Fuck my life.

I've been slacking on the updates. I'll get on that soon. Anyways, I'm getting a Burt Bacharach tattoo. Yeah, that's right. I fucking rule. I hope to be half as talented as that dude someday. Anyways, enjoy this fucked up video. Homeboy knows his shit.



Fuck.

- Joaquín

Holy Shit

So I'm sitting here watching Grammy performances and holy shit can black people arrange a song. As you know if you keep up with this blog, Levi Stubbs, leader of the Four Tops, died earlier this year so the Grammy Awards got Smokey Robinson, Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo to do a Four Tops medley with its remaining members. They do a minor shift at the end of "I Can't Help Myself" at the very end. What the fuck?! So sick.

- Joaquín

Grace Me With Your Cold Shoulder

Man, when I actually pay attention to what's going on in contemporary music I always find some gem that I really get into. This record is one of those gems. This girl is a year younger than me and she has already had a number one record and more importantly, was hand picked by Burt Bacharach to sing a rendition of his song "Baby It's You" with him accompanying on piano. What the fuck. This girl has a great voice and there is some great fucking production on this record. There is definitely some LA era Motown influence in these songs. Any record that makes use of the Fender Rhodes will always get a little love from your boy. So sick. Anyways, enjoy.



Try it.
Buy it.

P.S.

Here's her video for Chasing Pavements. You might have heard this song before. The horn/string swell in the chorus is so sick.



- Joaquín

Not Without A Fight

So, I was expecting this record to be a lot worse honestly. It seems like a good mixture of Catalyst and Coming Home. Yada, Yada, Yada, Enjoy.



Download Link

<3 Dookie Luv

Ur Moshin'

So here are two demos from two sick up and coming Southwestern hardcore/punk bands.

Life In Chains
(Tucson, AZ)



Download Demo
Visit Myspace

NYA
(El Paso, TX)



Download Demo
Visit Myspace

Our time is here...

Tyrone and I have probably listened to this song 100 times today. So good.



- Joaquín

Jersey's Best Ass Shakers

Zero Zero - Time & Space

^ Ari from Lifetime on vocals and drums, Ari's wife, Tannis, on vocals and keys, and Dave from Lifetime on guitar.



Miss TK & The Revenge - XOXO

^ Tannis on vocals, Ari on drums and some other dudes that I haven't researched.

- Joaquín

Aw hell yeah!

Mad new records I have been looking forward to hearing have leaked this week. I gotta make this quick 'cause I'm at school, but enjoy!



Marked Men - Ghosts

- Joaquín

STOKED

Two Tongues' eponymous debut has finally leaked! I posted the two teaser tracks from this record quite a while ago. I was really looking forward to this record's release and now I probably won't listen to much else for the next week. It literally sounds like Saves The Day mixed with Say Anything. Given, it's two members of each bands, so it kinda has to be like that. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this record. So far I really, really like it.



Try it
Buy it

Skate Punk Pride

Hey children of the internet,
Forrest here, after a long period of time with no appearances on the blog, I'm here to bring to you one of the finest skate punk bands of Kings Beach, NV. So check it out, then grab wheels and go shred.

"I can't get around with this sketchy fucking rig,
because I need to skate fast when I'm running from the pigs."

Last Christmas

I know Christmas is over and everything, but I haven't been able to get this song out of my head. Fuck you, Wham!



- Joaquín

The Hunter & The Fog

Aww hell yeah! The new Cherry Tempo is up for free download over at their website. I suggest you all go get this. Saying that I love those dudes would be an understatement.



Download Here!

- Joaq Joaq

Dear Josh,

You're welcome.



Coconut Records - Nighttiming



Coconut Records - Davy

Bonus DL:



Phantom Planet - The Guest

- Pizza

Just some new stuff

A whole shit ton of stuff leaked within the last like, ten hours, but Mediafire is down and I don't even care enough to get it all from other sources. Anyways, here is one record I've been listening to a lot in the last week or so and here is one new record.



Algernon Cadawallader - Hot Green



Asobi Seksu - Hush

- Joaq Joaq

RIP Ron Asheton

So Ron Asheton was found dead in his Ann Arbor, Michigan home this morning. Apparently he died of a heart attack a couple of days ago. How very un-rock 'n' roll of him. Oh well. The fact that he died from just being an old dude doesn't change the fact that he was part of one of the bands that pioneered punk rock. So in his memory, you should do one or all of the following today...

Drink something, smoke something, snort something, shoot something, fuck something, or fight something.

I, personally, plan on picking up my copy of "Please Kill Me" so I can remember what a legendary fuck bag that dude was.

RIP Ron.



The Stooges - Self-Titled



The Stooges - Fun House



The Stooges - Raw Power

- Joaquín

Dude Radio.

