My Moustache Shows Everything

8 months off.

2006-02-04T03:06:00.000-05:00

It's late and I can't sleep. Should I start posting again? The fact that someone posted a comment saying they had Greensleep to share makes me believe there's hope for all of us.

LONG ISLAND HARDCORE WEEK PART FIVE!

2005-05-20T18:10:00.000-04:00

Final post of this fantastic LIHC week and I've got three songs for ya.

Silent Majority deftly married melodic hardcore with hints of emo, classic breakdown-style hc and emo with sense and sounds of living on Long Island. For the younger LIHC set, they're the holy grail of hometown bands. For those of us that saw them once or twice very weekend for a few years, there was nuthin' like 'em. I wish I could post all their songs, but I can't, so enjoy these three.

Silent Majority - "Expectations" [from 516 - A Long Island Hardcore Compilation and Based On A True Story]
Silent Majority - "Recognize" [from Distant Second and Based on a True Story]
Silent Majority - "Cross Crowded Rooms" [from Life of a Spectator]
buy the records from Amazon (but don't pick up You Would Love To Know...it's not all that good)

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Silent Majority - "Polar Bear Club"
Avail - "Pink Houses"
Le Tigre - "We Like The Cars That Go Boom"
Discount - "Waiting For The Great Leap Forward"
Blood Red - "About Last Nite"

LONG ISLAND HARDCORE WEEK PART THREE!

2005-05-19T18:41:00.000-04:00

Saw Star Wars last night. 12:01. I am nerd. Hear me roar. It obliterated my expectations. And I was buying into the hype. Sure, there was some shitty acting and awful dialogue, but fuck...it was badass.

Today I've got two from Milhouse. If you like Born Against, you'll probably dig Milhouse. I'm at a loss for words because I'm watching footage of new videogames on G4TV. Too cool.
Yeah, Milhouse. Crazy, chaotic, NOT metallic hardcore.

Milhouse - "Patron Saint of Imbeciles I & II" [from split 7" w/C.R.]
Milhouse - "Of Epic Proportions" [from Obscenity In The Milk]
buy Obscenity In The Milk from Amazon

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Nuthin'. G4TV's coverage of E3 owns me.

LONG ISLAND HARDCORE WEEK PART TWO!

2005-05-18T17:44:00.000-04:00

Fuck yeah. Last night's Against Me/Murder By Death show was awesome. I hadn't seen either band before and they didn't disappoint. Caught a new LI band called Bottle Rocket. They were okay. Got their demo. S'allright. It was also my first show on LI since the Inside reunion last summer. Good times all around. If you're near Long Island and wondering if you should check out the Downtown in Farmingdale, go for it. The place is aces.

Two tracks today, both from Crime in Stereo. Seriously, they're the best fucking band going right now. Sure, Comeback Kid and Champion are doing some awesome stuff, but Crime in Stereo (lots of C's, huh?) lays every other hardcore band to waste. And it's not because they're super hard or full of mega breakdowns, because they're not. They're honest and passionate and yes, they kick much ass. Fuck. They're so good.

Crime In Stereo - "It Ain't All Hugs and Handshakes" [from Explosives and the Will To Use Them]
Crime In Stereo - "Amsterdamned" [from Explosives and the Will To Use Them]
buy Explosives and the Will To Use Them, shirts and more at their MerchDirect site

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Against Me! "Pints of Guinness Make You Strong"
Murder By Death "A Masters in Reverse Psychology"
Bottle Rocket "The Light From Your Window"
Crime In Stereo "Play It Loud Fuckers"
Queen "Princes of the Universe"

LONG ISLAND HARDCORE WEEK PART ONE!

2005-05-18T17:19:00.000-04:00

So, yeah. Things are cool again.

