IGN has posted some amusing videos of the upcoming Guitar Hero II for XBOX 360 which is set to feature bonus tracks including “Billion Dollar Babies” by Alice Cooper, “Dead!” by My Chemical Romance, “Hush” by Deep Purple, “Life Wasted” by Pearl Jam, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Hoochie Koo” by Rick Derringer, “Possum Kingdom” by Toadies, “Salvation” by Rancid and “The Trooper” by Iron Maiden.

The site is hosting videos of play throughs of the Rancid favorite “Salvation” complete with computer animated characters who do not exactly resemble Tim, Lars, Brett or Matt.

You can check out three attempts to play the song here.
Read more at: Continue reading Rancid’s "Salvation" as performed by Guitar Hero II →

Ronen Kauffman has unleashed episode 18 of his Issue Oriented podcast. This installment features Dan Yemin (Lifetime, Paint It Black, Kid Dynamite) about anger, music, and the pitfalls of being outspoken; and to Joanna Angel (CEO and star of BurningAngel.com) about porn, feminism, and much more.

You can check out the podcast here.
Read more at: Continue reading Issue Oriented talks to Dan Yemin (Lifetime), Joanna Angel (Burning Angel) →

The New York Times recently assembled a story about black fans of indie rock, punk and other underground music. Despite the long history of black musicians in everything from rock’n’roll (Chuck Berry, Jimmy Hendrix) to punk (Dead Kennedys) to hardcore (Bad Brains) to modern acts like Bloc Party, TV On the Radio and Whole Wheat Bread, indie and punk are largely seen as a white, suburban phenomenon.

The story examines some of the people attempting to break free of these stereotypes, and despite the condescending name it applies to them (“blipsters”) it looks at some the interesting reactions:

For a long time I was laughed at by both black and white people about being the only black person in my school that liked Nirvana and bands like that.

Another showgoer was frequently mistaken for a security guard. Sadly, the negative stereotypes also extend the other way:

There’s an unfortunate tendency for some black people to think if you listen to rock music or want to play rock music, you’re an Uncle Tom,

Of course, Cocker Spaniel’s “The Only Black Guy at the Indie Rock Show” may be the most succinct way of examining the whole issue.

You can check out the entire story here.
Read more at: Continue reading New York Times looks at race in underground music →

The Jazz June will be playing their reunion show this Saturday in New Brunswick, NJ. The band announced their intention to play again last year in support of a friend diagnosed with brain cancer.

The show will be at the Court Tavern at 10pm and feature the Killtakers and the A-Sides as openers. The show is 21 and up only.

The band originally formed in 1996 and released a number of records including 2001’s They Love Those Who Make The Music and their final record, 2002’s Better Off Without Air. You can check out an interview with the band, as performed by our friends at the defunct Punkrocks.net, right here.
Read more at: Continue reading Another Jazz June reunion show this Saturday →

Dustin Kensrue has posted the first video from his new album Please Come Home. Equal Vision signed the Thrice frontman this past October.

You can check out “Pistol” right here.
Read more at: Continue reading Dustin Kensrue’s first video available online →

As the release for their long-awaited new album approaches, Lifetime‘s Dan Yemin has posted a new blog discussing the sound of the record as well as filling out the list of record release shows.

We have a new album coming out in two weeks. We wrote the songs in 6 months, as opposed to the two years it took to write “Jersey’s Best Dancers”. We recorded the album in three weeks, as opposed to the three days it took to record “Hello Bastards”. As you can see, some things are different, and some things are the same.

I feel like the music, and relationships between the five of us that fuel that music, have remained much the same, but hopefully have matured too. Same old super-fast hardcore pop songs. Same weird mix of Gorilla Biscuits, Jawbreaker, Green Day, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, 7 Seconds, Dag Nasty. Same less-obvious-but-no-less-intense obsessions with the Smiths, the Cure, Superchunk, Weezer. Same themes of love and loss, & love of music. New themes as well.

