December 9th, 2007

It's Sunday, December 9th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. cut their streaming music to 90 second clips, a remarkably short sighted move that could go on to affect bands like AFI, Brand New, Angels and Airwaves. The Songwriters Association of Canada is demanding a $5 tax on all internet users to compensate for piracy. That's not the only dire news for Canuck music fans, as DMCA style legislation is being introduced in the country that's even more restrictive then its reviled US counterpart. There's been controversy over Rolling Stone's recent "Indie Rock Universe" feature with observers claiming that it was just one big tobacco ad.

We had word on a number of upcoming releases. The Bouncing Souls shocked some fans by planning a digital release for 2008 claiming "It doesn't make sense to release a CD because nobody really buys them anymore." Justin Sane discussed an expanded instrumental pallet to be found on the new Anti–Flag record. Rancid has plans to release a B Sides and C Sides collection via their merch store. Dillinger Four is also still dropping hints on their long–awaited album. We had word that the Bronx, Every Time I Die, Reel Big Fish, Street Dogs and the Briggs would be among the bands performing on the 2008 Warped Tour. Foo Fighters are taking Against Me! ou ton a stadium tour, perhaps the latter band's biggest gig to date. Smoke Or Fire and Fake Problems are also planning a February trek. This week saw Fall Out Boy comment on their Grammy nominations, the Locust robbed in St. Louis, and members of Green Day performing in Foxboro Hot Tubs. Fat Wreck Chords also gave fans a holiday treat in the form of their Hanuk–Comp. The twentieth edition of Vinyl File featured a conversation with Kyle Gebhart of Doghouse Records. Our Editors' Picks of the week featured music from Connecticut's Hostage Calm.

December 2nd, 2007

It's Sunday, December 2nd, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. boast a roster that features Against Me!, the Bronx, The Devil Wears Prada, and Pierce The Veil. Meanwhile Japan's Punk Spring 2008 will feature the likes of Rancid, Pennywise, Buzzcocks, Me First & The Gimme Gimmes and Angels & Airwaves. We saw a very interesting discussion on the file sharing issue this week, this time getting a larger–indie label perspective from Revelation, Lookout, 31G and Deep Elm. The nation of France weighed in as well, planning to just kick downloaders off the Internet. We had all types of Fall Out Boy high jinks this week, as band poster boy Pete Wentz got angry about a Ashlee Simpson parody and Every Time I Die defended their appearance with the pop stars. UK band the Squids had a US tour cancelled due to some flag–burning imagery on their show flyers.

Anti–Flag revealed some details on their new album The Bright Lights of America and also announced more tour dates. In fact we had lots of tour dates confirmed this week. Defiance, Ohio is heading out to the US West Coast and Australia. Black Fag, the absolutely fabulous tribute to Black Flag, is taking the show to Europe. A Wilhelm Scream's upcoming tour will feature Swellers guitarist Nick Diener. Against Me! played a benefit a to raise money for a marrow transplant. The Bouncing Souls plan to thrill fans at their upcoming year–end shows with a 60–song marathon

We were brought news of the death of Arsonists Get All The Girls member Pat Mason (1986–2007). Our condolences go out to his family and friends. Also, Hawthorne Heights has as expected cancelled their tour with Escape the Fate and the AKAs due to the recent death of guitarist Casey Calvert. In other grim news, there's been a verdict in the trial of the suicidal driver who killed Silkworm drummer Michael Dahlquist, John Glick, guitarist of the Returnables and Doug Meis, drummer of Exo and the Dials. She got 8 years. We recently featured one of our more interesting interview features in recent memory. Norman Brannon of Texas is the Reason and Shelter, author of The Anti–Matter Anthology: A 1990s Post–Punk & Hardcore Reader, interviews and Rob Fish of 108 in a two part feature looking back at the hardcore scene which spawned the book. You can check out part 1 and part 2. Our Video of the Week featured The Riot Before live at the Fest 6. The nineteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a conversation with Dan Askew of Second Nature Recordings. Editors' Picks of the week featured music from ––>

November 25th, 2007

It's Sunday, November 25th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. It's Grey Cup night and I know that our primarily American audience is too enthralled with the Saskatchewan / Winnipeg game to care for my silly intro, so I'll get right to it. , putting the blame on a criminal record and some info the border authorities found on MySpace. Angels & Airwaves' Tom Delonge has seemingly shed his messiah complex, revealing past drug abuse to MTV and generally starting to make sense again. Kevin Barnes of Of Montreal wrote an essay on selling out, looking to see if the label is even relevant today. Fall Out Boy got into some trouble by basing their tour artwork on Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, forcing the band to change it. Radiohead continued to deflate the hype surrounding their digital release, chocking it up to a stunt thought up by management. Of course not a week goes by without more lunacy from the various industry trade groups. This week the MPAA attempted to justify tying college funding to anti–piracy initiatives.

