Near-life experience

Helllllllooooo Wednesday warriors, and welcome to this week's installment of WWA. Hope you're all enjoying this Wednesday, and a special Constitution Day shout-out to all my listeners in Kazakhstan. This past week has been great for punk rock, and good music in general, and we'll be showcasing brand spankin' new tunes from Propagandhi, Gogol Bordello, Wavves and Queens of the Stone Age. Will also have plenty of oldies but goodies from some of the greats, including Black Flag, 98 Mute, Strung Out, and more.

You may notice I am using a new music streaming service, Soundsgood. I am still building out all my playlists on Spotify, but Soundsgood will allow you to stream from whatever service you prefer (Apple Music, Soundcloud, Youtube, Napster (what!?), Deezer, etc). Let me know your thoughts or feedback on this, as I am excited to give you punks more listening options.

Without further ado, let's get crackin'




Annnnd here's the web player link for all you webheads.


Alright alright alright....kicking off the middle of the week with Propagandhi's new single, Failed Imagineer, part of the upcoming Victory Lap album which is scheduled to drop at the end of September (the 29th to be exact). Although Propagandhi has matured and honed their art, sonically and thematically, throughout the years, you'd be kidding yourselves if you thought they had completely rid themselves of the snotty-nosed punk attitude of their early How to Clean Everything/Less Talk, More Rock years. This should be evident right as the track hits with bassist Todd "The Rod" Kowalski doing his best Paul Stanley impersonation, half-laughing, half-screeching "we're gonna have a rock n roll party tonight" Will there be a lot of technical, metal-inspired guitar riffs?  Sure. Double bass and complex, layered rhythms? Yeah you betchya. But Propagandhi will still be bringing a lot of that skate punk energy, and working around melodically-centered hooks to keep all us old fans in the fold. Victory Lap will be their first full-length record in over 5 years, and the first with new guitarist Sulynn Hago.

Daisy is a sea-sickness-inducing song from Wavves' latest album, You're Welcome, which dropped earlier this year. See, I told you this playlist was gonna be chock full of good new shit! True to form, Daisy incorporates that unmistakable Wavves' surf guitar sound and those over-the-top reverb vocals, supplied by singer-songwriter Nathan Williams. You're Welcome is now the 6th (critically acclaimed) studio album from these west coast beach rats, quite a feat considering they were only formally inducted into the rock scene back in 2008.

Up next is the (non-legally-binding) last will and testament of San Francisco dudes Dead To Me. I Wanna Die in Los Angeles is a rockin' track from the ex-One Man Army lead man Jack Dalrymple, and his merry band of men, and is part of a 3-song EP of the same name released in 2016.

These days you can't seem to escape the term 'Alternative Country'. Which is fine and all, though I gotta say pretty much everything in my life to this point could be described as alternative fucking country. Although this musical movement has been around for a long time now, it is good to see a more mainstream rejection of the atrocity that is pop country; and on the other side of the coin, it's always healthy to try out new genres and learn to appreciate different types of (good) songwriting. Timebomb, courtesy of Dallas ensemble Old 97s, is a pounding and catchy Americana ballad, full of twang and soul. Old 97s, alongside contemporaries like Uncle Tulepo  and Drive-By Truckers, are widely considered to be one of the pioneering forces behind the 90s alt-country movement.

Alright let's shift into a slightly higher gear here with a Strung Out tune from their third album, Twisted by Design, which was originally released in 1998 through Fat Wreck Chords. This record marked a new era for the California quintet, keeping the speed, energy and pop glaze of their previous releases while doubling down on showing off their technical prowess. Alongside contemporaries like Belvedere and Lagwagon (and playlist neighbor Propagandhi), Strung Out is one of the main forces in the punk scene eschewing the 'keep it simple stupid' punk rock mentality, preferring instead to write more complex and multi-layered compositions.

