SONG OF THE WEEK: 8/1/21

SONG:  "Check Yo Self" (The Message Remix)

ARTIST:  Ice Cube

ALBUM:  "Bootlegs & B-Sides"

YEAR:  1994

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Los Angeles, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  1986 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Check Yo Self" is a classic Ice Cube song letting people know to not overstep their bounds. You can get away with that shit with some people but when Cube's on the mic, it's best ot step aside and clear the lane, or you might get wrecked! I chose the remix of his song as my song of the week. The more famous remix version features the beat from the classic Grandmaster Flash song "The Message". You can check out the original version of "Check Yo Self" on Ice Cube's 1992 "The Predator" album, but the remix is by far the superior version of the song.

ICE CUBE DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1990 - AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (Priority Records)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 7-14-90

* certified platinum

1991 - Death Certificate (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 on 11-16-91

* certified platinum

1992 - The Predator (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 12-5-92

* certified 2X platinum

1993 - Lethal Injection (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 12-25-93

* certified platinum

1994 - Bootlegs & B-Sides (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 12-10-94

1998 - War & Peace Vol. 1 (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 on 12-5-98

* certified platinum

2000 - War & Peace Vol. 2 (Priority/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 on 4-8-00

* certified gold

2006 - Laugh Now, Cry Later (EMI/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #4 on the Billboard 200 on 6-24-06

* certified gold

2008 - Raw Footage (EMI/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 9-6-08

2010 - I Am The West (EMI/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 on 10-16-10

2018 - Everythang's Corrupt (Interscope/Lench Mob Records)

* peaked at #62 on the Billboard 200 on 12-22-18

MY THOUGHTS ON ICE CUBE:

Ice Cube is one of the biggest and most legendary rappers to come out of the West Coast. Representing South Central Los Angeles and Compton, he and his supergroup, N.W.A., sprung to the top of the rap world with their no nonsense take on gangsta rap. That group, featuring Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren and DJ Yella carried the torch that Ice-T lit and took it to the next level. Cube was definitely the most gifted emcee of the group, followed by Ren and along with The D.O.C., the three of them helped contribute lyrics for Eazy-E and Dre. Cube wound up leaving the group in 1989 over a contract dispute. He tried to convince Dre and Ren that they were getting hosed on their contracts but they didn't listen to him, at first anyway. Though Cube departed, he didn't harbor any ill feeling towards N.W.A., but they would diss Cube on their "100 Miles And Runnin'" EP. I'll get back to that a little later. Cube enlisted the help of Chuck D. of Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad to produce his debut solo album, "AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted". This album was a smash success and proved that Cube could stand on his own without N.W.A. Now, when N.W.A. dissed Cube again on their "Niggaz4Life" album, well...  Cube answered the bell with one of the greatest diss records of all time with "No Vaseline"! Battle over!! N.W.A. would split up with Dr. Dre joining Suge Knight and starting Death Row Records and Ren and Eazy would both go solo. Cube's biggest success came on his third album, 1992's "The Predator". This album reached #1 on the Billboard 200 as well as going double platinum do to the success of his biggest single, "It Was A Good Day". Cube continued releasing platinum selling albums with 1993's "Lethal Injection" and 1998's "War & Peace Vol. 1". When the 2000's came, Cube was still dropping top 10 albums like 2000's "War & Peace Vol. 2", 2006's "Laugh Now, Cry Later" and 2008's "Raw Footage". Ice Cube's most recent release was 2018's "Everythang's Corrupt". In 2020, Ice Cube, Too Short and 40 formed the rap supergroup Mount Westmore.  Ice Cube is one of the most iconic rappers of all time. I would put him in the top 5 of emcee's easily. For me personally, I think Ice Cube is at his best when he is shining the light on social ills and coming with a militant and political mindset. If Ice-T is the father of gangsta rap, Ice Cube is like his first son. When I think of the greatest diss rappers, Ice Cube and KRS-One immediately come to mind. Though Cube is great as a solo, there was nothing better than N.W.A. and their "Straight Outta Compton" album. That's is where I got my introduction to Ice Cube and it still ranks as one of my favorite albums of all time, in any genre. It sucks that Eazy-E died in 1995 because the rumor was that all the guys in N.W.A. squashed their beef and they were ready to make new music again which would have been insane! There were a few "N.W.A." songs released after Eazy's death with 1999's "Chin Check" and 2000's "Hello". It's true...  Ice Cube IS the West!!!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

N.W.A.

