With the year officially ending momentarily, it seemed like the right time to put up the most important year-end list of all: yours. Based on your voting for the past 365 days, we’ve got a list of your favorite albums based on highest score and most participation.

Obviously, we couldn’t just take the highest scores since 5 people loving an album and giving it a 10 isn’t necessarily better than 100 people giving it a 9, so we did a little math and creating a weighting factor to adjust the scores to balance out the number of people voting and the raw scores themselves. This list is based on many thousands of votes, so it’s hopefully a pretty good representation of your favorite albums of 2007.

Thanks to everyone who registered an account and voted for their favorites. If you aren’t happy with the list, go register and make sure your vote is counted next year.

Source Continue reading Your favorite albums of 2007 →

Once again Punknews.org is wrapping up a year with a collection of best of lists.

Each news editor and a selection of our most prolific reviewers have put together their personal picks for the best records of 2007. We list our top EPs and live albums, assemble mix tape lists of our favorite tracks, and even pull in some videos to show off the bands. Here’s the line up. Click the staff member’s name to see their picks:

• Aubin Paul (news editor / site founder)
• Adam White (news editor)
• Brian Shultz (news / reviews editor)
• Justin August (news editor)
• Meg Reinecker (news editor)
• Chris Moran (news editor / videographer)
• Ben Conoley (news editor)
• Scott Heisel (alumni news / reviews editor)
• Greg Simpson aka Greg0rb (reviewer)
• Jesse Raub (reviewer)
• Jordan Rogowski aka Anchors (reviewer)
• Darren McLeod (reviewer)
• Tyler Barrett aka GlassPipeMurder (reviewer)
• Jon Daley (reviewer)

Through the awesome power of math we’ve also averaged out an overall site list based on the individual picks. You can check these out at the:

• Overall Punknews.org Picks for 2007

Happy New Years everyone. We’ll see you in 2008.
Source Continue reading Punknews Staff Picks for 2007 →

It’s Sunday, December 30th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. I’ll level with you guys: this was a pretty meagre week. This happens every December mind you, the well of music stories pretty much runs dry by the end of the month. Look for things to ramp up rather quickly following New Years. Get your news pants ready.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

The holiday week brought a number of major tour announcements. Influential hardcore / metal act Earth Crisis will reunite for a number of shows in early 2008. The Dropkick Murphys will continue to tour in support of their newest full length. Crime In Stereo announced support dates with Poison the Well for early in the year as well. Political grind act Misery Index is set to hit the studio soon with Converge axe man Kurt Ballou producing. Major label refugees Story of the Year also discussed the rationale behind their jump from Warner to Epitaph.

We had new audio this week from Fake Problems, who unleashed a tribute to Evel Knievel. Pop stars Fall Out Boy will be the subject of a documentary by filmmaker Albert Maysles, one-half of the team that made the Rolling Stones’ seminal Gimme Shelter tour doc. A DVD release has been secured for the N.Y.H.C documentary, which features bands like 108 , Madball , Sick Of It All and Agnostic Front discussing their scene. This week brought us another volley in the RIAA’s war on the public, another look at the loudness war, and the nominations for the Shortlist award, including bands like Bad Religion, Against Me! and Gogol Bordello.

As a holiday gift from us here at the `Org check out a video of a full set from New Jersey’s Gaslight Anthem, performed at this year’s The Fest 6. This week we spoke with Ryan Young of Off With Their Heads (interview) and Justin Pedrick of Eyeball act The Number Twelve Looks Like You (interview). The twenty second edition of Vinyl File brought you a listing of upcoming releases that’ll compete for your dollar in 2008.
Source Continue reading December 30th, 2007 →

Portland’s The Estranged are the latest band to join the roster of Dirtnap Records. Members of The Estranged have a lengthly history in Portland’s hardcore/crust scene in bands such as Hellshock, Warcry, Remains of the Day and Absolute Rulers.

