ARTICLE SEVEN: Blink-182 Career Retrospective...Part 1

There are a lot of bands out there nowadays with a large fan base. All Time Low, Fall Out Boy, Sleeping With Sirens, Taking Back Sunday, and the list goes on. The thing is, all of these bands have openly stated that one of their biggest influences in music was Blink-182, a pop-punk band that is still around even to this day. With 6 studio albums, a live album, a greatest hits album, and two EPs; Blink-182 remain to this day at the top of their genre with a gigantic fan base that can sell out an arena show in under a few hours. For this article, I am taking a retrospective look back at their career, what the future holds, and everything in between. A band of this scope has a lot of history, obviously more than I can fit in one article, so I will sum up the best I can and actually make this a two part article. If you have never given these guys a chance, or lived under a rock and haven’t heard of them, I highly recommend doing so.

            Blink-182 had their start in San Diego, CA in 1992. Guitarist Tom Delonge had just been kicked out of high school for drinking under the bleachers at a school Basketball game. At the same time, bassist Mark Hoppus had just moved to town and begun working at the local record store. The two met through Hoppus’ sister, and instantly clicked and decided to form a band. Recruiting high school friend and drummer Scott Raynor, the band was formed to a three piece. After borrowing a cheap four track recorder from a friend, Blink recorded their first demo ‘Fly Swatter’, and instantly gained a small fan base in the California pop-punk scene. At first they played clubs, and there were a few times they played at high schools when Delonge would call and claim they were a motivational anti-drug band. All of those shows got canceled after one song. After recording their next demo tape titled ‘Buddha’, Blink became even more popular in the pop-punk scene, catching the attention  of San Diego based Cargo Records, who signed Blink to a record deal on a trial basis. Fueled by new songs, as well as re-recorded versions of songs off both of their demo tapes, Blink’s first studio album ‘Cheshire Cat’ was released. Although it made little impact commercially, the singles ‘M+Ms’, ‘Carousel’, and ‘Wasting Time’ became popular on a small scale. The popularity was enough to catch attention of an Irish based techno band, also named Blink that threatened lawsuit. Thus, the -182 was added to their names, and to this day no one is clear on what that stands for. After gaining a manager, and opening for bands such as NOFX, Unwritten Law, and the Offspring, Blink’s popularity seemingly grew overnight. In 1996, their second album ‘Dude Ranch’, a high school humor pop-punk album, was released to a more commercial success than its predecessor. The single ‘Damnit’ was greatly successful, and to this day is one of their most noted songs. The popularity of the single, as well as a string of shows on the Vans Warped Tour, gained the band even more notice. Around this time, drummer and friend Scott Raynor was booted from the band because of alcohol addiction, of which is talked about in the band’s B-Side track ‘Man Overboard’ from their live album. Travis Barker, drummer for The Aquabats, quit his band and took over Raynor’s spot.

            In 1999, Blink-182 received their commercial break through into the main stream with the release of ‘Enema of the State’. The three singles from the album ‘What’s My Age Again?’, ‘All The Small Things’ and ‘Adam’s Song’ helped propel the band into stardom in the pop-punk scene with ‘All The Small Things’ peaking to number 6 on the Billboard Top 100 list. Enema kept with Blink’s joke humor pop-punk style, but had the production behind it to get the attention the band needed. It was only natural that after multi-platinum success, arena tours, cameos in the film American Pie and a spot on an episode of The Simpsons, Blink-182 would record another album. ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’ was released in 2001. The singles ‘Stay Together For The Kids’, ‘The Rock Show, and ‘First Date’ charted even higher than the singles from Enema. Thanks to a new producer, the album had a more polished pop-punk sound, and showed a slightly more mature side of the band while still keeping their humor. The popularity of the album would cause Blink-182 to be on a constant touring schedule, with sold out arena shows being played across the nation, as well as in Australia, the UK, and Japan. It was also around this time that Delonge started side project Boxcar Racer, which Hoppus resented but still supported and helped with. Cracks started to form in their friendship as a result.

