Of the 25 entries below, 20 different record labels are represented, including several smaller labels that have cracked the Pastepunk Best Of list for the first time. If I had assign a theme to 2010, it was the emergence of a new class of nimble, up-and-coming independent record labels that are finding their own way [...]

It’s impossible to understate the power of a personal connection to a particular band that seems to only grow stronger over time. I first heard REVIVER when a friend recommended them to me after describing them as influenced by former Long Island hardcore giants SILENT MAJORITY, a band that means the world to me. I’ve [...]

MAKE DO AND MEND’s debut full-length, End Measured Mile is everything and more one might expect from a band that has grown like a wildfire since the release of their 2009 breakout EP Bodies of Water. With a brilliantly dark take on a modern post-hardcore foundation laid by bands such as HOT WATER MUSIC and [...]

In celebration of Pastepunk’s 12th Anniversary, we have teamed up once again with Beartrap PR to present a 17 song free MP3 compilation. The offering includes a number of previously unreleased songs, rare material, demo recordings for upcoming releases and several exclusive songs recorded just for the compilation. The download includes artwork and a document [...]

BANNER PILOT’s first full-length Resignation Day turned many heads in 2008 with its Go-Kart Records release. Drawing plenty of favorable comparisons to DILLINGER FOUR, ALKALINE TRIO, and LAWRENCE ARMS, the band quickly grew in stature and then landed a deal with legendary Fat Wreck Chords for the 2009 release of Collapser. Unhappy with the original [...]

Black Numbers has released The Golden Age, the debut full-length from Florida hardcore punks GO RYDELL. The KID DYNAMITE influenced affair rips through 10 songs in barely 15 minute, delivering an aggressive but melodic shot of adrenaline to all who go near. The Golden Age is available in limited edition CD and LP form and [...]

A continuation of yesterday’s post, aka, Part I (2000-2004).

- 2005: Finishing law school and becoming an actual attorney was the big personal story in 2005, but for Pastepunk, it was the juggernaut of social media that changed the way zines and music blogs operated. MySpace and PureVOLUME (to a much lesser extent) became the dominant place for bands to advertise their music (and image), and this, along with the decline of CD sales, would alter forever the role of the music label. As both a zine editor and a music fan who is always on the search for the next incredible band, this was overwhelming, and likely, the final nail in the coffin for the word “underground.” DC area friend Alex Harisiadis joined Pastepunk’s staff this year as “Metal Editor.” His average of 15 posts a year would greatly disappoint for the rest of the decade (but our In & Out list rocked). My #1 release of 2005 was PAINT IT BLACK’s epic second full-length Paradise. I’d say I picked well.

- 2006: This was the year of the big blur. I worked 60+ hours a week for the whole year, and along the way, the wife and I bought a house in the DC suburbs. For the first time since Pastepunk began to generate revenue, that component was no longer a priority in my life, and I began to dread putting on the “salesman” and “collections” hats after a day in the Office. Even worse, I went to all of one show in 2006, but it was a killer, with STRIKE ANYWHERE, IGNITE, and MODERN LIFE IS WAR. Towards the end of the year I signed a deal with IndieClick to handle all of our ads and from that point on, I only had to worry about the music. The Pastepunk bank account was lighter, but it lifted a huge burden from my head. James [Hepplewhite] and Corey [Schmidt] became prominent Pastepunk writers this year which helped a ton when I simply couldn’t muster up the energy to work on the site in the evenings. Not surprisingly, my #1 album of the year was IGNITE’s Our Darkest Days, and Alex and I once again made an attempt at an In & Out list for the next year.  The closing of Tower Records left a personal void that has yet to be filled.

- 2007: Compared to the roller-coaster of the year before, 2007 was long sought stability. Still working long hours, but with a changed attitude about how Pastepunk was “the little hobby that could not die,” everything fell into place. One of my favorite features from the year was a detailed studio journal from MIKOTO that followed the band as they recorded their debut full-length with Beau Burchell. In a sort of related bit, Century Media imprint/quasi-independent label Abacus Records shutdown after an incredible five year run that included the signing of SICK OF IT ALL, IGNITE, SWORN ENEMY, GLASS CASKET, THE AGONY SCENE, CANCER BATS, and much more. I had grown to love this label, and their demise stung. Opposite to this was Bridge Nine Records and Vinyl Collective blowing up in 2007. My #1 release of the year was MODERN LIFE IS WAR’s Midnight In America, with CRIME IN STEREO’s … Is Dead, a close second. Two years later, I would have reversed that order.

