finished

if anyone ever reads this, just know it was part of an extra credit option in one of my classes. that was last year. this shit is finished.

new cure album to come in monthly singles

long-time goth rockers the cure will release 4 singles digitally and physically before the september 13, 2008 release of their 13th album.

the first single 'the only one' is already available as a stream on the official website.

the band will begin their pre-release tour on may 9.

(source: the cure)

coachella this weekend

this weekend marks the 9th annual coachella music festival in indio, ca.

headliners this year include prince and roger waters, who is slated to perform the entire dark side of the moon album.

jimmy eat world announces phoenix date

on april 15, jimmy eat world announced a phoenix date on their tour for 2007's "chase this light." the band's 6th studio album debuted at number 5 on the us billboard 200 chart when it was released in october.

while no openers have been announced, the band has confirmed they will play at the dodge theatre on june 18.

cat power 4/17 cancelled

the tempe date on the cat power tour (4/17) at the marquee theatre suffered a last-minute cancellation.

lead singer for the band, chan marshall, developed a callus on her vocal cords and could not perform. proceeding dates were also canceled, though make-up shows will be scheduled (source: megan irwin).

reubens accomplice - new music

local heroes, reubens accomplice, added a few songs from their new record to their myspace yesterday. the two songs, known only as "outtake3 demo" and "outtake4 demo," are labeled as not having made the record, which may mean reubens accomplice is a lot closer to releasing their 3rd LP than they have let anyone know.

several months ago, co-guitarist/vocalist chris corak said that the band was thinking about changing labels, since tempe's small western tread records struggled to promote their 2005 release, "the bull, the balloon and the family." the split from western tread however would be amicable, since the label's owners, jim adkins and charlie levy, are busy with other pursuits. adkins is the primary songwriter and lead singer for the popular rock band jimmy eat world, and levy owns stateside presents, one of the bigger promotion companies in arizona.

it's the end of the world as we know it...

...because this is happening.

'emo' kids in mexico are being targeted in acts of violence. the violence has gotten so bad, in fact, that the 'emo' kids protested in front of a local police station for increased protection from the punks, rockabillies and regular teens and middle-aged men perpetrating the acts.

the protests are reminiscent of some kind of civil rights struggle, but they shouldn't be. the emo kids are choosing this lifestyle, and in turn, this persecution. just like their attackers are human beings making decisions (albeit good or bad ones), emo kids are in no way forced to endure the physical pain and humiliation, for they are making decisions to identify with the popular clothing and music trend.

but as a self-admitted fan of real emo, i am enraged at the mis-use of the word. emo began as a legitimate form of music almost 30 years ago. fourfa.com adheres to the traditional use of the word and is a good read for people unaware of emo aside from bands like fall out boy and panic at the disco and swooping haircuts.

basically my complaint is that the word 'emo' should not be used interchangeably to describe then and now. though the societal trend claims roots to the music, real emo music with integrity is still being made in the same punk, DIY mentality it was 30 years ago. yet bands who identify with the genre are painted into false corners when people associate them with over-privileged kids whose main paradigm is under-appreciating everything. these emo kids aren't about 'emotionally-charged punk-rock' (fourfa.com).

if nothing else, emo should be used only to describe that time 3 decades ago when punk was undergoing a major shift that would eventually lead to the pop-punk bands of the 90s, because it technically could be used to describe a far larger genre of music than it intends to. ac/dc could be considered emo. lord knows brian johnson could match the intensity of any *screamo lead singer.

educate yourselves people. ignorant people don't use words properly. take back 'emo,' and put a stop to the negative association it places on one of the early derivative waves of punk-rock.

*(a sub-genre which includes vocals comprised of not a classic rock and roll yell, but exaggerated and often times ridiculous growl. it's very angry, and angering, because of how bad it sucks.)


this is an emo band. they were called jets to brazil, technically a post-emo indie rock band, and they we're one of the best bands ever. the lead singer blake schwarzenbach (left) was in jawbreaker, one of the earliest pop-punk bands. he's an emo king, and my hero.


this has nothing to do with emo. it's a fashion style, a societal trend, a catalyst for shitty music all over the world. lets find a new word.