murderbydeath Blog and Journals

Hollywood - In an exclusive recent interview with Buzznet, Murder by Death, on tour with the heavy blues masters Clutch, spoke candidly about the origins of their new record, the inevitable comparisons to Johnny Cash, and the surprising news that they're trying to get on the soundtracks for two upcoming Cormac McCarthy film adaptations!

Who are Murder By Death?...

Murder by Death's Red Of Tooth And Claw, their debut on Vagrant, signifies a marked departure from their previous work. This is the band at its most electric, sexual, and urgent. It's the soundtrack to a thousand country westerns that were never made and it might just be the best record of 2008 so far.

Read more...

So keeping with the Halloween theme for this month I decided to post one of my favorite mixes that I have ever made. It was probably the most difficult becuase its really hard to find a song about zombies that isn't terrible grindcore or some shitty emo tune whining about how we are all dead inside. I made this around the same time last year, but I have recently added a bunch of songs.
On an interesting (& slightly irrelevant) note, the art for this mix was actually drawn on an English Test in my senior year of high school. I failed it but my teacher really liked my work.



If You Shoot The Head You Kill The Ghoul - Jeffery Lewis
"Hideous hordes of crumbling undead men, are slughtering & eating the population. We just recived word from Washington DC, its every man or himself against the zombies�

OUCH - be your own PET
�They haunt the streets with their eyes full of hunger. Spreading disease and death to one another. There's no stopping til it gets too late. Zombie apocalypse will change us all now.�

The Living Dead - Phantom Planet
�It�s no use go run and hide, You can�t escape this sea of sunken eyes, You know, We got the look, We got the push, We got the pull, Now who do you think is gonna rise when hell is full?�

Nobody Likes You - Zombina & the Skeletones
�Nobody likes you when your dead, It just aint right. just cause i'm biting on your head, There's no need to be impolite. And if I still had eye's, then I would surely cry�

Night of the Living Dead - Misfits
�corpses come to life, armies of the dead surviving, armies of the hungry, ones only-ones, lonely-ones, ripped up like shredded-wheat only-ones�

Zombie Dance - The Cramps
�They do 'The Boogaloo' at the Zombie Hall, They write "BORN TO LOSE", On Zombie restroom wall, The kinda life they choose, Ain't life at all�

We're Comin' To Kill Ya - Zachariah And The Lobos Riders
�I like platelets on my plate, don�t mistake this just consentrate, as I fillet your brains, like salisbury steak. I�ll burp you up later, forgetting what I ate�
*so yea, this song could be more about cannibalism, but its on the dead & breakfast soundtrack so I figured it was about zombies

Killbot 2000 - Murder by Death
"Datura flakes off from your lips, you've lost the swagger in your hips, your eyes are turning blue to gray. Your skin feels soft and sagging down, your arms drag across the ground with each step you take"

Zombie - Screeching Weasel
�I am gonna have your head tonight, I want your brain! I'm a zombie now and I'm gonna get you baby. Gonna step on your head, gonna break your bones, Gonna rip your eyes out from their holes�

I Was A Teenage Zombie - The Fleshtones
�I went down the the soda shop. Man, you oughtta seen the traffic stop. Ain�t they ever seen the walking dead before? I�m just a kid, the zombie next door�

Zombies on the Airwaves of Paris - Snowman
�Moonlight on the streets of Paris, while the zombies eat your brains�

My New World - The Epoxies
�I'm not afraid of the living dead, All you gotta do is shoot em in the head. They fall right down, and let's admit, They were the walking dead a long time ago�

They are Night Zombies!! They are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From the Dead! Ahhhhhhhh! - Sufjan Stevens
�We are awaken with the ax, Night of the Living Dead at last, They have begun to shake the dirt, Wiping their shoulders from the earth�

Dawn of the Dead - Schoolyard Heroes
�It's the dawn of the dead, I think you heard me right, Evil corpses rising form the grave. The dead will walk tonight, They're gonna want your bones, They're gonna want your skulls, They're gonna want everything you've got�

Astro Zombies (Misfits Cover) - My Chemical Romance
�With just a touch of my burning hand, I send my astro zombies to rape the land. Prime directive, exterminate, The whole human race�

Christmas Night Of The Living Dead - MxPx
�Christmas night of the living dead, my face is green and the snow is red (Whoa Whoa) Im breaking bones with my bare hands, theres hundreds of them closing in, Im running out of ammo now, I need to get the axe again to split some heads in two�

Re: Your Brains - Jonathan Coulton
�Heya Tom, it's Bob, from the office down the hall. Good to see you buddy, how've you been? Thing have been okay for me except that I'm a zombie now. I really wish you'd let us in. I think I speak for all of us when I say I understand, Why you folks might hesitate to submit to our demand. But here's an FYI: you're all gonna die screaming�

Zombies Coming to Eat My Brains � The Dishwashers
�Zombies coming to eat my brains, eat my brains, eat my brains (incoherent lyrics then something screaming about a zombie attack)�

Zombie creeping flesh - Peter & the Test Tube Babies
�The dead have risen from the graves, movements slow, a vacant gaze. Living human flesh satisfies, no emotions showing in their eyes.�

