The Forms-Self-Titled

Produced by {the legendary} Steve Albini, this Brooklyn band is the perfect late 90s punk-inspired indie rock band that never existed. While the organ and piano layer above boisterous guitar and bass, and off-kilter, but tight drumming, the vocals glue it all together into one cohesive, spazzy ensemble . There is some Sunny Day Real Estate/The Dismemberment Plan/Mineral/Fugazi vibe here, so if you are a fan of any or all, you should definitely give these songs a listen

click to download the mix
knowledge in hand
alpha
bones
transmission

then, go to their myspace page and purchase their albums and find out about upcoming shows!

What the hell is this?

These older posts are a from the rock band forum blog (linked over on the right) starting from the end of last summer. i pasted them over here because i plan on doing this on my own at this point, because it seems like that blog is really sputtering along. i urge anyone here to check that blog out and you will find some of the most eclectic collection of tastes thrown together anywhere.

cheers.

everything you ever wanted to know about glassjaw

Q: What do you get when you mix Mike Patton, Frank Zappa, Japanese monster movies, debilitating diseases, backstabbing acquaintances , Groovy Hardcore and 4 (or 5) guys from Long Island?

A: {cheesy, i know...} the one and only Glassjaw/


Glassjaw did most of their damage around the turn of the millenia, releasing extremely popular EPs before getting signed by Roadrunner and producing their first full length with producer Ross Robinson. Their 2 albums Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence and Worship and Tribute go from spacy to extremely heavy to upbeat hardcore to experimental from song to song. Videos were made, albums were sold, but given the serious disagreement with Roadrunner, the band left the label and now encourages fans to download them for free.

Eccentric Frontman Daryl Palumbo freespirits his way from project to project, including mod rock Head Automatica, crust/grind/experimental United Nations, and electronic House of Blow on top of Glassjaw duties, so the band has been dormant for awhile, with intermittant performances (which may or may not get cancelled due to Daryl's disease).

Unfortunately, many of today's post-hardcore bands have aped their sound, co-opting the tone while neglecting the sincerity and artistry found in Glassjaw's music.

Fortunately, they are preparing a new album, as evidenced by the brand new song, ""so You Think You're John Fucking Lennon"

This mix is composed of a cross-section of their material. check it out!
Download Here!

track list:
you think you're john fucking lennon
siberian kiss
tip your bartender
el mark
pink roses
piano
radio cambodia
everything you ever wanted to know about silence
two tabs of mescaline

Ink & Dagger: Devil Children, Unite!

With Halloween right around the corner...

Ink & Dagger were a Philadelphia post-hardcore band during the late 90s. Crossing The Misfits and the Damned with Victorian Goth themes over Fugazi/DC -inspired churning post hardcore, Ink & Dagger took the scene by storm with a compilation of their 7" singles, called Drive This Seven-Inch Stake Through my Philadelphia Heart...

Their careers took off as they moved out of basement shows to headlining large clubs and playing even bigger shows with the likes of the reformed Misfits (ugh...) Many were eager to see this combination of frantic, original music with a stage show consisting of corpse-painted band members covering clubs with fake blood spit everywhere.

As their career progressed, they released the album The Fine Art of Original Sin, which was a big departure. Lyrically, the album was very similar, but due to lineup changes and a progression in style, the band became more experimental; incorporating electronics and psychedelic guitar textures.

Right before the release of their self-titled 3rd album, lead singer Sean McCabe was found dead in an Indiana hotel room, presumably of a drug overdose, but their has never been official word. The band ceased to exist after this.

Download the Ink & Dagger mix by clicking here

comments, suggestions, and requests are greatly appreciated!

tracklist
the road to hell
shadowtalker
the fine art of original sin
full circle
the changeling
cut throat tactics
vampire fastcode ver. 1.5
bloodlust
my lady love

Lifetime: New Jersey'sBest...

