Daily Spin Volume 4

I’ve been trying to sell an Ipod for 2 weeks now. Previously, I tried to sell a Boost Mobile Android phone, and could not for the life of me sell that either. Apparently no one in the Pomona area needed an mp3 player or a smartphone. I ended up putting it up on Amazon and someone bought hit. Hopefully they enjoy the piece of digital media. It’s odd how craigslist just doesn’t seem to get a lot of views like it used to. In West L.A. I would get a million responses, but here in the San Gabriel Valley, it’s not happening. I don’t know, maybe it’s the season, or maybe less people use the internet for the purpose of purchasing these types of items today? In Koreatown, I didn’t have a problem either, but here I am trying to hock things for the rent, and well, it’s not coming along.

Writing has slowed down, but I keep hitting the pavement, trying to make a few bucks. That’s just an aside, the real story today is about The Daily Spin. In this edition of this column, I will be looking at some records that I listened to during my day and found to be delightful, or not delightful.

The Aquabats “The Fury of The Aquabats” (1997) – In the late 1990s ska had another boom. I like to think of it as a thing that the Christian punk movement started, but in reality, third wave ska was a culmination of a lot of good bands coming together to play great music. Guys like Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, The Pietasters, and more were touring the country and getting a lot of attention from radio and MTV alike. That’s where this release lands, right in the midst of it. You may note that Travis Barker is on the cover of this album, and his signature style was yet forming. The record features a lot of funny songs, and a lot of stories that are still the signature of the band today.

Welcome To Your Life “There Is No Turning Back” (2002) – This band was memorable for me because I saw them play in 2001. They played the showcase theater in Corona, California. It was a Halloween show with this band, Bleeding Through, and several others. I loved the outlandish behavior of all the bands, and if I’m not mistake members of Comeback Kid, Figure Four and 18 Visions were all there that night. It was a hardcore Halloween and I was trying to impress a chick. She didn’t take my advances, but I ended up finding this amazing band. Listening to their release changed my opinion, but I could hear a lot of potential on this early record from Indecision Records.

Architects “Daybreaker” (2012) – This UK band blew me away today. Their mix of metal riffing and hardcore vocals is bar none amazing. The message to their lyrics are also impressive with a mix of ideas and thoughts that really make you second guess a lot of lesser bands. This is well produced, loud, and flows more like a punk rock record than a pure hardcore opus. It’s metal, it’s hardcore, and it’s clearly one of the best releases from this band to date. If you find the vinyl, pick it up, it’s rare and really well worth the investment.

Nofx “They’ve Actually Gotten Worse Live” (2007) – The mighty Nofx put out a sequel to their live record by a similar name. This record is of the band doing what they do best, play obnoxious punk ethos. The banter between the band is definitely well worth a listen, and one of the better sides of Fat Wreck. The previous edition wasn’t as good, but then again, neither was the band. I’ve seen them play live and they are a fund act to catch, so check this out and experience the tour that is coming through this year and early next year. The band will also be playing “The Decline” from what I hear. Maybe they will record a new live record, we’ll see.

Today I didn’t listen to as many records as usual. I had my Spotify playlist on shuffle, as I started on a new book and doing other things. You can purchase these records with the links provided. It helps keep this pirate ship afloat.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10K Drops A Killer Track With Fresh White Tees

Image
10K comes out swinging with the latest catchy hip hop song you’re going to absolutely love. I’ve heard a lot of rap and hip hop tracks this year already, but a lot of it is just boring. The rhymes are just repetition, or the words just get slurred across some mediocre beats. But this, this is pretty cool, 10K drops a story rhyme that is all out catchy, and fun. 10K goes across several different thoughts in just 2 minutes and 58 seconds of music, never letting up and continually processing consciousness with rhyming ability. You’ll get hit hard up front, and by the first chorus, you’re going to be singing along. This is the type of song that really showcases a good ear for beats, rhyme schematics, and professional flow. 10K is no slacker here, he throws down as many adjectives and ideas as he can without losing the audience. Often time’s when rappers have a lot to say, they speed it up and try too hard to spit out as many sentences as possible, but not here. Here it’s a bit laid
Read more

The Bloody Jug Band Launches A Contender For Best Record of 2015 With Rope Burn

Image
Best Album Art of 2015! As far as creative bands are concerned, The Bloody Jug Band just hit my radar with full force. This type of alternative rock music is one of the reasons why I love music in the first place. With their release of “Rope Burn”, they truly put down a record that is going to be on my top 10 records of 2015. It starts off a bit slow with “Volfkiller”, then it spirals out of control with some amazing elements. Mixing strong guitar driven melodies, interesting narratives in the lyrics, and strong vocals, this is a record that opens up like a horror movie and comes through with grindhouse precision, only a bit more polished. There’s a “country” vibe that you get from some of the tracks, but it seems to be more in the way the lyrics are delivered. Strong and story filled, you are going to want to close your eyes and pay attention to the words. There’s a lot going on here, a story that is very easy to follow with each hand. A strong blues and country mix with strong
Read more

Cikatris Crushes Through Keytar Punk

Image
The neighbor downstairs likes to blast a lot of trendy, terrible music. I ask her once a week to turn it down, and it makes me feel way older than I am. Today, I won. I got to blast Cikatris as loud as humanly possible, shaking my cat’s sleeping box (she sleeps under my desk) and vibrating through the floor with a sub-woofer that made my neighbor ask me to turn down the music. I said no, and slammed the door in her face. That’s what she gets right?!? I felt bad. But the point of this story is simple, this band rocks hard and they take no prisoners with their music. The band has a way of mixing noise, punk, and pop sensibilities to create a serious garage punk style that you are not going to find with many bands. As you listen to their latest double 7” record, you are completely enthralled with the silky smooth vocals and frenetic pacing of the guitar, drums, and bass. Oh, let’s not forget the keytar which is used prominently here. The record pushes through a lot of great nose and fuz
Read more