Song Of The Week: 11/25/12

Song: "Tomorrow Starts Today"

Artist: 88 Fingers Louie

Album: "Back On The Streets"

Year: 1998



"Tomorrow Starts Today" is a typical "break up" song. The vocalist has found out about her cheating and lying ways, mostly from her "so-called" friends who basically ratted her out. He's basically saying in the song that what they had is over and he's living for today and his future. A future which definitely does not include her. 88 Fingers Louie was a punk band that formed back in 1993. They were very much a part of the growing Chicago punk scene, which included fellow bands such as Alkaline Trio, The Lawrence Arms and Rise Against. In fact, 88 Fingers Louie band members Dan Wleklinski and Joe Principe actually were the founding members of Rise Against. Joe Principe is still the current bass player of Rise Against in fact while Wleklinski left that band to pursue other projects in 2001. From 1993 to 1995, 88 Fingers Louie dropped several EP's and splits and wound up catching the ears of legendary punk label Fat Wreck Chords who signed the band and put out their full length debut, 1995's "Behind Bars". Amidst all kinds of inner turmoil and constant fighting amongst band members, they still stayed intact to release a few more EP's. In 1997, Fat Wreck Chords decided to release a compilation album of all of 88 Fingers Louie EP's and 7" releases under the name "The Dom Years". In 1998, the band released their second full length album entitled "Back On The Streets". After just about a year from that release, however, the tensions within the band reached a boiling point of no return. 88 Fingers Louie decided to disband in 1999. For the ten year span of 1999 to 2009, all the band members began doing their own thing, as I said earlier, the most notable of these projects was the formation of Rise Against that guitarist Dan Wleklinski and bassist Joe Principe were a part of. In 2009, the band reunited, minus Principe, and played at Chicago's annual "Riot Fest". The band also recorded and taped a live set at Chicago's Bottom Lounge on August 15, 2009. This show would be released as a cd and a dvd under the name "88 Fingers Louie Lives". By 2011, 88 Fingers Louie decided to call it quits again and focus on their other projects. Currently, it appears 88 Fingers Louie is officially done as a band. They were a well respected band in punk circles, especially in the Chicago area, but they could never quite keep it together to have any significant impact with their music.

Song Of The Week: 11/18/12

Song: "On A Wire"

Artist: Funeral For A Friend

Album: "Tales Don't Tell Themselves"

Year: 2007



To understand what "On A Wire" is about is to understand that "Tales Don't Tell Themselves" is a concept album. According to Funeral For A Friend's lead vocalist, Matthew Davies-Kreye, the story of the album is almost like "The Perfect Storm" meets "Castaway". It's about a fisherman who's ship is wrecked at sea. He loses his whole crew in the disaster and eventually washes up on a deserted island all alone. He eventually builds a raft and weathers the rough seas once again in hopes of reuniting with his wife and daughter. "On A Wire" is the part of the story after his ship has wrecked and he is stuck on that island really feeling isolated and lonely. Funeral For A Friend are a band from the United Kingdom that formed back in 2001. They were very much influenced by bands such as Iron Maiden, Deftones and The Get Up Kids and you can really hear elements of all of those bands in their music. Early on, they had a post-hardcore, almost metal feel to their music and it showed on their debut album, 2003's "Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation". That album would reach gold certification on the heels of three top 20 singles in their home country. In 2005, the band released "Hours". This was Funeral For A Friend's major label debut on Atlantic Records. The band recorded "Hours" in two Seattle studios, both of which were owned by grunge icons Pearl Jam. The band also went on some major tours during this time including the Warped Tour alongside bands such as Thrice, Hawthorne Heights and Atreyu. They also headlined the British leg of the Taste Of Chaos tour with fellow bands such as The Used, Rise Against and Story Of The Year. 2007 saw the band release the concept album "Tales Don't Tell Themselves". This was the band's highest charting album, peaking at number three on the U.K. album charts. With singles such as "Into Oblivion (Reunion)", you could see the band go in yet another musical direction, less post-hardcore and more melodic, almost atmospheric. In 2008, Funeral For A Friend would release "Memory And Humanity". This album would see the band get more into the aggressive style and screaming vocals that were prevalent on their debut album. In 2009, the band fulfilled their obligations to Atlantic Records by releasing a greatest hits album, "Your History Is Mine: 2002-2009". This compilation also featured four new songs as well. In 2011, Funeral For A Friend returned to their original label, "Good Fight Music", and released "Welcome Home Armageddon". For ten plus years, Funeral For A Friend were a very active band and remain so today. They've released five studio albums, seven EP's, two live albums and also some DVD's. They are a very influential post-hardcore band, especially in their home country, the United Kingdom. Currently, the band is expected to release their sixth studio album in early 2013. With all the music they've created and continue to create and the constant touring, their doesn't appear to be any stopping Funeral For A Friend any time soon.

