New distro items have been added to the Skeletal Lightning Store!

12″:

Birds In Row – You, Me, & The Violence 12″ – $12

Features clear vinyl (first press) in a gatefold jacket. Includes free download!

Deafheaven – Roads to Judah 12″ - $12

Features cream colored vinyl with black spatter. Single LP jacket with free download.

Calculator – These Roots Grow Deep (Limited Edition) 12″ - $12.75

Features special-edition cream vinyl w/ black spatter, fold-out poster, art booklet, and CD version of the album in a single full-color jacket. (Only one of these puppies – act now!)

Title Fight – Floral Green 12″ – $15

Includes special packaging with fold-out poster, insert and green vinyl.

7″:

CSTVT – S/T 7″ – $6

This 7″ is one sided and features a screen printed B-Side, along with silkscreened art packed inside a heavyweight polybag. (Only one of these puppies, act now!)

The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die – Formlessness 7″ - $5.50

On transparent gold vinyl. Features dual sided full-color folder with updated art and new trippy labels. Sold out in most stores. Get it here while you can!

Touche Amore/La Dispute – Split 7″ - $6

On black vinyl with updated artwork and labels. Features super cool cut-out and fold out packaging.

Code Orange Kids – Cycles 7″ - $5.50

Third pressing on transparent purple vinyl. Includes one-sided lyrics insert in single pocket full color jacket.

As mentioned earlier, more distro will be on the way soon. Pre-orders for the Tawny Peaks tape will be up shortly, as well!

Also, don’t forget the Skeletal Lightning Store sale item of the week – KC 4-way split 12″ – $8.50

Best,

Skeletal Lightning

Just to prove my last post even more…listen to this masterpiece.

Previously on the Top 100 emo songs of all time…….

100 – Reggie and the full effect – Thanx for stayin

99 – Roadside Monument – Sunken Anchor

98 – Boilermaker – Slow Down

97 – Hundred reasons – If I could

96 – Jets to Brazil – Chinatown

95 – Coping – F For now

94 – Inside – Ray Brower

93 – Basement – Grayscale

92 – The Jazz June – Viva La speed metal

91 – Everyone Everywhere – I feel fine by Everyone Everywhere

90 – Hunter Gatherer – Low standards for high fives

89 – Football, etc. – Safety

88 – Race Car Riot – Raincheck

87 – Taking Back Sunday – Bike scene

86 – Leiah – Tiglio

85 – Brandtson – Still life

84 – Polar Bear Club – Bottled wind

83 – Starmarket – Losing track

82 – Sunny Day Real Estate – Guitar and video games

81 – Grade – Stolen bikes ride faster

80 – Bob Tilton – September

79 – The Autumn Year – Little lost words

78 – Koufax – Going to happen

77 – Wavelets – Julio won’t get out of the car

76 – The Get Up Kids – Forgive and Forget

75 – Hot Rod Circuit - At nature’s mercy

74 – The Appleseed Cast – Steps and numbers

73 – Stapleton – International departures

72 – New End Original – Lukewarm

71 – Hundred Hands – A Replay

To read more about these tracks click HERE for no’s 100-91, HERE for no’s 90-81 and HERE for no’s 80-71. And for some background as to why I’m doing this list click HERE

70 – Knapsack – Cellophane

 Track one from their first album ‘Silver Sweepstakes’, Knapsack create a sound so warm it feels like summer. Released in 1995 and sounding like it was from no other time period, ‘Cellophane’ is packed with charm and dirty guitars full of feedback. The chorus is full on lo-fi/emo/grunge magic, I could easily listen to it all day. Knapsack went on to release 2 more albums, after they broke up singer/guitarist Blair Shehan formed the Jealous Sound.

69 – Elliott – Dionysus Burning

 For me this is the best track from their best album. ‘Dionysus Burning’ is taken from Elliott’s debut full length ‘U.S. Songs’ and highlights Chris Higdon’s beautiful voice at it’s most glorious. Switching from the brooding/slow building verse into a killer guitar riff and beyond. Great band.

