Sunday, December 20, 2015

2015 other reccomendations

After reviewing hundreds of new albums from 2015, here are some notable titles that didn't quite make the cut. no particular order.

playlist with 1 track from each:
https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/64zJdEUkhnGLE1tOgta7Ng



Fight Like Apes - Fight like Apes
Release date 15 May 2015




Fight like Apes brings a light-hearted and playful sound to round out the top 10. MaryKay's voice has a pleasant, smoky quality that makes this one easily accessible. There are a variety of instruments and sounds in the mix to keep things interesting, but it does not come across as eclectic or cluttered. Instead, the songs come first, and the various sounds serve that end. Recommended for when you're in the mood for something light and fun.



Gang of Four - What Happens Next




Gang of Four is an old British post-punk band from the late 70's and early 80's who have reunited a few times over the years. Their 2015 record is fresh and spunky, with loose bass lines that are almost dance-able. A good band to checkout for anyone interested in punk in general, especially so if you want something more current.



Fallout Boy - American Beauty / American Psycho




Fallout Boy is among the more popular band on my lists (nearly 10 million likes on facebook) so it is certainly a recognizable name (also from the Simpson's, Radioactive Man's sidekick). But I hadn't paid a lot of attention to them before. This album has good beats and a good feel. Their song  Immortals is featured on my Spunk Rock Sampler playlist.



Disturbed - Immortalized




Disturbed pushes toward the metal end of the hard rock spectrum. The main reason they show up on my list is the vocals. A lot of bands like this scream and growl, and I tune out. David Draiman reminds us that metal and singing are compatible. a very strong hard rock record.



Bellusira - the Healing




a hard-hitting spunk rock sound with good vocals. Bellusira is a fairly new band with a  lot of potential, something to keep an eye on.



The Dirty Youth - Gold Dust















songs with punch and feeling



Coheed and Cambria - the Color Before the Sun




this is a cool record by a cool band. C&C carry on the tradition of indie/emo rock with good song writing and creative instrumentation. Unfortunately, several of the songs are slow and boring to me, so it didn't make top 10. but a good album to check out nonetheless.


Veruca Salt - Ghost Notes




Veruca Salt is a band you will likely remember from the 90's grunge explosion. I like this band a lot, and I'm happy they have a new record. Unfortunately, I haven't been impressed enough by it to score it higher on my list. but still, good stuff.



Gary Clark Jr - The Story of Sonny Boy Slim

 


Bringing back blues guitar. If you like that sort of thing, you should check this guy out.



Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color















As the name suggests, Alabama Shakes has a southern rock feel. also Bluesy. an interesting record.








Of Montreal - Aureate Gloom















Recommended for fans of 90's-era indie rock.



Saturday, December 19, 2015

How to follow Spunk Rock

I encourage you to follow or like so you will see updates:

on Twitter
https://twitter.com/fluid9sally

on Facebook
facebook.com/JoelSpunkRock

what to expect if you follow or like:
I'll post an update to facebook and twitter whenever there is a new post here. About once a month plus more when I find good music to share. Periodically I post a new blog entry with a record review. Sometimes I share related elements of culture that are not music, but still of interest.

what not to expect:
I will not overload your feed with inspirational quotes, pictures of my cats, or what I had for breakfast.

email: joel.spunk.rock@gmail.com -- feel free to contact me
you can be my friend on facebook. If you do this, say a few words so I know you are a person:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100013262449602&fref=ts 



also, you can follow playlists on Spotify, such as
Spunk Rock Sampler https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/3WOjwAXMdIqajy46OPuinw
best of 2015: https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/5F1KMoohFnUr6xUKUXqBqj

Top 10 List 2015

find the playlist here: 
https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/5F1KMoohFnUr6xUKUXqBqj

#1 Dead Sara  - Pleasure to Meet You
     Release date 31 March 2015















I'll always remember my first listen to Dead Sara, the 2012 self-titled.. SOUL=BLOWN. It's a good thing I had that one electronically, otherwise I would have worn out the plastic before I wore out the songs. So the follow-up record had big shoes to fill. 2015’s Pleasure to Meet You didn’t hit me quite as hard right away, but after a few listens to study its nuances, I found it to be just as solid a rock record, if not more so, compared to the first one. This one is tighter musically, and the songs are denser, and take longer to unpack. But Pleasure has one great song after another. LA City Slum has an exciting, rolling rhythm that kick-starts the record. Mr Mr has some funky bass lines and shimmering guitar power that crescendos into heavy. Greaser relaxes things a bit and could stand alongside any classic rock song. The most fascinating song on the record may be Blue which is bluesy and rough with sparkling guitar riffs to polish its rough edge. Emily’s passion is in full bloom here and, as usual, her Joplin-Meets-Cobain vocals put it over the top to masterpiece status.

