SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/30/21

SONG:  "Far From Home" (acoustic)

ARTIST:  The Classic Crime

ALBUM:  "Seattle Sessions" EP

YEAR:  2007

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Seattle, Washington

YEARS ACTIVE:  2004 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Far From Home" appears to be a song about reflecting on the dreams you had when you were young and realizing just how far you strayed off course from those dreams. The vocalist feels he's lost and he doesn't feel that comfort that he felt when he was at home in his younger years. I get the sense he feels this way due to his life as a musician. Always on the road. Always on the move. Never having a place to call home for an extended period of time. 

THE CLASSIC CRIME DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2006 - Albatross (Tooth & Nail Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - The Silver Chord (Tooth & Nail Records)

* peaked at #123 on the Billboard 200

2010 - Vagabonds (Tooth & Nail Records)

* peaked at #105 on the Billboard 200

2012 - Phoenix (Goomba Music)

* peaked at #130 on the Billboard 200

2014 - What Was Done:  Volume 1 A Decade Revisited (BC Music)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2017 - How To Be Human (BadChristian Records)

* peaked at #95 on the Billboard 200

2017 - Albatross 10th Anniversary Tour (Live In Seattle)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2020 - Patterns In The Static (self-released)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE CLASSIC CRIME:

The Classic Crime formed as a band back in 2004. Early on, the band caught the ear of famed Christian punk label, Tooth & Nail, who promptly signed the band and issued their first three full length albums. Their debut, 2006's "Albatross" holds the distinction of having the highest debut sales in the history of Tooth & Nail. Their next two albums, 2008's "The Silver Chord" and 2010's "Vagabonds" both charted on the Billboard 200. After the band's contract with Tooth & Nail was up, they decided to put out albums on their own with the help of Kickstarter funds given by fans of the band. 2012's "Phoenix" was the first album they issued in this way. 2014 saw the band revisit some of their older songs in re-imagined versions on the album "What Was Done:  Volume 1 A Decade Revisited". The band released two more studio albums and one live record after this, their most recent album being 2020's "Patterns In The Static". Unfortunately for this album, it was released just weeks before the pandemic shutdowns began so The Classic Crime has not been able to get out on the road to support their new album as of yet. I find The Classic Crime to just be a melodic rock band. I guess they get lumped in with Christian punk because of their ties to Tooth & Nail but I don't really consider them to be a punk band. Perhaps they have some pop punk elements and melodies. As for being a "Christian" band, the guys in the band have dispelled that notion declaring that all members practice their own faith on their own terms. I first heard of The Classic Crime when I heard the song "The Coldest Heart" from their debut album. I'm not even sure how or where I heard that song but it caught my ear. This is the type of band where I like some songs but I'm not quite sure I like a whole album. If I had to pick a favorite album of theirs, it would probably be "Vagabonds".

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Anberlin

Acceptance

Dead Poetic

Blindside

Thousand Foot Krutch

TEN THE CLASSIC CRIME SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Four Chords

2. The Coldest Hearts

3. Salt In The Snow

4. Beautiful Darkside

5. Seattle

6. Ghost

7. Abracadavers

8. The Outside

9. A Perfect Voice

10. Where Did You Go

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/23/21

SONG:  "Two Jacks Shitty"

ARTIST:  Swingin' Utters

ALBUM:  "Five Lessons Learned"

YEAR:  1998

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Santa Cruz, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1987 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Two Jacks Shitty" appears to be a song about finding someone that you think is way too good for you. The vocalist describes how good this person is to him and how pretty she is and how loyal she is as well, sticking by him despite all of his faults. He's like a disease and she is like the cure. I guess opposites do attract!