68 – The Lapse – We Must Move Backwards To Progress

 Forming from the ashes of the legendary band The Van Pelt, The Lapse released the stonkingly good album ‘The Betrayal!’ in 1998. At the end of a record full of art rock emo weirdness and some of the best indie guitar playing your likely to hear lies ‘We must move backwards to progress’ and boy does this song get in your head. I defy you to listen to it without then repeating “WE MUST MOVE BACKWARDS TO PROGRESS” non stop to anyone and everyone you see. If you have read my blog before then you are probably aware of the time I had a small altercation with the singer Chris Leo, if you haven’t then click HERE to read it.

67 – Owls – Everyone Is My Friend

 The members of Owls have, in various guises, can take full responsibilty for inventing and then re-inventing emo as we know it and influencing too many bands to name in the process. From the full on brilliance of Cap’n Jazz to the more abstract and interesting Joan Of Arc and onto the more straightforward and mature Owls, nothing these people have done has been less than genius. ‘Everyone is my friend’ is an uptempo, summery, toe tapping song of absolute joy!!

66 – Suis La Lune – Quiet, Pull The Strings!

 When I was standing patiently waiting for Pianos Become The Teeth to come on stage last year in Margate, little did I know I was about to be blown away by another band altogether. Suis La Lune were a completely unexpected and completely welcome surprise. They can sublimely shift from the twinkly beautiful to the powerfully loud in a matter of seconds. They were recently added to the Topshelf Records roster so expect big things from these beautiful gents with a penchant for a good moustache.

65 – Sunday’s Best – Winter Owned

 Taken from the ‘Poised to break’ album, I discovered this song on the Crank! records sampler ‘Stay tuned for the holidays’ and fell in love with the first listen. It is (nearly) 3 minutes of pop perfection, it makes me wanna smile, dance, do all sorts of crazy fun stuff all at once. Fantastically good.

64 – CSTVT – Hiccups

 Any song from ‘The Echo and the Light’ could have easily been included in this list such is the quality of the record, but that would have been unfair to the other bands so I made a decision to just use my favourite, ‘Hiccups’. When the song reaches the part where it slows down and introduces the multiple vocals in the background it is blissfull, the song then bulds back up before fading out into a post rock dream. Wonderful!!!

63 – Vitreous Humor – Sharin’ Stone

 Without releasing a proper full length album Vitreous Humor still made their mark on ‘emo’ history. They did release an EP, a couple of 7 inches and a posthumous compilation album called ‘Posthumous’, which ‘Sharin’ Stone’ is taken from. It’s a curious mix of a discordant bass riff on the verse which builds into a rocking, guitar driven chorus. And they were on Crank! which is shorthand for “they’re awesome”

62 – Beezewax – Dead end kids

 It seems sad now but I remember how excited I was when I got my first mobile phone that had the compose feature which allowed you to create your own ringtone. It doesn’t seem very much now, but, in the day it was a deal breaker. The first ringtone I ever programmed in to mine was the main riff from ‘Dead end kids’ by Norways finest, Beezewax, it sounded great and gave me immense pleasure. If you’ve heard the song then you’ll know why, it is pure indiemo pop at its greatest and this isn’t even their best song.

61 – Death Cab For Cutie – A Movie Script Ending

If 1991 was the year that punk broke, then 2002 was the year that emo broke. I’m basing this on by the fact the Reading festival that year was an emo boy’s dream come true and has to be one of the best weekends of my life. But I will always regret one thing, I forgot to go and see Death Cab For Cutie. They were first on in the NME tent on the sunday and I just plain forgot to go and see them. At the time I was ok about it but now the album they were touring at the time ‘The Photo Album’ is one of my favourite records. I kick myself to think I could have been standing mere feet away from Ben Gibbard et all playing this gorgeous song on a sunny sunday afternoon. Oh well, nevermind, I can still listen to the song and pretend I was there, and it’s a pretty damn good song.

Again, thanks for reading. I’m loving all the comments and the fact people are sharing this list is blowing my mind. Big cheers all round. Next 10 songs to be posted very soon x

UPDATE!! The next part (60-51) can be viewed HERE

I’ve updated the spotify playlist as best I can, click the link below for that.

