - Charge

Alright, for those of you who don't know. ISHC is basically a side-project of New Found Glory, except with Chad on vocals and Jordan on guitar. However, Chad used to sing for Shai Hulud back in like 1996 when he was 14 (hopefully you knew this information). I don't believe I missed this.

For all of you who havn't heard ISHC, here's your chance. http://www.myspace.com/internationalsuperheroesofhardcore. Fun band, music's actually good.

I'll post a youtube video of the Shai Hulud cover when some are posted.

Expect more posts from me. Local bands beware.

So basically I've been holding off another post because I've been building and building up all this. . .STUFF I want to post, like cool links and videos and subjects and thoughts I've been having and questions I want answered and things I want to do on here but SINCE I have so much I want to do with my blog I can't bring myself to do it until I feel I have sufficient time to do so and I have not had said time yet, and really especially don't right now. I am crazy, yes. PS I dyed my hair blonde.

SEGUE, the trasitiony word not the thing Gob from Arrested Development(and random people in saint Aug) ride, lols, INTO the ARt I want to show today, I was browsing my old CDs and I realized how much I really like a lot of the CD booky/cover/jacket/sleeve WHATEVER art in a lot of my CDS and Mae's The Everglow stuck out and I wanted to see who did it, and lowwhoho and behold the God behind it (and apparently many many awesome CD/band/poster/ etc, art as I just discovered) is a "Three-time grammy nominated brotherly design duo of Don and Ryan Clark" aka INVISIBLE CREATURE, IMHO their work and aesthetic are modern, eccentric, hip, and completely original as well as incredibly varied making them a new personal role model. CHECK THEM OUT(yes that is demandin all-capsism):

INVISIBLE CREATURE: DON AND RYAN CLARK

(heading name of artists are always site links) and HERE's THe Blog--both all kinds of worth checking out.
EDITT//Their Blog is super super aweome, love their taste and what they post-badass badass badass officially love them, did I mention theyve done tons for  musicians and albums that I love and are in the band Demon Hunter, umm hello awesom people alert much. goodness!(literally)

Now for the cover of the album full of the art that intrigued me enough to research the artsit that lead me to this wonderful people.

(makes me wanna do do some watercolors! [&btw if you just thought of Old Greg then ilu.])

There's so much other good stuff from them I'm trusting you to check out the sites for yourself cause I really gotta get to sleep, a quick bit of mine first of course:

Something Of Mine

omg I'm insane if you only knew
Quick personalish update:

• like i said I'm blonde (maybe pics soon)
• I saw Crime in Stereo(missed them QQ) International Superheros of Hardcore, Four Years Srtong and New Found Glory, they are amazing- dont hate you music snobs you don't know what your'e sticking your nose up and away from-hrpmh-pop punk is not dead
• have shows and movies to discuss next time
• tattoo concepts to ponder
• philosophies and theologies and al that agood stuff to also ponder
• additionally Horror, Free Will, Magazine Development, Politics?, Video games, Homer Simpson, Brandon Boyd, crazy tattoos, and much more

on the next episode of my blog entitled Yay I'm finally REALLY UPDATING airing WHEN I GET THE FREAKING TIME

okdead

I have some new songs coming out nicely. I'm hoping to have some posted online soon. I'm also looking for places that I can play out. It's time for people to hear these songs, and see the emotion behind a few of them live. I also need some extra cash and this might be a good way.

I'm suppose to hang out with Sam today, but she's not answering her phone. Hopefully she'll give me a call back later on.

Friday I went to Orlando and saw The Academy Is.... What a great live show. They get better and better every time I see them. Also they played my favorite song by them, "After The Last Midtown Show". Then on Saturday I went to Jacksonville and saw New Found Glory. Holy shit was that show great! They played with a bunch of hardcore bands, so of course they hardcored up all their songs. It was awesome! I'm really excited for their new album. February needs to get here!

Well I'm going to go back to packing. Hope whoever reads this is having a great day!

So last week I vowed to give up beer for three weeks to maximise the health gains brought on by running and weightlifting. I lasted about 29 hours. My girlfriend's friends were visiting from the US and I had to show them a good time...and join in. Not very exciting if they come to the UK and their British host isn't even drinking beer, is it? It's ok though, I've learned that it's wrong to just give up things completely. All it does is make you want more, like when they slap an 'Explicit Lyrics' label on a CD and it suddenly becomes a mysterious, alluring piece of material for any 12-year-old with a strict parent. So from now on, things will be consumed in moderation. I'll drink bottles instead of pints, because they're smaller and usually more expensive. Great. 

This last week has been a real social whirlwind actually. Although I moved to Manchester two years ago, I've found it hard to make many friends in my area. There's nothing wrong with me (hopefully) - I'm just a normal guy who does normal stuff. I have one really, really good mate here though, and a couple of friends I've met through various means (no Russian brides) who I think will become really good friends in the long run.  Apart from my lady's friends staying (wasn't overly keen on the girl but her boyfriend was a nice bloke), I've been eating out (at restaurants, ahem), having the odd drink as previously documented, and just generally making a couple of new friends. Tonight we'll be participating in the pub quiz and I'm going to try very hard not to drink. 

Music-wise I've been listening to Elbow's 'The Seldom Seen Kid', which I'm only on the second run through. It's good though, and they're a band I've always promised I'd listen to further one day. After noticing they drink in my local watering-hole, I thought I'd give their new disc a spin. I suppose it fits into alt-rock, but that tag could hold any number of artists with completely different styles. Anyway, it's good stuff and definitely worth looking into.  I've also listened to the Vans Warped Tour '08 compilation album, as a lad at work brought it in from his local library. I have fond memories of my teenage years being peppered with punk and pop-punk from the likes of New Found Glory, Finch, Blink 182 and many, many more. I still love these bands and the music they make, so I was quite disappointed to discover most of the songs on this compilation are, well, crap. It's all very generic emo-tinted punk music that just doesn't stoke the fire for me. Maybe it's because I'm in my mid twenties now, or maybe it really is just ten-a-penny rubbish, I don't know. There are a few great bands on there I love though, particularly Against Me!, Bedouin Soundclash, Motion City Soundtrack and The Gaslight Anthem. Speaking of which, my short article on The Gaslight Anthem has just been published on Clash magazine's site (click here to have a read.) Back then (i.e. the long-gone era of 1998-2001) the bands in that scene all sounded really fresh and fun, whereas today many just sound like carbon-copies of those that came before them. Maybe I am becoming a nostalgic old bastard after all! 

Games-wise I've been playing a lot of the first Saints Row game. I really forgot how much fun that game is! It's like GTA IV but without any of the limiting realism, much like GTA: San Andreas. It's a game that doesn't take itself seriously at all, and because of it is very, very enjoyable. There's screen tear, the framerate isn't great and the graphics are boxy, but it doesn't matter because it's very easy to forget about these things once you're in there. I'm very much looking forward to the sequel this month now. I've also been having a bash at Scene It? Lights, Cameras, Action! which I bought an unused copy of for £17 at Game in the Trafford Centre, bargain! Rubbish to play by yourself, as 99.9% of trivia games are, but get a few mates round and get the drinks flowing and it's as good as any board game. 

