by steinaech | Posted in Music
Made a mixtape for my friend
byu/steinaech incalvinandhobbes
Made a mixtape for my friend
Alesana in 2008 @ New Brookland Tavern Columbia, SC
by steinaech | Posted in Music
I recently came across footage I recorded when I saw Alesana in 2008 alongside Motionless In White, Greeley Estates, Jamie’s Elsewhere, and A Static Lullaby at New Brookland Tavern in Columbia, SC. Naturally, as the year is currently 2023, I cut it all together using Windows Live Movie Maker, last released in 2012.
Video game music as a time capsule
by steinaech | Posted in Gaming, Music
Many games have an original score as an OST, but some games, generally sports related games, feature licensed songs from performing artists, usually radio hits, sometimes DJs (you’ve probably seen the name Junkie XL a few times.)
I was playing Burnout: Paradise for the first time on my PS3 a few days ago – both of which came out 15 years ago – and Creepshow by Kerli came on and I thought, “Wow, there’s an artist I haven’t heard of in a long time.”
Burnout: Paradise features 40 licensed songs in addition to music composed for the game. As shown by the graph below 54% of the songs were released in the 5 years prior to the game’s release, counting a whole decade brings it to 69% (nice).
If you ask someone what their favorite video game soundtrack is, you’re likely the hear many people mention a Grand Theft Auto game. Beginning with GTA III and carrying onto the current installment, GTA V, Grand Theft Auto games featured a “radio” as a soundtrack. There is no ambient music except for title and transition screens. You would hear the radio anytime you entered a vehicle. As an example, San Andreas (generally regarded as the fan favorite) featured over 150 licensed songs from the 1990s (the time period that the game takes place in) spanning across 11 different stations. As each game takes place at a set period in time, the soundtracks are all made of songs you’d expect to hear on the radio if you were living at that time. The games also feature talk show segments on the radio and while these are fictitious in contrast to the licensed soundtrack, it’s worth mentioning.
Crazy Taxi was released in February 1999 and while not the first game to use a licensed soundtrack it’s mix of high octane gameplay mixed with it’s lineup of 4 pumping punk rock songs that were released just a couple years before the game (particularly The Offsprings “All I want” – ya ya ya!) lent it great popularity. Released just 7 months later on the Playstation 1 (and arguably a large audience), Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater sported 10 tracks of 90s punk songs that had a lasting cultural effect. Many Millennials and Gen Z-ers will credit the Tony Hawk series and it’s use of 90s/2000s punk rock and hip hop as shaping their musical tastes.
Tony Hawk’s Underground (2003), one of my all time favorite video games, has a soundtrack of a whopping 77 songs (the most of any Tony Hawk game and 67 more songs than the first Tony Hawk game that released only 4 years prior) across Punk, Rock, and Hip Hop genre’s, the majority of which were released within the decade prior. In 2004 MTV added a new category to their music awards, Best Video Game Soundtrack, which was given to Tony Hawk’s Underground further cementing the impact that Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater’s use of licensed soundtracks had.
I may be remiss to not mention the Fallout games, games set in the future but stuck in in the past, that feature true pieces from the 40s and 50s of America.
Of course by the 2000s every sports and racing game were using licensed soundtracks. What’s interesting about playing these games now is that they feature so much music that was popular when released they can transport you to a time that you may not remember, or maybe weren’t even alive for.
Pierce The Veil: The Jaws of Life
Last updated August 31st, 2023 | by steinaech | Posted in Music
The Jaws of Life, released 7 years after their previous entry, is a stark change in direction for the band. Moving away from hardcore and becoming more of a hard rock band, there are fewer screams here and a much slower pace compared to the breakneck speed of Collide With The Sky and Misadventures. Vic’s singing style is about the only thing here that makes this a Pierce The Veil album. Not to say that’s a bad thing though, this is an excellent album.
What the band has created here is a contemporary album full of 2020 “vibes”, 2000s alt-rock, and 90s grunge that culminates into something great. A sprinkle of prog rock here, some punk rock there, vibes & Lo-Fi too. There’s such a broad range of sounds here that the band managed to blend seamlessly together that the whole album feels immediately familiar while not sounding like it’s retreading previous ground.
