CATTLESONG

Sure, I will partake in the thousands of other music lovers and create a "Best of 2013" year end list. Hell, some already began (Stereogum's 50 best albums of 2013). I created a list of favorite songs from 2012, burned a compact disc as they are called, and passed them out to a couple friends. We will take a look at the 2012 list in a bit. It will be a magic trick to get my 'Best of 2013' list completed before the end of the year, and then as my luck goes, there will be some gem released after I finish my compilation, throwing me into a fit of rage where electronics in close proximity are in immediate danger (just ask my Maxtor 2Tb external hard drive).

As for lists though, I was recently asked to create a list for a friend. One hell of a list actually. He asked me to create a CD of 13 songs that I think his newborn should know. The CD will be saved and given to his son on his 13th birthday, with a note explaining why I picked what I picked. This, ladies and gentlemen, will be the biggest project I will take part in when it comes to Lists. I can say for sure that I know of one band that will make the cut; Touché Amoré with their song "Non Fiction" from their latest LP Is Survived By.

I get goosebumps.

I’m not talking about some news of Paul Walker, the recently deceased Fast & Furious stud, being a member of some cloaked, skeezy, drug-laden cult (damn that sounds fun). Instead, I’m talking about the mid-2013 LP release from Drug Church, respectively of the same name.

Drug Church is fronted by Patrick Kindlon of Self Defense Family, and backed by a few other punk rockers from Albany, New York. Drug Church is just about everything I would like to hear in an abrasive, straight-forward, alternative hardcore band. The music by itself is catchy enough to keep you entertained, and then you toss in Patrick’s grizzled voice spewing bitter honesty at you.

“…I’ll be the first to admit there’s not a Lot of options when you’re dumber than shit.” -"Riding The Bus To Schenectady"

Damn it’s amazing.

This will be a post from my mobile device in regards to a tradition I began a few years ago.

The tradition is simple, play a round of disc golf on Thanksgiving morning, regardless of the weather conditions.

This will be what I believe is my fourth year partaking in this tradition.

Pictures will follow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

It’s that time of year again when all of your favorite or not-so-favorite recording artists start putting out Christmas albums. Mary J. Blige, Susan Boyle, Kelly Clarkson, and Bad Religion, as well as (shoot me in the face) the Duck Dynasty crew, all have a special Christmas record release. Tossed into the mix this year, there is a special compilation release titled Punk Goes Christmas.

Punk Goes Christmas was released on November 5th and can be found at many major retailers including: Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Hot Topic, because Hot Topic the kind of place you would find the kids who enjoy the fashionably “punk” bands featured on the compilation. The Punk Goes Christmas website is well crafted and includes a full-stream of each of the songs. Spoiler Alert: you get to “unwrap” the songs. No surprises for you.

Now, if you have been following my blog at all, this does not seem to be the type of thing I would enjoy, and in fact, I really don’t. However, it’s the closest thing to my preferred genre(s) of music involving Christmas music. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy some of the songs on the release, but it is far from what I would consider “Punk” and yada yada yada, we just won’t get into that.

I think I will be sticking with Elvis Presley and Sufjan Stevens for awhile.

I am not sure when this became a thing, but Record Store Day (annually on 4/20, go figure) has been given a second day for ridiculously awesome savings on the things that make our hearts thump. This year, the second annual Record Store Day will be on Black Friday, otherwise known as the most threatening day outside of your home as an early-bird-gets-the-worm shopper.

Conveniently enough, the folks at Modern-Vinyl have compiled a wonderful list of coupon codes for various on-line retailers that are participating in Record Store Day. Honestly, there is something for everyone, but I will be focusing on a few of my favorites, in no particular order:

Polyvinyl Records – Markdowns up to as much as 70% off. WTF?!

All In Merch – 10% off -  Enter promo code “ALLBLACK13″

6131 Records – 20% off - Enter promo code “Black13″

Count Your Lucky Stars – 15% off orders over $25 - Enter promo code “BLACKFRIDAY”

Relapse Records – 20% off

Deathwish Inc. – 21% off - Enter promo code “BLACKFRIDAY2013″

Run For Cover Records – 20% off

Bridge Nine Records – 20% off - Enter promo code “BlackFriday13″

Tiny Engines - 5 limited holiday 7″ bundles and 5 LP holiday bundles

Topshelf Records – (discounts yet to be posted; available tomorrow to newsletter subscribers. Sign up!)

Well I am super excited for No Love Deep Web, which was finally physically released yesterday. If I recall correctly, Death Grips leaked No Love Deep Web themselves back in 2012, and were consequently dropped by their label at that time (Epic). Because of this incident, the physical album release was postponed.

Fast forward to yesterday, No Love Deep Web hits record stores. Astonishingly enough, it is available at my local record store, Spektrum Music.

I am not confident about describing Death Grips to you, so go ahead and do yourself a favor and watch their music video for “guillotine” and even stream No Love Deep Web on Youtube.

If you like fuzzy, distorted noise, fast-as-f drums that drop in and out of heavy beats with a tight snare, and hip-hop, you just may enjoy Death Grips.

Just got notice that these guys will be in Wichita November 24th. That's a Sunday ladies and gentlemen, the lord will forgive you. Spirit Animal are here all the way from New York, so you should come out and show some support.

In March of 2013, Tigers Jaw announced the departure of a few of their members. After this announcement, there were a lot of broken hearts for fear that the band would break up indefinitely, and I am certainly guilty of this assumption. During the summer of 2013, I caught Tigers Jaw playing what I thought was one of their last shows ever. Never have I seen so many kids doing stage dives.

Brianna Collins of Tigers Jaw spoke with Alternative Press about the issue and cleared up the confusion. Now for a breath of relief, Tigers Jaw are not breaking up, nor did they ever.

I suppose you want to begin by re-emphasizing that Tigers Jaw are not broken up. Yeah. We were definitely not broken up. [Laughs.]

Which brings me to my next point, today marks the official release of their new 7″, Hum. It has been up for pre-order for awhile, but since today is the official release, you should just buy it.

I found out early this morning that Fit For An Autopsy will be playing at Wichita's Museum Of Heart on November 17th, 2013. They will be joined Lawrence, Kansas natives, The Cast Pattern, as well as a few others. The show is $10 in advance or $12 at the door (which is decent considering how the metal scene here likes to jack prices through the roof for whatever reason).

I have that day off, and there’s no better way to fill that void than by headbanging relentlessly.

Fit For An Autopsy falls in a narrow category of music that just delights me. They are one of the few deathcore bands that I can stomach anymore, and it probably has something to do with their disgusting lyrics about despair and cynicism. Yeah, that’s probably what keeps it together for me.

“Cowards we walk in shame Bound to possessions like a noose on our throats We deserve to choke And maybe I’m a cynic But its just too clear And maybe I’m a monster But I refuse to live in fear of a world that hates me I wish it would all just disappear”

-”Do You See Him” from Hellbound