Paramore 'Pressure' and 'Emergency' (Throwback Thursday)

Hey guys, missed the last two week's, sorry! I have a bigger work load now...here we go!

I feel like these songs are twins that can't be played without the other. 

Paramore's first album, All We Know is Falling, came out in 2005 and I believe Haley Williams was only 16 at the time. The album is so mature and well done for such a young band.

I remember the buzz Paramore had when this album came out. Hayley was like the savior for chicks who liked to rock out, and I guess she still kind of is. Now the group is a little more crowded. I think just about every guy had a crush on her too...me included. 

It wasn't until their next album, 2007's, RIOT!, that they really exploded and became mainstream. However, good on Paramore for never fully going mainstream in the "sell out" way, their music still has an edge to it, and still feels distinctly them. Maybe quite simply it's their aging in the last eight years. Wow, eight years...

Anyway, without further adieu, "Emergency" and "Pressure," my favorite two Paramore songs.

'Ocean Avenue' Yellowcard (Throwback Thursday)

Hey everyone, sorry for the little break, I kinda got married and stuff...so yeah, back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Not only is this blog post number 250, but it is also Throwback Thursday! Today we will be taking a look back at Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue."

To me "Ocean Avenue" represents some of the better times in my life. I was a sophomore in high school and this song came out as the school year was closing and served to be the perfect backdrop to a great year with friends. In fact, the whole Ocean Avenue is a perfect summer album, if that makes sense. If I drove back then I'd surely have my windows down bumping this record.

Unfortunately, like most of the bands I like and most of the bands on Throwback Thursday, their popularity has greatly diminished the last couple of years. Yellowcard never went away though, and are on their 6th record I believe. The two releases after Ocean Avenue; Lights and Sounds, and Paper Walls were great albums as well. They unlike other great bands of the early and mid 90s never really lost their consistency and as music writers but still managed to wane out...a shame.

Yellowcard had a great run from 2002-2005 where they were one of the most popular bands out. It helped that they were in the period of maximum emo/pop-punk glory with New Found Glory, Simple Plan, and Yellowcard. Oh yeah, and they had a violin player, awesome.

Other great tracks off of Ocean Avenue, are "Way Away," "Empty Apartment," and "Only One," but really everything on it is a gem.

Also, as far as I know, it's still cool to like Yellowcard and won't get the "joke" treatment like a Limp Bizkit or Creed. So play away, enjoy!

'Take It Away' The Used (Throwback Thursday)

Where do I begin with this song, or even this album?

I remember the first time I saw this video I was hooked! I wasn't a very big fan of the Used at the time, but the visuals and the lyrics to the song sucked me right in.

The big pop, starting the song off with a shot gun blast into a heavy and fast guitar rift that simmers down into the descriptive fight in oneself. "I'm lying to myself and this dagger's my excuse." Then when it hit the chorus, "Burn the Sun, burn the light, take take take take take it away. Take my hand, take my life." As one Youtube commenter said, "This escalated quickly." The song is super intense, especially in the "brothers and sisters..." part.

Oh yeah, and Bert McCracken is an over all great vocalist switching between guttural screams, soft whiney whispers, and aggressive sing alongs.

2004's In Love and Death came out during the peak of similar sounding band's (My Chemical Romance, Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, Silverstein...) best albums and yet like most of the others was able to stand out on it's own. The Used exploded off of this album, especially when they released "All That I've Got." The song was in constant rotation on KRock and Fuse (when both played music.)

Over the last couple of years I kind of lost track of The Used, but I know they are still out there making great music and still have a loyal fan base. However, I won't soon forget the first time I heard "Take It Away," and the rest of that record, which could easily be in contention for one of the best albums to come out in the mid 2000s in rock.

So check it out below, and take a trip back to 2004.

'Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)' Taking Back Sunday - Throwback Thursday

Wow, can you believe Taking Back Sunday's debut album Tell All Your Friends came out 11 years ago?! It's really blowing my mind. TBS's first album is a certified classic among rock in the 2000s. You'd be pressed to find someone who didn't "grow up" on this album, or even say it was great despite their musical taste. You'd be even harder pressed to find someone who doesn't agree that every subsequent album of theirs has gotten worse.

The reason this record blew TBS out of the water was the very unique, sometimes, blunt, and even graphic depictions of teenage angst at it's finest. "Best friend's means I pull the trigger," "You've got this gun to my head," "If I could slit my throat...I'd apologize for bleeding on your shirt," couple lines like these with punky, still developing at the time as a genre, "post hardcore" music and incredible back-up vocals; you have the recipe for success.