Queens of the Stone Age has fucking done it again, with the release last week of their seventh studio album Villains. Although the album is still painfully poetic and full of dark imagery, it does seem a bit lighter and more upbeat than their previous LP ...Like Clockwork.  The Evil Has Landed was the second teaser single for Villains, whetting our appetites with trademark Josh Homme vocal harmonies and crunchy guitars, not to mention a sped-up, Era Vulgaris-esqu ending section, a couple weeks prior to last Friday's full release. If you haven't listened to this record in its entirety several times by now, you got to get on it. Like now.

Well let's keep it in the family. Up next is Die On A Rope, one of my favorite tunes off The Distillers' curtain-closing (read: last) album, Coral Fang. Led by the indomitable and abominable Brody Dalle, The Distillers had a few really good albums in their relatively short-lived career. Coral Fang was released in 2003, less than a year after the very public and bitter divorce between Dalle and Rancid's Tim Armstrong, supposedly after Armstrong spotted Dalle making out with (current husband and baby daddy) Josh Homme...wait wait wait, is this a fucking music blog or a grocery store check out tabloid. Moving on...

Last week we blasted a tune from one of my all-time favorite bands during high school, punk powerhouse Uncommonmenfrommars. After the band broke up in 2013, brothers Trint and (self-styled) Shit Ed started working on separate projects. Evil Seed is a song off the latter's new act, Not Scientists, which also includes UMFM bassist Big Jim. Off their sophomore effort, Leave Stickers on Our Graves, the track features pretty guitar riffs, edgy melody lines and a heavily syncopated rhythm section.

Black Flag! TV Party!

Last Friday was a huge win for good music. New QoTSA, new Gogol. We're gonna close the week with Did It All, which is the opening track for Gogol Bordello's brand new release, Seekers and Finders. The song is an appropriate introduction to the album, taking no prisoners throughout its sonic rampage. It starts off as a hard-hitting, fast as hell anthem before eventually devolving into a wanton groove, completely embodying the hedonistic feel of the wanderlust crew that makes up Gogol Bordello.


OK, that's a wrap peep hole.  Let's shut this rock n roll party down!

SMASH white supremacy

Howdy there ladies and fellas! Happy Iranian Day for Doctors, and welcome to the latest installment of Wednesdays With Andrew. This marks the first full write up in a couple weeks, so let me formally welcome you back to the mix. And what a mix it is. This week we got Rancid. We got Ramones. We got Big B, T.S.O.L., This is a Standoff and much more. So, without further ado, GO FUCKING LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST



Oh, and the web player link for all you webels.


Oh. Hellz. Yes. Spotify just added my favorite album from (DC-born) French punk rockers Uncommonmenfrommars, 2001's Vote For Me. We'll go ahead and kick off the week with this piece of sliced gold...Tatoo is a hard-hitting (yet cheery sounding) rebuke of all things intolerant and evil. I would also rank it as being in the Top 5 Ringtones of All Time list. If you haven't had the chance to listen to this album in its entirety, go check it out, NOW. My buds and I would go see these guys play every time they came to our town on tour; they killed it live, and they are super chill dudes to boot.

Track Fast is a fast track off Rancid's Trouble Maker, released earlier this summer. The opening song off what marks the seminal punk band's 9th studio album, to me it's reminiscent of the Life Won't Wait/2000 era for the group. It's the sonic equivalent of a train that's gone off the rails, incorporating pounding rhythms and affronting, twangy guitar licks. Since the song clocks in at under a minute (and that is NOT enough Rancid for one sitting), I am throwing in Junkie Man, which is off one of my personal favorite albums, ...And Out Come the Wolves.

This next one goes out to my own little Cuban hottie. Havana Affair is a glazed donut of a song from trailblazing punk band Ramones. Off their debut self-titled album (released all the way back in 1976!), the song features everything you'd expect from these Queens rockers: simple song structure built around 4 power chords, punctuated by sharp syncopated breaks, and sugary melodies courtesy of Joey Ramone. Although all four original members of the band have died, its hard to imagine that their music or impact will ever be forgotten.