Emo 100 (100-61)

CP) How does one go from being an indian giver to being an Indian Taker? Haha, what I mean is… How did you guys get together in the first place? Who recruited who and what were your original goals in terms of sound? And how did you get that name?

First off, I would like the thank you for the interview, it means a lot! As for how we started Indian Taker, well this band has only been an idea since September. Evan, Celso, and I (Nick) used to play in a ska band when we were all 14, that only lasted a few months, but we would continue to be best friends and play music from then on out.

In September, Celso (guitar) and Evan (bass) approached me with a song, asking me to play drums in hopes to start a new band. We wrote a couple songs with Celso and Evan switching between vocals (which I’m sure a lot of people would enjoy more), but nothing really clicked so they told me to yell the lyrics and it seemed to work. It was difficult for me to do both while practicing so the obvious choice for a drummer was Joe, a friend of Celso and Evan who they knew from playing in jazz bands, hahaha. 
 

At first everyone wanted something different as far as sound (anything from RX Bandits to Youth of Today to Merchant Ships to Slayer), but now we seem to be on the same page most the time while still throwing in our own influences!

As for the band name, it was the title of a song I wrote for an old pop-punk band Evan and I played in, no one liked it so we never used it.

The term ‘Indian Taker’ is used to describe someone who asks of something from you, but once you give what them what they want, she or he no longer wants it. Basically, it was a metaphor for a ‘relationship’ I was in briefly a year ago, at age 16.

CP) What artists did you vibe over that made you think you would have musical chemistry as far as writing goes and, during those first sessions, did you?

I listed a few influences of our’s above, but I could go on for days! Originally Celso and Evan had the intent of jamming out stuff similar to Tigers Jaw, Basement, Title Fight, Transit, etc. I, however, was listening to a lot of emo and screamo bands (CSTVT, Merchant Ships, Touche Amore, even Taking Back Sunday).

Even though we all do agree on a few bands, when we aren’t all jamming out we all listen to things that the rest of us don’t like. To sum it up: Joe listens to Metal, Evan likes hardcore, Celso listens to the Arctic Monkeys and I listen to whatever sounds sad. hahahaha. 
 
CP) What is your writing process like now compared to then? Singing songs in the shower? Writing guitar parts on mini acoustics in the back seat of your car in a public parking lot? Improvising in the studio?  (I’ve done all of those, and none of them sound very professional now that I’m reading them…) How have you and your sound matured?

Lately the writing process has been looking a lot like this: One of us comes up with a guitar riff and show it to everyone, no one really likes it so we try to use something else but it ends up worse, haha. Then, we go back to the original riff and Celso makes it better and we go from there. At first we would all get together and throw songs together, but now it seems more difficult to do. Trust me, we have done PLENTY of writing sessions in the back of my station wagon, we are glad we aren’t the only ones! Some last minute parts were added in studio, but nothing too drastic. I can not say I personally have matured since starting this band, but I have learned the importance of a DIY ethic and sometimes it means working two jobs while in high school to make things happen. The music, however, is maturing EXTREMELY well. We have two new songs written so far and we are very happy and excited to share it with everyone!
 

CP) Tell me about your most recent release? What’s it about? What was the recording process like?

About a month ago we released our debut EP, Tule Fog, digitally through bandcamp. Evan wrote most of the lrics for Bound With Time and I wrote the lyrics for the rest. The subject matter varies, but a lot of it is reflecting on the past, mistakes I have made, and things out of my control. Hopefully it comes off as sincere as possible.

The recording process was a lot of fun and stress. Joe was unable to track drums so I had to learn the parts a few days before hand. We recording in Fremont, California at Panda Studios with Ben Hirschfield. He is the nicest dude and worked with our songs and budget to make them sound awesome. We spent a weekend driving back and forth from to home to the studio. It was crazy stupid and super fun. Nothing is better than recording at 4 AM. with your friends.

 
CP) What have you done to promote it?

We try to send it out to as many websites, people, bands, blogs, etc. as possible through the internet as well as go to shows and hand out copies to people who will probably not like it. 

 
CP) If you could tour with any band, from any era, who would it be and where would you go? Who would make breakfast for everyone in the van on their portable stove top and who would get carsick the most?