Zombie Riot - Batmobile
�A zombie riot is coming an army of unhuman eyes, From every yard they're strolling with no less value to die�

Zombie Jamboree - Harry Belafonte
�The Zombies are racking their bones in thyme. One bystander had this to say, �T�was a pleasure to see the Zombies break away�. Back to back, belly to belly, I dont give a damn, I done dead already�

Zombies vs. Robots - The Flaming Tsunamis
�I rise from the grave when the dead start to walk, And I grab zombie dave and say it's time to rock, Cause we zombies are hungry and we're gonna stalk, The robots are coming our way�

this isn't the final order, it got all messed up when i was filling out the lyrics & shit. i think i might have actually missed a few songs, i will come back & edit it later.

Anyway. Question, Complaints, Comments, Suggestions?

Much laboring has come with this blog, mostly because, for once, I actually had a difficult time choosing only 10 albums. For me, this has been a stellar year for music: new sounds, familiar melodies, and many albums that I've poured my heart into whilst listening to. Hell, I couldn't even arrange the top 6 albums into any sort of logical order because, at one time or another, each was the best album of 2006.  But I've narrowed them all down to just 10 (such a succinct number!) in order to both share my musical tastes and to recommend new music to you.

Enjoy. The countdown begins!

#10: Ambitions - Question EP

I heard Matt Fox (Shai Hulud) had a new project and I immediately jumped on. Zombie Apocalypse had proven to be glorious on many levels (speed, complexity, and zombie subject matter), so the thought that he was possibly penning more music was exciting.

But even before I first gave this EP a listen, I found out that Fox just played for Ambitions live. Hmmm. My expectations lowered (unfairly) and that made this 7 song EP that much better when I heard.

Question is full of melody, speed, and passion. My first thought after spinning it a few times was, "Holy shit, this sounds like Dag Nasty. But better." Blasphemous, I know, especially since the Dag means so much to me. But it's hard to refute this: the layered melodic vocals, combined with nifty guitar work keeps this EP interesting (and fun!) and seems to build upon the melodic hardcore sound Dag Nasty perfected in the late 80s. Vocalist Jay C. does seem to remind me of Dave Smalley, but his voice is stronger, more refined, and hot damn, if he can't hit some sah-weet high notes.

Check it out if you like catchy-as-hell punk rock with a punch. I'm excited to hear more from these guys.

#9: Much The Same - Survive


I heard Much The Same's song "Wish" on some comp not too long ago; the band's uncanny resemblance to Millencollin initially piqued my interest. While their debut album, Quitters Never Win, was a fairly solid melodic punk outing, this year's Survive crushes it like a steamroller.

The Millencolin resemblance has dwindled, as vocalist/guitarist Gunner McGrath's voice is truly what excels on this album; it's clear, strong, and his range is impressive. This is evident in the opening track, "Betrayal," which alternates between hardcore-influenced heaviness and Bad Religion-toned melody. In a scene where too many "punk" bands sing and the intensity is lost, it's refreshing to listen to a band who can still pen a fast and furious song that has you singing along with it at the same time. Hell, this album makes me want to grab my deck and hit the streets. So I assure you this is a great skate album.

Check out the Dag Nasty-esque "American Idle," about the regret one feels upon realizing that political apathy does effect other people. (Note: Dag Nasty sound-alikes will abound in this blog. Fuck you. I love them.) The song opens with a thrashy muted riff and sets the pace for the rest of the song. "But to my dismay, I still feel responsible," Gunner sings, amidst melodic guitars and group vocals. "Didn't take my duty seriously, and now this feeling won't go away." He hits a high note before the songs jumps into a catchy solo, leading way to a breakdown that actually isn't any slower than the rest of the song. (A wonderful writing feat, for sure.)

At times, some of the lyrics felt a bit awkward (See: "For Those Left Behind"), but themes of betrayal, friendship, political responsibility, and hopefulness carry the melodic punk well. The two highlights of the album sit back to back in the second half: The one minute, nine second hardcore, "Living a Lie," which flows right into one of my favorite songs of the year: "Stitches." The latter addresses someone's lack of self esteem over lightning-fast leads and a driving rhythm section. (Short songs rule, ok?) "Stitches" has everything I like about melodic punk rock: Speed, tempo changes, catchy vocals, and the inspiration to tear shit up. I normally don't like drop-tuned tracks, but, much like the rest of the album, the band knows how to arrange songs and chords to not sound so processed. (Drop D tuning tends to imply a shitty band. See: nu-metal)

Get into this album. If you like Lagwagon, No Use For a Name, and Millencollin, this shit is golden.

#8: The World/Inferno Friendship Society - Red Eyed Soul


This is, easily, the best band you've never heard of. (Unless you're of the Freakpowertix persuasion!) One of the most entertaining live shows I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing, the band is truly unclassifiable. (It's true. That's what my iTunes tells me.)

How do I describe this wonderful group to you? It's a punk cabaret. It's jazz, swing, and everything happy and amazing about music. This is music that is both passionate and technically creative.

