The Music Elitist

GlassJAw performing a new song “All Good Junkies Go to Heaven”. Preeeeeeetty sweet.

It’s been over 4 years since Hand to Hand’s last full-length LP (2005’s A Perfect Way to Say Goodbye) and since that time the entire band lineup has changed, with the exception of lead vocalist Rob Kellom. To describe the band’s current sound as metal or metalcore does not nearly do it justice. Their record label Lifeforce Records describes sound of Design the End / Follow the Horizon as a combination of Anberlin, Forever the Sickest Kids, Underoath, Escape the Fate & Haste the Day. Not really hearing the FTSK part, but the rest is pretty much dead on. While the music may have gotten a little more pop-friendly, it definitely has not lost it’s edge. The very first track “In This City” proves that immediately and is a great intro into the anthemic “State of Emergency”. I remember hearing that song at the last few shows that I have gone to and couldn’t wait to hear it recorded. My other 2 favorites so far have been “Mr. Warwithin” and “Love Muscle” (which was released as demo on their MySpace about a year and a half ago). This is all in all a really great record and I highly recommend picking it up.

The record will be in stores in the U.S. Tuesday, May26th (Monday, May 11th in Europe). If you live in the Central Florida area there is an in-store acoustic performance at Park Ave. CDs in Orlando the day of the release and the CD release show is Saturday, May 30th at The Social with Gorilla Fight, My Complex Island and Adeste. They will then be embarking on an east coast tour:

6/3/09
Jacksonville, Florida
The Pit
w/ Teamwork, A Fall to Rise, The Fear of Falling, and Nomenclature

6/4/09
Charleston, South Carolina
The Oasis

6/5/09
Spartanburg, South Carolina
Ground Zero
Burnfest!

6/6/09
Asheville, North Carolina
Stella Blue
w/ By Morning, Social Ghost & Milestone

6/7/09
Knoxville, Tennessee
The Catalyst
w/ Crisis in Hollywood

6/9/09
Covington, Kentucky
The Mad Hatter
w/ Crisis in Hollywood and The Burning Season

6/14/09
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Croc Roc
w/Crisis in Hollywood, DeSoto Jones and Casting Out

6/16/09
Richmond, Virginia
The Camel
w/ Crisis in Hollywood, Varcella and Thru the Rear View

6/17/09
Blacksburg, Virginia
The Lantern
w/ Aside Oceans, Love & Reverie and Porcelain Smile

6/18/09
Charlotte, North Carolina
Tremont Music Hall
w/ Crisis in Hollywood

6/20/09
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Swampgrass Willy’s
w/ Crisis in Hollywood and The Siren

I’ve lived in Florida my whole life and something I hear from people constantly is “I hate the radio” or “The radio sucks.” If you’ve ever listened to radio in Florida, you know those statements aren’t an exaggeration. But while all radio does in one way or another suck (no matter what state you’re in) I want to focus mainly on rock station formats in Florida.

I never listen to the radio in Orlando because the only rock station I get here is 101.1 Real Rock. This station is absolutely deplorable. Just take a look at the songs they have played in the last hour:

• Sixx A.M. – Life is Beautiful
• Silverchair – Tomorrow
• Sublime – What I Got
• Papa Roach – Lifeline
• Foo Fighters – My Hero
• Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
• Saving Abel – Drowning (Face Down)
• Third Eye Blind – Graduate
• Saliva – Family Reunion
• Nirvana – Lake of Fire
• AC/DC – Rock ‘n Roll Train
• Godsmack – Awake
• Slipknot – Dead Memories
• Drowning Pool – Bodies

Now, with the exception of Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Sublime and Third Eye Blind, that’s a pretty awful hour of music. Like I said, I have lived in Florida my entire life and radio has pretty much been this way the whole time. Even when I was living in South Florida the rock stations just constantly played bad music like this (with the exception of 103.1 The Buzz, but they’re not owned by Clear Channel so that’s probably why). I assumed it was just the fact that big radio stations owned by Clear Channel all play horrible music. But when I visited California last summer, my eyes were opened. Here’s KROQ’s current Top 25 most played songs:

1. Green Day – Know Your Enemy
2. Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch
3. Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire
4. Apocalyptica feat. Adam Gontier – I Don’t Care
5. Kings of Leon – Use Somebody
6. Big B feat. Scott Russo – Sinner
7. Rancid – Last One to Die
8. The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid
9. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero
10. Incubus – Black Heart Inertia
11. Incubus – Love Hurts
12. Cage the Elephant – Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
13. The Airborne Toxic Event – Sometime Around Midnight
14. Rise Against – Audience of One
15. The Killers – This is Your Life
16. Far – Pony
17. Anberlin – Feel Good Drag
18. Hollywood Undead – Undead
19. Asher Roth – I Love College
20. 311 – Hey You
21. White Lies – To Lose My Life
22. Depeche Mode – Wrong
23. Coldplay – Life in Technicolor II
24. The Offspring – Half-Truism
25. U2 – Magnificent

When we were driving around L.A. we listened to KROQ for 15 min and in a row I heard Foo Fighters, Sum 41, Atmosphere and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I was flabbergasted. Not one Nickelback or Godsmack song. Now, obviously Clear Channel wouldn’t keep Real Rock here in Orlando for so long if there wasn’t a market for it. If the amount of white trash I am surrounded by on a daily basis is any indication, there clearly is. And THAT’s why radio in Florida sucks. Because apparently the majority of people in Florida have horrible taste in music.

Thursday played the Give It a Name Festival on Tuesday and Geoff Rickly decided to take the opportunity to “call bullshit” on screamo/crunk/electronic bands like brokeNCYDE and The Millionaires. Glad to see more bands with actual musical talent are saying something about this awful new trend.

Craig Owens: Alleged "creep" and pedophile

I have never really been a fan of Chiodos. The singer’s voice always kind of bugged me. So when I saw THIS on the “I Bang the Worst Dudes” blog, I couldn’t help but repost it:

This guy was the singer of a mediocre band, which I didn’t really take into consideration while we were dating since we had met through mutual friends and I thought he was such a sweet guy. He always said the perfect things, until I went to visit him while he was on tour and he ended up being a total creep after we started dating. I found out, amongst other shameful things, that he hooks up with some of his (really) young fans.

Wow, I’ll bet he never saw THAT coming. He’s gonna have a hard time hooking up with all those underage fans if this gets around. So I am posting this to do my part in preventing statutory rape. Spread the word.