Pastepunk contributor Allie Greenberg has assembled a thorough review of this year’s Pitchfork Fest, which occurred a mere two weeks ago in the grand city of Chicago. I commend Allie’s ability to hold her own in the photo pit (this just might be the only music fest on the planet where everyone in attendance could have probably qualified for a press and photo pass) and to actually call out some acts for just being lame (we’re looking at you DEERHUNTER). You can read on here.

1. I can’t say I’m surprised that GO IT ALONE announced that it was breaking up soon. Band mortality was a subject that came up in the interview that I did with the band a few months ago. Just another entry in the long line of excellent hardcore bands that made it to two full-lengths and then closed the door.

2. Having antipathy towards Barry Bond’s chase for the home run record is an escapist bummer. I’ve been a rabid baseball fan as long as I’ve been able to comprehend the game. As a kid, I cherished the slugging numbers of baseball’s greats. But with all the baggage that is hanging over Bonds and baseball right now, it’s hard to even tune into Bond’s pursuit and be excited. It’s more like resignation and shame that this has what happened to most revered statistic in all of professional sports.

3. This week has been rather nostalgic for me. An old Long Island punk rock label (Motherbox) recently surfaced on MySpace, and I’ve been reconnecting with a lot of bands I was into in the mid-90s. For most of these, it’s been probably a decade since I’ve paid them any attention and anything that I’ve owned by them is long, long gone. The whole social networking thing really comes into its own in this situation – it’s fascinating to see so much niche-music live on and to read about what some of these people are doing now.

4. Today is the last day you can stream the great LAST OF THE BELIEVERS debut EP Paper Ships Under A Burning Bridge. I recommend it.

Thrash kingpins MUNICIPAL WASTE have posted an unreleased track on their Myspace page entitled “Boner City.”

‘Nuff said.

Link: MUNICIPAL WASTE Myspace

TORCHE are finally putting out their long awaited In Return EP and they’re doing it in a big way. The band has had six different runs of colored vinyl pressed and each 10″ comes with a CD version of the EP for those who want to have a copy of the EP on their iPods, etc.

The EP is now available for purchase at the Robotic Empire online the store. The official release date for the record is September 18th. For a peek at the vinyl and gatefold sleeve, direct your eyes below:

THAT WAS THEN is a five-piece group hailing from Memphis, Tennesse. Troublemakers is the band’s six song debut EP and is an exercise in moderately heavy youth-crew hardcore with a melodic flair, not unlike the sadly defunct FADED GREY or Richmond’s DOWN TO NOTHING. Musically and lyrically, the group is solid and avoids falling into [...]

Washington, DC in the late summer is probably one of the worst places to be in the entire country. It’s hot, it’s brutally humid, and more often than not, it’s a slow time for concerts. But, within 24 hours of each other, DC’s intelligent metalheads were treated to not one, but TWO of the current [...]

I recently attended this year’s Warped Tour stop in Detroit, Michigan. For my thoughts on the bands involved and the event as a whole, head here.

Nottingham, England’s In At The Deep End Records have made available a free downloadable sampler on their pureVOLUME page. Some of the bands on the sampler include NOVEMBER COMING FIRE, ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE, BEECHER, 1000 HERTZ, THE LETTERS ORGANIZE, STEEL RULES DIE, SYLOSIS, and whole bunch more.