It’s hard to say anything bad about this record. I will say that I’m not so impressed by Mona Lisa. Maybe it’s just because I played it dozens of times before getting the rest of the record, but that is the one I’m most likely to skip. It has all the great riffs of Dead Sara song, but not the soul. It almost feels like a cover. One other thing, the part at the end of Suicidal about the drum beat.. that part is lame. I usually skip the last 20 seconds of that song.

The thing that first struck me about Dead Sara was the raw passion.. this new band doing something that should have been done a long time ago.. playing Rock’N’Roll like it fucking matters. Because to them, to us, it does. That feeling comes through loud and clear on this record. A record they made because they had something to say, a sound to share, and it had to be said loudly and passionately.. almost desperately. This is what Rock’N’Roll has always been, or rather, what it always should have been.


#2 Halestorm - Into the Wildlife
Release date 10 April 2015















Halestorm grows a lot with every record. With the Wildlife they appear fully formed as a rock'n'roll powerhouse ready to take on the world. As usual, this records incorporates elements of 80's-era rock/metal - and I mean that in a good way. There are songs to pump your fist to and sing along.

This record plays the way that a hard rock record should - it has breaks to the hardness with softer songs that kick just as much ass as the others. This is important because a lot of good records that are heavy throughout come across flat and monotonous. Scream starts this record off with a punch, but it's not the hardest punch on the record, and you can feel the tension build. I am the Fire shows Lzzy at her peak vocally, which is saying a lot. "Fiery" would be a good adjective for that one. From there, it twists and turns through several songs before hitting the hardest track, Mayhem, at track 7 of 15. Along the way New Modern Love slows the tempo and stands out as one of the most memorable tracks at the same time. Later, on Gonna Get Mine Lzzy struts her stuff as a bad-ass and reverses the "slut" stereotype. I like it Heavy works the rock anthem.

One thing that impresses me about Halestorm is the memorable songs. Every song on this record has its own identity. There are some I like more, and some I skip - Dear Daughter is a skipper for me (sorry, I'm sure a lot of you love that one.) And that brings me back to the 80's thing. It's no secret that Lzzy takes influence from Ronnie James Dio and Cinderella. I feel like Halestorm is bringing back the art of the anthem (think We're Not Gonna Take It, or Eye of the Tiger) and, even though I was never a big fan of that school of Rock, Halestorm does it so well, that when she sings "Hallelujah motherfucker take me to church" I have to pump my fist and sing along. A great record full of great songs.



#3 Sleater-Kinney - No Cities to Love
Release date 20 January 2015















Those who know me will know that I've been a big Sleater-Kinney fan for a long time. So it is hard for me to think about this record without comparing it to so many from the past. But one thing that I love about this band, one of the many things, is their stubborn refusal to live in the past. This record sounds fresh and current.. it could almost be a debut album.

Price Tag starts things off with intricate instrumentals that are tight and clean, and a sense of purpose, making it clear that they are back, not just for another round of the same old thing, but because they have something fresh to say. Fangless is biting and clever, instrumentally as well as vocally (is this one for Bush/Cheney, or is that my imagination?). Carrie is really on top of her game with the guitars on this one. Surface Envy is the track I tend to select for playlists; it works like a microcosm of the whole record. Look for this song on the Conan show for a good glimpse of the band.

The song No Cities is a skipper for me sometimes.  The riffs on that one are cool and easy-going, it's a good song, but not the strongest. New Wave picks things back up with tight riffs and a pretty chorus. Anthems is one of my favorites, and my pick for the Spunk Rock Sampler playlist. Gimme Love doesn't come across as well on the record, but live, with Corin rything on stage, I got it. Hey Darling is deceptively simple. This is a great song, I love the central riff and how it develops though the song. Corin's voice feels warm and comforting here, like a peace offering for the ass kicking that came before. And it's quotable: "it seems to me the only thing that comes from fame is mediocrity."