Read more at: Continue reading Tours: Lifetime posts new blog, adds record release shows →

Jaws, the final project from late Lagwagon and Bad Astronaut drummer Derrick Plourde has “pre-released” the last recordings featuring Derrick. Derrick’s close friend and bandmate Joey Cape made reference to the band in the liner notes of 2006’s Twelve Small Steps, One Giant Disappointment, their last record together.

Described as influenced by 70’s rock, 80’s pop/new-wave and 90’s melodic hardcore, the band also includes bassist Little Joe (RKL) and vocalist/guitarist/sequencer, Sharky Towers (The Wet Weasels, Sniper).

You can stream some music on their myspace page or but the entire album digitally right here.
Read more at: Continue reading Jaws (featuring the late Derrick Plourde) prereleases Death & Taxes: Volume One →

Late last year, New Found Glory released their latest album, Coming Home and I had a chance to speak with guitarist Chad Gilbert about the new album, the last album and his other projects including some brief mentions of both Hazen Street and Shai Hulud.

Read more at: Continue reading Interviews: New Found Glory →

Comeback Kid have posted the title track from their forthcoming Victory Records release. Broadcasting, the follow-up to 2005’s Wake The Dead, which will hit stores February 20th and marks the band’s first release since former vocalist Scott Wade left the band almost a year ago.

You can check out the track here.
Read more at: Continue reading Comeback Kid post new song →

Anti-Flag recently recorded a PSA for PETA2 endorsing the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. In the PSA, Justin Sane (Guitar & Vocals), Chris #2 (Bass & Vocals), Chris Head (Guitar), and Pat Thetic (Drums) discuss their vegetarianism and explain:

It’s important to challenge people to think about those kind of things, the things that most people never think about at all. It’s so much easier today to be a vegetarian or to be a vegan then it’s ever been.

Anti-Flag joins a growing list of musicians, including Rise Against, NOFX, and Billy Talent, to speak out against organizations like KFC, and on behalf of PETA.

You can check out the PSA here
Read more at: Continue reading Anti-Flag declares “Meat is Murder” in new PETA PSA →

Pitchfork is reporting that the first pressing of Ted Leo And The Pharmacists‘s upcoming Touch and Go debut will ship with a bonus six song EP. Among the selections on the EP is a cover of “Rappaport’s Testament: I Never Gave Up,” originally by anarchist group, Chumbawumba.

The vinyl edition of the album will also include a free coupon for the same as well as a digital download for the album itself. As reported earlier, the album is titled Living With The Living. The record was produced by Fugazi‘s Brendan Canty and is now due out March 20th, 2007.

Beginning in March, the band will be hitting the road for a US tour.
Read more at: Continue reading Ted Leo and the Pharmacist plan bonus EP →

Fall Out Boy‘s Pete Wentz recently discussed the leak of their new album, Infinity on High. The highly anticipated album follows the band’s multi-platinum major label debut, From Under The Cork Tree.

In the story, Wentz describes the leak as “devastating” and both the label and band are suggesting that it was a low-level pressing plant employee:

Our job is to put out records and tour and make music. What are we gonna do? Sit at the plant and watch everybody? Some guy working minimum wage, why would he care how it affects us? It’s a multi-pronged thing.”

This could be the worst leak in the history in music, f you think that every year computers, iPod, internet music grows exponentially and we’re probably one of the biggest bands in rock music on the internet.

Rolling Stone deconstructed all of Wentz’s statements in a tongue -in-cheek look at the five stages of “album leak grief.”
Read more at: Continue reading Fall Out Boy pin leak on disgruntled “minimum wage” worker →

Akimbo has announced several weeks of tour dates set to kick off in March. The band will be out in support of 2006’s Alternative Tentacles debut Forging Steel and Laying Stone.

Tokyo, Japan’s Green Milk from the Planet Orange will support on a number of the dates.

Alternative Tentacles is also planning on reissuing Harshing Your Mellow, Akimbo’s now out of print debut originally released in 2002 on Amalgate, some time this year.
Read more at: Continue reading Tours: Akimbo →