Song Of The Week: 11/11/12

Song: "A Fear Of Being Alone"

Artist: The Exies

Album: "A Modern Way Of Living With The Truth"

Year: 2007



"A Fear Of Being Alone" appears to be about exactly what the title says. The vocalist fears losing the only person who is his hope and his light. He feels almost paralyzed by the fear of losing this person. She is what he lives for. No matter what's wrong with him, when he's with her, she makes everything right. She's his reason to breathe, his reason to live. The Exies formed as a band back in 1997. They are from Los Angeles, California. After toiling around for a few years, in 2000 they released their debut self-titled album. While touring in support of that album, The Exies caught the ear of Virgin Records who promply signed the band. In 2002, The Exies released their Virgin Records debut, "Inertia". Thanks in part to the single "My Goddess", "Inertia" turned out to be The Exies most successful album. "My Goddess" would go on to reach number 12 on the Modern Rock charts in fact. In 2004, the band released "Head For The Door". This album spawned another successful single, "Ugly". This also led to the band opening for Velvet Revolver which would be The Exies very first arena tour. In 2006, after just two albums with the label, Virgin Records decided to drop The Exies from their roster. In 2007, the band hooked on with a smaller label and released the album "A Modern Way Of Living With The Truth". In a span of ten years, The Exies were a very active band, releasing four albums during that time. The band has been inactive however since last touring with the band Trust Company in 2008. Lead singer, Scott Stevens, did go on to co-write some songs for the bands Theory Of A Deadman and Halestorm in 2011. Currenty, as I said earlier, The Exies have not been active since 2008. While there has been no confirmation of a break-up, there has also been no confirmation of any activity, whether that is recording new material or playing any live shows. For now, it appears that the band is on a hiatus.

Song Of The Week: 11/4/12

Song: "Big Dumb Sex"

Artist: Soundgarden

Album: "Louder Than Love"

