Static Radio NJ - An Evening of Bad Decisions... (New Album out 9/9/08

Like a bunch crystal meth fiends, ever since last year’s release of Static Radio NJ’s EP “One For The Good Guys”, punk/hardcore fans everywhere have been begging, demanding, and threatening the mothers of the band members for a new release. To relieve some of the withdrawal symptoms for their fans, Static Radio NJ is set to release their first LP “An Evening of Bad Decisions…”on September 9^th, 2008.

I had a chance to listen to the album and let me just say this: wow! (Note: this is not your normal wow… this is you’re “holy shit, this album is definitely one of the best releases of 2008 wows). Let me explain:

Static Radio NJ plays melodic hardcore punk, think a mix between Ensign and Kid Dynamite. Those familiar with their EP will find that “An Evening of Bad Decisions” is much more melodic than “One for the Good Guys”. The vocals are much more harmonized (without ever losing their gruff), and at times, you could even see the Lifetime influences making an appearance. Static Radio NJ however, is able to make their sound more melodic without ever losing their brashness and fury.

One of the most remarkable things about the album is how smooth it is on one listen. There aren’t any tracks that feel out of place, and the album truly feels complete. It’s really hard to pick a stand-out track, as they are all really damn good. If you’re going to make any bad decisions this evening, don’t make the mistake of missing out on Static Radio NJ’s newest release.

MP3:
Static Radio NJ- Marc

Static Radio NJ – Ferren Decks

(and even though it’s not on the newest release, it’s my favorite song by Static Radio NJ)
Static Radio NJ – Won’t Sleep

Pre-order:
Official Site

Also check out Housewives write-ups of:
Static Radio NJ “One For The Good Guys

Kid Dynamite

Light Pollution

I haven't been too active in checking out new music lately. When the Weakerthans are so good why bother listening to anything else right?

But I had a little free time at work today and decided to listen to a few promo emails we've gotten. Within the first minute of the first Light Pollution song I heard I knew I would be writing a post.

Definitely take a listen if you're a fan of The Arcade Fire, David and the Citizens or Ravens and Chimes. Rough vocals and spots of lush instrumentation are what keep me listening to their 5 song self titled EP. The band is currently out on an East Coast tour, definitely try to catch them especially if you're in PA as they're playing with Housewives favorites The Extraordinaires.

MP3: Light Pollution- The Spark

Dates:

Jul Aug 1 2008 - Rachel Kohl Library - Glen Mills, Pennsylvania
Aug 1 2008 - House Show w/ The Extraordinaires - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Aug 2 2008 - Union Hall w/ Happy Anarchy and Greenland - Brooklyn - New York, New York
Aug 4 2008 - Garfield Artworks w/ The Extraordinaires - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Aug 5 2008 - The Gypsy Hut - Cincinnati, Ohio
Aug 6 2008 - The House - Dekalb Rock City
Aug 7 2008 - Stonefly Brewery w/ Sleep Tight Co. - Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Aug 8 2008 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, Illinois
Aug 30 2008 - New Bohemian Music Festival w/Murder by Death, HEALTH - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Aug 31 2008 - Art In The Park 2008 - Freeport, Illinois

Myspace

BRAINDEAD (For fans of Give Up The Ghost, Turning Point, Youth of Today)

Sweltering, blistering, and any other adjective you like would be perfect to describe BRAINDEAD. Hailing from the City of Brotherly Love (speaking of which, I almost saw a fight break out in Love Park last night, pretty sweet), BRAINDEAD plays a mix of youth-crew style hardcore (such as Gorilla Biscuits and Youth of Today) and more modern hardcore (Hope Conspiracy, Bane, Give Up the Ghost).

BRAINDEAD has something for everyone (and by everyone, I mean hardcore kids)… One minute you’ll get some chunky riffs that you windmill kids will love, straight into some stage-diving sing-alongs.

While there isn’t anything particularly revolutionary or ground-breaking about BRAINDEAD, they definitely are one to add to your collection if you like some solid hardcore music.