SWINGIN' UTTERS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1995 - The Streets Of San Francisco (New Red Archives)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1996 - A Juvenile Product Of The Working Class (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1996 - More Scared:  The House Of Faith Years (SideOneDummy Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1998 - Five Lessons Learned (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2000 - Swingin' Utters (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2003 - Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass, and Bones (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2004 - Live In A Dive (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2008 - Hatest Grits:  B-Sides And Bullshit (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Here, Under Protest (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2013 - Poorly Formed (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Fistful Of Hollow (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2018 - Peace And Love (Fat Wreck Chords)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON SWINGIN' UTTERS:

The Swingin' Utters formed as a band back in 1987, hailing from Santa Cruz, California. Originally the band was called Johnny Peebucks and the Swingin' Utters. Johnny "Peebucks" Bonnel is the lead singer of the band. By the time the 90's rolled around, the band was just called Swingin' Utters. The band released some EP's early on, most of which were put on the compilation, "More Scared:  The House Of Faith Years" so their first proper debut album was 1995's "The Streets Of San Francisco", which was produced by Rancid's Lars Frederiksen. In 1996, the band signed on with Fat Mike of NOFX's label, Fat Wreck Chords. This relationship is still intact to this current day. The Swingin' Utters were basically straight forward street punk but by the time their 1998 album, "Five Lessons Learned" was released, you could hear some Irish folk punk influence start to be incorporated in their sound. After their 2003 album, "Dead Flowers, Bottles, Bluegrass And Bones" was released, the Utters went on a bit of a hiatus with all the members focusing on other side projects, most notably Filthy Thievin' Bastards and Druglords Of The Avenues. In 2011, however, the band came back with a vengeance, releasing "Here, Under Protest". Swingin' Utters were back no doubt! They have dropped three more albums since then, their most recent being 2018's "Peace And Love", which would prove to be the band's most political album to date. The Swingin' Utters are a terrific punk rock band and one of the pillars of the Fat Wreck Chords label. As I said earlier, their sound is very street punk, laced with an Irish folk punk vibe. In fact, lead singer Johnny Bonnel has often called their music loud and aggressive folk or country songs! They were never the most successful band, but they are highly respected and hugely influential in punk rock circles. The first time I heard the Swingin' Utters was hearing their song "Pills & Smoke". I believe I heard that on a punk compilation, most likely one of the Fat comps. I instantly fell in love with that song and starting buying up all the Utters albums. They've been pretty consistent with their albums, in fact, I'm loving their new albums. Swingin' Utters is definitely top tier when it comes to street punk/Irish folk punk rock bands.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Bombshell Rocks

Good Riddance

The Briggs

Get Dead

Dropkick Murphys

TEN SWINGIN' UTTERS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Pills & Smoke

2. Brand New Lungs

3. '39 (Queen cover)

4. The Next In Line

5. The Librarians Are Hiding Something

6. Five Lessons Learned

7. Human Potential

8. Fistful Of Hollow

9. All That I Can Give

10. Teenage Genocide

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/16/21

SONG:  "Heads Up Dusters!"

ARTIST:  The Dopamines

ALBUM:  "Vices"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Cincinnati, Ohio

YEARS ACTIVE:  2006 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Heads Up Dusters!" appears to be a song about prescription meds. The vocalist says his family and friends think he's crazy so they think his best move is to be on prescription meds to make him more, "normal". The vocalist would rather just take the drugs recreationally and more often than prescribed. Or, he could just sell them too!

THE DOPAMINES DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2008 - Dopamines (It's Alive Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Insubordination Fest '08 (Insubordination Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Summer Tour Cassette '09 (self-released)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2010 - Expect The Worst (Paper + Plastick Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Vices (It's Alive Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2017 - Tales Of Interest (Rad Girlfriend Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2021 - Hard Pass:  Singles/Rarities 2006-2020

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE DOPAMINES:

