Song Of The Week: 1/26/19

song: "When I Remember"

Artist: Blindside

Album: "The Great Depression"

Year: 2005

Place Of Origin: Stockholm, Sweden

Years Active: 1994 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"When I Remember" appears to be about God's unwavering love. Even when the vocalist is enduring a tough time or perhaps even ignoring or forgetting the power of God's love, he thinks back to better and more gentle days when he had no question about God's love. Through dark times, God will always be his shining light. In case you haven't figured out, religion and God are featured topics throughout Blindside's music catalog.

BLINDSIDE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1997 - Blindside (Solid State Records)
2000 - A Thought Crushed My Mind (Solid State Records)
2002 - Silence (Elektra Records)
2004 - About A Burning Fire (Elektra Records)
2005 - The Great Depression (DRT Entertainment)
2011 - With Shivering Hearts We Wait (INO Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF BLINDSIDE:

Hailing from Sweden, Blindside formed as a band back in 1994. At that time they were called Underfree but by 1996, they officially changed their name to Blindside. The band worked out a deal with Solid State Records for the release of their first two albums, 1997's "Blindside" and 2000's "A Thought Crushed My Mind". The latter album was a much more heavy and dark effort compared to the sound that Blindside would become known for. After touring with the band P.O.D., Blindside managed to get that band squarely in their corner, in fact, P.O.D. was instrumental in getting Blindside signed to major label Elektra Records. Blindside's first major release was 2002's "Silence". The hit single "Pitiful" as well as two other singles, "Sleepwalking" and "Caught A Glimpse" put Blindside squarely on the musical map. By the time of their 2004 release, "About A Burning Fire", Blindside was even headlining some tours. "About A Burning Fire" peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200 charts and the band had a moderately successful hit with the song "All Of Us". The band hooked on with DRT Entertainment for their next release, 2005's "The Great Depression". The band released music videos for the songs "Fell In Love With The Game" and "When I Remember". In 2007, Blindside released an EP called "The Black Rose". It would be four years until Blindside would release their sixth and most recent full length album, "With Shivering Hearts We Wait". In 2012, Blindside signed a deal with BMG Europe but over six years has passed since the band released any new material. I'm not sure if the band has broken up but if they haven't, they've been on a pretty serious hiatus since 2012. Blindside has some elements of nu-metal and post-grunge. They incorporate a clean vocal/screaming vocal style on most of their albums. They have tended to get a little experimental on some of their albums, broadening some of their musical horizons, especially from "About A Burning Fire" on. If you like bands like Dead Poetic, Anberlin, Taproot, Thrice or A Static Lullaby then i'm sure you would appreciate some of Blindside's music. As I said earlier, Blindside is not shy about using religious themes in their lyrics. I don't know if they want to be considered a "Christian" band or not, but God and spirituality is present in many of their songs. Hopefully these guys get back on their horse and record some new music. They're a pretty damn good band!

TEN BLINDSIDE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Pitiful
2. All Of Us
3. Eye Of The Storm
4. Caught A Glimpse
5. Fell In Love With The Game
6. Sleepwalking
7. When I Remember
8. The Way You Dance
9. Our Love Saves Us
10. Superman

Song Of The Week: 1/20/19

Song: "Bitter Season"

Artist: Rufio

Album: "The Comfort Of Home"

Year: 2005

Place Of Origin: Rancho Cucamonga, California

Years Active: 2000 - 2015



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Bitter Season" appears to be a break up song. You get a sense that breaking up is not what the vocalist wanted to do but his girl does not share the same feelings. Lies told to each other have made them both become the exact people as those that they hated. The vocalist seems willing to look past those lies and still has feeling for her but she has moved on. The relationship is over.

RUFIO DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2001 - Perhaps, I Suppose (The Militia Group)
2003 - MCMLXXXV (Nitro Records)
2005 - The Comfort Of Home (Nitro Records)
2010 - Anybody Out There (The Militia Group)

CURRENT STATUS OF RUFIO:

