Tired. It's True.

Why are the Sex Pistols embarking on a world tour? Isn't the beauty of punk rock the fact that the songs were short, the ideas were direct and the era was so short-lived? Can Johnny Rotten really sing "Anarchy in the UK" with the same passion and fervor that he did 30 years ago?

I guess that while many idealists strive to adhere to their "Fuck the Man" belief systems, everything just becomes part of that capitalist machine and despite the cries of taking down the system from the inside, no one actually does it. It's not possible. Soon enough almost everything becomes acceptable because the powers that be subscribe to the "If you can't beat'em, join'em" way of dealing with their problems. It seems as soon as something is hard to completely quell, it just becomes bastardized and marketable.

There is no urgency in anything today.

I'm not any better. I'll rattle on about Pavement or make mention of Sonic Youth. But I've only been listening to Sonic Youth for about 6 months and they just put out an album with Starbucks plus I'd probably much rather tell you about the genius songwriting of Davey Von Bohlen than that of Thurston Moore.

I'd like you to assume a lot of things about me. I like it when you ask if I'm in a band because I'd like to be (or more accurately am in the process of being) in one. I like it when you think I know what I'm talking about because I usually don't. If I have impressed you so much that you believe that last statement to not be true, then get me drunk and ask me anything about rap. I don't know shit. Fuckin' renegade.

Am I naive for maybe only realizing or admitting to most of this now? Maybe. Is my biggest problem right now the fact that I didn't pick up my comic books yesterday? Yes. Did I mention that to maybe put this all in perspective for you? You bet your ass.

No Age - Nouns

This is the album that I have been waiting for all year and I had no idea. I love this band. I absolutely do. I love them like you love your little brother every time he does something that makes you proud.

No Age comes right out of the gate with "Miner" proclaiming over their fuzzy guitar that they need a miracle. You don't need a miracle, sirs. You are miracles.

Probably, the least accessible parts of their debut Weirdo Rippers were the spacey, feedback, minimalist tracks that made you long for a hook and made you really appreciate it when you got them. They made those better. No Age is rocking through the whole album. Good looks and killer hooks.

I'm completely dumbfounded by this album. I can't write about it. Just listen to it. Please. Do yourself a fucking favor.

The best I can do is make track recommendations. In which case, "Sleeper Hold" "Teen Creeps" and "Eraser" are ridiculous.


Tracklist:
01 Miner
02 Eraser
03 Teen Creeps
04 Things I Did When I Was Dead
05 Cappo
06 Keechie
07 Sleeper Hold
08 Errand Boy
09 Here Should Be My Home
10 Impossible Bouquet
11 Ripped Knees
12 Brain Burner

......

Weezer - Pork and Beans

Dear Rivers Cuomo,

How have you been man? What's it like being a guitar hero and/or a mediocre pop song machine these days? Wait, what? You're done with that? You can't be serious. You are? A return to crunchy guitar pop, you say?

Well, a got a hold of that song "Pork and Beans." I've got some good feelings about it. No self-involved solos or completely emotionless "Photograph"-esque songs. Best of all, you wouldn't think that this band put out that atrocity they called Make Believe. Classic Weezer choruses and subtle backing vocals really make this song. Maybe the obscure Timbaland reference in the title, too. Rivers you're a funny guy.

You've instilled some hope. Now don't let me down.

Love,
Pierce

Weezer - Pork and Beans
Tracklist:
01. Pork and Beans

...

Welcome!

Let me begin by introducing myself and my musical tastes. My name is Pierce. I love run on sentences. I grew up on Bright Eyes and pop-punk. I don't like Radiohead. Glam is the most underrated genre that has ever existed. I'm a sucker for cute bands. If it makes me dance, I'll probably listen to it more than once. I love folk, post-rock, 80s hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag, etc.), things Stephen Malkmus does, noise rock, 90s emo (The Promise Ring, Texas Is The Reason, etc.), bands with The Strokes swagger and/or Iggy Pop's presence. I'm a sucker for most girl vocalists and any twee band. Also, The Ramones are more important than most people give them credit.

I'm willing to admit that sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for why I like something. But basically, if I get excited about a band, you should too. If you don't, it's no skin off my teeth.

There. It's like we've known each other for years. And so it begins.

**********************************************************************************



For my first foray into the world of internet music journalism, the band responsible for my blog's name. Desaparecidos.One brilliant album. Read Music/ speak Spanish

I bought this album during my senior year of high school. I had an internship in the city and once I realized that I didn't have to be there all the time, I would wander down the 6 line and hang around St. Marks, my own private punk rock getaway that was, you know, surrounded by a Barnes&Noble and a couple of Starbucks. But, regardless I thought I was really cool trying to blend in with the hip Cooper Union kids and aging punks despite my Catholic school uniform.

I went into Kim's Underground blah blah whatever it's called. (I always just called it Kim's.) Anyway, I went in and I browsed the used CD rack. I was never looking for anything in particular. But, somehow I knew what the cover looked like. I had only ever heard one song that my girlfriend at the time put on a cassette that we listened to in my Dad's car a lot. At the time, I thought Conor Oberst was completely untouchable so I figured that it would be fine. Plus it was only 8 bucks. I bought that and a Postal Service single.

That CD made its home in my Sony Walkman CD player for months. It was bigger than girls and high school. It wanted to start a coup and make its own clothes and only play basement shows and only sell CDs with handmade sleeves. It was everything I couldn't have. Conor Oberst let his punk rock out for the first time since the demise of Commander Venus and the world would be a better place if he chilled with the psychics and just got back to rockin.

So now I extend to you the opportunity to let this album live with you a bit. Let it buy you only organic groceries, invite its political activist friends over for dinner and boycott companies that have sweatshops. You won't regret it.


Desaparecidos - Read Music/Speak Spanish
Tracklist:
01. Man And Wife, The Former (Financial Planning)
02. Manana
03. Greater Omaha
04. Man And Wife, The Latter (Damaged Goods)
05. Mall of America
06. The Happiest Place On Earth
07. Survival of the Fittest/It's a Jungle Out There
08. $$$$
09. Hole in One

...