Blink-182 Dogs Eating Dogs EP Album Review

1. When I Was Young – Tom’s voice in the opening sounds really different and I really love Mark on back-up vocals, especially in this song. “When I was young the world it was smaller. The cities were vast; the buildings were taller. I felt really strong; my parents seemed stronger. But life has a way it showers with greatness. Then takes it away those pieces that made us. Then teaches you things you'd never imagine. We all get the same the memories the burdens. The pictures we made they still form a pattern. They cautiously say does it all matter?” That is so beautiful.

2. Dogs Eating Dogs – The guitar in the opening sounds like a Panic! At The Disco song. Travis’s drums seem to be really sloppy, but not in a bad way. “I'm the last and the first in a very sad set of eyes.” That is so deep.

3. Disaster – The beginning sounds like I Miss You. The whole song reminds me of Anthem Pt. 2 and Up All Night. “White stones of hollow eyes Death comes you better hide. Never rest in town. Fall in my arms again. Full moon on a rotten night
Eighteen and a wind came by. Not a soul around, Fall in my arms again.” This made me tear up.

4. Boxing Day – There is finally a song about this holiday!!! In all seriousness, this song is really sad. It is definitely a break-up song. The chorus, “I’m empty like the day after Christmas, Swept beneath the wave of your goodbye. You left me on the day after Christmas. There’s nothing left to say, and so Goodnight. If that does not strike you as sad, I do not know what to say to you. “I will follow the trail to tomorrow with my loneliness with sorrow. All through the night, Sons and daughters, Mothers and their fathers, Cross the bridges and the waters for bruise left behind.” That part has so much emotion and I cannot really explain how it made me feel.

5. Pretty Little Girl – This is my favorite song on this E.P. When I was listening to it and I heard Yelawolf, I was like “Holy crap! It’s Yelawolf!!! That was a nice surprise. This song has some really good imagery, because it really shows how young love can be and this song brought tears to my eyes. 

Green Day Tre Album Review

Well the last album in the new Green Day trilogy came out today. It was pretty... interesting to say the least.

1. Brutal Love – This song reminds me of Oh Love. It is not the typical album opening that I would expect from Green Day, but I like it. You can really hear the emotion in Billie-Joe’s voice.

2. Missing You – Can we say Letterbomb? Mike’s Bass groove in this song, is amazing. It reminds me of the one from Hitchin’ A Ride. “I get so lost out in the cold” I really like that because I feel that I can relate to it.

3. 8^th Avenue Serenade – This song reminds me of Stay The Night from Uno. “Just sing to me a lullaby. Cradle songs from a new life. Don't forget to pass me by” I think that is so beautiful.

4. Drama Queen – This song reminds me of Peacemaker from 21^st Century Breakdown. This song has some really strong imagery. “There goes my drama queen. She’s old enough to bleed now.” That lyric could be taken several ways. It is a little too intense.

5. X-Kid – The guitar in this song really sounds like Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benetar. It also sounds like Letterbomb. “You're not so young, but you're still dumb” One word: Politicians.

6. Sex, Drugs, and Violence – “Sex, Drugs, and Violence. English, Math, and Science.” That is definitely the catchiest lyric on this album. When I was finished listening to the album that was the only lyric I could remember because it was just that catchy. Mike sings!!!!!

7. A Little Boy Named Train – “Where did you come from? Where have you been? Looks like you fell into the trash bin” That is absolutely brilliant. “I don’t know where I come from, but I know where I have been.” That is also brilliant. This song also reminds me of Know Your Enemy from 21^st Century Breakdown.

8. Amanda – “Is this some kind of love that only hate would understand?” That is gold. This song is like a plea for they guy that wants to be with the girl and he tells her that he has changed. She just is not having it. This could be taken as a sad song because Amanda does not accept him. If I think about it too much, I will probably cry.

9. Walk Away – This song is really sad. “This time I’ve gotta put my guard down and pick myself up off the ground. And take the pain” That really made me sad. When I was writing the review for this song in the middle of class, my teacher gave me a weird look. Haha!