If I need a strike against this record, it's that it is short. About 32 minutes. I give them credit though for editing and selecting the best material with no filler. Also, there are two more songs on the vinyl version. In typical Sleater-Kinney style, the "B side" is as good, if not better. The Fog song rocks and houls. I should point out that Call the Doctor was shorter, and I never complained. That was my favorite Kinney until 1 Beat came around. SK has always been a band to prioritize quality over quantity, the best example being the hiatus of 2006, when they disbanded at the top of their game. Where a lot of bands would have filled the years between with suck, SK took time to follow other paths and to ultimately craft this new masterpiece, as "now" and relevant as anything they've done before.

I'm glad Sleater-Kinney is back. The world needs them.


#4 MisterWives - Our Own House
Release date 24 February 2015





A new-comer  to the list, this was added to a later revision. I missed MisterWives Our Own House until a year later. Better late than never. This album is so much fun! and feels so good. Nearly every song is a dance-party in itself. There are several slow numbers that are still really great songs, but the majority of the songs are up-beat and funky, groovin' glistening guitars, boppin' horns, and slick beats. Punk attitudes with a clean edge. Mandy's voice is beautiful, playful, haunting. Song compositions are thoughtful and deep in meaning. I needed this sound and did not know how to articulate it. Thank you MisterWives.









#5 Metric - Pagans in Vegas
Release date 18 September 2015
















This is one of the softer records on this year's list (along with Chvrches). A lot of the spunky stuff I pick has a harder edge, but it is also very important to have songs in the key of chill, that continue to kick ass (check out my "chill" playlists). This one also makes extensive use of keyboards and electronic sounds, but, it sounds very human and artistic.. not mechanical. It has the soul a lot of people would associate with analog music. The Governess has loose and funky beats, and a lovely melody.

There is something about the use of keys on this record that gives it that spunky feel. They are played sort of abruptly and held for short counts. Check out the opening of The Shade for example.

Metric is a modern band making music that matters. music with feeling and purpose. Pagans finds them at their softer, soulful, sparkling best.




#6 Boy Sets Fire - Boy Sets Fire
Release date 25 September 2015
















Boy Sets Fire is an all-male band originally from Newark, Delaware. They are another band I've been listening to for a long time, making it difficult to assess this one on its own, without comparison to so many from before.

This record has some really great songs.. bumping riffs, deep lyrics, passionate vocals, memorable melodies.. all the good stuff. For the most part, the vocals are sung, rather than screamo, which is important to me these days. Screamo is a turn off for me. If you're not sure what I mean by screamo, check out the song Coward from this album.

BoySetsFire takes kicking ass seriously, and this record is no exception.

This record features a modified lineup, with a new rhythm section compared to the classic BSF. And I feel like they may have lost something along the way. The bass and drums don't stand out as much here. Still, great songs, great riffs, great feeling. Some people may be put off by the juxtaposition of hardcore (punk) and emo that makes this an emotional roller coaster. But to me, that is what makes this band great. A straight hardcore record these days would not be very innovative, and straight emo, boring. These guys pull it together into a coherent whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Lyrically this record is deep and heavy. If you're one to struggle with existential angst, this one may mess with your head. Nathan has always written with caring and passion, but in the past it was more externally focused with a political edge. Here it is more introspective. some examples below.

From Savage Blood
So let our vibrant hearts resound
An anthem to our lives unbound
And let them know we truly lived
While the dead rot, we will give
No poetry in shame
No life in passion tamed

From Ordinary Lives
Is there anybody out there?
Is there any other way to survive?
We can live so much more than these ordinary lives!





#7 Sleeping with Sirens - Madness
Release date 17 March 2015





This is one of the bands I found in the process of compiling this list, so I don't have the same level of context here I have with some of the other bands. This album was a pleasant surprise.. a surprise because this band is quite popular (over 3 million likes on Facebook) yet I hadn't heard them. Pleasant because this album has some really fun and inspiring songs on it. I suspect this band would be fun to see live, because I can imagine the excitement among fans getting excited when each song is played.

This one is very clean instrumentally.. meaning not lots of distortion or dissonance, and it's not very heavy. But yet, there is a definite sense of purpose in the punk-rock anthems. For example, Save Me A Spark and The Strays start off nearly acoustic and build to songs with lots of feeling. very skilled players here, a welcome addition to my collection.




#8 Chvrches - Every Open Eye
Release date 25 September 2015

















It's pronounced "churches" but it ain't preachy. It is fresh, dance-able, with a lot of feeling and mood. Similar to Metric, this album features electronic sounds in a way that is human and artistic, not digital or mechanical. There are no individual sounds here that are hard to imagine, but the aggregate sound, feel, mood, is unlike anything I've heard before. This is a good album to enjoy on a cool evening on the porch with a glass of wine.



