[POLL NOW OPEN!] June 15-21 - rhg5010's Mixtape: ...over and on

RHG5010’S MIXTAPE – LIKE A COLD AND STEADY STORM, I WAS OVER AND ON

Music is a passion, as you’ll see from the long descriptions here, so I really dig this mixtape project. Most of this is written from memory, from names, releases, stories, etc. embedded into my mind. I love talking about music and sharing the feelings that music brings, so if this stuff strikes any of you upstanding folks and you want to talk about it or hear more, please feel free to comment, private message, or email me (rhg5010@psu.edu).

And by the way, ten points to the person who finds where I got the title to this mix. It’s in one of these songs. Enjoy!

http://rapidshare.com/files/244640846/rhg5010_s_Mixtape_-_...over_and_on.zip


TRACK LISTING

00. Artist - Song - Album/[origin]

01. Channels - To The New Mandarines - Waiting For The Next End Of the World
02. Burning Airlines - Everything Here Is New - Identikit
03. Paint It Black - View From A Headlock - Paradise (Japan release)
04. Lovedrug - Broken Home - The Sucker Punch Show
05. Panacea - Freedom Theory - Thinking Back, Looking Forward LP
06. Restoring Poetry In Music - Poetry Bum - Dream Awake
07. Ambulance ltd - New English - New English EP
08. One Man Army - S.O.S. - Rumors And Headlines
09. Capital - Blind Faith - Blind Faith EP
10. LaGrecia - Slower Than Manasses - On Parallels
11. Sage Francis - Message Sent - Personal Journals
12. Non-Prophets - Hey Bobby - [unknown b-side]
13. Let Me Run - I Never Said I Could Sing - Meet Me At The Bottom
14. Bad Astronaut - Greg's Estate - Acrophobe
15. The Traded Series - Let Go - [myspace rip]
16. 311 - Get Down - Uplifter
17. The New Rising Sons - Endless Calls For Fame - [unreleased, untitled full-length album]
18. The Sidekicks - Tomboioi - So Long, Soggy Dog
19. Trial By Fire - Point An Inward Finger - Ringing In The Dawn
20. The Loved Ones - Last Call - Distractions EP
21. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up (Chumbawumba cover) - [live in Philly]

TRACKS 1-12

1. Channels – To The New Mandarines
Everyone here should at least be familiar with the name J. Robbins. He’s a well-known producer for some of the best albums in the punk scene (None More Black, Paint It Black, Texas Is The Reason, Dismemberment Plan). He’s been in the (punk)news a lot lately because bands have been doing benefit shows to raise money for his son who’s suffering from some child-killing disease. It’s actually a really heartwarming story about the independent/punk music neighborhood. Anyway Channels is J’s current band, and the first band of his that I got into. This is the first song I listened to and it literally blew me away. Of course, J. produced the album, Waiting For The Next End Of The World, himself with his renowned style. Channels is not what I’d call punk, just plain rock. Hard, but not gritty, and very melodic. The lyrics are grown up, highly intelligent, and complex, sung by both male (J.) and female (Janet Morgan, J’s wife) vocalists, which gives it a nice sound, and I don’t even like female vocalists. Also the drumming from Darren Zentek is superb.

2. Burning Airlines – Everything Here Is New
This band took a while to get into because they’re so much different than a lot of things I’d heard in the past, but now they’re on my list of all-time greats. Once again it’s J. Robbins at lead singer (and producer) so there’s his sound and his smart lyrics, but this band was very experimental in some of the music they made. Of course there’s the rock element, in fact most of their songs are rock songs, but then there are songs like this one that start off with some weird noise that sounds like it belongs in Star Wars more than a rock song. I’m putting this in the mixtape because it’s a great song and it shows J’s versatility, but not all Burning Airlines songs are as experimental as this.

3. Paint it Black – View From A Headlock
Foreword: I currently have five staples in my scalp from the when these guys played Philly Friday. Dan Yemin (lead singer of PIB, guitarist of Kid Dynamite and Lifetime, bassist of Armalite) is legendary in Philly, treated like a god on the stage. I've been following this guy longer than any musician just because of his infectious type of melody. It has always been hard for me to describe it, but it's 100% distinct, something that only Dan can bring, and he brings it on just about every song that he's involved in. When he started in Lifetime, his music set an upbeat tone for the most part. As he progressed through Kid Dynamite, there were songs like Scarysmurf and News At 11 that showed the darker side of his music. That's what's primarily used in Paint It Black. He's got nothing but respect from me for keeping a band that has had a revolving door of well-known Philly punk musicians intact for this long. Here’s what I’d say is the bands rarest song, only on the Japanese version of Paradise. It’s one of my favorites. Kind of an address to how nobody can tell what’s true or false in the media these days, but we’re still asking for the whole story.

