The picture of DROWNINGMAN on the Law of Inertia splash page looks way too “”tough”" for a band that has been so erratic in its existence. Then again they’re probably all upset about the way the DROWNINGMAN collection of unreleased songs and early recordings came out … it’s not very good, and that’s probably why most of these songs hadn’t previously seen much light lately. “”Rock and Roll Killing Machine”" is still pretty awesome…

link: lawofinertia.com (you may need to refresh a few times to see this)

1. In today’s Washington Post there’s an article about BlackBerry etiquette and how these pervasive devices have become awkward in certain social situations. I would agree – last week I saw a guy using his to check his email while in front of a urinal.

2. In the latest issue of AP, with THE USED on the cover, the Caroline Distribution ad on page 89 features our BROKEN LAMPS AND HARDCORE MEMORIES Vol. 2, compilation. I nearly flipped when I saw that in there – thanks Suburban Home!!

3. Speaking of AP – today’s fun task is to count the amount of ads in the new issue that feature review quotes from Absolutepunk.net. No, I’m not jealous (OK, maybe just a little), but there’s definitely a lot of them.

4. Something feels naturally right with GREEN DAY being popular again. Not that they ever really went away, but given how long it’s been between albums, they just seem like a band that should always been in the public conscience with new material. “”Holiday”" is a wonderful song (and was also played on Monday Night Football this week).

5. Century Media says that the new SHADOWS FALL digipak packaging for “”The War Within”" is a “”limited edition.”" At 150,000 copies of said packaging, that’s a bit of a stretch… Great disc nonetheless.

6. We’ve got live OVER IT video footage for the entirety of their brand new song, “”Ignore the Noise,”" which was shot on their recent tour with RUFIO. The music backing the video is supposedly a final version from their upcoming “”Silverstrand”" release. Look for this to be posted real soon on the PASTEPUNK TOUR 2004 page (plug! plug! plug!).

7. Most of George Carlin’s discography is now on Rhapsody. Sweeeeeeet.

8. I can be a real idiot sometimes. In May I bought one of the new Sony Minidisc HD players, featuring those brand new 1 Gig catridges. Overall, the product is pretty cool, though having to transfer from mp3 to Atrac3 is annoying. Anyway… when you have the device plugged into the USB and start recording to the Minidisc, there’s a big warning on the screen to not disconnect the device (which could result in both total disc failure, and possible device failure). Stupid me accidentally steps on the USB cord and flings the device off of my desk, disconnecting the cord, permanently damaging the disc, and possibly the device (which has to be entirely determined). There’s no real to this story, but I get the feeling that Sony could have spent a little more time engineering this thing so this wouldn’t happen… but at least I was warned!

9. Do other zine editors get separation anxiety at the post office when they mail out a package of CDs?

10. THROWNDOWN – You Don’t Have To Be Blood To Be Family

Ohio rockers HIT THE LIGHTS are currently being given some front page treatment by the folks at pureVOLUME, and the band has just added three new songs to their page, in addition to their entire four song EP. I had some nice things to say about the band’s EP a couple hundred of reviews ago, which you can check out here, and it appears the band is just getting better and better.

music: HIT THE LIGHTS pureVOLUME site

Living less than a mile away from the Pentagon does have some interesting effects – I only wish I had saw this thing from my balcony!

link: Security Blimp Floats Over Arlington

Although predictable and rife with cliches, FATE THIRTEEN deliver some seriously bruising metallic straight-edge hardcore in the vein of THROWDOWN and DARKEST HOUR. “Things Will Never…” is just five songs deep, culminating in only 15 minutes of testosterone discharge, but they accomplish quite a bit in dropping all sorts of musical signposts originally crafted by [...]

…I’d be reading a brand new book from Harvard Professor William Fisher, titled, “”Promises to Keep: Technology, Law, and the Future of Entertainment.”" Amazon has the synopsis listed as:

During the past fifteen years, changes in the technologies used to make and store audio and video recordings, combined with the communication revolution associated with the Internet, have generated an extraordinary array of new ways in which music and movies can be produced and distributed. Both the creators and the consumers of entertainment products stand to benefit enormously from the new systems. Sadly, we have failed thus far to avail ourselves of these opportunities. Instead, much energy has been devoted to interpreting or changing legal rules in hopes of defending older business models against the threats posed by the new technologies. These efforts to plug the multiplying holes in the legal dikes are failing and the entertainment industry has fallen into crisis. This provocative book chronicles how we got into this mess and presents three alternative proposals – each involving a combination of legal reforms and new business models – for how we could get out of it.

book link: Promises to Keep: Technology, Law, and the Future of Entertainment

SNOW PATROL – Final Straw

THE USED – In Love and Death – After two listens of this release this afternoon, I firmly disappointed with most of “”In Love and Death.”" This may be hard to quantify, but THE USED have gone entire Bert-centric, meaning that so much more of the band’s songwriting now seems to revolve around frontman, Bert McCracken, and thus, the rhythm sections just seems like it’s playing second fiddle to the wandering, sometimes screaming, sometimes (unfortunately) singing whims of McCracken. Largely, THE USED have cut back on the tenaciousness that was so prevalent on their “”S/T”", leaving a mess of half-hearted pop melodies and boring, go-nowhere instrumentation. Still, there are a handful of cool songs, including the subwoofer satisfying, “”Sound Effects and Overdramatics,”" the lead single, “”Take it Away.”"

INTERPOL – Antics – As we get the remnants of what was Hurricane Jeanne today in the DC area, it’s only fitting that INTERPOL’s dark, moody, lush sound compliments the gray skies and pouring rain. “”Antics”" however, is not nearly as glum as the band’s prior release, “”Turn on the Bright Lights,”" and actually takes on a healthy clip as it stalks through all ten tracks. INTERPOL’s sound is entirely consuming, and if you attempt to do anything else while listening to the songs on “”Antics,”" don’t be suprirsed if you repeatedly find your concentration heading back to the stereo.