This a tough one. Unrealistically, it would be between Modest Mouse, Blink 182, and Taking Back Sunday for me. I’m sure they would all get annoyed by us, but it would be sick. On a realistic level, I would say a cool band like Mane Horse, Shark Bait, Nevermeant., Sinatra, Rookie Town, and any other band that plays tight music and wouldn’t mind playing with us. I would make breakfast because If anyone else did it would be covered in mayonnaise or salsa or if we could bring Celso’s mom that would be rad too. Evan would probably get sick first; he pukes A LOT for no reason so I could see it happening.
 
CP) Tell me about your best experience at a show to date.

We have only played a handful of shows so far ad each one just gets a better response. Our first show was intense, way too many kids in a house and for some reason kids were moshing, hahaha. This last show at the Plea For Peace Center in Stockton was also weird because kids were singing along (something i’m not used to), not to mention we watched this dude steal a car before our set, it was way too insane.
 
CP) What’s your favorite song to play live, what one is your favorite on record, and what one gets the best reaction from the crowd?

My favorite song recorded and to play is Sleep Spindles, but I think everyone else tends to go with Bound With Time. Kids always sing along to Owl Eyes though so honestly, I’m not sure!
 
CP) Which comic book hero do you think you could take in a fight? Personally I think that I could take any of them, I mean their pages are made of paper and is kind of flimsy… I could crumple them pretty easy. But for those who are less literal than I, who would you go three rounds with?

I think I could take Daredevil no problem. After all, he is blind. Even Captain America seems pretty weak realistically. I’m more so a Marvel fan because their characters are so relatable. I would like to hang out with The Human Torch, he can party.
 
CP) What can we expect from Indian Taker this year? What are your big plans?

As of now we are releasing Tule Fog on Cassette through a UK based label called, Don’t Shoot The Messenger. That should be out in late April and include an exclusive acoustic track on it! We are very excited about that as well as playing more shows locally and through California in the next couple months, hopefully a summer tour through the west will follow in July or August! We are all in high school at the moment but hope to really get things going once we graduate. A few labels have already contacted us about working with them for our next release, which will probably be a Split or another EP, we will know once we finish up writing new material as well shirts and other cool merch. This is going to be a great year and I can only hope that the awesome response we have gotten from everyone will continue. Thank you so much for the support, you have no clue how much this means to us!

Obviously, most people get their music digitally these days. I personally don’t do illegal downloads, mainly because the laptop I have can hardly function as it is, it could never handle the extra workload. Luckily a good friend introduced me to Bandcamp, or to put it another way the best website in the whole www. Before Bandcamp I used iTunes a lot. There is nothing wrong with iTunes and I still use it but it’s a bit like going in the big HMV in Oxford st all the time and not knowing that select-a-disc is round the corner in Berwick st. Please note, I’ve not been to London in a while so my references may be a bit out of date. Going on bandcamp is like going to an independent record store, a really good one that sells great music at great prices, sometimes letting you pay what you want or insisting that you have albums for free. You can always try before you buy, stream whole songs instead of just giving you 30 second soundbites. Importantly, the money you pay goes directly to the band/indie label which means that you really get to support independent music. Bands you find tag other bands/genres/labels to help you find more new music. It’s easy to find music from all over the world as well as stuff from your local scene so the next time you turn up to a local show you can do that ‘grab the mic from the singer and sing yourself’ thing which is popular these days. It really helped me get my love of new music back. It let me know that there is still a really healthy scene out there. So the way we shop for music has changed but the basics are still the same, you can whore it up at the big stores or you can go indie and still feel part of something, just now you can do it sat in your pants in that 5 minute break you allow yourself away from all the porno. If you haven’t been there then go.

Here are a few of my favourite things you can find at bandcamp:

Algernon Cadwallader – Listen to.