What? Still don't get? Let's start at the beginning. The drums for "Brother of the Mayor of Bridgewater" begin to pound. Feel those skins rumbling? A guitar line, a pick scrape, and then the party comes. Full group vocals. Horns. It's a dance party, we're all smashed, and goddamn if everyone doesn't look absolutely gorgeous! This is punk rock like you've never heard it.

"The Velocity of Love" is slower yet just as grandiose. Jack Terrycloth croons to us about this circus of love and relationships. And is that an accordian in "Your Younger Man"? What the hell is this?

This is what you've been missing out on. The most subversive band in punk rock (they actually practice what they preach!) has been hiding out on the east coast for years now. So what are you doing sitting on your ass in front of a computer? Get out and find a way to get this album so that you, too, will soon know that "Only Anarchists Are Pretty."

It's true. Really.

#7: Mastodon - Blood Mountain


It took me a few months to fully get into Mastodon's previous release, the epic Leviathan. (And yes, it was about Moby Dick. And yes, it totally fucking slayed.) Their brand of progressive, technical metal coupled with thrash and bits of melodic death metal was almost too weird for me. (I then remembered that I listed to Fantomas and if I can willingly listen to Patton's bizarre creations, than this was child's play.)

This was not the case at all with Blood Mountain. Right off the bat, "The Wolf is Loose" lept at my throat and my attention was held rapt for the duration of this massive metal opus. The theme this time around is...well, I'll let bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders handle this one:

"It's about climbing up a mountain and the different things that can happen to you when you're stranded on a mountain, in the woods, and you're lost. You're starving, hallucinating, running into strange creatures. You're being hunted. It's about that whole struggle."

Not sold yet? Then you're missing the main element of why I've enjoyed this album so much. The band successfully molds many forms of musical expression: sludge (a la Neurosis and The Melvins), thrash (think early Slayer, mid-career Metallica, and Rust in Peace Megadeth), tech metal (such as.....fuck. I don't even know. Perhaps some of the aesthetics of Atheist and Cynic), and melodic singing. It's no coincidence that Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age guests on "Colony of Birchman." In many ways, Troy's melodic singing voice resembles him.

The first "single" (if you can even call it that), was "Crystal Skull," and what a superb choice. Opening with a melodic death metal riff, it soons spirals into heavy atmospherics, technically dual leads, shouted vocals and, midway, a terrific breakdown of pummeling riffs and catchy licks. This, in turn, leads into the spacy "Sleeping Giant," which opens with some gentle distorted arpeggios. The mood is of awe, as if in the presence of some magnificent and gentle beast. The space-rock lead that comes in at 1:10 is one of my favorite parts of the album and really highlights how terrific the musicians are in this band.

But the supreme highlight of the whole album is "Capillarian Crest," which, to me, is one of the best-executed show off songs any metal band has ever penned. (Mostly because it's a fantastic song, guitar theatrics aside.) It reminds me of "Megalodon" in the sense that it starts of slower, with heavy stacatto riffing. But this soon gives way to an awe-inspiring midsection of harmonized guitars playing at different speeds: the rhythm is playing slower notes while the lead guitar swims around open string hammer-ons and mini-sweeps. It's jaw-dropping, really; as a guitar player, it's one of those passages of music that either makes you want to practice 24/7 or give up playing guitar forever. The slower, melodic break after this goes straight to a tech-thrash session and by this time, I realize I will never write a song this supreme.

This is really the theme for the whole album. I don't skip tracks at all; the flow of the album seems so calculated and intentional; the songwriting is ace; and the vocals are unique enough to keep me interested. Metal is exciting again.

#6: None More Black - This Is Satire


Never have I been so stoked that Kid Dynamite is, as singer Jason Shevchuck has said, a dead horse.

That's entirely due to the fact that None More Black is just so fucking on it. Seriously. Have you listened to this band? Combining the best of punk rock, blues, and good ol' rock n' roll, these guys can belt out a fine tune.

A bit of a departure sound-wise from File Under Black, the band relies less on melodic speed songs and more on quality songwriting. Jason has never sounded better; I feel that he's found his voice after all these years and it's singing scruffy songs about his disillusionment with punk rock and himself. Backed by guitars and bass full of soul, it's hard to deny what an amazing record this.

I can't stress enough how much I love this album and I feel that being too wordy about it will lose my point. Get it if you like punk that's catchy, rough, and soulful.

#5: No Trigger - Canyoneer


One of two albums this year that I feel has been utterly ignored by pretty much everyone I know, I easily vote this as The Most Fun Album of 2006. (Fuck, I would love to tour with these guys so bad.)

The band plays melodic hardcore just as it should be played: Fast, loud, catchy, and with just enough of a sense of excitement that, while listening to Canyoneer, you just want to be standing front-and-center at a No Trigger show, screaming the words at the top of your lungs. As I promised, the band channels Dag Nasty (see?), Strike Anywhere, and early Rise Against. (For the record, I don't think they sound just like Strike Anywhere. I can see the resemblance to Thomas' voice, but really, they don't sound the same.)

