SONG OF THE WEEK: 11/29/20

SONG:  "Feel Past The Words"

ARTIST:  Staring Back

ALBUM:  "On"

YEAR:  2002

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Goleta, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1997 - 2005

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

I'm not totally positive what "Feel Past The Words" is about, but I almost get a sense that the vocalist is dying and about to cross over to the afterlife and he wants to assure his loved one that he will be ok and the other side is beautiful. I'm not sure if he committed suicide. It seems more peaceful that that so i'm thinking it's natural causes. Like I said, I could be dead wrong about this interpretation but, hey, that's what I got from the lyrics.

STARING BACK DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1999 - The Mean Streets Of Goleta (Lobster Records)

2000 - Many Will Play (Lobster Records)

2002 - On (Lobster Records)

MY THOUGHTS ON STARING BACK:

Staring Back formed as a band back in 1997, hailing from Goleta, California. Former Lagwagon drummer Derrick Plourde was actually a founding member of Staring Back but he didn't stay in the band for long. The band quickly signed a deal with Lobster Records and released their first album, "The Mean Streets Of Goleta" in 1999. The band quickly followed that up with 2000's "Many Will Play". In 2002, the band dropped what I thought was their best effort, "On". The band evaporated in 2005 when Ryan Mendez departed Staring Back to join Yellowcard. Staring Back was a pop punk/melodic punk band that was really under the radar. I believe the first song I heard by them was "Six Eyes Too Far Away" from their "Many Will Play" album. I believe I heard that song on a compilation album because "Many Will Play" was the last album I got from them. In my mind, "On" was my favorite album by Staring Back. This album has to be their most polished album. They made a video for the song "Version 2.0" and that's my favorite song by the band. These guys cut their teeth by supporting bands like Strung Out and Lagwagon and they played the 2004 Warped Tour as well. They really never had crossover success and they didn't last very long as a band. If you had three levels or tiers of pop/melodic punk bands, I would put them in the third tier. That is not disrespect. I like the band and their music, there are just a lot of better bands in that genre. 

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Don't Look Down

The Fully Down

The Gamits

Divit

Enemy You

TEN STARING BACK SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Version 2.0

2. What You Came For

3. Quick

4. Joey

5. Note To Self:  Don't Feel Dead

6. Six Eyes Too Far Away

7. X. Out

8. Every Other Day

9. Many Will Play, Few Will Win

10. The End

SONG OF THE WEEK: 11/22/20

SONG:  "Ain't No Sunshine" (Bill Withers cover)

ARTIST:  Me First & The Gimme Gimmes

ALBUM:  "Take A Break"

YEAR:  2003

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  San Francisco, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1995 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Ain't No Sunshine" is a cover song by Me First & The Gimme Gimmes that was originally performed by Bill Withers and released on his 1971 album, "Just As I Am". Withers was inspired to write the song after watching the 1962 movie "Days Of Wine And Roses". He explained, in reference to the characters played by Lee Remick and Jack Lemmon, "They were both alcoholics who were alternately weak and strong. It's like going back for seconds on rat poison. Sometimes you miss things that weren't particularly good for you. It's just something that crossed my mind from watching that movie, and probably something else that happened in my life that I'm not aware of."

ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1997 - Have A Ball (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1999 - Are A Drag (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2001 - Blow In The Wind (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2003 - Take A Break (Fat Wreck Chords)

* peaked at #131 on the Billboard 200 on 7-19-03

2004 - Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah (Fat Wreck Chords)

* peaked at #197 on the Billboard 200 on 11-6-04

2006 - Love Their Country (Fat Wreck Chords)

* peaked at #169 on the Billboard 200 on 11-4-06

2008 - Have Another Ball (Fat Wreck Chords)

* peaked at #163 on the Billboard 200 on 7-26-08

2014 - Are We Not Men? We Are Diva! (Fat Wreck Chords)

* peaked at #102 on the Billboard 200 on 5-31-14

MY THOUGHTS ON ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES

Me First & The Gimme Gimmes are a punk rock supergroup/cover band formed when all the members were living in San Francisco. The member are Spike Slawson (Swingin' Utters) on vocals, Fat Mike (NOFX) on bass, Joey Cape (Lagwagon) on guitar, Dave Raun (Lagwagon) on drums and Scott Shiflett (Face To Face) on guitar. Scott's brother Chris was an original member of Me First but once he got his gig with the Foo Fighters, he rarely participated in Me First projects. It's been said he left on bad terms but his brother Scott has been filling his spot. Occasionally, other people fill in for some of the guys during tours most notably Brian Baker and Jay Bentley of Bad Religion have filled in for some shows as well as a slew of other performers. The band's first releases were four EP's featuring 2 songs each and named after the people that the band was covering. They were "Denver" (John Denver), "Billy" (Billy Joel), "Paul" (Paul Simon) and "Barry" (Barry Manilow). The band's first full length studio album was "Have A Ball", which featured covers of pop hits from the 60's and 70's. 1999's "Are A Drag" covered Broadway show tunes. "Blow In The Wind" focused on pop hits of the 60's. "Take A Break" covered rhythm & blues songs. 2004's "Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah" was the band's first live album recorded at an actual bar mitzvah! "Love Their Country" featured covers of country classics. "Have Another Ball" was a compilation of songs that didn't make "Have A Ball" and some that appeared on their singles. 2014's "Are We Not Men? We Are Diva!" was the band's last full length release and featured covers of divas. Most recently, Me First released a single in 2018 of a cover of the song "Santa Baby". Me First has got to be the greatest cover band of all time! They give all their covers the punk rock treatment, giving the songs great fun and great energy. The whole reason these guys got together was to have a good time and have loads of fun. Their songs are fun. Their concerts are fun. They're just a really cool band that exudes positive energy! Make no mistake, Me First is a side project for these guys and their main focus is always towards their main bands. But, for being a side project, Me First has always been pretty active, dropping eight full length albums as well as a slew of EP's and 7" singles. These guys are probably due for a new full length but as I said, it all depends on timing with all of their other projects. As a punk band, these guys are top notch. As a cover band, no one on the planet compares to them!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Lagwagon

