.ng-section1 { font-size: small; border-bottom: 1px solid #C5C5C5; width: 70%; font-weight: bold; padding: 1em 0 0em 2em; } .ng-section2 { font-size: xx-small; padding: 0 0 2em 3em; } Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I'm Justin and I'll be your guide through some of the most popular, notable, and otherwise attention getting stories of the past seven days. Each and every Punknews story is built from tips contributed by you fine folks, and here's what got the community talking… The People Must Have Something Good To Read On A Sunday This week's most popular stories Controversy seemed to be a topical theme this year, with Be Your Own Pet talking about song censorship and being forced to play Warped Tour. Reminder for new bands: always check the fine print. The always even-keeled Angels and Airwaves talked about the recent My Chemical Romance suicide controversy. Additional headlines were made by the former singer of Escape The Fate running from the law.
This week saw new tracks from a few old favorites. The list included Rancid ("L.A. River" live), Less Than Jake ("Abandon Ship") and Alkaline Trio ("Help Me") stepped up to the plate. This week saw full album streams from veterans The Offspring (Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace) and critical darlings The Hold Steady (Stay Positive).
New releases? We got two: a 2009 release from the Ataris and a 7" from San Francisco's Cobra Skulls. Regulars to the site were stoked when they heard about a Dillinger Four tour with NOFX on the East Coast and the long awaited Hot Water Music San Francisco show with Dead To Me and Strike Anywhere. Europeans are going to be flooding the stores looking for basketball jerseys and camo shorts because Madball is coming. New school hardcore kids are also stoked across the pond since Have Heart, Verse and Shipwreck AD are headed there as well.
We also said goodbye to two bands this week. Relatively new hardcore act Ambitions said goodbye while From Autumn To Ashes also said adios.
To top off the week, we had CNN reported on the growth of Vinyl and the falling sales of CDs. Virgil is stoked. I Can't Control My Fingers I Can't Control My Brain New feature content, weekly columns and exclusives This week we spoke with Fear Before The March of Flames. Our Video of the Week featured extinct Fat Wreck outfit Western Addiction. This week's Editors' Picks featured Carpenter and Eli "Paperboy" Reed. So what's coming up this week? Look for releases from Terror, Throw Rag, Mouthbreather and that hits collection from Sonic Youth with tours kicking off from Rancid (North America), Rival Schools (UK), and a Canadian tour featuring Strike Anywhere, the Flatliners and Hostage Life.
Check the Punknews Music page to stream all sorts of anticipated new music including eclectic Ohio-based act nsdwhoa, Vicenza, Italy's Sun Eats Hours, Richmond, VA's Mouthbreather, the debut full length from pop punk act Lipona, Kevin Seconds' new solo album Rise Up, Insomniacs!, two new full lengths from former Groovie Ghoulies frontman Kepi Ghoulie, Manchester ska act Sonic Boom Six, Amarillo, TX-based surf/punk outfit The Mag Seven, the long-awaited new album from The A.K.A.s on industrial powerhouse Metropolis Records, and the new full length from In The Red.
Win stuff from Killing The Dream
In a few days, Killing the Dream will be releasing their second Deathwish, Inc full length. The record is titled Fractures and is due out June 10, 2008. It is the follow-up to In Place, Apart which was released in 2005. To celebrate, the label has given us some CDs and vinyl to give away as well as some of Deathwish's famous posters.
The Black Lungs (Alexisonfire)
Today we've got a contest from The Black Lungs, the side project from Alexisonfire guitarist, Wade MacNeil. Along with Wade, the band includes Jordan "Ratbeard" Hastings of Alexisonfire & Jersey on drums, and Sean McNabb, formerly of the band Jersey and now in The Creepshow, on guitar. The contest is to celebrate the band's debut album. The record is titled Send Flowers and is due out May 20, 2008. The prize package includes a copy of the album and a poster. The band will be hitting the road throughout Canada beginning May 21st and feature City and Colour and Sleepercar.
Win a Bomb the Music Industry! test pressing
To Celebrate the long awaited release of the original Bomb the Music Industry! album, Album Minus Band on vinyl Asbestos Records and Punknews are hosting the "Congratulations John on Helping Me win a BTMI! Test Pressing Contest!" The Rules are simple, attend one of the dates on the Asian Man Tour, and take a picture with yourself and John in it. Creativity counts, and the funnier or more awkward the photo is, the better. The only catch is, you can't let him know why you're taking the picture, as he has no idea about this contest existing. Best picture wins a test pressing of the Album Minus Band LP. Two runners up will get a prize pack from Asian Man including the newest CD release of all five bands on the tour. You can email your photos to Flood@asbestosrecords.com.
Win tickets to S.C.E.N.E.
The thirteenth annual S.C.E.N.E. Music Festival is set to take place in downtown St. Catharines Ontario on Sunday June 29 and Punknews.org wants to give five readers a pair of free tickets to the festivities. With 150 bands playing a series of all-ages shows through the city's downtown, it'll be hard to chose where to spend your time. However, you'll be able to catch sets from Silverstein, illScarlett, Cancer Bats, Teenage Head, Black Lungs, Hostage Life, Dead and Divine and more. For more information on S.C.E.N.E. and to order tickets, click here.
Your trusty Punknews staffers and reviewers have all sorts of projects on the go, everything from poorly spelled and oft neglected blogs to big official world domination schemes. Make sure to check out editor and videographer Chris Moran collection of recordings online at Vimeo, editor Justin August's actually updated blog Kinder Words, editor Adam White's blog 2:59, and editor Jesse Raub's webzine Bitter Press.
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