Sell Out Records - A Music Review Blog

The Ribbed Experience - Slipping into Something Less Comfortable When NOFX released "Ribbed" back in 1991, they weren't just releasing an album; they were issuing a challenge to the punk rock status quo. Imagine a world where leather jackets are paired with clown noses, and mosh pits are filled with inflatable hammers. That's the "Ribbed" universe – a punk rock album that refuses to take itself too seriously, insisting that you do the same. The Soundtrack to Your Questionable Life Choices "Ribbed" kicks off with "Green Corn," a track that sets the tone faster than a teenager's mood swing. The song is a frenetic, fast-paced welcome mat to the album, daring you to keep up with its tempo. Then comes "The Moron Brothers," an ode to those friends we all have who, let's face it, aren't winning any Nobel Prizes soon but sure make life interesting. But it's not just the lyrics that slap you with a slice of pizza ...

Back when I used to buy compact discs at the mall, I begged my stepfather to hook me up with a few discs. The Sam Goody in the mall was having a killer sale. Their sale was simple, buy 5 get 5 free! That’s 10 total discs, and my stepdad saw that as a way to bolster the collection for his brand new truck. So he went all out and bought 20. That’s 10 free discs, and 10 for each of us. That’s where my collection grew by leaps and bounds. One of the last discs that I picked up that day was none other than “All Ages” by Bad Religion . This record goes back to 1995 and it features a lot of really cool songs on it, which serves to be a “history” of Bad Religion on Epitaph records. If you happen to come across a friend that hasn’t heard of the band, or just isn’t into punk, play them this 50-minute blockbuster, and you’ll convert them quick. With “All Ages” you get a lot of tracks from the band, and it’s all from their releases on Epitaph. Some of their biggest songs are on here, and if you...

I had just arrived in Los Angeles in 2011. I was previously in Moscow, Idaho and going through a divorce. It was a new adventure to start over again, and pay my proverbial dues into a new life. I enjoyed myself a bit, and found that the dating world was full of ups and downs. However, I managed to meet someone that was very cool, and while we were never official, I can’t seem to forget. It was within the confines of our friendship that I would rediscover a passion for music, some lost records, and a new lease on the creative spark that drives writers. That’s where I highlight picking up this record from Bouncing Souls yet again, and it remains one of my favorites. “How I Spent My Sumer Vacation” came out in 2001 , and it has 13 tracks of melodic punk rock glory. Her name was Natalie. I’m sure she’s out there, living it up, and she is perhaps one of the coolest people I’ve ever met in my life. She was just real. I don’t know how else to say it, she was just real. I guess I had an op...

I’m always fascinated by people that overprice punk rock and hardcore records. I’m guilty of this too, because in 2011 I sold a lot of my Blink 182 original pressings for $150 - $500 each. However, they only pressed 1,500 of those suckers and I was one of the few people that were able to gain several copies of each one. Plus, I was going through some hard times in what I sometimes refer to as Hell, USA. Oh, that’s Moscow, Idaho. Anyways, The Humpers may not be a band that you know or even like but it’s definitely a group of guys that play a brand of rock that you may love. I for one love their punk rock sounds, and they can definitely bring the noise fast. On the “Live Forever or Die Trying” they have one of the best songs ever put out. It’s called “Soul Surgeon” and for that one single I would drop $500 on the vinyl record. It would be absolutely stupid to spend that kind of money on a record. I am not going to, and am not telling you to do so, but I found that it was funny that...

SNFU is one of those bands that you either know about or pretend that you’ve heard about. They are a Canadian punk outfit that has been working on music longer than most people have been born. Just like a lot of the early Epitaph bands, this is another creative project of punk rockers that didn’t know they were blazing a historical trail. The album sounds great for a live record and has all of the sounds you’d expect from punk rock delivered with an edge. “Let’s Get it Right The First Time” is not the tightly produced release that say, “Blink 182” put out in limited release, and that’s why this shines. It hits on the emphatic and chaotic relevance that comes with the medium. On this one, you’re treated to a great deal of SNFU classics . Some of the songs you may know some you may be hearing for the first time. Some of my favorites include “Loser at Life, Loser at Death”, “Bobbitt”, and of course “Don’t Have the Cow”. The band is exactly what you would expect from an early Epitaph...