For the first three songs on this release, TODAY I WAIT make no bones about the fact that they play straight-up metalcore that’s not for the faint-hearted or aimed towards to a meathead audience. With a healthy dose of mathy arrangements, intriguingly poetic lyrics, and a vocalist that sounds closer to a grizzly bear than [...]

There’s an interesting article by Bill Palmer at the iPod Garage site about why iPods have the auto-sync feature, which can cause the unit to erase all of its music if the iPod is being used in a certain manner that might be implicated for ‘piracy.’ As Palmer points out, it’s insulting to constantly be treated like a criminal-in-training when facing the practical realities of how people choose to listen to their digital audio files, especially when they are placed on multiple computers. Here’s a brief quote from the article, which is definitely a good read (even if you don’t have one, like myself):

Since the record companies had forced Apple into restricting the iPod into being used with only one computer anyway, why not just set things up so that when the user did connect their iPod to their one designated computer, all of the music on that computer would automatically copy into their iPod as well? I can just picture Steve Jobs and company sitting around a table, trying desperately to figure out how to make the iPod marketable in spite of the fact that it was now a crippled device, and coming up with the auto-sync thing and thinking, “”Yeah, that’s something that we can market.”" Advertising your weaknesses as strengths, if it works, can kill two birds with the same stone.

Fortunately, though, Apple also did something that in my mind, has meant the difference between the success and failure of the iPod. Within iTunes, they included a little “”iPod preferences”" panel (which is only visible when an iPod is connected) that allows you to turn the restrictions off. I can tell you right now that if not for the fact that they included this particular option, I never would have bought an iPod. And I wouldn’t own one today. Not in a million years. And if I’d bought an iPod without knowing ahead of time about the auto-sync crippling, and then hadn’t been able to turn it off, I would have immediately taken it back to the store in order to get my money back. You’d better believe there wouldn’t have been a restocking fee.

Read the entire story here…

…then you need to check out Immigrant Sun’s DIE YOUNG right now! Raging metallic hardcore at it’s finest, played like it’s the mid 90s, back before hardcore bands could be mistaken for a pack of lost models…

mp3: DIE YOUNG – The Rennaissance

mp3: DIE YOUNG – Drawn In Quarters

– Now where did I put that John Starks jersey?

It’s too bad Epitaph’s not releasing DOWNSET’s new album…

“”Jumping Off”" is the first single from DOWNSET’s upcoming album, “”Universal,”" on Hawino Records, which is due in stores, tomorrow, June 1st. (Hot diggity!). DOWNSET have been cranking out heavy, metallic/hip-hop influenced rock for over a decade now, and “”Jumping Off”" seems to feature them at their finest. Check out the links below.

video: DOWNSET – Jumping Off

mp3: DOWNSET – Forever

Long Beach, California’s, THE SILENCE have been making a healthy buzz for themselves in the past few months with the release of their debut full-length, “”Audio Alchemy.”" I think they sound a bit like AFI, around the “”Shut Your Mouth And Open Your Eyes”" era, without as hard an edge, but with just as strong melodies. The band has a whopping nine songs up for download on their pureVOLUME site, including two brand new tunes that show the band progressing nicely along in their songwriting. Oh yea, make sure you check out their promo photo, one of the guys in the band looks like Nikki Sixx, minus 20 years…

link: THE SILENCE pureVOLUME site

There’s an excellent article in the New York Times today detailing the excitement in Calgary right now for the Flames, in the Stanley Cup Finals, who haven’t been this far into the playoffs since they won their last cup, in 1989. Iginla fever!

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/31/international/americas/31calg.html?8hpib (registration required).

If not for the good people at Fueled by Ramen, I was fairly positive the TEEN IDOLS had broken up years ago and were old history by now (note: looks like the band recently broke up for good – bummer). With their first release in more than three years, and first that’s not on Honest [...]

BURNT BY THE SUN have had their video for “”Forlani,”" added to Launch.com. The song comes from the band’s early 2004 release, “”The Perfect Is The Enemy of the Good.”" Make sure you watch the drummer!

link: BURNT BY THE SUN – Forlani