"Chin Up, Kid" Full Song

Forever The Sickest Kids have released the full version of "Chin Up, Kid" off their upcoming album "J.A.C.K." I personally love it. Click here to listen for yourself! It is also available on iTunes.

'Bulls In The Bronx' Music Video to be released on May 7th

 

Pierce The Veil has FINALLY announced when the video for "Bulls In The Bronx" will be released:
Our new video for “Bulls In The Bronx” is premiering on VEVO on May 7. Tell a friend:)

I love PTV and have been looking forward to this for a long time, so I'm excited for it. It's an amazing song, so I'm sure the video will be just as great. I don't know if I'll review it or not...if it's amazing and makes me want to write about it, then I will. If it's as bad as "Legendary" by The Summer Set, then I probably will too. Though, I'm not sure if Pierce The Veil is capable of producing something as bad as that record.

Don't miss it!

Legendary Review

So, here it finally is, my opinion/review on the entire album, "Legendary", by The Summer Set. I warn you now, if you are a fan of the band and/or the album, I wouldn't continue reading. Unless, you know, you don't mind hearing how absolutely horrible this record is.

If you've read my other posts, you know how much I've bashed The Summer Set for this record. You would also know how big of a fan I used to be. It's kind of embarrassing how bad this really is.

Prior to the release yesterday, I had only heard "F**k U Over", "Boomerang", "Maybe Tonight", and "Lightning In A Bottle." I am aware of all the full-length streams they had and the week they released all the songs. But I just wanted to wait until I could listen to the album as a whole.

In all honesty, I don't know how I managed to sit through almost an hour of this. Before I get into the song by song review, just let me point out a few things that really irked me.

First of all, while listening to each song, I found the same question continually popping into my head: if I went to watch them perform this album live, would the band even be playing? Not saying I'd ever spend money to see them perform live again, but it's just a baffling thought. Would they be playing? Or would they be standing there pretending to play while a pre-recorded track of all the synthesizer shit was played and Brian sang to it? That's what it seems like, so I decided to find out. I Youtubed "Boomerang live" and this is what I found. It's funny, because I was at this show, but unfortunately I had to leave after they performed "Young" because my car had been towed and I had to work all that out :'(. I can assure you, though, had I been there when this started I would have left anyways.

Back to my point, watch that video and tell me that 70% of what you hear isn't pre-recorded. And what the fuck was up with his voice? How can you think that sounds good?

Secondly, the exact same theme appears in almost every song. And it's not even a good theme. I'm sure if you heard the album you can guess what I'm referring to. Yes, drinking, being drunk, and a some random girl in a bar.

Now I'm all for a song that tells the story of how a guy or girl met another guy or girl in a bar and went home and fell in love and all that jazz. Some of those actually make great songs. But to repeat the same thing over, and over, and over, and over just puts a damper on the whole record. And I would say that having 6 out of the 12 songs talking about the same thing would get boring, really fast. And believe me, it does.
-Jukebox (Life Goes On)
-Heart On The Floor
-Happy For You
-7 Days
-Rescue
-Legendary
Those are the songs that include the themes of drinking and being drunk. It gets old very fast. Is that all you do with your life, go to bars and drink, meet some girl and have a one night stand and think it's love, only to have her gone and a new one in the next week? It must be since you obviously don't spend a lot of time writing music. I thought so much more of this band, I really did.

And the last few things I want to point out about the overall record are, (and I know now I'm the one sounding repetitive, and I apologize), the synthesizers and painfully obvious auto tune. Like I said before, if you were to go see them live, I don't even really know how much the band would be required to play, that much of it seems fake to me. Brian could just stand up there and sing to the prerecorded track and it'd sound like the record. The auto tune is just..gross. I know auto tune is a very common tool used with producing and recording. To some extent though, TSS should have laid off of it. It's hard to listen to because he sounds like a fucking robot. You'd be greatly disappointed if you went to a show to hear him and that's what you were expecting.

I have a lot more I want to say but I don't feel my time is worth this record, so I'm just going to get into the song-by-song.

1. "Maybe Tonight"
This song is one of the only ones I would actually put on my phone and listen to occasionally. The beginning speech is my favorite part about it:
"And then suddenly, it hit me. That moment where you realize you're not half empty. That moment of all moments. Like there is music in the night and we can dance the sun out of the sky. These are the nights where everything feels possible. Maybe someday we'll fall short of the stories we tell, but tonight we're more than just words on a page. We are here, we are different, and we are everlasting. We are half moon kids. We are legendary."
This is what I was expecting out of the whole album, they hyped it up to be some kind of inspirational anthem for the kids who are lost in life, for the ones who are trying to find themselves, and then you listen to the rest of it and hear about being drunk, a girl in a bar, and the occasional night out with friends. Inspiring, right?