Graveyards is a melodic shotgun blast from Canadian outfit This Is A Standoff. Blending complex guitar lines and rhythms, borrowed from 80s thrash metal bands like Megadeth and Slayer, with the raw energy and speed of the 90s skate punk movement, This Is A Standoff provides an aural smorgsaborg, rife with interesting things to listen out for. Do those pop-laden yet piercing vocals sound familiar at all? The band was formed in 2007 by Steve Rawles, founding guitarist/vocalist of cult favorite, melodic skate band Belvedere. Speaking of fucking Belvedere, DID YOU KNOW - that band is still very much active, having released a new album last year (The Revenge of the Fifth) on Bird Attack Records, and still actively touring. See them next time they swing by your local watering hole!

OK I think it's time to inject some zen vibes on this week's journey. Next up is a chill track from Las Vegas-based wordsmith Big B. Part of the original line-up of OPM, Big B struck out on a solo career in the early 2000s. Here Comes the Lightning is off his 2013 LP, Fool's Gold...this album features a lot of cool collaborations, including songs that feature Slightly Stoopid and Dirty Heads.

People! Places! OK, for this next track I gotta give a big ups to dude man Yvann. He showed me this song Monolith last week, and I am really digging the moody, neo-post-punk vibes. This was the cardinal track off the self-titled, debut studio album released in 2012 by Stockholm-based noise act Holograms. The whole album has an oppressive timbre, featuring synth-heavy hooks, straightforward four-on-flour bass drum and distorted amelodic vocals. If you dig this track, go check out their brand spankin' new latest full-length release, Surrender, out now!

Goonies-loving band Slick Shoes, hailing from the deserts of southern California, have been playing fast skate punk since their inception in 1994. Father Son Picnic is off their first EP Rusty, and the band uses it to show some teeth, focusing less on a single pop hook and more on the overall rock n roll feel of the song. Side note: some things simply don't change...when I checked Slick Shoes' Facebook page this week, looks like they're still touring with MxPx!

Our penultimate selection for this week is T.S.O.L.'s soothing ode, Flowers By the Door. This song was part of their 1984 album Change Today?; aptly titled, as the record was released after founding vocalist Jack Grisham left the band. Indeed, Change Today? marked the first album with Danzig-sounding motherfucker Joe Wood on singing duties, while the band's sound also drifted away from their early hardcore influences and more into the realm or art and goth rock sounds. Jack is back at the helm, and the reunited gang released a new record, The Trigger Complex, earlier this year. 

We'll close out the week's playlist with a punch to the head, PEARS' combative track Victim To Be. Off their first studio album, Go To Prison, the song encapsulates these Louisianians' brake-and-go style of speedy, catchy hardcore. Speaking of victims and punches to heads, here's a quick concussion update: I am still showing symptoms, like concentration difficulties, headaches, dizziness...but all in all, things are going pretty well and I have been able to avoid being attacked since!


Okie dokie, annie oakley, that is a wrap. Thanks for tuning in, warriors, and be sure to come back next Wednesday for your weekly fill of good, punk(ish) rock.

Portez-vous bien et comportez-vous mal!

10201932639

Gooood morning Wednesday warriors, and welcome to another installment of Wednesdays With Andrew, your weekly go-to for all things punk(ish) rock.

Now, I fucking hate to say this, BUT...you will be deprived, FOR A SECOND WEEK IN A ROW, of my normal thought-out, carefully crafted write up. I suffered a concussion in the very early hours of Sunday morning and cannot spend a lot of time in front of a screen. Lucky for you, this means all the good music with none of my rambling thoughts on the subject matter.

The reason for the concussion is that I was assaulted by a very non-punk rock individual. Considering this occurred hours after the Charlottesville tragedy, it certainly gave me pause to contemplate the senseless acts of violence that people (of many diverse backgrounds!) perpetrate. These outbursts have reaffirmed in me the belief that violence is never the answer, and truthfully does not solve shit. Nothing like taking a good beating to confirm that you're a pacifist!

