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Rise Against – Endgame

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Another release with high expectations from my side was Endgame, the new album of Rise Against. No idea why, but so far I always needed a bit longer to get into releases from Rise Against. This time I fell in love with it pretty fast. The difference this time was that I directly took it with me into my car for the way to work and it worked perfectly. Especially the opening track is perfect for highway driving and so I already began to love it after two or three days.

The album has 12 tracks and for anybody giving it a try I can recommend : Architects, Satellite (first single), Midnight Hands, Broken Mirrors, This Is Letting Go,  which are all pretty easy to adopt. A really good and rocking album and I’m quite sure it will still be one of my favourites for 2011 when this year is over, even with strong releases like the first Emergency Room record still coming.

On the first glance surprisingly was the fact that the track that is responsible for the album title is the last one on the record and not the first (which seems to be quite normal). It’s not that Endgame wouldn’t have made a good start for the record, even though  for me, personally, Architects is the better song, but I guess that Endgame was placed at the end of the records just because of the name of the song.

Tracklist:

  1. Architects
  2. Help Is On The Way
  3. Make It Stop
  4. Disparity By Design
  5. Satellite
  6. Midnight Hands
  7. Survivor Guilt
  8. Broken Mirrors
  9. Wait For Me
  10. A Gentlemen’s Coup
  11. This Is Letting Go
  12. Endgame
Blog, Music

Jupiter Jones – Jupiter Jones

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Jupiter Jones is a German punk band. Their first albums have all been released on their own label Mathilda and Titus Records. The new album is the first one to be released on a major label, Columbia.

The songs of the album can be described as a good mix of punk / rock and one or two more slow, poppier songs. The first single is „Still“ and it has got quite some acceptance from radio stations and even on television. The singer has a voice that goes into the same direction as Chuck Ragan’s and actually I’ve already seen them both on one stage (Hot Water Music concert in Trier).

The album contains 12 songs. The i-tunes release has Still (acoustic) as number 13. Following is the tracklist:

  1. Ansage
  2. Hey! Menetekel
  3. ImmerFürImmer
  4. Still
  5. Alter Mann wo willst du hin
  6. Vater
  7. Sonne? Scheint!
  8. Berlin
  9. Hier oben … (Jupp)
  10. Stück vom Weg
  11. Der Hund der Stock die Tür
  12. Komm bloß nicht nach Bad Bentheim

I’m not really able to quote a favourite as I like them all. Additionally I must admit that it’s probably the only German release I will have bought at the end of the year as I could not recall any other German band of that quality. Highly recommended!

Blog, Music

Bayside – Killing Time

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The second album I bought this year was Bayside’s Killing Time.  Actually I didn’t know what to expect as I hadn’t heard anything of the band so far, but it was a suggestion from a friend and so I decided to give it a try. That was the reason as well for me to buy the I-Tunes Version (which includes a bonus track) and not the hardcopy one (which will definitely follow)

The album was originally released on 11th February and in Germany the label for the release was Wind up / Emi.

As the I-Tunes Version has the bonus track the tracklist is as follows:

  1. Already Gone
  2. Sick, Sick, Sick
  3. Mona Lisa
  4. It’s Not A Bad Little War
  5. Sinking And Swimming On Long Island
  6. Seeing Sound
  7. The Wrong Way
  8. On Love, On Life
  9. The New Flesh
  10. Killing Time
  11. Winter

I must say that like the Menzinger’s Chamberlain Waits last year the new Bayside nearly blew me away. Absolutely unexpected the album has become a constant companion wherever I am. At home, in the car, at work it’s more or less on constant rotation, meanwhile only interrupted by listening to the new Rise Against that has been released here last week. Killing Time has increadibly good lyrics and very catchy tunes. It’s stuck in my ear ever since the first listening.

The first two songs might be my favorite ones from the beginning on.  With title 3 „Mona Lisa“ I had my problems and it’s still the least favorite song for me on the album even though I can not really say why. It appeared very soft and rounded to me and that might be the reason why I prefer all the other songs on the record, but I wouldn’t skip it. The same problems turned up with title 9 which felt like an interruption of the whole album when I first listened to it, but meanwhile I have the feeling that it’s exactly where it should be on the album, even though it’s the more or less only ballad on the record.