2. "Jukebox (Life Goes On)
The first thing you hear is how he goes into a bar he frequents so often that everyone knows him. Good example, Brian. Then again with the (not so) mysterious girl in the bar. More on how drinking gives you confidence. Let's just encourage everyone to go to a bar and get drunk, why don't you. The song is something I could see a lot of people who listen to bands/artists like One Direction, Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Demi Lavato, and used-to-be Disney stars liking. It's chorus is meant to be uplifting and seems to be hinting at sort of a "YOLO" type of message.

3. "Boomerang"
This song was good the first time I heard it, but the more I listen to it the more irritating it gets. I've deleted it off my phone and out of my iTunes. Waste of $1.29. It's chorus is meant to appeal to the mainstream audience, and not just because it references Jay-Z and Beyoncé, just the overall feel of it, I suppose. I'll admit, at first it is catchy and it's a track I could imagine a lot of people dancing to. If you're into mainly pop, you'd like it. I don't really have anything good to say about it, so I'll leave it at that.

4. "Lightning In A Bottle"
"Lightning In A Bottle" is all about living it up and just having the time of your life. It's a song that I'm sure will appear on a lot of peoples' summer playlists, and maybe even headline them. I can see why, but it's not a good song in my opinion. The lyrics don't make much sense to me and the message is cliché. The auto tune over powers everything else and I have only been able to sit through it once. Surprising I even managed that.

5. "Heart On The Floor (ft. Dia Frampton)"
Again with the drinking, seeing a girl in a bar, and using your intoxicated state as motivation to talk to her. What is the deal? Honestly, the first time I heard it I laughed. What the hell kind of chorus is that? Not only does it leave you hanging, but it sounds like a song that would appear in a TV show that they had to think up within like a week. Do you know what I mean? Like how some TV shows have an episode where it's a musical or something, and they have stupid songs that all the actors sing throughout the show. I can't think of an example but I hope you get what I'm saying. It sounds completely...fake. It sounds like he is legitimately drunk when he recorded it. He must have been if he thought it sounded good.

6. "F**k U Over"
This song is my favorite off the album. It's no less of a victim of auto tune or synthesizers than the rest of them, but this one seems genuine. I don't know why, I don't understand how my mind works, it's just the best track to me. It's catchy, there's no talking of drinking or a girl in a bar, it's just the "innocent" story of how someone just wanted to have fun and someone else fell in love, and hence, felt fucked over. It's a song a lot of people can relate to, in my opinion. It's the only one worth buying besides "Maybe Tonight".

7. "Happy For You"
This song seems an attempt at one of those cute-sy type of tracks. Or a heart broken one, I can't really tell. I mean, if it weren't for the lyrics you'd never know. I can't hear over the auto tune and the beat seems melodic and almost upbeat, but he's singing about a girl he loves that's with someone else and as much as it hurts, he's happy to see her happy. Or so he says. How happy can you really be watching someone you love be with someone else? I don't know, but either way, for the people going through something similar, it's a track you can relate to and maybe find relief or comfort in. Again there's drinking involved, but who cares? That's what the cool people in bands do, right? So it must be okay. (Sarcasm if you didn't catch it.)

8. "The Way We Were"
I considered buying this song. It pulls you in and it's catchy, but the robotic tone to his voice and no audible music other than synthesizers was a deal killer for me. It reminds me, in an odd way, of "Back To The Start" and "When We Were Young". You know, back when The Summer Set made good music. Seems so long ago now. Anyways, it appeals to a large audience, I'm sure. A lot of people have that ex they never really got over, or that relationship that never should have ended. It's a good song to blast when you're feeling down, and maybe you could even send it to the special someone to see if it sparks something in them to give it another shot.

9. "7 Days"
I don't really know where to start with this one. Uninteresting topic of the typical dysfunctional relationship where the two involved seem nowhere near right for each other, but it some how works out. I could see a lot of girls seeing the chorus being cute. I disagree, but again, a lot of people probably disagree with everything I'm saying, so what do I know? On a positive note, I can hear some acoustic guitar in this track! They're making progress, finally! On the ninth track of the album..

