BLAST FROM THE PAST #4: Linkin Park
A recent episode of South Park posited that there comes a time in your life when everything you once loved as a kid starts looking like crap once you’re older. While I will certainly admit to growing more critical and cynical as I’ve grown, I’d like to think people don’t change that much. Some things in life never get old – I’ll probably always have a soft spot for U2 and Green Day, for the Three Stooges and Looney Tunes cartoons (and South Park, for that matter), for Super Mario Bros. 3 and Final Fantasy VII. Then there are things that give you little to no sense of pride or nostalgia, things that make you look back and wonder, “Why the hell did I ever like that?” And for me, sometimes I look back to my teenage years and try to figure out why it took me so long to grow out of nu-metal, though I do give that particular phase credit for helping me get into heavier music.
I was never a hardcore fan of that whole late-‘90s, early-double-0s scene, but I did get my feet wet. I liked Korn’s singles back then, but never bought any of their albums. I could never really get into the Deftones (and still haven’t, even though I’ve heard lots of good things about them) or P.O.D. I flat-out didn’t like Disturbed at all (and still don’t). System Of A Down? They were okay, though for some reason I thought Serj Tankian kind of looked like Osama bin Laden. I didn’t hear anything by Slipknot for the first time until long after the nu-metal craze had hit its peak, though I’d seen plenty of their merchandise around school. There was a brief period where I actually considered getting that Crazy Town album with “Butterfly” on it – yes, I once thought the guys who horrifically mutilated “New Noise” by Refused were at least competent musicians. I was totally ready to buy Kid Rock as an “American Bad Ass” until I found out that he took that riff from an old Metallica song (for the record, I’m usually OK with sampling as long as you make interesting alterations or additions to the sample; leaving the sample as it is comes off as lazy, like all you did was make up new lyrics to someone else’s song). And who the hell were Primer 55 and Ill Niño? I certainly didn’t know.
Really, there were (and are) only a handful of albums in my collection that probably qualify as nu-metal at all: the first three Limp Bizkit albums, Infest by Papa Roach, The Lonely Position of Neutral by Trust Company, and of course the required soundtracks for any angsty teenager’s life from 2000 to 2004, Hybrid Theory and Meteora by Linkin Park.
A Quick Update Because I Was Away
Hey everyone. Just got back from a weekend in Ocean City, Maryland. In between looking to see whether or not My Morning Jacket has announced any tour dates in the Philly area (answer: no) (EDIT: The answer is now YES — they’re playing the Mann Center on August 23) and any updates on whether or not a new Radiohead tour has been announced at all (answer: also no), I noticed that I haven’t updated this blog in a while. So much for that whole “new post every week” schedule I’d been trying to stick to. So here’s a nice quick Colin’s Collection update to get me back in the swing of things. As always, the list can be found after the jump. Or if you prefer, you could always just listen to this song that inspired the title of today’s post (and also much of Green Day’s post-Warning career).
Damn It, Kanye!
By now everyone knows about Kanye West interrupting Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday, right? Right. Seriously, man… just when you think Kanye can’t be any more of a douchebag, he finds a way to out-douche himself. Taylor Swift went from looking like she’d just seen the world’s cutest puppy dog (after hearing them announce her name) to looking like she was about to burst into tears right there on the stage (after Kanye did his thing).
And for the record, THIS is the world's cutest puppy dog. His name is Harley and he's all mine.
But fear not, Miss Swift, for the entire Internet has seen fit to avenge you by tearing the asshole a new asshole. The result is I’mma Let You Finish, which has yielded some pretty hilarious results (and some not-so-hilarious results involving 9/11 and the recently departed Patrick Swayze). I’ve been having some fun with this one over the past few days. The fruits of my madness after the jump!