#9 New Years Day - Malevolence
Release date 2 October 2015

 

New Years Day are working the SoCal spunk rock sound, putting them in the company of such bands as Kidneythieves, theStart, Dead Sara, Nico Vega, etc., but with a more metal edge. This record pushes my list a bit further in the metal direction than the other selections, and I mean that in a good way. The vocals sing, not scream, and every song has its own memorable moments of chanting or fist pumping.



#10 Muse - Drones
Release date 5 June 2015
















One of my goals with this blog is to help connect fans with music they have not heard. I assume that everyone reading this will be aware of Muse, so no revelation there. I will also guess that some readers may not pay much attention to them.

This album has a lot going on instrumentally. Solid riffs. Complex time signatures. creative guitar work. definitely worth a listen if you've appreciated any of their earlier stuff. One thing I don't like, I feel like the vocals don't really match the pace or tone of the music. It may be just me, but I feel like the apathetic Thom Yorke-esque sing-songing is somehow too soft to make sense in the context of a harder rock sound. Even still, the instrumentals alone would earn this one a place on the list.

There is a prog element to this album that I really enjoy. The song structures and composition are very innovative.








 Special mention: Icon For Hire




OMG you guys! Icon for Hire kicks so much ass! and overflowing with spunk! They don't have a new record this year, so not on list. (Their 2013 self-titled is my #1 for that year). They do have a single this year, Now You Know / Bam Bam Pop. Icon makes me want to hop, strut, jump, live.

If I wanted to make up genre words, I would go with "rhythmic hardcore." The instrumentals are guitar-heavy and seasoned with keys. When about to really bring it, the sound is accented with whirlwind build-ups to signal that they are about to smack it. Hard. There are also soft moments like Slow Down, which appears on my chill playlist. The aptly named Sean Jump throws out phat licks like candy - this guy's pauses say more than most players' riffs. Ariel has the spunk way down in her heart, and it erupts through her voice on a regular basis. Drums drop from way up above.. big boomin' beats.. and the bass.. spanks the bad ass. hop around.



of course you should check out the entire records, but to start, I've made a playlist with 2 songs selected from each album, check it out here: 
https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/5F1KMoohFnUr6xUKUXqBqj



queue for future updates:
Joywave
sumo cyco
in this moment
the dirty youth




Saturday, December 12, 2015

about Spunk Rock


"without music, life would be a mistake" ~Nietzsche

"In my day Rock'N'Roll was..." hang on old sir, today is my day.

The task of keeping up with current music is more rewarding nowadays than ever before.. and more challenging. As top 40 gets lamer and more formulaic, the Rock’N’Roll on the streets is just as fresh and vibrant as ever.. maybe more so. Rock is not dead.. it is decentralized. Fresh Rock’N’Roll is one of the things that makes me feel excited to be alive. I would hate to lose that just because I “grow up”. This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of new and fresh music, with a focus on the broad genre I call “Spunk Rock”. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.

A few years ago I started compiling a "best of" list at the end of each year. It was primarily an exercise for myself, a way to stay tuned-in to current music.

I'm reaching that age where a lot of people curl into a musical fetal position called nostalgia and get stuck in a rut with the music of their youth. I don't want to do that. There is too much interesting and exciting music going on now.

Generation-wise, I identify as a child of the nineties. My formative years were characterized by Nirvana and Beavis and Butthead. I could easily slide into middle age with my soul stuck in that time, there was plenty of good stuff going on back then.

but I don't wanna.

I'm obsessive enough that I compile a list of "favorite bands" year over year. I realize it is a bit childish and stupid, like a favorite color, but I have debates in my mind about the order of bands in my top 20 list. I observe that most of my favorite bands today were not on the list 10 (some cases 5) years ago. So what will that look like 5, 10 years in the future?  Who might I miss if I tune out?

Meanwhile, the quantity of recorded music is increasing exponentially with time. It might be possible for one person to know most, if not all, of the great bands from the 60's and 70's - a sort of Da Vinci of rock-n-roll fandom (maybe not, but bear with me). Surely not possible now. There are too many great bands, songs, sounds. There are also too many bad ones. Oh the quantity of suck-pop generated every year! and metal? OMG metal bands are a dime a dozen. Indie-punk.. countless. Not sure what this says about our world, but a lot of the best ones don't make super-star anymore. And a lot of the top-40 stuff just sucks.