Probably my favorite band of all time, Lifetime was/is a melodic hardcore punk band from New Brunswick NJ, rising out of the same area that gave us bands like Bouncing Souls (who they frequently toured with) and You and I. They bounced around the early 90s playing a heavier. more metallic style before refocusing into the lineup that produced the albums Hello Bastards and Jersey's Best Dancers. Both albums featured songs that combined energetic, hyperspeed drumming, with dual guitars, and Ari Katz's distinctive interestingly enunciated english language, with each song containing 4 of 5 different parts, with few songs lasting more than 2 and a half minutes. What really separates Lifetime from their compatriots is the quality of their lyrics. Lifetime rarely had a typical verse-chorus-verse arangement, with each song almost coming off as a diary entry from a literate diary (in a good way)

springsteen meets husker du meets rites of spring meets bad religion?

This mix i assembled includes things from all of their albums, including their self-titled comeback record. also included is their excellent cover of Billy Bragg's "New England"

Lifetime Mix
1. all night long
2. rodeo clown
3. francie nolan
4. somewhere in the swamps of jersey
5. irony is for suckers
6. knives bats new tats
7. starsixtynine
8. turnpike gates
9. a new england

Mike Patton: An Introduction

Many Rockbanders are only familiar with Mike Patton through Faith No More's inclusion of the song "Epic" in the game. This is very unfortunate because "Epic" was seen as a jokey, accidental hit, much like "Sweet Child O' Mine" by Guns N' Roses. Mike has been making music for almost 30 years, and while FNM was a large part of his career, he has had as many musical projects as Scott Weiland has had rehab stints. I did exclude some of his more avant-garde, experimental stuff because i don't want to scare you away yet.... anyway, the songs:

General Patton vs. The X-Ecutioners: "Get Up Punk!" (2005)
this is a more recent project, with Patton teaming up with NYC hip hop turntabilist collective X-Exutioners. the track here features Patton singing, but many tracks feature crazy samples and Patton doing his patented beat-boxing

Tomhawk: "Crow Dance" (2007)
Tomahawk is an alternative metal band also containing John Stanier (drums, Helmet, Battles) Duane Dennison (guitar, The Jesus Lizard), and Kevin Rutmanis (bass, The Melvins). They started as a straightforward (for Patton, at least) rock band, sounding very similar to the bands they were all in, in a 90's Amp Rep style, but have since moved more in the direction of their name, and have been incorporating Native American music into their style, as seen here.

Dillinger Escape Plan (feat. Mike Patton): "Good Dogs Do Bad Things" (2002)
Dillinger Escape Plan's crazy, all over the place, need-a-calculator-to follow extreme math metal combined with the vocal theatrics of Senior Patton reminds me of the good ol' days when the harlem globetrotters or batman would team up with scooby doo. There is only this EP, and a few live recordings (the DEP were between singers), but definitely worth a few listens.

Faith No More: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, Everything's Ruined, Ashes to Ashes
Everything's Ruined represents the Jim Martin (original guitar player) era, that those who know "Epic", "Falling to Pieces" and "Midlife Crisis" and the later, sorta-alt-metal Faith No More, who also dabbled in swing, spanish ballads, and electronica, here represented by "Ashes to Ashes" and "The Gentle Art of Making Ememies (listen to the lyrics to this one; it will change your life)"

Lovage: Pit Stop (Take Me Home) (2001)
This concept album with Dan the Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Dr . Octagon) about getting down with your lady friend pairs Patton trading breathy vocals with Jen Charles (Elysian Fields) over trip hop and jazz samples. Lyrics are tongue-in-cheek, but the quality of the record is definitely serious. Put away your Barry White next time the mood arises, and put this on...
Mr. Bungle: Goodbye, Sober Day (1999)
This album is from the band of Patton's true love, and first band, that was around before, during, and after Faith No More. From death metal to free jazz to Beach Boys-esque music and vocal harmonies to ska to carnival music to deadly serious covers of Burt Bacharach, you never quite knew what to expect from this band that formed back in high school in the early 80s and made it to Warner Brothers records due to the strong sales of Patton's "other" band.

Peeping Tom: Sucker (feat. Norah Jones) (2006)
Peeping Tom is a Patton pop/rock/trip hop project featuring a revolving cast (Dan the Automator, Rahzel, Massive Attack, Kool Keith) creating what Patton called radio pop music in his skewed world. Listen to this cut featuring Norah Jones (yes, that one) getting dirty with Patton and wonder how they not only opened up for The Who in Philly, but also got booed off the stage (not exactly what The Who fans were expecting, I guess)

check them out!

click to download the mix here!