In 2003, the band released the self-titled ‘Blink-182’, which showed the band maturing. The humor and high school attitudes of the songs were gone, showing a darker and more mature side of the band, infusing experimental instruments into the songs and different sounds. The lead singles ‘Feeling This’, ‘I Miss You’, and ‘Always’ charted the highest the band had to date. Fans were split by the new sound. The eponymous named album sold their best to date, with over 2,000,000 copies sold in the US alone.  Tensions in the band were still rising; between Hoppus’ feelings of betrayal from Boxcar Racer, to Delonge’s desire to have more control in the direction the band’s sound took. The band played their final show in Dublin, Ireland in 2004. Although a US tour in promotion for the single ‘Always’ was planned, rumors of a breakup began to stir. In February of 2005, the band would announce that they were taking an indefinite hiatus. To find out what was to come next after, come back next week for Part 2 of my retrospective on Blink-182 here on Music and Vine Street.

ARTICLE SIX: 'Hidden In Plain View Announce Reunion, A Quick Retrospective'

Hello everyone, and welcome to another segment of what I am now calling Music and Vine Street, where each week I have been updating you on music news in the pop-punk/pop-alternative genre. The band I am looking at today is a bit of a hidden gem, known to a small hardcore fan base but deserving of much more. They may actually get that chance too. This week I am looking at Hidden in Plain View, a pop-punk band from New Jersey formed in 2000. With 3 EPs, and 2 full albums, this band released on four different record companies and had a number of hits, also playing long stints on the Vans Warped Tour during their six and a half year run.

            The start of Hidden in Plain View came in August of 2000. At the time, a band called 8 over Par had just broken up after a failed attempt to get off the ground. Luckily, members Joe Reo(vocals) and Rob Freeman(guitar/backing vocals) were friends with a few members of another band called Jersey Nonsense, which was also ending at the exact same time. With their love for music, the five friends decided to form another band in the wake of their former bands’ destructions. Thus, Hidden in Plain View was born, the name coming from a situation at vocalist Joe Reo’s day job at a grocery store where a customer remarked that something was “Hidden in plain view” when looking for an obviously visible and easy to find item. They immediately recorded a 3 track demo album, and caught the attention of  DAB records, who signed them and with this backing recorded the now rare and sought after EP ‘Find’.  The EP didn’t initially take off, and the record label faced bankruptcy. Because of this, Hidden In Plain View switched over to Note To Self records, and released another EP titled ‘Operation: Cut Throat’, another sound EP that at the time did not initially attract many sales. Hidden In Plain View seemed to be going the same way of the members’ former bands, and looked to be ending before it started.

            However, salvation came in the form of Drive-Thru Records in 2003. The record label saw the band’s potential, and signed them instantly. To build up hype for the band, the record label had them release a self-titled EP, which contained 5 songs and would be a grounding force to help build up the band’s fan base and support. This third EP did substantially better than their two previous EPs, and made a full length album a done deal for the band. While recording their album, the band toured extensively across the US and Canada, to help build anticipation for the album and gain fans; also doing a long stint on that year’s Vans Warped Tour, which can often be a starting point for many popular fans of the genre. Originally scheduled for a late 2004 release, but pushed back in order to have time for promotion,  the band’s crowning jewel finally was released in 2005. ‘Life In Dreaming’ was the band’s first major release, and is seen by many of their fans as their best work. Compared to the EPs, the album shows a more mature, edgier side of the band musically.  Containing 11 songs, not many critics can find one song on this album to pan. The lead single from the album, ‘Ashes Ashes’ received a large amount of radio play and the follow up singles, ‘Top 5 Addictions’ and ‘A Minor Detail’ received even more play, bumping the band into a small underground stardom in the genre, and boosting their listing on the Vans Warped tour for that year from openers to headliners.  To promote the album, backed with the popularity of the singles, the band spend all of 2005 touring; playing over 24 Warped Tour shows, touring Japan for the first time, as well as co headlining the ‘Drive-Thru Invasion’ tour in Europe, as well as a long US/Canada/Mexico tour.  They also won runner up in MTV’s Battle of the Bands in 2005 because of the album.

