reviews:
The Get-Up Kids: Four Minute Mile
The Get-Up Kids: Red Letter Day EP
The Get-Up Kids: Something to Write Home About
Glassjaw: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Grade: Under the Radar
Green River: Dry as a Bone / Rehab Doll

The Get-Up Kids: Four Minute Mile Kansas City... Never been there, never plan to, unless I'm touring or something. But some good things come out of Kansas. This is one of them. I mean, this is good... Really fucking good. Aside from some stupid song names, this CD has a lot of what people have been looking for for quite awhile. Heartfelt lyrics and complicated-yet-catchy guitars combined with great melodies, all done at an insane breakneck speed. The slow moments shine through and let you see into the souls of these guys and where they're coming from, with some simple work and simple lyrics showing the simple place they're coming from: love hurts, and it's not a complicated thing. The fast parts display out of control vocals and guitars that need some Ritalin, because loathing and depression involve thought. One hell of a debut.

The Get-Up Kids: Red Letter Day EP I think I like one song on this CD. Maybe not even that much. It pretty much sucks hard red letters. You would normally get sixripped off for around 6 bucks, instead I got ripped off for nearly nine. I could have bought four Fillet-O-Fish's from McDonald's for that price, and I should have! Even though the fish fillets would be gone after ten minutes and I'd still have The Get-Up Kids, I would still choose the fish over this album, don't buy it unless you can find it for under fifty cents. The box it comes in is neat and looks nice on a shelf. Maybe just use it as a paper weight. That's all I have to say.

The Get-Up Kids: Something to Write Home About One common misconception of indie rock is that it's all better than mainstream music. For the most part, that's an accurate judgment. However, once in a while, a band like The Get-Up Kids releases a record that just makes you want to strangle every indie elitist you know, including yourself. I guess they thought they were in a Blink-182 sound-alike contest, but guess what? This disc isn't even as good as that drivel (yes, it is possible to be worse than Blink-182, I didn't think it could happen either at first). Bland, boring guitars, flat vocals, a tired and tepid rhythm section, and a keyboardist that sounds like the guy from Culture Club. This is probably the worst release of 1999, and it's a shame because they're previous material was pretty good. But not this. Avoid at all costs, which would probably be $12.

Glassjaw: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Silence
Recipe for Glassjaw:
1. Add one part "Deftones music" and one part "Far music" into bowl
2. Add one part "Will Haven vocals" and one part "Tool vocals" into bowl
3. Stir with "Ross Robinson production"
4. Pour into blender, hit the liquify setting
5. Add to "Deftones tour"
6. Add "really good album artwork and title"
7. Add the thought "Man, this is the best heavy act to come out in years!"
8. Enjoy!

Grade: Under the Radar Grade, although signed to Victory, combine modern day emo-esqe elements to hardcore. I love this CD. I just got it today and have listened to it four times already. This is akin to a lot of the indie rock on the scene today. The first track, "The Ineffiency of Emotion," is hardcore-like, yet soothing. The rest of the CD follows with gems like "Seamless" and the amazing "Triumph and Tragedy" rounding out the disc. They showcase very well laid out musicianship along with some great singing/ yelling from Mr. Greg Taylor. It reminds me a little of bands like Snapcase, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Strife. Get this CD or at least snag a listen.

Green River: Dry as a Bone / Rehab Doll I only like this band for a couple reasons, well, maybe three different reasons. Mark Arm sings, Steve Turner plays guitar, the songs are good, and it's got that garage band sound to it. The things I don't like about: 1) Jeff Ament is in the band, 2) I never saw them play while they were still together, 3) they started going stupid cheese metal. A lot of their songs sound like metal, uneducated, boring, and bland. But I still like it, and that is probably due to Mark Arm. He sings his ass off in a funny sort of way. If you've heard Soundgarden's Fopp EP, you'll know they covered "Swall My Pride," and it's a damn good version of it. I can't really say much more about this band, except that it's good they broke up, because it's where Mudhoney and Mother Love Bone came from. Check it out I guess.