Anyway, LIHC, right!? This week is LIHC week because Sunday is a reunion show for two of the bands that were staples of the LIHC scene from 1995-2001ish: Silent Majority and Milhouse. It's gonna be fucking crazy. I'm so excited. Plus, two current LI bands are playing, Thieves and Assassins and Crime In Stereo. CiS is amazing. I listen to them all the time, but haven't seen them, so this show is just extra awesome.
I'm a little rushed now because I've gotta bust outta work and head down to LI for a totally different show! Against Me and Murder By Death. It's the first show of the tour and it's gonna be killer.

Here's a track from Thieves and Assassins!

Thieves and Assassins - "People in Glass Houses Stay Warm Through the Winter" [from their 2004 demo]
download the whole demo at their site for free!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Hot Snakes "The Mystic Decade"
Mastodon "Crusher Destroyer"
Spoon "I Summon You"
Where Eagles Dare "Hard Times"
Silent Majority "Happy Hour"

Fuck. I just realized I saved this post as a draft and didn't send it out yesterday. Oh well. Two for today.

My Moustache...Still Strong.

2005-05-01T17:24:00.000-04:00

I've considered over a dozen different songs as the first post back from the long break. I'm still pondering which one to use. Some great, newer HC song from Crime in Stereo or Dead Hearts? A great older track from Indecision? A wacky cover?
I really want to post a new song by the NJ band, The Milwaukees. My friend Chris is friends with them and pushed them upon me. We saw them at Trash Bar in Brooklyn a month or so ago and again at Lit on Friday night. Their old sound was kind of emo and, to me at least, a little ho-hum. They've turned up the rock 124% and are much stronger for it. They're fun, witty and rock the fuck out. One of the guys in the band passed Chris some shhh, secret, final mixes of their new stuff and they would be perfect for MMSE.
Well, that's a no-go. At least for a while. So, in my indifference, I'll post the title track from Comeback Kid's new album, Wake The Dead. It kicks monumental ass.

Comeback Kid - "Wake The Dead" [from Wake The Dead]
buy Wake The Dead at Insound

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Comeback Kid "The Trouble I Love"
The Milwaukees "Rock & Roll #3"
Crime In Stereo "It Ain't All Hugs and Handshakes"
Against Me! "Cliche Guevara"
As Friends Rust "Operation"

Hmph!

2005-04-22T13:55:00.000-04:00

Looks like the MP3 Blog Aggregator picked me up sometime in the past two months. Guess I'll start posting again. I need some browser-accessible webspace, if anyone knows of a good option. If I can manage it, I'll post a song today through the normal means.

We're getting a dog?

2005-02-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

My roomates are gung-ho about getting a dog, so we're getting one tomorrow. Bad idea? Probably. But I love them dogs, so I'll enjoy it. Unfortunately, the dog's name is Paris. We'll have to change that and quick.
Tonight's musical selection? A little Reagan Youth. If you're familiar with the movie "Airheads," you should recognize this song pretty quickly. This was the song the, ahem, Lone Rangers were trying to get played before things went awry. The original is much better, a lo-fi punk classic.

Reagan Youth - "Degenerated" [from A Collection of Pop Classics]
buy Reagan Youth records at Insound!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Rites of Spring - "End On End"
Transistor Transistor - "I Am The Goddamn Devil"
Queen - "We Will Rock You"
The Pogues - "Blue Heaven"
Kilara - "Succubus"

Big City Nights

2005-02-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

I'm currently fascinated by the Spike Jonze video DVD collecion. I'm not all that much of a Daft Punk fan, but the video for "Da Funk" was terribly engrossing. And the song was okay.
What could go better with that than a song from the "Judgment Night" soundtrack? The soundtrack mixed a rap artist/group with metal and rock bands to (mostly) killer results. The Therapy?/Fatal song was my favorite all throughout high school, but you just can't beat the destructive force that is Slayer. With Ice T.

Slayer & Ice T. - "Disorder"
buy Judgment Night at Insound!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
None. I watched a bunch of Spike Jonze videos.

