FOE #419 DECEMBER 2007

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WORDS ON MY MIND WORDS ABOUT RECORDED MUSIC 2007 is turning out to be a fantastic year for music. White Stripes There are so many great records out there right “You Don’t Know What Love Is/A Martyr For My now, I know it is going to be ridiculously hard to Love (acoustic)” 7” Warner Bros 2007 come up with a year end Top Ten. By now you know the rock n roll that is the White The great year in music, is definitely helping my Stripes. The A Side is one of the Stripes best mood. Sometimes I forget how connected I am to songs. Great groove, great music, great lyrics, something as simple as music and to deny oneself great hook… great rock n roll. The B-side is the of that can be quite devastating. acoustic version of “A Martyr…” and is truly worth the price I paid at Hot Topic for this 7”. Exceptional, Welcome to FOE. especially with headphones on. No hype, just a great record by a great band. WORDS OTHERS SAID

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. Victor Hugo

Take a music bath once or twice a week for a few seasons, and you will find that it is to the soul what the water-bath is to the body. Oliver Wendell Holmes The Hives “Tick Tick Boom/Hell No” 7” Polydor 2007 Without music, life would be an error. “Tick Tick Boom” is on the CD “The Black and Friedrich Nietzsche White Album”. “Hell No” is not. Ahhh, if the New Bomb Turks would have made a left instead of a Music washes away from the soul the dust of right… This is kick ass , head bangin’ groove. MC5, New Bomb Turks, Kinks… you know everyday life. Berthold Auerbach all the punk and rock references, all revved up. I

love the Hives! B-side is hella worth finding this 7”. Any good music must be an innovation. It has kind of an old, vintage Devo feel, yet updated Les Baxter Hives style.Ecstatic and erratic, if you know what I mean. Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music. Jimi Hendrix

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. Plato Bloc Party Queens of the Stone Age “The Prayer/England” 7” promo only Vice 2007 “3’s & 7’s” 7” Interscope 2007 red cover version The bonus track on this 7” (“3’s & 7’s” and “Sick, Sick, Sick” appear on both) was written by Tom Waits and is appropriately scary! “Goin’ Out West” sounds like it could have been the soundtrack to an execution in Pulp Fiction. This song was definitely good enough to be on the CD, so you’ll want to get a hold of this.

WRETCHED ONES “Make It Happen” CD Headache Records 2007 www.headacherecords.com www.wretchedones.com

Bloc Party has more versions of their records than Depeche Mode, and that is saying something if you happen to collect Depeche Mode 12”s like I do. I love BP as much as DM. “The Prayer” is another in a long line of new waveish, alternative rock n roll that Bloc Party keep churning out. Great songs, great grooves, innovative sounding. Sort of like a European Get up Kids meets DM meets… I dunno… Bloc Party. The non-LP B-side is worthy of an A-side. A bit dreamier, fantasy, kick back and let the mind escape sort of song.

Queens of the Stone Age “3’s & 7’s” 7” Interscope 2007 green cover version, gatefold sleeve Two of the tracks are from the latest CD “era vulgaris”. They are typical great QOTSA rock n roll. QOTSA has an original sound, producing songs that have great structure, multiple layers, and complete with great vocals. I’ve become quite a fan of this band and am always excited about which corner they will turn next. The remix, non CD track Another fantastic installment of the Wretched Ones is a remix of “I’m Designer”, which picks a nice, simple, fast, furious, fun punk rock. A dozen track layered groove to explore. It works as an exclusive rip through in just under 23 minutes. It’s all good, track. it’s all raw, it’s all real, it’s the Wretched Ones! You know I’ve only set up a few gigs in my time, and the Wretched Ones was one of the bands I chose to set up. They continue to provide some of the coolest straight up punk out there.

Jennifer Gentle “The Midnight Room” CD Sub Pop Released June 19, 2007 Italian spooky sounding project. If the Cramps (minus the rockabilly sound) attempted to do the soundtrack for Nightmare Before Christmas it might sound something like this. “The Midnight Room” is dark, lo-fi, twangy, sparse and weird.