This album is definitely the reason to check the older Bayside stuff now. I strongly recommend to give this record a try!!

Blog, Desktop, Wallpaper

Wine barrel Abbey Eberbach, Germany

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This picture was shot in an old wine cellar in Abbey Eberbach, the abbey were parts of „The Name of the Rose“ with Sean Connery have been shot. They have an really ancient wine cellar where the wine barrels are all topped by a candlestick. The burning candles were the indication for humans that they could access the cellar without the danger of  suffocation.

Wine Barrel 4:3 version
Wine Barrel 4:3 version
Wine Barrel Widescreen version
Wine Barrel Widescreen version
Blog, Desktop, Wallpaper

Birman wallpaper

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Since September 2010 I have a guest living in my apartment. Elli, a Birman cat. She’s keeping me quite busy and it’s more or less not possible to take any pictures of her as

a) being still for even 5 seconds isn’t really something she normally does

b) whenever flashlight meets her eyes she looks like a cat from hell

A pity as her eyes are normally of a clear blue!

So this was the original photo taken during playing with her

Elli, photo as it has been taken
Elli, photo as it has been taken

and that’s what Lightroom finally made out of it:

Elli Widescreen Wallpaper
Elli Widescreen Wallpaper
Elli 4:3 Wallpaper
Elli 4:3 Wallpaper
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The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton

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The original reason for me to buy this album was the fact that Dan Andriano from Alkaline Trio was giving lyrics / vocals to one song on it and that song happened to be the teaser track for the album which was from my opinion a very good choice.

The first time I listened to it was a Saturday afternoon on my couch and as far as I remember the CD nearly didn’t leave my stereo for at least a month. There isn’t even one song on the whole album I would skip. Really none. Stephen Egerton did a great job with choosing the singers for the tracks.  Even though every song has a different voice they all seem to belong together and all of them make my feet twitch automatically.

Somehow it’s that one album of the year that makes me happy all over which was actually the reason I wasn’t happy with the CD only but needed the Vinyl version as well. While the CD was released in spring the Vinyl needed till autumn to be released (no idea why) and it came in several colours (no black one..or at least I oversaw it)

My favourite tracks (even if it’s nearly impossible to pick them) would be:

  • Flip, the perfect opener which directly entered my car stereo for driving
  • Funny Face
  • Our Last Song
  • Sunny Disposition
  • & Print on Paper

but I can only say that all of the songs are great!

Tracklist

1. Flip (feat. John Speck of The Fags)
2. Fire’s On (feat. Jon Snodgrass of Drag The River)
2. Abundance Of Fluff (feat. John Moreland of Jon Moreland and the Black Gold Band)
4. South For The Winter (feat. Tim McIlrath / Rise Against)
5. Funny Face (feat. Chad Price of ALL/Drag The River)
6. Never Again (feat. Bill McShane of Ultimate Fakebook)
7. On The Avenue (feat. Jesse Cole of In Stereo/Le Fang)
8. Our Last Song (feat. Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio)
9. She’s Got Everything (feat. Milo Aukerman of The Descendents)
10. Cut Me Down To Size (feat. Mike Herrera of MXPX)
11. Sunny Disposition (feat. Scott Reynolds of ALL)
12. When They Roam (feat. Joey Cape of Lagwagon/Me First And The Gimme Gimmes)
13. Print On Paper (feat. Chris DeMakes of Less Than Jake)
14. Falling Out (feat. Frank Daly of Big Drill Car)
15. Silencer (feat. Mark Vecchiarelli of Shades Apart)
16. Willie Wicked (feat. Abe Brennan of My Name/Wretch Like Me

Awesome album.

Blog

Alkaline Trio – This Addiction

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As Alkaline Trio are one of my favourite bands I was really waiting for the release of the new album in 2010.  Therefore I had not only ordered the European Release (Hassle Records) at Amazon but a special package at Epitaph as well. The package deal included a T-Shirt, This Addiction Single on vinyl, the album on red & green vinyl, a sticker and the CD with the deluxe version of the album. Luckily the package additionally included the possibility to download the special edition some days before the release as I was quite sure it would never be with me at release date. Actually it was there by time. So I can only say that Epitaph made a great job with the delivery from US to Germany.