At the weekend I watched Being John Malkovich, having never seen it before. One of the best films I've seen in a while. I'm saying nothing about it though, so if you haven't seen it do yourself a favour and grab a copy. I also watched Monty Python's Holy Grail, which I haven't seen in a while. I don't think there's been a British comedy that's beaten it yet in terms of humour and ingenuity. "It's merely a flesh wound!" Brilliant. 

That's about it. I'll promise to update this more frequently, primarily because writing such a long post is a pain in the arse.

Am Dm
Mama tells me I shouldn't bother
G Cmaj7 Am
Said I ought to stick to another man
Dm
A man that surely deserves me
G Cmaj7
I think you do
C A
Dm B7 E
So I cry I pray and I beg

A D Bm E
Love me love me say that you love me
A D Bm E
Fool me fool me go on and fool me
A D Bm E
Love me love me pretend that you love me
A D Bm E
Lead me lead me just say that you need me

F#m
Bm E A D E
So I cry and I beg for you to
A D Bm E
Love me love me say that you love me
A D Bm E
Lead me lead me say that you need me
Am Dm E Am
I can't care 'bout anything but you

Lately I have desperately wondered
Spent my nights awake and I wonder
What I could have done in another way
To make you stay

Reason will not teach a solution
I will end up lost in confusion
I don't care if you really care
As long as you don't go

So I cry I pray and I beg
Love me love me say that you love me
Fool me fool me go on and fool me
Love me love me pretend that you love me
Lead me lead me just say that you need me

So I cry and I beg for you to
Love me love me say that you love me
Lead me lead me say that you need me
I can't care 'bout anything but you

Love me love me say that you love me

Unbroken: Desesperanza y esperanza  al mismo tiempo, el rayo de luz  entre  densas capas de nubes. La violencia y el letargo musical y filosofico hacen una combinacion perfecta. Por algo son unas de las mejores bandas de todas las epocas
New Found Glory: Adolescencia nos dead, amor y desamor tampoco. Estos me hace creer que todo puede estar bien alguna vez, ellos siempre me ponen de buen humor. Por algo el blog se llama como se llama.
Leo Mattioli: Sisi, tambien me gusta la cumbia, pero Leo tiene las mejores letras de amor, engaños, desengaños. Algunas letras me sientan tan bien que hasta a veces  creo que las escribi yo ahaha.

So here's the story, day by day, band by band, moment after moment, time after time

DAY 1

so, for day 1, i was really excited to see New Found Glory, one of the best band in pop-punk scene, period. Ever since i saw them live on the DVD 'This Disaster", i was really anxious to watch them live. Well, what can i say? i grew up listening to these guys, i even played their songs with my band back in junior high.
At first, i wasn't going to watch these boys, because i already asked my father for ticket of day 2 (in which Lostprophets, one of my all time favorite band, performs). But luckily, JAVA musikindo (the promoter, if you don't know that already) held another discount event sponsored by Fruit Tea, so i'm able to buy another ticket for IDR 455.000 ( a 195.000 savings from the original 650.000). oh yeah, i'm not that excited to watch Simple Plan, simply because they just getting suckier by the minute (sorry SP fans, frankly, they do)

i arrived at the venue, which is Tennis Indoor Senayan at 3:00 PM. When i arrived, i said to myself,"holy shit, i don't belong here" why? because there's lots of Simple Plan fans already gathered and lining up in the entrance. But fuck it, i'm here to enjoy the show, and i'm not going to let some 14 year old ruin my evening. So i then take a seat on the edge of the sidewalks when this person with 'BANE' t shirt came in front of me and he's asking,"lo Gilang kan?" and i said,"Ya". It turns out, that person is Jadoon, one of my friend in Facebook who also work for the Macbeth Street Team. So we strike up some conversations. About 15 minutes later, Dimas, who also works for Macbeth Street Team, came to the front gate and greet us. And we talk for about 20 minutes, ranging from macbeth, to merchandise, to how Jadoon met NFG.

After a pretty long waiting, we finally able to get to the venue. I instantly go to the Macbeth booth. Besides Dimas, i met Inesh, Edo and Nisty, who happens to be taking care of the booth. I bought New Found Glory merchandise. The tee were white with Asia tour dates behind it. The tee was a standard indonesian quality, not too bad, not too good. average.

while waiting for the final gate to open, i watched the performance from the welcoming bands, air hostess for vacation and scared of bums. Both bands are sick, nuff said.

At 6:00 PM, the gate open, and i storm to the tribune. I got a decent seat, cause all the best seat are already taken over by other people. but that's fine by me.

Andra and the backbone opens the Day 1 set. Their sound WAS AWESOME (note: for an Indonesian band). Seriously, their sound is magnificent, clear, loud, and rocked hard. But the crowd sucked, they don't know shit about them, and simply stood still while the guys played.

after about 1 hour, A&TB finished their set. the crew of NFG started their duty. Then, the magic happens.

NFG open their set with "Understatement", the crowd went crazy. Jordan was wearing 'HAVE HEART' sleeveless tee and a bright red short, and running around without shoe on the set.
All i can say is, NFG kicked Indonesia's ass! nuff said.

as for SP, i don't know shit about the thing their doing inside, cause i was hanging around in the Macbeth booth after NFG set. 12:00 AM, i'm tired. Gotta go home,

DAY 2

woke up on 9:00 AM, i still feel tired, and my voice is a little hoarse. FYI, for the show today, i prepared a Welsh flag to bring to the Show. Because i know that Lostprophets is from Wales and always brings the Flag everytime they done a show. The flag costs me a whooping IDR 150.000., here's how the flag looks

When i looked at the flag, i felt that i could put something behind it. And i was thinking, 'let's put some Lostprophets's lyrics behind it!'. I was thinking hard, which lyrics should i put? after that, i put Burn Burn lyrics in them. The exact line is "Burn Burn, For Us, For Them, For You". Cause i thought that 'that's the line that defines Lostprophets!'.

So, 2:00 PM. i'm off to the venue. I went with Richard, my best friends, who also liked Lostprophets very much. We arrived at the venue at 3:00 PM. The venue situation? empty. There's this one girl already sitting in line (who turns out to be Amelfax, a friend from JakartaConcerts forum).

So at 4:30 PM, the Gate is open, and we storm inside. I met Ryan and Dimas from JakCo forum. Then i went straight to the merch booth, and bought Lostprophets tee, dubbed the 'Impromptour 2008 Tee", for 200k. Then, as my habit for a gig, i went straight to the final gate, waiting for it to open.