10. Dirty Rotten Bastards – This is definitely my favorite song on the album. For the last three albums, up until this point, I think they were really holding back until this song. I feel like they let out everything they were feeling. Gosh, I love this song.

11. 99 Revolutions – “Hit the lights and bang your drum and let your flag unfold. Cause history will prove itself in the hall of justice and lost souls.” That lyric really speaks to me because it says it’s ok to be weird and that weird people will one day rule. J

12. The Forgotten – Billie-Joe always talks about children being left behind (listen to Extraordinary Girl from American Idiot). “Don’t look away from the arms of love.” When I heard that, I just sat in my class and cried.

After listening to the entire trilogy, I can say that Uno is definitely my favorite, followed by Tre. Dos was good too, but just does not compare to the other two. (haha pun intended. Dos means two! ok I know I am not funny.) 

Hinder Welcome To The Freakshow Album Review

When All American Nightmare Came out, I was positive that nothing could top the excellency of that album. In some ways, I was right. While this album, is great, it just does not live up to the hype and excitement that All American Nightmare, Take It To The Limit, and Extreme Behavior gave to me. I hope I can learn to appreciate this album more as times goes on, but for now it is probably my least favorite Hinder album. 

1. Save Me – The lyrics are just like “Get the eff away from me. I don’t need you anymore” It makes a great album opener.

2. Ladies Come First – “You left your goodie two shoes at home.” When I heard that, I busted out laughing. That is lyrical genius. “My mind’s in the dirt” is a very true statement when you are talking about Hinder and that is what I love about them. Just dirty rock and roll. That is very hard to beat. This song strongly reminds me of Striptease from All American Nightmare.

3. Should Have Known Better – “Just two kids, it was way too soon. Didn’t realize what we had to lose, no way to know we wouldn’t make it through.” “Keep leaving me with nothing. Someday I’ll live my life but right now I’m losing this fight. Lust ain’t the same as trusting. Can’t figure out this loving.” Teen love at its finest. You can really hear Austin’s emotions in this song.

4. Freak Show – The guitar at the beginning rules!!! “Super sweet in real life, super slutty else where, fighting for the spotlight, feeling no shame.” I am starting to think that Austin is writing about his high school days because this sounds like typical girls in high school. This would totally be a cool set opener.

5. Talk To Me – “Love takes work and work takes time.” That is gold. This song really is not my favorite.

6. Get Me Away From You – This song strongly reminds me of The Life from All American Nightmare. I like his rhetorical question “What the hell am I supposed to do?” This is signaling a chill out point in the album.

7. Is It Just Me? – The lyrics to this are really sad. “How we are just broken hearts, wasting time here in this bar, trying to hide from who we are, or is it just me? How we are just drunken fools, going broke, breaking the rules, think we need another drink, Or is it just me? Is it just me?” It is very upbeat for such a sad song and I like the questioning tone of the song.

8. I Don’t Wanna Believe – The guitar sounds like Guns N Roses! “I don’t wanna believe if I can’t believe in you. But I’m ready to fall if you are the one I’m falling to. That made me cry. It is so beautiful.

9. See You In Hell – I love the allusions to famous people in the beginning. “I smoke, I drink, I lie, I cheat, and damn I do it well. See you in hell!” That is excellent and very clever. This strongly reminded me of Hey Ho from All American Nightmare.

10. Anyone But You – “I can’t love anyone but you.” If I am ever sad, this song would make me cry. It reminds me of Everybody’s Wrong from All American Nightmare.

11. Wanna Be Rich – I love this song. It is probably my favorite on the album. Even though I do not party, this sounds like a good party song.