MP3:
BRAINDEAD – Guilt And Shame
BRAINDEAD – No Consequences

Buy:
Interpunk

Raw Street Punk: Violent Society

Plain and simple: If you like straight up, no frills punk rock, you’re going to like Violent Society. In the veins of Clit 45, Oxymoron, (Insert your favorite Street Punk band here).

The vocals are snotty as all hell and the music is furious while maintaining incredibly catchy. Be careful when listening, it’s been known to invoke random circle pits in places usually deemed inappropriate.

MP3:

Violent Society – Negative Attention

Violent Society – You’re Gonna Fall

Violent Society – I Wanna Know

Buy:

Interpunk

A Little Hardcore Mix For You All (and Jorge)

Don’t worry Jorge, we got your back. Here’s a little hardcore sampler for you, wherever you may be:

MP3:

Paint It Black – Four Deadly Venoms

Give Up The Ghost – There’s A Black Hole In The Shadow Of Pru

Youth Of Today – Prejudice

Minor Threat – I Don’t Wanna Hear It

Bones Brigade – Nothing Changes

Scraps and Heart Attacks – Queen Of Prussia

Buy:

Interpunk

Smartpunk

Amazon

Saves The Day

Many elitist punks out there will probably scoff at the fact that I’m posting Saves The Day, but in all honesty, their 2nd album “Through Being Cool” is a solid pop-punk album. If you can get past the whiny vocals, you’ll see they have (or had, I actually never followed the band except for this record) some solid punk influences. Definitely will be a shock to those only familiar with their later work.

MP3:
Saves The Day - Banned From The Back Porch
Saves The Day – Through Being Cool

Buy:
Saves The Day

The Dead Milkmen

(photo from www.mitchclem.com/nothingnice)

“If you love someone, set them on fire”. I’m pretty sure the name of this song pretty much sums up the band.

Buy:
Dead Milkmen

Murder Mystery at the Bowery Ballroom

Well I meant to go to Siren this year, looks like it was a heck of a good time. The thing is, I got home from The Dark Knight at 4am on Friday night and the G train is running as a shuttle and well it's really really hot outside.

I did manage to drag myself out of my air conditioned room into the heat of the city for an after show at the Bowery Ballroom.

It was worth it. Despite a sparse and not entirely enthusiastic crowd Murder Mystery delivered. The retro pop was danceable and catchy as hell (I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person there who's gonna have Love Astronaut stuck in their head all week.) Coleman's deadpan vocals and Fels' deadly bass lines floated through the crowd cool as a cucumber. If you missed this one they've got another show in the city on Sept 10th at the Highline Ballroom.

MP3: Murder Mystery- Love Astronaut
MP3: Murder Mystery- Who Doesn't Wanna Give Me Love

Buy

The Most Influential Punk Album Ever: The Ramones

Shit man, it’s the Ramones. Everybody knows the Ramones. Hell, they’re name has become some merchandised that I will guarantee (or your money back) that you can go to Sears and pick up a shirt with their logo on it (although please don’t do that).

Regardless, they were one of the biggest (if not the biggest) influence in punk rock, and they’re first album (“Self Titled”) is the most influential record in the history of punk.

Some (punker-than-thou) complain about The Ramones, claiming that their songs are simplistic and cranked, sped up Beach Boy rock. All I have to say to these people are: you are absolutely correct… However, this was the beauty of the Ramones rather than a pitfall: simple yet catchy chord progressions and faster than anything ever heard during that time period.

Check out where it all started, and learn some songs that weren’t “hits” but amazing all the same.

Buy:

Amazon

MxPx: Kicking it Old School

I’ll come clean: I don’t really follow MxPx anymore. However, I will admit that MxPx was one of the main bands that got me into punk in the first place. After going a few years without listening to them, I felt like I was connecting with an old friend after taking a listen to “Let it Happen” (a pretty solid pop-punk album, similar to Chesire Cat/Buddha days of Blink-182). Definitely worth a listen.

