.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 Adam White 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 strange, slow, old people in the community talking… The People Must Have Something Good To Read On A Sunday This week's most popular stories Blink-182 were in the news all week long, despite not being a band any more. Drummer Travis Barker has decided to sue the parties he feels are responsible for the recent plane crash that killed four and put him in hospital. Since the crash all three members of the pop-punk act have been talking, but are making no reunion promises just yet. That's OK though, as Good Charlotte seems ready to fill the apparent Blink void with their next full length. Thursday have reported in that they've finish mixing their Epitaph debut. The band also released an odd little "ambient collage" titled "Black Smoke" to tide fans over. Lagwagon's touring Australia but guitarist Chris Flippin was unable to enter the country. To fill his spot the group has enlisted Lindsay McDougall of Frenzal Rhomb.
2009's release schedule is starting to take shape. The Descendents' Bill Stevenson is working with NOFX on their new record. Converge is planning a new Epitaph release. Florida's Fake Problems have signed to SideOneDummy for their next. February will bring the sixth record from And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead. Against Me! continue their prolific streak with release of a live digital EP and a 7-inch single from frontman Tom Gabel. This year will end with a New Year's Eve show featuring the Lawrence Arms, the Copyrights, and the Methadones. Naked Raygun and Hot Water Music will perform together in Chicago early next year. The Dropkick Murphys have also already annoucned their St. Paddy's Day tour plans. Japan's Punk Spring 2009 fest will feature acts like Bad Religion, NOFX, Rise Against, and Misery Signals. On the television front, keep an eye out for the Gaslight Anthem appearing on Conan and the Foo Fighters on Top Chef.
This week we said goodbye to Brian Thixton of Recess Records act Les Turds (1971-2008). I Can't Control My Fingers I Can't Control My Brain New feature content, weekly columns and exclusives This week we spoke with Franz Nicolay of the Hold Steady, and World/Inferno Friendship Society (interview), Damien Abraham, Mike Haliechuk, and Josh Zucker of Toronto's Fucked Up (interview), members of The Casting Out (interview), and webcomic creator Mitch Clem (interview). So what's coming up this week? Look for new releases from Paramore, Rivers Cuomo, and The (International) Noise Conspiracy with tours kicking off from Far (UK), Suicidal Tendencies and Whole Wheat Bread with Death By Stereo, Madball or Terror on select nights (US), Fall Of Troy, The Number Twelve Looks Like You (US), and Rise Against / Thursday / Sage Francis (Canada).
Check the Punknews Music page to stream all sorts of anticipated new music including Stourbridge, UK's Science vs Romance, Grand Rapids, MI-based La Dispute. Warship's Supply and Depend, Tim Barry of Avail's new record Manchester, Scranton, PA-based Tigers Jaw, New Brunswick, NJ-based Scream Hello, Jersey Shores, the new album from Seattle's Akimbo, the new EP from Dead To Me titled Little Brother, Orlando, Florida's Virgins, featuring Sam Johnson of New Mexican Disaster Squad, Dallas, Texas-based True Widow, featuring members of Slowride and The Mag Seven, the song "Six Days a Week" from the Bronx, the new album from Israeli punk outfit Useless ID, the new charity-benefiting compilation All Aboard: A Tribute To Johnny Cash, the new solo album from Lagwagon frontman Joey Cape, Columbus, Ohio's Two Cow Garage, the new full length from Los Angeles-based Roll the Tanks, Dillinger Four's long-awaited new record C I V I L W A R, the debut full length debut from Shorebirds, featuring Matt Canino of Latterman and Jawbreaker's Chris Bauermeister, Orlando's How Dare You, featuring former members of As Friends Rust and Hand to Hand, and the sole LP from now-defunct RVA melodic hardcore act Resonance.
Win a Tenacious D/XBOX360 prize package
To coincide with the new Microsoft XBOX360 Experience, Tenacious D featuring Jack Black and Kyle Gass, will be on Xbox LIVEˆ November 20 to play Xbox LIVE members in Rock Band 2 and to celebrate the recent release of The Complete Masterworks 2 DVD. The Gamertags are "JBTenacious" and "KGTenacious." To celebrate the launch as well as their new DVD, Complete Masterworks 2, the band has put together a nice package including the DVD itself, a copy of the game, Lost Oddessy, XBOX Live points and more.
Dead To Me - "Little Brother" Dead To Me, those street-pop-punker sweethearts have just released their new EP, Little Brother via Fat Wreck Chords. To celebrate; the band is giving away some CD's and schwag to a couple a lucky Punknews readers. One grand prize winner will get a drumhead signed by the band, the CD version of the Little Brother EP, and a Dead To Me t-shirt. Two others will get the CD and a sticker. Haven't heard the EP yet? Well, head over to the band's Punknews Profile where you can hear all 5 songs.
Win stuff from Grave Maker
Earlier this year, Vancouver-based hardcore/punk outfit Gravemaker released their Think Fast debut, Bury Me At Sea. Since then, the band has been touring with Comeback Kid, Misery Signals, Bane, Outbreak, Shai Hulud and now This Is Hell. To celebrate, their label has put together three prize packages featuring the new album and some related swag for three winners.
Win "Gasp Asp" from Look Mexico on vinyl, as well as CDs and more
To celebrate the release of Look Mexico's new 7-inch, Gasp Asp, the band has put together two big prize packages to give away to two Punknews.org readers. Along with the new seven-inch, the package includes a complete Look Mexico starter kit with copies of the band's critically acclaimed full length, This Is Animal Music, as well as the band's EP collection, The Crucial Collection and more. The 7-inch is being released through Tiny Engines. You can pre-order the disc here.
Win a very rare Beware of Safety Test Press
Instrumental rock powerhouse Beware Of Safety will be releasing their debut full length Dogs through The Mylene Sheath this month. The follow-up to their critically acclaimed debut EP It Is Curtains promises to be a much more ambitious outing spreading across 10 tracks and clocking in at over 60 minutes. To celebrate the release, the label has offered up one very rare test press. Only ten copies in total were made, with the nine remaining copies going to the band and label. Along with giving away one of those unique items, we've also got a copy of the album on pilsner vinyl and a copy on CD to give away.
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 blog Kinder Words, editor Adam White's blog 2:59, and editor Jesse Raub's short fiction webzine Bitter Press.
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