Anyway, here's a good article on ways to support victims of the Charlottesville attack, and to stand up to hate more broadly.

Annnd here's the link to the web player.

FYI for anyone wondering - the title was my patient ID when I was in the ER.

Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent

Resting beach face

Hey there Wednesday warriors. I am off this week on vacation, channeling my inner Poseidon and enjoying the great Atlantic.

This means less talk and more music for you. YOU'RE WELCOME. Enjoy the tunes!




Annnnd the web player link for all you posers

Spicey out.

Funking super starlight freaks

Well howdy there Wednesday wranglers, and welcome to another installment of Wednesdays With Andrew, your one-stop shop for punk rock, rehashed gifs and half ass puns. Today's a doozie of a playlist, featuring some real dope tunes from the likes of Buzzcocks, Pennywise, Smoking Popes, Jamiroquai, White Flag, Praise and more. I mean, just look at how fucking happy that old man in the Norman Punkwell looks, listening to today's WWA?!? Don't you think you should be more like him? LISTEN NOW:



Annnnnd here's the web player link for all you cowhands


Today's opening track is courtesy of SoCal punk rock staple, and one of the louder contributing voices during punk's 90s renaissance, Pennywise. Alien is off their critically successful record Straight Ahead, and quickly became a fan favorite, as well as a gateway drug for people who couldn't get into some of Pennywise's earlier, harder, faster stuff. Fun personal fact alert - I recently found my high school band's terrible and amusing cover of this song. Send me an email if you want the mp3...the Legend of Gannet Harne lives on!

Meet Me After Work is a feel-goodish track from Australian indie pop quintet Split Seconds, featured on their 2016 full-length Rest & Relocation.  The song exudes summer tones and Beach Boys-y vibes combining a strong melodic vocal lead with well-placed harmonies peppered throughout. But don't be lulled into a false sense of innocent comfort; these guys infuse darker themes and big crunchy breaks into their pop ballads. Split Seconds also owns the (fake) "best play on words for an album name" Award with their record Neil Young and Dumb.

Drawing from the powers of predecessors like the venerable Kid Dynamite, pacific northwest band Shook Ones don't pump the brakes at all while delivering their style of fast-as-hell, abrasive melodic hardcore. It actually took a whole lotta convincing when I first heard them that those sugary/scratchy whoa whoa whoa vocals were not belted out by Kid Dynamite's Jason Shevchuk. By the way, if I am comparing your band to Kid Dynamite...that's like the biggest fucking form of flattery I could give. Nothing bad at all to say about any of Shook Ones' tunes...go check out their sophomore album, Facetious Folly Feat, on which this track Pheasants is featured.

God, I fucking looooove Jamiroquai. Led by singer and headdress aficionado Jay Kay, they have been the indomitable forerunner in London's acid jazz scene since forming in 1992. Shake It On is the opening track off their latest album Automaton. Released in January of this year, this record marks their first original content in over 7 years. Did you know, (barring psychical limitations, like being a quadriplegic) you can dance to any music...but did you knooow, it won't be as fun if it's not Jamiroquai.

Our next track is a whisper of a ghost of a long night out. Morning After is Buzzcocks' ode to hangovers, and represents a newer era (circa early 2000s) for the Manchester punk band. Buzzcocks is one of those special bands that just keeps putting out good stuff periodically, and always remain true to their own, self-defined guiding principles of what makes up a catchy tune. Whether it's something they released in the late 70s, 90s, 00s or 10s, you will always hear that trademark 'Buzzcocks blend' of glazey power pop songwriting and the energy and speed that defined 70s era punk.

Crash into My Life is a ballistic anthem from Baltimore's melodic hardcore act Praise. Off their latest 7-song release, 2016's Leave It All Behind, Crash into My Life sounds like an amalgamation of 80s DC punk and 90s NYC hardcore acts like H2O, punctuated, and differentiated, by blaring vocals and multi-layered guitar runs.