4. Lovedrug – Broken Home
I don’t know how this band slipped past me for so long... am I the only one that knows about these guys? I saw them live by accident - I was really at the Straylight Run show to see and talk to Good Old War for a second time. Lovedrug opened first and I was literally blown away by the musical ability and the amount of equipment they had (like 6 guitars, 2 keyboards, and a whole shitload of pedals). I talked to the lead singer and the drummer later when they were just hanging out. Real nice guys but kinda shy. After that night, the CD I bought from them, The Sucker Punch Show, stayed in my car stereo for at least a week. I consider that album to be their best, and this song to be the best track on it. It's not their heaviest or their lightest, but according to my friends it's the easiest to get into. This band is my latest obsession, so check them out.

5. Panacea – Freedom Theory
Well you'll notice that this band and another on this mix (Restoring Poetry in Music) sound a whole lot alike. That's because they're basically the same band. It started with RPM as a struggling "hip-hop band" with five or six members. They never really got a label. Panacea was formed years after RPM, and consists of two RPM members: lyricist Raw Poetic, and beatmaker/producer K-Murdock. Through some strange circumstances, Panacea got signed to a label almost immediately. Now after four full-length albums, K-Murdock is getting a whole bunch of recognition. I often write to him about stuff like beats, vinyl, his job at XM radio, and he's a real good guy, always responding fast and staying modest. Honestly I think Panacea was better when the beats weren’t too complex and the lyrics were deep, like with this song from the first album. Their second album was pretty good and the third was a masterpiece concept/story album. It’s just the fourth that didn't quite do it for me. This track in particular is a great example of Raw Poetic’s ability, and it’s set against a soothing jazzy beat. Real good stuff.

6. Restoring Poetry In Music – Poetry Bum
Obviously I heard of this group after Panacea. For the most part, the name of the band is indicative of the music. The lyrics flow like poetry. Since Panacea has beats solely from K-Murdock, I decided to choose a song from RPM that has a beat from one of the different members. This one is a blues guitar driven beat from the talented RPM guitarist Patrick Fritz, who they call P-Fritz. The guy is real good with his arrangements. He has a few beats in RPM albums, and like most RPM members, he's utilized in a handful of Panacea songs.

7. Ambulance ltd – New English
Here’s a real sad story. This is another band with that revolving door of members, the only constant being the mastermind behind it all, singer/songwriter Marcus Congleton. The band has been around for over ten years, but only hit it big after seven with their debut label release, LP. Yeah, it’s titled LP. Weird. Anyway the album is a masterpiece, full of influences and different styles, and it got a lot of attention. They followed up with an EP called New English. Here’s the title track, which is very catchy. They were set toward a nice future, with a bunch of new songs playing well live and John Cale of the Velvet Underground producing the sophomore album. The album gets finished, and suddenly the label, TVT Records, goes bankrupt. They have control of the masters, and have a contract with Marcus for his next six albums. So Ambulnace ltd couldn’t really do anything and the heat died down, and now they’re getting no attention. It sucks, because Marcus is an extremely talented songwriter with a very gifted voice. I’ve done some deep research, made deals, and have been able to find recordings of concerts and radio shows containing new songs, I think about 15 unreleased songs total. If anyone’s interested in the band enough, let me know and I’ll get you the new stuff.

8. One Man Army – S.O.S.
Jack Dalrymple’s voice has been my favorite for years. This is easily One Man Army’s most popular song, and nobody can deny its catchiness. Hell, I can’t even listen to it without singing along. I remember this was the first song I heard from the band and I was hooked right away. Then the band broke up, and I’d never been more upset about a band breakup. Usually it’s just a shrug-off situation, ya know? But this really sucked. There were rumors about a band called Dead To Me, but I figured it was something that was gonna stay small and insignificant. Thank god I was wrong. Anyway I strongly recommend this album, Rumors And Headlines.

