I Didn't Die.....

Ok, so it has been over a month since I last posted but I swear to you I did not die. I don't know why I haven't posted. I guess I just didn't feel like it. On to the artist of the week! This weeks band has been a favorite since about 10th or 11th grade for me.



Artist of the Week: Brand New
Cd of Choice: Your Favorite Weapon
Song of Choice: Jude Law and a Semester Abroad

Brand New is just a great pop punk/emo band. Well actually....just their first cd is really pop punky emo. For those of you who don't know what emo is.....good luck finding a definition. Emo has typically been described as "Emotion Rock". However, my beef with that is what kind of rock and roll doesn't have emotion in it? Lately (at least to me) it has seemed to mean music with an indie/punk feel that deals with ex girlfriends or politics. Both are great topics to talk about to me. Both are apart of life are they not? I think when listening to emo you really have to prepare to almost listen to someone's personal diary (just listen to Dashboard Confessional and you'll get what I mean).

Anyhow, back to the band. Your Favorite Weapon is my favorite CD the band has done by far. I also liked their sophomore album, but it is no where near as poppy as the first. I haven't heard the newest cd but I did see them on Jay Leno performing one of the songs off of it. It seems they have gotten alot more experimental. It really is weird because I usually like experimental stuff better. They succeeded so well at making poppy sing alongs I cannot see why they would stray away from that.

I must give you a bit of warning if you're planning on looking this band up. These poppy sing alongs are not exactly your "happy feel good 100 bottles of beer on the wall" sing alongs. It is like taking these bitter, spiteful, and hurt feelings and expressing them through melodies that would make anyone sing along. Somehow though you feel happy afterwards. I definitely wouldn't recommend this to anyone who is a fan of positive lyrics. I don't recall much cussing of the top of my head but I do recall briliantly hateful lyrics like "Even if you plane crashes tonight you'll find some way to disappoint me by not burning in the wreckage or drowning at the bottom of the sea." See, not exactly lyrics that show the most love and respect, but I'm telling you, the melody somehow makes it fun to sing along. So there is my disclaimer to those of you who are affected by harsh thoughts in lyrics.

Here's "Jude Law and a Semester Abroad"