- 2008: Becoming a father in early 2008 was this year’s ultimate story. You’ve probably heard it said a thousand times, but parenthood has a way of changing everything. Pastepunk faced a dip in content for the first months of me being a Dad, and for the first time ever, our daily traffic sagged. But it wasn’t long before things smoothed out, and in October, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary with a limited edition Pastepunk coffee mug and an awesome free MP3 compilation put together with the help of Bear Trap PR. MySpace and Twitter continued to dominate social media for bands, but Facebook became a new player for them too, and a blizzard of other digital media and marketing outlets upped the ante on self-promotion. With CD sales truly in the tank on an indie level, labels recalibrated back to their earlier days with less staff and more DIY efforts. Vinyl sales and its place in independent music would return to level not experienced in probably 15 years. On the touring front, $4 a gallon gas put a serious crimp into the road activities of bands during the summer. PAINT IT BLACK’s New Lexicon topped my Best of 2008 list, and H2O’s long-awaited “comeback” album, Nothing To Prove rang loudly throughout Pastepunk HQ.

- 2009: With “the great recession” making money tight for just about everyone in music this year, anything grandiose seemed to be on hold. Labels with a reputation for holding down costs (Rise and Deathwish to name a few) seemed to flourish, but the unabashed prevalence of  MP3download blogs, and well, knowing how to use Google, seriously challenged the business model of trying to get people to pay for music (and Spotify or the latest hyped music site surely will not be a savior). We launched our seventh design in the spring of the year, and converting the whole thing over to WordPress was messy to say the least, which explains the awful formatting for anything in the early archives – my bad. My #1 release of the year was SET YOUR GOALS’ high-energy declaration, This Could Be The Death of Us. I’ll be 30 years old in a matter of days, but dammit, I’ll be running around my office finger pointing and self-moshing to this release as long as my body holds up. Despite my feelings about the eventual demise of song or album purchasing, this year ended with me starting a new venture – obtaining the digital distribution rights to out of print hardcore/punk/etc. releases that have a personal importance to me. Our first two re-releases, SILENT MAJORITY’s You Would Love To Know EP, and BLOOD RED’s Hostage full-length (both formerly of Initial Records). can found on various digital music sites right now (iTunes, AmazonMP3, MySpace Music), and look for more releases to be announced in 2010, and our efforts to support them. Thanks for hanging with us this decade, it’s been a serious trip.

I thought I might get away with not getting all retrospective, but I’m sort of a sucker for this kind of stuff. In bullet point format, here are years 2000-2004, with the rest coming in the form of Part II tomorrow (image is a screenshot from August 2001).

- 2000: Still in its humble HTML simplicity, Pastepunk sold its first ad in the spring of 2000. Vagrant records, a pioneer of internet marketing among indie labels wanted to know what it would cost to put an ad up on our splash page (remember those?). I picked a nice sounding number out of my head, and they agreed. I immediately called my Dad, who asked, “Why would they want to do that?” It was the beginning of a wonderful relationship with Vagrant and many more labels. After 20 months, my dorm room hobby was sprouting wings.

- 2001: This was the year that I went to more shows than any other in  my life. During my junior and senior years of college, I attended at least one show a week in the Maryland and DC area, and on occasion, many more than that. Looking back, I’m wondering how I handled that, though it was easy to become a regular at venues like 9:30 Club and The Black Cat. It also explains my unfortunate (but thankfully minor) loss of hearing. An hour long interview with BAD RELIGION’s Jay Bentley was a milestone, as was as a very fun and inspiring interview with Toby Morse of H2O right around the release of their ‘controversial’ full-length Go.

- 2002: Graduated from the University of Maryland this year and then began law school at George Mason in the fall. It was the end of my frequent show-going days which started in that capacity in 1994. Pastepunk however was on a tear this year, adding several staff members, and pumping out more content than ever, and releasing our first CD compilation “Broken Lamps and Hardcore Memories.” (with art designed by GLASSJAW’s Justin Beck). The compilation sold well in the US, Europe and even Japan. This was also the first year of our content being in a MySQL database, and shortly, the design and coding curve would explode far beyond my DIY skills.

- 2003: Buried in schoolwork and living 300 miles apart from my fiancee, Pastepunk became a huge refuge of sanity this  year. We did close 50 band interviews and profiles this year, posted at least one review a day and added (and lost) some staff along the way. For better or for worse, I landed an unpaid legal internship with a division of the RIAA over the summer that involved research into international royalty agreements concerning ancient “home taping” legislation. I was miserable and my personal interest in copyright law faltered.  My #1 release of the year was THRICE’s Artist In The Ambulance. Still love that record. CAVE IN’s Antenna also came out this year and I’m still shocked that “Inspire” didn’t become the huge radio hit that I thought it was destined to be.

- 2004: This year saw the release of our second CD compilation, a joint release with Suburban Home Records titled “Broken Lamps and Hardcore Memories Vol. 2″ (apt, eh?). Financially, we took a bath on it as we hoped to sell it as a super low-priced comp in all of the big music stores and also on all of Warped Tour at the Suburban Home Booth. Outside of a few local Warped dates, there was no SH booth. Distributor returns were huge, and the end of an era of cheapo CD comps was in full swing. Despite the ugly business history to it, I really love this CD. I spent an insane amount of time sequencing it, and I think you’ll have a hard time finding a better opening 10 or 11 hardcore and punk songs to a 70+ minute release. My #1 release of the year was BAD RELIGION’s The Empire Strikes First, and in the year’s closing days, I got married to my high school sweetheart.