An Unabashed Blink Fan Thanks God For Restoring The Universe To All That Is Holy Again

After a nearly five-year hiatus, Blink 182 is getting back together, and just like that, I'm eleven years old again. Shut up, I'm stoked. You can't take that away from me, you elitist snobs. I'm looking for my Dickies shorts. WHERE ARE MY DICKIES SHORTS?? In the grand scheme of things, no band has shaped who I am as a person more. My tastes may have evolved over the years into liking bands with unpronounceable names and slightly more mature subject material, but seriously, I'm beyond ecstatic. These guys will always mean the world to me. I got chills seeing Mark, Tom and Travis on stage together again, friendships seemingly mended and ready to bring dick and fart jokes back to the world once more. Anything is possible. Make fun of me all you want, but since last night, I can't stop smiling. Everything is right again. Blink is back! Pop punk is back! Let's make this last forever!

Oh yeah, right. We're an indie blog. Back to news about the latest Deer band. 

New Two Tongues: "Wowee Zowee"

Counting the undisputedly awesome cover artwork above, there are a handful of reasons to be excited about the self-titled Two Tongues album that hits stores Feburary 3 via Vagrant. Chief among them being that the project is a dream collaboration between two of pop-punk's most visible figureheads, Chris Conley of Saves The Day and Max Bemis of Say Anything. The group posted a track from the album, "Wowee Zowee", this morning on MySpace, and it certainly delivers on the unique pairing's promise. While the song unfortunately doesn't take heed to its title and have anything to do with Pavement, it still slays. The bass line that drives the song is vintage Through Being Cool-era Saves The Day, and the shout-and-response chorus between the vocalists is killer. These two tongues have us salivating... ha!

Red Hot Radio: That's What We Said

REVIEW by ANDREW DANIELS

Uh oh: Questionable band name. Seemingly lame album title. Amateur artwork.

Upon opening the package containing That’s What We Said, the debut album from Las Vegas’ Red Hot Radio, these were the three glaring signs that jumped out, each a red flag strongly warning me not to enter any further. As a critic, though, I’ve taken an oath to remain as objective and open-minded as possible when regarding any music, obstacles be damned. If there’s any lesson to be learned here, it’s the old clichéd “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” (Or in this case, the whole package.) For I’d be willing to say that, with blinders off and the music as the sole criterion in judging this album, That’s What We Said may just be the biggest and best surprise of the year.


Fans of earnest, Midwestern pop-punk who may still be mourning the demise of Hot Rod Circuit should re-direct their attention to Red Hot Radio. Lead singer Kevin O’Connell’s voice can easily be compared to that of Andy Jackson, as the two share the same gritty phrasing that defined HRC’s sound. O’Connell’s lyrics draw from everyday life experiences, like trying to meet lofty expectations and ultimately prevent disappointment, and that blue-collar yearning is what makes the songs so charming. The songs are never simple – there are impressive style changes and guitar flourishes – but because of O’Connell’s delivery, where he means every word he sings, they’re never complex. That same appeal is what carried bands like HRC so far in the first half of this decade, and with any luck, the same could happen to Red Hot Radio.

That’s What We Said (which, as a title, admittedly is more endearing if it’s not a play on the popular double entendre retort) is brisk in length and seamless in flow. Clocking in at just 30 minutes, the ten songs that make up the album effortlessly transition into each other. The leadoff track, “I’m Not, I’m Just” is a mere 40 seconds long, finding O’Connell muse on the predictability of relationships in five lines. It serves as a quick introduction to “Have A Breakdown,” which contains the album’s strongest chorus. The melody is exciting without veering on quirky, and shares similarities with “The Pharmacist”, from HRC’s Sorry About Tomorrow. “Sell Everything I Know,” “Flaws To Flaunt”, and “Five Or Six” are all similar exercises in upbeat, genuine pop-punk.

But where Red Hot Radio really excel are on the album’s ballads, particularly on centerpiece “Of Body And Space” and closer “A Pawn To Play The Game of Deceit.” The interplay between clean guitars and O’Connell’s reverb-heavy vocals provide a raw, delicate balance reminiscent of emo in the 90’s: think American Football and Braid. Would you have ever expected such weighty comparisons from a band called Red Hot Radio?

So by all accounts, consider me dumbfounded that these guys had it in them. Usually bands with names so bad aren’t supposed to be so good. For every ten “Cute Is What We Aim For”s, there may be one “Someone Still Loves You, Boris Yeltsin.” But let’s strike band names altogether from the conversation; in this business, they should ultimately be irrelevant when the music can speak for itself. Give Red Hot Radio the benefit of the doubt.

That's What We Said is available online today. Hear songs from the album, including "Sell Everything I Know" and "A Pawn To Play The Game Of Deceit" at the band's MySpace.