Fingerpointing Friday - Sage Francis Week Pt. 5

2005-02-11T20:53:00.000-05:00

Ah, so this wild journey through the musical world of Sage Francis comes to an end today. It's too bad because there's much more than what I've shown here. If you like politics, humor, emotion and fun in your hip-hop, I suggest you pick up all the records I've posted from and the many others that I haven't.
The last four tracks I'm putting up are from Non-Prophets, one of the gropus Sage is a part of. This record dropped a few years back and is, in my mind, is as good as, if not better than, Personal Journals.

~~Non-Prophets - "Damage"~~
Non-Prophets - "That Ain't Right"
Non-Prophets - "New World Order"
Non-Prophets - "Tolerance Level"
buy Hope at Insound!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Nuthin'. I was watching "Beyond The Mat".

Sage looks like the main villain from Hellboy.

2005-02-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

No, not the sword guy. The crazy Nazi that gets eaten by the black hole and resurrected in blood. He looks like that guy.
Last night's Sage show was great, regardless of the nearly entirely hipster population. The Solillaquists of Sound opened and they were sick. Very into their music and message. Not unlike some hardcore bands. I picked up their tour CD and, while not nearly as good as their live show, I'll pick up their new LP this summer. I'll probably post a song of theirs soon.
Sage was fantastic, though he played way too many of the new tracks. I picked up a promo copy of the new disc a few weeks back so I was familiar for the new stuff, but most of the crowd seemed to be experiencing it for the first time. He was backed by the Solillaquists and that worked really well. This being my first hip-hop show, I was surprised by how much performing outside of just playing the music there was. Dancing, gesturing, whatever. I'm used to bands bangin' away at their instruments. Nice change. I prattle on. Here's another Sage track.

~~Sage Francis - "Mullet"~~

buy Still Sick...Urine Trouble from Sage

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
more Sage

Hump Day - Sage Francis Week Pt. 3

2005-02-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Goddamn Firefox had a meltdown right before I was about to post this, so I lost what I initially wrote. Bah. Today's Sage track comes from The Known Unsoldier/Sick of Waging War, a compilation of Sage tracks from 1996 to 2002. It's a little more melancholy and lo-fi than some of his other stuff, but it still kicks out the jams.
And tonight, I'll be heading over to the Bowery Ballroom to catch the Sage show. It should be awesome considering I missed him the last few times he was around.

~~Sage Francis - "Mourning Aftermath"~~

buy The Known Unsoldier/Sick of Waging War at The Giant Peach

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Talking Heads "Cities"
Kleenex Girl Wonder "Westmont"
TV on the Radio "Staring At The Sun"
Digital Underground "Kiss You Back"
Das Efx "We Want Efx"

Go Buy "A Healthy Distrust" - Sage Francis Week Pt. 2

2005-02-08T09:01:00.000-05:00

Sage's new album, A Healthy Distrust hits today. I advise all of you to go out and buy it. It's admittedly not as good as Personal Journals or the Non-Prophets LP, but it's still a great record. Strangely enough, it's on Epitaph. Not your normal everyday hip-hopper, eh? Here are some tracks from the new album.

~~Sage Francis - "The Buzz Kill"~~
Sage Francis - "Escape Artist"
Sage Francis - "Agony In Her Body"
Sage Francis - "Slow Down Gandhi"

buy A Healthy Distrust at Amazon

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Burn - "Shall Be Judged"
Wesley Willis - "Jesus Christ"
Burning Brides - "Arctic Snow"
Hot Water Music - "Dead End Streets"
Beatallica - "A Garage Dayz Nite"

Taking Back Monday - Sage Francis Week Pt. 1

2005-02-07T16:28:00.000-05:00

This is a predominantly hardcore/punk/metal mp3 blog, but my favorite hip-hopper (that's what the kids are calling rappers these days, right?) is Sage Francis and not only does his new album drop tomorrow, but I'm venturing out of the sanctity of the 'burbs to see him at Bowery Ballroom on Wednesday. Very excited, am I. With that in mind, I thought I'd keep the whole week flowing with Sage Francis tracks, focusing on a different album every day. Even if you're not into hip-hop, check him out. He's got a great style and flow that blows most mainstream rappers out of the water.