Lyrically, the band covers a range of social, political, and personal issues (and with a good balance between the three). Tom Rheult sings with an aggressive yet melodic style; at times, his voice perfectly matches the breakneck speed of many of the verses throughout the album. However, it's when he sings choruses and bridges that I find No Trigger setting themselves apart from their contemporaries. (See: The final chorus in, "Owner Operator." SOUNDS LIKE A PARTY TO ME!)

The band is well-produced (does not mean over-produced!!!), but the credit really belongs to the songwriters, who have crafted one hell of an album. (Definitely one I'll be revisiting for years to come.) If you haven't heard this album (chances are you haven't), then do yourself a favor and find a way to grab a copy. (I recommend the vinyl version. Clear vinyl!!!!)

#4: Ignite - Our Darkest Days


This is where my list gets especially hard to organize, mostly because the top 4 albums this year were all so worthy of the #1 position. But resting here at #4 is Ignite's Our Darkest Days. It had been a while since their previous effort and when I first new material, I was lucky enough to hear the album as a whole. (Which is exactly how it should be heard!)

This is such a monumental melodic hardcore album and, in every respect, they've set the bar pretty damn high. (And not just for themselves, but for the scene as a whole.) While some people feel this album suffers from overproduction, I think Ignite has never sounded better.

The album opens with "Intro: Our Darkest Days," which feels like a faster version of the intros A.F.I. used to have on their albums: catchy and epic. It flows excellently into the first single, "Bleeding." By the time the first set of gang vocals are over, we know we're in for a new Ignite, who sound virtually nothing like they used to.

But that's a good thing! Zoli Teglas has never sounded so large and so powerful. His voice dominates the album through and through, registering vocal ranges I'd only see him pull off at shows. (And even that was a rare occurence.)

And make no mistakes: This is a hardcore album, without a doubt. The speed, the structure, the gang vocals; it's all there. Ignite just chose to manipulate the form and add a ridiculous amount of melody. Fuck, ridiculous isn't even strong enough of a word. I haven't heard a punk album this catchy since Against The Grain came out over 15 years ago.

"Let It Burn" is a perfect example. Lamenting the death of Zoli's niece to a drunk driver, the song starts with a simple, lower-range vocal line, but soon bursts into a spacious verse that has Zoli truly showing off his ability as a legitimate singer, not just some dude who yells for a punk rock band. The chorus....OH GOD. SO FUCKING CATCHY. How the hell do they do this? It all crescendos into one of my favorite breakdowns of all time. The drums and guitars mute and then burst forth in energy. LET IT BURN! the band screams, as a heavy riff brings them to LET IT BLEED! Pure hardcore bliss.

The album's highlight, though, is in "Know Your History." Perhaps one of the fastest songs the band has ever written, the insightful and clever lyrics deal with our President's inability to understand basic history. "You send the poor to fight, then praise the religious right. Sacriligeous blasphemy!" The song is brutal in it's speed and spot-on in it's vocal delivery. A classic Ignite song for sure.

The only problem I have with Our Darkest Days is the inclusion (again!) of their "Sunday Bloody Sunday" cover. It interrupts the flow between "Strength" and "Live For Better Days." BOO. TAKE IT OFF.

That being said, I pretty much feel the album is otherwise flawless. Every song brims with energy and passion. Get on it!

#3: Converge - No Heroes


The best thing Brett Gurewitz has ever done for Epitaph was sign Converge. One of my favorite hardcore/metal acts of all time, they consistently impress me, both as a musician and a human being. Mr. Brett should be proud to have released this album.

I enjoyed You Fail Me, but it certainly didn't come close to being better than Jane Doe. But, as blasphemous as this may be, I think No Heroes did it. Yeah. I think I like it more.

I know. I know. Heresy. But hopefully this will explain why.

The album opens with four tracks that all clock in at under two minutes. Very odd for a Converge album, but holy hell, does it work. The first 7 minutes are so intensely brutal that you have to shake off the feeling that you've just been bludgeoned with a musical sledgehammer. The breakdown in "Hellbound" truly is hellish; the dissonant punk chords in "Sacrifice" are terrifying behind Jake Bannon's unintelligible shrieks.

And then there is Vengeance. What. The. Hell. Quite possibly the most brutal Converge song ever written. (And less than a minute long!) Drums open to an almost grindcore-y thrash riff. And then the breakdown hits. Pure double bass riff intensity. And then it's over and you wonder what you've just been witness to.

There's a perfectly timed instrumently break after this ("Weight of the World"), which flows right into the metallic "No Heroes." The "single" for the album, the song showcases Kurt Ballou's chops and interesting guitar riffs. Combining an alternate heaviness with some great high-end riffs, the best part is at the end when Bannon screams, "In my world of enemies, I walk alone."

The paramount of Converge's musical complexity and intensity, however, sits mid-album. The monumental opus "Grim Heart / Black Rose," feauring Jonah of Only Living Witness, is like no other Converge song in existence. It's so much more atmospheric and spacy than what we've heard before from these guys and Jonah's vocals compliment it perfectly.