The Dopamines formed out the ashes of local Cincinnati bands Black Tie Bombers and Ukraine Crane back in 2006. The band's debut full length was released in 2008 called "Dopamines". 2010 saw the release of their sophomore effort, "Expect The Worst". The band offered two more studio albums, 2012's "Vices" and 2017's "Tales Of Interest". Their most recent release was 2021's "Hard Pass:  Singles/Rarities 2006-2020". This album compiled pretty much all of The Dopamines rare tracks from comps and split singles and what not. The Dopamines offer an energetic brand of melodic punk rock music. Their sound is in the same vein as bands like The Flatliners and Polar Bear Club. Just energetic and melodic punk with scruffy vocals. I really enjoy these bands. It tells me that punk rock music is in good hands as there were a slew of bands coming up in the early 2000's and 2010's that have carried the torch. Many of these bands fly under the radar, like The Dopamines, but they're all really good bands. I first got introduced to The Dopamines in 2010, with their "Expect The Worst" album. In fact, I first caught wind of The Dopamines from the old DyingScene.com blog. This was a great punk rock blog that had all kinds of info on punk rock bands and I miss it dearly!! Come on guys, get on your fuckin' horse and get that site going again!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Dear Landlord

None More Black

Dillinger Four

Off With Their Heads

Banner Pilot

TEN THE DOPAMINES SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Public Domain

2. Business Papers

3. More Chords, Better Value

4. Try THIS Kids At Home!

5. Useless

6. October 24th

7. You're Ruining My Life

8. Molly

9. Common Rue

10. Ire

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/9/21

SONG:  "Epidemic"

ARTIST:  Ignite

ALBUM:  "Call On My Brothers"

YEAR:  1995

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Orange County, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1993 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Epidemic" appears to be a song about being responsible and accountable for your bad actions. The epidemic the vocalist is speaking of is people that engage in bad or violent behavior who often use any excuse in the book to validate themselves and their actions. In the end those people often reap what they sow. Karma's a bitch so think before you act!

IGNITE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1994 - Scarred For Life (Lost And Found Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1995 - Call On My Brothers (Conversion Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2000 - A Place Called Home (TVT Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2006 - Our Darkest Days (Abacus Recordings)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Our Darkest Days Live (Century Media)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2016 - A War Against You (Century Media)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON IGNITE:

Ignite is a melodic hardcore punk band that formed back in 1993 in the punk rock hot bed of Orange County, California. Their first album, 1994's "Scarred For Life", featured two vocalists but the band really found their sound when Zoli Teglas joined the band on vocals. He first appeared on the 1995 album, "Call On My Brothers". 2000's "A Place Called Home" was the album that made people really pay attention to Ignite and things just got even better from there. 2006's "Our Darkest Days" is a fantastic album. While Ignite seemed to be peaking as a band, Zoli left the band to join Pennywise as their frontman in 2010. With Pennywise, he only released one album and performed on one tour as original PW frontman Jim Lindberg rejoined the band. Zoli returned to Ignite for the 2016 release "A War Against You". This was the band's most recent release. I just found out today that Zoli announced in 2019 that he was going to depart Ignite after their last shows in 2020. This is totally shitty news to find out. Ignite was always one of those underrated bands that I just totally fell in love with. These guys should have been label mates with Pennywise on Epitaph. They got that melodice hardcore vibe that fits right in with the Wise and Bad Religion. Zoli is an incredible vocalist as well. He got some serious pipes and unique range for a punk rock singer. I got into Ignite when their "Our Darkest Days" album came out. "Bleeding" was the song that introduced me to the band. Killer fuckin' song right there! That album and their most recent, "A War Against You", are just perfect punk rock albums and Zoli's Pennywise album is fuckin' insanely good. It tore at my heart a little though because PW is one of my favorite bands and I love Jim Lindberg as their singer. He is Pennywise's voice. I can't believe Zoli has left Ignite. Such a bummer. I guess he has another band called Zoli Band. I'll have to check that out. Also, the remaining members of Ignite haven't officially closed the book on the band either so it should be interesting to see if they come out with a new singer. Hard to fill Zoli's shoes though. That dude's a beast!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Good Riddance

Pennywise

H2O

Strung Out

Strike Anywhere

TEN IGNITE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Bleeding

2. Nothing Can Stop Me

3. Live For Better Days

4. This Is A War

5. Call On My Brothers

6. Veteran

7. Sunday Bloody Sunday (U2 cover)

8. Begin Again

9. Let It Burn

10. Embrace

SONG OF THE WEEK: 5/2/21

SONG:  "DFA"

ARTIST:  The Bouncing Souls

ALBUM:  "Comet"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  New Brunswick, New Jersey

YEARS ACTIVE:  1989 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"DFA" appears to be a song about being reared up and ready to go. The vocalist has a feeling that nothing is gonna stop him and he's ready for anything, or "down for anything" which is what "DFA" stands for in the title of this song. It's kind of ironic that he calls it a sickness that he is so ready to go. Maybe it's a jab at the so-called "slacker punk" label people put on the punk kids.