Dirtnap describes The Estranged as playing “crushing, ominous post punk ala Wipers meets Mission of Burma meets Warsaw/Joy Division” and are promising a full-length from the band in the spring.
Source Continue reading Dirtnap signs The Estranged →

An article in the Washington Post has highlighted a ongoing lawsuit between the Recording Industry Association of America and a Scottsdale, AZ man. The case is significant in that involves yet another challenge to personal use: purchasing a CD and copying it to a computer with no intent to distribute those copies.

Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.

You can see the full article at the Post: Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use
Source Continue reading RIAA continues to attack personal use →

Ryan Young of Off with Their Heads recently took some time to have an in-depth discussion with our own lmnndtlgrph (Sam North). Young talks about what Off With Their Heads has been up to, about the band’s wealth of recordings and what else he may have up his sleeve in the next little while.

Off With Their Heads recently released the compilation, All Things Move Toward Their End, which contained many of their various seven-inch records.

Source Continue reading Interviews: Off With Their Heads →

Montreal’s Black Ships have just put a new EP in the can and will be heading out on tour to kick off the new year. Those dates can be seen below.

Low, the band’s new EP, is the first for New Romance For Kids and you can stream the first track from the release at the label’s MySpace page.
Source Continue reading Tours: Black Ships stream track, plan early 2008 tour →

Last of the Believers, which features former and current members of Rise Against, Ignite and Reach the Sky, have posted a new track titled “A Long Time Coming” on their Myspace page. The song will be included on the upcoming Paper Ships Under a Burning Bridge (Version 2.0) cd that will be released on January 22nd via Adrenaline Music Group. The album was previously self-released and is getting a makeover. Our original review for the release can be found here: Paper Ships Under a Burning Bridge.

You can see the band live on tour with the Circle Jerks throughout January.
Source Continue reading Last of the Believers: “A Long Time Coming” →

Halfway to Hell Club has posted a couple new tracks from their recent recording process. You can hear “What A Surprise” and the fully mixed version of “Kitchen Window” at their MySpace page. Both are from the band’s forthcoming EP, Knowledge Is a Curse. The recent Editor’s Pick plays tonight at the Moose Lodge in Lindenhurst, NY with Polar Bear Club, Capital, Celebrity Murders, the Agent and Nautical Mile.

New Jersey ska-punk band Legitimate Business has posted their 2007 EP If You Can’t Take The Heat… as a free download available on their website. The band’s single “80 on 80” was heard in Tony Hawk’s Project 8. The download expires on New Years Day. The band also wishes to welcome member Kate Campbell, ex-Long Shot Hero trumpet player. You can grab it at their website.
Source Continue reading Halfway to Hell Club, Legitimate Business →

Popular grassroots candidate Ron Paul was recently the subject of a montage assembled by his supporters. The video attempts to show some of his positions and comes accompanied by Angels and Airwaves‘s “Secret Crowds.”

You can check it out here.
Source Continue reading Ron Paul and Angels & Airwaves →

Our compatriot Mr. Cruz has sent us word that Inhaste has had to drop off their upcoming tour with Dr. Know. They’ll be replaced by fellow Unrest Records artist Poser Disposer. Expect an updated itinerary in a few days.
Source Continue reading Inhaste replaced by Poser Disposer on Dr. Know tour →

Rolling Stone has put together a detailed follow up to our earlier story regarding the backlash of music fans and producers against overcompressed and artificially loud sounding music. The story talks to a number of luminaries including Butch Vig (Against Me!, Nirvana), Rob Cavallo (Green Day), Kim Deal (Pixies) and others.

In addition, the article has some interesting graphics to give a sense of how it all works and what the impact has to music. In the end, it also makes reference to a number of badly mastered albums, adding praise for Bob Dylan while condemning Fall Out Boy‘s Infinity on High.

You can check it out here.
Source Continue reading Rolling Stone deconstructs the “Loudness War” →

Coheed and Cambria have posted a alternate/demo version of their track, “The Road and the Damned.” The song can be streamed or downloaded gratis.

The band released Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow this year.

You can check out the song on their myspace page.
Source Continue reading Coheed & Cambria: “The Road and the Damned (Demo)” →