I personally like the first half of the album more than the second, but the whole group of songs are a cut above their contemporaries and themselves. In many ways, I found the songs to be instantly rewarding. I didn't have to give the album 30 spins to fall in love with it. For this, I enjoy it more than Jane Doe. You should enjoy it too.

#2: Murder By Death - In Boca Al Lupo


I became obsessed with Murder By Death by complete accident over three years ago. A friend had said that if I was looking for a Pantera-influenced hardcore band, I should check out A Perfect Murder. I must have suffered from a form of temporary dyslexia, because I picked up Murder By Death's Who Will Survive, And What Will Be Left of Them?

Hmm. Texas Chainsaw Massacre reference. Not bad, I thought as I popped the CD into my discman. And then I hear piano. Soft crooning. Country guitars. What the fuck?

It wasn't long before I found myself enamored with a country/folk/rock concept record about a small southwestern town runover by oil barons. I've gone through 2 copies of the album already; the band is one of my top listens on my iTunes. And boy, did I have high expectations for this album.

In Boca Al Lupo is a rough concept album about the 10 circles of hell, a topic I'd already been interested in during my study of theology in college. So, naturally, I felt that I'd atleast start off on the right foot. However, I was still completely taken by surprise by the album. First of all, it's so much more...upbeat. Who Will Survive... excelled at slow, depressing jaunts into personal demons and subjects. ("Three Men Hanging," anyone???) And when "Boy Decide" first blasted out of my speakers, I found myself scratching my head and saying, "What the hell?" Where's the lonely acoustic guitars? The mopey vocals I'd come to love?

The flamenco-influenced "One More Notch" didn't help. Neither did the pirate song, "Dead Men and Sinners." And "Brother," was almost a folk-punk song!

It wasn't until halfway through the album that it suddenly clicked. Before I even began to play, "Raw Deal," I found myself restarting the album. Holy shit. These songs were great! Hell, even better than the last album.

Those slow, depressing songs? All on the second half of the album, where singer Adam Turla seems to channel both Johnny Cash and Tom Waits.

I soon put the pieces together. Sin permeated the first half of the album; songs like "Sometimes The Line Walks You," swaggered with rock n' roll boasting. But at the halfway point, we hit punishment. "Raw Deal," the Radiohead-esque song about guilt, softens the mood. "The Big Sleep," my new favorite MBD song, combines a country-influenced guitar with Sarah Balliet's cello providing the impending doom of the characters' death by the electric chair.

The album is about creating atmospheres and this Murder By Death do extremely well. Listen to the end of "The Big Sleep," as the horns announce a steady march to death, like the soundtrack to an Ennio Morriccone film. When the instruments stop and the feedback rings out, does it not sound like a flatlined heart monitor?

"Shiola," which sounds like a long-forgotten Johnny Cash song, utilizes a single guitar to recreate an aura of loneliness; and, in the album's final moments ("The Devil Drives"), the redemptive gospel choir lifts the listener to have hope; for maybe we can all just start again.

In many ways, this album is such an intelligent progression for the band. In Boca Al Lupo is the unwritten soundtrack to a thousand films that have never existed; there's a drama to the songs and the performance, unlike any band I've heard of. This is timeless music because even when they may be singing about a time hundreds of years ago, I can still feel as if they're talking about me.

And with that, here is my favorite album of 2006....

#1: Crime In Stereo - The Troubled Stateside


What sets this album apart from the other nine I chose as my top 10 is progression. It's hard to create a wholly original and thought-provoking body of music. I find it difficult myself when I try to write songs. Too much of it sounds like something that already exists.

Crime In Stereo succeeds where so many others fail; they've created a melodic hardcore album that borrows only slightly from the past and runs confidently into the future. That is, with a sound you won't hear anywhere else.

Opening with the blistering, "Everything Changes/Nothing is Truly Lost," my immediate reaction is from the guitar tone: No one has it. Dense but not too thick with a higher-end register, it catches my attention. Kristian Hallbert's vocals were the second thing to pop out at me. Throughout the course of the minute-long intro, he sings, talk-sings, and screams, all with such seemless effort. You can detect a slight accent in his speech, but it only adds to his unique vocal style. The song itself is fast, with a small breakdown in the middle, but it's a great start to the album.

And then "Bicycles For Afghanistan" hits the stereo and you're left in shock. He can sing! At times a bit rough and sloppy and at times perfectly clear, it's like nothing you've heard before. These two songs are like a modern, progressive form of youth crew, a genre of hardcore not known for...well, progression.

This is exactly why this album stands out so much. Drawing from a variety of influences in punk rock, (Dag Nasty again hahaha, Silent Majority, Lifetime, and Embrace), the album really doesn't sound like anything that any band is doing these days.

Case in point: "Gravity Grace," addressing the poor healthcare situation in the US, is a slow, progressive "ballad." (I use that word loosely.) The reverb, the vocal melodies, the guitar riffs: none are typical punk rock and you'd never find a song like this on pretty much an album of this sort these days. The album closer, "I, Stateside," is epic like Propagandhi (and lyrically, seems to resemble that band as well). Stacatto riffs, group melodic vocals, and a long, atmospheric outro, it's easily the best song on the album and my favorite of the year.

