Fucked Up

Fucked Up.  They're Canadian.  Early on the name really intrigued me, but as I looked into this group, there were some other things that would end up proving themselves to be even more interesting.  Here's their current lineup:

Pink Eyes - vocals

10,000 Marbles - lead guitar

Concentration Camp - rhythm guitar

Mustard Gas - bass

Guinea Beat - drums

Young Governor - third guitar (on occasion)

Word on the street is that Fucked Up is "experimental hardcore".  I believe the experimental part, without a doubt.  Although they aren't exactly the heaviest band out there.  And they are very melodic too, with lots of layers in them guitars.  Pink Eyes, being the big, sweaty, burly, bearded man that he is, delivers gruff-sounding vocals, which happen to be surprisingly tuneful at times.  He also sometimes does that Silence of the Lambs thing where you put your junk between your legs.  Naked of course.  And in front of the crowd at shows.

Fucked Up formed in early 2001 and since then have only released two albums.  What!?  No way, thats hardly nothing.  Well, in addition to their two LPs, they have released two compilation albums, ten twelve-inches (four of which are part of a quadrilogy), 32 seven-inches (many of which are splits), seven tapes (including a self released demo and three mix tapes), one song in a various artist compilation, a three song CD-R, a DVD, and an 8-track (I counted fast, and didn't double check, so I may be a bit off with some numbers, but you get the idea).  And they still have three splits and a musical in the works.

These works were put out by at least a dozen or so labels.  But don't count on finding all of it.  Basically all of their releases were vinyl exclusive.  Just look at this chunk of text from the wiki:

"The band's use of imagery and symbolism took a decided turn after the release of Epics in Minutes, as it was followed by two limited 12"s, the Looking for Gold 12", and the live Let Likes be Cured by Likes 12". The Looking for Gold 12" contained no liner notes or credits, no song titles, and a hidden track. It was self-released by the band in 2004 in two limited runs of 300 & 400 copies. The title track was 16 minutes long, used 18 guitar tracks, had a three minute drum solo and contained 5 minutes of whistling."

So, yeah.  Experimental.  Lots of very rare releases.

But from knowing all of this, try not to get too overwhelmed.  Just start with their first compilation (Epics in Minutes).  Or at least with the first twelve tracks from that.  "Baiting the Public" and "Police" were some highlights for me when I first listened to it.  You can listen to the latter song on their myspace.  Fucked Up won't necessarily become your favorite band, it's just something worth experiencing.

Myspace

Wikipedia

Show Blog

Tour Blog


If this music turns out to be something you really like, I would highly suggest warming up to their first album.  Its not bad, but once you get used to that then move on to The Chemistry of the Common Life.  It's pretty epic at times.

Koalacaust

Koalacaust is a folk punk band from San Francisco.  They have an accordion.  This is the kind of music that you listen to a few times, and remember the lyrics, then drive around while playing it and yelling the words until your voice box turns to mush.  They have a great self titled LP, for free on their myspace.  Listened to it lots.

MYSPACE
"Heath Ledger" and "Skyscrapers"


PS: They also have a new EP out on vinyl.  Get it here.

Kali

I love this.  Canadian pv.
"Fierce Power Violence with a strong anti-Christian stance. Considering the fact that the youngest member of Kali is only 16 this is more than awesome."
-Interpunk

They are broken up now.  Check out their split with Ultimate Blowup (their half is on their myspace, if you can't find it).  Their self-titled demo is also rad (released as a 7").

myspace
get that 7"

Gauntlet Hair

Yeah, so more of this please.  It is like lo fi, indie-ish stuff, but whatever.  Took me a few listens, but now I'm hooked.  These guys will probably get kind of big in a little while.  They have a demo with three tracks, and a 7" with two of those tracks from the demo.  And another 7" soon?  Highly recommend "I Was Thinking".  All recordings to this point are streaming on myspace.


myspace

This is irrelevant...in a grilled cheese sort of way.

Grilled Cheese Social is a blog about grilled cheese (who would have thought).  Grilled cheese in a sort of unconventional, yet awesomely appetizing way.  Kind of gourmet-esque recipes that don't seem all to difficult to work with.  Grilled cheese concoctions with macaroni, asparagus, cranberries, fried eggs, apples, arugula, bacon, artichokes, almonds, and tomatoes.  And lots of different cheeses and spices and stuff.  I would make some of these, but I'm too lazy.

I Have Dreams

A band that lasted from 1998 to 1999.  Excellent screamo-based music, with bits of emo and hardcore thrown in.  They only put out one short five song release called Three Days 'Til Christmas.  I admire their song structures.

myspace

Ceremony

FIRST OFF, open this and blast it while you read the following. It sets some atmosphere.