Sept. 11, 2009: Show #23
I know what you’re thinking. “Hey, what the hell is this? Two 9/11 posts in a row? Wasn’t this blog supposed to be about music or something?” Well, don’t you worry your pretty little heads. This is a totally different kind of post relating to 9/11. I did my first show of the fall semester yesterday, and here’s the playlist…
1. Bloc Party, “The Marshals Are Dead” (Silent Alarm B-sides)
2. Cave In, “Come Into Your Own” (Tides Of Tomorrow EP)
3. Spoon, “The Way We Get By” (Kill The Moonlight)
4. Band Of Horses, “Weed Party” (Everything All The Time)
5. Pavement, “You Are A Light” (Terror Twilight)
6. Radiohead, “These Are My Twisted Words” (Wall Of Ice EP — just kidding, it’s a single)
7. Blur, “M.O.R.” (Blur)
8. Arctic Monkeys, “When The Sun Goes Down” (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not)
9. The Fall Of Troy, “I Just Got This Symphony Goin’” (Doppelganger)
10. Titus Andronicus, “My Time Outside The Womb” (The Airing Of Grievances)
11. Green Day, “Murder City” (21st Century Breakdown)
12. Minus The Bear, “Memphis & 53rd” (Menos El Oso)
13. My Morning Jacket, “What A Wonderful Man” (Z)
14. The National, “Available” (Sad Songs For Dirty Lovers)
15. RX Bandits, “One Million Miles An Hour, Fast Asleep” (…And The Battle Begun)
16. Dead Confederate, “Shadow The Walls” (Dead Confederate EP)
17. Queens Of The Stone Age, “Tangled Up In Plaid” (Lullabies To Paralyze)
18. Kings Of Leon, “Soft” (Aha Shake Heartbreak)
19. Radiohead, “Subterranean Homesick Alien” (OK Computer)
20. Nirvana, “Stay Away” (Nevermind)
21. British Sea Power, “Trip Out” (Do You Like Rock Music?)
22. White Rabbits, “Percussion Gun” (It’s Frightening)
23. Green Day, “21 Guns” (21st Century Breakdown)
24. Muse, “Uprising” (The Resistance)
25. Silversun Pickups, “Panic Switch” (Swoon)
26. Thom Yorke, “The Present Tense” (live @ Latitude Festival)
27. Grizzly Bear, “Two Weeks” (Veckatimest)
28. The Beatles, “Taxman” (Revolver) — played to fill dead air
Well, that covers it for my first show of my last semester here at the University of Maryland. As always, keep tuning in every Friday from 4-6 p.m. on WMUC2 and keep watching this space for more updates and fun stuff.
Good Music Will Make Me Bankrupt
Hey there you all! It’s been a pretty long time since the last time I wrote a Colin’s Collection post. How long, you ask? So long ago that I hadn’t even come up with the Colin’s Collection series idea yet. Or When Bad Songs Happen To Good Bands, for that matter. Picks Of The Week didn’t exist yet either.
Granted, those are all fairly recent additions to this li’l website, but still… just in case you’re curious what my recent musical acquisitions have been, here you go!
Intronaut: Prehistoricisms
- Got this after seeing them open for Mastodon in Washington, DC back in May. Kylesa was pretty kick-ass as well.
Pavement: Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (L.A.’s Desert Origins), Terror Twilight
- Fun fact: Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood can be heard playing harmonica on two tracks from Terror Twilight. Is there anything that guy can’t play?
Silversun Pickups: Swoon
- My opinion from Picks Of The Week numero uno has not changed. “Panic Switch” still rules.
Thrice: The Alchemy Index Vols. III & IV: Air & Earth
- Kudos to the guys from Thrice for their handling of their new album Beggars being leaked online. Some people push back the release date of their albums. Axl Rose sued the guy who leaked Chinese Democracy. Thrice pushed the release date forward, making it available on iTunes as of… right now, actually, and rescheduling the physical release for September 15 with five bonus tracks.
Band Of Horses: Everything All The Time
- These guys get compared to My Morning Jacket a lot. And My Morning Jacket are great, so I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Arctic Monkeys: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not
- Speaking of the Monkeys… their new album Humbug drops in a couple weeks. My dad’s band played “When The Sun Goes Down” at a party I went to recently, which was pretty cool. “He’s a scumbag, don’tcha know…”
British Sea Power: Do You Like Rock Music?
