Seriously, there are way more pictures from the Warped Tour that I need to post here. These are of Hot Rod Music's amazing set on the Hurley stage.

Here are some pictures of Funeral For A Friend and Pepper.

Funeral For A Friend

Funeral For A Friend

Funeral For A Friend

Pepper

Pepper

Pepper

Here are a few pictures from the Chicago date of the 2007 Vans Warped Tour. In addition to these, I also took pictures of The Starting Line, Tiger Army, Biffy Clyro, Just Left, The Vincent Black Shadow, Funeral For A Friend, Hot Rod Circuit, Alkaline Trio, Paramore, New Found Glory, Coheed & Cambria, Pepper, Bayside, Bad Religion, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, MxPx, and Killswitch Engage. All these coming soon...

Amber Pacific

Amber Pacific

Kaddisfly

Bleed The Dream

Revolution Mother

Revolution Mother

Thieves & Villains

This mix is appropriate for the afternoon after a night out or just a lazy sunny afternoon. After being at the BlogHer conference all weekend, Amy met me at the Vans Warped Tour yesterday afternoon. We saw old friends and made new ones. It was pretty awesome... but exhausting.



I've spent most of the morning trying to go through all of the pictures I took yesterday, and I'll get them up all this week. I've included a few here for your viewing pleasure. One of Amy and our old friend Matt Skiba and another of her with our friends in New Found Glory. It was nice to see 'em and catch up a little. Did you know that Steve from NFG has a one year old daughter that is cute as a button? I can't even imagine how hard it is for him to leave her at home while on tour.


Anyhow, I'm going to back to sorting through the hundreds of pictures I took. There has to be at least one or two good ones, right?

MP3 | Alkaline Trio - Every Thug Needs A Lady
MP3 | Bayside - Megan (Smoking Popes Cover)
MP3 | The Promise Ring - happiness Is All The Rage
MP3 | New Found Glory - Coming Home
MP3 | Band Of Horses - Weed Party
MP3 | Matt Skiba - Demons Away
MP3 | Lucero - Nights Like These
MP3 | Amber Pacific - You're Only Young Once
MP3 | Hot Water Music - Clampdown (The Clash Cover)

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Here is another round of Lollapalooza 2007 MP3's. You can click on the following links to view parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine of this series.

MP3 | The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations (Acoustic)
MP3 | Pete Yorn - Ever Fallen In Love
MP3 | Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Golden Lion
MP3 | Soulive - Bridge To Bama
MP3 | Rhymefest - These Days
MP3 | Roky Erickson - Don't Shake Me Lucifer
MP3 | Ben Harper - Strawberry Fields

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

On their latest album Fiends the Georgia boys in Chasing Victory prove that they know how to dish out melodies as well as breakdowns. Fusing hard rock grooves with the sort of atmospheric hardcore that bands like Cave In perfected, Chasing Victory has made one hell of a record. It is dramatic and darkly cinematic without being over-the-top or turning into a parody of the genre (like all those eyeliner and vampire makeup wearing chumps).

Fiends certainly proves that the band has progressed leaps and bounds past many of its screamo peers. By incorporating horns, dirty alterna-rock riffs, and soaring falsetto vocals, Chasing Victory shows enough creative vision to keep things interesting. Don't forget (however) that when the sun sets and the day is done, Fiends is a hardcore rock album. It is out now on Mono Vs. Stereo.

MP3 | Chasing Victory - Chemicals Fiends
MP3 | Chasing Victory - Wolves Fiends

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Amazon | Insound | eMusic

When did Chicago become the summer music festival capital of the world? First Pitchfork, then Warped Tour, and finally Lollapalooza. That is a lot of music to my ears. Coupled with all the individual street festivals, the Taste of Chicago, and you might as well spend you entire summer vacation here.

So here is another round of MP3 previews from Lollapalooza 2007. I'll see you tomorrow at Warped Tour. In the meantime, check out all our previous Lollapalooza MP3 previews. Part one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight as well.

MP3 | Matt & Kim - Yeah Yeah (Flosstradamus Remix)
MP3 | Juliette & The Licks - Got Love To Kill (MSTRKRFT Remix)
MP3 | Colour Revolt - Mattresses Underwater
MP3 | Silverchair - Young Modern Station
MP3 | Sparklehorse - See The Light
MP3 | Sam Roberts - Bridge To Nowhere
MP3 | Patti Smith - Kimberly (Live)
MP3 | Pearl Jam - State Of Love And Trust
MP3 | Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves

Find more MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Tomorrow is the annual Chicago stop on the Vans Warped Tour, and you know I'll be there. Hopefully I'll have a chance to catch up with old friends like New Found Glory and see sets from bands like Killswitch Engage, Bad Religion, and many more.

So with a little help from our friends at Equal Vision, Hopeless, Immortal, TVT, IMM, East/West, Fearless, and more we present you with a Big Warped Tour Giveaway!

Enter now to win CD's and more from Amber Pacific, All Time Low, Hot Rod Circuit, Chiodos, Revolution Mother, Kaddisfly, Circa Survive, A Static Lullaby, New Years Day, The Vincent Black Shadow, Mayday Parade, and many more.

To enter just leave a comment (click on the number next to the post title) with who your favorite Warped Tour band is and why along with your email address. Winners will be randomly selected next week.

**NOTE: More prizes are being added to this contest all the time including signed posters, CD's, shirts, and more. Check back often for details.**

MP3 | Amber Pacific - Video Killed The Radio Star
MP3 | Circa Survive - The Difference Between Medicine...
MP3 | Kaddisfly - Campfire
MP3 | Chiodos - One Day Women Will All Become Monsters

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Brian from the New York band Beat Radio has been a supporter of Can You See the Sunset from the beginning, and it seems that his band's first full-length The Great Big Sea is finally getting a proper release as an extended CD with Beat Radio's new EP Miracle Flag added as well.

For those that don't know, Beat Radio plays (according to the band) teenage anthems for the drunken boat, flea market pop, arena rock for mystics, and ramshackle electro. It is all that and more. The songs of Beat Radio shine with the golden hue of late afternoon. The take electro-pop and filter it through Americana that sounds just like home. It is virtually impossible to resist friendly warble of Brian's voice and the nostalgic feel of Beat Radio's songs. It is like jumping into a pile of leaves on a crisp autumn day.

And if all that isn't enough, you should buy the new Beat Radio album just to hear their song "Treetops." It is (perhaps) one of my favorite songs ever.

MP3 | Beat Radio - What I Love The Most Miracle Flag EP
MP3 | Beat Radio - People Are Talking Miracle Flag EP

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Beat Radio

Fresh songs

A Love Of Your Own Lyrics J. Holiday	Keep It Movin Lyrics Keke Palmer
Next Ex Boyfriend Lyrics Jordan Mccoy	Heavy Lyrics Usher
Disrespectful Lyrics Chaka Khan	Crazy Love Lyrics J. Holiday
Gone In The Morning Lyrics Young Buck	Fatal Lyrics J. Holiday
Ghetto Lyrics Kelly Rowland	Celebrity Chick Lyrics Various Artists

I recently heard an excellent new band called House & Parish. The band is an emo super group of sorts and features a bunch of ex-members including Jason Gnewikow (Promise Ring), Brian Malone (The Gloria Record), John Herguth (The Love Scene), and Scott Winegard (Texas is the Reason). Can't really go wrong with any of that I suppose. Have a listen.

MP3 | House & Parish - Standardesque
MP3 | House & Parish - Summer Programme

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

I am a huge baseball fan and also a huge Chicago Cubs fan. I am a baseball purist and love digging through the numbers and the history to figure out things like who the best second baseman in National League history is. I'm a big believer in sabermetrics, I don't like the designated hitter, and I think that on base percentage is oftentimes overlooked in favor of batting average. What I don't get is why people are so upset and surprised by steroid use in baseball. Let me explain.

The fact of the matter is that even though individual player statistics can be compared from era to era, there are distinct periods in baseball history that will never be repeated again. When the pitching mound was lowered in 1969 that marked the end of an era. When the season was lengthened from 154 to 162 games in 1962, that was the end of an era. The introduction of relief pitching also began a new era in baseball. The period from about 1993-2003 is (to me at least) just another era; the steroid era. No, I'm not happy about artificial enhancement of athletic among the athletes that play this sport. I'm not going to bitch and complain about it though. Nothing is going to change the fact that there have been just as many 50 home seasons (18) since 1993 than there were in the entire 120+ year history of baseball that preceded the steroid era.

Everyone it seems was juicing up and injecting something. This brings me to Barry Bonds. I've never met the man so who am I to talk, but it seems to me that no one really liked him even before he started cranking out unheard of amounts of home runs. People just didn't like him. Perhaps that is why everyone seems to be rooting against his inevitable destruction of Henry Aaron's hallowed record. Steroids and bad attitude included, I honestly don't think that there is any way that Barry Bonds isn't already considered one of the greatest players to ever put on a baseball uniform. Yes, he used steroids which inflated his offensive output. Yes, I think it he is a huge black eye on the history of baseball and I feel terrible for all the "natural" players that have played before him and since, most especially Henry Aaron.

None of that (however) stops the fact that cheating to get an edge has been part of baseball for over one hundred years. The Chicago "Black" Sox threw the World Series in 1919. Pete Rose (the all-time hits leader) bet on baseball. Pitchers have been spitting on, scuffing, oiling, and doing whatever they can to baseballs forever in order to get an edge over opposing batters. Teams steal signals from the opposing catchers from the outfield. You've also got pine tar, corked bats, and (now) steroids.

I don't like Barry Bonds any more than you do, and I certainly think that the use of steroids has cheapened what were once historic achievements. Like everything else it will pass and fade with time though. Baseball will recover and it will ultimately simply be looked at as just another period in the history of the greatest sport in the world.

Go Cubbies!

MP3 | The Hold Steady - Take Me Out To The Ballgame

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

So Against Me's new album New Wave is out now and it is an even further departure from the sparse, raw, and ragged sound of their early days than their last album. It is also their first for major label Sire Records.

Like many other punk bands that have made the jump from the DIY/indie world to a major label, the move is sure to alienate a good portion of their fans while being no guarantee that new fans will convert in droves to the gospel according to Against Me! All that being said, New Wave is a fantastic record with biting lyrics that the you know just what sort of politics the band believes in. Yes, the album is more produced than the band's previous records, but if I had a chance to have Butch Vig produce a record for my band, I'd jump at the opportunity too. Besides, the lo-fi punk aesthetic that Against Me! began with has been endlessly copied and worn out by much more mediocre outfits than they. The winds of change have been blowing in Against Me's sails for more than a short while now.

And maybe it is a little ballsy to release a song with a chorus of "Protest songs in response to military aggression," as your first single, or maybe it is just what the complacent youth of America need to hear. You can't fault Against Me from trying, right? Their jump to a major label means that their "protest songs" will be heard by more people. That's a good thing, right?

In fact, the fist song on New Wave beings with the telling lyrics, "We can control the medium. We can control the context and presentation." Seems to me like the boys in Against Me! thought long and hard about their move to Sire Records, and have (in the process) made the best record of their young careers. It is catchy and anthemic. It is political without being preachy. It is simply awesome. I highly recommend picking up your copy of New Wave today.

MP3 | Against Me! - White People For Peace New Wave
MP3 | Against Me! - Borne On The FM Waves New Wave

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Amazon | Insound | eMusic

Here is another installment of our comprehensive Lollapalooza 2007 MP3 preview. And if you happened to miss them, you can also view parts one, two, three, four, five, six and seven as well.

So what is up with Drew Carey being the new host of The Price Is Right? It is an (ahem) interesting choice to say the least. Drew Carey, really?

Good thing Lollapalooza is outdoors because it seems that the governor of our fair state of Illinois has just signed a statewide smoking ban banning smoking in all of Illinois' public places. Now I can go to all sorts of clubs and venues without leaving smelling like an ashtray.

MP3 | Cafe Tacuba - Eres
MP3 | Back Door Slam - Comin' Up For Air
MP3 | Sherwood - The Only Song
MP3 | !!! - Must Be The Moon
MP3 | Slightly Stoopid - Bandelero
MP3 | Sparklehorse - Shade And Honey
MP3 | The Roots - Game Theory
MP3 | The Wailers - Makisupa Policeman
MP3 | Dios Malos - You Got Me All Wrong
MP3 | Powerspace - Right On, Right Now

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

There has never been a shortage of new punk bands here in (and around) Chicago, and one of the newest is called One Black Tooth. I had a chance to catch the band on Friday at Metro, and got a hold of their demo CD. And even though the band consists mainly of former members of the Fueled By Ramen signed August Premier, they are now playing music that is less pop punk and more dirty Rise Against style breakdowns. Definitely worth a listen.

MP3 | One Black Tooth - The Regulars Demo
MP3 | One Black Tooth - Here At The Edge Demo

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Have you seen this yet? I've wasted way too much time on these sites today. In conjunction with the upcoming Simpson's Movie, there is the BK site simpsonizeme.com which turns your uploaded photo into a Simpson's character, or you can visit simpsonsmovie.com to create an avatar of your Simpson's likeness. Both yielded differing results, but I prefer the latter.

I was unfamiliar with Matt Nathanson until recently when Heather from Fuel Friends posted some of his stuff. I've been enthralled since. Nathanson's second major label album Some Mad Hope finds the San Fransisco based singer-songwriter making some of the catchiest and most radio-ready pop rock that I've heard in awhile.

Nathanson's acoustic guitar and his ever-so-slightly raspy vocals are the foundation of the music upon which he weaves tales of love, loss, and longing. Lyrically, Some Mad Hope seems reflective. Like someone who has been almost broken and is now healing and ready to move on. While I really like the slickly produced versions of all the songs on Some Mad Hope is is during Nathanson's more intimate solo acoustic performances that the weight of these songs really shines.

Some Mad Hope will be released on August 14th by Vanguard Records.

MP3 | Matt Nathanson - Detroit Waves Some Mad Hope
MP3 | Matt Nathanson - Car Crash Some Mad Hope
MP3 | Matt Nathanson - Car Crash (Live)

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Amazon | Insound | eMusic

Really, I hope the weather stays this nice for Lollapalooza. It is seriously 75 degrees with low humidity, a nice breeze, and only little white puffy clouds in the sky. What a lovely day and HBD2ME.

For more Lollapalooza listening, check out parts one, two, three, four, five, and six of this series as well.

MP3 | My Morning Jacket - Wordless Chorus (Live)
MP3 | Stephen Marley - Hey Baby (Ft. Mos Def)
MP3 | Motion City Soundtrack - Everything Is Alright
MP3 | Kid Sister - Southside
MP3 | The Fratellis - Chelsea Dagger
MP3 | Amy Winehouse - Rehab
MP3 | G Love & Special Sauce - My Baby's Got Sauce
MP3 | Paolo Nutini - Rewind
MP3 | Electric Six - Germans In Mexico
MP3 | TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Song update

Hold It, Push It Lyrics Jennifer Lopez	Crank Dat Soulja Boy Lyrics Soulja Boy
En Las Manos De Dios Lyrics Nelly Furtado	Ayo Technology Lyrics 50 Cent
Get Me Bodied Lyrics Beyonce Knowles	Dar Lyrics Nelly Furtado
Bienvenue Lyrics IAM	How Far We've Come Lyrics Matchbox 20
Flavor Of Life Lyrics Hikaru Utada	Inconsolable Lyrics Backstreet Boys

Even though Transmission didn't approve of my Chicago food picks a few posts ago, I'll forgive them. And fellow Chicagoans, I'd love to hear what your favorite places to eat in the city are. What recommendations do all of you have for our out of town Lollapalooza guests?

Speaking of food, I found out today that there is a little restaurant near my workplace called Mr. Hot Dog and that one of their specialties is called a "Burrito Bacon Double Dog" which consists of two hot dogs, bacon strips, chili, cheese, and onions inside a grilled flour tortilla. Wow! And then (for work) we got about a dozen different styles of pizza including hot buffalo chicken pizza and an Italian beef with giardiniera pizza. Both were delicious.

If I'm making you hungry, just feast on the MP3's below.

MP3 | Modest Mouse - Missed The Boat
MP3 | Flosstradamus - Overnight Star
MP3 | Rodrigo y Gabriela - Stairway To Heaven
MP3 | Ted Leo RX - Who Do You Love?
MP3 | Regina Spektor - Fidelity
MP3 | Los Campesinos - Don't Tell Me To Do The Maths
MP3 | Iggy & The Stooges - Search And Destroy
MP3 | moe - The Pit
MP3 | Ryan Shaw - Do The 45
MP3 | Kinky - Presidente

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

After just over 10 years together, Chicago pop-punk band Allister is calling it quits and playing their final show tomorrow night at Metro in Chicago. Now I've written in much more detail about the band here already, but thought one last run through would be appropriate.

The Allister story begins in late 1996 when guitarists John Hamada and Eric Mueller (that's me) met in a calculus class at UIUC and realized they shared a love for the Blake Babies and punk rock. Along with drummer/singer Tim Rogner (John had played in a band with Tim during high school) the trio of John (guitar/vocals), Tim (drums/vocals), and Eric (bass/vocals) began playing out in early 1997 and finally settled on the name Allister after discarding names like Phineas Gage and Fall Out Boy (seriously). In December of that same year, the band recorded their debut 7" You Can't Do That On Vinyl with Phil Bonnet (RIP).

That 7" caught the attention of upstart California punk label Drive-Thru Records who agreed to distribute the record and later signed the band. In 1998 Scott Murphy joined the band on bass while Eric moved to guitar and the band recorded their first full-length Dead Ends And Girlfriends which was released in 1999. Eric left the band the following year and John quit shortly before Allister's 2002 album Last Stop Suburbia was released.

The band's lineup changed dramatically as Tim moved from drums to guitar, Dave Rossi was added on drums, and Tim's younger brother Chris Rogner (also of August Premier) joined on guitar. In the following years, both Dave and Chris left the band and were replaced by Mike Leverence on drums and Kyle Lewis (formerly of Now She's Gone and Showoff) on guitar. The band recorded one more album, Before The Blackout which was released in 2005 and a Japanese only EP (the band was very popular in Japan) before finally calling it quits earlier this year.

And there you have it. Kyle and Scott continue to play in The Get Go and Chris plays in the band One Black Tooth. All said, this is probably the last time I'll ever write about this band and those days.

MP3 | Allister - Residential Burglary Dead Ends & Girlfriends
MP3 | Allister - Moper Dead Ends & Girlfriends
MP3 | Allister - Better Late Than Forever Last Stop Suburbia
MP3 | Allister - Somewhere On Fullerton Last Stop Suburbia
MP3 | Allister - You Lied Before The Blackout
MP3 | Allister - Alone Before The Blackout

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Because our internet connection was down yesterday, and it has just been a really busy week, this post is a day later than I intended it to be. Is everyone recovered from Pitchfork yet?

Anyhow, here are more MP3's from artists appearing at Lollapalooza 2007. I've actually found a lot of great stuff that is seriously making me rethink the bands I had initially planned to see. How about you? I also found out that a guy that I work with went to the Grammys with Lupe Fiasco. Small world, huh?

MP3 | Spoon - The Ghost Of You Lingers
MP3 | Lupe Fiasco - US Placers (ft. Kanye West & Pharrell)
MP3 | Kevin Michael - We All Want The Same Things (ft. Lupe Fiasco)
MP3 | Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
MP3 | The Black Angels - The First Vietnamese War
MP3 | The Cribs - Mens Needs (CSS Remix)
MP3 | The Postmarks - Goodbye
MP3 | The Rapture - Whoo Alright Yeah Uh-Huh
MP3 | Tapes n' Tapes - Cowbell
MP3 | Bang Bang Bang - If It Rains

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

The skies were gray and pouring down rain as I made my way home from work this afternoon. Luckily I was listening to Girl Talk's utterly fantastic mash-up album Night Ripper to cheer me up. It then struck me that I didn't include this album in my best of 2006 posts nor have I ever posted about it. Shame on me.

Most of you probably know and love this album, and if you don't, you should. On this (his third full-length) Girl Talk's Gregg Gillis takes hundreds of samples and smashes them into one another with reckless abandon. A few of the artists sampled on Night Ripper include:

2 Live Crew, 2PAC, 50 Cent, 69 Boyz, Abba, Paula Abdul, Aerosmith, Amerie, Annie, Arrested Development, David Banner, Rob Base, Bel Biv Devoe, George Benson, Better Than Ezra, Beyoncé, Black Box, The Black Crowes, Black Eyed Peas, Black Rob, Black Sheep, Boredoms, Boston, Bow Wow, Boyz II Men, The Breeders, Chris Brown, James Brown, Bun B, Busta Rhymes, Calloway, Candyman, Mariah Carey, Cassidy, Chicago, Ciara, Clipse, Phil Collins, Nikka Costa, Crime Mob, D12, D4L, DJ Assault, DJ EZ Rock, Dem Franchise Boyz, Digable Planets, Diplomats, Dinosaur Jr, Dr Dre, Jermaine Dupree, Elastica, Missy Elliot, Eminem, The Emotions, En Vogue, Fabolous, Fall Out Boy, Fatman Scoop, The Five Stairsteps, Fleetwood Mac, Folk Implosion, Foo Fighters, G-Unit, The Game, Garbage, Genesis, Andrew Gold, Al Green, Peter Gunz, Hall and Oates, Sophie B. Hawkins, Honey Drippers, Hum, Donnie Iris, J-Kwon, JJ Fad, Jay-Z, Jefferson Airplane, Joe Public, Elton John, Mike Jones, Junior Mafia, KRS ONE, Kansas, Kelis, Alicia Keys, LCD Soundsystem, LL Cool J, Lady Sovereign, Laid Back, Lil John, Lil Wayne, Lil Webbie, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, Lord Tariq, Ludacris, M.A.R.R.S., M.I.A., Madonna, Main Ingredient, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, Marky Mark, Paul Mccartney, Michael Mcdonald, George Michael, Mobb Deep, Mark Morrison, 'NSYNC, Nas, Nate Dogg, Naughty by Nature, Nelly, Neutral Milk Hotel, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Noreaga, Notorious B.I.G., Oasis, P. Diddy, Pavement, Phantom Planet, The Pharcyde, Pharrell, Pilot, The Pixies, Positive K, Public Enemy, Punjabi MC's, Purple Ribbon All-Stars, The Rentals, Smokey Robinson, S.W.V., Salt N Pepa, Juelz Santana, Seals and Croft, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Slim Thug, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Britney Spears, Billy Squier, Gwen Stefani, T.L.C., James Taylor, Tears For Fears, Technotronic, Three 6 Mafia, Timbaland, Trillville, Trina, The Verve, The Waitresses, Paul Wall, Warren G, Weezer, Kanye West, Whispers, Wings, Steve Winwood, Stevie Wonder, Wreckx-N-Effect, X-Ray Spex, Ying Yang Twins, Young Gunz, Young Jeezy

Yeah. Amazingly (to me at least) as we were listening to this earlier this evening, my wife was picking out samples from LL, Rob Base, Black Box, etc... I guess there is a reason I keep her around. Night Ripper is out now on Illegal Art. So, are you ready for this?

MP3 | Girl Talk - Smash Your Head Night Ripper
MP3 | Girl Talk - Bounce That Night Ripper

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Amazon | Insound | eMusic

Why does so much good heavy-ish rock music seem to come from Lousiville? Perhaps there is something in the water. If there is, you know that the hard rocking trio Your Black Star has been drinking it in huge quantities.

Their latest mini-LP called Beasts is full of driving atmospheric rock that isn't afraid to get a little (or really) noisy and way up in your face. Image U2 and The Cult vs. Sareena Maneesh and Mastodon. Beasts is heavy without being metallic and atmospheric without being obscured in a fog of shoegaze. It is a lean, mean, raw sounding album that borrows heavily from both dark British post-punk and the riffage of Black Sabbath.

Beasts is out now on Hawthorne Street Records.

MP3 | Your Black Star - Fight Beasts
MP3 | Your Black Star - The Break Beasts

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Late yesterday evening I got a phone call from my former Allister bandmate Scottie (currently of The Get Go) and we were discussing our plans for band practice tomorrow afternoon during which Scottie mentioned something about the practice space being near where Santa's Village was in a rented storage unit that Allister used to practice in. Huh? He didn't have an address or know anything other than "It is right next to Santa's Village in Dundee." Brilliant and typical. So typical of the old Allister days. Now I actually have to find this place.

Which leads me to the fact we are getting the band back together. Sorta. I will (along with our other original guitar player John) be playing a few songs during the final Allister show at Metro this Friday 7/20. Come on out if you can, I'd love to show you that I can still rock out to simple three chord pop-punk tunes. Consider yourself formally invited. Punchline and The Fold will open.

I'll leave you with a few tunes on this beautiful Chicago Sunday. I'm off to buy guitar strings and find the practice space. If I'm not back tomorrow, call the authorities.

MP3 | Hot Water Music - At The End Of A Gun
MP3 | St. James - The Waves
MP3 | Loose Salute - Turn The Radio Up
MP3 | The Fire Still Burns - Insert Motivation Here
MP3 | Centro-Matic - For New Starts
MP3 | Solea - Carry On
MP3 | Eilen Jewell - Back To Dallas
MP3 | The Mountain Goats - Dance Music
MP3 | North Lincoln - Exit Signs
MP3 | Neil Diamond - Hell Yeah

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

Last year Brooklyn's Bishop Allen released 12 EP's (one for every month) for an output that was greater than and more what many bands release in their careers. Even more remarkable was the consistency and quality that the band maintained. The core band members Justin Rice and Christian Rudder didn't rest too long on their laurels though. Bishop Allen's great new full-length album Bishop Allen & The Broken String will be released on Dead Oceans (the new imprint from the Jagjaguwar and Secretly Canadian folks in Bloomington, IN) on July 24th. It is full of the pure pop perfection and unusual instrumentation that you've come to expect from them. Highlights include: "Click Click Click Click" and "Rain."

MP3 | Bishop Allen - Click Click Click Click ... & The Broken String
MP3 | Bishop Allen - Rain ... & The Broken String

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

I know that I've mentioned it before, but there seems to be an increasing trend for more and more musical artists to blend punk rock and country or other roots music, and I'm loving every minute of it. Perhaps it started with Whiskeytown and the Old 97's and soaked in enough for bands like Drag The River and Lucero to carry the torch, but (to me) it all just seems natural. I grew up on a steady diet of punk rock and have for the past few years become increasingly fond of roots and alt-country music, so whenever I find a melding of the two genres I'm generally pretty pleased.

One such album that I recently came across was the solo debut of Avail frontman Tim Barry. His album is called Rivanna Junction it sounds almost as if every last drop of hardcore was removed from Avail's sound leaving only twangy Southern rock influences behind. The tunes that make up Rivanna Junction are anchored by Barry's gritty vocals and vivid tale-telling lyrics that paint a picture of the hard life that faces many within the working class; a modern Steve Earle perhaps? I especially like "Dog Bumped" where Barry carries on about killing a guy that beat up his little sister.

Some songs are about wandering and finding your place in the world and most songs (like all good country songs) reference alcohol, women, or both. It is a masterful album that shows a little bit of a softer side to Tim Barry, but in a way that (despite the drastic change in instrumentation and overall sound) isn't really that much of a departure from his work with Avail. I'd highly recommend this for fans of John Mellencamp, Steve Earle, and (well, duh) Avail. Rivanna Junction is out now on Suburban Home Records.

MP3 | Tim Barry - Trash Inspirations Rivanna Junction
MP3 | Tim Barry - Dog Bumped Rivanna Junction

More MP3's at The Hype Machine or buy from Amazon | Insound | eMusic

Most of you will recognize John Strohm from bands like Blake Babies, Antenna, The Lemonheads, and the short-lived Velo-Deluxe (a favorite of mine). Even though this Bloomington, IN born and (currently) Birmingham, Alabama-based musician's day job is that of an entertainment lawyer, he still writes and records and has got a great new album called Everyday Life that was just released on Superphonic Records. It is full of gentle and melodic rootsy pop-rock just that just lingers in the summer breeze and reminds me of places much slower and relaxed than my suburban Chicago setting. It is not a complicated album by any means. The songs are straightforward and the lyrics and rhyme-schemes are almost (at times) too predictable, but somehow that doesn't matter at all. When listening to Everyday Life time just sorta fades away. Highlights include "Sha-la" and "Driving On 95" as well as the rest of the record.

MP3 | John P. Strohm - Sha La Everyday Life
MP3 | John P. Strohm - Driving On 95 Everyday Life

More music at The Hype Machine or buy from Insound | eMusic

If you are wondering who to check out at Pitchfork this weekend, have a look at what I (and a bunch of other Chicago bloggers) wrote for Time Out Chicago. Happy Friday the 13th. Woo ha!

Did you think I forgot about you already? No way. Here's another batch of fresh Lollapalooza 2007 MP3 goodness. Can't wait! With all the festivals in Chicago, it is shaping up to be a busy next few weeks. Oh yeah, and how good is the new Against Me! album? Soooo good.

MP3 | Blonde Redhead - 23
MP3 | Clap You Hands Say Yeah - Satan Said Dance
MP3 | Daft Punk - Human After All (Justice's Guy Man After All Remix)
MP3 | Satellite Party - Wish Upon A Dog Star
MP3 | Illinois - Alone Again
MP3 | Fields - Song For The Fields
MP3 | Peter Bjorn And John - Young Folks
MP3 | Ghostland Observatory - Piano Man
MP3 | Smoosh - I Would Go
MP3 | Apostle Of Hustle - My Sword Hand's Anger

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