"Spunk Rock" the blog was born of my efforts to navigate that sea of sound. My hope is that some like-minded listeners out there might use my playlists as one resource of the many available. I listen to a new band every day, and it is always a pleasure to find another good one.

In the past, I have used the word "punk", among other words, to describe the music I enjoy. I have shied away from that of late because I felt like it was being misinterpreted. I tried to put my finger on a better word, and came up with "spunk." like sassy, moxie, charismatic, funky.

I see spunk picking up where punk left off, and ultimately going beyond. At times I've thought "better than punk,"  or "what punk bands would play if they could." But I don't say it that way because it demeans a branch of music culture that I have a lot of respect for (look for a separate post on the story of punk.) If these newer bands can see further, it is because they are standing on the shoulders of giants.

Spunk then, is punk that got fun. dance-able. Punk that embraces the virtues of catchy melody and good song writing. At times loose and funky, at times soft and playful, at times rough and heavy, but never, NEVER, stop kicking ass. These are some of the properties I look for from the myriad of bands that light up my life like so many stars in the sky. One way I locate them is by following playlists and flipping through best-of lists to see what is happening now. This blog is meant to pass it along.

enjoy.

P.S.
here is a sampler playlist (on Spotify)
https://open.spotify.com/user/fluid3sally/playlist/3WOjwAXMdIqajy46OPuinw

Saturday, September 26, 2015

New record review - Dead Sara 'Pleasure to Meet You'

Dead Sara Pleasure to Meet You - 31 Mar 2015

I'll always remember my first listen to Dead Sara, the 2012 self-titled.. SOUL=BLOWN. It's a good thing I had that one electronically, otherwise I would have worn out the plastic before I wore out the songs. So the follow-up record had big shoes to fill. 2015’s Pleasure to Meet You didn’t hit me quite as hard right away, but after a few listens to study its nuances, I found it to be just as solid a rock record, if not more so, compared to the first one. This is tighter musically, and the songs are denser, and take longer to unpack. but Pleasure has one great song after another. LA City Slum has an exciting, rolling rhythm that kick-starts the record. Mr Mr has some funky bass lines and shimmering guitar power that crescendos into some damn-near metal. Greaser relaxes things a bit and could stand alongside any classic rock song. The most fascinating song on the record may be Blue which is bluesy and rough with sparkling guitar riffs to polish its rough edge. Emily’s passion is in full bloom here and, as usual, her Joplin-Meets-Cobain vocals put it over the top to masterpiece status.

It’s hard to say anything bad about this record. I will say that I’m not so impressed by Mona Lisa. Maybe it’s just because I played it dozens of times before getting the rest of the record, but that is the one I’m most likely to skip. It has all the great riffs of Dead Sara song, but not the soul. It almost feels like a cover. One other thing, the part at the end of Suicidal about the drum beat.. that part is lame. I usually skip the last 20 seconds of that song.

The thing that first struck me about Dead Sara was the raw passion.. this new band doing something that should have been done a long time ago.. playing Rock’N’Roll like it fucking matters. Because to them, to us, it does. That feeling comes through loud and clear on this record. A record they made because they had something to say, a sound to share, and it had to be said loudly and passionately.. almost desperately. This is what Rock’N’Roll has always been, or rather, what it always should have been.

10/10

Top 10 List 2014

1 The Birthday Massacre - Superstition
2 Nico Vega - Lead to Light
3 The Pretty Reckless - Going to Hell
4 Lizzo - Lizzobangers
5 Die So Fluid - the opposites of light
6 Foo Fighters - Sonic Highways
7 2:54 - the other I
8 La Roux - Trouble in Paradise
9 The Veronicas - The Veronicas
10 Jack White - Lazaretto

Love, Robot - B.A.D.
Stars in Stereo - Leave Your Mark
Marmozets - The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets
far from Alaska
in this moment
flyleaf
the nearly deads
the last internationale

Top 10 List 2013

1 Icon for Hire - Icon for Hire
Stars In Stereo
The Sounds - Weekend
Magneta Lane - Witch Rock
Hydrogen Child 1
otep hydra
Luscious Jackson - Magic Hour

Tonight Alive


BoySetsFire - While a Nation Sleeps
new years day

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Mosquito



Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - Unvarnished
Sky Larkin - Motto

