Sunday Edition: February 19th, 2006

It's Sunday February 19th, 2006. This was a hard article to write, as last week we really missed the chance to use one of those great Dick Cheney hunting pictures and it just seems too late to open with one now. I just don't know what to do. Here's some pictures of the bird flu scare that hit Iraq the other day. I'm sure there's something clever to say about it, but I'll leave that to you folks.

Stories you were talking about this week

He usually targets the major label world, but this week Victory head Tony Brummel turned his guns on Apple's iTunes music store. Was he promoting the album as an art form, defending his business model or on the wrong side of the digital divide? You all had something to say about it. A number of anticipated new songs surfaced this week, including cuts from NOFX's new EP, Anti-Flag's major label debut and Less Than Jake's next. It's raising money for a great cause, but there's really something weird about My Chemical Romance selling a custom blazer. Speaking of weird, the kid-friendly version of Devo fit's that label well. Other hot topics included a Bad Religion DVD trailer, Paint It Black's upcoming performances and as always more additions to the Warped Tour.
Although most of you seemed to debate Propagandhi in the comment section, we published a huge interview from Boy Sets Fire this week. We also spoke with the Fall of Troy and launched the first half of the joint Pastepunk / Punknews interview with Dan Yemin of Lifetime, Paint It Black, Kid Dynamite and Armalite.
Current contests

Win original Lawrence Arms lyrics sheets
The Lawrence Arms' forthcoming full length Oh! Calcutta! arrives on March 7th and to celebrate Punknews.org and Fat Wreck Chords are giving away one of a kind pieces of the band's history. We've got twelve handwritten lyrics sheets for twelve winners. This is an opportunity you won't find anywhere else!

Win a Thrasher skate deck
Thrasher Magazine recently released the 12th instalment of their long running Skate Rock compilation series featuring songs from Alkaline Trio, Millencolin, Only Crime, the Riverboat Gamblers, Die Hunns and many more. To celebrate we're giving away two limited edition skate decks.

See the Taste of Chaos at Long Beach Arena
Punknews.org and the Taste of Chaos Tour will give one lucky winner a chance to see the tour stop in Los Angeles, California on March 30th, 2006.
Besides putting you on a plane, the package will include a Nintendo DS, accommodations when you arrive, backstage passes, a year's supply of Rockstar energy drink, and a guitar signed by Thrice, The Deftones, Atreyu, Story of The Year and American Eyes.

Take Action Tour 2006
To celebrate the upcoming 2006 Take Action! Tour we're giving three winners a selection of albums by bands featured on the tour. The prize package will include recent albums from headliners Matchbook Romance and Silverstein as well as material from the Early November, Chiodos, Amber Pacific, Paramore, Man Alive, I Am Ghost, Hit The Lights, We Are The Fury and Roses Are Red.

Sponsored tours

Take Action Tour
Matchbook Romance, Silverstein, Chiodos, Amber Pacific, Paramore, The Early November, I Am Ghost and Hit The Lights are among the bands playing this year's Take Action Tour. The Sub City organized event provides support and resources for young people to turn to when in need through the National Hopeline Network and 1-800-SUICIDE(784-2433).

Site news
Just an update to our review posting schedules. We've finally after many months cleared out a huge backlog of review submissions and things look to be back on track. With that, the Sunday review update will be put on hold for a while, so check out the updates every Tuesday and Friday for a nice selection of reviews of both new releases and classic material.