If I Had to Choose Just One Track from Streetlight Manifesto's The Hand that Thieves

I think I'd have go with If Only For the Memories. It makes me want to sing along, pump my fist, and eat a chimichanga...all at the same time.

Talk about an emotional trifecta!

The 10 Best Lyrics from In Utero

It's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since Nirvana released In Utero, one of my favorite albums of all time. There has been a lot of press around the album's anniversary and accompanying box set re-release, including some really great interviews with Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. All of which has been making me pretty nostalgic.

I can still remember riding my bike to the record store to buy it and then anxiously putting it into my boombox. I sat on my bedroom floor and listened, with the cassette sleeve in my hand, so I could follow on along with the lyrics. (Up until that point, I thought the refrain to Heart Shaped Box was "Hey Wayne, I've got a new complaint." Which didn't make a lot of sense.)

Speaking of lyrics, here are my top 10 lines from the album.

10. You can't fire me because I quit, Throw me in the fire and I won't throw a fit (Scentless Apprentice)

Has there ever been a better song written about a baby born without the ability to smell--a literal scentless apprentice?

9. Angel left wing, right wing, broken wing (Milk It)

Along with Tourette's (which has no recognizable words), Milk It is the abrasive song on the album. Between howls of "Doll steak!" and "Test meat!" Kurt offers up some of his signature wordplay.

8. I own my own pet virus, I get to pet and name her (Milk it)

Loved this lyric so much that I named my very first band Pet Virus. We only knew about five songs: Nirvana's Polly, Today by Smashing Pumpkins, and a couple of Green Day songs.

7. I think I'm dumb, or maybe just happy (Dumb)

Simple. Perfect. But ironic, given Kurt was neither dumb nor happy.

6. She'll come back as fire and burn all the liars, leave a blanket of ash on the ground (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle)

Frances Farmer was never a single, but it's one of the best tracks on the album. It's perfect Nirvana, totally heavy but completely accessible.

5. I miss the comfort in being sad (Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge on Seattle)

Again, what a great song.

4. I love you for what I am not, I did not want what I have got (Radio Friendly Unit Shifter)

Obviously, the band was conflicted about being punk rockers who were wildly successful in the mainstream. This song--intended to be the opposite of a tune that would sell records or "shift units")--is catchy in spite of itself.

3. If you ever need anything please don't hesitate to ask someone else first. I'm too busy acting like I'm not naive. I've seen it all, I was here first (Very Ape)

Classic Nirvana contradictions. I'm naive, but I'm pretending I'm not. But I'm really not. I know more about this anyone else.

2. I've been drawn into your magnet tar pit trap, I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black (Heart Shaped Box)

Haunting.

1. Teenage against has paid off well, now I'm bored and old (Serve the Servants)

Best. opening line. Ever. Just about every article about grunge focused on Gen Xers' angst, ennui, and lack of motivation. Kurt turned it back around, happily implying that he'd cashed in on the stereotypes of the slacker generation...he'd moved on...and left everyone else behind.

Twenty years later, In Utero isn't as good as it was in 1993. It's better.

May I Recommend: GRMLN

Even though it's 2013, I spend a lot of time time thinking about 1992. Specifically about how much I love the 1992 album It's a Shame About Ray by the Lemonheads. I have yet to find a band that can construct a perfectly-crafted three minute pop/rock song quite like Evan Dando.

And then I got an email about GRMLN. The band is basically a 20-year-old dude named Yoodoo Park. He was born in Japan and moved to Southern California as a kid. The SoCal sun shines all over Empire, Park's lighthearted debut album. Ah, pop/rock. 

I can't get enough of the ultra-bouncy Teenage Rhythm. It makes me wanna dance. In fact, I think I will. 

Empire clocks in under 30 minutes. It's a great listen all the way through. 

Best Moment: Bad Religion True North

What do you say about a band's sixteenth record? Of the Brett-Gurewitz-is-back-in-the-band era, True North is basically on par with the so-so Dissent of Man and New Maps of Hell. It lags far behind the excellent The Process of Belief (an album that is as good as anything in Bad Religion's entire catalog). In other words, it's good but not great.

Here's my favorite track from the record, a tune that has the urgency and simplicity of early Bad Religion.

Nothing to Dismay

Balance and Composure - The Things We Think We're Missing

I've been listening to the Balance and Composure all afternoon on Spotify. My finger is getting tired of clicking "star" on every single track.

On their debut release, the impressive Separation, it was easy to compare this Doylestown, Pennsylvania five-piece to contemporaries like Polar Bear Club or Transit. But on Things We're Missing, it appears the '90s have overcome these millenials. The album is awash with noisy fuzz, sludgy guitars, and some pretty striking post-teenage angst. It's angry and shoegaze-y and heavy without losing track of structure of hooks.

Here a few of the tracks I'm digging right now:



Tiny Raindrop



I'm Swimming



Lost Your Lost Your Name

The album is pretty solid start to finish. I'd highly recommend listening to it in its entirety.

Why I No Longer Hate New Found Glory

Here's the deal with releasing an album that all your fans hate. It opens the door for new fans.

I've never been a New Found Glory supporter. I don't even remember why I first listened to 2006's Coming Home. (It was probably in advance of an interview I did with guitarist Chad Gilbert, who was quite a nice guy, by the way). But I loved it pretty much instantly.

It's slower than their preceeding records. It's just a collection of songs about girls and heartbreak, but it's built on genuine melancholy, rather than just teenage emotion.

It's a record I love to listen to front-to-back. It's tough to even choose a favorite track, but this one will do.



Since Coming Home, NFG have released to back-to-basics albums, Not Without a Fight in 2009 and Radiosurgery in 2011. Though they don't resonant with me in the same way, they're both solid releases.

Hey, I guess I'm a fan now.