6:00 PM, gate open, don't think, RUN.
secure a safe spot up front, right in front of Ian later on. Here's the view:

awesome right? FYI, that mic in the center , is THE mic. Ian's mic! holy shit, i'm way too excited!

by the way, Melanie Subono sucked. She's way tooo decent. could have done better. But still, i applaud you girl!

after a 40 minutes production set up, Lostprophets hit the stage on 8:30 PM. 'We Still Kill The Old Way" blast through the speaker. As the boys plays their instruments, the singer is missing. It turns out, he is on the sidestage, waiting his turn to sing. Ian looked awesome. I don't meant to say this in a gay-ish kinda way, but he looked absolutely STUNNING that night! proof?

Photo taken by Ryan Novianto

i thought he looked like johnny depp LOL. Anywho, after WSKTOW, they blast to 'The New Transmission' , 'Can't Catch Tomorrow' and 'A Town Called Hypocrisy'. After that, Ian started the warm conversations to the crowd.

"How you guys doin Jakarta?"
*yeaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

at this moment, i scream so loud to Ian. I want him to see the flag that i made. Thank god he saw my flag, and we strike up some conversations

"wow, you got our flag there mate, where did you bought it?"
"I MADE IT!!!!"
"YOU'RE A LIAR!"
"NO!, Serious!"
"well, if you did make it, that's awesome! i could hire you! you could be a good employee"

holy shit, i just talked man-to-man with Ian-Fucking-Watkins.

Moments passed. Then, they blast through "Rooftops", "Start Something", "4:AM Forever", . At this point after 4AM, i screamed to Ian," NEW SONG!!!!". And suddenly he turn his face to me and said,"No....!! you will not know the words, hahaha" in a funny way. Damn he's a funny guy.

Then, they blast through "Last Summer", "Everyday Combat", "Last Train Home" and "Shinobi Vs. Dragon Ninja". Holy shit, how many song is that? 11. So i guess they are ready to play their final song of the night. I saw Lee changed his guitar to his red Fender Telecaster, while Mike use his Black Paul Reed Smith singlecut.

i know this, it's BURN-FUCKING-BURN

Ian started his mandatory closing speech

"well, this is our last song for tonight, one republic is coming up next, thank you guys, bla bla bla"

then i flipped my flag to reveal the otherside, which has Burn Burn Lyrics in them, and scream WAYYYYY too loud to Ian

"IANN!!!!!!"
*stared to the flag, in SURPRISED*
"HOLY SHIT THAT'S AWESOME, NOW YOU GET ON STAGE AND DANCE RIGHT NOW!"

Is this true? am i hearing it right? Ian Watkins, the frontman of Lostprophets wants me to get on stage to sing "Burn Burn" on stage with THEM? Holy shit, i felt my heart racing, sweats dropping on my forehead and my knees shivering.

now, wait a minute, did the frontman of one of my all time favorite bands really did said that?

people all around me, including Richard, already shouting,"ayooo!, naik naik!, hantam bleh!"

shit, let's go on with it!

2 security guy helped me up, and i climb the platform to get on the stage.

HOLY SHIT.

the first person i greet is Jamie, the keyboardist. Shit, boy do he has a big smile on his face. I hugged him like a long lost best friend from their childhood. I also hugged Mike. Boy, he also has big smiles on his face. Then, i hugged Stu, and shake Lee and Ilan's hand. But before that, i hugged Ian. Boy, sure these boys are one of the NICEST people around. I mean it. NICEST. N-I-C-E-S-T.

oh yeah, sorry 'bout hugging the guys to all the fangirl out there. HAHA! you don't get to do these!

then Ian started to talk to me
"cmon lad, show 'em the flag"
*i flipped my flag with the lyrics on*
*and the crowd went NUTS*
"THIS IS, BURN BURNNNNNNN!!!!"

Ian then grab ahold of my shoulder, and we headbanged together. Fuck, one of the most impossible action i ever thought in my life.

i even get to share the mic on this one. And i scream my fucking heart out while singing backup vocals.

burn burn the truth, the lies the news
burn burn the life, that you can't choose
burn burn the hate, that gets you through
BURN BURN FOR US, FOR THEM, FOR YOU

The whole song took a different meaning to me now. I finally know why this song definitely explains who and what Lostprophets are here for. They are one of the best bands in the world. Nuff said. I don't care whether you call them poser, faggot, or whatever. THEY ARE ONE OF THE BEST BANDS IN THE WORLD, and will definitely go down to history!

at the end, Stu approaches me, and gave me his pick. holy shit, Stu's pick is mine now! Then, i get another hug from Ian, and he went backstage. Before i get down, i stole the set list from the floor (LOL). Awesome

after i get of the stage, i was greeted by my friends, and i got interviewed by several radio stations and magazines. Feel like a celebrity LOL

anywho, here are some pictures my friend took when i'm on stage. Credit goes to Richard, Ryan, Amel, and Octa

cheers mate!

Someone call Reuters and tell them to edit their headline, because this shit sure ain't punk!

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Punk rock group New Found Glory has called time on its major-label career and signed a new deal with Epitaph Records. Its debut for the indie label, produced by former Blink-182 member Mark Hoppus, is due next spring.

Good Charlotte, Sum 41, New Found Glory it's all the same rock 'n pop, surely not set to shock ... ewww

I have to say though, I am only half satisfied with my purchase. The other half? International Superheroes of Hardcore. A side project with the same members. The difference being NFG guitarist Chad Gilbert gets to scream in every song. My least favorite part of the NFG records is Chad's screaming.

I do have respect for the way "Tip Of The Iceberg" was released though. They didn't put the hardcore side-project on the same disc as the NFG songs, and instead made it a double-disc EP. They weren't double dipping on this one and it was a decent buy at 12 bucks for a double-EP.

The NFG songs on "Tip Of the Iceberg" are not the best they have done, but again, I think it's a mere celebration of doing whatever they want. In an interview with absolutepunk.net Chad Gilbert said:

Were gonna write and record our entire album and then go to a label and have them put it out. Were doing it the other way around just because it’s nice to be in control. A lot of band will have a record label give them money and they record an album because they are obligated to be on that label but were gonna do it the opposite way.

I know they have already finished recording the next album, and I am really looking forward to it for two reasons: 1. They didn't have the pressures of a major label on them. and 2. Mark fucking Hoppus produced the album.

Mark Hoppus, in an interview with pickRset:

the new found glory record we just finished recording. this is a band i've been a fan of and friends with for a long time. then for past couple of years, as a listener, it seemed like they were kind of adrift. not that the songs were weak, but maybe just that they lacked focus. i can't really explain it. and then a few months ago i get a call from chad about working on their new record. we met up at the studio and he brought an ipod with a bunch of very rough demos. from the minute he walked in the door you could tell that this was a new band altogether. they had gotten out of their deal with their former label and had a whole new enthusiasm for their music. the tracks were still new found glory, but with a new edge and intensity to them. these guys wanted to come out swinging. so we went in and tracked what i think is the hardest-hitting nfg record to date. we worked really hard to get great, gritty guitars, big drums, edgy bass, and jordan is singing stronger than he ever has. now keep in mind that nfg has recorded a bunch of albums already. this is by no means their first bbq. so it was fun recording an album with a bunch of guys who had a definite sound in mind that they wanted to achieve, but also wanted input and guidance from someone they trusted. it was more of a collaboration, albeit a contentious one at times. usually when we are tracking a band, there are one or two members with definite opinions about what should and should not happen. in nfg, four of the five members hold fast in their opinions, and when it comes to voicing their views about what they do or don't like, there are no holds barred. throw in me with my thoughts and chris holmes with his, and it made for more than a few heated moments in the control room. but it totally worked. in those short moments of disagreement and raised voices, the songs really came together, and i think it shows through in the music. it's a great album. when we got the mix of the first track, all of us were floored. seriously. i can't wait for people to hear this record.