9. Capital – Blind Faith
I don't listen to much hardcore, but this band reminds me a lot of Paint It Black. In fact, I'd place them right between Kid Dynamite and Paint It Black, but with the distinct sound that lead singer Tommy Corrigan and Capital have established, it's sort of unfair to even make comparisons. Tommy was in a bunch of New York hardcore bands, the favorite being Silent Majority, but this band is so much better if you ask me. The only reason these guys don't have the respect they deserve is because they're in the group of older punk rockers who have jobs and real lives. These guys have a no-tour policy, so they don't get much exposure. However they do have a small, loyal group of followers who know just how good the band is. This track is from a 7" that just came out, but if you really want to get into this band, check out the last album Homefront. It's a great album from beginning to end.

10. LaGrecia – Slower Than Manassess
I got into Kid Dynamite just after they broke up, so that sucked. None More Black called it quits, and it was the second time I ever felt deeply hurt by a breakup. Then OnGuard and LaGrecia came along and healed me (for a year). Those projects were soon discontinued. Then I went to the NMB reunion show, and the band and the fans complimented each other so energetically and gratefully that the band regrouped for real. Awesome. These events all revolve around Jason Shevchuk’s personality. From all his lyrics, which are purely personal, he’s a deeply antisocial person. This kind of behavior has obviously played a part in all the breakups of all his bands, and yet, every time he put out a new album, it leaves me in awe from the first listen and I play it nonstop for months. With his controversies, he has to be the most interesting guy in punk rock today. I chose this song because it’s a good illustration of his antisocial behavior, and also his natural musical talent. “If you’re thinking about get closer to me, you just better back off,” and “Haven’t dug a hole I couldn’t rhyme myself out of.” Then there are just beautiful, tortured lines like “I’ve been back to square one so many times I’ve hidden in every corner.” I can’t wait for the None More Black album to come out.

11. Sage Francis – Message Sent
Sage Francis is the best rapper these days in my mind. He won’t get much attention because he’s a white guy with his own DIY label, Strange Famous Records. He doesn’t do the “made-to-be-funny” music (Eminem) or that annoying robot voice thing that every radio rapper has these days. His lyrics are original, intelligent, very clever, and versatile. He’s very political, but also very personal… this track is his personal side, and the words in this one have kept me playing this song over and over for about a year. I love the line “Whenever I speak they close me in and bust my lip. Now I wear parentheses on my temples, step to the podium and just think” It’s a thoughtful song about being trapped in your own thoughts but knowing that sometimes it’s better not to share.

12. Non-Prophets – Hey Bobby
Non-Prophets are Sage Francis (lyrics/vocals) and Joey Beats (production). Once again, Sage is, in my opinion, the best rapper around, and this song is all political. As for Joe Beats, the guy has some great instrumentals. This track is an example of that. It kinda sounds like something from Ocean’s Eleven or something, and it works well with Sage’s vocals. Non-Prophets only put out a small catalogue of music, but the one full-length they have, Hope, is packed with songs like this that are real easy to get into.

TRACKS 13-21


13. Let Me Run – I Never Said I Could Sing
This band was my previous obsession. Honestly I can't say much about this band's history, because the guys just popped up onto everyone's radar. All I can say is the lead singer, Travis Omilian, was in a locally loved band called The Stand In that was real good. It seems he picked up right where he left off in that band... The Stand In was getting better, then they broke up, then Let Me Run formed and got on XOXO, and released the critically acclaimed Meet Me At The Bottom. The album is without a doubt my favorite debut album of all time. For me it's 100% flawless. At first it's tough to understand just what Travis is screaming, but once you get accustomed to his vocals, you understand how brilliant the words are. In this song, Travis has a whole lot of very well-chosen words to say, kinda like Gaslight’s 1930. “I’d wrap these words around you, but explode at the sound of my voice giving out. It’s forced and choked. I never said I could sing, it’s just a heart and lungs while the throats providing the steam.” The chorus is brilliant. Take my advice - get the LP and listen to the record fully through while following along on the lyrics sheet. First few times I did that I got chills from the lyrics and the emotion, and with epic songs like the closer "The Body and the Slow Burner", the energy will carry you through fast.

14. Bad Astronaut – Greg’s Estate
If I put all of Joey Cape’s side projects on here, there wouldn’t be much room for anything else. Give him respect for being essential to seven known bands and a solo project, but give him straight loyalty for being such a good songwriter for so many years. I love Lagwagon because I know all their songs by heart just because they were so catchy and instantly enjoyable. Bad Astronaut, however, has to be my favorite piece of Joey’s career, just because the songs are so different and unique to themselves. It took a long time to familiarize with all the different noises going on. Lagwagon has the expected shredding guitar solos and breakneck speed, while Bad Astronaut was a complete surprise. This is the first song from the first album, Acrophobe, which I think embodies BA’s sound: Hard and soft at the same time. You have hard guitar and strong vocals in song, then all of a sudden everything gets lighter with a piano and Joey is whispering. Joey does great work, but if I had to call any of it art, I’d pick this album Acrophobe.