Buy:

MxPx

The Top 10 Instrumental Songs

Instrumentals are way too underrated, often ignored (or *gasp!* dare I say it? skipped!) when we listen to an album. So in tribute to the lonely, underappreciated musical melodies, here are my top 10 (non-classical/non-techno) favorite instrumental tracks.

10. Propagandhi – Interlude

Video panning out of a six year old’s birthday party (thrown in the 80s) is what comes to mind with this song. Thank god Propagandhi has our back with this cheesy, yet awesome interlude.

9. Streetlight Manifesto – Riding the Fourth Wave

Usually I’m not a stickler for production quality on an album (hey, it’s punk right?)… but just this once, I’ll make an exception (and is why I picked this version over the original Catch 22 version). The entire song is pretty much made up of sweet ska solos (or the triple ‘s’ as I like to call it…)

8. Dropkick Murphy’s – Cadence to Arms

I can’t think of any other time I wished I was Scottish except when listening to this song. (Cue the hordes of people who will say “silverunity lol you idiot! DKM is a IRISH band.)

7. Big D and the Kid’s Table – The Sounds Allston Village

Wow, two Boston bands in a row? When you kids up north aren’t freezing your asses off and getting angry about how bad the Red Sox suck, apparently you can make pretty sweet instrumentals. Seriously though, this song takes me back to when I was sophomore in college running to Sheetz at 2 am to pick up some sweet delicious cheese fries.

6. Yardbeat – Fortune Teller

Catchiest instrumental… EVER. The ska riff won’t leave your head (so if you hate ska and already clicked on the song… SUCKER!)

5. Bluekilla – Guns of Navarone

A sweet Skatalites cover, Bluekilla does more than “give justice” to this classic. You’ll feel like you’re invading nazi germany as well!

4. Atom and His Package – People in This Computer Lab Should Shut The Hell Up

Do you really think there would be a list without Atom showing up? As a former computer science major, I can tell you, I completely agree with the song title. It’s really the high pitched melody at 21 seconds that do this song for me. Also, strangely reminds me of Harvest Moon, if anyone knows what I’m talking about.

3. Big D and the Kid’s Table – Oo Le Yeah

Probably the most peaceful song ever. This is for busting mad chills.

2. Horse the Band – Soaring Quails

Has a strangely 80s hair metal glam quality to it. Also, I swear it was taken from Mario 3, when you get a wand and are falling through the flying ship back to the palace.

1. Low Budgets - That Which Can Not Be Named (Coinstar)

Incredibly skankable (which always gets bonus points in my book). Nothing like a good synthesizer skank.

Buy:

Amazon

Interpunk

MU330 (For Fans of Planet Smashers, Mustard Plug, Spring Heeled Jack)

I’ve always put MU330 on the backburner for some reason. Nothing personal, just never really had the time to thoroughly check them out. What a fool I was.

Self described “pyscho-ska” (although, quite honestly, I’d give that title to the Blue Meanies, but that’s a another story), MU330 has been around since 1988, definitely making them veterans within the ska-punk genre. If you’re a fan of Mustard Plug, definitely check out MU330.

MP3:
MU330 – Tune Me Out

MU330 – Xmas Card

Also check out Housewives on:
Mustard Plug

Planet Smashers

The Copyrights (For fans of The Ramones, Groovie Ghoulies, Teenage Bottlerocket, Screeching Weasel, The Vapids)

Pop punk, the way it was meant to be played. Catchy choruses that you can't help but sing along to. One of my fav. pop-punk bands around.

MP3:
The Copyrights - Over It
The Copyrights - Cashiers
The Copyrights - Button Smasher

Also Check Out:
The High School Drop Outs
Teenage Bottlerocket/The Copyrights Show Review


Buy

4th Of July

Ahh 4^th of July... Nothing is (unfortunately) more American then burning some animals on the grill and watching huge explosions in the sky sponsored by Sunoco (seriously.) Looks like we're gonna be rained out over here, but here is some music to get you in that American mood.

Mp3:
Champion - 4^th of July

Give Up The Ghost – Fuck What Fireworks Stand For

The Unseen – Goodbye America

Buy:

amazon.com