Shock to the System sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack to that silly Angelina Jolie movie, Hackers. It's very possible it is on the soundtrack to that silly Angeline Jolie movie Hackers. I don't know. I do know that this was off Billy "Fucking" Idol's concept album Cyberpunk, which was inspired heavily by the cyberdelic subculture of the late 80s. Steeped heavily in thematic imagery of anarcho-atheism, futurism and virtual reality, not to mention alluding to the brand new concept of the 'internet', Idol incorporated a lot of technology and synthetic sounds throughout the album.

Ya know, Rage Against the Machine is a touchy subject in some circles (see: next song), but I am quite partial to the music that Zach, Tom and the gang came out with. Often imitated but never really successfully duplicated, the angsty foursome definitely put riff-heavy rap rock on the map. Although they may be indirectly to blame for some unforgivably awful ear-shit like Limp Bizkit, they more than redeem themselves with their two first, gem-filled albums. In My Eyes does not appear on their debut self-titled or Evil Empire; rather, it was their tribute to Minor Threat on RATM's fourth, covers-only, album Renegades.

Rage Against the Machine Are Capitalist Phonies was White Flag's contribution to Fat Wreck's compilation of diminutive songs,  Short Music for Short People. These L.A. jokers also included the track in their 2006 album, T is for Twenty.

We end our playlist with the Caterer kin and their band Smoking Popes. Much like the genesis of Hanson, these 3 Chicago area brothers started playing and writing music together at a very early age. Need You Around was the first single off their sophomore album, 1995's Born to Quit, annnd was featured in the cinematic masterpiece that is Clueless. Ugh, as if! Although lead singer Josh Caterer is often compared to older crooners like Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin, I get more of a Morrissey vibe myself. For all my DC peeps: scuttlebutt on the street is that the Popes will be announcing a Fall show at Black Cat in the coming weeks...stay tuned!

OK that's a wrap folks. Thanks, as always, for tuning in and we'll see ya again in 168 hours. Toodles!

Working for the rat race

Happy Wednesday you silly waffles, and welcome back to Wednesdays With Andrew, your weekly (over)dose of punk rock tunes. OK so I was really behind schedule, and I was tired and hangry, possibly to the point of mild delirium, while writing this one. So bear with me as  I stumble my way through today's playlist, which features some outstanding tunes from the likes of Slothrust, Dillinger Four, Paint It Black, Iggy Pop, Dag Nasty and much, much more.



Annnnd here we go with the web player link, for all you scoobies.

We kick off the playlist with a rousing call to action, If The Kids Are United, courtesy of those rowdy Hersham Boys of Sham 69. Like a lot of material this seminal 70s UK punk band put out, this track is characterized by marching power chords punctuated by piercing solos and runs, chant vocals led by frontman Jimmy Pursey, and that unmistakable pogo, makes-you-want-to-jump-up-and-down sound.

Last Communion is a sonic salvation from omnipresent punk force Dillinger Four. This track is off their 2000 full length, Versus God, which was their second (and last) album released through Hopeless Records. Proudly and loudly hailing from the wastelands of the American midwest, D4 has been a reliable source of incredulous and snotty punk rock since 1994; although they stay active with live shows, they haven't released new material since 2008. So, uh, guys when can we expect some fresh tunes?!

Who Wrote Holden Caulfield is a Green Day song as old as time itself. This track was originally included in their 2nd studio record, Kerplunk, which was released  in 1991 through Larry Livermore's Lookout! Records, and was their first album to feature mainstay drummer Tré Cool (side bar: meet the Pete Best of Green Day! - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kiffmeyer) This harkens back to a time when Green Day was still considered 'true punk' (note the ironic quotation marks there), playing shows at 924 Gilman with bands like Op Ivy and Screw 32, and contributing to that early 90s, East Bay sound.

My man, Iggy (snap, crackle and..) Pop, comin' at ya with his lugubrious ballad The Passenger. This 4-chord, la-la-la track may sound simple enough...but does it also hold the answer to the age-old human question of 'why'? Why are we here? Why does the universe exist? Probably not. But Iggy Pop never ceases to amaze and astound, so keep vigilant.