10. "Someday"
I listened to this for the first time when they streamed it with "Heart On The Floor" about a week ago. When I first heard it, I thought it was going to be one of the tracks I actually put on my phone. Wrooong. The only thing I like about it is the drum beat that I can actually make out and the acoustic guitar at the veeerrrryyy end. It's surprising what instruments do for a song, right? Surprise, surprise, synthesizers aren't required to produce a good song! You'd never know it listening to this album, though. Besides that, the lyrics are good, I admit. They're inspiring like "Maybe Tonight" and it's the kind of thing I was expecting when I heard the intent of the album.

11. "Rescue"
Immediately upon hearing the intro I thought of "Move Along" by The All American Rejects, just for like the first second, so that rose my expectations higher than they already were, since that's such a great song. It's safe to say that this, along with the rest of the album, fell way short. I got extremely sick of hearing about drinking by this point, so I literally groaned at the first lyric. Then when the chorus hit, I felt like I was watching "The Lion King" or something. Now, knowing what a Disney fanatic Brian Dales is, he might take that as a compliment. But believe me, it's not.

12. "Legendary"
This song was a let down. I'd heard a lot about it before it was released, so I thought it would easily be the best song on the album. It might be one of my least favorites. It wasn't surprising to hear the lines about drinking, again, but it was disheartening. Some people may like the references to things like Peter Pan and "How I Met Your Mother", but for me it just seems cheesy. Sorry to say that they couldn't even finish off the album on a good note.

Obviously, I didn't like this album one bit. Out of 5 stars I'd give it half of one, if that. I'm deeply disappointed and no longer as big of a fan of the band as I once was. I hate having to bash on them, but they deserve it. If it was me, I'd be embarrassed to release this after "Love Like This" and "Everything's Fine". Had this album been the first time I had heard of them, I would have listened to "Maybe Tonight" and left when "Jukebox (Life Goes On)" got past the first verse, flagging them as the pop shit I try so hard to stay away from.

To the people who remain fans, and the new fans coming in, good luck with them, and don't count on this sound staying how it is. Next year they'll probably release an album similar to Faber Drive's "Lost In Paradise". Go take a listen to that and tell me the thought of that doesn't scare you.

As for me, I'm done with this band and I've lost complete faith in them. Maybe one day they'll release something that pulls me back in, but I doubt it. They're a sell out and sad excuse for a band, and all that the un-deserved success is going to do is boost their already too-big ego.

If you want my opinion, I would advise you NOT to buy "Legendary". Don't support this and make them think what they're doing is okay.

If you disagree, I'm sorry if you don't like what I've said but I do understand there's people who still like them and this record, and to all you I say I'm happy that TSS continues to make you happy, I hope you continue to support them if that's what you want, and if you feel they deserve the success, well, then congratulations.

My Top 10 Bands

I'm going to give a list of how my top 10 favorite bands currently stand, and my favorite song and album from each one. Whenever it changes, I'll update the list. While making this, I realized how much it hasn't changed over the past few years. There's only 3 bands that have been swapped in or out. Pretty cool, in my opinion. Anyways, here it is (1 being my all-time favorite).

1. Mayday Parade
Favorite Alum: This was a really hard choice, but I have to go with their most recent release, Mayday Parade, the self-titled album.
Favorite Song: I could never choose. They haven't produced a song I don't love.








2. Sleeping With Sirens
Favorite Album: Let's Cheers To This
Favorite Song: If You Can't Hang










3. We Are The In Crowd
Favorite Album: Best Intentions
Favorite Song: Better Luck Next Time










4. Valencia
Favorite Album: Dancing With A Ghost
Favorite Song: Pieces














5. The Years Gone By
Favorite Album: Something You Know Nothing About (EP)
Favorite Song: When We Were Kids









6. Madina Lake
Favorite Album: From Them, Through Us, To You
Favorite Song: One Last Kiss










7. The Summer Set
Favorite Album: Everything's Fine
Favorite Song: Mannequin










8. Story Of The Year
Favorite Album: Page Avenue
Favorite Song: Until The Day I Die







9. There For Tomorrow
Favorite Album: A Little Faster
Favorite Song: Stories








10. The Cab
Favorite Album: Whisper War
Favorite Song: Another Me







Just a note: The favorite song isn't always off the favorite album.
Tell me you favorite bands and songs! I'm always in the market for some new music.

Disbanded Bands That Shouldn't Have.

 

 

Ever been listening to your music on shuffle, and a song comes on from a band that's no longer around? A song that means so much to you, that helped you get through so much. And the fact that the band that produced the song is no longer around just makes it that much more significant.