15. The Traded Series – Let Go
Don't have much to say about these guys. This is their only song available so far. The lead singer was the backup singer for The Starting Line... not my favorite band, but he's got experience. I saw these guys open for Alkaline Trio in Philly last month, and they killed it. Proof is on their myspace page (www.myspace.com/thetradedseries) with people commenting how much they enjoyed the performance. It was great, so I'll use this mixtape project to start a buzz.

16. 311 – Get Down
Yep. 311. Can’t hold down a childhood love. I grew up with this band, starting with the Blue album when I was five. No, 311 is not known for their good lyrics. In fact, they’ve held a reputation for cheesy lyrics for years, especially with the last one, Don’t Tread On Me. However, the new album came out and I absolutely love it. It’s very reminiscent of classic 311, like the blue album, Soundsystem, and From Chaos, and the songwriting is surprisingly not bad at all. This song is a pretty cool mix of soft and hard. If there are any Ninja Gun fans here, let’s see if you see a similarity to one of their songs. Name it, and that’ll be another ten points.

17. The New Rising Sons – Endless Calls For Fame
This band is really interesting. The lead singer is Texas Is The Reason's Garrett Klahn. TITR broke up with a huge following after releasing only one album and an EP. Crazy how they got so much fame for less than 15 total songs. After that, Garrett kinda flew under the radar until regrouping with a band called Solea. What most people don't know is that between those two bands, bands that can be described as emo (the good, oldschool kind), Garrett sang in this band. They only released two EPs before breaking up, but those two EPs were completely different from Garrett's work. The music, for the most part, is upbeat, joyous, and relaxed, and it has elements of alternative, ska, and americana. The band broke up about a decade ago, and there was really no info on the band except for a rumor that they had recorded a full-length that never got released. Then, about six months ago, they reunited out of nowhere and put random songs on their myspace page, confirming that they had indeed recorded a full album back in the day. Anyway I was ecstatic when I heard this news, but not for long. I sometimes email the band's lead songwriter, Kevin McGinnis, and apparently, Garrett couldn't get it together for the reunion... so the vocals weren't finished. If you follow Garrett's career, it's not too surprising of news, but it's still disappointing. Anyway, I was incredibly lucky to get a hold of the unreleased album from another fan, and this song is from that. It's totally illegal to have this track, but if you're into this, I could send the album. I'm sure it's cool by Kevin, just not by Virgin Records, and fuck major labels anyway right? The arrangement is very unique, as are many from Kevin McGinnis. It goes great with Garrett's voice, and Kevin's lyrics make it perfect.

18. The Sidekicks – Tomboioi
These guys are also really interesting. They’re very young, I’d say around 20, but already they’ve gained a whole lot of popularity in the punk community. The recognition they’re getting is paving the way for a lot of their friends’ bands in Ohio, bands and people like Andy Cook, Ghost Town Trio, American War, Reverse the Curse, and a whole bunch of others who actually have good, unheard music. Ohio is quickly turning into a kind of New Brunswick, with a ton of talented bands who are dedicated to their homeland. Watch out for that. As for this song, it’s on The Sidekicks’ debut album which was self produced, so it’s gritty and aggressive sounding, but lyrically very deep. The chorus is infections. “I swallowed it down whole, everything that I could hold, and I’m taking in these rhythms til my ears fucking explode… let feel like there’s no place else matters in the world.” Lead singer Steve Smith is very young, and already he’s doing the aging musician thing: having a band, but playing solo on the side. This group has potential.

19. Trial By Fire – Point An Inward Finger
God I love this album. I can put it right in the same very-melodic hardcore section as Capital, but the lead singer is a very different guy. They released a nearly perfect punk album full of anti-establishment and political anger, but the lead singer Jason Yawn is so anti-capitalism that he decided to quit doing music and shows for money. “No one is safe when there’s money to be made.” It’s a shame because with his angry words in combination with the music, these guys could have driven on with the same revolutionary tone as Paint It Black. So Jason disappeared for a long time, and all of a sudden he showed up on a Paint It Black song, believe it or not, but you’d have to look at the liner notes just to notice it. He sings the anthem-like part at the end of PIB’s song Memorial Day along with Dave Hause of The Loved Ones.

