Shout-outs for the weekend go to:

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1. My parents, who I hadn't seen in a few months, who came bearing gifts, and a lot of my older punk and hardcore cds, many of which I hadn't seen in a few years.

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2. Leon the Plant, who looks fabulous after his glamor shot photo-session. Just wait until his profile is up.

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3. The new TRANSPLANTS cd, which is just beyond cool. If there's any new disc that begs to be blasted with the windows down, it's this one.

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4. The extra hour of sleep tonight. You go clock! Get on with your bad self.

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5. Visors from Disney – for those who need to feel bad-ass, but have to retain that soft core on the inside.

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6. The new Tami Ryan column, which just makes it all the easier to admit that Pastepunk has the best freakin' female columnist in the entire punk rock community.

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7. ONE KING DOWN – Bloodlust Revenge. Own this. Now.

People can take the genre of hardcore to mean a billion and half different things. For me personally, I’ve always identified the sound of “hardcore” with SICK OF IT ALL as my measuring stick. Although the term currently has more than enough modifiers on hand to conform to any range of sounds from “poppy hardcore” [...]

<i>Things you should read</i>:<br>

1) Tami's new column<br>

2) Henry Miller's "Tropic Of Cancer"<br>

3) The sign that says ALL WAY STOP, jerk ass!<br>

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<i>Things you should NOT read</i>:<br>

1) The liner notes to Good Charlotte's new record<br>

2) Albert Camus' "The Fall"<br>

3) My schedule for next semester

I’m under the impression Fat Mike was probably drunk when he signed this young band from the UK. You see, THE FIGHT are brazenly mediocre and it would make no sense for this band to be a part of the Fat camp unless Fat Mike was seeing or hearing things that perhaps were exagerrated. To [...]

If anyone attempts to watch this DVD (which for the most part, is pretty great), just make sure there are no 'throwable objects' handy while sitting through the STUDENT*RICK video. I had to restrain myself from bum-rushing the TV and taking the darn thing out myself since I couldn't locate the remote. Sidenote: The ATREYU video for "Ain't Love Grand," is fantastic.

Maybe this is odd, since LIVING SACRIFICE is no doubt, Christian Metal/Hardcore, but I just got their new disc today, "Conceived in Fire," and I can't stop playing. I'm just awestruck at the stunning display of power and musicianship that's contained on here, which is nothing short of brutal and decidedly technical. Lyrically, it's not surprising that my views differ, but still, I can't deny that the power from the imbued acceptance of faith isn't moving, even for a hebrew. Check it out…

I got the new June Spirit record in the mail today. The package had no return address. No additional information is available at this time, but I promise you I shall hunt down this anonymous postal terrorist. I will now take questions….

I’m not really a fan of describing rock music as “quaint,” but THE FEW differently fit that description. It’s not like this band has a tiny, or overly passive sound, but just that the high quality recording when matched with the mid-paced, easy-going tempo, seems strangely lax and comfortable. As a trio, THE FEW don’t [...]