Music Monday – M

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May 092011
 

MxPx

This is going to be hard to pick only 5 songs…! I’ve been a big fan of Washington pop-punks, MxPx, since 1998. MxPx are a great band – catchy music and great lyrics. They should be huge; especially when you consider that it was MxPx who took Good Charlotte on tour as a support band back in 2000/2001. Still, it has it’s advantages – as a relatively ‘unknown’ band in the UK when they tour here you get to see them in some more intimate gigs. As an extra ‘treat’ for their fans they always record some kind of EP in between main LP releases. These include covers albums, and more ‘raw’ tracks recorded in their own studio. They’ve dabbled with the poppier side (Before Everything And After) and the rawk side (The Renaissance EP) and always come out trumps. Now, to try choose 5 songs…

  1. Tomorrow’s Another Day (from ‘Slowly Going The Way Of The Buffalo’)
  2. Wrecking Hotel Rooms (from ‘Panic’)
  3. Cristalena (from ‘Life In General’)
  4. You’re On Fire (from ‘Secret Weapon’)
  5. It’s Undeniable (from ‘The Ever Passing Moment’)

Music Monday – L

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May 022011
 

Living End, The

I’ve been a fan of Aussie rockers, The Living End, for over a decade although I’ve only ever seen them live once. They play catchy rock music infused with punk and some rockabilly – it’s all good! One thing that helps them stand out is the double bass that they use instead of a normal bass guitar. It gives it a definitive sound and also looks awesome on stage!

I blogged this after Leeds Festival 2009:

It was soon time to teach Shaun how awesome Australians could be with the fantastic The Living End. Not only do these guys play great music (punk-rockabilly is the easiest way to explain!) but they put on an amazing performance too! This was the first time I’d seen a bottle-neck slide used that was not only still attached to the bottle but also still full of beer – although the guitar tech wasn’t pleased to have to clear all that up… The upright bass also makes for good entertainment value with various spins and an extra platform to stand on. You may be able to guess, but I was blown away by The Living End!

  1. Prisoner of Society (from ‘The Living End’)
  2. Don’t Shut The Gate (from ‘Roll On’)
  3. Raise The Alarm (from ‘White Noise’)
  4. Uncle Harry (from ‘Roll On’)
  5. How Do We Know (from ‘White Nosie’)

And here’s a couple of photo’s and a video:

 

Music Monday – K

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Apr 252011
 

Kids In Glass Houses

I Only have one album from Welsh rockers Kids In Glass Houses – but it’s a great one! Difficult to describe, they’re rocky and punky without being too much of either. Your best bet, if that catches your attention, is to take a listen to them on Spotify. There’s a lovely acoustic version of ‘Matters At All’ on there too. All the songs for this Music Monday are from their album ‘Dirt’ except for number 5.

 

  1. Sunshine
  2. Artbreaker II
  3. Young Blood
  4. Giving Up
  5. Matters At All (Acoustic)

Music Monday – I

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Apr 112011
 

The Insyderz

More trumpet punk, this time from The Insyderz. Bizarrely I’m not keen on their normal album(s) but prefer, instead, their worship albums. On ‘Skalleluia!’ and ‘Skalleluia Too!’ The Insyderz set out to make Christian worship songs as awesome as they should have been in the first place!

 

  1. You Are My All n All (from ‘Skalleluia!’)
  2. Who Is This? (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)
  3. In The Secret (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)
  4. Awesome God (from ‘Skalleluia!’)
  5. All That I Am (from ‘Skalleluia Too!’)

Music Monday – H

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Apr 042011
 

de Heideroosjes

In what seems like another life I use to swim for Bingley Amateur Swimming Club. We had links with e Dutch club, de Watervrienden Lisse, with whom we did an ‘exchange’ each year. One year we would go to Holland, the next year they would come to England. I made a few good friends from those trips who I am still in touch with, even though I’ve not swam properly for over a decade! In, I think, 1996 there was one lad called ‘Rob’ who introduced me to the Dutch punk band de Heideroosjes – I was instantly hooked! Their older stuff has a very raw, aggressive sound but in the late 90’s they were signed to Epitaph and their music, although still similar in style, has a more polished sound to it. Most songs are in English but there are quite a number in Dutch (various dialects), German and Flemish.