Cere-fucking-mony is a hardcore punk band from the California Bay area.  Part hardcore, part powerviolence, and a bit of thrashiness to it.  So genre-wise, they draw from a lot of music, even things outside of the heavier spectrum (think music from the 80s, but not just hardcore).  So intense.  They started out with a demo, then thier first EP, Ruined.  But then re-recorded those songs, with some new ones on Violence Violence, their first full release:

I enjoy this album ("enjoy" read as: "punch and kick down walls with").  I remember just being initially blown away by the relentlessness of the thing.  Pure anger in such a raw.  Crazy.  When I first heard it, my nose started to bleed and I my heart raced for a minute until it stopped beating. I woke up in the hospital and the doctor just diagnosed my problem by simply stating it was all a result of having listened to Ceremony for the first time and then went on about how fucking awesome the band is.  


Also, the vocalist, Ross, really throws out some rad lyrics.  Real angsty shit.  Just fucking look at him:

Their second EP, Scared People marked a change in their sound.  They maintained that energy and fervid anger, but added a sort of darkness feel to it (most of these lyrics were written during a month long stint that Ross spent in jail). That new tone was elaborated on their second LP, Still Nothing Moves You.  Compared to their earlier music, as far as attitude goes, they are far less "mean" as Ross puts it.  But with the tone of Still Nothing Moves You, Ross admitted he feels he may have been trying a bit too much to convey this change in writing style.  He also stated that although the lyrics of their older songs may not reflect the current state of mind of the band today, they are still tunes that are iconic to the group, and nonetheless, very fun to play.

Their third full-length (Rohnert Park) marks an even more dramatic change in the band's sound.  Less thrashy and fast. More old-school hardcore punk oriented rhythms and riffing.  A lot more stripped down with their sound overall.  The lyrics are still influenced by some personal experiences, but they seem a bit more up-front and direct, and more or less aggravated than violent I would say.  And of course, its still angry as fuck, just in a different style.  Despite being so very unlike the way they started, this album is pretty solid.  It took me a while to warm up to it though.  I talked to the guitarist Anthony about the new LP. He said how he felt it wouldn't be right to try and push the same original sound onto a third album, so they changed to avoid spiraling into the inevitable redundancy that can occur in a band's third full length release.  So they made something new.

Ceremony doesn't have a Myspace.  No Twitter.  No Facebook.  They are way too cool for that shit.  Below is a link to their site, which has links to merch.  Also, some videos of live jams.

TL;DR: Get the album Violence Violence.

WEBPAGE

"Kersed"

"He (God) Has Favored Our Undertakings" and "Pressures On" (a Red C cover)

"It's Going to be a Cold Winter" and "Kersed"

"Throwing Bricks"

"Living Hell"

wikipedia

PS: This band is named after the Joy Divison/New Order song.  There's a pretty big reference to it at the end of their demo.  Anthony is really into 80s music.  He fucking loves Prince.

Dr. Manhattan

Look at those fucking hipsters (towards the bottom). This picture makes me almost as happy as their music does. Currently my favorite unsigned band, Dr. Manhattan has been slowly making waves in the Chicago music scene for several years now. Their eponymous debut is ambitiously edgy and angsty, but deep down inside still makes you want to dance. Jam Dreams, their latest effort, builds upon their self-titled, but pushes their sound to a more eclectic and upbeat state of controlled chaos that's just a lot of fun to listen to. Check out the songs "Mailman", "Texas", and "Biscuits and Groovy" for a taste of what these fucking hipsters have to offer. Oh and just to clarify: they named their band when Watchmen was still cool (before that piece of shit Zack Snyder film).

Myspace

Listen to Jam Dreams

Homemade "Mailman" music video

You should really come with me

We could wreck things with fire

We could lay down and cry

By the riot that we'll inspire

-Cowgirl

Hobbes

My friend Hobbes is writing on here now.  Just to let you know.  Yup.  Just look at who's writing at the very bottom of each post.


He is an actual writer (or an aspiring one, anyhow), so his posts should be somewhat better thought out than mine.  He's a musician, too (but so am I, to some extent*).  But he wanted me to mention that for some aesthetic ego stroking.


*open for interpretation

Twin Shadow

Some real, deep-space, lo-fi shit right here.  Yeah, lo-fi (or pop in general*) and I rarely get along well, so this is all a bit new to me.  This guy is super hipster, but his beats are so fresh.  Been jamming out to his LP everyday for almost a week now.  Its titled Forget.  It is streaming on his webpage.  Really laid back.  So very good, if you like this kind of stuff that is.  Very 80s sounding.  Below are two music videos.  Watch both, because each are quite different, tones of the two songs aside, even.  Also, there's a link to a review down there.  It explains his music better than I could.