However, the real gem of "The Troubled Stateside" is the lyrics. I'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who wrote lyrics that are as heartbreaking, uplifting, insightful, or subversive as those that Crime In Stereo have penned. A few highlights:

So I wanted goals. I saw all I needed was:
-a home with a view of something beautiful
-a woman that I trusted
-the friends that I grew up with

But it was asking too much for us to pray things stay in exactly the same way?
-"Bicycles For Afghanistan"

This world has other sorrows than love.
-"Bicycles For Afghanistan"

And it's not a bad life. Working 9-5, weekend gardening and cheating on your wife. But if you find yourself broken in the slow mercury of days, and have the courage for the traffic, I know a secret to escape: just be who it is they want. It's easy to find your way.

I can't help feeling like there's never enough friends or any friendly faces, just a bunch of clever ways to say "Jesus Saves'
-"Sudan"

It's safe to say there are darker things in the streets these days than kids with guns and moms on drugs, things that we don't let on. And if you're "free", then take to the city streets with your God-given speech, screaming, "Fuck the police." You can see the state getting armed for the new class war. Perpetuate divide and say that it's the law. There are blacker things living deep in all our hearts, darker things in our hearts than we let on.
-"Abre Los Ojos"

So we're all going to hell, but with one hell of a plan. Presented in folded flags, embedded in foreign sand, written upon the dead skin of a dried-up land it began: "We'll fix the fat and the ugly with incisions. We'll stash the gay and liberal up in New England. We'll keep the black and poor in (or under the constant threat of) prison. And they'll all feel blessed just for being a part of the vision..."

God please save these troubled states.
-"I, Stateside"

I know I basically just posted the whole album, but I fear taking everything out of context. Lyrically, the songs are so articulate and subversive that no one even comes close to beating these guys out for album of the year.

So check it out. It's received hundreds of plays this year and I expect to listen to it hundreds more times in the coming years.

Last night after a very strange afternoon at the office, I headed down Wilshire to the El Rey, which I've never been to before but have always wanted to check out.

When I got there, I asked the valet guy where I should park my car and he told me he'd park it for me.  So then I said, no I want to park it myself.  And I said no, I'd park it myself, the website says there's self parking, where is it? And he pointed all the way, like 4 long wilshirey blocks down and said "behind that tower" so I drove there, and the parking lot was CLOSED.  So I came back and I told the dude that he was mistaken and that that place was closed and he said something along the lines of "well then I guess you have to valet" or somtehing, I don't remember, but it was obnoxious and rude, and I didn't give him a tip.


I found Mark and his friend Ramon and we went inside and where I ran into Crystal (Cashdolla) and her friends, who I got to know at Bamboozle Left and who are all super cool.

Meanwhile, I'm totally digging the El Rey.  Such a well designed venue, except maybe that the dressing rooms are backstage and you have to cross the stage to get there.

So we get there and its time for small talk, and then Murder By Death takes the stage, and I'm totally happy for about 45 minutes.  They opened with "Sometimes the line walks you" and it was so awsome.  They're an intense intense band, and when they go for it, man, my skin crawls, but in the good way.

like 2 minutes before the end of their set, Danielle from Crush Management called me and we met in the lobby so that I could get my pass that let me sit up in the mezzanine.  Before the Hush Sound went on, we ducked back stage and I bumped right into Greta who looked adorable and was strangely, suffering from a little case of stage fright.  We peaked into their dressing room to wish everyone a good show, and Patrick Stump was there, and he said hello to Marc, which seemed to surprise Marc more than anyone else.

oh oh oh, on my way backstage, I ran into the dude from Murder By Death, and as you know I don't like to talk to people in bands I love, but I really couldn't avoid it so I just blurted out "You should write musicals!" and he says "why?" and said "cause you write the most amazing songs in the world" and thats when Greta came out and I started talking to her.


Then Danielle and I headed up to the Mez, where Bonnie and the rest of Crush were already waiting.

I was impressed, the show went really well.  Greta really ruled the stage, she was more or less perfect- and she's so young.  I'm so pleased that she's part of this family of musicans, the world needs more female rock and rollers, and women who can really hold down a stage.  She's part of a new generation, and I'm so excited for her.


Patrick came out for a guest apperance and sang a verse with Bob, and it was fun to watch the crowd go wild. 

Unfortunatly, somehow all my files from the show got corrupted.  So I have no pictures that I took.  I wonder why that happened. 

Anyways in other news, go to broadway.com.  They have footage of the new cast of Les Miserables, which is back on Broadway.  I'm not sure how I feel about Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fontine.  I didn't see enough of her performance to really judge, but she seemed to only sound decent.

And also, Playbill.com is doing a feature on Charlie's mom.  Its funny to see Carole represented that way, but nice to see her getting recognized for her contributions.  Not that she hasn't up to now, but I'm pleased.

OK gotta get back to doing other stuff.

I'm so excited for this weekend! Disneylaaaaaaand!

lizy  

PS: go see these shows if you can:

its always there, it just sometimes takes a long time to see.