Circles is a punchy, throaty and pop-laden anthem from undisputed melodic hardcore champs, Dag Nasty. Formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker after the break up of Minor Threat, Dag Nasty was one of the main acts throughout DC's Revolution Summer. Circles was part of their debut album, Can I Say, which featured their new singer, the illustrious Dave Smalley. Dag Nasty is up and at it once more, playing shows in North America and Europe, with original vocalist Shawn Brown.

Our next track, Z, is born out of the depths of imagination of French electrician/house music magician Mr. Oizo. Keeping in line with his contemporary frères of the blue-blanc-rouge, like Daft Punk and Justice, Mr. Oizo focuses compositions around a core idée fixe while invoking ear-catching synth sounds. Unlike his more radio-friendly brethren, however, he brings a darker and stranger timbre to his tunes, challenging the listener's sanity with terrifying aural imagery.

Cubicle is an addicting song from one of my favorite newcomer bands, Slothrust. This New York trio, who met and bonded over blues-soaked psychedelic rock while they were all students at Sarah Lawrence College, have been cranking out tunes and touring heavily since their formation in 2012. To test a hypothesis, I put Cubicle on repeat to see how many cycles I could handle before cracking....6 and a 1/4 times. Pretty fucking good for someone with as much musical ADHD (and real ADHD for that matter) as me. Good on you Slothrust, good on you. OH FOR ALL MY DC PEOPLE - they will be playing Rock N Roll Hotel August 12. Make sure to come out and get weird with us!

We're gonna end this confusing stream of consciousness with CVA, the title track from Philly hardcore act Paint It Black's debut studio album. Clocking in at a generous minute and a half, CVA is one of the longer songs on an album that features blazingly fast, super aggressive yet still strangely alluring ditties. Fun fact - frontman/wordsmith Dan Yemin incorporates the phrase 'fistycuffs' into the song Womb Envy, also on this record. Well, at least I think that's fun.


That's it for this week's playlist. Be sure to keep tuning in every Wednesday for more of your favorite punk rock anthems, garage rock gems, and all the weird stuff in between.

Oh, and here's a limerick for your troubles:

There was a young artist called Saint
Who ate a whole sampling of paint
The whole of the spectrum
Flowed out of his rectum
With colorful lack of restraint

Came without warning

Ahhhh, poop jokes. Just the sort of high-brow humor and semantic amuse-bouches that one comes to expect from these little WWA sessions. Happy Wednesday, campers, and welcome to another punk-soaked midweek playlist. We have a bunch of uplifting and at times combative tunes to help you make it through your day, including songs from Violent Femmes, Millencolin, No Use for a Name, Teenage Bottlerocket, The Pharcyde and more. So stop farting about, and go LISTEN NOW.



Annnnnd the web player link for all you goofs.


Last Friday Teenage Bottlerocket released their latest project, the highly anticipated Stealing the Covers. This album represents the band's uniquely warped take on the concept of a record devoted to covers; instead of rehashing the same old songs we already know and transforming them into pop punk anthems, these Wyoming ruffians decided to curate their own special list of songs, all written by totally obscure and under-valuated bands, to create a completely different and unexpected experience for the listener. Robocop Is a Halfbreed Sellout, written and originally performed by Sprocket Nova, a band from their hometown of Laramie, was released a couple months ago as the teaser single to get us all pumped.

Time to Get Tough is a fervent and moving tune from those LA reggae dudes of The Aggrolites. Getting their start as a backing live band, and after that a more Wrecking Crew-esqu backing studio band, for various artists, the gang were quickly inspired to break free and set out on their own path. The Aggrolites like to blend a style of 60s soul and funk with early ska, letting the silky smooth vocals of  singer/guitarist Jesse Wagner and the sly organ playing of Roger Rivas take center stage. This track is off their sophomore studio effort, The Aggrolites, which was the first they did through Hellcat Records.