Rufio formed as a band back in 2000 when the majority of the band was still in high school. After recording music with a 4-track recorder, the band worked up enough material to put out their debut album, 2001's "Perhaps, I Suppose". The band then signed a deal with Nitro Records and released their sophomore effort, 2003's "MCMLXXV". This album would prove to be the band's highest charting album, reaching #168 on the Billboard 200 charts. Sticking with Nitro Records, Rufio dropped their third full length album, "The Comfort Of Home". The band released a video for the single "Out Of Control", which in my mind is Rufio's best song. Rufio had an opening slot lined up on a tour with No Use For A Name in 2006 but due to the departure of a few band members, they had to cancel that tour. Rufio opted to play a farewell show in June of 2007 at The Glass House in Pomona, California followed by a small South American tour. The band then played a few gigs in 2008 and to the surprise of many of their fans, first dropped an EP called "The Lonliest" in 2010 and then a full length album called "Anybody Out There". This would be yet another short lived reunion for the band however as all of the band members began focusing on other projects. In 2012, the band once again announced they were breaking up. And then, of course, in June of 2015, they played yet another "farewell" show at the Montebello Amnesia Rockfest festival. So, who knows if Rufio is broken up or not! It may very well be official as it's been over three years since that last show in 2015. Rufio is your typical pop punk band. Their songs are catchy and melodic and their sound is definitely on the softer side of the punk rock spectrum. If you like bands like Slick Shoes, Fenix TX, The Starting Line, The Ataris or Midtown then Rufio is worth checking out. I don't mind this band but I feel there are many more bands in the pop punk genre that are better. To me, they have some really good songs but not whole really good albums. Their cover of Madonna's "Like A Prayer" is pretty fuckin' cool though!!

TEN RUFIO SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Out Of Control
2. Over It
3. The Lonliest
4. Above Me
5. Like A Prayer (Madonna cover)
6. My Escape
7. One Slowdance
8. This I Swear
9. White Lights
10. Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds cover)

Song Of The Week: 1/13/19

Song: "Sacrifice Of Life"

Artist: Midtown

Album: "The Sacrifice Of Life" EP

Year: 1999

Place Of Origin: New Brunswick, New Jersey

Years Active: 1998 - 2014



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Sacrifice Of Life" appears to be a song about finding out that those you thought were your friends are not. The vocalist felt he would put his life on the line for these so-called friends, but eventually he finds out that they would not do the same for him. Their friendship was nothing more than a lie and now he sees that he has to sever ties with these people and seek out people that would be real, true friends in the future.

MIDTOWN DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2000 - Save The World, Lose The Girl (Drive-Thru Records)
2002 - Living Well Is The Best Revenge (Drive-Thru/MCA Records)
2004 - Forget What You Know (Columbia Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF MIDTOWN:

New Jersey's own Midtown formed as a band back in 1998 when the band members were attending Rutgers University. The band's first release was the 1999 EP, "The Sacrifice Of Life". Midtown signed on with upstart punk label Drive-Thru Records for their debut full length album, 2000's "Save The World, Lose The Girl". After touring Europe with bands like Millencolin and Donots, Midtown offered up split EP's with those two bands before releasing their sophomore full length, 2002's "Living Well Is The Best Revenge". This album featured the singles "Become What You Hate" and "Like A Movie". This album also featured major label distribution through MCA Records who had a good working relationship with Drive-Thru Records. Now, without a label, Midtown's 2004 album "Forget What You Know" would be picked up by Columbia Records and would be their most successful album featuring perhaps their biggest single, "Give It Up". In 2005, Midtown covered The Outfield's "Your Love" for the "Punk Goes 80's" compilation. This would be the last piece of music to come out of the Midtown camp as the band broke up in 2005. Vocalist and chief songwriter Gabe Saporta focused all of his attention on his new band Cobra Starship at this time. In 2014, Midtown reunited to play three live shows and there was word that maybe two or three new songs were being worked on but it's now 2019 and those songs never came to the surface. Saporta is now focused on the business side of the music industry and it seems that Midtown and Cobra Starship are no longer going to be a part of his future. Midtown was a nice little pop punk band. "Forget What You Know" is definitely their high point as far as I'm concerned, in fact, I never even heard of them until I heard "Give It Up". I had to work my way back through their catalogue but found that their earlier material didn't compare with their 2004 album. If you like bands like The Starting Line, Fenix TX, The Ataris, Allister or The Movielife, then you would most likely enjoy the music of Midtown. The band's contribution to the 2003 compilation album, "Liberation (Songs to Benefit PETA)", "This House Is Not A Home" is a really good song if you like acoustic tunes.