These tracks all come from Personal Journals. It's my favorite Sage album and it was ridiculously hard to pin down the tracks to just these few. I like these songs so much I'm having a rather hard time even writing something down about them. The way the jazzy beats mix with Sage's lyrics, double entendres and witticisms is rare in a genre that's clouded by crunk, bling and sex.

~~Sage Francis - "Different"~~
~~Sage Francis - "Personal Journalist"~~
~~Sage Francis - "Inherited Scars"~~
Sage Francis - "Broken Wings"

buy Personal Journals at Insound!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
just a bunch of Sage and Non-Prophets tracks

Fingerpointing Friday

2005-02-04T23:24:00.000-05:00

I was planning on posting a track by an awesome Long Island band called Crime In Stereo, but I didn't wanna jump the gun and post without asking 'em first. They're good kids, ya know? SO, that'll have to wait for another day.
Today (tonight, actually), we've got a cover of one of the most iconic NYHC songs, New Direction. Everybody knows the the Gorilla Biscuits and how awesome they were. What about Raised Fist? They're good and rockin', though a bit robotic if ya ask me. Nonetheless, I'm a fiend for covers done at least relatively well and this is pretty good. Even this version makes me want to run around in circles.

~~Raised Fist - "New Direction"~~ [Gorilla Biscuits cover from Ignoring The Guidelines]

buy Raised Fist records at Insound!

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Faith No More "Evidence"
A's "Words"
Last Call "Conspiracy"
Vision "Disguise"
Bad Religion "We're Only Gonna Die"

Bushy Bush and the war on terror

2005-02-02T21:43:00.000-05:00

Bushy Bush is on the picture box yap yap yapping his mispronouncing lips at the moment. It's hard to tell who's blowing whom between the president and the rest of the political body. Gah.

In keeping with the political theme, here's a song from the late, lamented Endeavor. This late '90s New Jersey hardcore band played furious, powerful music with a mix of personal and political lyrics. And they had some amusing song titles. "Luke Perry Wears Sweatpants" being my favorite. I chose a song from their second record, but it was tough. "Drug Song" and "Kill Traitors" are brilliant on several levels, so maybe I'll post them at a later date.

~~Endeavor - "Semantics"~~ [from Constructive Semantics]

buy Endeavor records from Trustkill

Songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Ben Folds Five "Steven's Last Night in Town"
Fugazi "Epic Problem"
Motive "Blue Grey Black"
CR "Mayonnaise"
The Bouncing Souls "Headlights Ditch"

God Shmod

2005-02-01T17:13:00.000-05:00

I'm no fan of religion, but I sure do like metal. It's a bit confusing when you think about the band that's causing the sonic destruction you're listening to is often singing about their love for JC, but them's the breaks. Without the lyric sheet you can't even really tell Zao gets all hot and heavy for the heavenly host. Just listen to this song and then try to deny the metal.

~~Zao - "Lies Of Serpents, A River Of Tears"~~ [from Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest]

buy Zao records at insound

Songs itunes played while I put this post together:
The Disenchanted "Two Point Five"
V.O.D. "7/13"
Gravediggaz "Diary of a Madman"
Your Enemies Friends "A Life Without A Heart"
Turbonegro "Hobbit Motherfuckers"

Taking Back Monday

2005-01-31T16:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry 'bout the lack of posts at the end of last week. Shit came up and I couldn't make it to a comp to post.
We're gonna kick this week off with a raucous song by Moistboyz. Moistboyz is the dirty, drunken, shit-kickin' side project of Dean Ween (aka Mickey Moist) and Guy Heller (from False Front; aka Dickey Moist). The music's heavy, the vocals are fuzzy, the lyrics are funny and you can practically smell the mix of blood, whiskey and dirt emanating from the tune. They're working on a fourth record at the moment, so hopefully there'll be a tour later this year.

