Spin.com posts an article on the history of Epitaph, California punk

Spin recently posted an article looking back at Epitaph Records and the evolution of California punk rock. The feature includes background on the label and quotes from people like L7 member (and Pirates of the Caribbean director) Gore Verbinski, Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise, Fat Mike of NOFX, Tim Armstrong of Rancid, Dave Smalley of Down By Law and Dag Nasty.

Label owner Brett Gurewitz talked off punk rock prior to the explosion of bands like Green Day and The Offspring:

To the rest of the world, we were like Civil War reenactors. “You guys are still doing punk shows? How cute.”

Check out the article here.
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Magic: The Gathering – Expansion 3 Now Available

The third expansion for Magic: The Gathering – Duels of the Planeswalkers is now available via Steam.

Take on Magic’s troubled Planeswalker Sarkhan the Mad, one of the new opponents featured in the third Duels of the Planeswalkers expansion. Plus, three new playable decks; three new unlockable cards for each of the fourteen previously released decks, three new achievements, four new two-headed local co-op levels, and five new puzzling challenges.

If you’re just getting started, check out the Duels of the Planeswalkers – Complete Pack which includes the base game, all three expansions, and 28 decks for one low price.


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Public Enemy raise $75,000 to fan-fund new record

Influential political hip hop group Public Enemy have completed the fundraising round begun earlier this year. The band aimed to raise $75,000 (€59,100) via Sellaband.com. Frontman Chuck D. posted this notice:

We just received word that our fund raising campaign has completed. This is truly a great moment for us and we owe it all to our [fans] on SellaBand – our true ‘Believers.’ As the title of this entry suggests, it has been a long and winding road. We’ve had explosive starts, media attention, corporate troubles, media criticism, recalculations and finally resurgence. When its all said and done, the bottom line is that we never lost faith in ourselves, our fams and the future of fan funding as a model.

The band had different offers for contributors including a copy of the album, a download and a revenue share along with more elaborate packages like a studio visit for €7,880.00 ($11069) The as yet untitled album will follow 2007’s How You Sell Soul To A Soulless People Who Sold Their Soul?. The band has already promised collaborations with Rise Against and Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine.
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Jimmy Eat World: “Precision Auto” (Superchunk)

Jimmy Eat World have posted their cover of Superchunk‘s “Precision Auto.” The song comes from Superchunk’s 1992 album, On the Mouth, which was produced by John Reis of Rocket From the Crypt. The song has previously been covered by Les Savy Fav and Fucked Up recorded a live version of the song at Matador 21 this past summer.

Check out the cover via Purevolume.

If you’d like to compare it to the original, the video and song are available via YouTube.
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