Propagation

(By Guest Author ‘Karnage’)
What up? This is Propagation. I would like to all to sit back, grab a beer.. uh.. beverage, a snack or two and just relax as you read through the following finger-to-keyboard action that made this column possible. What is Propagation? Well, according to the Webster dictionary– dictionaries are boring. Propagation is a column written by me for you all to read about the music world but more leaning toward the punk/ska/emo genre of it. So relax and enjoy…

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Shoot the kids at school. That album title was the first title ever censored by Tim Armstrong’s record label, Hell Cat Records. The band? With a name like Leftover Crack you’d think they’d write controversial lyrics and statements. Well they do and they milk it while doing so. Their first album (later re-named Mediocre Generica) debuted on none other than September 11th, 2001 and was released with much controversy. The first track on the album, Homeo-Apathy, had many statements suggesting that large buildings block the sun and that the dark black cloud is coming down. Coincidence? Who knows? But the band is back and releasing a so-called second full length sometime in May. I’ve had a chance to listen to some of the tracks on the album and will give you my thoughts on it in just a bit.

Streetlight Manifesto. A band. A good band. A band that formed from the remains of another band. They are named Streetlight Manifesto and what a band they are. It’s been almost a year since their debut release of “Everything Goes Numb” and I’m still raving about their music. It’s catchy, uplifting, motivating and sad all at once. With songs of suicide and normal teenage problems, they not only get a lot of attention from the teenage audience but even some adults as well. Catch 22 fans should know of this band as this band includes the old lead singer as well as a few other members that left Catch after the release of “Keasby Nights”. Speaking of Keasby… I am a proud owner of that amazing album. They explode from the gate with horns blazing and a quick sound with a song about a robbery that is set to go down (or at least that’s what the impression I get from the song). This album has nice soft guitar riffs, excellent ska sounds, hard guitar, blazing horns, thumping drums and sketchy vocals. In the end, I believe this album is the perfect sequel to Catch 22’s “Keasby Nights”. If you’re a fan of ska and/or punk, I’d recommend checking out this band… it’s a good catch!

The glory is fading…. or is it? Brand New. This band’s second release has gotten mixed reactions from fans. “Deja Entendu” in my opinion is a much slower album than their first release but I also think that it is a great album. Sure IT IS slower, but the music is still great. The first track on the album is a bit sketchy but they blast with their single “Sic Transit Glory” as the second track on the album. It is a great song with a greatly made video. It is a very emotional album with very personal lyrics that I enjoyed as a listener. If you haven’t heard the album yet and you’re a fan of emo, hear it, it is a really enjoyable album. ‘Nuff said.

Anyone want some Leftover Crack? Well, you will soon be getting more of it as apparently a supposed second album is soon to be coming. Like I stated before, the release date is set for sometime in May but don’t hold your breath. The band’s debut album was pushed back a good 9 months or so before finally being released. At the moment, Leftover Crack has entitled their second album as “F*ck World Trade”… anyone else think they’re going to get censored again? Anyway, this album again has a lot of lyrics responding to world issues of the past and present. Ranging from their undying hate for World Trade, religion, cops to songs about depression and pain throughout the world. They released a few songs as MP3’s over the net and I’ve got a chance to listen to a few and I’d like to say, nice. This is a very intense album (from what I’ve heard so far) and sounds like a keeper. I’ll start of with the song “One Dead Cop” which is basically a cop hate song. The song tells listeners to go out and kill cops. Well, that’s really not surprising coming from this band though as they’ve sang about killing before. Anyway, it has an interesting sound that is different from older sounds but also sounds like true LOC. “Super Tuesday” is a song about the Tuesday that we will all remember. I’m still trying to figure out exactly what this song means but so far my take on it is that LOC is saying that the US shouldn’t be so cocky. “…we’re flying friendly skies… until the world dies” is one of the lines from the song. It has a very good sound and fits with the whole, “F*ck World Trade” aspect as it has many indications that they hated the idea of it. The final line of the song is, “I know your daddy died in the twins but he was just a pawn for the World Bank imperialists”… I think you get the hint. “Zero Population Growth” is a very catchy, up-beat sounding ska song but when listening to what the lyrics are saying… it really isn’t. I’ve only heard a live recording of this track and it sounds great but it is a song about depression and life’s pains. Very catchy though. “Operation: MOVE” is a very very dark song and is about the Philadelphia police’s execution of 5 children and six adults in 1985. It is a harder track with nothing but screaming vocals to I guess set the mood of the lyrics and about the event behind the song. It’s a good song though, but not my favourite. That’s all I’ve had a chance to listen to but I do know that they have some re-recorded older tracks that they’ve added to the album. I’ve heard the original recordings of “Rock The 40 Oz.”, “Infested”, and “Gang Control” and those songs are set to be on the album as well. Unofficial track listing as goes:

1. Burn Them Prisons
2. Zero Population Growth
3. One Dead Cop
4. Clear Channel, F*ck Off
5. Tomb Squatting
6. Operation: MOVE
7. Books of Lies
8. Ya’ Can’t Go Home
9. Soon We’ll Be Dead
10. Rock The 40 Oz.
11. Infested
12. Untitled As Yet Anti-Patriotism Song
13. Gang Control
14. Super Tuesday

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That’s all I have for you all this week but I will have more as the weeks go on so keep checking back and reading! I hope you enjoyed this and learned a few things and maybe it has changed or life in a way… or not. Anyway, I hope you all keep reading as I always have things to say about the music world. You ain’t seen nothing yet…

Thank you.