Original posts from my first blog, Perfect Lines.
A little blog entry from a little emo band coming out of PA got me thinking: Don’t expect a reunion show! I write this because we recently celebrated our third anniversary. Three years are a long time for a band such as ours, especially when you take into consideration that many of our predecessors and … [Read more…]
What is happening to the youth of today/tomorrow? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYaBoW1gyGU] They say drugs have a negative impact on children; that video games and TV brainwash them; that violent movies desensitize them; that sexually explicit music cause them to do bad things. But does anyone blame the parents?!?!
Found this little clip in a Red Eye review of the Jack Black-themed/curated video game Brutal Legend: Hmm… Is it simply appropriate to say “no comment” at any point? ‘Cause when a description like “rap-metal-emo” pops up, it’s so blandly all-inclusive that it renders all terms rather useless. (I tend to overindulge in genre-name-dropping, but … [Read more…]
I’m happy to post a selection from the ongoing email interview I’m having with one Darren Walters, co-founder of Jade Tree Records. As a majority of my America Is Just A Word interviewees happen to be musicians, it’s great having Darren on board to give some perspective of the other goings on that helped transform … [Read more…]
Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I’ve moved to Chicago for grad school, and that’s sort of taken up a large amount of time the past few weeks. I’ll write something soon. In the meantime, check out my new blogging position over at True/Slant. It’s a pretty cool site – a combination of a … [Read more…]
When little kids get their first haircut, there’s usually crying involved. When Pete Wentz gets his hair cut (or shaven?), the crying apparently stops: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FM6-BE5XZIQ] Take to the messageboards, Facebook feeds, and Twitter tweets, you FOB fanatics out there! Wentz has proven to be something of an intelligent individual in music: his lyrics have the … [Read more…]
…or Clarity? Big shout out to Pierre Wentz over at Washed Up Emo for catching this one. In any case, it sounds like JEW and the former Drive Like Jehu drummer and whirlwind producer Trombino are back together. Trombino produced the band’s first three albums, and his in-studio wizardry really helped morph the sound and … [Read more…]
Finally scanned these babies. Facebook them. Twitter them. Love them.
This is why I cannot respect Andy Greenwald’s opinion on emo: Obviously, taste is taste. Opinion, opinion. But if this man is the guy who’s supposed to be the emo know-it-all (read: self-created title/Spin created title), I’m not buying it. The guy doesn’t seem to understand the impulse that emo acts have towards evolution, probably … [Read more…]
It’s an absolute pleasure to bring Chris Simpson into the America Is Just A World fold. Part of my inclination for adding more interviews and material to what I’ve already written for the book is to really uncover the narratives that have been overlooked, and no band’s lifetime has the same mixture of mild coverage … [Read more…]