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What year is it? Everyone is playing Pokemon and blink-182 is back. We discussed the latter in the last installment of AFP Music. Going off the first half of the band’s comeback album California, blink may be back, but they’re not the same. Although despite a slow start to a lengthy record, all hope isn’t lost. The last half a dozen or so songs prove that the band is still as good as you remember.
The first bonafide slow song on the record, "Home Is Such a Lonely Place" finds the band exploring newer territory. It has a little bit more of an electronic element compared to what blink usually puts out, but not so much as to earn a comparison to DeLonge's other band Angels and Airwaves. Another notable characteristic of the song is it's pace. Despite having written close to a dozen records over the course of their career, blink has rarely included a slower, acoustic song. Most bands have at least one per an album. This is the closest blink has come, the only comparisons being either “All of This” or “I’m Lost Without You” or “Miss You” all off of the blink-182. Despite this being their first stab at writing something so stripped back, the song is a success. It isn’t staggeringly special, but it’s touching and Hoppus sound great behind the mic. However, when Skiba takes his turn at vocals, it’s hard to not hear DeLonge in his repeated "without yew"s. The band knew DeLonge's departure would be felt on the record and they replaced him with someone who can sing their old songs,[...]
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Yesterday, blink-182 released their new album California. A much anticipated record, it’s their first since ousting founding guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge. Early last year, the group announced the lineup change and welcomed Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio as a third member. At a Blink show shortly thereafter, bassist Mark Hoppus introduced Skiba, then filling in on guitar, as our “new step dad that is going to be living with us from now on”. After years of ill-will amongst the band, it seemed the Hoppus-DeLonge divorce had finally gone through. Since joining, Skiba has racked up a good amount of performance time with the band and earned himself something of a warm welcome from the fanbase. He proved he could sing all the old songs and sound enough like DeLonge to keep with the sound, but add just enough of his own personality as to not come across as a carbon copy. The real test would be their record. It would definitively answer the question blink-182 fans had been posing since DeLonge left, “Who the fuck is Matt Skiba?”
The album opens with "Cynical". In the anxiety-ridden open verse, Hoppus introspectively sings over clean guitar. Before listeners have time to wonder whether this slower pace is the new Blink, Skiba and drummer Travis Barker breakthrough. What comes next sound definitely like the band. There are all the elements you’d expect from Barker’s fills to the back-and-forth of Hoppus and Skiba trading off vocalist duties. What started as a questionable way to [...]
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9 years ago
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PropertyOfZack began as a “blog with daily coverage and commentary of the underground music scene.” It was founded in late 2009 by Zack Zarrillo and Emily Coch and in the past several years has grown to be a staple in the diet of many music fans. The site’s "Tours You Should Know About" and "Albums Out This Week" posts kept readers apprised on what was on the horizon and it’s podcasts “Off The Record” and “Simpler Sound” spurred discussion within the community. POZ was a place to turn to for not only news, but dialogue, insight and the occasional blink joke. But all good things must come to an end.
Earlier this week, in a post entitled “RIPOZ”, Zarrillo announced that the website would be ending. Thomas Nassiff of Bad Timing Records/Absolute Punk spoke further on the sudden departure of the beloved website in a post entitled “Blogging’s Dead. We Got Jobs.” Kind of self-explanatory. Long story short is by the end of the week there will be no more POZ.
After that there will be a hole in many a morning route and something missing from most Twitter feeds. There will no longer be a point in the day where you habitually check POZ for updates. Zarrillo’s voice and the voices of the rest of the POZ writer will surely arise elsewhere and continue conversations on other platforms, but until then the music community will be a little quieter.
In the meantime, what do we read? Here are some ideas:
The Runout
The Runout was founded in 2014 by Bryne Yancey, former editor for P[...]
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9 years ago
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Radio has made a strange sort-of come back. Streaming services, apps, iTunes and the seemingly endless potential of the internet has helped radio transition rather gracefully into the digital age. You can still turn on a radio, flip to a certain channel and find stations, but it's the ability or perhaps the willingness to adapt that has helped bring the other older model radio shows into the future. They have been joined by countless podcast and live streams all of which are as accessible as wifi.
One thing hasn't changed. Whether a show is being beamed to you through your car stereo or through your phone via your Stitcher account, there's still one common factor: sound. Radio is still something you just listen to. It hasn't added another sense or dimension. You just listen. The same way you just listen to an album. It's a simple interaction, but can leave such an impression. A good song can make you cry, laugh or turn off your iPod. The same goes for radio. Here are a couple good shows worth a listen:
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Hosts of NPR’s All Songs Considered Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton also record smaller segments, the most recent being about Record Store Day. They two covered what releases to keep an eye out for. Their longest, more regular series All Songs Considered is also worth checking out. It's a good resource when trying to sort of the week's essential listens.
The Mike Herrera Hour
Idobi Radio airs a segment of MXPX’s Mike Herrera podcast, The Mike Herrera Podcast, on F[...]
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