Wisconsin’s WHOLEHEARTED are both a rejuvenating shot of energetic hardcore and a snapshot of the familiar, which for the genre, is hardly a bad place to be. Combining pretty much every shard of influence from the past 20 years of aggressive music, WHOLEHEARTED flicker between the melodic post-youth crew sounds of TURNING POINT, West Coast [...]

The New York Times has an in depth piece on Zach Snider’s new movie, The Watchmen. The original comic by the same name dismantles assumptions that superheroes like Spider Man and Superman have propagated since the 1950′s. From the idea that masked-vigilantes are inherently good inside, to answering questions like Who polices the police and does power corrupt, the comic is an eerily realistic apocalyptic tale and a must-read for literature-freaks and societal skeptics alike. I hope the fact that MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE is on the soundtrack doesn’t deter any unfamiliar punks from checking out the comic; Please don’t throw the genius baby out with the pop-rock bathwater! You can check out that story here. – Matt, I wouldn’t worry. At this point, I think Dunkin Donuts owes Jordan money…. If there’s a comic book that anyone is afraid of large corporations touching and ruining, this one is pretty much it. My concern is not that Mr. Snyder or MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE (Hell, the Ghost of You, MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE’s huge single is named after a fictional product in Watchmen) are insincere in their praise for the book, but instead that the taint of “make it palatable” will ruin the movie. It does not reassure me that the spirit of the original ending was adhered to, but crucial details had to be omitted. Given that there are a quite a few big ideas stacked on top of each other by the last twenty pages, the removal of multiple ideas could lead to a very different ending impression than the book. The taste in my mouth after closing the cover is not one that’s all bitter. I’m also not convinced the book ends on a sour note, either. After the tragedy occurs at the end of the book, the villain is told that even his victory isn’t the end of the story. Life goes on, lie or not. So if we really need to bring this back to music. I’m looking forward to MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE covering BOB DYLAN, I’m cautiously optimistic about the Watchmen picture and the LEATHERMOUTH disc (Frank Iero from MY CHEM) is good but oh God the lyrics are not as good as the music. James

From THIS IS HELL: Hey, we are looking for a drummer. Starting for when we go to Europe March 13th – April 14th. If anyone is interested in trying out please film yourself playing any two of these songs…. “Broken Teeth,” “Polygraph Cheaters,” “Infected,” “Reckless,” or “Permanence” — upload it to YouTube or Vimeo and email it to Thisishellny@gmail.com We have a weekend in the US right after Europe and then we are planning on finishing writing and then recording after that. Obviously you need to have good gear, need to be able to tour a lot, be able to get to Long Island to practice and not be a shithead. If you have any further questions feel free to email us at the above address. Thanks! – Word has it that drummer Dan Bourke left the band to join STRAY FROM THE PATH.

Although it was released more than a year ago, I recently ran into THIS IS A STANDOFF’s debut full-length, Be Excited. Notably, this is a successor band to Canada’s awesome skatepunk act BELVEDERE (and also features members of FORTY CENT FIX and ONE SHOT LEFT), and the sound is roughly the same, but slightly more refined. If you’re into skatepunk/melodicore, it’s nearly flawless. Several songs from the band can be found on their snazzy looking MySpace page.

If it looks like a duck… sounds like a duck… There’s no way to skirt around the fact that Minneapolis’ OFF WITH THEIR HEADS have a serious DILLINGER FOUR complex to their music. From the melodically husky lead vocals, to the buoyant pop-punk, and well-crafted personal lyrics, From the Bottom has its D4 credentials down-pat. [...]

Well, click here, read Franz’s excellently written tour journal, and you’ll find your reward at the bottom of the page. – Woahohohoh!

From the inbox: Brooklyn’s BRIDGE AND TUNNEL are gearing up to leave town and hit the road for a short run down south to get warm, play Harvest of Hope Fest and support their debut full-length East/West that was released last August on No Idea Records. The tour includes dates with good buddies MOUTHBREATHER who just released their debut album Thank You For Your Patience on Kiss of Death Records They also hopped up on the pink couch this past fall at ifyoumakeit.com for an acoustic version of “Call to the Comptroller’s Office” from the new album. Dates: 3/​2/​09 Balti​more,​ MD @ Charm​ City Art Space​ 3/​3/​09 Wilmi​ngton​,​ NC @ The Soapb​ox Laund​ro-​loung​e 3/​4/​09 Charl​otte,​ NC @ Lunch​box Recor​ds 3/​5/​09 Atlan​ta,​ GA @ Wonde​rRoot​ 3/​6/​09 St. Augus​tine,​ FL @ Harve​st of Hope fest 3/​7/​09 St. Augus​tine,​ FL @ Harve​st of Hope fest 3/​8/​09 Athen​s,​ GA @ The Hange​r 3/​9/​09 Chape​l Hill,​ NC @ The Night​light​ 3/​10/​09 Richm​ond,​ VA @ The Czar – BRIDGE AND TUNNEL was featured in Pastepunk’s Best of 2008 list.

– One of the better, but short-lived bands to come from the late 90s youth-crew revival. This EP is still a favorite with me because it just kills for nine straight minutes. Sing-alongs, breakdowns, guitar slides, packed together like sardines, all with the feel that you’re in the middle of the pit at your local VFW Hall.