Today I made a new friend, because we talked about a negative experience we had in common, and that makes the whole negative experience worth while.

I think actually, most of you know her.  Her name is Jac Vanek.  She came into the office to collect a camera phone so that she can photoblog, and we chatted for a while.  Its nice to meet people and make new friends, it always puts me in a good mood.

We had some cool ideas, maybe I'll even let her take my picture since she's into photography. Maybe she'll be able to take a picture of me I don't loath.

This week was supposed to be epic for me: riding lesson monday, alumni party tues, pilates wendesday, and then Murder By Death and Hush Sound tonight and Hilary tomorrow.

But I got sick so everything got cancalled up until today. Oh well, the show tonight is going to be super fab, so it won't matter that I missed out on all the other good stuff. 

In pop culture news, Gilmore Girls officially SUCKS. what the fuck happened to it!?


and then also, Studio 60 this week was the best episode yet.   I am falling more and more in love with this show.  Hooray for it getting picked up for the full season!

So while I'm home in NYC, I think I'm going to try and see Wristcutters: A Love Story, a movie that looks way way cool, its playing at MoMa I think while I'm home, and I plan on fully taking advantage of every moment I have in the city, so that seems like a good idea.

Ummm since I've been sick, and therefore doing nothing, I don't have too much to say, except I really need to clean my apartment. Its just awful.  Also, I never throw anything away. I pretty much keep everything everyone ever gives me, so somtimes I stumble across things I forgot I head, stashed in a closet or behind a book or something and it makes me happy, or sad.  Hmmmm....

oh yeah a couple of other things: the news story I was in is up on panasonicyouth's page. I look like CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAP, so pretend I don't.

And also, please make sure to check out the UCLA kid getting tasered on panasonicyouth's homepage as well.  That just breaks my heart, and beg's the question: if I'd been there, how could i have made this situation better?  What would you have done in this situation??

ok, welll I gotta do some more work before I head out to play.

thanks for reading :-)


lizy

I don't think I've ever completed a bulletin survey. This one is interesting though.

List your Top 25 on Last.FM

1: A.F.I.
2: Ignite
3: Good Riddance
4: Murder By Death
5: Bad Religion
6: Against Me
7: The Dillinger Escape Plan
8: The Evens
9: Paint It Black
10: Ceremony
11: Metallica
12: Final Fight
13: From Ashes Rise
14: Dag Nasty
15: Trial
16: Strung Out
17: American Nightmare
18: Kid Dynamite
19: Descendents
20: Dangers
21: 7Seconds
22: Depeche Mode
23: The Nerve Agents
24: Career Suicide
25: Gorilla Biscuits


Now answer the questions according to the numbers:

What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
Fuck. I really don't remember. Probably "Pints of Guiness..."

What is your favorite album by 2?
Call On My Brothers. The new one is close behind.

What is your favorite lyric that 1 has sung?
Pretty much all of "...but home is nowhere.

How many times have you seen 11 live?
Never! Seriously, I've been listening to them since I was 8. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?

What is your favorite song by 7?
CHRIST. That's hard. It's a toss up between:
Van Damsel
When Good Dogs Do Bad Things
Clip The Apex...Accept Instruction

What is a good memory you have involving 20?
Recording the back up vocals for them this past weekend for their upcoming LP. Shit is gonna be amazing.

Is there a song by 3 that makes you sad?
Sad? It's Good Riddance! It all makes me happy!

What is your favorite lyric that 14 has sung?
"I heard this. I heard that. What do I believe?"

What is your favorite song by 19?
FUCK. WAY TOO HARD. Probably "I'm Not A Loser" or "Everything Sucks."

How did you get in to 22?
Heard them from my older brother.

What was the first song you heard by 21?
"Not Just Boys Fun"

What is your favorite song by 4?
Easy. "End of the Line"

How many time have you seen 10 live?
It was supposed to be my first time this past Saturday, but no luck.

What is a good memory you have involving 13?
Seeing them headline the Troubadour and getting to see Paint It Black for the first time.

Is there a song by 23 that makes you sad?
Never.

What is your favorite album of 15?
SO EASY. "Are These Our Lives?"

What is your favorite lyric that 9 has sung?
Quite a few. I really enjoy Yemin's style. I'd say:
"Your body's a cemetery and you'll drown in your own waste."
"Brothers and sisters, here's my decision: FUCK COMPETITION and turn my back on division. Did we learn the difference between "want" and "need"? Can we be the soil if this song is the seed?"
"So here's to the skinned knees and sutured hearts. Here's to the unhappy endings and all the false starts."

What is your favorite song by 8?
All These Governors

What is your favorite song by 16?
Funny that Ramon and I have the same band as number 16. Anyway, this is really tough. Razor Sex. Radio Suicide. Her Name In Blood.

How many times have you seen 5 live?
Hahahaha. 33 times.

What is your favorite album by 12?
The only one they got! Under Attack.

What is a good memory you have involving 25?
Covering New Direction at practice once.

What was the first song you heard by 18?
pH Decontrol. (To date, my favorite song by them.)

What is your favorite song by 17?
am/pm

What is your favorite album by 24?
Every song they have.