            Unfortunately, things went downhill again from here. Creative and personal differences began to surface in the band during the recording of their follow up album titled ‘Resolution’. In fact, the band was very slow to update their fans through all of 2006, with very little information on the recording process given. This was a stark contrast to the updates that rapidly came out during the recording of ‘Life In Dreaming’, and was a sign of things to come. At the beginning of 2007, Hidden in Plain View announced that they were breaking up and disbanding, citing creative and personal differences as the reason. All of them agreed that the fun was gone, and the recording of this album had been grueling to them. Even though the band had broken up though, the new album still saw the light of day six months later and was released in July of 2007. The problems in the band showed, and while not a bad album, was a watered down and less catchy sound for the band. Not selling as well as their prior releases, the album was a sure sign that something had gone wrong in the band during their recording. All would be quiet since 2007, the band members going their separate ways and going on to other projects, some of them joining other bands such as Dashboard Confessional, and others becoming producers.

That was until this year. Last week, the band announced that they will be reuniting to play a small string of reunion shows in the northeast. This came out of nowhere, and fans of the band were ecstatic. Talk immediately began of things past some reunion shows, with fans hoping for a new album and a renewed sense of fellowship in the band. The band has remained largely silent on any of these requests, but has hinted that these are possibilities depending on what kind of emotions come out of the reunion shows. Will these shows reignite the band to make a third long awaited album, and restore them to not only their former glory but the higher tier stardom they deserve? Only time will tell.

ARTICLE FIVE: 'So Long, And Goodnight: My Chemical Romance Calls It Quits'

Back on March 22^nd, one of the biggest alternative rock/pop punk bands announced that they were calling it quits. Unlike the band themselves, they announced their breakup in a quiet manner, simply posting a few sentences on their website that stated: “Being in this band for the past 12 years has been a true blessing. We've gotten to go places we never knew we would. We've been able to see and experience things we never imagined possible. We've shared the stage with people we admire, people we look up to, and best of all, our friends. And now, like all great things, it has come time for it to end. Thanks for all of your support, and for being part of the adventure.—My Chemical Romance”. For a band as big as them, that has released four detailed concept albums that told stories of Bonne and Clyde like robbers, a cancer patient moving between life and death and interacting with people in both, and rebellious freedom fighters against a corporation run dystopia, and dressed and acted the parts on stage to integrate the stories into their shows, the announcement was very quiet.  Explaining their rich history and what has made the band so powerful in their genre could fill an entire book, so I will give you as much as I can.

                The band themselves had a not so quiet beginning in 2001. Lead singer and front man Gerard Way was a comic book artist from New Jersey heading to his job in New York via ferry on September 11^th. Watching the attacks on the towers and seeing them crumble down before his eyes, Way was forever changed and decided to do something more with his life. Immediately after, Way wrote the song off their first album titled ‘Skylines and Turnstiles’ to express his feelings about the 9/11 attacks, and recruited his younger brother and two friends to form the band. The band name came from Way’s brother Mike, who was working at a Barnes & Nobles at the time and was obsessed with a story by Irvine Welsh called ‘Three Tales of Chemical Romance’.  Recording a few demos in their friend’s attic, they began to get an underground scene acclaim. After recruiting guitarist Frank Iero from another Jersey band that was about to end, the band was complete and they recorded the rest of their first album titled ‘I  Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love’. The album was released in 2002 under low budget Eyeball Records. The album tells a story track by track of a Bonnie and Clyde type couple as they travel across the country committing crimes, and are eventually gunned down together in the desert by police.  The first two singles from the album, ‘Honey, this Mirror Isn’t Big Enough For The Two of Us’ and ‘Vampires Will Never Hurt You’ received large acclaim from critics and audiences alike, and along with offering free downloads of the album on MySpace, caught the attention of Reprise Records.