NOFX

No Use For A Name

The Bouncing Souls

MXPX

TEN ME FIRST & THE GIMME GIMMES SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Me & Julio Down By The Schoolyard (Paul Simon cover)

2. Sloop John B (The Beach Boys cover)

3. Goodbye Earl (Dixie Chicks cover)

4. Rocket Man (Elton John cover)

5. Only The Good Die Young (Billy Joel cover)

6. Believe (Cher cover)

7. Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)

8. Harder They Come (Jimmy Cliff cover)

9. Come Sail Away (Styx cover)

10. Favorite Things (Rogers And Hammerstein cover)

SONG OF THE WEEK: 11/15/20

SONG:  "War All The Time" (acoustic version)

ARTIST:  Thursday

ALBUM:  "Live From The Soho & Santa Monica Apple Stores" (split EP w/ Thrice)

YEAR:  2004

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  New Brunswick, New Jersey

YEARS ACTIVE:  1997 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

According to Thursday lead vocalist, Geoff Rickly, "War All The Time" is about his upbringing in New Jersey. He added that it was "sort of like love all the time, and the price of trying to have love all the time." The song talks about three important occasions in Rickly's life, which he attempted to model it after Magnolia (1999). The first part details moving to a town where one of his friends' brothers fell off a cliffside, and some of his friends subsequently committed suicide. The second part discusses Rickly discovering music, and the third part talks about love and how that can affect a person's sense of self and confidence. (The video says "Signals Over The Air" but it is "War All The Time".)

THURSDAY DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1999 - Waiting (Eyeball Records)

* did not chart on Billboard 200

2001 - Full Collapse (Victory Records)

* peaked at #178 on the Billboard 200 on 4-6-02

2003 - War All The Time (Island Records)

* peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 on 10-4-03

2006 - A City By The Light Divided (Island Records)

* peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 on 5-20-06

2007 - Kill The House Lights (Victory Records)

* peaked at #113 on the Billboard 200 on 11-17-07

2009 - Common Existence (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #56 on the Billboard 200 on 3-7-09

2011 - No Devolucion (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #63 on the Billboard 200 on 4-30-11

MY THOUGHTS ON THURSDAY:

Thursday is a New Jersey band that formed back in 1997. The band performed their very first show in 1998 in vocalist Geoff Rickly's basement. Not a big deal right? Well there were three other bands that played his basement that night as well, Midtown, Saves The Day and Poison The Well!! Not a bad show in someone's basement, eh?!! Thursday dropped their debut album in 1999, called "Waiting". It was their sophomore effort, 2001's "Full Collapse", that put Thursday on the map. The band had signed with Victory Records but really didn't have a good experience with them. The only way out of their contract was if they signed with a major label. Thursday did sign with Island Records, but the buyout of the Victory contract basically had the band in the hole. Their first album with a major label was "War All The Time", a fantastic album in my mind. This also turned out to be their highest charting album, reaching #7 on the Billboard 200 charts. The band dropped another album on Island, 2006's "A City By The Light Divided", another strong album. Victory put out a rarities/b-sides/live tracks compilation in 2007 called "Kill The House Lights". In 2009, Thursday signed with Epitaph Records which proved to be a breath of fresh air for the band. Epitaph also encouraged the band to show their social and political side with their new album, "Common Existence". The band's most recent release was 2011's "No Devolucion", which appears to be their most atmospheric and moody album to date. Not long after the release of "No Devolucion", Thursday announced they were going on hiatus. In 2013, Rickly said that it was more of a break up. In 2016 however, the band announced they were all in a good place and they decided to play some reunion concerts which led to a full on tour. In March of 2019, Thursday was supposed to play their last official show but they are scheduled to play the Riot Fest in 2021. While they have been playing shows together, there has been no news as to whether they plan to record music together as of now. Thursday is a top notch post-hardcore band no doubt. My first experience with this band was their 2001 album "Full Collapse". I believe "Understanding In A Car Crash" was the first track I ever heard from them and I was hooked right then. Really, all of their albums are excellent and this is a band that needs to make new music. It's been way too long! This version of "War All The Time" that I chose for my song of the week is probably my favorite track by the band. The acoustic setting with the haunting piano just fits the song beautifully. Thursday is a top tier post-hardcore band in my book. Now let's get back in the studio boys!!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Thrice