So Mark (panasonicyouth) has lived in California way more than me, and has been a player in the socal music scene for way longer than me.  so it comes as no surpise that he has all sorts of exciting stories.  But I have to say, reading his AFI scavenger hunt story makes me really jealous that nothing that exciting ever happens to me.

I guess Lost has kind of happned to me. I spend a good deal of my free time now scouring the interent for clues about whats happening. I found the website for Oceanic Air, and played their seating chart game and solved the mystery of Ethan Rom's name (OTHER MAN), and I read the lost book (twins twins twins), but I still haven't been sent to any vegan restaurants, and I can't say I'm not a little bit jealous. 

However, despite the lack of scavenger hunts, my life has been pretty good recently.  I had a really nice weekend, and the warm weather and lack of worky stuff to do made it feel  very summery.

friday night I went to a house party in the Vally with Stephanie and Angie. It was fun, and the most exciting part was that the guy whose house we were at composed the jingle for magic hat beer. For those of you who don't know, Magic Hat is a cult beer in New England. I took some pictures of the Magic hat swag he got for writing that jingle:   
I got home pretty late friday, so saturday morning , I slept until abou 10. Then I spent the whole day with Gena and her friend Suzanne hanging around mostly the Grove, and I finally spent my gift certifcats I'd had forever to bloomingdales. It was a magical, though exchausting and sweaty day. So I was very happy to come home to my quiet apartment saturday night and snooze.

My plan was shortlived however, because Amanda asked me to come with her and travis to a party she didn't wan to go to by herself.  I had like 10 minutes to get out of my sweaty, smelly clothes, and get pretty.  So I threw on this BEAUTIFUL dress I got at bloomingdales.  Amanda said she'd never seen me wear a dress that flattered me as much, and she loved the dress with the shoes I wore with it (an old pair believe it or not).   Thats about as nice of a compliment as I could ever hope to get on an outfit- Amanda went to FIT, and she's got a great eye- I've never seen her go out looking bad, she can always pull an oufit together. So hearing her say that made put me in such a great mood, that I had a blast at the party.  We met all these gloomy rocker guys. Travis was there of course, and his roomate Matt (whose really awsome girlfriend Heather joined us for a bit at the end of the evening). I took this charming picture of Travis and Matt: That really is the height difference. Matt is just really tall.

I also had an awsome sunday.  Angie and I had brunch at Kings Road cafe, and then hung out my pool.  I took this cute picture of Ms. Angie in the water: We spent most of the day lounging around, and then Mark and Stephanie joined us at night.  We took these really crazy glowing pictures of Mark looking supernatural:

Yesterday Mark and I and some of his friends went to see Murder by Death at the Troubadour. I loved them.  But I almost love the dude we saw open for them more: William Elliot Whitmore. Oooh man, he was just amazing. I put some videos I found of him up on buzznet. I love him.
But you can see the pictures I took of the concert on in the murder by death gallary I'm about to create.

Ok bye for now!

lizy

Hi, 2006. We haven't been acquainted long. Only about four and a half months. You've been a pretty decent year. You're rivaling 2005, which was a pretty good year for me. But this year, I've played some unforgettable shows, made a great new friend, found some new bands, and generally enjoyed life. You've also thrown unemployment, a mugging, and some fights my way. Not bad, though. Not bad. You're fairing pretty well.

I just have one request, 2006. We have a bit of time together before our relationship is tragically and inevitably terminated. However, you have done something that I just can't handle right now:

Stop with the good music.

2005 was...ok. Not too great, not too bad. A lot of shit, some mediocre albums, a handful of really great albums. Yet, we're coming up on our 5 month anniversary and you throw all this at me:

Betrayed/Champion Split EP
Blue Monday/Go It Alone Split EP
Crime In Stereo - The Troubled Stateside
Defiance, Ohio - The Great Depression
Good Clean Fun - Between Christian Rock and A Hard Place
Ignite - Our Darkest Days
Iron Age - Constant Struggle
The Lawrence Arms - Oh Calcutta!
Lifetime - Somewhere In The Swamps of Jersey
The Loved Ones - Keep Your Heart
Mogwai - Mr Beast
Morrissey - Ringleader of the Tormentors
No Trigger - Canyoneer
None More Black - This Is Satire
P.O.S. - Audition
Peeping Tom - Peeping Tom
Raised Fist - Sound of the Republic
Sick of it All - Death To Tyrants
Thursday - A City By The Light Divided
Tool - 10,000 Days

These are 20 albums I listen to regularly. Sometimes fanatically. And they were all released this year. What the fuck? Give me some breathing room, 2006! I still haven't even heard the new albums for A.F.I., Murder By Death, Lattermen, or Good Riddance! And there are still more to come!

Take a deep breath, 2006. Pace yourself. Because this is already turning out to be one of the best years for music EVER. (For me, atleast.) I don't want you to be burnt out by the time December rolls around.

Yours truly,
Mark

the devil in mexico is in my playlist queue.

official website

myspace page

bloomington, indiana, yo!



@ };->-----gonzo---------- ♥

(photo by gene smirnov.)