This is 4 tracks of absolute bliss to download completely free of charge comprising of 2 older songs and 2 from the new album ‘Parrot Flies’. I couldn’t help but be blown away by this band the first time I heard them, playing a loose Cap’n Jazz style emo full of energy and enough fun to give you a face ache. They recently toured but at the same time i was having surgery so missed out on what must have been an epic experience. Track 2 ‘Some Kind Of Cadwallader’ could be one of the best songs ever written, love love love it!!

http://algernoncadwallader.bandcamp.com/album/listen-to

Basement – Songs about the Weather

Basement are one of the best bands the UK has to offer, hailing from Ipswich they play fast, heavy emo hardcore in the vein of ‘Title Fight’. No-nonsense, no gimmicks just straight up, honest and essential, these 6 songs are on a ‘name your price’ basis with no minimum fee. They were the best band on the bill when I saw them in Margate a few months ago supporting Daylight and Hostage Calm.

http://basement.bandcamp.com/

Iron Chic – Not Like This

Iron Chic are from Long Island and play punk rock exactly as it should be played. Plenty of fist in the air choruses to brighten up the most boring of days. The kind of songs you wanna get up and jump around to. This is a complete 10 track album and again they allow you to name your price with no minimum, bargain!!

http://ironchic.bandcamp.com/album/not-like-this

Castevet (cstvt) – The Echo & The Light

This is 8 tracks of complete emo/punk brilliance. Released in 2009 on the fantastic Tiny Engines label, CSTVT play plinky fiddly emo straight from the 1990′s with a hard, fast edge. The kind of mathy excellence Braid would be making if they were still around, oh they are still around, oh well get this anyway. This is $8 which will translate to about £5.14, and worth every single penny.

http://tinyengines.bandcamp.com/album/the-echo-the-light

Snowing – I Could Do Whatever I Wanted If I Wanted

Following in a similar vein to CSTVT, I had to mention this as Snowing split up a week or so ago and this a shame, a damn shame. This is a really good record. Fast, noisy, complicated indie emo with a loose DIY sound. I only got this album a month or so before they split and feel gutted that i’ll never experience Snowing in a live setting. They may be gone but this will rocking my stereo for a long time to come. 11 songs for no money, you can’t say fairer than that.

http://countyourluckystars.bandcamp.com/album/i-could-do-whatever-i-wanted-if-i-wanted

And one last mention goes to a band from Margate who, once upon a time, I was apart of. They are once again a fully functioning band that maybe coming to a town near you at some point so watch out. I haven’t seen them yet since they reformed but here is a link for the free ‘greatest hits’ comp that will transport you back to the turn of the millenium, backpacks and ponity fingers at the ready, its the Babies Three

http://babiesthree.bandcamp.com/album/tb3lp

Thanks guys, let me know what you think and any suggestions for bands I should be checking out.

Alex.

Below is a pic that should make you laugh your arse off.

First up on the review roster is “The Death of Greeley Estates” from Phoenix Arizona based 5 piece Greeley Estates (Tragic Hero Records – Aug 2011)

Right from the get go, the opening track Straightjacket is tightly, and most modernly rhythmically brutal, with prerequisite hardcore scream vocals, shredding guitars and blasting drums and bass… This sonic assault continues on through the first quarter of the album with the mayhem moving through the first 3 tracks in an ever increasing aural onslaught until it changes melodically and surprisingly with “Bodies”, with its well SUNG vocal lines and more of a post hardcore feel.    Vocalist Ryan Zimmerman moves effortlessly from screams to streams of harmonious vocals conveying the mood of each piece pitch perfect, combining with the dual guitar attack of Brandon Hackenson and David Ludlow and the solid foundation of bassist Kyle Koelsch and drummer Chris Julian.  Greeley Estates has put together a solid ride of  hardcore/post hardcore/metal with enough textures and tastes to satisfy fans, old and new alike.  15 tracks of killer, very little filler.  You can sample their wares by clicking here.  4.5  out of 5.

