Sunday Edition: December 24th, 2006

It's Sunday December 24th, 2006. As I write this I can see the clock ticking ever closer to the start of what looks to be several days of non-stop eating. The Punknews staff will use this added nourishment as fuel for a fury of listmaking. Year end lists are so taxing an exercise that to attempt them with an empty stomach would be both foolish and dangerous. We gormandize for you, gentle readers.

The people must have something good to read on a Sunday

Fans of Operation Ivy had something to talk about this week, as frontman Jesse Michaels took the stage to perform "Unity" with two of his former bandmates (who now play in Rancid, but you knew that). Those dirty thieves in Green Day keep stealing, first it was that poor brave hero from the Oregon grocery store, and now Oasis. Less Than Jake drummer / lyricist Vinnie has parted ways with Fueled By Ramen, the successful indie label he helped found. One of FBR's biggest hits? That would be Fall Out Boy and this week they debuted the video for "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race." Lifetime, who are signed to a label run by Pete from FOB and are affiliated with FBR, pushed forward their hotly anticipated reunion LP and posted the artwork. On the touring front it looks like My Chemical Romance and Rise Against will be sharing the stage. We had a studio update from popular Canadian act Sum 41 as well. Speaking of Canadians, Bad Religion's Jay Bentley spoke on a number of topics this week, including the Dixie Chicks, band's in makeup and free speech. Oh, about that free speech thing... 45% of the kids really don't see what the big deal is.

We took some time out from the busy holiday season for a chat with San Jose punks the Forgotten (interview). Remember to check out the free holiday gift from Punknews Records, as the entire width and bredth of the label's catalogue is now online to stream (of those archives, may I suggest Somerset and Ryan's Hope?).

Click Read More to see this week's streaming music, contests and other highlights.

Radio Free Punknews

Check the Punknews Music page to stream all sorts of anticipated new music including Cry Tuff Council, a new dub outfit featuring former Bosstones axeman Nate Albert, the new Fake Problems collection Spokes and Spurs / Bulls > Matador,
Down To Nothing's All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, the new album from Deltona, FL's No Harm Done, Planes Mistaken For Stars' Mercy, Avail frontman Tim Barry's solo debut Rivanna Junction, and Anthem Red's Dancing on the Dishwasher.

Suntans are for Winners

Win an iPod shuffle, skate deck from Octone Records

It's always time for more prizes here at Punknews.org, and so when Octone offered us an iPod Shuffle and a new skate deck (as well as some other nice stuff) to give away, we were quick to take them up on the offer. The contest is to celebrate the release of two albums from two bands on the label. The first comes from Dropping Daylight who released Brace Yourself and Flyleaf who unveiled their self-titled full length this year.

'The Ultimate Band Rig' from MxPx

MxPx is testing the limits of discography categorization this year with both a compilation and a reissue of an eight-year-old compilation. Fanscape wants to help celebrate the latter's release by giving one extremely lucky fan a mind-blowing band rig that includes ::deep breath:: an Ernie Ball guitar, an Ernie Ball bass, a Truth Drums snare drum, Samson Wireless Technology full personal setup, a…oh forget it, you can check out the entire prize lineup by clicking to this handy contest entry form. Two runners up will even get in on the action with some band merchandise and autographed drum sticks.

Unwritten Law snowboard + 'The Hit List'

What better way to embrace the bitter temperature of a rapidly approaching winter than with a snowboard? Punknews.org and Fanscape are teaming up to give one lucky winner a custom Unwritten Law snowboard and a copy of the band's upcoming collections album, The Hit List, where the band will introduce some old favorites in re-recorded/re-arranged form. If this sounds like an offer you'd take up, click to this special Fanscape contest page to enter and check out the rules.

'The Ultimate Band Rig' from MxPx

MxPx is testing the limits of discography categorization this year with both a compilation and a reissue of an eight-year-old compilation. Fanscape wants to help celebrate the latter's release by giving one extremely lucky fan a mind-blowing band rig that includes ::deep breath:: an Ernie Ball guitar, an Ernie Ball bass, a Truth Drums snare drum, Samson Wireless Technology full personal setup, a…oh forget it, you can check out the entire prize lineup by clicking to this handy contest entry form.

Staff Blogs

When not writing about music on the internet, many members of the Punknews staff find time to write about music on the internet. You can check out the depraved musings of Justin August at Kinder Words and Adam White at 2:59. Chris Moran's all over the place with content rocking both MySpace and Flickr.

Life at Disconnect

We've theorized that you visit other websites out there, and we know it can be tough to leave the calming blue glow of the `Org, so we'll help by infecting the rest of the web with Punknews content. Waste some time on the Punknews.org and Punknews Records MySpace pages or contribute your listening habits to the weekly charts Last.fm group.

Come Join Us

Why register on Punknews.org? Registered users can rate bands and reviews, building recommendations and links between artists for the whole community to share and discover. Users get their own profile page showing recent comments, top rated bands and favourite records and more. So go ahead, cast off the cloak of anonymity and create your account today - it's free, easy and private.