~~Moistboyz - "I'm Gonna Kick Your Ass"~~ [from Moistboyz III]

buy Moistboyz records at insound

Songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Elliot Smith "A Passing Feeling"
D.O.A. "I Hate Punk Rock"
Hatebreed "Remain Nameless"
The Clash "I'm So Bored With The U.S.A."
Blood Red "Suburbia"

There's Something About Jonah

2005-01-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

AAAhh. It's fuckin' cold outside! Here's an awesome tune from Onelinedrawing [OLD is (was?) basically just Jonah from Far making fantastic music that spans from rockin' and dancey to soft and sad. He's now singing for Gratitude and that's pretty damn good too. I'm currently listening to some New End Original, the project Jonah had with Norman Arenas (Texas Is The Reason) and I think that a complete Jonah Matranga week is coming. Probably around March, when the Gratitude record hits. In any case, check this shit out.] to keep you warm.

~~Onelinedrawing - "Tricky"~~ [from the split with The Juliana Theory and the Grey AM]

buy Onelinedrawing records at insound

Songs itunes played while I put this post together:
New End Original "Lukewarm"
The Hives "Diabolic Scheme"
Bad Religion "Anasthesia"
Faith No More "Introduce Yourself"
Tom Waits "Franks Wild Years"

Do albinos have magical powers?

2005-01-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

I wanna sell my iPod. It's a 40GB, click-wheel joint in great condition. It's a fantastic piece of equipment and 500 of the best dollars I've ever spent. So why do I want to sell it? I have less than 1GB of space left. I need's me a 60GB 'pod. SO, if anyone has about $300 and wants an awesome ipod w/case, cradle, etc. (plenty of awesome music optional), hit me up and we'll talk.

Today's jam comes from a mid/late '90s post-hardcore outfit from Staten Island. I honestly don't know much about Muddfoot. I think I saw them once or twice, but they were never very well-known outside of Staten Island. I first heard them from a comp called New York Underground (which also featured Kill Your Idols and Day In The Life, amonhg others) and their songs instantly caught my ear. They had a sound akin to Serpico mixed with Quicksand and dashed with some snarky sounding vocals. The songs on the 7" are a little slower and heavier than the ones on the comp, but definitely have a quirky catchiness about them that's hard not to like.

~~Muddfoot - "Kelly Hatch"~~ [from A Little Short]

check out CI Records and see if they have any more 7"s left

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Sleepasaurus "Conversation With You"
Army of Me "Saved Your Life"
Mr. T Experience "Love American Style"
Absolution "Fall of a Nation"
The Misfits "Angelfuck"

Taking Back Monday

2005-01-24T21:42:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd start this week off with one of my favorite covers. Botch was one of those calculating, cynical, late '90s hardcore bands that beat the shit out of metal and hardcore in order to create a force of sonic destruction that wasn't easily matched. So, what happens when you mix that style with a creepy, quirky, late '70s pop/dance track by the B-52's? Awesomeness.

~~Botch - "Rock Lobster"~~ [from All About Friends, the Hardcore Maniacs #5 comp]

buy Botch records at Insound

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Elvis Costello & The Attractions "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea"
Matt Skiba "The City That Day"
Kid Dynamite "Give 'Em The Ripped One"
Sick Of It All "B.S. Justice"
Agent Orange "Everything Turns Grey"