TEN MIDTOWN SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Give It Up
2. This House Is Not A Home
3. Empty Like The Ocean
4. Become What You Hate
5. Knew It All Along
6. Get It Together
7. Your Love (The Outfield cover)
8. Still Trying
9. Is It Me? Is It True?
10. Just Rock And Roll

Song Of The Week: 1/6/19

Song: "Stop The Clocks" (unplugged version)

Artist: Donots

Album: "Stop The Clocks" EP

Year: 2008

Place Of Origin: Ibbenburen, Germany

Years Active: 1993 - present



WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Stop The Clocks" appears to be a song about wishing that you could stop time to try to overcome a multitude of bad decisions that you've made in your life. The vocalist seems like he's buried in lies, perhaps lies that's been told to him or lies that he's made to others, but I think it's more lies that he's made to himself. It seems like it's a very hopeless time for him and he can't seem to make it stop. The original version of "Stop The Clocks" appears on the Donots' 2008 album "Coma Chameleon". My song of the week is a stripped down, unplugged version that appears on the 2008 "Stop The Clocks" EP.

DONOTS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1996 - Pedigree Punk (Headshock Records)
1998 - Tonight's Karaoke-Contest Winners (Headshock Records)
1999 - Better Days Not Included (GUN/BMG Records)
2001 - Pocketrock (GUN/Burning Heart Records)
2002 - Amplify The Good Times (GUN/BMG Records)
2004 - Got The Noise (GUN/BMG Records)
2008 - Coma Chameleon (Solitary Man Records)
2010 - The Long Way Home (Solitary Man Records)
2012 - Wake The Dogs (Solitary Man Records)
2015 - Karacho (Vertigo Berlin/Universal Records)
2018 - Lauter als Bomben (Solitary Man Records)

CURRENT STATUS OF THE DONOTS:

The Donots formed as a band back in 1993, hailing from Germany. The band's first two albums, 1996's "Pedigree Punk" and 1998's "Tonight's Karaoke-Contest Winners", were distributed by local German label Headshock Records. Around this time, the Donots garnered some supporting slots on European dates for bands such as Blink 182, Propagandhi, No Fun At All, No Use For A Name and Samiam. In 1999, the band signed a major label deal with GUN Records, which is a German subsidiary of American label BMG. The band's popularity began picking up steam with the release of 2001's "Pocketrock", which featured the hit single, "Whatever Happened To The 80's". That album charted at #67 in Germany. Their next album, "Amplify The Good Times", proved to be even more successful for the Donots and when they released a surprise cover of Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It", the Donots really began taking off in Europe. 2004's "Got The Noise" reached #33 on the German charts but even with that success, the Donots decided to part ways with the major label and create their own label, Solitary Man Records. The first record released on the band's own label was 2008's "Coma Chameleon". The single "Stop The Clocks" would prove to be the band's biggest single. It would go on to be nominated for best single in Germany that year. With the arrow pointing up for the band, in 2010 they released "The Long Way Home" and earned an opening slot on Green Day's European leg of their "21st Century Breakdown" tour, exposing the Donots to an even wider fanbase. 2012 saw the band release their highest charting album, "Wake The Dogs", which peaked at #6 on German charts. Surprisingly, the support tour for this album marked the first time the band played dates on U.S. soil, supporting Flogging Molly on the east coast and Anti-Flag on the west. In 2015, the Donots decided to release a full album in their native German language called "Karacho". The band later released an English language version of the album called "Carajo!". Most recently, the Donots released yet another German language album in 2018 called "Lauter als Bomben". I'd say the first half of the Donots career saw them playing a pop punk/skate punk style on most of their albums. By the time of "Coma Chameleon", the band began experimenting with a more mainstream, melodic rock sound, but still kept some pop punk elements most definitely. I think their shift in style was more or less growth and maturity when it came to songwriting. While the band has been successful, especially in their native Germany and surprisingly in Japan, success did not happen too much for them in the States. I would have never heard of them if not for hearing one of their songs in a Playstation Baseball game years ago! I'm forever grateful for that video game because it introduced me to a pretty damn good band! If you're a fan of bands like Millencolin, Ten Foot Pole, Samiam, I Against I or Sugarcult, then you should do yourself a favor and check out the Donots. They won't disappoint!

TEN DONOTS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. So Long (featuring Frank Turner)
2. We Got The Noise
3. Wretched Boy
4. Saccharine Smile
5. Stop The Clocks
6. We Took The Long Way Home
7. Break My Stride
8. Outshine The World
9. All The Weight Of The World
10. Today