20. The Loved Ones – Last Call
Here’s a new one from The Loved Ones. It’s got everything I want in a Loved Ones song: a little piano, a story, a very catchy chorus, and damn good songwriting from Dave Hause. I first heard Hause as the background singer for Paint It Black, and it was like “wow, who’s this guy?” I quickly got into all his bands (Step Ahead, The Curse, and The Loved Ones when they formed) and I’ve been listening ever since, but I never saw him as a great songwriter until Record Store Day a month or two ago when he played solo in Philly. The new songs were beautiful, and the Loved Ones songs were all arranged differently for the acoustic performance. It was really something just realizing how good this guy is.

21. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists – Rappaport’s Testament: I Never Gave Up (live Chumbawumba cover)
Ted Leo is one of the best songwriters on the planet, and his last album Living With The Living, his fifth, is incredible: Fifteen songs plus five bonus tracks of personal/political punk/hardcore/reggae/pop/folk music. So why did I pick this song originally by the “I get knocked out, but I get up again” band? First of all, everyone should already know how good Ted is as a songwriter without my recommendations. Secondly, from my own personal experience. Ted closed a show with this song and it was an epic performance with him screaming, jumping, and playing lightning fast guitar. So epic in fact, that he looked like he was about to pass out toward the end. It’s funny because Chumbawumba barely gave this song any energy at all when they recorded it. Everyone should give Ted a chance because of his musical and songwriting ability and for his outstanding energy in his performances. Here’s the track, live from the TLA in Philly when I saw him. By the way, the next album is gonna be awesome judging by all the new songs he’s been playing live.



...and if you don't know, now you know. Cheers everyone.

going for the ten points... is it from Let Me Run?

Good catch. Let's see who can get the other 10.

When I first met Chris from Punknews.org, we talked for about 30 minutes and quickly realized that we may have the 2 most passionate fans of TGA in the world in the same room... he told me I had to hear this other NJ band and he gave me a copy of Let Me Run's "Meet Me At The Bottom" and I have been a fan ever since.

downloading it right now and am pretty stoked... i am also (as i'm sure everyone else here is) very passionate about music, and i have the feeling that when it's my turn to post my mixtape that my explanations will be pretty lengthy, glad i won't be the only one... anyways, can't wait to listen to it, glad to see somebody else is into bad astronaut.

Wow, great in depth descriptions. Downloading now. Its interesting I've only heard of a few of the bands.

I'm downloading this now. Very excited to hear it. e7c, get you me and Chris in a room together and you've got 3 of the most passionate fans of the good ol' Gaslight Anthem.

Let Me Run is a great band, great guys too. I interviewed them last week. It'll be on the next episode of IssueOriented

Vibes wrote:

e7c, get you me and Chris in a room together and you've got 3 of the most passionate fans of the good ol' Gaslight Anthem.

Add me for 4. I'm sure this could go on and on!

Just about to download the mixtape now. Can't say I've ever heard any of the songs before, or even that may of the bands. Should be an interesting listen.

That's funny, because I thought everyone would be uninterested because they would know all of them. Reminds me that this is a very diverse forum.

And as for Let Me Run, I'm seeing them twice this summer, and I can't wait to sing along and meet the band. Sadly I gotta take it easy and stay out of harm's way with this head wound from Paint It Black

I've had a quick listen to some (not all- yet!) of the tracks and enjoyed the Let Me Run one- may have a look into some of their other stuff.

I only know 4 of the bands on this mix: Let Me Run, 311, The Loved Ones and Ted Leo... unfortunately my drive to work this week in only 10 minutes long, so I probably wont be able to listen to this mix that much until next week when I go back to my hour of driving (one way).

I think you're music taste is most similar to mine, or mine is most similar to yours, because except for the few hip hop / rap tracks, i loved every song. 5 Stars for sure. i'll do an in depth write up soon hopefully. Thanks!

Favorite line:

"No one is safe when there is money to be made."

Classic!

Here are my three favorite:

* New English - Ambulance LTD: Very catchy and funky.

* Everything here is new - Burning Airlines: Love that wierd sound at the beginning! An original song, catchy too.

* Slower Than Manasses - LaGrecia: Hello Lawrence Arms! Great song and catchy too.