- Yes, I do. I especially like “Lights Out For Darker Skies,” which was one of my Picks Of The Week last week.
Green Day: 21st Century Breakdown
- Saw these guys in Philly back on July 21. It was a ton of fun, from the mock exorcism during “East Jesus Nowhere” to the fan being brought on stage to play “Jesus Of Suburbia.”
Gojira: From Mars To Sirius
- Think of these guys as the French Mastodon. And I love Mastodon.
Cave In: Antenna, Tides Of Tomorrow EP
- Still on the lookout for Jupiter and Perfect Pitch Black at the moment. “Come Into Your Own” was also a recent Pick Of The Week.
Modest Mouse: We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank
- They just released a new 8-track EP called No One’s First, And You’re Next. The songs are all B-sides from their last two albums.
I’m pretty sure that covers all the recent additions to Colin’s Collection. So much good music out there, and so little money to spend on it… but I guess that’s why people are always on the lookout for free downloads, huh?
May 8, 2009: Show #21
Hey everyone! I’m finally back after yet another lengthy hiatus from the blogosphere. I just got back home last night from a nine-day vacation with my family in Ocean City, MD (we have a house down there). The weather was consistently pleasant, despite the meteorologists’ insistence to the contrary for a few days; the pool was always a bit chilly at first but would soon become comfortable; there was a nice breeze at the beach; the new Harry Potter movie was pretty solid; my dad celebrated his birthday; the Phillies have been kicking ass for the last few weeks (including tonight’s 10-1 demolition of the Cubs) and are the favorites to trade for kickass pitcher Roy Halladay; Married With Children reruns were on a lot in the morning and are still hilarious; I finally got to read Thank You For Smoking; and all in all it was a pretty good week.
So now that I’m back in the Keystone State, I bring you the playlist for my penultimate show of the 2008-09 school year on May 8, 2009. The playlist and more after the jump!
Colin’s Picks of the Week #1
Hey everyone! It’s been kind of a busy week for my family, but I’m back. Congratulations to my sister Lauren on graduating from high school, and happy 20th birthday to my other sister Kerry.
In my last post I had some ideas for things I can post here that don’t involve top 5 lists or making fun of stupid crap since I’ve almost got all of my playlists posted here. This is one of those ideas — just a few songs I’ve had stuck in my head lately that I’d like to tell you all about. And just to force you all to increase the hit count for this post, I’m going to list them all after the jump.
I didn't spend six months writing this blog just to have people come here searching for titties. Throw me a frickin' bone here!
What can I say? I’m evil like that. MUAH-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!!!!!
Feb. 20, 2009: Show #13
Hey everybody. Sorry I haven’t updated much this week. I’ve had approximately 10,642 papers to write. Ah, the joys of becoming an English major this late in your college career…
Anyway, here’s my playlist from last week’s show. I’m going to try to post some new download files too, but I haven’t been able to get the two-hour shows up yet. And don’t forget to listen to my show on Friday at 6 p.m. — shameless plug, I know, but then again that’s kind of the purpose of this blog, isn’t it?