Year: 1989



"Big Dumb Sex" was written by Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell as kind of a parody of glam rock, hair metal and all the "cock" rock bands of the 80's. He basically said what those bands all wanted to say without using cheesy metaphors for sexual intercourse. Lyrically, the song shows that Soundgarden could also be humorous and not always dark and depressive. Soundgarden is one of the forefathers of the Seattle "grunge" movement and is one of the most successful and influential bands in heavy rock music. They are closely tied with the famous Seattle record label Sub Pop with whom they released their first two EP's, 1987's "Screaming Life" and 1988's "Fopp". 1988 also saw the band release it's first full length album, "Ultramega OK". In 1989, Soundgarden signed to major label A&M Records and released "Louder Than Love". It was after this release that original bassist Hiro Yamamoto left the band and was replaced with Ben Shepherd rounding out the band's line-up, Cornell on vocals and rhythm guitar, Kim Thayil on lead guitar, Shepherd on bass and Matt Cameron on drums. In 1991, the band released "Badmotorfinger". Thanks to the singles "Jesus Christ Pose", "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage", as well as the emergence of fellow Seattle bands, Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden began to propel into the mainstream of what was going on in the music scene. Their appearance on the 1992 Lollapalooza Tour further solidified them in the alternative music scene, playing along side bands like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Ministry. The "grunge" movement was now what was relevant in music and the "hair" metal days were dead and buried, thank God!! In 1994, Soundgarden would release it's landmark album, "Superunknown". This album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, thanks in part to the hit singles, "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried To Live", "Black Hole Sun", "My Wave" and "Fell On Black Days". This album was certified five times platinum and won several awards, including Grammys and MTV Video Music Awards. What should have seemed like the best of times for this hard working band, also proved to be the worst of times. In the process of making 1996's "Down On The Upside", internal conflicts began to arise within the band, especially between Cornell and Thayil. Cornell wanted the band to expand in different musical directions while Thayil did not want to compromise the heavy sound that they were known for. To the listener, Soundgarden just made another great album featuring tracks like "Pretty Noose", "Burden In My Hand" and "Blow Up The Outside World". On the inside, however, the cracks within the band were becoming unfixable. In 1997, Soundgarden announced to the world that they had broken up. They released a singles compilation called "A-Sides" to sum up their career. From 1998 till 2009, the members of Soundgarden worked on various projects. Cornell focused on his solo albums and also joined the remaining members of Rage Against The Machine after their frontman Zack de la Rocha departed. That supergroup was called Audioslave and they had a short, but successful career as a band. Thayil would go on to work with people like the Dead Kennedy's frontman Jello Biafra as well as former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl. Matt Cameron focused on his side band, Wellwater Conspiracy for a while, then wound up joining Pearl Jam. Shepherd also worked with Wellwater Conspiracy then played bass for Mark Lanegan. In October of 2009, all four members of Soundgarden showed up at a Pearl Jam concert in California. It marked the first time that all four members appeared together in over ten years. It also sparked rumors of a possible reunion. Those rumors were changed to truth in January of 2010 when Cornell announced that Soundgarden would be riding again! In April of 2010, Soundgarden played their first live show since 1997. They also announced that they would be headlining that year's Lollapalooza festival. "Telephantasm: A Retrospective" was released that year as well, basically a new compilation of Soundgarden hits. 2011 saw the release of the band's very first live album entitled "Live On I-5". It was also announced that the band was officially working on a new album. A new song, "Live To Rise", was featured on the soundtrack to the movie "The Avengers" as well. Currently, Soundgarden has been touring and are excited, as well as their legions of fans, to announce that their brand new album, "King Animal", will be released in November of 2012.

Song Of The Week: 10/28/12

Song: "Ordinary Girl"

Artist: Chris Cornell

Album: "Scream"