Hey guys, if you know me, you probably know I have a "selective" or "forgetful," sometimes "dumbass" taste in music. Most of the time that was attributed to me not knowing how to work my iPod, getting booted from every torrent site, forgetting my favorite bands, or completely bullshitting people for cred. Anyway, I finally jumped on pandora radio and made a station that I think totally rules.

Get Wiggly.

BTOWN.

comics i read in 2008

this list is probably incomplete, but as far as i can tell, this is the list of trade paperbacks, single issues, mini's, one offs, graphic novels, etc that i read this year. not everything on this list was read for the first time this year, but if it was read this year, it made the list. but like i said, i don't think it's complete, but it's probably close. i read a lot this year.

300
32 stories
acme novelty library 16
acme novelty library 18
acme novelty library 19
aeiou
american elf
american elf 2
american elf 3
batman: year one
batman: dark victory
batman: gotham by gaslight
batman: haunted knight
batman: the dark knight returns
batman: the dark knight strikes again
batman: the long halloween
be a man
black hole
bone
bottomless belly button
box office poison
bprd 1
bprd 2
clutch 1
clutch 2
clutch 3
clutch 4
clutch 5
clutch 6
clutch 7
clutch 8
clutch 16
controller
delayed replays
dogs and water
drawn and quarterly showcase #2
epileptic
feeble attempts
four squares
four women
further grickle
ghost world
goodbye, chunky rice
grickle
hellboy 1
hellboy 2
hellboy 3
hellboy 4
hellboy 5
hellboy 6
hellboy 7
hellboy 8
hellboy: the chapel of moloch
hickee #3
hickee #4
i was a teenage comic nerd
infinity gauntlet
the iron wagon
kingdom come
life in the jugular vein
little things
lone racer
marvels
maus 1
maus 2
the maxx 1
the maxx 2
the maxx 3
the maxx 4
the maxx 5
the maxx 6
midnight sun
mosquito
the mourning star
mustaches: a 24 hour comic
my brain hurts
narcoleptic sunday
nothing nice to say
the octopi and the ocean
penny arcade: attack of the bacon robots!
penny arcade: epic legends of the magic sword kings
penny arcade: the warsun prophecies
penny arcade: birds are weird
penny arcade: the case of the mummy's gold
preacher 1
preacher 2
preacher 3
preacher 4
promethea 1
promethea 2
promethea 3
promethea 4
promethea 5
queen and country definitive edition 1
queen and country definitive edition 2
queen and country definitive edition 3
RASL #1
RASL #2
RASL #3
red eye, black eye
same difference
the sandman 1
the sandman 2
the sandman 3
the sandman 4
the sandman 5
the sandman 6
the sandman 7
the sandman 8
the sandman 9
the sandman 10
scott pilgrim 1
scott pilgrim 2
scott pilgrim 3
scott pilgrim 4
scott pilgrim: full color odds and ends
sin city 1
smack dab
spaghetti western
spiral bound
stickleback
tales from the farm
talk nerdy to me
things are meaningless
three shadows
top ten 1
top ten 2
tricked
van helsing's night off
walking dead 1
watchmen
whiteout 1
whiteout 2
wormwood
yearbook stories
you can't get there from here


- love, detroit

detroit's 2008 year in review list

Not really in any particular order...

TORCHE - "Meanderthal" - the most bone crushing pop record you will ever hear. some of the riffs these guys write are so simple and elegantly brutal, it's amazing that no one has ever written them before. these guys will have you nodding your head for hours after you've listened to the record.

METALLICA - "Death Magnetic" - no fucking around. i was skeptical as everyone else when this came out. i heard the early clips, i thought they sucked, etc. after putting this record on my jaw dropped and my head started rocking out something fierce. sure, the record is not without it's faults, it's way too long, there's a few tracks that are pretty meh, but after 20 years of bullshit, this is the record that metallica fans deserve.

BLACKLISTED - "Heavier than heaven, lonlier than god." - these guys have always been pretty straight forward judge influenced hardcore. but with this record they really brought it to another level. diverse, heavy, dark, aggressive, intense. 11 songs and 20 minutes later, i was left desperately wanting more.

JOAN OF ARC - "Boo Human" - this record is breathtaking. taking a break from the balanced annoying unlistenable meanderings and brilliant math inspired jangles, these guys opted for a more subtle collective approach to making this record. acoustics are abound, crafting actually well written songs that deserve more than one listen. super angry and depresed lyrics, this is one for the record books.

LEMURIA - "Get Better" - sure, girl involved pop punk/rock has been around forever. stylistically, there's nothing unique about this band. quality-wise there is. the songs are beyond catchy, they're more diversely crafted than your standard pop punk outfit, straight forward lyrics that don't feel cliche, just feel genuine.

