I have been waiting for this album for about three years now and it has finally been released (well sort of). The album, which will be officially released in two weeks, has been leaked on to various torrent sites. If you are going to download it get it from MiniNova.org. People who have downloaded it from other sites are complaining about inferior quality and bitrates.

I think I have made my love for the alt rock band Brand New fairly obvious.

Anyway, to continue hyping the September release of their new album Daisy I thought I would post this link to Spin.com’s interview with the bands front man Jesse Lacey.

When you finish reading the interview check out their new single here.

$9.99 for a 52-inch TV is too good to be true.

Facebook soups up search.

Facebook Lite.

US has a record deficit for July. It seems like every administration reaches some kind of spending record.

“Glenrock Police Chief Tom Sweet says two officers “probably didn’t do things the best way” when they used a Taser on a 76-year-old man driving an antique tractor in a parade.” The officers are on paid vacation, sorry I mean “paid leave”, while they are investigated despite witnesses calling the cops in question “out of control.”

Speaking of tasers, a California man has died after being shot by police with a taser. Tasers can be deadly, it seems like excessive force using them on the old man on a tractor.

Some groups are calling for a reduction in the use of tasers. I agree. They should only be used as a replacement for deadly force.

The first single, “at the bottom”, from Brand New’s fourth studio album Daisy has just been released on the band’s Myspace page. It has me seriously hyped for the new album.

I really hope the single is indicative of what the album will sound like.

Deja Entendu was great, The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me was better, and Daisy will (hopefully) be another inprovement. Brand New is one of the few bands that is able to consistently improve over time.

You can also download the single on Amazon.com

At the Bottom Lyrics:

Wait, watched you throw out your bouquet
Now I think about you everyday
I’m alone now in my bed

And there’s a lake
And at the bottom you’ll find all my friends
They don’t swim cause they’re all dead
We never are what we intend or invent

Cause I make little lies and then I pull them apart
Think something dark’s living down in my heart
And if I wanted to die before I got old
I should have started some years ago digging that hole

Well I carry this box to the proper place
And when I lower it down
I let it you fade away
I hope that you would do this for me
I’d serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

A deer that a hunter shot in the heart
Some dogs that got hit by cars
All came to spill their guts
And we spoke
About the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
And which songs we had loved the most
And then we all turned to dirt
And dust

Some men die under the mountain looking for gold
Some die looking for a hand to hold

Well I carry this box to its proper place
And when I lower it down
I let you fade away
I know that you would do this for me
I’d serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

I’m slowly bringing you down from the heavenly gates
Now I’m drowning in the flood I made
Well explain myself to me on the other side
I’ll watch from Heaven when I die

Well I carry this box to the proper place
And when I lower it down
I let you fade away
I know that you would do this for me
I’d serve you drugs on a silver plate
If I thought it would help you get away
I hope that you would do this for me

Album Cover for Daisy

Column I wrote for the Times-News about the fledgling music industry:

On July 14, a Los Angeles man pleaded guilty to uploading a pre-release copy of the most recent Guns N’ Roses album. His punishment includes one year of probation and two months of home confinement. He will also be forced to produce an anti-piracy message that will appear either on the radio or television.

[...]

There needs to be a paradigm shift.

Read the rest, comment, etc. here.

Today I thought I would take a break from my usual political commentary to share with you one of the greatest albums to hit the music scene in years. “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me“, by the ex-emo outfit Brand New, is about as far from the popular definition of emo as you can get and that is a very good thing.

Before I listened to this album I was expecting disappointment. I thoroughly enjoyed “Deja Entendu” and I did not think these guys were capable of surpassing the above-average quality of that attempt. Boy was I wrong. Just as Deja greatly surpassed “Your Favorite Weapon“, “The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me” is a new Milestone for this band.

I decided to wait a while to write this review. Like Deja, TDAGARIM took a couple of listens to fully appreciate. At the same time, “Deja Entendu” quickly began loosing its appeal as I listened to it more and more. The new album does not have this problem. I have probably listened to the CD over fifteen times and it has failed to get old. Not only that, but every song gets played each time. There are some gems in “Degausser”, “Millstone”, “Sowing Season”, “Limousine”, “You Won’t Know”, and “Luca” but the album as a whole can be played from beginning to end without the slightest thought of skipping a track. This is a very rare trait in the music industry today, considering the constant repetition you hear on the radio and MTV.

So why is this album so good? The simple answer is that everything meshes together very well and, at the same time, does not sound repetitive. The guitars are amazing and Vincent Accardi definitely deserves credit for that. The bass rhythms provide a solid and creative backbone in every song they are present, in some places even out doing the guitar solo’s that are supposed to be more prevalent. And then theres the vocals, full of emotion and thought (as you would expect from frontman Jesse Lacey), but theres something more. A meaningfulness that can be found nowhere else in music today. And thats what makes this album great. The meaningfulness. It is very rare to find musicians who love what they do. Sure there are those who love the money and fame, but do they really love the music they play? These guys do and thats why they are going to be around for a long time.