311 and I

Before the summer of 97’ , I was just a typical kid and never really paid attention to any music except for whatever my mom and step-father were listening to at the time stuff like; Phill Collins, Sting, Billy Joel, and The Eagles just to name a few. That all changed one summer day when I went skateboarding with some of my buddies, we ended up going to our friend Nick’s house for a skate session and he put the cd that would change my life in his stereo and cranked it up. The cd was “311” by 311 also known as “the Blue Album” to die-hard fans, and it just blew my 13 year old mind. I knew from that moment on that music would be one of my passions. The next day I remember making my mom take me to the record store to by the cd and poor old her she never expected that after that she would have to buy my hundreds more cd’s before I got a job to waste my own money on them.

Well before I go into detail about the album let me give you a little background on the band. They formed in the late 80’s in Omaha, Nebraska then they moved out to LA to get a record deal in which they did. Their first album came out in 93 and was titled “Music” , their second album came out in 94 and was titled “Grassroots” , then they released their third album “311” in which I am going fill you in on. 311 mix a lot of different genres into their sound including; metal, punk, reggae, ska, hip-hop, and funk. I believe that because of the many sounds they incorporate into their own style is the reason that I myself am a fan of many different genres.

Now let me tell you a little about the album that changed my life and made 311 my favorite band of all-time. The album starts off with what is their most popular song “Down” a fast-paced, highly energetic song that is a great start to a great album. The second and third tracks on the album are “Random” and “Jackolantern’s Weather” these two songs are probably my favorite on the whole album. The forth track on the album “All Mixed Up” was another popular single off the album and is the first change of pace for the album with a more reggae and funk sound. Track five “Hive” is probably the heaviest track on the album and is a die-hard fan favorite. “Guns” the albums sixth track is a somewhat anti gun song and is also bound to get anyone’s head boppin’ to the beat. Track seven “Misdirected Hostility” is a bit of break from the albums mostly fast pace, with its slow but heavy guitar. “Purpose” the eighth track is another gem, a slow paced, feel good song that has a good reggae beat to it.

Track nine “Loco” is a catchy sing-a-long song that makes for a good road trip song. “Brodels” the albums tenth track that is like a clash between hard rock and hip-hop. The albums first single track eleven “Don’t Stay Home“ was not as successful as the albums other two singles but is a very upbeat catchy song. “DLMD” is the twelfth track on the album and has a very personal touch on it that came from an event in singer Nick Hexum’s life that comes through pretty clear. Probably my all time favorite song on the album is track thirteen’s “Sweet” and is a good example of all the sounds they incorporate into their style, oh and it has a killer guitar solo in it. “T & P Combo” is the albums last track and is a very fast paced closer for a great album.

by Tweed

DANIEL'S MUSIC MONDAY 1/11/10

Not a whole lot to report from the past week in music. Susan Boyle and Ke$ha are still at the top of the charts, so I feel like this year/decade isn't off to a real good start.

I just went on my last.fm page (tasteofink24) and took my top artists.

1. Flogging Molly (finally downloaded the rest of their discography)

2. NOFX (Cokie the Clown fuckin rules)













3. Bob Dylan

4. Incubus (downloaded Moments and Melodies)

5. Dance Gavin Dance

6. U2 (downloaded Joshua Tree and their greatest hits)

7. The Tossers (coming to Champaign in March!!!)

8. Jay-Z

9. Ben Folds

10. Thursday

Failure in Five Songs

Failure was a highly underrated band that was around in the 90's and they still are underrated and not well known. The band started in 1990 and was done by 1997 and in that short span they released three great albums. The first album was Comfort (1992), the second was Magnified (1994), and their third and best album (in my opinion) was Fantastic Planet (1996). So now I give you five songs to get to know the band to.