  1. Lekker Belangrijk (from ‘Chapter Eight, The Golden State’)
  2. Nothing For Free (from ‘Fifi’ & ‘Smile… You’re Dying’)
  3. Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden (from ‘Choice For A Lost Generation?!’ & ‘Smile… You’re Dying’)
  4. Regular Day In Bosnia (from ‘Schizo’)
  5. Ring Of Fire [cover] (from ‘Ode & Tribute’)

Music Monday – G

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Mar 282011
 

Green Day

I think, for anyone who knows me, this will be an obvious choice for ‘G’. I’ve been a fan of Green Day since I first heard Basket Case back in 1995 when I was 15. I’ve pretty much grown up with them and been ‘with’ them while they’ve dabbled with different genres and styles – but they always make great albums. They’re certainly not ‘punk’ any more, but they’ve grown older and their style has changed. But see them live and you’ll see they still have all the energy – particularly when they surprise you with a very old song mixed in with the more recent stuff. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen them and they are, by quite a long way, my all time favourite band. As such, this Music Monday will be slightly different. Instead of simply listing my 5 favourite tracks (that’s too hard!) I’m going to list my favourite song from each of Green Day’s major album releases.

  1. 1,000 Hours (from ‘1,000 Hours EP’)
  2. Paper Lanterns (from ‘Slappy EP’)
  3. Road To Acceptance (from ’39/Smooth’)
  4. One Of My Lies (from ‘Kerplunk!’)
  5. In The End (from ‘Dookie’)
  6. 86 (from ‘Insomniac’)
  7. Prosthetic Head (from ‘Nimrod’)
  8. Church On Sunday (from ‘Warning’)
  9. Homecoming (from ‘American Idiot’)
  10. Murder City (from ’21st Century Breakdown’)

Music Monday – F

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Mar 212011
 

Five Iron Frenzy

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: ska-punk FTW! Five Iron Frenzy were a great, lively ska-punk band (also defined, by me as ‘trumpet-punk’; i.e. not so much actual ska on a lot of songs!) – one of many that have since disbanded. What set them apart, for me at least, was their brilliant lyrics – witty, deep and with the occasional bad rhyme. Some samples include: “I’m 29 years old still wearing my wallet chain like I was 28; I’m wearing my Vans so that high school kids will think that I can skate”, “I don’t care if we’re punk or ska or hardcore enough for you, it’s sad but true; you can call us names till your face turns blue; Our assurance comes from God, it’s nothing new, we’ll never care ’cause we’re never cool enough for you.” and “Wizard needs food, badly.”

  1. At Least I’m not Like All Those Other Old Guys (from ‘The End Is Near’)
  2. American Kryptonite (live) (from ‘The End Is Here’)
  3. Cool Enough For You (from ‘Upbeats and Beatdowns’)
  4. A Flowery Song (from ‘Live – Proof That The Youth Are Revolting’)
  5. Farewell To Arms (from ‘The End Is Near’)

Music Monday – E

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Mar 152011
 

Elviss

Elviss are an obscure UK punk/rock band who have been a cause of great frustration to me over the years! When I first heard them on Radio 1 in 2002 I fell in love with their sound – similar to that of The Wildhearts but not a ‘copycat’ band. As soon as their single ‘D-Change’ was released I bought it. The following year they released their second single, ‘Radio (Kill It)’, which I also bought. As far as I’m aware they never released an album. They had some cracking songs on the singles but nothing seemed to come of them. Even googling it doesn’t pull up any meaningful information – just lots of dyslxic fans of ‘The King’…

  1. D-Change (from ‘D-Change [single]’)
  2. Protocolic (from ‘D-Change [single]’)
  3. Radio (Kill It) (from ‘Radio (Kill It) [single]’)
  4. Common Thread (from ‘Radio (Kill It) [single]’)
  5. Orange Glow (from ‘Radio (Kill It) [single]’)

Music Monday – D

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Mar 072011
 

Dance Hall Crashers

Everybody loves happy, bouncy music full of gorgeous harmonies. Or, rather, everyone should love happy, bouncy music full of gorgeous harmonies. Dance Hall Crashers hail from California and were originally formed by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong (Operation Ivy / Rancid) although they left shortly after their first gig. Owing to the two female vocalists (Elyse and Karina) bouncing their harmonies off of each other, the whole sound tends to be more ‘poppy’ than most other ska-punk bands. This isn’t a bad thing, it gave them a pretty unique sound (sometimes akin to No Doubt’s “Tragic Kingdom” era) and a they are a joy to listen to as well.

  1. Cat Fight (from ‘Purr’)
  2. The Truth About Me (from ‘Honey, I’m Homely!’)
  3. Will Tomorrow Ever Come (from ‘Honey I’m Homely!’)
  4. The Real You (from ‘Purr’)
  5. Lost Again (from ‘Honey I’m Homely!’)
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