                Reprise Records was quick to sign the band, and they began work on their second album. ‘Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge’ was released in 2004, and went platinum in under just one year. The first single from the album ‘I’m Not Okay(I Promise)’ was a huge success on the radio, gathering a large fan base for the band. The next two singles ‘Helena’ and ‘The Ghost Of You’ were even bigger hits, and the band became a sensation seemingly overnight. The album is again a concept album, following the story of the first album with the male character surviving his gun shot. He makes a deal with the devil to bring him the souls of 1,000 evil men to revive his dead partner, and this album tells the story of his actions, his emotions as he struggles to press on, and his guilt over what he is doing. The success of the album got them an opening spot on Green Day’s American Idiot tour, ensuring My Chemical Romance’s continuing growth in popularity.

                In 2006, again under Reprise Records the band released their third and biggest album ‘The Black Parade’. The band went all out for this one, making a rock opera concept album telling the story of ‘The Patient’, a cancer patient near death that is drifting in and out of life and dealing with his struggles and his dealings with The Black Parade, the form death takes to come bring him into the afterlife, the form of his fondest memory with his late father that of a parade. In concert, the band would dress the part and play the album start to finish to tell the story of this patient. The first two singles from the album ‘Welcome to The Black Parade’ and ‘Famous Last Words’ sped the album into the mainstream, receiving critical acclaim and selling over 1,000,000+ copies. After the success of this album, the band would take a break until 2010, when they would release ‘Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys’, another story driven album telling the story of a group of freedom fighters that are up against a corporation that has taken over and enslaved the world. The album was actually a second attempt, as the band had actually recorded an entire album in 2009, and then scrapped the entire thing and recorded a new one.  Driven by the singles ‘Na Na Na’, ‘The Only Hope For Me Is You’, and ‘SING’ the album was yet again another critical and mainstream success. The album was also a departure from their normal fast paced rock sound, taking in more electronic synth effects and experimenting with new sounds.  The scrapped album, however, would get to see the light of day in late 2012. Titled ‘Conventional Weapons’ , the band released the album in sets of 2 songs every other week until all 10 songs were released. The album was well received, and believed by fans to be the better album between it and ‘Danger Days’ that had replaced it. The singles from the album ‘Boy Division’ and ‘The Light Behind Your Eyes’ were well received by fans, but never received radio play.

                So, despite all the popularity, and all of the grand albums and shows; My Chemical Romance went out with a quiet whisper in March of 2013. The announcement came as a shock to fans and critics alike, no signs of them ending were seen beforehand.  Rumors of scandals with members in the band floated around but had no evidence to back them up. Way stated that the band ended because they just felt it was time to move on, and nothing to do with turmoil in the band. A few days after the announcement, Way released a large epilogue letter to the fans explaining his feelings for the break up, but not the actual reason. On March 30^th, he took to Twitter and with fans, listened to the band’s entire discography track by track and gave commentary on each and every song. It is evident from every band member’s blogs and such that they all miss the band already, so fans continue to be baffled by their end. The genre has lost one of its major leaders, and fans still express their desire to one day see this band again. Known for their grand designs, their large theatric shows, and detailed story albums that could also be related to everyday life, My Chemical Romance continues to, like the character in The Black Parade, stand strong even after their death.

ARTICLE FOUR: 'This Is Who We Are: A Retrospective On Hawthorne Heights'

Some people reading this may not know what band I am discussing today. Hawthorne Heights is a hard rock/screamo/pop-punk band out of Dayton, Ohio that has been around since 2001. Known for their heavy guitars, catchy chorus, emotional filled lyrics, and using unclean vocals, they have had some commercial success, but they are not as popular as many of the other bands out there today. This is in part due to tragedy at the peak of their climbing success, and some trouble with their record label. On March 19^th, 2013 the band announced that they will be recording a new album right here in Nashville, TN titled ‘Zero’ that will be due out in the summer of 2013. In light of this, I decided to write a retrospective on this band to shed some light on a band that has for the most part, only received some of the recognition that they deserve.