Year: 2009



"Ordinary Girl" appears to be a song about a woman who's beauty is so mesmerizing that you fall totally in love with her. The problem is that she uses that against you. She uses her beauty to draw you in, then she takes you for everything you have. She not only wants to take you for your money, she also wants to take you for your soul. Basically, the vocalist is saying that looks can be deceiving. What's beautiful on the outside is cold and evil on the inside. Chris Cornell is one of the greatest rock and roll vocalists of all time. He has one of the strongest vocal ranges of any lead singer in rock history. His story starts in Seattle, Washington back in 1984 when he helped form one of the most influential hard rock bands to ever come out, Soundgarden. In the mid to late 80's, Soundgarden was very much in the underground of a music scene that was about to explode. Soon bands like Soundgarden and Alice In Chains began creating a buzz. Along the way, there was also the band Nirvana which was set to change the way people looked at hard rock music. Cornell's roommate and best friend, Andrew Wood, lead singer of the band Mother Love Bone, would fall victim to the abuses of heroin. This left a huge void in the whole Seattle music scene and personally affected Cornell in a big way. Now it's 1991. Cornell has put some song tribute songs together for his fallen friend Andy Wood. He enlists the help of former Mother Love Bone members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament as well as a San Diego surfer, Eddie Vedder and a shredder on guitar Mike McCready. A couple of songs turn into a whole album, "Temple Of The Dog". The Seattle grunge explosion is on the verge of happening. Vedder, Gossard, Ament and McCready form Pearl Jam and release "Ten". Nirvana rocks the world with the release of "Nevermind". Alice In Chains strike gold with "Dirt" and Soundgarden drops "Badmotorfinger". The music world has turned upside down and "hair" metal is dead!! Cornell and Soundgarden would go on to drop landmark albums in the 90's. Along with 1991's "Badmotorfinger" came 1994's classic "Superunknown" and 1996's "Down On The Upside". After 13 years as a band, however, tensions began to arise and a break-up was inevitable. In 1997, Soundgarden officially split up. In 1999, Cornell released his first solo album, "Euphoria Morning". This album began to show Cornell's range as an artist. It was definitely a softer side compared to the aggression that was Soundgarden but it really highlighted Cornell's songwriting abilities and showed he could still shine on different kinds of music. The solo career would prove to be short-lived however, as the remaining members of Rage Against The Machine would come calling Cornell after the departure of their lead vocalist Zack de la Rocha. The supergroup would officially get together in 2001 and take the name Audioslave. Audioslave saw huge success as a band. The meshing of one of the greatest vocalists of all time, Cornell, and one of the greatest guitarists of all time, Tom Morello, proved to be a smash. Audioslave sat atop the rock world from 2001 till 2007. During that time they dropped three successful albums, "Audioslave", "Out Of Exile" and "Revelations". Once again, however, tensions arose in the band setting that would ultimately cause Cornell to leave the band. In 2007, Cornell began to focus on his solo career once again. He contributed the theme song to the James Bond film "Casino Royale" titled "You Know My Name". He also dropped a new solo album called "Carry On". In 2009, Cornell wanted to expand in an even further direction musically when he hooked up with R&B producer Timbaland and created the album "Scream". Though "Scream" was Cornell's highest charting solo album, #10 on the Billboard 200 charts, it was also mostly panned by music critics. The R&B feel to the album just didn't click with longtime fans and critics who felt Cornell should stick with what he does best, heavy rock. There were rumors that Cornell was going to rework the entire album as a rock album, but he would only do two alternate "rock" versions for the songs, "Never Far Away" and "Long Gone". In 2011, Cornell released an acoustic live album entitled "Songbook". It's a real treat to hear the power of Cornell's voice in an acoustic setting. Before the release of "Songbook", Soundgarden fans rejoiced with the news that the band was getting back together. After headlining a few festivals such as Lollapalooza, it was announced that the band had been working on new material and a new album, titled "King Animal", would be released in November of 2012. Currently, Cornell's focus is on the beast that is Soundgarden. Fans couldn't be happier because, really, this is where he belongs, fronting one of the heaviest and most influential bands of all time!

Song Of The Week: 10/21/12

Song: "Blue Times Two"

Artist: Avail

Album: "Front Porch Stories"