So yeah, I'm pumped.

Why "Kiss me" you might ask?

Well simply put, I think everyone wants and needs to be kissed and to kiss. Thus, "Kiss me".

I must admit, I'm enjoying how sensual these pieces are turning out. Of course they're even better in person.

The camera just doesn't capture the richness of tones or texture that's in each piece. See, this is why you should buy or commission one ;)

Anyway, here it is.

And because I think it's only fitting, here are a few videos to get you in the mood to go kiss someone.

#1  Des'ree "Kissing You"

#2 New Found Glory's cover of "Kiss Me"

Well that's all for now. I'm hoping to get another one done tomorrow.

So go kiss someone already ;)

Cheers,

A

To commission artwork from the artist, contact her at themilkeway@gmail.com

Beberapa pekan yang lalu, ibukota melahirkan banyak event musik berinisialkan “JAKARTA” pada titelnya, seperti Jakarta Rock Parade, Jakarta Deathfest. Serta tidak ketinggalan acara yang diselenggarakan L.A. Light Concert bersama promotor kawakan Java Musikindo, yaitu Jakarta Jam! (JJ). Berlangsung selama 2 hari (31 Juli & 1 Agustus) di Tennis Indoor Senayan, Jakarta. Festival musik yang tergolong akbar (dan juga mahal) ini menghadirkan 2 band mancanegara plus 1 band lokal setiap harinya dalam satu panggung. Jenis musik setiap band pun berbeda-beda, jadi pengunjung bisa memilih acara sesuai selera. Di hari pertama JJ terdapat Simple Plan, New Found Glory, Andra And The Back Bone. Sedangkan hari keduanya dilanjutkan oleh ONEREPUBLIC, LOST PROPHETS, MELANIE. Untung saya mendapat kesempatan liputan di hari pertama, tentunya karena sesuai selera. Hehe. Selain itu, (mengutip pernyataan big boss Java Adrie Soebono dari salah satu majalah “gratisan”) brand JAKARTA JAM! akan dipatenkan sebagai event musik tahunan Indonesia yang bertaraf & berkelas internasional layaknya BIG DAY OUT (Australia) atau SINGFEST (Singapore Music Festival). Maka, tak heran bila semua headliners di JJ juga tampil di SINGFEST yang digelar pada 2 & 3 Agustus kemudian. Termasuk pemenang Grammy Alicia Keys yang konsernya di Jakarta berbenturan dengan hari pertama JJ.

Setiba saya di gerbang lokasi, terlihat pelataran Tennis Indoor juga dibangun “panggung terbuka” ditemani stand-stand dagangan. Namun pemandangan itu semua tak lebih cuma intermezzo pengunjung. Maka, saya pun langsung memasuki ruang Tennis Indoor yang didalamnya ribuan penonton sudah padat berjejal. Di panggung pun kru NEW FOUND GLORY (NFG) sedang bersiap-siap check sound. Oya, sebelumnya panggung dibuka (lebih dulu) dari penampilan Andra And The Back Bone, yang tidak sempat saya saksikan. Lagipula kalau dinilai secara musikal, Andra dkk sama sekali ngga representatif sebagai opening dua band punk dunia itu. Tapi bila dipandang dari strategi pasar, tentu bahasanya akan berbeda.

Jeritan histeris penonton semakin memekik saat Jordan Pundik (vokal), Chad Gilbert (lead gitar), Steve Klein (ritem guitar), Ian Grushka (bass), & Cyrus Bolooki (drums) menunjukkan diri di atas panggung. Tanpa basa-basi, mereka kompak menyulutkan adrenalin crowds dengan “Understatement” dan suasana meledak…! “Everybodies jump!...” Singalong pun bergema menyertai bait-bait liriknya. NFG sendiri sampai terkagum dengan antusias penonton dan tak henti-hentinya memuji; “you’re awesome!” Selain memboyong lagu-lagu andalan, NFG juga banyak mengcover lagu dari artis-artis lain (tentunya dengan versi punk rock ala NFG), seperti GOO GOO DOLLS (“Iris”), SIXPENCE NONE The RICHER (“Kiss Me”), dll. Yang mana lagu-lagu tersebut juga tertampung dalam album NFG yang berisi khusus cover-songs, From the Screen to Your Stereo part II (Drive Thru, 2007). Sebenarnya, saya pribadi kurang mengikuti perkembangan NFG. Maka sekitar 15 lagu setlist-nya, tidak banyak yang saya ingat kecuali “My Friends Over You” yang dihempaskan di akhir panggung. Buat penggemar setia NFG, maafkanlah saya bila tidak banyak membahas band asal Florida ini. Namun kami bawakan kabar gembira, kalau band yang terbentuk sejak 1997 itu akan merilis album (penuh) ketujuhnya beberapa bulan lagi. Setelah itu, mereka juga berencana tur ke Australia dan (kalau sempat) mereka akan tampil kembali di Indonesia pada Januari 2009. Jadi, saat pasukan Chad Gilbert cs. konser kedua kalinya di Indonesia, fans NFG sudah bisa bersingalong bersama hit-hit terbarunya. Pendiri band Chad Gilbert juga sedikit menyinggung, kalau konser NFG di Indonesia selanjutnya berharap tiketnya tidak semahal tiket JJ, yang berbandrol Rp 650.000,- (festival) & Rp 550.000,- (tribun) untuk satu hari acara. Yup! Sebagai band yang baik, harusnya jangan memikirkan penjualan album saja, tapi juga peduli bagaimana fans dapat berkumpul di setiap live show-nya tanpa harus membongkar celengan babi hahaha... :D