            Originally called A Day In The Life, Hawthorne Heights had their beginning in Dayton, OH. After recording a demo titled ‘Four Bullets One Girl’ they began to receive recognition from Victory Records, a label known for picking up bands at the beginning of their careers before they are well known. After some major lineup changes, the band changed their name to Hawthorne Heights after author Nathaniel Hawthorne, whom lead singer JT Woodruff was studying in school at the time and was fascinated with his works. Four years later, after a four week recording session, the band would release their first album on Victory records, the LP titled ‘The Silence In Black and White’. At first, the album was slow with sales and it would look like Hawthorne Heights was over before they began. However, after the release of the single ‘Ohio is for Lovers’ and the music video began getting a lot of play on MTV and Fuse, breakout radio success came to the band and they actually became Victory’s highest selling debut album from any of their bands, peaking at #56 on the Billboard charts. The next single off of the album ‘Niki FM’ saw even more success than its predecessor. The song hit big on the radio, with its heavy guitars and catchy chorus, many people became hooked into the band.

            After the success of the album, Victory records were quick to get the album back in the studio and recording. A mere two years later, their sophomore album titled ‘If Only You Were Lonely’ was released. The album debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard charts, with a lot of help from their lead single ‘Saying Sorry’. The lead single surpassed any of the previous singles from the first album, receiving great critical acclaim and being played on MTV, VH1, and Fuse for weeks prior to the release of the album. The album itself takes what was present on the first album and turns it up. This album is a concept album following the long-distance relationship between a young couple who were unwillingly taken apart because of the boy's family moving, dealing with their struggles to keep in touch over phone and emails, and the longing to be together. The next single off of the album also exploded over the mainstream, titled ‘This is Who We Are’ further pushing the band into commercial success. 

It was at this point that things began to fall apart. In February of 2006, Victory Records began to make statements aimed at competition for the band’s releases (i.e. R&B singer Ne-Yo, former Victory Records artist Taking Back Sunday), calling for fans to accidently misplace or break their competition’s albums while in the stores. The band was quick to release a statement against Victory, and filed lawsuit against them. The following year, in November of 2007, just as the band was getting ready to play a Warped Tour show in Detroit, Michigan, guitarist and unclean vocalist Casey Calvert was found dead on their tour bus. Autopsy reports state that the death was accidental, and was the cause of two doctors prescribing Calvert two different medicines for different reasons that did not mix well.

Over the next few years, Hawthorne would continue to push on. In 2008, the album ‘Fragile Future’ was released in memory of Calvert. The band’s sound had changed, becoming softer and much more pop-punk then they were before, with no unclean vocals as the band refused to replace Calvert. Despite the lead single ‘Rescue Me’ doing well commercially, the album itself did not match the band’s previous success, and began to falter. In 2009, they tried again with the release of ‘Skeletons’ under their new record label Wind-Up Records. The album did a little better then ‘Fragile Future’, with guitarist Micah Carli stepping in to fill in Calvert’s role on unclean vocals, still keeping with their refusal to replace him as he had been in the band from the start. ‘Nervous Breakdown’ was the first single, and did well commercially. The album itself actually sold less then ‘Fragile Future’ did however, but not from a lack of quality. The band was seemingly unable to recover from their loss. Both albums were actually very well received by critics, and contained some very worthwhile songs. It was just bad luck they fell.  

In 2011 however, there was a light. The band struck out on their own, forming their own record label Carboard Empire, and announcing a trio of self-produced EP’s. The first two, Hate and Hope, were released in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Fans of the band gave positive reviews of both EPs, powered by the songs ‘Wasted in NYC’, ‘For White Walls’, ‘New Winter’, and ‘Running in Place (Niki AM)’. Sales for the EPs actually surpassed their sales totals for both of the last two albums. This got them recognition from SONY’s new record label Red. In late 2012, Red contacted the band about signing and releasing their first LP since 2009. Hawthorne agreed, putting the third EP in their self-produced EPs on hiatus. Being the first band to sign, SONY has decided to put everything in this new album, hiring Brian Virtue (30 Seconds to Mars, Chevelle, Audioslave) to produce the album. The band launched their new website in March of 2013, announcing the album and also offering preorders for ‘Zero’, stating that all proceeds after their set goal will be donated to suicide prevention group ‘To Write Love on Her Arms’. Things are beginning to look bright again for the band from Dayton. So while we wait in anticipation for this hyped up new album they are recording here, if you haven’t listened to them in a while or have never heard of them, it is recommended you give them a shot.