 

What I'm trying to get at is we all know of a band or two that is no longer together, and we feel they should be. I have an extensive list of bands that I miss...but it would take too long for me to go through each and every one. I just want to talk about the ones whose goodbye from the music industry came far too soon for me. The ones that had the most impact on me.

 

First off is a band called The Years Gone By. I found this band in 2008 I believe. By then, they had already released two albums (self-titled, 2006 and 'Forever Comes Too Soon', 2008) and an EP ('On The Verge', 2007). I was hooked the first time I heard them.

 

I used to have this weird method of looking for new bands to try out. Not the conventional YouTube suggestions or Pandora. I'd go to Wikipedia and search a band I already liked. From there, I'd read Wikipedia's article on the band, because it usually would give a list of either similar bands or other bands the original band had toured with. I'd just go down the list and search them all on ITunes, then listen to the 30 second preview of their songs (SO glad they've increased the preview time). If I liked them, I'd search even further into them on YouTube and so on.

 

I don't remember who I had searched to get The Years Gone By as a suggestion, but I'm forever grateful that I did. The first song I listened to was "You Might As Well Be In Space" off their album "Forever Comes Too Soon". I'll admit that when I first heard it, I had my mind shut off a little bit when I heard Nick's voice. I had never been too crazy about the idea of guys with high voices. But I decided that I would give them a shot. I continued listening and before I knew it I had listened to the whole album. I bought it off ITunes the next day and didn't take it off repeat for months. It's an amazing album. Honestly, it is a bit of an acquired taste. Like I said, his voice is high, and some people just don't like how that sounds. I fell in love with this band after I had heard the whole album. Their lyrics were some of the best and most meaningful I had heard yet. I loved the true punk sound they had, it was so unique to me. In my opinion, the drums sounded complex and I always challenged myself to air drum the hardest parts. I sat in my room for hours on end blasting this album, learning the words, and singing along.

 

Then I decided to listen to their older stuff. While their self-titled album wasn't bad, it hadn't reeled me in like the other. I listened to "On The Verge" next, and my favorites off that were "Them-1, Me-0", "High School Sensation", and "A Steady Approach To Sanity." After a while of waiting, they came out with "Something You Know Nothing About", and it made me feel like I was discovering them for the first time all over again. I loved every track of that EP. They were so upbeat and sincere. Every word made sense to me, every chorus hit me in a way I don't know how to explain. I felt so connected to these songs, like this band had personally come to me and interviewed me about what was going on in my life, and then made a record about it. It was surreal.

 

And then, about two years later, I heard that awful news that you never want to hear about a band that has come to mean so much to you, that has helped you through so much. The band was "taking a break", whether it was permanent or not was unclear (right now, it unfortunately seems to be for good). Two of the members had an epiphany of sorts, and realized that the music scene was changing and that it was no longer as promising as it had once seemed. They decided they wanted to go back to college and get some stability in their life, something to fall back on in case it did happen to fall through. While the other two members supported them, they didn't feel the same way. But it couldn't be helped, The Years Gone By officially announced their hiatus, and dropped three singles as a goodbye.

[Read more about the break here. http://www.myspace.com/theyearsgonebynj/blog/531647022]

 

The singles were "Down", "Heart In Boy", and "When We Were Kids". After listening to them, I had wished TYGB wouldn't have released them. They were so incredibly good, it hurt to know that this band would no longer be producing their unique sound. "When We Were Kids" instantly became my favorite TYGB song, and I always get this nostalgic, yet depressing, feeling when it comes on.

 

The Years Gone By and their music meant so much to me because when I found them I had just finished middle school.  I hated middle school. I got bullied and made fun of daily. I had a few close friends, but I felt distant from them. We had nothing in common, I was a total tomboy with a taste for alt/pop/punk rock while they were the girliest girls you'd ever meet, and they loved pop, rap, and hip hop. I felt so alone, and I wasn't looking forward to high school at all. But when I found this band, their words gave me this sense of security. Music had always been an escape for me, something I turned to when I felt like I had no one else. The Years Gone By filled a void that I didn't even know was there. Some people won't get it. Some people don't understand, as much as I try to explain it, what music does for me. What it does for thousands of other people. And that's okay. They don't have to understand. But TYGB got me through that summer and gave me an optimistic outlook on what lie ahead.

 

I continue to listen to The Years Gone By daily while I wait for the band to finally make it's come back.

 

The next band I want to talk about is a band called Valencia.

 

 

 Valencia is a band that I can honestly say is on my top 10 list of all-time favorite bands. They mean a lot to me, and when I heard they were going on hiatus, it hit me hard.

