Final cover for The Night Marchers

If i said “Cometbus” and you didn’t know what I was talking about immediately, you probably wouldn’t fully understand the amazing night I had last night. I’m sitting there waiting in line for the bathroom at a somewhat secret, unannounced until yesterday Pinhead Gunpowder show in Long Beach, mere blocks away from the former site of the PCH club. In a venue about the size the PCH was. So, I’m standing in line for the bathroom talking to a girl and there’s a lightbulb in the wall and i put my hand near it and it starts flickering, she tries and nothing happens, I go again and it flickers. We laugh and I turn to Aaron Cometbus who is waiting behind me in line and I say “you gotta try.” He dismisses the invitation and says “I don’t want to ruin the magic.”

I’m pretty sure the only way he could have ruined the magic for me tonight was by announcing that he was not going to play drums and Pinhead Gunpowder wasn’t going to play a show I was right up front for in a room with no more than 200 people. But they played, and hearing Mahogany, Life During Wartime, Losers Of The Year, Train Station and so many others played live with Billie Joe Armstrong a mere 6 or 7 feet away could only be described as magical. I danced, I sang along until my voice was horse, I bruised a rib, and I had the best night at a show in … I can’t even remember since when. Tonight crushed my belief that I could no longer have fun at a show. It brought back every feeling of being 15 and seeing Supernova, or the Toy Dolls, or Jawbreaker. A good punk rock show makes you feel like you can do anything. All the bands were great, the people were awesome. I chatted with all kinds of random people, I hung out, I felt a good vibe. It was the complete opposite of almost everything I feel at your average show, or even night out in Hollywood. I think I’m going to go to the Troubadour show they are playing tomorrow but there’s no way it could live up to being eye level with Billie Joe Armstrong as he sang some of my favorite songs of my youth, right up front, screaming my heart out. At the end of the night I got home and washed of the smell of sweat, smoke, and beer; but there was no way you could wipe this smile of my face not even with a bat.

It seems like only a long time ago that I was writing about The Best Records of 2007 (The Halfway Mark) and now here we are at the the second half, or “The Home Stretch”. We all know no good records are going to be coming out between now and January 1st so lets get to it. Shall we?

Against Me! - “New Wave”
I was pretty sure this record was going to rule and boy was I right. Absolutely my favorite record of the year. So much so the title of the post right below this one was named after one of my fav tracks. Against Me! is one of the few bands around that reminds me why punk rock was such a big part of my life. Their lyrical commentary on everything from the state of the music industry to the state of the world is just as important as anything the Dead Kennedy’s, Bad Religion, Crass, or anyone else said in their day. A++ (gold star) on this one boys.

Bishop Allen - “The Broken String”
Bishop Allen is a band I discovered way too late. Unique witty lyrics, and poppy melodies; it’s pretty much everything I love about music. Built from some of the best tracks of their E.P. a month project of last year re-recorded and re-worked this album is solid all the way through and is hard to wear out. I’ve probably listened to the song “Rain” about 1,000 times and still every time I hear it I get a little spring in my step. Fans of the Beatles, Belle & Sebastian, Quasi, or pretty much any good rock n’ roll band centered around solid songwriting will LOVE this record.

The Weakerthans - “Reunion Tour”
The Weakerthans are another band I didn’t discover until this year. For some reason I always thought they were some shitty ska-core band. Then Jonah started saying “Dude, you’d really like them they’re one of my favorite bands” and i would say “Yeaaaaaah.” So when this record came out I got it for him and gave it a listen and went “whoa. They’re really good.” It’s like a pop punk Death Cab For Cutie. I almost don’t even care that they are Canadian. How anyone could write a song about curling that I am interested in is beyond me, but they pulled it off. (I totally like Canadians by the way).

Maritime - “Heresay & the Hotel Choir”
“Very Emergency” is the only Promise Ring album I really liked, and I didn’t just like it, I LOVED IT. So after the disappointment of “Wood/Water” I wasn’t too interested in Davey’s new project Maritime. But last year when I was out of things to download with my E-Music credit I decided to give their last album a try. Being more than pleasantly surprised by that record I was eagerly awaiting this one. After you’ve listened to the opening track “Guns of Navarone” a million times, try the rest of the record. It’s good.

Justice - “Cross”
I know what you’re thinking, “Ben, a dance record? Really?” What can I say? It’s a great driving record. Maybe It’s the brilliant artwork and marketing, maybe it’s a better dance record than any other dance record I’ve heard. I don’t know. Have you seen the video So-Me did for the single “D.A.N.C.E.” ? FUCK it’s good. And the rest of the album kept me tapping my toes. So sue me, I like a dance record.

And finally, the award for the MOST OVERRATED RECORD OF 2007 goes to Radiohead - In Rainbows. I wouldn’t even pay 0.00 for it. I’ve been sick of people treating this band like gods for the last 8 years. They made two good records, get over it.