"Castles in the Snow"

"Slow"

myspace

WEBSITE

album review

*self reassuring lies

Hate

Hate is a hardcore band from Chicago.  Rough, raspy vocals.  Get all three of their demos off their myspace (each of which I have listened to at least 10 times).  Other than that, they do have a 7" (Crimes, and it has three tracks).  The track "Fight Privilege" off Demo II is by far one of my favorites.  Such a driving song.  But its all good.  Damn.  Tight tunes.


HATE HATE HATE

Midwest Pen Pals

One of my favorite emo groups. From Indiana. It's dead though  :(

They've got six songs on their EP titled Inside Jokes.  Its pretty much everywhere.  Including their myspace!  But as far as I know, they also have a couple demo songs too.

Myspace (Listen to "Austin's House")

their outdated tumblr

this is somewhat relevant (and ignorant)...

Piglet

A dead math-rock band from Chicago.  Required listening for fans of the genre.  One release titled Lava Land. Very easy to find.  Get it!


"Bugstomp"

Megabats

I'm probably not going to mention stuff like this ever again (if not, then not too often).  But anyhow,  in researching this group (what little research I do happen to do), I first found this.  Then I was like "shit, this is awesome, this group is named after giant fucking bats".  Then I started reading about the animal and found its name is like an oxymoron depending on what type of megabat it is.  But who cares, right?  Whatever.  Megabats is an electronic group from Washington state.  Electronic in lieu of the ambient/psychedelic/drone category, but I'm just calling it minimalist.  Not typically my kind of stuff.  It's alright. This music is made by two guys who use a Korg synthesizer game for the Nintendo DS.


megaspace

this is irrelevant

...but the second half of season 4 starts this upcoming Sunday.

Minor Threat

Minor Threat is a classic and highly influential hardcore band from the Washington DC area, active during some of hardcore's greatest years (80 to 83).  There's already a shitton of things that have already been said about this miraculous group, so I will just tell you my personal experience with their music.  First off, when I originally listened to it I was maybe my last year of high school.

It gave me a really bad headache, I fucking hated it and I was driving at the time, so I didn't feel much like putting up with it.  About a year or so later, it was safe to say that this music has changed the way I see all music in general.  Sound-wise, it sounds terrible.  The guitar distortion combined with the recording quality sounds like chainsaws.  Layer that with a 19 year old kid yelling over it, and it really doesn't sound too good at first.  Or even at the second or third listen.  It took me a while.  All the songs really sounded the same to me early on, but are now so varied and unique.  I love every tune by this band.  (Note: their discography collection doesn't have all of their music.  They also have a demo tape, with different recordings of some songs.  There's also several bootleg live sets out there.)

wikipedia

myspace tribute page

an excellent page with lots of info, old articles, and very insightful interviews with band members (this is a bit better than the wiki page, to be honest)

Peter and Craig

Just two good pals making some fun, positive punk. Thats about it. Pretty DIY. Listen to their Summer EP (a part of their 7" series based on each season, but only Spring and Summer are out yet :P). Being that summer is coming to an end, its a relevant listen. Check out "Lets Go Surfing" and "Air Conditioning" on their myspace. Those songs are from Summer. Also, there's this song called "I'm a Seagull". Its written from the perspective of a seagull (of course!) and how the seagull is going to steal your pretzel and shit on your family.

Aside from their tentative season 7" concept series, they have three splits and a 7".

myspace!

I Wrote Haikus About Cannibalism In Your Yearbook

Also known as: iwrotehaikusaboutcannibalisminyouryearbook.  Fun band name for a fun band.  Screamo from Cali.  Broken up a while ago.   

Their discography has about 21 songs or so.  95% of which are untitled.  If you interested, listen to more than just a couple of songs on their myspace.  Ex members of this now play with the likes of Punch, Who Calls So Loud, and Beau Navire.


myspacccccce

this is irrelevant...

And is tagged as such.  But anyways, I want to mention another online journal that you may find at least somewhat enjoyable.


1000 Tiny Things I Hate looks a bit obnoxious at first, but turns out to be quite funny.  Like this, this, and this.  Sadly though, it seems as though the blog is dead.  It hasn't had a new post in a while.

Flatout

A friend showed me this band last summer.  They have broken up since then.

Some of my favorite thrashy, grindy music.  A bunch of kids from San Francisco.  A vocalist for screaming and a guitarist for the yelling; it turns into a good blend.  They only have a demo (get it on their myspace) and a 7" (Westbay Fastercore).  If you liked the demo, I highly recommend pursuing 7".
myspace!

get the 7" here.