My landlord's name is Mclusky

2005-01-19T21:43:00.000-05:00

I live about one hour north of New York City. It's pretty damn cold and snowing right now. We may have heat, but this is an old house and don't ya know that the pipes freeze up quite easily here. Awesome.
It seems as though our toilet wasn't working. Luckily, by the time I got home everything was more or less back in working order. No hot water downstairs, but that's no biggie.
Nonetheless, my landlord's name is Mclusky. He came by this afternoon to fix some things, but the first and only time I saw him was at about 2am last Saturday when he decided to drop in on our party. He's got a killer moustache and he was pretty blitzed. In honor of Jim Mclusky I'm posting a Mclusky song. The blogosphere's been abuzz over the band's recent decision to call it quits, but that's because they were so fucking good. Maybe they didn't exactly reinvent punk rock, but they were smarter, funnier, harder and crazier than most bands that call themselves punk. Enjoy this song and then go buy everything they've done. My love is bigger than your love.

~~Mclusky- "The World Loves Us And Is Our Bitch"~~
[from Mclusky Do Dallas]
EDIT: I FIXED THE LINK TO THE SONG. SORRY.
buy Mclusky records at Insound

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Comeback Kid "All In A Year"
The Joykiller "Less Than Crazy"
Silent Majority "Recognize"
Serpico "Display"
Black Flag "I've Heard It Before"

The Arcade Fire on Best Buy Radio

2005-01-19T14:08:00.000-05:00

I just got back from a lunch jaunt to the local Best Buy. As we were leaving I heard the warm and inviting "Best Buy Radio" announcer giving a little history and lead-in to The Arcade Fire. I didn't hear everything exactly, but the voiceover mentioned something about them being from Canada and then the song proceeded to play. I'm pretty sure it was Rebellion (Lies), but I could be totally wrong. Sure, they're getting pretty big, but it's strange to hear that song back to back with some Gospel or whatever else gets played there.

I hate being sick

2005-01-18T19:45:00.000-05:00

And right now, I'm pretty sick. Phlegm, runny nose, monstrous sinus headaches, the whole shebang. The medication I've been taking has actually made me more focused and harder working, so I suppose that's good. It's also really fucking cold here, so our pipes are now frozen. I can see that I'm rambling and I don't want to edit it down, so I'll kick it straight to the music.

I think the first time I heard The Vexers was through EMusic.com nearly a year ago. They're a little dirty, a little sexy and definitely more than a little dancey. Some critics compare lead singer Jennifer Taylor's voice to both Chrissie Hynde and Exene Cervenka. You can definitley hear facets of both in here, while adding her own allure. Their style should appeal to fans of the current art/dance/punk sound, but shouldn't be written off as just another "The" band. They've got two albums, with this track being one of my favorites off their first LP. Unfortunately, they're broken up and have (reportedly) gone on to work on instructional videos (bassist), join other bands (drummer and guitarists) and even start an all-girl interpretive dance troupe (Cafe, Cafe - singer), possibly pose for Penthouse (singer) and do some German porn (singer, again). Enjoy this song. I'll almost definitely post more from them in the future.

~~The Vexers- "Sick, Sick, Sick"~~

buy Vexers records at insound

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Avail "August"
The VSS "Chemical in Chemistry"
Good Clean Fun "In Defense of All Life"
Endeavor "Appendix To A Dating Handbook"
Sheer Terror "Not Waving, Drowning"

Taking Back Mondays

2005-01-17T09:30:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Sundays have already been taken, so I'm gonna take back Mondays. I'll post something crazy, fun, fast, ridiculous or whatever I feel will start the week off with a bang.

Today I've got a track from a joke band called Crotchduster. At least I think it's from them. It was given to me a while back "in secret," and I'm not sure if this song ever really got out there. Personally, I think it's funny as hell and personifies all the ridiculousness of nu-metal while still being quite listenable if you have an ear for metal.
~~Crotchduster - "Testicles"~~
Get more Crotchduster.

5 songs itunes played while I put this post together:
Minor Threat "No Reason"
7 Seconds "Wasted Life Ain't No Crime"
By The Grace of God "Moment of Clarity"
Iggy & The Stooges "Loose"
Mclusky "Fuck This Band"