We had the first slate of tour dates from the 2008 Fat Tour featuring NOFX, No Use For A Name and the Flatliners. BYO act A Global Threat has called it quits. We saw a trailer for One Nine Nine Four: Documenting the Birth, Growth and Explosion of Punk Rock in the 90s as well as the new video from Canadian pop–punk act Gob. We had a number of updates on new releases, including a studio video from the Loved Ones and a recording progress update from Millencolin. Pennywise also revealed an ambitious plan to release an ad–supported album through MySpace.

We were also brought news of the death of Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert (1981–2007). Our condolences go out to his family and friends. This week featured one of our more interesting interview features in recent memory. Norman Brannon of Texas is the Reason and Shelter, author of The Anti–Matter Anthology: A 1990s Post–Punk & Hardcore Reader, interviews and Rob Fish of 108 in a two part feature looking back at the hardcore scene which spawned the book. You can check out part 1 and part 2. Video of the Week featured ––> The eighteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a conversation with Steve Stevenson, better known as Stevo! from 1–2–3–4 Go! Records. Our Editors' Picks of the week featured music from New Jersey's Endgame. We brought you new music this week including the lead track off This Is Hell's new 7" Cripplers, and six songs from NOFX's upcoming live album They've Actually Gotten Worse Live.

November 18th, 2007

It's Sunday, November 18th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. We've completely descended into parody if you haven't noticed… and you know what? It feels good. threaten to pull financial aid for colleges whose students download. Now that's something that Gene Simmons could get behind, as he thinks the industry should have sued you absolutely fucking blind for messing with them in the first place (and party ev–er–y day). So what about a new way forward? The New York Times profiled "band as a brand" marketing, focusing on Paramore as an example. One band that's turned their back on the trend is Band of Horses who just spurned WalMart and a potentially massive payday.

We had news on Paint It Black's upcoming release New Lexicon and checked out a new track from it. NOFX unveiled a cut from their new live record. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones showed some details on their upcoming collection. AFI even talked about their next record and plans for an EP. Leftover Crack was thwarted on their attempt to enter Canada, prompting an angry response from Stza. We had news of a few robberies on the road, as Suburban Legends were relieved of a van and trailer and Joe Lally's tour with Capillary Action saw some equipment disappear. Rounding out the law and order news, we had a Scatterbox show turn into a fracas after the venue pulled the plug. We had some new videos this week, including Bad Religion's "New Dark Ages" and Against Me!'s montage–core "White People for Peace." Our Video of the Week featured part two of our CMJ to the Fest 6 feature. It chronicles Punknews videographer Chris' two week journey from his home base of Richmond, VA to New York City for the Mutiny PR/Punknews.org CMJ Showcase then down Gainesville for the Fest. This week we featured footage of the Lawrence Arms, the Falcon and the Gaslight Anthem. The sixteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a conversation with a NOFX collector and profiled his massive collection. Editors' Picks of the week featured music from ––> We brought you new music this week including all six cuts from the Briggs acoustic Westlake Sessions, and the new record from Joey Cape's new band the Playing Favorites.

November 11th, 2007

It's Sunday, November 11th, 2007. Welcome to Navel Gazing, your look back at this week in Punknews. pay nothing for the record, but the band disputes the report's data and findings. It looks like even if you pay nothing for most of your music, the law's not going to come knocking, at least in Canada. Up here in Canuckistan the RCMP has stated that they'll will tolerate piracy for personal use and concentrate on catching, you know, actual criminals. However while the Mounties are being tolerant, Prince is not. The musician is cracking down on online photos, lyric and artwork. So who else is in court, aside from Prince fans? How about Hawthorne Heights, no strangers to the US legal system themselves. They've been sued by their manager. My Chemical Romance might end up in court soon too, as the student government of the University of Maine may file suit over a cancelled performance.