"Consumer Army"

Lewd Acts

California hardcore.  Neat stuff, although their style is a bit different to me, I like it. Unique riffing style and vocals. For sure would recommend starting with the Dark Days LP. That is their first full length I believe. Its fun. Try out the Lung Patrol EP too. Listen to that after you are used to Dark Days. Lung Patrol only has three songs on it, but all of the tunes there are quite varied and somewhat of a pleasant surprise. You will see what I mean.


myspace
weird shirts
more merch (Deathwish)


ignore the two stupid fucks in wearing red

Let's

Emo from Baltimore.  For those too lazy to find it themselves, the demo is linked on their myspace.  They have a recently released split with a band called Laurel.  Laurel is cool too, but I don't like them as much.


myspace (link to demo here)

Depeche Mode

So I think every once in a while, I'm going to put up a nice old album. Likely something from the 80s, since I seem to be so goddam obsessed with that era of music from time to time. Technically, this album was released in March of 1990, but thats close enough to 80s for me. Violator is so good. Seriously. Probably Depeche Mode's best, if not one of their best releases. Synthpop. I guess the wiki calls it new wave, too There were lots of singles from this LP, but every song on here is great.


I will post other older tunes later on under the label of "nostalgia".


"Enjoy the Silence"

Giraffes? Giraffes!

Giraffes?Giraffes! is a two piece math rock band from Massachusetts.  One dude drums and the other plays guitar with the occasional beard.  Very busy sounding music for two people.  


And incredibly loooong song titles.  Like: 


"...And Then She Look'd Down And Saw Miniature Houses And Miniature People And Inside The Miniature People Were Miniature Hearts Pumping Blood Through Miniature Veins (Her Mouth Was Watery And Wet)"


Only three releases that I am aware of (two full-lengths and a live set).  These guys also have some side projects as well.  Give them a listen too, if you'd like.


Myspace? Myspace!
merchandise
"The Ghost Of EPPEEPEE's Ghost" Live

DEERS!

Deers! is a screamo band from Sacramento.  They have a song called "birdsBirdsBIrdsBIRdsBIRDsBIRDS" in case you wanted to know.  Give them a listen, but since screamo is so varied, you won't know if you like them until you try them out for a while.  Pretty high-pitched vocals.  They have a 2008 Demo and a split with Matsuri and a split with Ordstro (and maybe more?).


MYSPACE!

Caddywhompus

Been popping this in lately.  Fun experimental/psychedelic-esque jams from down south.  Just two guys, one on drums and the other on guitar and vocals.  Give it a shot.  Try out "Fun Times at Whiskey Bay" or "This is Where We Blaze the Nuggz" on their myspace.  Both songs are from their self-titled EP. They also have an LP out, too.


myspace

caaaaaaaaaaaddywhompus
buy new LP (or get for free)
live shit

Sailboats and Loma Prieta

Sailboats

Sailboats was an incredibly short lived band from California. They only have two legitimate songs. Both are fast, heavy and hard hitting hardcore, with fucking intense vocals. Uber intense. Their demo has two full songs and two partial songs. The latter tunes are very obscure and off on a totally different tangent from the full songs. Anywho, listen to these boys on their myspace. All the stuff worth listening to is there. If you like it, find it. I think some of these folks went on to play in Loma Prieta, which is tight.


goddam myspace
Loma Prieta playing "Behind Trees"


Loma Prieta

Loma Prieta is a screamo band from San Fran. Listened to them on my run today. A derivative of Sailboats with lots more material. They have quite a few releases, which have all been compiled into their 05-09 Discography (not including the recently released Dark Mountain). Check that shit out.


myspace
Merch
Loma Prieta performing "Scream Triathlon"

The Grey Album

+

=

Danger Mouse (of Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley fame) did this mashup about 6 years ago or so.  Pretty neat.  I posted some links for some listenins' down below.  Pretty easy to find this anywhere.

99 Problems

Justify My Thug

Carlee Hendrix and the Whole Earth

So, I am posting more than once today to beef this damn blog up a bit.  Frivolvol is a bit on the heavier/faster side, so here is something soft and acousticky that I have been enjoying recently.  I have been listening to their EP a lot (its free on their myspace).  I don't really know much about Carlee except that she's kind of hot and that her and her friends are HUUUGE hipsters.  Normally, music like this doesn't trip my trigger, but for some reason this does.  Great for a afternoon chill-out or music to fall asleep to.  Listen to Holes on the Myspace.  Then everything else.  Then get The Northbound EP and be awesome.
carlee's myspace

PS: I found someone who has the same views about marriage as I do.

Frivolvol

Just got back from a run.  Pretty sure its over 90 outside.  



How to describe Frivolvol: pretty fun, fast stuff to put it in broad terms.  Most definitely a breed of hardcore of some sort, with bits of screamo involved.  Very distinct vocals too.  Sort of reminiscent of Blood Brothers vocals.  That in itself could easily put you off, but still, give these guys a try.  They hail from somewheres in Finland.  I reccomend trying out the song "Take it from the Beginning."  If you like, then try out the album Who Needs Maps When We Got Time.  Merch and that shit can be obtained by contacting Rabbit Ilsn.  Or Amazon I guess.  Who knows.


fucking myspace
bandsite
amazon.com's overpriced imports