Selesai performance NFG jam 9 malam, acara break selama 30 menit. Tidak sedikit penonton berbondong keluar untuk refreshing serta menyiapkan enerji buat menyaksikan show band selanjutnya. Tapi, entah siapa band yang lebih diprioritaskan pengunjung, saya tidak dapat memprediksi. Saya sendiri tetap berhasrat ingin menyaksikan band pop punk “manis” SIMPLE PLAN (SP), walau sebelumnya mereka pernah manggung di Jakarta 3 tahun lalu. Ternyata, giliran SP bersiap-siap, histeria penonton tak kalah hebatnya seperti menantikan band sebelumnya. Apalagi crowds barisan depan (yang lebih digandrungi cewe-cewe ABG) menjerit-jerit bak kesurupan saat melihat 5 cowok tampan dari Pierre Bouvier (vokal utama), Jeff Stinco (lead gitar), Sébastien Lefebvre (ritem gitar, vokal), David Desrosiers (bass, vokal), & Chuck Comeau (drums). Pesta pun dimulai bersama lagu “Generation”. Lagu yang bernuansa mars tersebut adalah salah satu track dari album terbaru SP (self-titled) yang dirilis Febuari kemarin. Beberapa materi lain dari album barunya juga memilki unsur sampling yang cukup kuat, diantaranya yang mereka bawakan: “Take my Hand”, “When I'm Gone”, “The End”, “Your Love is a Lie”, “Time to Say Goodbye”. Bahkan lagu “Save You” sendiri baru pertama kali mereka mainkan di panggung JJ kemarin. Selain mempromosikan lagu-lagu baru, tentu SP juga melantunkan hit-hit dari album sebelumnya Still Not Getting Any… (2004) & No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002), seperti: “Shut up!”, “Jump”, “Thank You”, “Addicted”, “I'd Do Anything”, “Worst Day Ever”, dll. Namun selama panggung SP berlangsung, suasana crowds tidak seliar pertunjukan NFG yang sampai membuat lingkaran mosh. Secara getoh, cewek-cewek ABG manis tadi mau pada moshing?!...

Mungkin bagi “mereka”, menonton SP tak rupanya seperti menyaksikan boy band. Bedanya, semua personil SP memainkan alat musik. Apalagi SP juga memiliki tembang-tembang berirama pop manis, semacam: “Welcome to my Life”, “Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me)”. Termasuk lagu “Perfect” yang sering ditempatkan di akhir show-nya. Songlist SP di Jakarta juga mengalami hal yang sama. Hanya di awal lagu, vokalis berpipi merah itu memainkan solo gitar akustik. Dan penonton pun berdendang sepenuh hati sambil menyalakan api atau lampu handphone, membuat isi gedung Tennis Indoor jadi mirip sarang kunang-kunang hahaha… :P Saat memasuki bagian bridge, lagu “Perfect” baru dimainkan seluruh personil hingga selesai. Dari tampilan kedua band bule di atas, akhir pertunjukkan sama sekali tidak ditambah dengan encore. Meski penonton juga sempat ngemis “we want more…we want more…” hehehe… Kalau saya pribadi tadinya berharap, di akhir show konser, SIMPLE PLAN dan NEW FOUND GLORY melakukan kolaborasi. Pastinya impresi show JJ malam itu tambah terlihat spekta. Apalagi genre kedua band tersebut cukup klop. Sayang, hal itu sama sekali tidak terjadi. :P Yahh, tapi ini khan cuma inisiatif saya aja, yang belum tentu juga kepikiran sama bandnya, hahaha... - Hardy

* Foto-foto oleh Hardy

早兩天山長水遠地跟細佬到大嶼山的亞洲博覽館,看這個號稱是香港首個搖滾音樂節的音樂會.
當晚有New Found Glory, Lostprophets, One Republic, Jamie Scott & The Town和Simple Plan,但我絕對是偏心地為了Lostprophets而來的.

約略簡單地介紹一下,Lostprophets是一隊來自威爾斯的搖滾樂隊,於1997年成立,出過三張大碟,並於2006及07年Kerrang!雜誌所主辦的頒獎典禮成為首隊連續兩年奪得最佳搖滾樂隊的樂隊而成為一時佳話.

喜歡Lostprophets是我17/18歲的事了,當時我沉迷於還未被樂隊/歌手侵佔的MySpace;由於網友多是英國人,見到他們放在profile裡很長很長的音樂那一欄,漸漸地覺得自己只聽Robbie Williams/Westlife這些cheesy pop很膚淺,於是就決定在網友們的profile所看到的樂隊都搜尋來聽一下.
當時YouTube剛開始投入服務,所以還未算太難找到這些音樂啦,我記得,除了Lostprophets之外,還有The Thrills, Death Cab for the Cuties, Atreyu...等等;但我看到Ian Watkins的長相後,我就愛上Lostprophets了.

(我還是一枚膚淺的動物...)
不過,當時我也很喜歡他們的Last Train Home/Burn Burn/Last Summer等歌曲啦.

好,離題了.

當晚第一個上台的,是來自英國的Jamie Scott & The Town.
音樂會之前,我對他們的認識只限於他們曾於Take That之前的演唱會當supporting act;聽到他們的音樂之後,覺得他們的音樂比較柔和,比較country,有點像Damien Rice那種,完全不明白為何他們會在一個搖滾音樂會上出現!
不過他的歌很好聽,很清新就是了,面對著一群不大對咀型的觀眾,很像令他們有點無奈的樣子.

第二隊是來自美國的New Found Glory,來暖場/間場的Channel V VJ將他們誤說為Lostprophets令我懷疑了好一陣子為何Ian Watkins會發福了這麼多...
大認識他們的歌曲,所以不贅了.

第三隊就是Lostprophets啦!
不過等了超過半個小時,那些擺位呀,台上設定的東西才完成;為免觀眾鼓噪,那位VJ每隔一段時間就會上台搞搞氣氛,叫觀眾大叫Lostprophets呀,又會倒數一下還有多少隊樂隊會上台.
Lostprophets一出場,大家都很興奮地大叫大嚷,他們唱了4am Forever/Hypocrisy/Rooftops/Burn Burn/Last Train Home/Last Summer(如有遺漏,請指教),我嗌到失聲!

之後的One Republic出來有很多歌都是大合唱位:Apologise/Stop and Stare/Umbrella;最後Simple Plan壓軸,唱了很多舊歌如Me Against the World/Perfect/Welcome to My Life等,跟著他們一起唱令我覺得自己年輕了5年!

最後Simple Plan唱到1:15am,Live N' Loud就正式完結了.
地鐵已經開出了最後一班列車,所以全部沒有私家車的人都唯有在風兩中步行往巴士站乘巴士此市區.

場地來說,亞洲博覽館還算容易去得到,乘地鐵到博覽館站就直接到達了,聞說比起自己駕車方便.
出發前,我們先在網上查過有甚麼方法可以比機鐵更便宜(來回HK$75),結果得知,我們用八達通的話,可以先乘東涌線到青衣站,然後再轉乘機鐵線;來回都在青衣站轉車的話,會比直接在香港站乘機鐵線便宜呢.(詳情請按這裡)
場館內的指示尚算清淅,雖然我們找Block B時也為自己是否身在正確的地方而猶疑了好一陣子.
要注意的是,當晚對在場人仕所攜帶的袋設有體積限制,凡是大於12"X15"的袋都要存於禮賓部(HK$25),或者是位於入口的locker;也許有少許不便,但也是大家的安全著想吧.

I am kind of regretful for not spending any time at stage two which better known for the asian/local bands and DJs stage since the line up for the main stage was just unbelievable. I just want to see for myself these big names on one stage in Singapore.

And that once thing I think they should avoid at future Singfests is asian/local bands on one stage and experience internationals acts on another.

So, here goes my review. One of the earliest highlight would be that young New Found Glory fan whose hair covered half of his face came on stage and play the bass guitar and sing along with the band. Hardcore.