Eazy-E

Westside Connection

Dr. Dre

Snoop Dogg

TEN ICE CUBE SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. My Summer Vacation

2. When Will They Shoot

3. No Vaseline

4. The Nigga Ya Love To Hate

5. Ghetto Bird

6. Why We Thugs

7. Wicked

8. Everythang's Corrupt

9. Ghetto Vet

10. Drink The Kool Aid

SONG OF THE WEEK: 7/25/21

SONG:  "Where Do We Go"

ARTIST:  The Darlings

ALBUM:  "The New Escape"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  South Bay, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  2005 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Where Did We Go" appears to be a song about moving forward and not looking back. The vocalist reflects on the obstacles that he's had to overcome, but he wants his focus to be on moving forward. He says in the song that he wants to get away but I don't get the sense his past is holding him back. It seems that he's come to grips with his past and he's focused on his present and future.

THE DARLINGS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2012 - The New Escape (self-released)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2014 - Made Of Phantoms (Echotone Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2016 - Live Attack (Hardline Entertainment)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE DARLINGS:

The Darlings got their start as a band in South Bay, California back in 2005. The guys in the band were avid skateboarders who became friends and ultimately formed a band inspired by bands like Pennywise, The Offspring and Bad Religion. Their first release was a 2008 EP titled "The Darlings". This generated some buzz for the band in the California punk scene. Soon The Darlings were sharing stages with Social Distortion, Pennywise and Bad Religion, the very same bands they looked up to! In 2012, the band dropped their debut full length album, "The New Escape". Never a band to be boxed in by a certain sound, their 2014 release, "Made Of Phantoms" saw the band get into some blues orientated stuff as well as Americana and even some ska/reggae. While their roots are in punk, the band is also influenced by 50's rock and roll and even some country. The Darlings most recent release was a live album called "Live Attack" in 2016. Not a whole lot of news out there on The Darlings. According to their Twitter account, they last played shows in 2017/2018. I don't know if they are still together or not to be honest. As I said earlier, The Darlings roots are in punk rock but they are not afraid to explore other genres like 50's rock and roll, country and reggae. They are a band with an old soul, in that, they themselves feel more tied to their influences than they are to their contemporaries. I believe the first time I heard of The Darlings was hearing their song "Broken Heart Still Beating" off of their "The New Escape" album. The Darlings are yet another band I first heard about through the DyingScene blog which is by all accounts now defunct (staaaanks!!). Hopefully these guys drop some new songs in the near future because they show lots of promise as a band.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

The Exposed

Blacklist Royals

The Black Pacific

Enemy You

Avoid One Thing

TEN THE DARLINGS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Where Do We Go

2. Broken Heart Still Beating

3. Little Teenage Thing

4. Lacerate

5. There's A Madman Livin' In Waco

6. Hypnotize

7. Evangeline

8. It's Gone

9. Plowed (Sponge cover)

10. Love Story

SONG OF THE WEEK: 7/18/21

SONG:  "Bridge Burners"

ARTIST:  The Bogarts

ALBUM:  "Nothing To Call Our Own"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Thousand Oaks, California

YEARS ACTIVE:  2009 - 2014

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Bridge Burners" appears to be a song about, well, burning bridges. The vocalist almost sympathizes with those who knew him and befriended him. He knows that he is the one to blame for ruining those relationships. He understands that there is no chance for reconciliations and he doesn't need their goodbyes. Just walk away and move on from him.