I like the hip-hoppish stuff on here too, it's a nice change.

Trial By Fire is the last band on this mix that I'd expect people to get into, but I'm really glad you did. You should check out their album because it's full of revolutionary anthem-like one-liners like that. Off the top of my head there's "Break everything that needs to be broken" and "You call this progress? I call it submission"

Glad you guys are digging it, but nobody sees a similarity between 311 - Get Down and a Ninja Gun song? It hit me immediately.

I just got finished listening to this mixtape. It's not my favorite mainly because it differs so much in style but hey, that's the only way you expand your musical palette.

The notable tracks for me were:

New English - Ambulance LTD
S.O.S. - One Man Army
Greg's Estate - Bad Astronaut
Let's Go - The Traded Series
Endless Calls For Fame - The New Rising Sons
Last Call - The Loved Ones

I'm leaving out Let Me Run because I'm already a big fan.

Thanks for the mixtape, glad I found a few new songs out of it.

01. Channels - To The New Mandarines - I love the drumming and vocals in the intro, and the music throughout. But I think if I listened to it alot the guys voice would begin to annoy me a bit.

02. Burning Airlines - Everything Here Is New - A bit to low-fi or something like that. It never really seems to get going imo. And the beeps would annoy me aswell. Nice voice on the singer though!

03. Paint It Black - View From A Headlock - Really enjoyed this song. Very good pace to it with great music. Excellent vocals, can carry a tune, and doesn't shout too much where it would be incomprehensible. I'll look for more stuff from these guys for sure.

04. Lovedrug - Broken Home - Another good track. The harmonies remind me of The New Pornographers. The singer sounds a bit whiney at the start but it really progresses into a good rock/pop song.

05. Panacea - Freedom Theory - To be honest I dunno if I like this or not yet. I'll have to give it a few more listens. Do they/he have any tracks with more inrtumentals and stuff going on in the background. This one might be a bit too subtle.

06. Restoring Poetry In Music - Poetry Bum - Again there's not enough going on in the background to carry my interest through. He's got some good lines though.

07. Ambulance ltd - New English - The intro music is really effective. Can't help but move around listen to it. Sweet harmonies and an intruiging voice on the singer. I'll get their album and go from there.

08. One Man Army - S.O.S. - A song of theirs pops up on my last.fm player every once in a while, think it might be called Epidemic or sumtin?? But I saw they broke up and it sort of put me off looking into them even though the song was great. This is brilliant too. Excellent music, solid drumming and a unique voice. I'll have to "get" the album soon. Thanks for this!!

09. Capital - Blind Faith - Hmmm. I don't necessarily agree with what they're singing and that, but it's a rocking song alright! There's defientlly something extra in the singer's voice. Like you say, slightly similar to Paint it Black. I can't find any info on these guys at all though. Do they have any sort of website?

10. LaGrecia - Slower Than Manasses - I was just about to type 'I've no idea what manasses' are, but I'm guessing it's man-asses? I really got this song, and I dunno what that says about me, but I'll defiently be checking this guys stuff out. Sounds like he's a bit like the way I've been recently.

11. Sage Francis - Message Sent - Yeah, I'm not massivly into rap, but this guy sounds mega passionate, very angry. I like it alot. Like I said I don't know alot about this sort of music but it lyrically it sounds to me like Eminem's early serious stuff off of the Marshall Mathers LP. Is that offensive? lol Another one I'll eventually check out more of.

12. Non-Prophets - Hey Bobby - Same as above. Absolutely excellent.

13. Let Me Run - I Never Said I Could Sing - This is great. The music is powerful and the voice is great. From your description I was expecting vocals similar to the guy from AM! but this is easy to understand. This guy CAN sing!

14. Bad Astronaut - Greg's Estate - I didn't know what to make of the intro at first, it could've gone either way and I was expecting to hate it but it's actually really good. I despise the word, but this song could easily be described as epic-ish imo. Have barely listened to Lagwagon or any of this guys work, but once again this is gonna make me check him out soon.

15. The Traded Series - Let Go - A very poppish sound and some great harmonies, but also a really raw, powerful voice. Decent.

16. 311 - Get Down - The first minute or so got no hook on me. It improved though. The singers beat and style around the one minute mark made me laugh for some (good) reason. Not my favourite track on here, but it's by no means bad at all.