I am sure Mêlée scored some new fans after their performance. Their songs are melodious and Chris Cron can sing live and plays and piano brilliantly. Unfortunately I can't identify songs from their debut album but some tunes from Devils and Angels that they played were Can’t Hold On, She’s Gonna Find Me Here, You Got and their heavily played song on radio, Built to Last.

The low point of the two day festival was when Lostprophets shouted vulgarity towards Rick Astley. I know they have a bad rocker image and Ian Watkins might just being silly at that time but they certainly upset Rick’s fans.
When Rick came on stage the next day, he still got the charm and bras and underwears were thrown on stage. He looked like he had fun singing for everyone there. I was a little bit sour when audience were still sitting when the 80’s superstar came on stage after the Levi's fashion show. Nonetheless, Rick ended his show with a bang. Never Gonna Give You Up was that one song we all were waiting for.
I went with an open mind and listen to singers or band I hardly listen to and maybe leave with a slightly likeness towards them or their songs.

Simple Plan sampled Flo Rida's Low. Wicked. The last time I watched them when they had their gig at Suntec Conventional Hall some two years back and I still like their stage presence and the silly conversations thay have on stage.

Fran Healy is a perfectionist. He can't get the show to start if he thinks his guitar wasn’t properly tuned. I like that. Travis played for over one and a half hours. I love their older hits and they play every single one of them. Sing, Side, Why Does It Always Rain on Me and the current one Closer. By the way, they got a new album which will drop end September. Check it out!

It was all panic and tragedy and Panic at the Disco came on stage. The speakers died but the band kept on playing. I solute them for that. The show must go on! And I am sure they were relived when the sound return at the third song. Yeah, THIRD song!

OneRepublic’s super-famous break-up anthem, Apologize, was sing-along from start to end and the loudest after Jason Mraz’s I’m Yours.

Jason even sampled Oasis’ Wonderwall. Superwicked! He even belted out Geek in the Pink, Remedy and from We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things - Butterfly, Make It Mine, The Dynamo of Volition, Live High and Only Human. Oh, Jason’s good buddy, Toca Rivera lend his voice while playing the djembe drums during I'm Yours and that was astounding!

Throughout the show, some sit, stand, shake their booty to the songs that being played on stage but when the Pussycat Dolls came up, they dance and we watched. I know it is not easy to dance and sing and at the same time wear high heel boots. They got tired singing from all the dancing but never got tired dancing from singing. I don't have any pictures of them as I was pretty much occupied.

To closed and well received and outstanding Singfest, the kind people from Midas Promotions had call a superstar from across the universe to entertained us. Ms Alicia Keys performed her hits from As I Am and some from her older albums. Power, lah, the eleven times Grammy awards receiver really can sing and amazed us. I wanted to sing along with her songs. Her dominant vocals, backup singers and band are in a class of their own. A little setback was the little-little changes or extending of her songs wasn’t to my likings. I am sure I am alone on this cause the rest sure left Fort Canning wanting more from the Diva.

If Singfest could outdo itself next year, I would definitely be back at the park even if it is a three-day event. But please, go slow on the ticket price.

We all played Pokemon.  Well all my friends did.  I mean, it was fifth grade; Yo-Yos had just been banned from school – even during recess! – apparently someone had used one as a weapon, but anyway I digress, basically: we needed a new fad, and it became Pokemon.

Everyone I new became addicted, completely consumed by the Pokemon culture: not just by the cards, but by the television show, the videogames, and some even by the cheap t-shirts and Ash Ketchum imitation hats.

Eventually the fad died.

Breaking News: every fad dies.  I was luckily enough to cash out early, selling my holographic Charizard for $80 a few weeks before we all found another fire to throw our allowance money into.  It might have been WWF action figures.

High school came next and fads became more fashion based and I stopped paying attention to most anything but girls that were out of my league and blink-182 records.

There was not a chance in hell of me getting any girls, so I spent time getting more records, expanding from blink-182 to other pop punk bands: New Found Glory, Sum 41 ect… eventually horrible shit like Good Charlotte and Simple Plan popped up and I moved to the “emo” explosion.  I became completely consumed watching television shows on FUSE, buying literal tons of band merch, sporting the tightest jeans ect…

(time passes)

Recently I had an epiphany.  An old friend from the days of Pokemon flew down from CT to go to Warped Tour here in FL.  We caught up on this and that and moved to discuss the massive pile of bands that are on Warped 2008 this summer.

Talk of bands with music nerds always almost moves to talk of “The Scene.”

“Hey you get the new Alesana album?” Trev might have said.

“Yeah, the screams are getting a little too high pitched, blah, blah, blah…” I might have said.

Anyway, my epiphany was: emo, screamo, whatever-core bands are my new Pokemon cards.

When my buddies and I played with Pokemon cards it started as a competition of collection.  Buy.  Buy.  Buy.

Eventually all our decks had become massive.  We had moved from starter packs, to the randomized collections wrapped in foil: hoping to find something rare and elusive.  By the time we all had collections big enough for 300 page plastic sleeved binders we realized we could trade with each other.

No more wasted time where we got yet another useless Pikachu card when what we really wanted was a holographic [insert bizarre stupid name here].

All of our collections were of equal quality, so letting a few generic doubles go for the opportunity to grab some new and powerful card was quite the rush.

One big problem eventually arose: we all wanted the same cards.  We were all striving for the same perfect line-up to man the front lines of our Pokemon armies.

The next problem was one that no of us expected: we all got what we wanted.  When this happened we all got bored and gave it up.

(time passes)

When I got into emo, it was all a competition of collecting the most obscure and unheard of bands.  Buy.  Buy.  Buy.

My record collection became more and more massive.  I moved from a 20 Gigabyte iPod to a 40 GB, then the 80 GB came out and just when I filled that one up Apple unveiled the 160 GB!

I started with pop-punk tinged emo like Taking Back Sunday and early Brand New, next was something with a little more attitude, bands with equal parts of singing and screaming mixed in:  Dead Poetic and Story of the Year.  Then it was a push for more angst, more screaming: only a hefty dose of double bass drum would satisfy my needs, urges, cravings.

Once my collection began to include genres as obscure as Electronic Grindcore, Progressive Emo Core, and [insert bizarre stupid name here] the trading phase came into play.  Though, this time around, there was a catch:

No one would trade information about the obscure gems of bands in their treasure troves.  No one would give up bands in the line-up of their perfect playlist.  Just like Pokemon cards people would only trade doubles.

If you liked Hit The Lights someone might divulge information to turn you on to All Time Low.  If you liked Underoath someone might let it slip that you’d certainly enjoy Chiodos.  Cute Is What We Aim For fans might be led to listen to The Maine.  But that was about it.  Bands that had waded into the waters of MTVs radar would be traded for similar bands of the like.

Then a bizarre phenomenon started to happen: the bands started to trade with each other.