1. Nirvana, “Scentless Apprentice” (In Utero)
2. Kings Of Leon, “Be Somebody” (Only By The Night)
3. At The Drive-In, “Chanbara” (In/Casino/Out)
4. Dead Confederate, “Start Me Laughing” (Wrecking Ball)
5. The Whigs, “Technology” (Give ‘Em All A Big Fat Lip)
6. Blur, “Death Of A Party” (Blur)
7. R.E.M., “Exhuming McCarthy” (Document)
8. Interpol, “Roland” (Turn On The Bright Lights)
9. Queens Of The Stone Age, “The Lost Art Of Keeping A Secret” (Rated R)
10. The Sword, “The Frost-Giant’s Daughter” (Gods Of The Earth)
11. The Dillinger Escape Plan, “Panasonic Youth” (Miss Machine)
12. Mastodon, “Workhorse” (Remission)
13. Slayer, “Criminally Insane” (Reign In Blood)
14. Between The Buried And Me, “Foam Born: (B) The Decade Of Statues” (Colors)
15. High On Fire, “Hung, Drawn And Quartered” (Surrounded By Thieves)
16. The Fall Of Troy, “Chapter IV: Enter The Black Demon” (Phantom On The Horizon)
17. Rancid, “Fall Back Down” (Indestructible)
18. Green Day, “Whatsername” (American Idiot)
19. Alkaline Trio, “Time To Waste” (Crimson)
20. Radiohead, “15 Step” (In Rainbows)
21. Bloc Party, “This Modern Love” (Silent Alarm)
22. Joy Division, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (Substance)
23. Matthew Sweet, “Thought I Knew You” (Girlfriend)
24. Garbage, “Special” (Version 2.0)
25. Muse, “Falling Away With You” (Absolution)
26. Ben Folds Five, “Song For The Dumped” (Forever And Ever Amen)
27. Coldplay, “The Scientist” (A Rush Of Blood To The Head)
Feb. 13, 2009: Show #12 – Valentine’s Day Special
Hey everyone. In an attempt to lighten the mood of this blog somewhat after the last post’s journey into the realm of scary music (not to mention the darker reaches of my imagination), here’s the playlist from my Valentine’s Day special on Feb. 13, 2009.
1. Jimi Hendrix, “Foxey Lady” (Experience Hendrix: The Best Of Jimi Hendrix)
2. Blur, “Coffee & TV” (13)
3. The Smashing Pumpkins, “Cupid De Locke” (Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness)
4. Spoon, “Finer Feelings” (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)
5. Daft Punk, “Something About Us” (Discovery)
6. The Fall Of Troy, “Quarter Past” (Manipulator)
7. The Darkness, “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” (Permission To Land)
8. We Are Scientists, “Lethal Enforcer” (Brain Thrust Mastery)
9. Coldplay, “Yellow” (Parachutes)
10. The Police, “Next To You” (Outlandos d’Amour)
11. Green Day, “Extraordinary Girl” (American Idiot)
12. Queens Of The Stone Age, “In My Head” (Lullabies To Paralyze)
13. Foo Fighters, “Big Me” (Foo Fighters)
14. The Strokes, “12:51″ (Room On Fire)
15. Cake, “Short Skirt/Long Jacket” (Comfort Eagle)
16. Bloc Party, “Sunday” (A Weekend In The City)
17. Minus The Bear, “Pachuca Sunrise” (Menos El Oso)
18. Muse, “Unintended” (Showbiz)
19. Radiohead, “All I Need” (In Rainbows)
20. My Morning Jacket, “Knot Comes Loose” (Z)
21. Garbage, “Milk” (Garbage)
22. The Beatles, “Something” (Abbey Road)
23. Snow Patrol, “Grazed Knees” (Final Straw)
24. Weezer, “Across The Sea” (Pinkerton)
25. The Beach Boys, “God Only Knows” (Pet Sounds)
26. U2, “All I Want Is You” (Rattle & Hum)
27. Peter Gabriel, “In Your Eyes” (So)
Feb. 6, 2009: Show #11
Here’s the playlist for my Feb. 6, 2009 show on WMUC2. I’ve been trying to update the Download page to add more show files, but no luck so far. Stay tuned just in case.