SUN KIL MOON - "April" - mark kozelzelekzek understands something the rest of us don't. i can't put my finger on it, but if you listen to "april" enough times i think eventually you could begin to understand it too. this man is a master of songcraft.

MAPS & ATLASES - "You and me and the mountain" - moving away(very slightly) from the spastic explosions of their previous work, this band wrangles in their finger tapping just enough so you can actually hear how many notes they're playing now. and just like almost everyone else on this list, songwriting is key. i find myself singing these songs to myself for days.

SIGUR ROS - "blahdy blah blabbity blah blah blah" - the first few times i listened to this record, i did NOT like it. after a few more, it started to grow on me, and shortly after that, i couldn't stop thinking about it. it's different, yeah. but "post rock" doesn't mean you just have to drone on for hours. and now i can appreciate "takk" more as being an appropriate midpoint between "( )" and this record. this one has some of their best tracks ever on it.

THEY AND THE CHILDREN - "Home" - i'm biased b/c these guys are old friends of mine. but this is the best "post hardcore(?)" record i've heard in a long time. it slays. it's heavy. it's fast. it's brutal. it's dense. it's creative. in a world filled with a million hardcore bands that all sound the same, this one stands out.

NARROWS - s/t 7" - duh, it's the dude from botch screaming his head off like a maniac.

YOUNG WIDOWS - "Old Wounds" - this record is amazing for a few reasons. one, it's a kickass record. two, half of it was recorded live at shows, and aside from a spot of crowd noise here or there, you can't even tell. that's how fucking tight this band is.

fuck, i already forgot a bunch of good ones, so i guess i'll just put them in "honorable mentions"

Honorable mentions:
David Byrne & Brian Eno "everything that happens" - david byrne is one of my all time favorite songwriters/musicians/epic people. this record is no exception.
Bonne Prince Billy "lay down in the light" - this record rules.
TV on the Radio - "dear science" - where cookie mountain was boring, this record is not. funky, sexy, groovy.
Mountain Goats - "satanic messiah ep" - i like the mountain goats.
nick cave & the bad seeds - "dig, lazarus, dig!" - nick cave is just a badass. warren ellis makes awesome sounds.
Make Believe - "Goin to the bone church" - angular weird math indie with songs about the vietnam war.
the walkmen - "you and me" - this record is kinda weird and really different, but is totally great.
unearth - "the march" - this is the best metal record of '08, and really deserves to be in the top section, but ya know, i'm lazy.

fuck i just remembered a bunch more... ah, fuck this.

Your 2008 List.

I just want to throw this one out there. I just wasted twenty minutes of my life reading the Pitchfork Guestlist: Best of '08. Needless to say, total bullshit. The same dudes from Vampire Weekend, Fleet Foxes, and MGMT namedrop themselves back and forth while simultaneously talking about Lil' Wayne. Honestly, I don't think I can name ten records that came out this year. I mean, I'll give it to him, Weezy put out a pretty bomb-ass record, but that can't be it. So fuckit, I've got a short list and then everybody go crazy.

1. Xiu Xiu - Women as Lovers
If you don't like Xiu Xiu then, fuck off. Seriously. I've seen these guys twice and they now account for the best show I've ever seen and the second best show I've ever seen. Listen to them get down all Zappa like on this one. Also, if "I Do What I Want, When I Want" doesn't make best song of the year, I'm quitting Pitchfork for good. Serious this time.

2. Earth - The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's Skull
These guys are from Seattle. Just look at that picture, thats the guitarist with four JCM800 half stacks. Also, I just started smoking weed this year.

3. Akimbo - Jersey Shores
Whole lotta fuckyeah. Used to practice next to these guys, but didn't get the full scope until they hammered myself and the audience into submission opening for Big Business. Most legit gear ever.

4. Mars Volta - Bedlam in Goliath
Best since Deloused by far. Some of the heaviest grooves ever.

5. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream/Machina
I know these didn't come out this year, but they really shaped my entire idea of music. I never got into them when they were out, but suddenly I found these albums of heavy guitars, gnarly production, and entirely awesome songs. Most of you that know me know that I'm always a little behind the curve on new music, and I'm sure I've pounded them into your brains this year as well, so, you know, sorry.


Now bring on the lists.


BTOWN.

Ms. Jackson if you're nasty.

So I was just lurking people who have written my favorite R&B songs and found out that two of the dudes who formed The Time had the early 90's on lock down. Together they wrote a huge chunk of Janet Jackson's "janet." which we all know is a fucking heater of an album, well, at least our Moms know. Here are five, yes, FIVE incredible singles from that album in the order of their release. Fuck.











I excluded "If" and "You Want This" because I was never really feelin' those tracks. Also, I might have only been 6 when it came out, but I wanted to rail Janet Jackson so badly when I first saw the "Any Time, Any Place" video.

- Joaquín