All the bands wanted the same sound.  They were all striving for the same perfect line-up to get them signed to some trendy label like Rise Records or maybe even an imprint of a Major (which didn’t count as selling out because even though a band might end up signed under somebody like Warner Bros, that company’s logo wouldn’t appear on their CD sleeve).

So frontmen became the new holographic cards.

For example, Dance Gavin Dance kicked frontman and “clean” vocalist Jonny Craig out of the band.  The band said that he was a self destructive drug addict, but I read between the lines of that myspace bulletin:  Craig was just too bombastic –  so DGD grabbed Kurt Travis, the frontman from Five Minute Ride for a more straight forward voice.

Meanwhile, Emarosa’s frontman, Chris Roetter quit to start a Christian Chaotic Metalcore band.  Emarosa grabbed Craig’s bombastic voice so they could have less bombastic instrumentation.  And when the band’s new album “Relativity” came out, surprise: Craig’s voice was more bombastic than ever while the band’s instrumentation was basically dumbed down background music.

The trading got out of control.

While Escape The Fate’s frontman, Ronnie Radke was on the run from the cops (he basically murdered a guy in gang fight) ETF grabbed blessthefall’s Craig Mabbitt.

From First To Last’s Sonny Moore went solo and stole away Drop Dead, Gorgeous’s keyboardist to create stupid Electronica music.  FFTL was left with Matt Good, their backup vocalist/guitarist as their frontman (who did a surprisingly good job on their next record).

Sky Eats Airplane lost their clean vocalist Brack Cantrell, who was 50% of the two piece act.  But Lee Duck, the remaining member, grabbed the members of (In Theory) (who recently had their frontman quit) as a backing band and then auditioned for a new frontman for awhile until finally finding Jerry Roush.

Saosin’s frontman, Anthony Green*, quit the band to form Circa Survive.  Then Green joined up with the frontman of Chiodos: Craig Owens, and combined with the frontman of Rx Bandits, Matt Embree, to form the frontman supergroup: The Sound Of Animals Fighting.  Then Green went on to put out a solo album under his own name while Owens released a solo album under the name Cinematic Sunrise.

*Green had previously spent time fronting Audience Of One, High And Driving, and Jeer At Rome before his endeavor with Saosin.

The Early November’s frontman, Ace Enders, released a solo album under the name: I Can Make A Mess Like Nobody’s Business, and I guess he really liked it because shortly after he quit the band to release music under his own name.  Jeff Krumer, the band’s drummer, went to become the frontman of Grace Period, who changed their name to Your Sweet Uncertainty and also started some solo work while guitarist Joe Marro went solo with Joseph Marro and the Hum Drum.

As Cites Burn Lost their frontman, and much like FFTL, their guitarist/back-up vocalist had to step up to frontman duties.  Say Anthing frontman Max Bemis joined up with Saves The Day frontman Chris Conely to create Two Tongues.  Alexisonfire went on a hiatus while frontman Dallas Green started releasing solo albums under the name City & Colour.  One of the stupidest things to happen during this trading game was when As I Lay Dying’s frontman, Tim Lambesis, released an Arnold Swarchenegger themed solo album, though I think it was supposed to be ironic, making fun of how stupid solo albums can be.

Since all the bands, like all my friends binders of Pokemon cards, were essentially the same, all the changing really had no effect on any of the bands’ musical output.

Emo started with promise, just as punk did, but originality is running low these days.

(time: the present)

Now I’m sitting here, still stoked for Warped mind you, but wondering if this whole “Scene” is just going to be remembered as a passing fad.

Should I cash out early like I did with Pokemon?  Should I try to sell my limited to 100 pressings special colorway “Blowing Chunks” 7” EP by Evergreen Terrace that has two unreleased b-sides (songs I’m yet to even find circulating on the internet) while it still might be worth something?  Should I burn my tight pants, eBay all the band merch and signed posters, yell every obscure bands’ name from the top of a mountain for all to know, and cut my hair so I can see out of both my eyes?

I do not have a clue.  This is why I’m so distressed.

I’m probably just going to go down with the ship, hang on, burn out on the chariot of fire, and pick up the pieces after “The Scene” has hit rock bottom.

Though, if you find yourself in this same predicament I’m fairly certain that it is not too late for you too save yourself.

Acara yang akan diselenggarakan oleh Java Musikindo ini rencananya akan diselenggarakan pada tanggal 17 Agustus. Dan acara ini pun akan dibuka oleh The Changcuters..

Dan acara-acara lainnya pun akan diselenggarakan oleh Java Musikindo dengan bintang tamu new found glory, simple plan, lost prophet dan band lokal nya andra and the backbone.

For another night in a row

This is becoming too routine for me

But I didn't mean to lead you on

And it's all right to pretend

That we still talk

It's just for show, isn't it?

It's my fault that it fell apart

Just maybe

you need this

and I didn't

Mean to lead you on

** You were everything I wanted

But I just can't

Finish what I've started.

There's no room left here on my back

It was damaged long ago

Though you swear that you are true

I still pick my friends over you

My friends over you

Please tell me everything,

That you think that I should know

About all the plans you made

When I was no where to be found.

And it's all right to forget

That we still talk

It's just for fun, isn't it?

It's my fault that it fell apart

Just maybe

You need this

And I didn't

Mean to

Lead you on

Back to **

Just maybe you need this

You need this...

And I didn't

Mean to lead you on

Back to ** 2 x

Hoho, click the link below to connect to youtube and see the video:

New Found Glory - My friends over you - Music Video

[mixwit_mixtape wid="1157230b9087abcc136f820823201717" pid="ebb591bdd422446e4579973a8a065faf" un="bartskull" width="426" height="327" center="true"]

Thao Nguyen - Beat (Health, Life, and Fire) She's from Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, an alternative folk rock group from San Francisco. Toured with Rilo Kiley and are now on their own headlining tour (I believe).

New Found Glory - Radio Adelaide Pop-punk band based out of Florida. Very early 2000s, but they are still around. As of June, they have been in the studio working on a new record with Mark Hoppus.

Dinosaur Jr. - I Got Lost American alt rock band from Amhert, Massachusetts (woo!). They got together in 1984, disbanded in 1997 and reunited in 2005. This is a newer song.

Beirut - Cherbourg Indie band from Santa Fe started by Zach Condon. The trumpet and the ukele are the main instruments used due to a wrist injury that prevents him from using a guitar. Sometimes I can't tell if he's speaking English but the songs are beautiful.

John Legend - Where Did My Baby Go? American soul singer, songwriter and pianist. I don't really like John Legend for some reason. But I like this song a lot.

Fionn Regan - Be Good Or Be Gone Irish singer-songwriter, poet and artist. Folky and very lovely song. His first release in 2002 was called "Little Miss Drunk" which, you know...is awesome.

A Fine Frenzy - Almost Lover (Remix) Stagename of Alison Sudol, an American singer-songwriter who is very adorable and has a great voice. The original of this song is slow and sad, the remix picks up the tempo.

The Beach Boys - Surfin' USA 60s "rock and roll" band. I have a huge thing against The Beach Boys and I'm not sure why, but I think it might have something to do with Full House. But you can't hate this song.