The tracklist of the album is as follows:

  1. This Addiction
  2. Dine, Dine My Darling
  3. Lead Poisoning
  4. Dead On The Floor
  5. The American Scream
  6. Off The Map
  7. Draculina
  8. Eating Me Alive
  9. Piss And Vinegar
  10. Dorothy
  11. Fine

this would be the normal edition. In case of the deluxe version the following songs are additionally included:

  1. Kick Rocks
  2. Those Lungs
  3. This Addiction (acoustic)
  4. Dine Dine My Darling (acoustic)
  5. Dead On The Floor (acoustic)
  6. Fine (acoustic)

Over ITunes a version with a cover song „Two Lips, Two Lungs & One Tongue“ is included as special track.

I know that a lot of former Alkaline Trio fans argue that the band has drifted too much into the direction of main stream. The music too soft, the lyrics cheesy. I was definitely no fan of „Agony & Irony“, but not because of those reasons, it was more or less the point that none of the songs stuck with me. Besides from „In Vein“ & „I Found Away“ I can hardly say that I liked a song of the album. Much later at least „Love, Love, Kiss, Kiss“ found a way into my heart but for me the best songs weren’t on the direct release. I loved „Burned Is The House“ & „In My Stomach“ and those were either on the special edition or only released via ITunes. So I hoped this album would again have some songs that could stay with me for some while and it has!

The only song on this year’s release I had my troubles with (and still have) is „American Scream“. I can’t say why, but that’s the way it is. For me personally the best songs on the album are:

  • Dine, Dine My Darling
  • Dead On The Floor
  • Off The Map
  • Piss And Vinegar

but I must admit I clearly like them all except „The American Scream“, which is actually the reason why „This Addiction“ didn’t make the number one position. In probably any other year it would have been first place.

The only thing I didn’t and still don’t understand why „Those Lungs“ & „Kick Rocks“ didn’t make it on the normal album. Those are powerful Dan Andriano songs who seems to be getting better and better with his songwriting. The acoustic versions on the deluxe edition are nice as well, but no must have. The two Dan songs are definitely the reason why everybody should go for the deluxe edition. The album was played a lot in my car this year and even though there were times it was exchanged against other new releases it always found it’s way back into the CD player.  I love it.

Blog

The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang

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The new release of The Gaslight Anthem was one of the releases I was really waiting for. The ’59 Sound is one of the best albums of all times for me and so I was really looking forward to hear new music from this band.

I must admit that I had big problems at the beginning. My first impression was boring. And after I’d listened to it about 3 or 4 times I stuffed it back into my CD shelf and just ignored it there. Disappointed.

About four weeks later I decided to give it a second chance and to my surprise it was a totally different feeling. It’s a grower. Every time I listened to it afterwards made me like it more and more. So finally the whole album was stuck in my head and in my car for weeks until I could figure out which songs are going to make it into my Gaslight Anthem playlist for my iPod. It’s smoother than their first records but nevertheless a great one. My favourite songs of it are definitely “The Spirit of Jazz”, which proved to be a lasting catchy tune and “Old Haunts”. Those are followed by “American Slang”, “Boxer” and “The Diamond Church Street Choir”. Latest was one of those songs that made it so difficult for me to like the record from the beginning on and finally it’s one of my favourite. Weird. I can’t explain it, but that’s the way it is.

  1. American Slang
  2. Stay Lucky
  3. Bring It On
  4. The Diamond Church Street Choir
  5. The Queen of Lower Chelsea
  6. Orphans
  7. Boxer
  8. Old Haunts
  9. The Spirit of Jazz
  10. We Did It When We Were Young

Additionally I have to say that The Gaslight Anthem are an incredible live band. In my ranking of great live bands they are the one to follow Pearl Jam. Anybody who has the chance to see them live, go! I took friends with me to the Cologne show that had never listened to their music before and those were absolutely flashed (and ended up in buying the CDs – perfect).