ARTICLE THREE: '30 Seconds to Mars announce New Album, Send New Single Into Space...Literally'

Thirty Seconds to Mars has been on the rise in popularity ever since their debut self titled album hit the shelves back in 2002. Led by actor Jared Leto as the lead vocalist, this progressive rock/ post grunge band has a discography that is nothing to sneeze at. Described as having a sound that mixes progressive, post grunge, screamo, and space and synth rock, this band has a unique sound that is hard to duplicate. Their sophomore album 'A Beautiful Lie' went platinum in the US with over 1,200,000 in sales. It also spawned four hit singles that topped the radio charts; 'The Kill', 'Attack', 'From Yesterday' and the title track of the album 'A Beautiful Lie', and is a raved album by music critics. If you have not given it a listen, it is highly recommended. Their most recent album was also vastly popular, titled 'This Is War' and spawning the singles of 'This is War' and 'Kings and Queens'.

            The band is also known for their extensive touring, having toured year round since their debut album in 2002 and continuing a non stop tour schedule until a year after their third album in 2011, taking the year of 2012 off to rest. To further stress how much this band loves playing shows, in December of 2011, the band made the Guinness Book of World Records after playing 309 consecutive shows in just two years. So it doesn't come as a shock that after only one year of rest, this hard working and dedicated band has announced that they will be releasing a new album this year in the middle of the summer/fall release schedule. No album name or definite release date has been confirmed, but lead vocalist Jared Leto has stated that the album is near complete, with many of the tracks on the album already mastered and ready to go. In January of 2013, the band played their first show in over a year, and debuted a new song titled 'Witness' to the crowd, only stating they were in the process of working on new material. The official announcement of the album came on February 28th, 2013.

            That, however, is not the major announcement that was made that day by the band. It was announced in the same article that the first single off of the album would be titled 'Up In The Air', and that we would not be the first to hear it. This does not refer to Americans, or any country for that matter. It was revealed in the article that a mastered CD of the single was actually going to be launched into space and played by astronauts on the International Space Station, and broadcast into space. This would be the first commercial form of music sent into space by any band in history. The CD was sent to NASA and and SpaceX for launch aboard the spacecraft SpaceX CRS-2. On March 1^st this was accomplished, being launched into space a Falcon 9 rocket with the mission. The spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station on March 3^rd, and was played and listened to by the Expedition 35 crew on board the space station. So, even though the aliens have already gotten to hear this song, we earthlings will have to wait until March 18^th, when 'Up In the Air' is released to the world for radio play. On the following day, the 19^th, the single will be available for digital download across the internet.

ARTICLE TWO: 'Striking Out On Their Own: A Review of Blink-182's self released Dogs Eating Dogs EP'

After many years of being on their record label Interscope records, kings of the pop-punk genre Blink-182 announced back in November that they were ditching the record label and striking out on their own. This is a bold move for many bands, but with the fame and discography of Blink-182, if anyone could pull off self financing and promotion it was them. Excited to be working on their own terms, they headed into the studio and on December 18^th they released a 5 song EP(extended play) album called 'Dogs Eating Dogs'. Haven't seen it on the shelves? That is not because it didn't fare well, on the contrary upon release it held the number 1 spot on Itunes for a week straight, the fact is the album was only released digitally and has yet to see a physical release. So how does 'Dogs Eating Dogs' hold up against their past work? Well if you are a fan of their lighthearted, sometimes comical albums such as 'Enema of the State' or 'Take off Your Pants and Jacket', then you may be disappointed, but if you are a fan of their darker and more mature sound displayed on their 'Untitled' album or 2010's 'Neighborhoods', then this album may actually hold a large amount of enjoyment for you. Let us look at the album track by track, and see how each song holds up to an avid Blink fan and fan of the genre itself.