Now for the dope bass lines and "yeah yeah" choruses of Kiss Off, from those folksy Wisconsin motherfuckers of Violent Femmes. This song, like their other hits Blister in the Sun, Gone Daddy Gone and Add It Up, was off their self-titled 1983 debut album. And yes, it went down on their permanent record...the album went platinum and is widely considered to be one of the most important records of the 80s.

So many broken Kinder eggs! Up next is Softworld, courtesy of the silly, sassy, scintillating, spry and skankin' Swedes that make up Millencolin. Founded in the quaint, medieval town of Örebro in 1992, at the height of the 90s skate punk renaissance, the band, still boasting its original core line-up, has remained active ever since. Softworld is an echo-ey and punchy track off their second LP, Life on a Plate, which was released on Epitaph's Swedish sister label Burning Heart Records (also based out of Örebro...what a coinkydink)

The Marked Men are a lo-fi, garagey punk quartet based out of Denton, TX. Reminiscent of like-minded fuzz rock acts like Jay Reatard or  Jeff Rosenstock, this Texas foursome doesn't hold any punches when it comes to writing fast, chaotic, yet thoughtfully arranged compositions.  A Little Time is the opening song off their third studio album, 2006's Fix My Brain. Because my blog is essentially nothing more than "Six degrees of John Reis" I suppose I should note that Fix My Brain was published through the mighty Speedo's Swami Records.

Ya Mama is a middle school vibey diss track from the brilliant minds of The Pharcyde, off their debut 1992 album Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde. Now, admittedly, I don't really understand a lot of the burns, for example this lyric: 'Naked on a mountain top, tootin' on a flizoot. Ridin' on a horse drinking whisky out a bizoot'...like I get it, but I don't get it, ya know? 'Glass eye with a fish in it?' Regardless, it's an awesome song with a great beat. DID YOU KNOW alert: Kinda like Tupac, all four original members of The Pharcyde started their career as backup dancers before focusing their energy into making dope hip hop songs.

Well there comes a time in every young playlist's life where things just start to go off the rails and get weird. This week, that particular honor falls on the delightfully moody fellows of Echo & the Bunnymen and their song Lips Like Sugar. The band formed in Liverpool in the late 70s by vocalist Ian McCulloch and guitarist Will Sergeant,  accompanied by a human bassist (Lee Pattinson) and an electronic drum machine ("Beats-O-Matic 2000") While maintaining separate solo careers, Ian and Will are still very active in the Bunnymen project, and they continue to write new material and tour.
editor's note - it has come to my attention that I have 100% fabricated the name of the drum machine

Jj is a hauntingly pretty and super jangly tune from DC quartet Priests. Original lyrics conveyed through a soulful singer, fun guitar runs buoyed by a dominant rhythm section, this song checks all the boxes. Priests has been around since 2012, releasing EPs as quickly as they could write new material. Jj is the second track off their debut full length album, Nothing Feels Natural, which they released earlier this year through their independent label Sister Polygon Records. You can get a taste of the full album, and purchase it, here.

It's good to know old bands are still kickin' it something fierce. Our title track for today's episode is courtesy of 80s DC hardcore outfit Scream. For all my British brethren, Peter Stahl and the boys will be playing in the UK in early August... 8/3 in London at The Underworld, 8/4 in Leeds for the Bloodstains Festival and 8/5 in Blackpool for UK Rebellion Festival. Make sure you take this opportunity to go see a classic, live!

We close out today's musical slip n slide with Do It All Again, a Groundhog Day loop of a song by Colorado Springs punk outfit Nobodys. Off their 2016 album Hussy, the mid-tempo track seeps out sugary melodic hooks and a catchy chorus that you'll be hard pressed to NOT sing along to.

Well I can't wait to do it all again next week, kiddos. Be sure to tune in next Wednesday (and the wednesday after that, etc) for more sonic and written debauchery. In the meantime, continue to send me cool shit, new tunes, poop jokes, whatever.