In December of last year a fellow Vagrant staffer, Sean Dore asked me for my top 10 records of the year. At that point I went… “uhhhh the Hold Steady, and ummmm I don’t know.” This year we are only into June and I have half of a solid top 10 list assembled. Shit, I have half of a solid top 12 assembled. With new records coming from Against Me, and Bishop Allen I’m guaranteed to at least have a top 8 for December. So lets get to it shall we? I will warn you now, I’m not a record reviewer. I hate comparing bands to this and that and giving a generalization of their sound. It’s pretty easy to find clips on the internet via Amazon or whatever to give you an idea. I’m just sayin’ these are albums I love and I want to share that.

Shellac - “Excellent Italian Greyhound”
Yes I downloaded the leaked version of this record. And when it came out I almost immediately went out and bought it, on vinyl. Those who say art can’t sell records haven’t seen a gatefold lp with spot varnish and full color lp sleeve topped off with a hand screen printed slip case illustrated by Jay Ryan. All topped off with the CD version thrown in for good measure. Have I listened to this record on my way to and back from work almost constantly for the last 3 weeks? Yes. I have. It gives me the grown up version of that feeling I got when I first heard a Black Flag record when i was 13.

Battles - “Mirrors”
On all fronts this shouldn’t fall into my favorites of the year catagory. Experimental music, weird digital vocals, and members of bands I’m not really a fan of. But damnit if this isn’t one of the most infectious albums of the year. One listen to the single Atlas should give you a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. Play this one loud and all the way through. Kick ass.

Ted Leo/Pharmacists - “Living With The Living”
This was one of my most anticipated records of the year, and it didn’t disappoint one bit. There are ska/reggae, punk, irish folk, 70’s rock, all kinds of influences on this thing. I think between us Jonah Ray and I have probably put Bottle of Buckie on about 50 playlists/mix cds. If I had to put my top 10 in order, I’m almost positive this one would steal the number 1 slot. If you dont love this record, we’re not friends.

Sean Na Na - “Family Trees or CoPe We Must”
Some of you may know Sean Tillman from his other project Har Mar Superstar. But his bona fide band Sean Na Na has been around for a little longer. I’m not so into Har Mar but Sean Na Na has been a big favorite of mine since I first picked up the last full length “My Majesty”. While “My Majesty” had a few standout tracks, “Family Trees..” is almost all standout tracks. I think my biggest problem with this record is deciding which song I’m going to put on a playlist or mix. It’s that good. Go to their myspace and take a listen. After you have listened, go buy the record.

The White Stripes - “Icky Thump” I’ve been a fan of the White Stripes since the days when I bought at least 2 S.F.T.R.I. records a month. I never pictured they’d get this big, but I do think it is pretty amazing. Icky thump is quickly becoming my favorite of the last 3. I got sick of “Get Behind Me Satan” pretty quickly, so hearing “Icky Thump” was pretty refreshing. Standouts being the title track and the strange spoken word bluesey number “Rag and Bone”. I love this record.

Joanna Newsom - “& The Ys Street Band” E.P.
Joanna Newsom ditched her “a girl with her harp” format and switched to “Girl with her harp backed by an orchestra and big production” for her sophmore LP “Ys” (pronounced “ees”) and It was pretty amazing. She’s switched it up to a bluegrassy mountain band sound for this 3 song E.P. Featuring 2 previously released songs re-recorded (Including one of my favs “Clam, Crab, Cockle, Cowrie”) and one new song, “& The Ys Street Band” (Get it?) makes me wish she had recorded the LP in this format instead of the orchestral route she chose to go. Joanna Newsom can do no wrong.

You’re gonna be hearing a lot about this man in the next 6 months. Just you watch.

And watch this video. We’ve all been “The Replacement Man” at one point or another.

So today all the blogs have been buzzing about this new software for Apple Computers, Peel. Well the buzz is definitely warranted. Basically Peel keeps track of any MP3 blog you might follow, and imports the tracks into a very iTunes like interface. It’s a great way to listen to and discover new music. I’ve been listening to Soul Music from The B-Side for the last hour of work.

Peel is free right now, but when it gets out of beta it will be 14.95 (and totally worth it)

This one’s for fans of skateboarding, art, and music. Thrasher has posted the first 12 issues of their magazine from 1981 online in high resolution JPG and PDF format. And not just highlights either, everything! Including the ads! Why Am I Yelling?! I guess I’m just excited. Link. (via BoingBoing)

Fuck if this isn’t the coolest video in the world I dont know what is.

The guy who remixed the songs Mark Vidler has done some other pretty cool mash-ups. Like AC/DC’s Back in Black seamlessly mixed with Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” Check it

Awesome little video interview with Mark Mothersbaugh. Mothersbaugh is the co-founder and lead singer in DEVO, has done the score for all of the Wes Anderson movies (as well as countless other cool movies/shows), and is also an amazing artist.

(again via BoingBoing, jeez I need some better sources)

Today Moneen and Alexisonfire came into the offices for lunch. After lunch the boys in Moneen decided to play a little prank on Wayne Pighini. Kenny went into the bathroom and put on a toilet paper diaper and we told Wayne to go into Rich’s office to discuss business. Little did he know he was about to get taped to a half naked man. Well, I suppose the video speaks for itself.

We also took a group photo: