Song Of The Day: Fall Out Boy – Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

 

Thnks Fr Th Mmrs is, in my opinion, one of the best songs in existence. Fall Out Boy have been one of my favourite bands for about eight years now, but this is the song that awarded them the unchanging status of my all-time favourite band. One of a few all-time favourite bands anyway, but it’s rare I find a band that I’m truly dedicated to. Bar the questionable Kim Kardashian cameo in the song’s official video (which is really kind of wonderful), Thnks Fr Th Mmrs is pure perfection and complete and utter brilliance; it affirmed my belief that Fall Out Boy are masters of their art – both musical geniuses and lyrical masterminds. The song holds a lot of meaning for me personally too - the amount of times I listened to this song when Fall Out Boy first went on hiatus is crazy. And now that they're back, I love it even more.

Song Of The Day: No Doubt - Just A Girl

‘Just A Girl’ captures female strength perfectly. It flaunts a total disregard of the stereotypical expectations of women and I think that’s why I love it so much. Gwen Stefani, both in No Doubt and as a solo artist, is one of my biggest inspirations because she stands out as a strong force in a male-dominated industry and I love everything she stands for. She paved the way for a more liberated music industry, in which females in bands are taken seriously and don’t have to demand the respect they deserve – it’s automatic. She truly is a massively influential icon. This aside, this song is pretty much one of the best songs in existence anyway. It's an anthem for all strong females who truly believe in themselves, as despite a huge social movement and adjustment of expected views and stereotypes, it is still (arguably) a man's world. And though it’s not the song that made me fall in love with No Doubt (a feat evoked by both ‘Hey Baby’ and ‘It’s My Life’), it’s one that I’ll never tire of. Or one that I hope I never tire of. This goes for pretty much all of No Doubt’s other songs too, but I’m probably biased, as they are undoubtedly one of my favourite bands ever.

Fall Out Boy Are Back!

The hiatus is (finally) over! I can’t even find the words to announce it probably. When I first heard that Fall Out Boy had reunited, I spilt my coffee all over myself. That’s how excited I am. They’re one of my favourite bands ever (and also one of the greatest bands in the universe), so this is a dream come true for me. They’ve announced tour dates, they have a new album coming out May 7th and today they released an absolutely brilliant new song…

Sandy Relief Concert: Nirvana Reunion, Featuring Sir Paul McCartney

Nirvana and The Beatles are two amazing bands respectively; both were at the top of their games in their separate eras and continue to have a massive influence on artists today, but when I heard about Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl reuniting as Nirvana but with Sir Paul McCartney replacing the legendary Kurt Cobain, I was unconvinced. The idea of the 90’s grunge sound of Nirvana being belted out by co-vocalist of 60’s rock and roll group The Beatles just seems so wrong, especially as both bands existed more or less 30 years apart. While I love both bands a great deal, the styles of their music are worlds apart and I can’t comprehend combining the two.

Nirvana’s surviving members, including touring guitarist Pat Smear, and McCartney joined forces for a very worthy cause however – a relief concert held on 12/12/12 in support of the victims of Hurricane Sandy. And unlike the Nirvana songs I thought they would be playing, the four performed an original song called ‘Cut Me Some Slack.’ It’s (surprisingly) not bad either; the entire song has a Beatles’ ‘Helter Skelter’ vibe to it, with Cobain-esque vocals and an equal mixture of the signature sounds of Nirvana and The Beatles met with the music of the guitars and Grohl’s insane drumming talents.

The entire performance is borderline awesome - each person up on that stage is a legend in their own right. It’s also great to see that at the grand old age of 70, Paul McCartney’s still got it.

Song Of The Day: The Misfits – Dig Up Her Bones

‘Dig Up Her Bones’ is the first song I ever heard by the Misfits and even after listening to (and loving) their other songs, this one has remained my favourite.

The song is just completely great. While it’s not the best example of the typical Misfits sound due to it being the first single to come from the reformed band, after the break-up of the original band in 1983, their heavy influence on rock, metal and punk music has stayed strong. I personally think that the Misfits are one of the best things to come out of the late-70′s rock music scene.

‘Dig Up Her Bones’ can be found on the Misfits’ 1997 album, American Psycho, an album that is definitely worth checking out (especially the song ‘Crimson Ghost.’) The early Misfits sound is best showcased by ‘Die, Die My Darling,’ another really awesome song.

Rock’s Best Christmas Songs

Most fans of rock music will agree that the majority of classic Christmas songs are aged and cheesy and overplayed, and it’s hard to escape them. So this is my playlist of some of my favourite Christmas songs, either created or covered by some of the best in rock music…

1. LostAlone – I Want Christmas Always

 

‘I Want Christmas Always’ is potentially one of the most perfect Christmas songs ever, everything about it screams festive spirit. LostAlone’s take on Christmas combines rock music and catchy riffs with signature elements of a classic Christmas song – including ‘ding-dongs’ and jingling bells – to create a song that is up there with the best. It always leaves me with a smile on my face and feeling super festive.

2. blink-182

 

 

 

Where to start with blink-182? They’ve made three great Christmas songs, all of them with the signature blink-182 sound. The lyrics in both ‘I Won’t Be Home For Christmas’ and ‘Happy Holidays, You Bastard’ are probably the most anti-Christmas lyrics possible for a Christmas song, yet I still always listen to them around this time of year to get me in the festive spirit. The band recently unveiled a new song from their upcoming EP, ‘dogs eating dogs,’ called ‘Boxing Day’ – while it’s only standard blink-182, with a folksy spin on their sound, it’s still a pretty good song.

 

3. Fall Out Boy – Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

 

 

‘Yule Shoot Your Eye Out’ is a typical FOB masterpiece and manages to be un-Christmassy whilst still being a Christmas song, which I guess the title defines well. Opening with the sound of sleigh bells and ending with an electronic snippet of Christmas carol ‘Deck the Halls,’ the lyrics refer to Christmas in a completely un-festive way. Its acoustic sound makes a nice change from all the cheer from classic Christmas songs, and it’s Fall Out Boy, so of course it’s going to be an awesome song.

 

4. All Time Low – Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass

 

 

The pop-punk sound and cheeky lyrics of All Time Low are what really make this song; like the classic Christmas songs, it’s catchy and it’s funny, but ‘Merry Christmas, Kiss My Ass’ sounds nothing like the classic Christmas songs, which makes it 10x better. I love this song and it always leaves me looking forward to the holiday.

 

5. The Killers

 

 

 

 

Like with blink-182, there’s not much I can say about The Killers’ Christmas songs – they speak for themselves. Every year the band come out with a new song specially for the season, and every year they are amazing.

 

6. No Doubt – Oi To The World

 

I’m a fan of anything No Doubt, but their ska twist on this song (originally by The Vandals) is brilliant and manages to be a Christmas song without sound even remotely Christmassy, except from the guitar which maintains the sound of a festive song throughout.

 

7. My Chemical Romance – All I Want For Christmas Is You

 

 

In the first 40 seconds of this song, the only way you’d be able to tell that this is a My Chemical Romance cover of the classic Mariah Carey song (an unlikely choice, I know) is Gerard Way’s distinctive vocals. The full band make themselves known eventually though and pull the song off so well; I especially love the raw edge they’ve put on what is otherwise the classic Christmas song I hate the most. Basically, MCR’s take on this song makes for one of the best Christmas covers of all time.

 

8. Kids In Glass Houses – Secret Santa

 

 

This is the final song on the list, and with good reason. I don’t think I can put into words how much I love this song, it’s just so amazing. As much as I love Kids In Glass Houses, I don’t think I expected anything this good when I heard about their Christmas song. It’s made me feel even more Christmassy than I already did, which I didn’t think was possible. I love the video that accompanies it too.

So that’s my list of some of the most awesome Christmas songs of all time, in no particular order because they’re all bound to leave you in the festive spirit and looking forward to Christmas. Less than two weeks to go now!