 

I started listening to Valencia in 2008, because a friend had told me about the release of their album "We All Need A Reason To Believe". I was surprised at the sound, because it wasn't what I was usually into. It seemed a little more indie than I was used to, but it definitely wasn't a bad thing. At first, I was kind of on the fence about the band. I didn't immediately buy the album, but I went to YouTube often to listen to it. I decided to check into their old stuff, which consisted of an album they had released in 2005 called "This Could Be A Possibility". Honestly, nothing on it stood out to me, there wasn't that one song I had to have. It was a bit disappointing, and discouraged me from continuing on with listening to them. I knew it'd be unfair to give up on them because of their past music, so I remained optimistic.

 

 Through 2009 and early 2010, I realized just how good their music was. I had bought the album early 2009, and sat down one day to listen to it. It spoke to me, I loved Shane's voice and his lyrics. Like with TYGB, I felt that connection. Maybe it wasn't instantly, but I had found it, and it made Valencia quickly rise to the top of the "Top 25 Most Played" list in my iTunes library. On October 12, 2011, they released their third and final album "Dancing With A Ghost". It was also their best.

 

If you haven't realized it by now, I'm not amazing with words or descriptions. I have so much I want to say, but when I try to put it into words, it comes out the same way, so I know I seem repetitive. But I mean what I say and if I knew a different way to put it I would. "Dancing With A Ghost" mesmerized me, I absolutely loved it. Every single track on the record meant something to me, I could relate to them all in one way or another. I bought the album the day it released and learned all the words in just a few days. Valencia was one of the bands that I wanted to see in concert the most.

 

Valencia also meant a lot to me because I had a personal interaction with them. As small as it may be, and as insignificant as it may seem to some one else, when this happened, I told everyone I knew. (At the time) I had just recently been introduced to Twitter, and they were one of the first bands I followed. I had sent them a DM (direct message) saying how much their music meant and that they were one of my favorite bands and so on. It's hard to do in 140 characters. Anyways, I wasn't exactly expecting a response, since none of the bands I was trying to contact responded via Twitter, but deep down there was a small hope they'd say something. A few hours later, I got a notification for a new DM and my heart soared. I checked it immediately and almost lost my cool. Valencia had responded to me. I'll never forget what the message said. "That's awesome! Hope to see you this summer!" I am very aware it could have been some kid of automated response or something, but I just have this feeling it wasn't. Eight, small, insignificant words meant a whole lot to me just because of who had said them.

 

Unfortunately, in 2011, tragedy struck the band. Their former drummer, Maxim Soria (he had left on good terms in 2009) was killed in a motorcycle accident. As thorough as I thought I had been with learning about all the bands I listened to, I didn't ever hear of this until recently. Sadly enough, it's not the first time something this bad had happened. In 2006, Shane's (lead singer) girlfriend passed away. I don't know many details pertaining to his girlfriend's death, but I know that Max had been on his motorcycle and supposedly lost control, crashing into a guard rail. I don't believe there were any other cars involved.

 

Going through so much as a band, Valencia officially announced it's hiatus on October 11th, 2011. That was a bad day for me, but I didn't question it. I was just happy they had been in my life for so long, and happy they were leaving their music behind for me to remember them by. They had made a huge impact on my life, and my only regret was never getting to see them play live. It bugs me to this day, and I can only hope for some kind of reunion show or something, so that I can finally see them.

 

Now, the last band I'm going to talk about is a big one. Almost everyone I know has heard of them or likes them in some way, and their recently announced break up has trended and effected people worldwide. The band is My Chemical Romance.

 

"Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure.

My Chemical Romance"

http://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/

 

This was the message fans of the band were left with on March 22, 2013. Not only were they left with this, but they were left with so many questions, the main one being: Why?

 

I'll be honest, I am not a big fan of MCR. But I have an enormous amount of respect for them and what they do. I know how many people they've touched and how many lives they've saved, and I can relate with all the people who might be going through a hard time now because they've parted ways. I only wanted to write about them to say to anyone who might read this that I know what it's like. I only ever bought four of their songs, but I know there were people who had every album. Who knew every word to every song on every album. And people who are still left in shock by this.

I just wanted to say thanks to My Chemical Romance, because they helped some of my friends, they saved lives, and they made great music.

 

R.I.P MCR, Maxim Soria, and if this article is correct [http://mydeathspace.com/article/2006/11/11/Dana_Burrell_(18)_was_killed_in_a_freak_lawnmower_accident] Dana Burrell.