17. The New Rising Sons - Endless Calls For Fame - When the singer emphasises something he sounds like Dexter Holland from Offspring. To me this is punks(ish) version of easy-listening. Never heard of any of the other bands mentioned in your description!

18. The Sidekicks - Tomboioi - Fantastic. I loved this - the speed, vocals, drums, everything. Gonna get their album ASAP. Thank you so much for this.

19. Trial By Fire - Point An Inward Finger - Like the other hard-core tracks on the tape. I really like it. Shows that good hardcore can have understandable vocals. Outro is really good!

20. The Loved Ones - Last Call - When the keys started I instantly thought Hold Steady. He's got a great voice and some excellent lyrics in there. I love how he drops in some piano under all the guitars and drums half way through.

21. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up
(Chumbawumba cover) - Some quality drumming on this song, especially the intro. That's all I can really say though. I don't particularly like the singers voice but It is a good live performance!






I barely heard of any of the bands on this mix-tape but there is some class music there that I'll defo check out when I get the chance. Especially Sage Francis/Non-Prophets, the hardcore stuff, Bad Astonaut, LaGrecia, The Sidekicks and One Man Army.


Thanks for that.
I'm going to bed!



PS I'll get around to the mix tapes that've been upped already soon. I was just busy with exams and stuff, but full steam ahead with this now.

In response to Vibes, I'm glad you got some new stuff to hear. That's what this is all about. And if your interested in more New Rising Sons stuff, let me know.

In response to Daire, love the Roger Murdock picture... and:

05 - Check this out, from Panacea's third album, this is a song called "Square 1". I'd say this has more complex instrumentals and sounds, kinda sounding hypnotic. Also has another vocalist, who is also the artist of most of Panacea's album covers (one of which you can see in the youtube player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN58OR8nvbk

06 - Good lyrics in this one. Also, I really like the guy who sings the chorus. He's the bassist and he often uses his voice in RPM and Panacea choruses. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_dBIGECvfI

08 - Could the song you're talking about be "The Hemophiliac"? That's a great song

09 - Yeah Capital is hard to find, but here's their myspace page. Myspace.com/capitallihc. I missed one of their shows once and I truely regret it. Very unique band.

10 - The way Jason came up with the title is... when he first started the band, he was traveling with his drummer/girlfriend (great story) Dana Berkowitz, who is an incredible drummer on the LaGrecia album by the way, to meet up with a friend. They got stuck in traffic in a town called Manasses. In Jason's words, "We both had the same lame joke at the same time. It's slower than manasses... malasses." You mentioned a lot about drums in your review, so you'd be doing yourself a favor if you got this album.

17 - I'll have to listen for that Dexter Holland similarity. Interesting. Somebody once said that about Ted Leo in his song Bomb.Repeat.Bomb. and I didn't catch that either, but I hear it now that it's been pointed out. I have more respaect for Dexter Holland probably any other mainstream/on-the-radio musician

20 - You have a very good ear. Franz Nicolay, multi-instrumentalist of The Hold Steady, was a part of The Loved One's last album, Build And Burn. I'm strongly assuming he's the one playing piano on this song too.

Im liking the look of this the inclusion of paint it black has caught my eye. Some plenty of new stuff to. Will be sure to check this out and give you a run down on my thoughts when I have chance.

Paint It Black and Sage Francis, awesome!
There's a lot of bands on there I've been meaning to check out but not got around to, so looks like this is a perfect chance. Great work with those descriptions too.

I didn't like all the bands, but I did LOVE the variety and choice of music, so I gave you a fiver!

Great Mixtape! I'll go through song by song soon. And as i said earlier : I think you're music taste is most similar to mine, or mine is most similar to yours, because except for the few hip hop / rap tracks, i loved every song. 5 Stars for sure.
Ill put up a song by song writeup soon. Ive got everything i want to say worked out, I just need time to type it up!

01. Channels - To The New Mandarines - Nice song. The drums are sweet and the shorus is catchy as hell, but there are some sounds in the song i don't really love, like the bending note on the synth. It annoys me.

02. Burning Airlines - Everything Here Is New - I recognise this song, i'm not sure where from or even if i just remember a similar song, becuase I don't think this songs that well known. BUT its GOOOD! I like the effects used and how the weird noises at the start continue right through the song, even though they are hardly noticable. I will check these guys out.