This week saw Hot Water Music's announce the first three shows of their reunion. Iraqi heavy metal band Acrassicauda is in danger and Vice is sponsoring events to help raise money and get the band to safety. Red Scare Records has signed Ohio four piece the Sidekicks. The Blood Brothers have officially called it quits. We had news on some upcoming releases, including a live album from AFI, the upcoming Goddamnit reissue from the Alkaline Trio, and the Mars Volta's next record. A tour is in the works for 2008 featuring NOFX, No Use for a Name, the Flatliners and American Steel. Finally, the band Dance Gavin Dance kicked out their vocalist in spectacularly verbose fashion, entertaining even if you've never heard of the Sacramento band. Maybe their old singer has a future in Parkway Drive's mosh contest. Our Video of the Week featured part one of our CMJ to the Fest 6 feature. It chronicles Punknews videographer Chris' two week journey from his home base of Richmond, VA to New York City for the Mutiny PR/Punknews.org CMJ Showcase then down Gainesville for the Fest. This week's video features Florida's Fake Problems. The sixteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a final look at the vinyl history of NOFX. Editors' Picks of the week featured music from ––>

November 4th, 2007

It's Sunday, November 4th, 2007. We'll avoid my amusing anecdotes tonight and jump right into this. You don't want to hear me muse about yard work, it's really not that interesting. Well it is to me, but I suppose you folks want something more exciting. Not that raking the leaves and putting down some winter fertilizer is boring per se, it's just that it would be one of those entirely personal stories that has no relevance to the article. You know what I mean. A bad opening all around. upcoming full length Build & Burn. With the band now featuring members of the Explosion and the record produced by members of the Bouncing Souls, we can't wait to hear the results. Russ Rankin of Good Riddance spoke out about the demise of the band and his future plans. Strike Anywhere chatted about the band's Taco Bell promotion and plans for an upcoming acoustic EP. It was also announced that Eric Melvin would join Me First and the Gimme Gimmes for their Australian tour. Speaking of NOFX, the band will join acts like Sick of it All, Streetlight Manifesto and Hot Hot Heat at upcoming Rock for Darfur gigs.

In non–Fat news… there was word that the site of the legendary CBGB would reopen as a high–end fashion boutique. …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead ripped into ripped into Interscope following their departure from the label. Epitaph Records picked up a major refugee themselves by signing Story of the Year. Pete Wentz of mainstream rockers Fall Out Boy broke his foot, but the band's shows will go on as planned. Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day spoke out about being a middle–aged punk, the music business and more. The Armstrong interview wasn't the only interesting thing to come from Rolling Stone this week, as the magazine assembled an "Indie Rock Universe" art project featuring a number of familiar bands. On the video front we were treated to A Wilhelm Scream's "Die While We're Young" and a clip from Sex Pistols' appearance on The Tonight Show. This week we talked to Tim Kasher of The Good Life and Cursive (interview). Video of the Week featured… ––> The fifteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a further look at the vinyl history of NOFX. Our Editors' Picks of the week featured music from Dave House of the Steal, Junius and Crosstown Rivals.

October 28th, 2007

It's Sunday, October 28th, 2007. It's deeply touching to know that I can take a few weeks off and my absence will cause all manner of chaos. There's nothing better for one's ego, I can assure you. Fear not my children, I've cleaned up the debris, we're having the blood steamed out of the carpet, and the long road to recovery begins. Mighty Mighty Bosstones' reunion shows just has us giddy. Those Hometown Throwdown tickets are selling for exorbitant prices, resulting in an additional New Years show to be planned. However the good news didn't end with the shows, it looks like the band will also record a few new songs for upcoming collection. It wasn't all reunions this week, as we've seen both the Blood Brothers and Some Girls removed from play. The Brothers are calling it a hiatus for now, at least until the end of the year. Some Girls split sounds a little more concrete though.

As the underground file trading scene reeled from the shut down of Bittorrent site OINK we continued to hear arguments and hand wringing from all sides of the downloading debate. New releases are on the way next year form everyone from prog monsters the Mars Volta (keep an eye out in January) to pop idols Fall Out Boy (and they're promising that it'll be bizarre). Popular act Finch is back together for a show this November as well. We had videos from Streetlight Manifesto, who unveiled the animated "We Will Fall Together" and Against Me!, who rocked the montage with "Up The Cuts." Slightly more interesting than that band's photo essay was the recent police response to someone playing a "Baby I'm An Anarchist" cover. This week also saw tour dates announced for the Evens. Look for Ian MacKaye and Amy Farina to hit the road this November.

This week saw the passing of Paul Fox (1951–2007), guitarist for influential reggae punk act the Ruts, following a battle with lung cancer. The scene also continued to mourn the loss of J Church frontman Lance Hahn (1967–2007). The Fest may be wrapping up in Gainesville but the The Fest 6: A Free Compilation is still available for download. The collection of 25 songs comes courtesy of Punknews.org & No Idea Records. Video of the Week featured… ––> The fourteenth edition of Vinyl File featured a second look at the vinyl history of NOFX. We also streamed music from the full length Never Suspend Disbelief by New Jersey's One Win Choice, rock'n'hardcore act The Revenge, featuring former members of Stereotyperider, and the new EP from Intro5pect featuring Stza of Leftover Crack

October 21, 2007

Who's steering this thing? I have no clue. Since Adam is on vacation carousing around the East Coast of both Canadia and the People's Republic of America we're lost without a rudder. A car without a steering wheel. A bike without a stem!