Title Fight, Pianos Become The Teeth, and Single Mothers Birmingham, AL 11/16/12

So I was asleep one morning and I got a Bandsintown update that said Title Fight is coming to Birmingham. I called my cousin and we made plans to go. When the day came I was pretty stoked. I picked up my cousin and we went to Birmingham. The show was at a venue called The Forge. I had never been there before, but from what I could tell, it was in a pretty old building with uneven, concrete floors. We got there shortly before the doors opened and I talked to several people that I knew from previous shows. There were three bands playing: Single Mothers, Pianos Becomes The Teeth, and Title Fight. The first was Single Mothers were really good. They had a good number of fans there. Of course, I had never heard of them but I really liked them. Their singer did some really cool jumps. For me, the bands that move around and do things like that are always the most memorable. The next band was Pianos Becomes The Teeth. I had heard of them because they are always in Alternative Press. I really liked them. They had a good bit of fans there too and they were really involved. Then it was time for Title Fight. I was really stoked for them. Somehow, I ended up in the front of the crowd. Little did I know that was a bad mistake. When the band walked on stage and played the first note of the first song, there was and instant surge forward and the next thing I knew, I was pushing people off of me left, right, and over-head. Not even halfway through the first song this huge guy flies over me and then proceeds to push my glasses into my face when he tries to jump off the stage. I caught my glasses before they flew off my face and I jumped on stage to save myself from the fury that was about to take over. There were already other people on stage so I did not feel so bad. When I got on stage, it was not much better because people would crowd surf and walk around side stage and jump back into the crowd. Eventually I found my way to the back and I remained there for the rest of the show. Even though my time on stage was short lived, it was one of the best experiences I have ever had at a show, because it was so much fun and there was so much energy in that tiny room. I would definitely go back to that venue just to see Title Fight again.

The All American Rejects and Matt Toka Mobile, Alabama 11/14/12

I was sitting in math class one day and I got an email from my mom saying “What are we doing wed November 14?” I was a little confused because that was a Wednesday, but I answered and said that we were not doing anything. Her response? “All American Rejects at Soul Kitchen. Be there or be square =D” I jumped out of my seat in the middle of class. I was so excited because I had not seen them since 2009 and I was feeling deprivation. Of course, knowing my luck, I was sick on the day of the show, but that did not stop me. I left school and went straight to Mobile. When I got there, I stood in line for a little while then I got in and got my underage bracelet and stood in another line. The security guy let us in the room and my mom and I headed for the barricade. The first guy was Matt Toka. I was absolutely amazed by how good he was. He is one of those guys that will one day be responsible for the punk rock revival. He had so much energy and ran around the venue like he owned the place. I did not know any of his songs other than the Nirvana cover of Courtney. I got to meet him after his set and he was just… awesome. I cannot think of another adjective to describe him. If he ever comes back to Alabama, I will be attending.

Then it was time for All American Rejects. Gosh, I was so stoked. Tyson walked onto the stage and he was just as beautiful as could be. They opened with Dirty Little Secret. The opening guitar to that song really set the standard for how the rest of the night would turn out. They followed that with

Fallin’ Apart

My Paper Heart (Written about a girl from Alabama. “This song goes out to Anna Banana *gives a fake address*)

Beekeeper’s Daughter (My Favorite! AHH!)

I Wanna

Walk Over Me

Fast and Slow

Swing, Swing (Told a story about writing this album in his grandmothers attic in her run-down trailer)

Mona Lisa

It End’s Tonight

Gonzo

Move Along

Kids In The Street

Heartbeat Slowing Down

Gives You Hell

During the show, Tyson told the crowd about how he was from Oklahoma, but in 1995 when the Alabama Football Team was on a winning streak (ROLL TIDE!), his dad wanted to piss off his neighbor, so he spray painted a huge Alabama “A” on their trashcan. His neighbor was really pissed and Tyson said, “ Yeah, my dad is a bad-ass!” Closer to the end of the show, Matt (formerly of Taking Back Sunday) and Tyson had a bass-off where they tried to see who was the better bass player. Tyson played the theme song from Top Gun and then started calling himself old because most of the people in the crowd did not know it. Matt followed him with the Nintendo theme song and the crowd went insane. Tyson then made a comment about needing an extra life after that one and the keyboard player (Cheese) played the extra life tune. All I could do was laugh. At one point, Tyson tripped and he fell on his butt. Even though he kept singing, I could tell he was hurt. Before they played Heartbeat Slowing Down, Tyson said that it was the first song they ever all agreed on as a band and that it was incredible. After the show I got to meet Matt and I got a picture with him. I drove home and I could barely talk because obviously smoking bars, sinus infections, and screaming your lungs out are not a good mix. If given the option, I would do it all over again.