Category Archives: Murder by Death

The pleasure’s all mine cuz we have seen good times

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Why didn’t The Little One submit a post on Friday? She was cheating.

She wanted to be able to submit the Anniversary post today. She’s selfish. What. Me. I’m The Little One. I’m selfish. I want this post all to myself. I’m sneaking it in here, too. No one knows it’s coming.

That’s right, you read correctly. Anniversary. One year ago, Mookie submitted his first post on our blog about this crazy new band he discovered when they opened for STP. It was Billy Boy on Poison. I don’t think either of us have spoken of that band since.

Mookie had been talking about starting an mp3 blog for some time. And I believe it was actually a year ago today as I lay in bed while he tinkered around in the office. He started shouting out blog names. Some were taken, others were shot down by The Little One. Well, me. We went through this already didn’t we? Anyway. I can’t help but go into all of this because I not only get to sneak this blog post in, I also get to claim credit for naming the blog.

That was me. IN ALL CAPS. I miss you, in all caps. I love you, in all caps. I totally heart you… IN ALL CAPS. And we both love the music just as much. We’re dead on serious and committed to this. And we’ve only made plans to hold your little hand -oops. Got ahead of myself.

Don’t say I ever rickrolled you. That was Tony Toni Tone, and they’ve done it again. I digress. Listen. We’ve discovered a lot of new and old music alike just by doing this blog, and I hope you’ve been able to expand your auditory horizons as well. Because I’m the one who chose to write this post, I’m going to be the one to pick the artists who have made me the most proud or excited about this thing, our big fat one year old bundle of joy.

Red of Tooth and Claw I was impressed with this band that Mookie found, Murder By Death. A gritty, testosterone laden sound accompanied by a cello. This is dark country rock infused with lyrics of death and remorse. I have tried to see them live once since hearing of them, and my quest isn’t over yet.

This is a cow The fascinating cult legend that is Daniel Johnston was shared with us by Walt Zink. Even Pearl Jam covered this tortured artist. He many times cannot recollect the lyrics to his songs due to the cocktail of drugs prescribed to him…

Wild Like Children Tilly And The Wall really touched me in so many ways. I can’t describe how their lyrics manage to figure out everything that my child id still wants to say. The upbeat but slightly underground and always witty music I loved to listen to so long ago.

Just Jack, Scanners, James, Kid You’ll Move Mountains, and Cursive are just a few more of the artists that make me ecstatic and proud to be a part of this great thing and this great guy.

Thanks Mookie.

Sometimes you just can’t hold back the river

Here you go… I’m on your side. We’re always right.

[Download American Analog Set – Punk As Fuck]

Best of 2008: I feel a million miles away

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2007 was a damn good year for new music. It was propelled forward by some sort of momentous occasion in 2006 that seemed to save all of the genres. 2008 blew by quickly, though, and the albums put out were still burning the energy radiating from the year before. I don’t know that many albums could argue they were radiating their own light. I have actually had a hell of a time putting together a Top Ten.

A few of my favorites put out new albums this year, but those didn’t change the scene, they didn’t change music, and they didn’t top what they’d done previously… So, despite how many spins they got on my iPod, they still didn’t make my list.

3OH!3 Want was one of the best, and most consequential, albums of the year. We claimed it resurrected Hip Hop. These boys are so damn adorable they resurrected something.

The Matches A Band in Hope was a) better than their last album which was already damn good, b) better than anything else in their genre all year long, and 3) enough to make a giant hunk of thugness get jiggy while driving his SUV. That’s a good album.

Colour Revolt’s Plunder, Beg, and Curse, The Bravery’s The Sun and the Moon Complete, and Murder By Death’s Red of Tooth and Claw were also some of the best albums of the year. These albums contributed to rock music in their own ways, whether it was proving that rock can translate to techno in an organic way and not just in the popular way club dj’s are doing it… proving that beards and southern rock are just barely getting started with their comebacks… or proving that three guitars and a drumset are not the only formula for a breathtaking live show. 2008 is better off for having these albums and these bands around.


Fasciination by The Faint was lauded by inAllcaps as “amazing” and “mind-blowing”. Thrice once again melted minds and limbs with the next installment in
The Alchemy Index, titled III and IV Air and Earth. And Death Cab for Cutie quietly and stealthily syncopated rhyme, rhythm, and reason with Narrow Stairs.

The Offspring, always one of my favorites, surpassed any of their previous albums combined in the ability to deliver that guitar that just makes my soul sing. Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace showed that they improve year by year and even though Splinter from 2003 was hard, smooth, and fuckyeah (yes it’s an adjective), RaF,RaG was light years better. THANK YOU OFFSPRING. I fucking love you.

But the best album of 2008 was Nine Inch Nail’s The Slip. How could it not be?

[Nine Inch Nails – 1,000,000]

Everything Trent Reznor puts out is impeccable. That is a lot to live up to. And there have been eight albums at my last count. He hasn’t slipped once. He has never failed to take on new challenges or rise beyond them. The Slip was even made available for digital download, free of charge.

“Thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.”

Thank YOU, Trent. It. Kicks. Ass.

The official list from inALLcaps:

1. Nine Inch Nails: The Slip
2. 3OH!3: Want
3. Death Cab for Cutie: Narrow Stairs
4. Thrice: The Alchemy Index Vols III and IV Air and Earth
5. The Offspring: Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
6. Colour Revolt: Plunder, Beg and Curse
7. The Matches: A Band in Hope
8. Murder by Death: Red of Tooth and Claw
9. The Faint: Fasciination
10.The Bravery: The Sun and Moon Complete