The album opens up on the solid Death of an Executioner featuring hand drums and shakers over a blaring siren before rolling into some heavy guitar and drums with a groove-like bass behind the chorus. Pass The Nirvana is a grunge track through and through – deep bass, heavy guitar, slowed singing – brought up to a modern flare with some electronic kit sounds dispersed throughout. Pierce the Veil brings 2020s “vibes” with tracks like Even When I’m Not With You, Flawless Execution, and Resilience akin to a harder sounding Lauv complete with handclaps, electronic bass drums, and keyboards to complement the rest of the full band. Emergency Contact opens up like an alt rock track you’d hear on a The Maine album complete with a catchy chorus that’s melded back into the rest of the album with its deep bass line and hard hitting bridge. The Jaws of Life title track is something of a mashup of My Chemical Romance with its operatic structure, climbing guitars, filling drums and The Fall of Troy with its ever shifting melody and complex breakdown. The lo-fi inspired track Shared Trauma is an interesting change of pace for the album and yet it feels right at home despite having no real guitar or drums thanks to Vic’s consistent vocal delivery and bringing back in the electronic drums and keys featured in other parts of the album previously. The album finishes up on the short n’ sweet grooving surf-rock duet 12 Fractures featuring chloe moriondo. Nobody would bill Pierce the Veil as surf rockers but as they end The Jaws of Life with hand drums and shakers, the same instruments they opened with, mingled with the slower beats and electronic sounds they used expertly throughout the rest of the album you don’t even think twice about it.
The Jaws of Life is a bold and unexpected departure from Peirce The Veils’ previous work and after 7 years it’s a welcome addition to their discography. With a broad range of sounds that are brought together cohesively this album should please longtime Pierce the Veil fans because it’s just good music and the shift to a new genre should bring new fans.
Ellegarden: End of Yesterday Review
Last updated August 31st, 2023 | by steinaech | Posted in Music
Listen to the article here
Ellegarden is a Japanese rock band that was formed in 1998, styling their sound after North American bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, and Good Charlotte. Like each of these bands, Ellegarden successfully created their own sound in the greater pop/punk space. I didn’t learn about Ellegarden until around 2014 after they had already entered “indefinite hiatus” back in 2008. I believe I came across the song Salamander online and that grabbed my attention. The album it belonged to, Eleven Fire Crackers, quickly became a favorite listen of mine at the time. Later on when I was at our local music store I happened across the Eleven Fire Crackers CD – it was the only Ellegarden CD they had. I was surprised they had one at all since I believe only 2 of Ellegarden’s 5 albums were released in the US.
When the first singles came out I was very excited about what I’d heard. “Mountain Top” was the first single released, their first song since 2006’s Eleven Fire Crackers. though as with albums like “This is Why” I’ve learned to stay my expectations. Fortunately, Ellegarden’s 5th album, and first album after a 10 year hiatus, is an absolute blast.
While still distinctively an Ellegarden album it’s definitely a much more mature sound. Deeper vocals and less cutesy lyrics compared to previous works make this album a fresh outing. ダークファンタジー (Dark Fantasy) is a personal favorite starting out with some quiet vocals over a single acoustic guitar that then delves into a somber but pumping chorus line. This is a track that really showcases Hosomi’s singing ability when not delivering punk rock lines. Strawberry Margarita, Firestarter Song, and チーズケーキ・ファクトリー (Cheesecake Factory) are your unequivocal Ellegarden songs, thumping drums, heavy guitar, and catchy lyrics. Perfect Summer is another personal favorite with a gently beating drum coupled with a minimal but evocative guitar and a perfectly catchy chorus. The album ends on the pumping and catchy pseudo title track Goodbye Los Angeles featuring the lyrics “farewell to the city of the sun, till I come back to the end of yesterday.”
You can shuffle this album right in with previous albums and the only differences you’ll notice are the production quality. Ellegarden has kept their same brand of punk rock a decade later but everything here is expertly crafted and there’s not a single misstep across the 11 tracks and 40 minute runtime. The instruments are clearly separated, Hosomi’s vocals are clear and the smoothest they’ve ever been, and everything is nicely layered for a rich sound that really showcases how much they’ve grown post-hiatus.
Fans of Ellegarden should love this album as much as any other and I would even recommend this album to anyone that just likes punk rock. End of Yesterday is a perfectly executed punk rock album that should please many people.
Paramore: This Is Why Review
Last updated June 22nd, 2023 | by steinaech | Posted in Music
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I’ve always struggled with Paramore. I want to like them, but it’s hard. I first started listening to them my sophomore year of high school after my girlfriend at the time introduced them to me with a slew of other emo bands – Fall Out Boy, AFI, Panic! at the Disco, Dresden Dolls – that I still listen to today.
Riot! (2007) was the album at the time. I had missed their first album, All We Know Is Falling. I listened to and enjoyed Riot! and I still enjoy listening to it from time to time. While not as timeless as an album like The Black Parade that came out around the same time, I believe it’s held up well 10+ years later. From then on, it’s been a rocky road between Paramore and I. While each successive album had a few songs I liked none of them were as good as Riot! and This Is Why is no exception.
I was excited when the single This Is Why came out. It’s a great song. Then the single The News came out and the trend immediately returned. It’s not a great song. Then the ear-grating single C’est Comme Ça came out which I didn’t even finish listening to. Once the full album released, the rest of the songs just seem bland and uninspired. I can’t deny Paramore’s success through the years. They’ve changed their sound with each album and have remained a critical and fan success each time, but I struggle to see why.