            The album starts off strong with the intro track of 'When I Was Young'. A mix of everything they have done on their more recent mature albums, and a dash of their side projects that all members worked on during their 6 year hiatus, When I Was Young actually stands out pretty well as one of the stronger songs on the album. With great guitar and drum work, the song has a very catchy beat and the lyrics are right along side it. Describing the feelings of someone reflecting on their past and how it was to be a kid compared to adulthood, 'When I Was Young' is sung by guitarist Tom Delonge, and explores someone in a rough spot in their life looking back on how simple childhood was, and using those memories to remind themselves that what they are going through isn't so bad. Lyrics like “When I was young, the world it was smaller, the cities were vast and the buildings were taller. I felt very strong, my parents seemed stronger” drive home the point of looking back at the past.

            The second song on the album is the title track 'Dogs Eating Dogs', and this song really explodes from the minute it kicks off. Fast paced heavy guitars, and the verses sung by bassist Mark Hoppus, the song is very related to Hoppus' +44 side project as well as the 'Untitled' sound of Blink. With the choruses sung by Delonge, the song uses a lot of the give and take strength between both singers, and the verses and chorus coincide with each other to describe a dog eat dog world, with the emotions of how much of a struggle every day is belting out from each line. This is one of the strongest tracks on the album, and has everything a Blink fan looks for; dual vocals, Travis Barker's in your face drumming, catchy fast paced guitar work, and a chorus that hooks you in.

            The third song on the album falters a little, and is titled 'Disaster'. This song is heavily influenced by Tom Delonge's side project band, and sounds a lot like Angels & Airwaves featuring Mark Hoppus.  Featuring space rock intros, high pitched and fast guitars, the song deals with love and the overcoming of the obstacles that stand in the way of someone's true love. The song holds its own, but is a bit side tracked by the Angels & Airwaves influence.

            The fourth song is again, a strong point for the EP. 'Boxing Day' is a departure from their normal style, featuring an acoustic almost folkish sounding guitar. The trade off vocals are present in this one again, and are very cohesive with Tom singing the verses and Mark singing the chorus. The song is a semi 'holiday' song, but not really. The song deals with someone who has just been left by their significant other on the day after Christmas, and like the day after Christmas where everything is said and done, and the presents and family are gone, they feel empty and swept under the rug. The Christmas references are light, so the song is enjoyable at all times of the year. The chorus deals with the feeling of loss, while the verses deal with the desire to try again, with lyrics such as 'I'll search this land, up through the clouds and back here. We could reignite, like fire flies, like an atom bomb at all hours.' With a great mixture of the acoustic guitar and electronic drums, the song is very addictive and makes you want to just get up and dance despite the dark tone of the lyrics.

            The final track is 'Pretty Little Girl', a song written by Delonge for his wife. This song has a lot to offer, and shows that the band is not afraid to push their limits and experiment, even if it doesn't hit bulls eye every time. Lyrically and musically, the song follows where Blink has been headed all along, with a mixture of their more mature sound with their lighthearted early days. The only thing that this track has against it however, is a 30 second guest verse by rap artist Yelawolf in the last minute and a half of the song. While rock and rap can collaborate wonderfully sometimes, for a Blink-182 song it just seems out of place and really takes the listener out of the song. While the rest of the track is great, that 30 second bit is enough to displace your enjoyment of the song and merit a fast forward for 30 seconds.