Black Dahlia Murder “Nocturnal” CD Metal Blade released 9/18/2007 “An Ideal For Living” 12” Anonymous 2007 Reissue I am a fan of this Detroit death metal band’s brand on blue vinyl with the Scaffolding cover. of mayhem. It is fast, chaotic and brutal. I love the If you are unaware of this record, you have no idea use of two styles of vocals. There is a guttural, low how excited I was to find out this record was bellowing style and the contrasting lunatic sounding reissued. While I have the music elsewhere, this higher range. Black Dahlia Murder at least equals was Joy Division’s debut in 1977. The song the success of their previous discs “Miasma” and “Warsaw” is one of those songs I heard many years “Unhallowed.” “Nocturnal” seems faster than the ago that changed how I thought about music. This other discs. This is a demented disc, but yet BDM is dark, eerily aggressive and just, well, worthy of are fun. Don’t believe me, find their video for “What the status that is given to this record & Joy Division A Horrible Night To Have A Curse” on myspace. as revolutionary.

The Go! Team “Proof Of Youth” CD Sub Pop

Released September 11, 2007 Arch Enemy “Rise of the Tyrant” CD Century Media released September 25, 2007 First time I heard the first track on this disc, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I am not exaggerating. “Blood On Your Hands” is indeed hair raising! I have been a fan of Arch Enemy, as the guitarist was in Carcass, on of my favorites of the genre. Also the female vocals add an extra “how the hell does she get that sound” effect. “Rise of the Tyrant” seems more classic metal influenced, especially on tracks like “I Will Live Again.” From blazing to rocking to majestic, this CD has the The phrase “pop experimentalists” comes up when power and chops to handle all of the genres they you deal with this band. It is definitely a pop melt together to come up with their sound. A collage. Part Sonic Youth sonic guitar, part hip hop mighty metal release. party, part 60s hullabaloo, but the key is that it all sounds like it is going on at the same time. The collage artwork on the CD cover goes double for the music. Layers of pop sounds to create a sound so dense, it fits in with our 2007 lifestyle of so much going on at the same time. The soundtrack to driving while drinking a Red Bull or Rockstar, while talking on the cell phone, while listening to Public Enemy, while you can hear cheerleaders from the high school field you just passed, while thinking about updating your myspace, while the car next to you is blasting the Beach Boys and you suddenly remember you really like BIS. Chuck D does the vocals for “Flashlight Fight.” Seriously.

Joe Sh*thead Keithley Throwdown and His Band of Rebels “Covered With Venom” 7” Trustkill 2007 “s/t” CD Sudden Death “London Dungeon”/”Planets Collide” white vinyl www.suddendeath.com I love Throwdown’s hardcore and metal Released June 18, 2007 conglomeration. Heavy and just technical enough Legendary front man from the Canadian HC band to not take away from the power. Much like DOA explodes his rock groove on these 14 tracks. Pantera. The cover of the Misfit’s “London It is catchy, rockin’ and you’ve got to give the man Dungeon” is punishing and doomy. Very heavy and credit for doing his thing, no matter what the HC very angry and makes the 7” worth owning on it’s punk nation would want from him. The rock genre own. The Crowbar tune is slower and moodier than is explored to include a variety of styles and there is most Throwdown. Kind of a Tad meets Pantera even some saxophone! My favorite track is groove. “Armageddon Time,” a reggae song with a big rock build up.

AGNOSTIC FRONT “For My Family” 7” Bridge Nine Released 2007 www.bridge9.com

DOA “Punk Rock Singles 1978-99” CD Sudden Death 2007 www.suddendeath.com The first track might have the uninitiated scratching their head. “Disco Sucks”? Remember, this was 1978. DOA was one of the first bands I got into way back in the day. This band has many mandatory records; “War on 45”, “Bloodied But Unbowed” (one These 3 tracks seem to be a return to the hard and of the only records I have that is autographed), heavy side of things, rather than street punk “Hardcore 81”, “Greatest Sh*ts”… Anyhow, this is a anthems. Two of the tracks, “For My Family” and great summary of DOA, another mandatory “Dead To Me” will be on “The Warriors” album recording. I’m still a huge fan of the 1978 – 1984 released Nuclear Blast Records. There is an era, but this gives me the opportunity to realize I exclusive track, “Break the Chains” and this 7” missed some great songs like DOA’s version of comes in 3 formats; silver and gold colored vinyl “Folsom Prison Blues”, “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, (500 copies), silver with red splattered vinyl (1,000 and “Beat Em Bust Em”. I remember seeing DOA in copies), and red vinyl with silver splattered vinyl Catasauqua PA and Philly PA in my youth… some (1,000 copies). I love this record! The hardcore, of the most memorable gigs I ever attended! metal crossover sound serves this band well. This is tough sounding and I hope it takes AF to a new level. I heard a track on Hard Attack on Sirius radio the other day. It made my day! I have been a fan of this band, no matter what style of hardcore, punk and metal they blend. I still remember when I was in a HC band and got to open for them back in the 80s. Highly recommended plus the exclusive track rips!