03. Paint It Black - View From A Headlock - I've always considered punk as my genre, so I've heard a bit about PiB but I've never had a listen. Its alright, but a bit too heavy / hardcore for me. I really hate pop punk when the singers balls havnt dropped (ie Shortstack. An aussie band that i'm definately not proud of. Have a listen and you'll see what i mean), But I dont love punk like this and even Propagandhi is a bit too heavy. But, even though I've asaid that, when I'm in the right mood I can love this stuff. Out of my 5 or 6 listens, I've really enjoyed one of those, when I just needed some heavy music. It's sinilar to my relationship with Hot Water Music. I sometimes love them, but motst of the time their too heavy.

04. Lovedrug - Broken Home - You can definately hear the pedals you mentioned. 0:26 onwards! it repetitive at stages, but his voice has a great range, so that sort of overrules it I love how he can sing high and low, and sometimes add a gruffness, while most of the time his voice is 'smooth'. 

05. Panacea - Freedom Theory - The loops nice, like you said, a soothing jazzy beat. But I'm not really a fan of Rap or Hip Hop. But at least this song doesnt have the anger of other rap. It's one of the better Rap songs ive heard. I'll tell my mates who listen to stuff like this about this guy.

06. Restoring Poetry In Music - Poetry Bum - What i think about this song is similar to the above song. The guitars awesome, and its pretty good for a rap song.

07. Ambulance ltd - New English - Nice song, great to tap your feet to! Its sort of countryish. Not much more to say, except the Chorus is good. I'll check these guys out.

08. One Man Army - S.O.S. - AMAZING VOICE. (although I still rather Brian's) Very Cathcy song, although you said it was their most popular song i dont think it made it over here to Australia. I'm going to check out this album.

09. Capital - Blind Faith - Too hardcore for me. Couldn't get into it, but I'm sure I could in the right mood.

10. LaGrecia - Slower Than Manasses - The first word and chord strummed are so powerful. His voice is so gravelly. You talk alot about NMB in the comments, how are the two bands related? I got a bit mixed up.

11. Sage Francis - Message Sent - Couldn't get into this song. Just wasnt for me.

12. Non-Prophets - Hey Bobby - Better than the previous song by the same artist, but not my genre. Although the instuments are pretty mad!

13. Let Me Run - I Never Said I Could Sing - Solid song, very fast and exciting. The singer fits well with the band.

14. Bad Astronaut - Greg's Estate - BLINK 182? That's what I immediatly thought, from the singers voice. By the way: What do you guys think about Blink? The echo on the voice just makes it sound just like the Blink singer. Lagwagon's good, but this is better.

15. The Traded Series - Let Go - One of my favourite songs. I'm definately going to look out for these guys, when they release an album or EP.

16. 311 - Get Down - Starts off alright, and then at 0:54 it just picks up. Reminds me a bit of Limp Bizkit, (mates fav band. eww.) but this is soo much better than LB. A great pump up song. I might use it before footy on Sunday. One thing though, during the "its time to get down boots to the ground... at 0:54 and at other times during the song, I dont think his voice has enough tune. he sort of remains on the same note. Having said that, this is still one of the best songs on the mixtape. absolutely loved it!

17. The New Rising Sons - Endless Calls For Fame - I'm going to check out TITR. This songs a good sing-a-long song. The Bass is awesome, especially ar 0:57! The song is just like you said, upbeat, joyous and relaxed. This track just makes you smile.

18. The Sidekicks - Tomboioi - Straight away i thought this is mad! Great guitar, great energy! The shouting at 2:17 is awesome. A very good song, I'll check these guys out!

19. Trial By Fire - Point An Inward Finger - Another heavier song, but this one I liked more than the other hardcore ones. THe chorus ("point the finger at you" "finger at you") is awesome! Also, the "No one is safe when there's money to be made's in the last 30 seconds are amzing! Im checking these guys out.

20. The Loved Ones - Last Call - Very slow start for a fast song. Not bad, although not my favourite loved ones song.

21. Ted Leo & the Pharmacists - Rappaport's Testament: I Never Gave Up (Chumbawumba cover) - I like the energy. For a live recording the qualities pretty good. And the song is pretty epic. Love the cow bell noises with the drums, it reminds me of The Raptures "Whoo! Alright-Yeah...Uh Huh" The "I never Gave Up" choruses are great. My favourite bit is from 4:15 til the end. One of the best endings i've heard and perfect for the end of the mixtape!


Thanks RHG, it's been a great listen and good to discover some more bands.

I really enjoyed this im going to burn it to CD so I can listen to it properly through my stereo not my computer.