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I wish I was old enough to have seen CBGB at its heyday. Patti Smith, the Ramones, Television. All these bands tip a hat to the most famous rock club ever.Hilly Kristal, the club’s owner, called it CBGB for a reason: He wanted a club for bluegrass. That’s what the name stands for, you know. […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I was planning on starting this off by saying the Manic Street Preachers sound English right from the very note of Send Away The Tigers. The band allows its vocalist — James Dean Bradfield — to sing harmonies and soar in a way that American bands don’t do. American bands are much more […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I hinted at this, and here is it: the sample.
I don’t get it.
Rap songs do it all the time, so I’m just going to leave that be. But, please, tell me why samples happen in pop music? There are so many songwriters out there, hoping to pen the next hit. So why, then, […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
In 1990, Firehouse wrote a popular ballad called Love of a Lifetime. I’m sure you’ve heard it. It’s a popular wedding song and a hit on any radio station that flourishes on sappy love songs.
But it’s all a lie.
It was written by Leverty and Snare, and I don’t know anything about them. They […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I worry about the youth of today. Not because of global warming or teenage pregnancies, but because of cover songs.
Godsmack covered Genesis’ Land of Confusion — and released it as a single. Quietdrive did the same thing with Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time. And don’t even get me started on what Kris Roe […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
There’s nothing more honest than a song, stripped down to a piano and a bit of drum for a beat, and a singer, starting off slowly and then soaring in a way only emotions could create.
If you know what I’m talking about, you’ll want to listen to Jenn Franklin’s Errors & Admissions. And […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I went to Warped Tour last week with my friend Allison, and we were accidentally stalking this guy from The Vacancies. He was carrying a bag of white pins that had black hearts on them. I wanted one, naturally.
We eventually bumped into him later, and I asked for a pin.
“Sure,” he said, telling […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Once the number of times I had seen The Starting Line had gotten into the double-digits, I stopped counting. I’ve seen TSL more than any other band [[and I saw them for the umpteenth time Warped Tour on Thursday]], and I’m extremely proud to say that.
I own every single album the band has […]
By TY FREER
ty_freer(at)yahoo.com
This past weekend, I took a cross-one-third-of-the-country road trip to North Dakota with my girlfriend, Kim, to attend her friend’s wedding (in which Kim played the bridesmaid role). That’s Indiana to North Dakota. By car. 1000 miles each way. 34 total hours of driving. Plus one flat tire.
Needless to say, we had some […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
So here’s my tale about Genesis that you’ve all been waiting for (and by that, I mean, the people who read my last column and actually committed it to memory).
My mom is a Genesis fan — or maybe was is a better word there. Now that she’s discovered American Idol, she isn’t too […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I’ve never understood the fascination with Nirvana. Everything about the band is written as if Nirvana was the Beatles of grunge music.
Kurt Cobain blew his brains out when I was 13, so I was just never old enough to understand the band’s impact, I guess.
I owned “In Utero” and “Nevermind,” but only because […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
One of my favorite parts about MySpace is the fact that you can add a song to your page. Sure, artists only make certain songs available, but that makes sense. The band wants to promote its single.
But, can you tell me why The Used only wants me to put 41 seconds of its […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
[[Editor’s note: I wrote this entry for my work blog. I figured it would be an interesting read here, especially since I can’t get FATA’s lead singer, Francis Mark, out of my head. Seriously. Francis — CALL ME. We’ll do an interview over lunch.]]
I was standing above the stage at Tinks Entertainment Complex, […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Remember a few months ago, when I was gushing about how great my iPod was. Yeah, that was before iTunes upgraded to version 7.0.crap.
Every time I opened iTunes, it would tell me to upgrade to 7.0.1. It got annoying, like the ex-boyfriend who just won’t leave you alone. I get it. You miss […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I’m reading a book called “No Vivaldi in the Garage: A Requiem for Classical Music in North America” by Sheldon Morgenstern.
What’s hard to walk through? Mud? Then this is like reading mud.
I played the violin from second to 12th grade, and I was always fond of classical music. I know, I know. That’s […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I was at a concert last week, and I overheard the following exchange.
Emo Kid Hiding Behind A Hardcore Facade: Jesse’s doing some solo stuff.
His Anti-Guyliner Friend: Yeah. He wants to kill himself.
EKHBAHF: Yeah.