THE BOUNCING SOULS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1994 - The Good, The Bad And The Argyle (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1996 - Maniacal Laughter (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1997 - The Bouncing Souls (Epitaph Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

1999 - Hopeless Romantic (Epitaph Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2000 - The Bad, The Worse And The Out Of Print (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2001 - How I Spent My Summer Vacation (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 6-9-01

2003 - Anchors Aweigh (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on 9-13-03

2005 - Live (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2006 - The Gold Record (Epitaph Records)

* peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200 on 6-24-06

2010 - Ghosts On The Boardwalk (Chunksaah Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2011 - Live At Generation Records (Generation Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Comet (Rise Records)

* peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 on 6-30-12

2016 - Simplicity (Rise Records)

* peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on 8-20-16

2020 - Volume 2 (Pure Noise Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOUNCING SOULS:

The Bouncing Souls formed as a band back in 1989, hailing from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Being so close to Rutgers University, The Bouncing Souls very early on found a crowd with the college kids and college radio. Their first album, "The Good, The Bad And The Argyle" is actually a compilation of the band's early EP's and split singles. 1996's "Maniacal Laughter" was really their proper debut album, released on the band's very own label, Chunksaah Records. The Bouncing Souls were catching the ear of legendary punk rock label Epitaph Records at this time who quickly signed the band. Their first album with Epitaph, "The Bouncing Souls", had some staples like "Kate Is Great" and "East Coast Fuck You", but the band really saw it as an unfinished album which was hurried to be released. I would say their next album, 1999's "Hopeless Romantic" was when the Souls really started to hone their sound. 2001 saw the band evolve even more with the release of "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" which included such fan favorites as "Manthem", "Ole", "Gone" and "True Believers". The band continued their success with 2003's "Anchors Aweigh" and 2006's "The Gold Record". This finished their contract with Epitaph. The band began releasing  a series of singles in 2009 which they eventually compiled into an album called "Ghosts On The Boardwalk" in 2010. In 2012, The Bouncing Souls signed with Rise Records and released two albums through that label, 2012's "Comet" and 2016's "Simplicity". The band's most recent release would be 2020's "Volume 2" which featured stripped down versions of old classics. The Bouncing Souls are a great band. Many call them the inventors of the "pogo" style mosh pits that are so prevalent at their shows. Their songs are catchy and often feature great sing-a-long choruses which makes for energetic and fun live shows. These guys are super influential also in punk rock circles. These guys really started to come into their own around 1999, 2000. I thought some of their earlier material was a little weak but everything since "Hopeless Romantic" has been top notch stuff. I first got into The Bouncing Souls in 2001 with their "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" album. But it was their next album, "Anchors Aweigh" that made me a serious fan for life. "Kids And Heroes" is just one of the best punk rock songs ever. Yeah that's right..  I said EVER! Just a killer song. The Bouncing Souls have been pretty active throughout the years as well. They've dropped 10 studio albums, a few compilations, a few live albums and a slew of EP's and splits. I mean, they wrote a song about pizza! Who doesn't like pizza!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Face To Face

H2O

Dead To Me

The Draft

The Falcon

TEN THE BOUNCING SOULS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Kids And Heroes

2. Sing Along Forever

3. Lean On Sheena (Avoid One Thing cover)

4. True Believers

5. Coin Toss Girl

6. Ghosts On The Boardwalk

7. Hopeless Romantic

8. Kate Is Great

9. Satellite

10. Born To Lose