my careless contagion

Disconnected, from Face to Face's 1992 album Don't Turn Away (which is, in my opinion, a perfect punk rock album) is a simply-worded song. The lyrics aren't complicated. The singing is straightforward and predictably angsty and overwrought in typical punk-rock fashion. I saw Face to Face perform a few times. Keep in mind this is a three-piece band. These sounds are coming from three people each playing an instrument. The bass alone is perfect. As a whole, it's profound and simple at the same time and paints a perfect picture of what many people feel at some point in their lives, which is a disconnect from those around them (and maybe even themselves).  Before I go off on a tangent, here are the lyrics.  You don't know a thing about me Is there something that you should know? I can tell you what you want to hear Let your inhibitions just go No you don't know what you will give up You don't know what you want It may take you years to find out You don't kno...

I don't know when I first started listening to punk rock. Sometime during high school. It is such an expansive genre. My preference was hardcore, notably melodic hardcore. I was drawn to Bad Religion because they were unique and intelligent but also listened to Nitro bands like Guttermouth and AFI. I knew all the Fat Wreck Chords bands. Greatly appreciated Gorilla Biscuits and, later, CIV. I loved Fugazi (I think they were my first show; tickets were $5 plus a Ticketmaster service charge of $1). Later, I got into Social Distortion, Face to Face, Samiam, and others too numerous to list. I had tapes. I had CDs. I had vinyl. Gigabytes of mp3s. Rare stuff, covers, bootlegs, live shows, stuff that was never released anywhere but Japan (why always Japan?). I recall seeing Sick of It All open for AFI and was more impressed with the opening band (even though I wanted to see AFI for about 15 years at that point). I was ready to go home after that. It was ridiculously good. I saw a ton of He...

The Vaccines released this album — What Did You Expect From The Vaccines? — in 2011. I quickly fell in love with it back then, then lost it somehow, and now own it again. I'm so glad because I fucking love this album . It brought a lot of things back to me in a way that only music can.  I was surely listening to this album a lot when I decided to leave my ex-wife initially. I had a ton of time alone (though not really free time). Always have. That's how I live. I live alone. I'm not entirely sure how other people exist without alone time. Oh, that's right. Real people have real lives, and real lives have other people in them. And, hopefully, enjoyable people. I keep forgetting that. I've posted the whole album here, though I feel the best way to listen to it is on a proper format like CD (preferably on vinyl, though). As with anything, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, let me say, this album is beautiful to me. I'm sure all y'all are scared ...

From Greg Graffin's (of Bad Religion fame) first solo album, American Lesion, comes this little song about the breakup of a marriage. Maybe She Will reveals the stalwart hope of Graffin, who typically (being a scientist) wouldn't spend much time in emotional turmoil. This album was one of my favorites for years. I listened to it recently and found I had little in common with the words and music, originally released and purchased in 1997.  One of the things I do have in common with this album is the sentiment expressed in this song. It's the act of putting your hope into another human being in a desperate way, hoping against all hope, really, that they will rescue you from your dire situation. As much as I loved this album as long as I did, I cannot believe it no longer resonates with me. This is a track that has come back to haunt me, so to speak, however, as I know this feeling well.  How many times had I wished my former mate would just make good and recognize t...

Making Believe is a cover song by Social Distortion (formed in 1978) on their Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell album (1992). It was written by Jimmy Work and was originally recorded by Kitty Wells and released in 1955. This song has been covered many times over the years. I liken music to a living thing, and living things have DNA. If you could look at Social Distortion's DNA, you'd see a lot of country music in there. Country music is basically folk music, so this further cements my theory that punk rock or hardcore is folk music as well. A lot of themes pop up in folk music. There are the murder ballads. There are the lost loves. There are the drinking songs. This song is about a lost love.  Mike Ness, Social Distortion singer, revealed a lot of his influences not only through his principal band but also through his solo work. His two solo albums, Cheating at Solitaire and Under the Influences, both released in 1999, show a rich body of influence on his punk rock mus...

The band is Face to Face. The song is All for nothing off their new album. Their newest release is an acoustic album on the venerable Fat Wreck Chords label. This is a sort of greatest-hits album, only with acoustic versions. Trevor Keith's voice sounds strange without cacophonous guitars and a blistering punk rock beat. My first thought was, "Wow, these guys got wussy." Then I listened again and finally felt what they were trying to accomplish. I think it works. When you take the punk rock out and leave the lyrics, sometimes the songs collapse. This is a good song, so it stands on its own.  As is my modus operandi, I'm going to use a song to talk about something pertaining to my life. I'm going to talk about sacrifice. Trevor is clearly talking about a relationship in this song, and the tone seems to be sacrifice. He's saying, "Here's what I've done. It's all to be with you." The lyrics are not as good as they could be. I'm n...