HAGF: Did you hear Brand New’s new CD? It’s all about suicide.
I doubt HAGF ever heard of […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I heart sampler CDs. If a pile showed up in my mailbox, I’d be stoked.
The reason I’m such a fan is because one album can introduce you to a roster full of new bands. Sure PureVolume.com is a great way to find new tunes, but it’s more of a process. With a sampler, […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I don’t believe in fate. I have this whole proactive approach to live that doesn’t have anything to do with music, so maybe you’ll get the explanation in an editor’s note one day.
But for now, take solace in the fact that I don’t believe in fate. Or the cliché “Everything happens for a […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I was cleaning a set of drawers this weekend — which was really difficult since it was my “important papers” drawer, and I came across something I wrote a long time ago.
Spin had run a review of a Dashboard Confessional album that annoyed me so much, so I wrote a letter to the […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I got my iPod a few Christmases ago. I got it after the ugly click wheel had been retired, but before a picture and video iPod were available. That places my iPod around the three year old age.
That’s not exactly true.
Two years ago, my iPod decided to fry its hard drive. When I […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I woke up Sunday morning with Bayside in my head.
It’s kind of weird. I always wake up with something in my head, but it’s hardly ever Bayside. I like Bayside. Sirens and Condolences is what I run to at the gym [[it alternates with old Hellogoodbye, if you want to know the […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
The excitement of the mosh pit has worn off.
I never thought I’d say that. I always imagined myself as a 45-year-old mom, taking my 16-year-old daughter to concerts, hanging out in the pit with her.
We’d both love The Starting Line, and we’d both be singing every word while our bodies were pressed against […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Josie’s on a vacation far away… Come around and talk it over…
Call me pathetic. That wouldn’t be completely wrong.
I saw The Blue Man group last week, and Mike Relm opened. I haven’t been able to get “Your Love” by The Outfield out of my head since then.
Relm used it as a background sound […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I got a CD in the mail and, Chuck Klosterman’s right, a music writer’s job is to review their mail.
I got Scott Blasey’s “Travelin’ On” in my mailbox, and I did what I always do: I flipped the album over to see if there was anything I could figure out.
It’s my way of […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Let’s talk about how I know every word to every song.
Or so it seems.
I live for pop-punk. We’ve discussed this before, haven’t we? But that’s not all I listen to. And I proved that this weekend.
James and I were driving around, and we could flip to any station, and I could serenade him.
Paula […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Sometimes you just need something new, a band you’ve never heard of to take you out of your music bubble.
I thank Allison for the venture out of my iPod.
I went to her MySpace page, and she was playing Rediscover.
I really have no idea what I’m rediscovering because all music is just a rehash […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Everyone has my MySpace song.
Out of all the millions of pages on the site — and out of all the people I know — I swear everyone is rocking Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend.”
This band wagon’s full, please, catch another.
Seriously.
I’m about to add Kayne West’s remix of Fall Out Boy’s “This Ain’t A Scene, It’s […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I almost took my brother to Ozzfest one year. He had gone the year before, and I wanted to take him the next year. But he said no because there wasn’t anyone he wanted to see.
I wonder what he’ll say this year.
The lineup hasn’t been announced, but the ticket prices have. Tickets are […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Five years ago, New Found Glory was the answer to mundane airwaves. Pop princesses ruled the charts, and you couldn’t turn the radio on without hearing ballads fill the space between commercials.
New Found Glory, along with a major label home and budget, flew to the top of the TRL charts and opened the […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I wanted to like Michael Jantz. I really did. I think it was the cover art. He’s standing, darkened out like a shadow by how the shot was taken. But, highlighted and bright in color is a guitar. It’s like he’s taking a backseat to the guitar.
Then there’s the name of the album: […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
I hate single whores.
Wait… that doesn’t sound exactly right.
I hate people who only know a band’s single, who maul the front of the stage during a show and can’t sing a word until the single is played during the encore. Then those people rock out like they’re the band’s biggest fan.
Sorry darlings. You […]
By LISA SOKOLOWSKI
cactusiv(at)gmail.com
Britney Spears shaved her head.
Wow.
Truth be told, this was supposed to be the week I wrote about Fall Out Boy’s Infinity On High. It’s a great album — the best FOB album yet, in my option. But that column is getting shelved because of Britney.
The once pop princess has taken a sour turn, […]