Taking Back Sunday

Finch

Senses Fail

Funeral For A Friend

TEN THURSDAY SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. War All The Time

2. Understanding In A Car Crash

3. Counting 5-4-3-2-1

4. For The Workforce, Drowning

5. Cross Out The Eyes

6. Signals Over The Air

7. Ladies And Gentlemen:  My Brother, The Failure

8. Resuscitation Of A Dead Man

9. Past And Future Ruins

10. This Side Of Brightness

SONG OF THE WEEK: 11/8/20

SONG:  "Sea Change"

ARTIST:  Thrice

ALBUM:  "Sea Change" 7" single

YEAR:  2017

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Irvine, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1999 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Sea Change" appears to be a song about climate change. It seems that the vocalist is wondering why people seem to be ignoring the signs, or better yet the science, of global warming. Is it going to be too late if we don't heed the warnings in the present? What will happen when the temperatures and the sea levels rise? Why are we keeping a blind eye toward scientific truths?

THRICE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2000 - Identity Crisis (Sub City Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2002 - The Illusion Of Safety (Sub City Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2003 - The Artist In The Ambulance (Island Records)

* peaked at #16 on the Billboard 200 on 8-9-03

2005 - If You Could Only See Us Now (Island Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

* certified gold

2005 - Vheissu (Island Records)

* peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 on 11-2-05

2007 - The Alchemy Index Vols. I & II:  Fire & Water (Vagrant Records)

*peaked at #24 on the Billboard 200 on 11-3-07

2008 - Live At The House Of Blues (Vagrant Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV:  Air & Earth (Vagrant Records)

* peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 on 5-3-08

2009 - Beggars (Vagrant Records)

* peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 on 10-3-09

2011 - Major/Minor (Vagrant Records)

* peaked at #18 on the Billboard 200 on 10-8-11

2012 - Anthology (Staple Records)

* peaked at #104 on the Billboard 200 on 11-17-12

2016 - To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere (Vagrant Records)

* peaked at #15 on the Billboard 200 on 6-18-16

2018 - Palms (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #27 on the Billboard 200 on 9-29-18

MY THOUGHTS ON THRICE:

Thrice formed as a band back in 1999, hailing from Irvine, California. The band's first contribution was the 1999 EP, "First Impressions". In 2000, they dropped their debut album, "Identity Crisis". Both that album and their sophomore effort, 2002's "The Illusion Of Safety", saw the band come out of the gates with a post-hardcore/punk rock style about them. Their third album, 2003's "The Artist In The Ambulance", continued that style, but offered a more melodic style. The singles "All That's Left" and "Stare At The Sun" promptly put Thrice on the map as a band who was on the rise. Thrice shifted styles on their 4th album, "Vheissu", incorporating more electronic elements and a less punk vibe. In 2007 and 2008, Thrice created two albums which actually consisted of four seperate parts, all dealing with four elements, fire, water, air and earth. This concept album was described by the band to have a somewhat "sleepy" feel to it. When it came time to write for their next album, which would be 2009's "Beggars", they made a conscious decision to make a more upbeat album. At this point in Thrice's career, their style had pretty much been defined and their albums from this point on felt like a combination of their earlier post-hardcore roots and their indie rock, almost progressive rock style in the mid to late 2000's. After releasing 2011's "Major/Minor", Thrice decided to take an indefinite hiatus as singer Dustin Kensrue wanted to focus on working with his church while the other bandmates sought various side projects. Thankfully, in 2015 Thrice reunited and in 2016, they released a major comeback album with "To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere". They followed that up with 2018's "Palms". Thrice's most recent release is the 2019 EP "Deeper Wells". Thrice is a fuckin' awesome band!! These guys consistently drop new music, with only a short three year hiatus slowing them down. The first time I heard them was when I caught their video for "Deadbolt" off of their second album. It was love at first sight!! "The Artist In The Ambulance" was the album that really made me think that Thrice could be one of my favorite bands. They didn't disappoint with their follow up albums. Much like the band, I thought that the "elements" albums were kind of sleepy, not saying they were bad, but they didn't have the same energy as some of their earlier efforts. But, from "Beggars" on, their albums have been incredible. Their comeback album, if you want to call it that, "To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere" is outstanding. I don't know if Thrice is in my top 5 for bands. I'd have to think about it, but they are definitely in my top 10. Top tier all the way in whatever category you want to put them in, post-hardcore, punk, indie rock, alternative rock, whatever. Thrice is the real deal!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Thursday

Finch

Deftones

Brand New

Funeral For A Friend

TEN THRICE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Black Honey

2. Red Sky

3. Deadbolt

4. In Exile

5. All That's Left

6. Come All You Weary

7. Anthology

8. Digital Sea

9. Eleanor Rigby (The Beatles cover)

10. The Grey