THE BOGARTS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2009 - Better Than Before (Self-Released)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Nothing To Call Our Own (Artistic Integrity Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON THE BOGARTS:

The Bogarts formed as a band back in 2009, hailing from Thousand Oaks, California. This four piece punk rock outfit formed when the guys were still in high school. The Bogarts self-released their debut album in 2009 called "Better Than Before". They followed that up in 2011 with an EP titled "Ideologies". The band's most recent release was the 2012 full length album "Nothing To Call Our Own". In 2014, The Bogarts changed their name to Tides and with the name change brought a stylistic change as well. They originally had a indie punk/D.I.Y. style as The Bogarts. When they became Tides, they were more alternative rock sounding. As Tides, they only released the double sided single "Lily/Nailbiter" in 2014. There really hasn't been a whole lot going on with this band in the last 6 years. The assumption is that they have broken up but there's not a whole lot of info out there on the band to confirm or deny that. I gotta give props to the DyingScene.com for connecting me with this band. They really grew with each release and while they sounded super raw on "Better Than Before", by the time they released "Nothing To Call Our Own", they seemed like they started finding something in their sound. It was surprising to me that they up and changed their name and style but then again, I'm not so sure they were ever gonna emerge from the pack of indie punk bands. I'd consider The Bogarts maybe a higher end 3rd tier punk band, possibly lower 2nd tier band.

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Moonraker

The Braces

The Flatliners

Heartsounds

From Plan To Progress

TEN THE BOGARTS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Greetings From

2. The Mirror

3. To Whom It May Concern

4. Bridge Burners

5. Ideologies

6. Profiteering Scheme

7. K.K.B.

8. Formerly Known

9. Rise And Fall

10. The Runaway

SONG OF THE WEEK: 7/11/21

SONG:  "Voodoo"

ARTIST:  Godsmack

ALBUM:  "Live & Inspired"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Lawrence, Massachusetts

YEARS ACTIVE:  1995 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Voodoo" was written by Godsmack vocalist Sully Erna after watching the movie "The Serpent And The Rainbow". The movie basically inspired the lyrics to "Voodoo". Some have thought the song was about heroin addiction but Erna himself denied that, saying he never did heroin so he wouldn't have a clue as to writing about it. I chose the live version of "Voodoo" for my song of the week. You can check out the original on Godsmack's 1998 self-titled debut.

GODSMACK DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

1998 - Godsmack (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200 on 5-29-99

* certified 4X platinum

2000 - Awake (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #5 on the Billboard 200 on 11-18-00

* certified 2X platinum

2003 - Faceless (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 4-26-03

* certified platinum

2006 - IV (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-13-06

* certified gold

2010 - The Oracle (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 on 5-22-10

* certified gold

2012 - Live & Inspired (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #19 on the Billboard 200 on 6-2-12

2014 - 1000hp (Universal/Republic Records)

* peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 on 3-23-14

2018 - When Legends Rise (BMG Records)

* peaked at #8 on the Billboard 200 on 5-12-18

MY THOUGHTS ON GODSMACK:

Godsmack formed as a band back in 1995, hailing from Lawrence, Massachusetts. For a very short time they were called The Scam before settling on the name Godsmack. They recorded a demo album in 1997 called "All Wound Up" which served as the basis for their proper debut album, 1998's "Godsmack". The band was pushed hard by local Boston radio station WAAF who put their songs "Keep Away" and "Whatever" in heavy rotation. Local buzz soon crept throughout the nation and Godsmack's debut album would eventually be certified 4X platinum! Their follow up, 2000's "Awake" was also a huge success for the band, certified 2X platinum. Godsmack's next three albums all reached #1 on the Billboard 200 charts. 2003's "Faceless" was a monster, featuring hit singles like "Straight Out Of Line", "I Stand Alone" and "Re-Align". The band dropped a nice acoustic EP called "The Other Side" in 2004. The band featured a heavy sound to begin with, but 2010's "The Oracle" was considered by the band to be their heaviest effort to date. 2014's "1000hp" ended the band's relationship with Universal/Republic and the band is now signed with BMG. Their most recent album was 2018's "When Legends Rise". Rumor has it that the band plans to have a new album released some time in 2022. Godsmack is a hard rock/metal band at heart. You can hear a grunge influence in their sound. Sully Erna has often been compared to James Hetfield of Metallica and Layne Staley of Alice In Chains vocally. Erna has kind of tried to veer away from those comparisons but they are pretty obvious when you hear their music. My first experience with Godsmack was the song "Whatever" off their debut album. I love this song. It's just got a real cool vibe to it. Excellent pit song!! I really like Godsmack's first three albums then I wasn't totally as in to them from "IV" on. I got all of their albums and still listen from time to time but I listen to those first three way more often. Not saying those newer albums aren't good, maybe I just grew out of them for some reason. I think there are a lot of hard rock bands that came out after those initial grunge bands of the 90's and there are many good ones, I just never thought any of them rose to the heights of those bands. Maybe that's a bad comparison because I'm not so sure I consider Godsmack a grunge band. They have grunge like tendencies with metal influences but then, you could say that Alice In Chains and Soundgarden were grunge but had metal influences as well. Who knows what the fuck I'm saying?!!  Anyway, Godsmack is a cool band and in the end, I gotta give props to my Massachusetts homies!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Drowning Pool