He's obviously the wittiest of us editors, so we'll just skip to the wrapup. Sorry about that folks.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

As always, anything about the clean and narrow lifestyle known as Straight Edge brings out people's debating fingers and this year's wish of Happy Edge Day was no different. Coming from the opposite direction, tricksters NOFX released a song from their upcoming live album without all their blabbing. Thanks Mike. Blender took some shots at punk icons like Greg Graffin, Henry Rollins and…Panic at the Disco in their "Worst Lyricists EVAR!" article. Some other well known folks joined forces to form The Innocent while on the other end of the "cred spetrum" Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz to open Clandestine store in Chicago The much loved Latterman made it o–fficial this week, they are no longer alive. As a band. All the guys are doing just fine. On the other hand, there's a Kurt Cobain biopic in the works. Looking to record in another country? Better mail that home, since Homeland Security seems to be confiscating solo projects.

This week's Vinyl File looked at Rarities and upcoming releases. Oh, and there was some hubbub about a detailed schedule of THE FEST being posted. Whatever that is.

ps: The Mohawk Toupée? Almost as ridicuous as Universal's plan to sell singles on USB drives(FOR TEN DOLLARS!).

We got a little Hot Water Music love (cough) and a new video from the Weakerthans.

October 14th, 2007

Adam is away this week so the entire planet fell to pieces. With the remaining shards, we've assembled this latest look back at the week in Punknews.org.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

It was hard to miss the news that 10th level Vice President Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, nor was it possible to avoid the jubilant fans of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones who agreed to reunite for five shows. Lots of piss and vinegar was sent in the direction of Green Day courtesy of Johnny Rotten but returning the favour was Blender who took on the Sex Pistols, Tom Waits, Sting and the Beach Boys. Some people had nicer sentiments in mind, like Billie Joe of Green Day who sent fond wishes to Al Gore on his win while encourageing people to contact Congress.

Though not exactly known as a charity, Taco Bell gave Strike Anywhere, Ted Leo, Big D, Panthers, Armor for Sleep free food but Ted didn't want it. There was still some craziness in the ever increasing music industry shakeup, this time with Nine Inch Nails who celebrated their first time being without a contract in 18 years.

October 7th, 2007

It's Sunday, October 7th, 2007. For the next two weeks I'm on vacation, first heading down to Boston to clean up all the hardcore crew violence then travelling north to Nova Scotia to find where Blake Schwarzenbach's been hiding. So what does that mean for your trusty Gazing? It means some other sucker editor will have to will step up and take the reins. Who will it be? Will they go mad under the pressure? Tune in next Sunday. Radiohead completely changed the game with the announcement of their new record, an album for which you can pay whatever you want for. Sure, Bomb The Music Industry and other have done that for years, but their actions don't quite get the world talking about it. This kicked off a week of, well, navel gazing among music fans and insiders. A member of Throwdown chatted about downloading with pundit Bob Lefsetz, encouraging people to bury the label. Perspectives came in on the problem with leaking albums and why former music buyers are jumping ship.

Against Me! talked briefly about the incident in Tallahassee and conflicts with their early fans. The band was also, um, paid tribute to by a Dirty Deitrich cover of "Stop." Strung Out joined the list of ripped off bands, with their van and trailer stolen in Philadelphia. Taking Back Sunday fans fretted at the departure of guitarist and co–vocalist Fred Mascherin. Glen Matlock has asked Johnny Rotten not to swear at upcoming Sex Pistols gigs. We had news on a number of upcoming releases this week. NOFX posted the track listing for "They've Actually Gotten Worse Live," A Wilhelm Scream released new music from Career Suicide, Nirvana's unplugged is finally headed to DVD, and a Johnny Cash Tribute was announced that will feature Chuck Ragan, Russ Rankin of Good Riddance and the Loved Ones.

Oh, and despite what you may have heard Ian MacKaye's not dead. We talked to Chris #2 from Anti–Flag this week (interview). Our Video of the Week featured part five of our video countdown to the Fest 6. This week we checked a performance from melodic hardcore act No Trigger. The tenth edition of Vinyl File featured a chat with Jacob Bannon, singer of Converge and owner of Deathwish Inc. We also streamed music from the grand return of American Steel and their new full length Destory Their Future, as well as The Great Deceiver, a trio featuring Tomas Lindberg, formerly of influential metal act At The Gates.