Song Of The Day: The Smashing Pumpkins - Stand Inside Your Love

I can never pin-point exactly what it is I like about this song, I just find it insanely beautiful. A combination of soaring riffs, Billy Corgan's simultaneously gravelly yet soft voice and inspired lyrics, it's a song I can listen to again and again without ever tiring of it; it's possibly one of the most perfect love songs ever. 'Stand Inside Your Love' is the epitome of the classic Smashing Pumpkins sound, and the video accompanying it is completely mesmerizing too.

The song can be found on the band’s fifth studio album, Machina/The Machines Of God.

Song Of The Day: deadmau5 – Professional Griefers (feat. Gerard Way)

The result of what is possibly one of the unlikeliest collaborations in music between electro/dance music mogul deadmau5 and My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way, Professional Griefers is probably one of my favourite tracks of the year. If I’m being completely honest, I only listened to it because Gerard features on it and I’m a dedicated MCR fan, but I’m super glad I did listen to it because, all bias aside, the song is so good.

Not only is it a really awesome song, it has the most expensive electronic dance music video to date accompanying it. The video and it’s concept as a whole are pretty cool, but my favourite part is 4:58 simply because Gerard’s reaction reminds me of Alan Grant in Jurassic Park when he first sees the dinosaurs.

So that’s the soundtrack of my day; I hope you like it as much as I do. It can be purchased on iTunes as part of deadmau5′s latest album ‘> album title goes here <’ here.

New Mindless Self Indulgence demo

As a result of reaching $100K on their Kickstarter campaign, the electropunk rockers have released a demo of a new track.

The Kickstarter campaign acts as ransom for the new Mindless Self Indulgence record, held captive by the band – only after the $150,000 pledge has been met will the album be released. In a random act of kindness that I, along with many other MSI fans, am extremely thankful for, singer Jimmy Urine debuted a demo of an unnamed song that can be heard below:

And it’s typical Mindless Self Indulgence – even with a more evolved sound, the track (even though it’s only at demo stage) is unlike anything any other band could even dream of creating, combining an insane infusion of sounds and crazy lyrics that make up the eclectic song that only MSI could pull off. With a track like this, I can’t even begin to imagine what their new record sounds like – all I know is that it will be completely awesome and I really hope the band reach their $150K pledge because that is one album that the world needs to hear.

To release the new Mindless Self Indulgence record that’s currently being held hostage, head on over to their Kickstarter page and make a pledge, with donations ranging from a mere $1 to $5000 – fans who pledge don’t go unrewarded either, with prizes including digital downloads of the album, bassist Lynz Way’s tour shirts and having your name featured on one of the album’s song names. Basically, some of these rewards are completely once-in-a-lifetime so please go and support the band by making a pledge towards the new MSI album!

Conventional Weapons Number Two

My Chemical Romance, possibly one of the best rock bands in existence, unveiled the second set of songs from their scrapped album on Friday.

 

Conventional Weapons is its own era in the band’s discography, a post-Black Parade and pre-Danger Days secret album that fans could only have dreamed of hearing. So when guitarist Frank Iero broke the news that two songs from the record would be released per month running from October 2012 to February 2013, the whole fan base exploded.

After the release of ‘Boy Division’ and ‘Tomorrow’s Money’ last month, which are both completely phenomenal and can be purchased here, it’s safe to say that I was super excited for ‘Gun.’ and ‘AMBULANCE,’ which the band posted on their official YouTube account yesterday. Whilst the songs are no Conventional Weapons Number One (which is going to be extremely hard to match, those songs are amazing), they are definitely worth checking out, and can be heard below:

 

 

 

Both are melodic anthems boasting a sound that the band have obviously put their hearts and souls into creating; ‘AMBULANCE’ reminds me more and more of Queen every time I listen to it and ‘Gun.’ is just incredible in general, with lyrics that just beg you to sing along; it’s clear that these are the songs that led to the creation of the 15-track wonder that is ‘Danger Days,’ MCR’s most evolved sound to date. The songs that make up ‘Conventional Weapons’ so far show exactly how versatile My Chemical Romance are – the difference in the songs is almost astonishing yet all four tracks are inconceivably good, to put it mildly.

 

Conventional Weapons Number Two is now available to download on iTunes, and can currently be ordered on vinyl from the band’s official website here. Other CW merchandise and vinyl’s are available to purchase here, and more will be available to buy as the further songs are released.