1. The Strokes, “Juicebox” (First Impressions Of Earth)
2. Interpol, “Narc” (Antics)
3. The Hives, “A Get Together To Tear It Apart” (Veni Vidi Vicious)
4. Led Zeppelin, “Heartbreaker” (Led Zeppelin II)
5. Pearl Jam, “Spin The Black Circle” (Rearviewmirror: Greatest Hits 1991-2003)
6. Bloc Party, “Better Than Heaven” (Intimacy)
7. Daft Punk, “Digital Love” (Discovery)
8. Kings Of Leon, “Closer” (Only By The Night)
9. The Police, “Deathwish” (Regatta De Blanc)
10. Minus The Bear, “We Are Not A Football Team” (Highly Refined Pirates)
11. R.E.M., “I Don’t Sleep, I Dream” (Monster)
12. Foo Fighters, “Statues” (Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace)
13. Coldplay, “Don’t Panic” (Parachutes)
14. The Clash, “The Card Cheat” (London Calling)
15. The National, “Abel” (Alligator)
16. My Morning Jacket, “Off The Record” (Z)
17. Incubus, “Paper Shoes” (Light Grenades)
18. Nine Black Alps, “Behind Your Eyes” (Everything Is)
19. Citizen Cope, “Son’s Gonna Rise” (The Clarence Greenwood Recordings) — for Dan O. from the Jersey Shore
20. Breaking Benjamin, “Forget It” (We Are Not Alone)
21. Snow Patrol, “Take Back The City” (A Hundred Million Suns)
22. Battles, “Leyendecker” (Mirrored)
23. Nirvana, “Lounge Act” (Nevermind)
24. Green Day, “Longview” (Dookie)
25. Muse, “Hysteria” (Absolution)
26. Radiohead, “Dollars & Cents” (Amnesiac)
27. Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Around The World” (Californication)
28. The Beatles, “Back In The U.S.S.R.” (The White Album) — you won’t hear this in the download file because I had to go over by a couple minutes to fill dead air until the next host arrived
ENJOY THE GENIUS 5: American IDIOT Edition
And no, despite what the title of this post and the YouTube link and the quoted lyrics up there might have you believe, this isn’t going to be a post about Green Day covers.
So apparently the latest season of American Idol has finally narrowed things down to 36 people. (No, Bikini Girl was not among them. Sorry.) In honor of this milestone moment in television history, I’ve decided to share with you all some of my all-time favorite American Idol auditions after the jump. And no, I don’t actually watch American Idol. I just like watching the highlights on YouTube.
Nov. 21, 2008: Show #7
Here’s the playlist for my Nov. 21, 2008 show on WMUC2. As I said before, I’m just trying to get all the “old playlist” posts done and over with.
1. Bloc Party, “Helicopter” (Silent Alarm)
2. White Rabbits, “Kid On My Shoulders” (Fort Nightly)
3. The Hives, “Here We Go Again” (Barely Legal)
4. Mute Math, “Typical” (Mute Math)
5. Pearl Jam, “Do The Evolution” (Yield)
6. Mastodon, “Sleeping Giant” (Blood Mountain)
7. The Sword, “Barael’s Blade” (Age Of Winters)
8. Jimi Hendrix, “Manic Depression” (Experience Hendrix: The Best Of Jimi Hendrix)
9. At The Drive-In, “Alpha Centauri” (In/Casino/Out)
10. The Clash, “Death Or Glory” (London Calling)
11. Green Day, “St. Jimmy” (American Idiot)
12. Interpol, “Length Of Love” (Antics)
13. Nine Black Alps, “Just Friends” (Everything Is)
14. Nirvana, “On A Plain” (Nevermind)
15. The Police, “Truth Hits Everybody” (Outlandos d’Amour)
16. Nine Inch Nails, “We’re In This Together” (The Fragile)
17. Queens Of The Stone Age, “I Never Came” (Lullabies To Paralyze)
18. R.E.M., “Pop Song 89″ (Green)
19. My Morning Jacket, “Aluminum Park” (Evil Urges)
20. Kings Of Leon, “True Love Way” (Because Of The Times)
21. Foo Fighters, “Good Grief” (Foo Fighters)
22. The National, “Guest Room” (Boxer)
23. The Beatles, “Glass Onion” (The White Album)
24. Radiohead, “Life In A Glasshouse” (Amnesiac)
25. My Chemical Romance, “You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison” (Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge)
26. Fall Out Boy, “I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Boy And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me” (From Under The Cork Tree)
27. The Fall Of Troy, “We Better Learn To Hotwire A Uterus” (Doppelganger)
28. Double Dagger, “I Was So Bored I Wanted To Hang Myself On The Dancefloor” (Double Dagger)
29. Minus The Bear, “Thanks For The Killer Game Of Crisco Twister” (Highly Refined Pirates)
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