Year: 2002



"Blue Times Two" appears to be a song about biting your tongue during an argument. Sometimes it's better not to say anything and accept that mistakes were made by both people and move on. You get a sense that this relationship is most likely on the outs however. Arguments are making it worse and talking about their problems seems to be getting them nowhere. The vocalist clearly hates himself for the way things turned out, but I believe he sees the writing on the wall, that the relationship is moving towards an end. Avail was a hardcore/punk band that formed back in 1987. They are from Richmond, Virginia. Vocalist Tim Barry actually started out as the band's drummer on their early demos. By the time the band self-released their first album, 1992's "Satiate", Barry was the lead singer. The band was signed to Lookout! Records who would re-release "Satiate" as well as the band's next three albums, 1994's "Dixie", 1996's "4am Friday", and 1998's "Over The James". These three albums would also receive the re-release treatment when the band signed with Jade Tree Records later on in their career. In 2000, Avail joined prominent punk label Fat Wreck Chords and released "One Wrench". Fat Wreck would also release what would be Avail's final studio album, "Front Porch Stories" in 2002. After almost twenty-one years of toiling in the underground of the hardcore punk scene, Avail decided to call it quits and focus on new projects. Tim Barry has said in interviews that the band is on "permanent standby" and that basically Avail is a thing of the past. All in all it was a long run for the band however. Along with their six full length studio albums, Avail also released two demos, four EP's and three live albums. Their legacy in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia still remains strong as well. It's quite common to see the band's "Dixie" logo in graffiti or on sidewalk impressions as well as on tattoos all over the Richmond area. Currently, most members of Avail are focusing on new projects. Some members went on to form the bands The Ghost Run and Freeman. The most notable side project however, proved to be Tim Barry's solo career. Like many punk rock frontmen, Barry caught the wave of folk/punk, turning down the distortion and picking up an acoustic to focus more on his songwriting capabilities. As for Avail, it appears safe to close the book on that band for now.

Song Of The Week: 10/14/12

Song: "Millstone"

Artist: Brand New

Album: "The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me"

Year: 2006



"Millstone" is a song that appears to be about looking back on your life and having some regrets about the way things have turned out. It could be as simple as losing your faith or perhaps not just a religious angle. It could just be about losing who you are as a person. This person, the vocalist, places no blame on anyone but himself for the way things turned out in his life. He wears the burden around his neck and he is remorseful for the mistakes he's made. Whatever he's walked away from, whether it's family, friends, relationships or even God, he owns up to it, regrettably. Brand New, from Long Island, New York, formed as a band back in 2000. Their first album, 2001's "Your Favorite Weapon" saw the band use sort of a pop punk style and was mildly successful. When it was time to record their second album, 2003's "Deja Entendu", Brand New changed up their style a bit and the maturity of the music and songwriting really shined through especially on the hit singles "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria...Glory Fades". This album would go on to be certified Gold. In 2006, Brand New signed with Interscope Records and released "The Devil And God Are Raging Inside Me". This album saw the band descend into some darker material. Vocalist/guitarist Jesse Lacey was really exploring his inner demons on this record almost to the point of leading him to depression. The first single "Sowing Season" was dark and emotional while the second single "Jesus" would go on to be the highest charting single in the U.S. for the band. In 2008, Brand New formed their own record label called Procrastinate! Music Traitors. In 2009, they released their fourth studio effort, "Daisy". This album proved to be the highest charting of all the Brand New albums, peaking at #6 on the Billboard 200 charts. Despite the success of "Daisy", Lacey felt that a lot of the songs on the album focused on the possible end of the band. He began to wonder if the band had said everything that it wanted to say and if it was time to move on. Thankfully, he would later squash that notion, however he did say he was unsure if Brand New would release a new full album in the future. Due to the way music is received today with all the new technology in place, he pondered if Brand New would just release songs digitally, perhaps a song a month or a batch of songs all at once instead of a whole album. All these things would possibly affect the way that the band would release material in the future. By 2012, it was said that Brand New had indeed secured some studio time and were, in fact beginning the process of working on a new album. Brand New has turned out to not only be quite a successful band, but also a very influential band. Lacey is credited with being a well respected songwriter, his songs containing extremely personal and emotional meanings. Since the band's existence, they have either opened, headlined or co-headlines some of the biggest music festivals around the globe, Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds, Bamboozle and Big Day Out just to name a few. They have also shared the stage with the likes of Thrice, Senses Fail, My Chemical Romance, Alkaline Trio, Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, Taking Back Sunday and Finch. Currenty, as I said earlier, the band had been in the recording studio as late as April of 2012, reportedly working on new material for what would be their fifth studio album.