The Birmingham Straight Edge

Last night, I got to thinking about music that was released at the tail end of my high school years through my first year of college, and what of that I still listen to on a regular basis. Not the "high school soundtrack" per se, but specifically during the shift between high school freewheeling to adjusting to college life. This is what I came up with after a few minutes of pondering. It's interesting to think about how music was consumed then vs. now, nearing 20 years later for some of these. For instance, My Early Burglary Years was released in '98, around the time I was deeply getting into The Smiths, but I don't think I even saw it in a music store in Tuscaloosa until '00 or '01. Will I remember the stuff coming out now that's I can stream the second it's released the same way as the stuff I sought out? Kid A's release being a legitimate EVENT. Putting it on after working overnights at the grocery store with over ear headphones on when I should have been catching that extra hour of sleep instead. Avail / MPB / Stretch / Bane are what I think about when I look back on first going to shows in Birmingham and all that went along with doing so. Bloodflowers and Vespertine; also headphone absorbers and emotional reflectors. GOLD will always be the sound in my head of walking around UA campus during my first semester as a student. This is by no means everything that I listened to then, but the music of one of those transitional periods of life that actually stuck around, much like all of the alternative and punk I discovered a few years prior. If I had a couple of extra panels, OutKast - Stankonia and Hot Water Music - No Division would be in them. #nerdshit #nostalgia

Unfortunately had to get back to the real world this morning. 365 days until Mania Weekend 2018. #wrestlemaniaroaddoggs

A mainstay in my playlist since 1993. Never got tired of it, never sold or traded in the first copy I owned, almost always in my car, even saved on my work computer now.

Sunday score. EX First Press. DON'T WANNA BE A SUCKER LIKE ALL THE REST.

Trying out another slideshow post with some recent mail from @revelationrecords / @deathwound / @drugdogs

If you're in the Southeast and like probwrestling, follow @sup_graps and hit up their first show in Nashville on 4/23. Always stoked to see good friends doing badass, DIY stuff!

Allison Crutchfield and The Fizz at Syndicate - they'll be playing an in store at Seasick tomorrow at 2pm if you missed this! Vagabon was great as well (at The Syndicate Lounge)

August / Sept 1988 standard playlist for WVUA in Tuscaloosa, as printed in ROCKPOOL Magazine, 9/15/88 issue. From my collection. This is the station I grew up listening to (though I wasn't aware of it in '88). My middle school and high school years of musical discovery owe a lot to all of the students who worked here. I even did an interview on air when the That Was Then 7" was released, thanks to @ericxgm. Tons of memories of trying to hang around the station well before I was in school there too. College radio was not what it used to be by the time I graduated.

7/8/04. Improptu Carry On covers happened with IA because Donnybrook was running late. #ripcave9 #fbf #tbt #birminghamhardcore

Check out Issue 0 of @newmoralityzine - a special release consisting only of writing on the current sociopolitical climate. Pairs nicely with the LOSE LOSE demo tape (ex-Tragedy).

Craig Finn of The Hold Steady in store at Seasick (at Seasick Records)

Seems like just a few weeks ago Lemuria and The Ergs were playing Birmingham all the time. Pretty crazy that Get Better has been out for a decade, and the first Lemuria show I did was before that was even out. Really glad I got to catch this. (Cayetana were really good too, just didn't get any good shots). #getbetter10year #birmingham #ripcave9 (at The Syndicate Lounge)

"Always wanna feel like part of this was mine" (at Iron City Bham)

Who am I gonna see Friday night in ATL for this one? How relevant is Two Sided Politics right now?