"I think i'll go to Boston...think I'll start a new life"

Well this week i started out by continuing the trend of last week. A lot of old school Green Day for one, I forgot just how good Nimrod is. It was such a great follow up to Dookie and I can listen to it all the way through over and over again. Catchy hooks, actually more mature lyrics on some songs, and that typical Green Day swagger pulls it all together. It's just another reminder of how ridiculous their new rock opera persona is, especially when this is worlds better then anything they have produced recently.

Also still diving into 00's revival of garage rock with The White Stripes, The Hives, The Vines, Jet, and a little bit of the The Strokes. I still love that crunchy guitar sound with simple power chords and fusing that with Beatles-esque lyrics and simple song structures. It's just a good time with these kinds of bands and that really reels me into their kind of music.

Then i diverged a bit and dove into some Augustana. I don't know what really prompted me to start listening to them but all of a sudden i couldn't stop. Both of their albums are great and they have great songwriting abilities. It's weird because unlike a lot of music that talks about relationships, love, and life in general these have a hopeful edge rather then downturn other artists take. They are still heartfelt, soulful, and really reach into you but you get the sense that they can be overcome and worked though. Also the band puts on a great live show, they have a pretty good presence and definitely sound like their albums. I look forward to further albums from this band and are easily one of my top bands ever.

Also been playing Jimmy Eat World's first album Bleed American. Another album from my youth that stands up today. Really good pop-rock with some very in depth lyrics and a fantastic lead singer. This album is another one I can listen all the way through and enjoy every minute of it. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for decent rock music as it delivers the goods time and time again. Oddly i haven't jumped into their other albums as well, probably due to my penchant of usually preferring a bands debut album.

That pretty much brings me to the close of this week, I just recently discovered Ken Devine's solo stuff and i am starting to dig into that as it's really good acoustic music. I may report more on that next week, we'll see where my listening tastes take me.

Got internet...will write

Missed a week due to not having internet in my place but as you can see that issue has been rectified and now I can blog again. Got two weeks worth of music to talk about now and i've been listening to a lot of it. Probably cause it's so quiet in my new place living by myself so i've been listening to music to keep from going crazy. The big one on the list right has been the Tron: Legacy soundtrack by Daft Punk cause it's freaking awesome. I don't know how they will use the music in the movie yet but honestly this stuff is so good it doesn't really matter. There are some orchestral songs in the mix and even those are great, it definitely makes me excited for the movie. Daft Punk continues to deliver the beats and be one of the few bands that has me listening to techno and enjoying it.

Also been listening to a lot of garage rock, at least bands that revived the style in the 00's. White Stripes, The Vines, The Hives, Jet, Von Bondies, even a tiny bit of The Strokes though i like very few of their songs. I love that crunchy rock sound that feels like the band is jamming and having fun. It's not about crazy solos, heavy lyrics, or teenage angst it's about simple power chords, songs about being friends and drinking, and just plain good times. An interesting blend of the 70's rock like Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc and the alternative sound of the 90's.

Jumped into some From Autumn to Ashes as well, listened to their album Holding the Wolf by the Ears. It's actually pretty good, not their best but there are some really good songs on it and makes me sad they aren't together anymore. I've always liked From Autumn To Ashes melodic metal style of scream/sing switching. They were more emo them some of their contemporaries but the writing is top notch and good for getting some feelings out.

Also got into some of the back catalogue of Green Day after listening to The 20th Century Breakdown. I still love their old stuff, Dookie and Nimrod are great albums. Definitely one of the big bands of the 90's pop-punk movement. Going through their albums it makes me more disappointed with their new stuff. I feel like they lost their charm with this new rock-opera persona of theirs, like they forgot what made them good. I can't identify as much with their politically charged albums as opposed to albums about wasting time and being a loser.

Lastly been listening to some Richard Cheese cause that guy is hilarious. He definitely has Wierd Al like chops, taking popular songs and turning them into lounge music. If you want good parodies he definitely delivers and it's surprisingly listenable. That's pretty much it these last two weeks, be back next week with more! Now i'm gonna go listen to the new Jimmy Eat World album.