Adam Lazzara is the charismatic frontman to the group, but many thought John Nolan the guitarist and other vocalist, was the brains. This is believable due to them not being able to match the song quality of Tell All Your Friends once Nolan left the group after the first release. However, it wasn't until their second album, Where You Want to Be (2004) that they received global success, and 2006s Louder Now where they were heralded as a superstar band because of their new found mainstream appeal. However, that signature raw sound from the first album was lacking.

After 2006 the band had a couple more lineup changes before going back to the original lineup with Nolan in 2010.

The song this week is "Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team." This is probably the band's most well known song and the video is styled after Fight Club (How cool is that?)

This song, along with the rest of the album was instrumental in my development as a song writer. In those days before I did rap/rock, I played drums and did backups for a couple of bands while writing a lot of the lyrics. Taking Back Sunday has the ability to make you try to figure out what the heck they were talking about, and that's what I wanted to do. The same can be said for Brand New, which is a whole other blog completely. I wanted to have Adam's stage presence too with his patented head shake and looking like he's destroying the mic. (Watch me next time and think about that...) Also, TBS, Brand New, and The Used pretty much helped popularize the whole cringe worthily said, "emo" now known as post hardcore genre.

Without further adieu, here's the video for one of my favorite songs of all time!

'Time & Time Again' Chronic Future (Throwback Thursday

Today's Throwback Thursday is especially meaningful to me because of the impact Chronic Future had on my life as a musician. Although relatively unknown to most, they are my favorite band and their music singlehandedly launched the creation of my band Process of Fusion.

I first heard "Time & Time Again" on the soundtrack for MVP Baseball 2004 of PS2. I immediately went and bought their CD Lines in My Face at Best Buy the next day. I was completely hooked on that album. A few years later when I got a credit card I went and bought all their albums off of Amazon and discovered so much amazing music.

None of their albums sound alike with genres crossing between rap and rock, punk, nu metal, ska, reggae, hardcore, and later on electronic.

At the time of this release (2004), CF had been signed for almost ten years already having been discovered at the young ages of 13. Knowing they were so young inspired me to press on with my music. I had just started rapping myself, so the timing was perfect.

After Lines in My Face and the success of "Time & Time Again" the band never really picked up any more steam. They released two EP's and an album of demo's along with a teaser of a new full length in the works. That album never came, and nothing has been heard from the band sine 2009 on their Myspace. Since then I've only gotten my fix by finding rarities scattered across the web and downloading them.

It appears they are on hiatus and working on their record label Modern Art Records, and that is all I know.

So, if you are a fan of Linkin Park, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, 311, Flobots, 21 Pilots, or even Process of Fusion, check these guys out!

'Swing Swing' The All American Rejects (Throwback Thursday)

Today's Throwback Thursday is "Swing Swing" by The All American Rejects from way back in 2002.  This song holds a special place in my heart for being the first song I ever learned on the drums and the first cover I played with my first band, For Lack of a Better Word (a lot of firsts I know).

Just looking back and realizing that the Rejects dropped their debut album 11 years ago is blowing my mind. In 2002 I was a Freshman in High School and just beginning my musical career. It's good to know these guys are still around but in my opinion nothing tops this first self-titled album. All the songs were catchy and well written with the perfect amount of pop and rock. Everything else afterward has seemed too forced or mainstream.

My band For Lack of a Better Word lasted until I was about 16 or 17 and unfortunately we never played a show in that time. We were just high schooler's have fun. Who knew that all these years I'd be a rapper/vocalist completely ceasing to play drums and abandoning my punk and pop-punk roots (sorry guys, I still have love for you!)

So now my faithful readers, I ask you to take a look back to what you were doing 11 years ago. How different were you? Do have the same music tastes? Did you play? Leave your comments below!








P.S. - Shout out to the original line For Lack of a Better Word lineup from 2001.

Steve Keely - Guitar/Vocals
Justin Sarachik - Drums/Vocals
Joe Frisina - Bass
Mike Testa - Guitar

Throwback Thursday's!

So I've been trying to come up with new features for the blog and I'm thinking a Throwback Thursday is a cool idea! I'd basically like to give a shout out and post a video or two of bands that were instrumental to me growing up as a fan. Most of my real developing music listening came in the early 2000's.

The first band I ever got into was Lifehouse. For whatever reason they really got me started on exploring rock even though I barely consider them a rock band anymore...funny how things change.

The year was 2000 and their smash introduction to the world was the album No Name Face. And of course the hit single was, "Hanging by a Moment," which you could still hear on adult alternative and contemporary stations everywhere.

So Lifehouse, here's to you, and thanks for the memories!