            Overall, Blink-182 did a fantastic job with this EP, as shown by holding the number 1 spot on Itunes for the first week of the EP's digital release. The album shows that Blink is still strong, knows what they are doing now that they are on their own, and that they are not afraid to grow and mature as a band, experimenting along the way and seeing what hits and what fails. The EP is not their best material by a long shot, but it is a very strong release that merits at least a try to see if any of the songs hook you in. Not only does the EP please the makers of the music and fans alike, but is also a very highly recommended listen to people unfamiliar with their work. Overall, I would give this album a rating of 4.2/5, and recommend it to anyone interested in trying it out.

ARTICLE 1: 'Three Days Grace front man Adam Gontier Quits'

On January 9^th, 2013 just as they were preparing to kick off their cross country co-headlining tour with Shinedown, which is scheduled to play in Nashville at the Predator’s arena on February 8th, rock band Three Days Grace front man and lead singer Adam Gontier announced that he was departing from the band. A small post on the band’s website and Facebook cited Gontier’s abrupt departure was due to ‘medical reasons’ but did not specify exact reasons.

            Gontier’s departure came as a surprise to the band and fans alike, with no prior signals or hints that anything was amiss. The band was very active, having released a new album back in October titled Transit of Venus, including the hit singles ‘Chalk Outline’ and ‘The High Road’, as well as their currently planned tour, so the lead singer’s decision to leave the band was completely unexpected. The band stated that prior to the January 9^th announcement, it was only on December 21^st  that Gontier notified the band of his decision to abruptly leave the band, saying he was citing a non-life threatening medical condition as his reasoning and he wished the band success as they moved forward without him.

After the announcement, Gontier also made a statement on his Facebook stating “After twenty years of being part of an ever evolving band, I have been inspired by life, to move on and to continue to evolve on my own terms. I could not be more grateful for all the souls who have travelled along with me. A journey I look back on with integrity and a future I look forward to with such hope. I have always admired brave hearts. Life is always changing. I will continue to follow my heart, and what I love to do. I'm not sure what the next horizon will look like, but I do have all the faith in the world that whatever it is, it’s meant to be, and I have faith that blessings will continue to shine over all of us.” While the statement was very vague, it did not really coincide with the band’s previous statement of his departure due to medical reasons. For the next month, Gontier was very quiet on the subject. Three Days Grace meanwhile picked up rock band My Darkest Days’ lead singer Matt Walst to sing lead vocals on the current tour. Many fans have stated that while they do like Walst’s vocals, they do not fit Three Days Grace and the band now sounds more of a cover band then themselves.

A recent interview on February 1^st with Gontier explained the situation further, with Gontier stating that it was not only his medical condition but the musical direction of the band causing his departure, as he went on to say “I will have new music coming soon, and I can say, honestly, it’s the best music I’ve EVER created. I’m so excited for you to hear it! I’ll close with this for now. I am so disappointed in myself for believing, after all these years, that the ones I truly believed were closest to me, are, were, and have always been the farthest away from me. Just pick up. Move on. Pretend nothing happened. Not ONE call, text, email to see how your so called “friend” is doing. It’s sad, but it is what it is. The music BUSINESS. Remember this people…, in my/our case; it’s always been about the “business”. The money. What about the love for creating real music from the heart? Where did that fit in? Pretty much nowhere. No room for music from the heart, when it’s just about music for the radio. On the last album [Transit of Venus], only one or two songs came from the heart. The rest was all radio structured.” He does however continue to state that the main reason was medical, and will be releasing his medical records to the public to back these statements up.

Three Days Grace is Canada’s most popular and successful rock band, and the band had found a large popularity and fan base in the US, especially since their sophomore album One-X released back in 2006. Three Days Grace is most notable for record toping singles ‘I Hate Everything About You’, ‘Pain’, ‘Animal I Have Become’, ‘Never Too Late’, and ‘World So Cold’.

Music and Vine Street

This will be my blog for my segments in the Columbia State Community College weekly ezine. Since I have mainly written about music, I have decided to call this 'Music and Vine Street', and will be uploading all of my music related articles to this blog. Some of them mention dates, so keep in mind these are backdated through a semester and may not be as new and fresh as they were when published. Thank you for reading!