 

Future track-listing and release dates from Conventional Weapons are as follows…

 

Title: Number Three

A-side: The World Is Ugly

B-side: The Light Behind Your Eyes

Release date: Tuesday, December 18, 2012
 

Title: Number Four

A-side: Kiss The Ring

B-side: Make Room!!!!

Release date: Tuesday, January 8, 2013
 

Title: Number Five

A-side: Surrender The Night

B-side: Burn Bright

Release date: Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Fearless Vampire Killers – Exploding Heart Disorder video

The five-piece rock band who hail from London unveiled the video for their upcoming single, Exploding Heart Disorder.

And while it lacks the signature theatricality of the Fearless Vampire Killers, the video still manages to capture the sheer essence of the band perfectly.

Featuring the boys without their make-up and expected attire, the video has a personal edge to it, showcasing five friends doing what they love most and having the time of their lives together whilst also giving fans a glimpse into the pure energy and dedication that goes into the recording process. The video reflects the song in this way, mixing heavy riffs with soft melodies, a trademark sound of the music created by FVK. Yet this song, and its video, is unlike anything the band has ever pulled off before. Exploding Heart Disorder shows Fearless Vampire Killers at their best yet, and with such a promising journey ahead of them, the unexpected needs to be expected.

The single was released alongside ‘Palace In Flames’ as a double A-side single on November 5^th 2012 via iTunes and other good retailers. Check out Fearless Vampire Killers on Twitter here.

LostAlone – Vesuvius + Creatures release

Derby-based rock band LostAlone released their latest singles Vesuvius and Creatures on November 5th, the fourth and fifth singles to come from their amazing second album, I’m A UFO In This City.

The video for Vesuvius showcases 4 minutes and 14 seconds of exactly what you can expect from a LostAlone show; 110% effort, some of the most talented and downright incredible playing of instruments you will ever see and overall, just plain awesomeness. Plus, the video has some pretty cool lights and a quick shot of singer/guitarist Steven Battelle doing push-ups. What’s not to love!?

 

The Creatures video is a compilation of LostAlone and focuses more on the band members themselves, featuring the band during the recording process and in a variety of other locations - my personal favourite is the rowing scene. The video basically shows the sheer dedication that the band have to their music, and also brings across their personalities more too; though the video is the polar opposite of the Vesuvius video, it's still completely awesome. They really can pull just about anything off!

 

Vesuvius was released alongside Creatures on November 5th – both tracks can be found on the band’s second album, I’m A UFO In This City, which can be purchased from Amazon here. Check out LostAlone on Twitter too!

No Doubt – ‘Push And Shove’ song review

The title song from No Doubt’s long-awaited sixth studio album, ‘Push And Shove’ (released September 25th via Interscope Records), gained it’s world premiere on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show.

And it is amazing. ‘Push And Shove,’ the second single to be released from the band’s first album in over a decade, stays true to No Doubt’s original sound whilst exploring elements of the revamped style of a modern day No Doubt, echoing the sound of the band’s comeback single ‘Settle Down,’ and combining all of this with a style reminiscent of vocalist Gwen Stefani’s dance-pop solo career. The song also features reggae artist Busy Signal and rapper Major Lazer.

‘Push And Shove’ mixes all of these different styles at the same time and makes it work in a way that no other band could. No Doubt are one of the few bands that can change and experiment with their sound and still have their music be instantly recognised, due to their soaring choruses and signature reggae-influenced ska sound. And ‘Push And Shove’ is no exception; the ever-changing rhythm and many different influences add to and compliment No Doubt’s sound perfectly, giving them a song that bassist Tony Kanal describes as the band's own 'Bohemian Rhapsody.'

Overall, ‘Push And Shove’ really is an incredible song guaranteed to gain the band a whole new generation of fans whilst also appealing to their life-long fans. And despite how long No Doubt were gone, I’m glad they’re back and creating music together again. The song is a prime example of the bands new album and its completely phenomenal sound.

You can listen to ‘Push And Shove’ below, let me know your thoughts on it!

 

 

No Doubt’s sixth studio album ‘Push And Shove’ can be purchased here.