Next up: Run For Cover Records’ 50th release, “Mixed Signals”. This compilation was released Tuesday, Sept. 6 and features a stellar lineup of bands including new and unreleased tracks from Polar Bear Club, Balance and Composure, Hostage Calm, The Menzingers, Make Do and Mend and many more…

Alternative Press Magazine said “The ever-consistent Run For Cover Records celebrates its 50th release with a dozen tracks from a veritable who’s-who of the best progressive punk and post-hardcore acts of the last half-decade. … Mixed Signals  is a must-own for followers of the label and its loosely defined, ever-expanding scene. 4 out of 5 stars”

here is a breakdown by tracklisting of what we say…

Tracklisting:

01. Polar Bear Club – Killin’ It
02. Balance and Composure – Seahorses
03. Tigers Jaw – Distress Signal
04. Hostage Calm – The “M” Word
05. The Menzingers – Irish Goodbyes
06. CSTVT - Bassett St.
07. Daylight – Cursed
08. End of a Year Self Defense Family – I’ve Got an Idea…
09. Daytrader – Texts and Tomes
10. Daytrader – Coats
11. The Tower and the Fool – Die Alone
12. The World is a Beautiful Place - To the Janitor, To the King

You know what, I can’t break it down by track… each track is an absolute gem on its own, and as you go down the list, it just keeps getting better… it’s like Shrek explaining ogres are like onions, except there is nothing stinky about it, every layer of this album is sublime, and if you don’t drop $4.95 for this CD and the included 28 page booklet, your life will be all the poorer for it.  I must agree with Alternative Press, there isn’t a clinker in the bunch.  Get on down to a Hot Topic near you and grab this album if you are even remotely into the realms of punk, pop punk, progressive punk, post hardcore, Modest Mouse, Mickey Mouse, Burning down the house… fire… hurricanes, locusts… Great Comp album all the way around!  A 15 on a scale of 10.

The final review of our unholy trinity is “Death Dealer” (Aug 2011 The BlkHeart Group) , the third release from Long Island, New York’s own The World We Knew.  This is 11 tracks of everything a metal head could every want, beastial vocals, heavy, fast, intricate guitar rhythms, and killer leads.  If you are a fan of As I Lay Dying, Parkway Drive, Unearth, August Burns Red, Bring Me The Horizon, or any band of that stripe, this is required listening for your foreseeable future.  Stand out tracks Extermination, Sacrifice, Against All Odds, and the title track, Death Dealer are reason alone to pick this album up, but if that isn’t enough for you, the other 7 tracks will more than feed your need.  You can check out the band here.    5 out of 5 skulls!

Until next week, support live music, listen to new music, and go get some! (Music that is)

Enjoy tunes by:
Rise Against
Valient Thorr
Rancid
Victims
Red Planet
Aficionado
CSTVT
Naked Raygun
Tumor Circus
Poison

Run For Cover Records to Commemorate Label’s 50^th Release with

MIXED SIGNALS Compilation out August 30^th and Featuring

Polar Bear Club, Balance and Composure,

Tigers Jaw, Hostage Calm, The Menzingers, Make Do and Mend and Many More

We’re incredibly excited to announce Run For Cover Records’ fiftieth release, a compilation called MIXED SIGNALS.

The compilation marks a special occasion and milestone for the label.  After seven years of working with so many incredible people and bands, watching them grow and doing some growing ourselves, we wanted to take this opportunity to show that the independent music community is stronger than ever.

Mixed Signals offers a snapshot of the diverse and immense talent in our scene.  It brings together new, unreleased and exclusive songs from a list of bands that collectively have released some of the most worthwhile records of the past few years, toured the world, and left an indelible impact on the many they’ve performed in front of.

Run For Cover and these 12 artists have come together to prove that the independent music scene is thriving – and it’s as important as ever.

Mixed Signals will be released August 30 on CD, vinyl and digital formats.  There won’t be a pre-order for this release.  Vinyl and CD formats will be accompanied by a 28-page, perfect-bound black and white booklet with photos, lyrics and liner notes from each band.  CDs will be exclusively available from Hot Topic for $4.98, as well as from bands on the road.

Tracklisting

01. Polar Bear Club – Killin’ It

02. Balance and Composure – Seahorses

03. Tigers Jaw – Distress Signals

04. Hostage Calm – The “M” Word

05. The Menzingers – Irish Goodbyes

06. CSTVT – Bassett St .

07. Daylight – Cursed

08. End of a Year Self Defense Family – I’ve Got an Idea…

09. Daytrader – Texts and Tomes

10. Make Do and Mend – Coats

11. The Tower and the Fool – Die Alone

12. The World is a Beautiful Place – To the Janitor the King