Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault

Ahhh, Jawbreaker, one of the best bands to ever exist. And what do you with the best band ever? Make a tribute for them. And this is one tribute that doesn't disappoint. With a variety of artists (Bayside, Kill Your Idols, Nerf Herder, Duvall, etc.) covering songs from every Jawbreaker album, Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault, is a must have for any Jawbreaker fan. Or good music fan for that matter. The album starts off with Bigwig, covering "Ashtray Monument", a good cover, but it's not one that sticks out in my mind. However, the next track is Bayside's cover of "Chemistry". What an amazing, amazing job they do with this song. They way they sing it, you get the perfect image in your head from the lyrics. Next up is Face To Face's "The Boat Dreams From The Hill". I've always found Face To Face's covers of songs to be good, whether they're covering Descendents, Social Distortion, or, of course, Jawbreaker. Name Taken are on after Face To Face, covering "Want". Want has always been one of the best songs to go on a mix CD or tape, or whatever you make, for a girl. And while Jawbreaker's original is great, with Name Taken's version, you can understand the lyrics, making it, at least vocals wise, better. The song "Busy" is next, done by Duvall. This is a strange cover. They slow it down, a lot, to a six minute song. It seems to drag on a bit. After the six minute "Busy", the much shorter title track, done by The Travoltas is up. What a truly great job they do. They turn the raspy, Punk Rock Emo, song of Jawbreaker into an upbeat and catchy pop punk song. Good job Travoltas. Counterfeits' cover of "Million" is a nice mellow version, and really helps balance out the CD. The Æffect's cover of "Boxcar" is just...it's out there, we'll put it that way. "Shield Your Eyes", done by For Amusement Only is like Bigwigs cover. It's good, but it just doesn't stick in my mind. Fall Out Boy's cover of "Save Your Generation". Now, they didn't do a bad job, but I just think a better band could've been found to do the cover. "Unlisted Track" done by The Reunion Show is after Fall Out Boy. Again, good cover, just not sticking out. Sparta doing "Kiss The Bottle" is next. This cover is just disappointing to me. I don't think they did a good job, or at least not as good as Lucero did. Nerf Herder's version of "Chesterfield King" is next. Man, this is, without a doubt, the best cover on here. Get this album if only for this cover. "I Love You So Much It's Killing Us Both" by The Gamits is next. And yet again, good cover, just doesn't stick out. Kill Your Idols doing "Do You Still Hate Me?" is next. This is an excellent cover, of an even more excellent song. Great job KYI did. Another odd cover, this time of "Jet Black", done by Good Night Bad Guy, is up. The acoustic guitar sounds good on this track. Finally, the album closes with Jeff Ott (Fifteen, Crimshrine) doing "Better Half". It's just him, and an acoustic guitar. A great job he did with it. Over all, this is an excellent tribute to a band who did so much for punk music. So buy this album, and enjoy.

-Rob

What Happened Guys?

Wow, hard to believe how much AFI have changed. That change, for the early part of their career was good, up until Sing The Sorrow. With that, they ventured into the hearts of scene kids everywhere. With their first release, Answer That And Stay Fashionable, AFI set a great tone of Hardcore/Punk that followed with their following albums, Very Proud Of Ya and Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes. However, after these three albums, AFI changed their sound, for the better. Mark Stopholese, guitar, left the band, and Jade Puget replaced him. They then recorded their next two albums, which, while still rooted in their hardcore, was much more darker, this making these albums, Black Sails In The Sunset and The Art Of Drowning, the best Horror Punk albums of the 90's. After this however, they left Nitro records, and completely left their punk rock roots and Davey Havok became every scenewhore's wet dream. Well, enjoy these seven songs from when AFI were the best Punk of the 90s.

Mediafire:

It's All Downhill From Here

-Rob

Dag Nasty - Can I Say

1986 was originally an unfortunate year, turned brilliant due to one band. With hardcore punk's short, sporadic life winding down to a close, people didn't know what to do next. They were waiting for the next big band to sweep the area, and the band they were all waiting for was Dag Nasty. Formed in 1985 by Minor Threat's Brian Baker, the band displayed excellent use of melody uncommon to the D.C. scene. They presented something new, fresh, and put it in a way presentable to the fans of the generally harsh, raw sound of stereotypical hardcore punk rock. Through Dischord Records, who Baker was affiliated with through Minor Threat, the band put out "Can I Say" in 1986. The record was well sung by Dave Smalley, while Brian Baker churned out riffs that were seemingly unfamiliar to the area, yet accepted with open arms as one of the scene's top band's bass player suddenly came on with a six string instead of the four they were used to. He and the rest of Dag Nasty made a very well done album full of songs that can be listened to by a fan of any rock genre with a general liking towards. Full of catchy riffs, this one is one sure to please for the fan of melodic lines backed by simple riffs.

Sample: Live Video of "Circles", circa 1985

- Steve

Monsula - Nickel EP

Monsula's Nickel EP is really a lost gem in the realm of 90's Punk Rock/Emo. First listening to this EP, you can't help but enjoy the catchy, Jawbreaker-esque bassline that "Firecracker" has. From the moment the EP starts, you can tell this band's influences, Revolution Summer Emo., and Gilman Street Punk Rock/Pop Punk. Hell, one of the members went on to be in Pinhead Gunpowder. After the great opener, we move onto the song "Missing You", which, while not packing quite the punch "Firecracker" has, is still a great song. The way Paul Lee delivers the vocals, which is a combination of talking, and searing shouting, just sticks in your mind, especially when he's shouting "All the pain/Of missing you", it's just a song you remember. The next track, "Razors", makes this EP alone. The instruments just remind me of Cringer (I believe they had Lance Hahn of Cringer fill in on guitar actually), and Paul's vocal delivery is just excellent. It's like he's pouring all his heart into his singing. The last track, "When Will It End?", just doesn't seem to stack up to the others. If I had to pick a bad song on the EP, it would be this. However, that's not without saying, the chorus is fantastic. The backing vocals really give it a somewhat haunting tone, which I feel helps it out greatly. All in all, this is truly a great EP from a time when Emo wasn't such a bastardized term, and bands put everything they had into what they were doing. When you get a chance, check out this album.

Download on Mediafire:
Monsula - Nickel EP

-Rob