The Softies - You And Only You A pop music duo consisting of Rose Melberg and Jen Sbragia. The broke up in 2000. They supported Elliott Smith on tour once.

The Getaway Plan - Strings Alternative rock band based in Australia. They released their first studio album this past February, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Independent Records chart - pretty legit.

David Brent - Freelove Freeway From the UK version of The Office. Sung by David Brent who is played by Ricky Gervais. I haven't ever watched the UK Office but apparently David Brent used to sing in a rock and roll band and this was one of their songs. The part about the cowboy is funny.

Hello Saferide - My Best Friend Swedish indie pop band formed in 2005. The song is funny - about a girl who has so much in common with her best friend that she wishes they were lesbians.

Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay American soul singer. Incredibly charming. LOVE Otis Redding. Died in a plane crash with his manager and most of his band. This song was released posthumously.

A Kiss Could Be Deadly - Acoustic Romance Pop punk band based out of Riverside California. In June their bass player left and now they are changing their whole style, so definitely worth looking into what the new stuff is like.

Tally Hall - Greener American indie rock band based out of Michigan and formed in 2002. They are known for their upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. They each wear a certain color of tie all the time - Rob (yellow-vocals/guitar), Zubin (blue-vocals/bass), Ross (grey-percussion), Joe (red-vocals/guitar), and Andrew (green-vocals/keys).

Loves it!
Ponz

1. Memo to corporate America: Please stop co-opting my childhood to sell your stupid crap.

It's already bad enough that I can hardly listen to The Who without seeing scenes from CSI: Whatever in my head (nothing like some bad David Caruso acting to ruin a rousing "Won't Get Fooled Again"). But now JC Penny has to go and destroy one of my favorite movies of all time--The Breakfast Club--in an attempt to sell back-to-school clothes. And, yes--I'm not so naive that I don't realize that the artists are culpable here as well--The Who's songs don't just magically appear over the credits of a TV show, and I'm assuming that some licensing agreement was made in order to recreate scenes from The Breakfast Club (although, the scenes aren't recreated exactly as they are in the movie and for my money, the whole thing falls under the definition of a parody, thus making this train wreck absolutely legal regardless of permissions).

But while parody is one thing (I love it when shows like Family Guy make fun of '80s institutions, because it's like a little wink, wink, nudge, nudge to their audience. Plus, it's usually hysterical), taking iconic songs and films from the past and using them to market a TV show or sell clothes always seems a little...well...gross to me somehow. In fact, I'm usually less inclined to watch whatever show or buy whatever product because I'm just rubbed so completely the wrong way.

So if somebody decides to start using "Hungry Like the Wolf" to sell popcorn, then I guess I'm fucked because two of my favorite things will be ruined for me.

2. Just who the hell is the audience for this thing anyway?

When the time came to buy fall clothes in my house, my mom and I (and later, once I started working, just me) would go to the mall and we'd just veer wherever I found clothes that suited whatever I thought was cool at the time (and then she'd say, "You're not planning on buying that, are you?" or "I am not buying that for you." And then we'd fight and then I'd end up with clothes I totally hated and people would laugh at me. But I digress.). But regardless of who was actually purchasing the clothes, the point here is that I was the consumer--I was the one making the decisions about what stores to enter and what clothes to look at, at least initially.

And as today's teens have more money than ever (whether earned or given to them by their parents), they have awesome power as consumers. So why did JC Penny choose to ape a movie that was released before any of them were born (and let's just have a moment of silence over the fact that The Breakfast Club was first released nearly twenty-five years ago. Sigh.)? While I know that the film has endured in the pop culture cannon, would most tweens and teens get the reference (and I know some particularly savvy kids probably would, but what about the kids who are ingesting a daily diet of Hannah Montana or Lil' Wayne or Fall Out Boy or the Jonas Brothers or whatever travesty is coming down the pike these days. Would they get it?)? And even if they get it, will it make them want to rush headlong into a JC Penny for some cool threads?

I thought that perhaps the target audience for the ad was maybe the parents of the kids rather than the kids themselves (and let's have another moment of silence to observe the fact that people my age are actually old enough to have kids in high school). But again, while the parents may control the purse strings, the kids are the ones who are actually yanking the purse strings around the mall. And I could be misremembering things here, but I don't recall my mother and I ever entering a particular store on the strength of a commercial that mimicked scenes from Rebel Without a Cause  or Tammy.

So, um, yeah--the audience thing baffles me.

3. And don't even get me started on the kids in this commercial. Oh, wait...here I go...

The point of The Breakfast Club was that regardless of whatever high school stereotype we exemplified on the outside--the brain, the jock, the princess, the criminal, or the basket case--we were all dealing with the same emotional black holes on the inside. I always thought that the message was why the film became such a classic. I mean, what teenager can't relate to that sentiment? And I know that personally, thinking about the film helped me get through those rough patches in high school when I thought that the popular kids couldn't possibly understand anything that my friends and I were about--I'd think back on the movie and try to remember that deep down, we were all just human beings of about the same age, trying to deal with the same shit in our own ways.

Um, so thanks, JC Penny, for ruining the message of the film for me. As you can see if you watch the clip, not only are the kids in this Breakfast Cluster-Fuck the same on the inside, they're the same on the outside, too, all of them looking like the preppy spawn of princess Claire Standish and jock Andrew Clark. The girl who gets to recreate the iconic Allison (the basket case) scene of her pouring pixie stix onto a sandwich made of bread and Cap'n Crunch is wearing a pink dress. A pink dress, for the love of all that's holy. Somewhere, Ally Sheedy is probably crying. I know I am, anyway. And nowhere in this ad does there appear to be a nerdy Brian or a rebellious Bender (and no, young man who thrusts your fist in the air as you are leaving the school at the end of the commercial--you are no John Bender).  All of these kids are as nicely-dressed (of course--it's a clothing ad) and freshly-scrubbed as your local church youth group. John Bender wouldn't have hesitated to put a cigarette out on one of their foreheads.

So JC Penny takes a film with a moving message about getting beyond typical teenage alienation and twists that into "Buy our clothes, and you'll look cool just like these kids." Barf.

As it's July, I'm assuming I'll have to either endure this insult of a commercial until late August or early September or stop watching TV altogether, and as option #2 isn't likely, I guess I'll just have to let this ad stoke my anger. And I haven't even touched on the awful remake of Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me" by "pop-punk" outfit New Found Glory ("Pop-punk." Bleh. I'm still waiting for the day Johnny Rotten blows snot on the New Found Glorys and Avril Lavignes of the world and they run away crying). Nor have I touched on the fact that the Shermer High School in the ad doesn't look like the Shermer High School in the movie (which was actually two different suburban Chicago high schools in the original film, because as Jay reminds us in Dogma, "There is no Shermer, Illinois."). There's just not enough space in one blog posting to go off in detail on everything that offends me about this commercial.

But at least they tried to get the old-school Illinois licesnse plates right. So boo-yah to you, JCP, for making the effort.