Breaking Benjamin

Stone Sour

Staind

Seether

TEN GODSMACK SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. Whatever

2. Awake

3. I Stand Alone

4. Re-Align

5. Running Blind

6. Bulletproof

7. Speak

8. Rocky Mountain Way (Joe Walsh cover)

9. 1000hp

10. Whiskey Hangover

SONG OF THE WEEK: 7/4/21

SONG:  "Nations/Never Enough"

ARTIST:  Gallows

ALBUM:  "Gallows"

YEAR:  2012

PLACE OF ORIGIN:  Watford, Hertfordshire, England

YEARS ACTIVE:  2005 - present

WHAT I THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT:

"Nations/Never Enough" appears to be a song about a crushing betrayal. It appears the vocalist's world is crashing down around him due to the betrayal and deceit of the only person he truly loved. It seems a bit harsh but I guess if the love of your life betrays you, it could be really crushing.

GALLOWS DISCOGRAPHY (Full length albums only):

2005 - Orchestra Of Wolves (In At The Deep End Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2009 - Grey Britain (Warner Bros. Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2012 - Gallows (Venn Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

2015 - Desolation Sounds (Venn Records)

* did not chart on the Billboard 200

MY THOUGHTS ON GALLOWS:

Gallows is a band from England that formed back in 2005. This hardcore outfit's first album was 2005's "Orchestra Of Wolves". Bad Religion's Brett Gurewitz loved this album so much he agreed to distribute it in the United States through his own Epitaph Records. He considered Gallows the best hardcore band to come out since Refused. Gallows signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. for their next album, 2009's "Grey Britain". While not charting in the U.S., "Grey Britain" peaked at #20 on the U.K. charts. Unfortunately, the band's lead singer, Frank Carter, decided to leave the band after this album as he wanted to go in a different musical direction as you can see clearly from listening to his next band Pure Love, which had a pop feel to it, and even his new band, Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, which has a hardcore feel, but incorporates some almost industrial sounds. The guys in Gallows wanted to keep their sound strictly hardcore. They brought on Wade MacNeil of the band Alexisonfire to take over vocal duties. Their first album with MacNeil was 2012's self-titled album "Gallows". After touring in support of "Gallows", the band went on a small hiatus in 2015, with MacNeil returning to play shows with Alexisonfire. In 2019, however, Gallows played on the Slam Dunk Festival with MacNeil on vocal duties. Not much news out there if they are working on a new album as of now. Gallows is a hardcore band through and through. I was disappointed that Frank Carter left the band. I first caught on to them when they dropped their "Orchestra Of Wolves" album but my favorite was their sophomore album "Grey Britain". I actually love the stuff Carter has done after Gallows as well. I like MacNeil's version of Gallows, just not as much as Carter's. All in all, I think they're a good band. If they moved in the direction of Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, I would consider them a great band!

SIMILAR ARTISTS:

Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes

Sick Of It All

H2O

Alexisonfire

Comeback Kid

TEN GALLOWS SONGS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT:

1. The Vulture (Acts I & II)

2. Misery

3. Outsider Art

4. Abandon Ship

5. Bonfire Season

6. Last June

7. In The Belly Of A Shark

8. London Is The Reason

9. Cross Of Lorraine

10. Mystic Death