Paramore - Paramore

The Swear - Gold and Hymns and Hell



Skarlett Riot

eyes set to kill

Top 10 List 2012

1 Dead Sara - Dead Sara
2 Garbage - Not Your Kind of People
3 The Corin Tucker Band - Kill My Blues
4 Halestorm - The Strange Case of…
5 Metric - Synthetica
6 Ladyhawke - Anxiety
7 The Birthday Massacre - Hide and Seek
8 Gossip - A Joyful Noise
9 Chantal Claret - The One, The Only…
10 Lee Ranaldo - Between the Times and the Tides

magic wands aloha moon
Love, Robot - Rebuild, Rebirth
Skarlett Riot - Villain
flyleaf
in this moment
snovonne
of verona
tonight alive

Top 10 List 2011

1 The Sounds - Something to Die For
Girl in a Coma - Exists and All the Rest
Icon for Hire - Scripted
Alice In Videoland - A Million Thoughts
Uh Huh Her - Nocturnes
the dirty youth

Poly Styrene - Generation Indigo
Blondie - Panic of Girls
The Duke Spirit - Bruiser

Edge of Paradise

8 Sahara Hotnights - Sahara Hotnights
9 Courage My Love - For Now



otep
kittie

the joy formidable
The Nearly Deads
Nemesea

Top 10 List 2010

1 The Pretty Reckless - Light Me Up
2 Kidneythieves - Trypt0fanatic
3 the Birthday Massacre - Pins and Needles

5 Jakalope - Things That Go Jump in the Night
in this moment
10 I:scintilla - Dying & Falling
versaemerge
8 Melissa Auf der Maur - Out of Our Minds




4 The Corin Tucker Band - 1000 years

6 Die So Fluid - The World is Too Big for One Lifetime
7 The Limousines - Get Sharp

9 Hole - Nobody's Daughter


flyleaf
sky larkin
eyes set to kill

Top 10 List 2009

1 Morningwood - Diamonds and Studs
2 Magneta Lane - Gambling With God
3 Girl in a Coma - Trio B.C.
4 The Sounds - Crossing the Rubicon
5 Nico Vega - Nico Vega
6 Metric - Fantasies
7 The Gossip - Music for Men
8 Halestorm - Halestorm
9 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - It's Blitz
10 the Birthday Massacre - Show and tell

Top 10 List 2008

1 Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke
2 Uh Huh Her - Common Reaction
3 Bitch Alert - Pay for Orgasm
4 The Swear - Hotel Rooms and Heart Attacks
5 The Duke Spirit - Neptune
6 Die So Fluid - Not Everybody Gets a Happy Ending
7 Donita Sparks and the Stellar Moments - Transmiticate
8 Be Your Own Pet - Get Awkward
9 Rondelles - In Your Face
10 the Bird and the Bee - Ray Guns are not just the Future

Top 10 list 2007

1 The Birthday Massacre - Walking With Strangers
2 Girl in a Coma - Both Before I'm Gone
3 theStart - Ciao, Baby
4 Uh Huh Her - I see red
5 Garbage - Absolute Garbage
6 Metric - Grow Up and Blow Away
7 Kittie - Funeral for Yesterday
8 Standfast - Beneath and Beyond
9 Paramore - Riot!
10 Sahara Hotnights - What if Leaving is a Loving Thing

Top 10 list 2006

1 Magneta Lane - Dancing with Daggers
2 Morningwood - Morningwood
3 The Sounds - Dying to Say this to You
4 Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own Pet
5 Veruca Salt - IV
6 Pretty in Stereo - Far Behind
7 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
8 The Duke Spirit - Cuts Across the Land
9 Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
10 Tre Lux - A Strange Gathering

Top 10 list 2005

1 Sleater-Kinney - The Woods
2 Metric - Live it Out
3 Garbage - Bleed Like Me
4 the Birthday Massacre - Violet
5 Jakalope - It Dreams
6 Kay Hanley - Babydoll
7 The Peels - The Peels
8 Bif Naked - Superbeautifulmonster
9 Ladytron - Witching Hour
10 Alice in Videoland - Outrageous

Intro and Crowd Banter

"In my day Rock'N'Roll was..." hang on old sir, today is my day.

The task of keeping up with current music is more rewarding nowadays than ever before.. and more challenging. As top 40 gets lamer and more formulaic, the Rock’N’Roll on the streets is just as fresh and vibrant as ever.. maybe more so. Rock is not dead.. it is decentralized. Fresh Rock’N’Roll is one of the things that makes me feel excited to be alive. I would hate to lose that just because I “grow up”. This blog is dedicated to the pursuit of new and fresh music, with a focus on the broad genre I call “Spunk Rock”. I hope you enjoy the music as much as I do.