1."Submission" off the album Comfort when the band had a more grunge sound to them.
2. "Undone" off the album Magnified shows the band growing out from the grunge sound into the more "spacey" alt-rock sound they are known for.
3. "Saturday Savior" from the album Fantastic Planet is the bands best work with a perfect combination of grunge, alt-rock and their signature "spacey" sound.
4. "Sergeant Politeness" also from Fantastic Planet.
5. "Stuck on You" also from Fantastic Planet which has been covered by pop-punk band Paramore.

Well there you are Failure in five songs hope you like, and stay with us for more getting to know bands in five songs. by Tweed

Daniel's Music Monday 01/04/2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!

I've been watching a lot of movies lately (it's freezing outside! what else am I going to do???...plus baseball isn't in season)

So I thought this MM I'd just present you with a couple of soundtracks I downloaded after seeing the movie.
















Favorite Tracks: The Bioluminescence Of The Night, "You Don't Dream In Cryo. ....", and War


















Favorite Tracks: Here Comes Your Man - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Us - Regina Spektor, and You Make My Dreams - Hall & Oates















Favorite Tracks: Going Up the Country - Canned Heat, I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die Rag - Country Joe McDonald, Elliott's Place - Danny Elfman

















Favorite Tracks: Stu's Song - Ed Helms, Ride the Sky II - Revolution Mother, Three Best Friends - Zach Galifianakis

TWEED'S Top 50 Songs of the Decade (2000-2009)

This was a decade of up’s and down’s in the world: politically, socially, and economically, but we have all already heard that before so let’s just focus on the music. The decade did bring some great music and it also brought us some pretty shitty music. In this decade I really started to broaden my musical horizons, although I first started to get into music in the mid to late 90’s in my early teenage years. Now, some of these songs may not be my favorites anymore and some of them still are, but the thing that all these songs have in common is that they all had an impact on me both personally and musically. Well now I give you my 50 favorite/most important songs of the decade to me.

1. “Amber” by 311 (From Chaos) (2001)

2. “Pachuca Sunrise” by Minus the Bear (Menos el Oso) (2005)

3. “Symmetry” by Falling Up (Crashings) (2004)

4. “Cosmopolitan Blood Loss” by GlassJaw (Worship and Tribute) (2002)

5. “Hear You Me” by Jimmy Eat World (Bleed American) (2001)

6. “Glass in the Trees” by Dead Poetic (New Medicines) (2004)

7. “What it is to Burn” by Finch (What it is to Burn) (2002)

8. “I'm Shipping Up To Boston” by Dropkick Murphys (The Warrior's Code) (2005)

9. “I Will Be Heard” by Hatebreed (Perseverance) (2002)

10. “Poetic Tragedy” by The Used (The Used) (2002)

11. “Cross out the Eyes” by Thursday (Full Collapse) (2001)

12. “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead (Kid A) (2000)

13. “Hooray” by Minus the Bear (Menos el Oso) (2005)

14. “District” by Sick of it All (Yours Truly) (2000)

15. “Archetype” by Fear Factory (Archetype) (2004)

16. “Face: Face” by Norma Jean (Bless The Martyr and Kiss The Child) (2002)

17. “Truly, Truly, This is the End” by Zao (The Funeral of God) (2004)

18. “The Psychotic Thought” by Eighteen Visions (Best Of) (2001)

19. “By All Accounts (Today Was A Disaster)” by Emery (The Weak's End) (2004)

20. “China White(End Scene)” by He Is Legend (I Am Hollywood) (2004)

21. “Dosed” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (By the Way) (2002)

22. “Knives Out” by Radiohead (Amnesiac) (2001)

23. “Control” by Mute Math (Mute Math) (2006)

24. “Lost At Sea” by Alove For Enemies (Broken Pledge [EP]) (2003)

25. “Painting The White To Grey” by Chimaira (Pass Out of Existence) (2001)

26. “Hung My Head” by Johnny Cash (American IV The Man Comes Around) (2002)

27. “Kicking Your Crosses Down” by Circa Survive (On Letting Go) (2007)

28. “Falling in Love” by Falling Up (Crashings) (2004)

29. “Youth of the Nation” by P.O.D. (Satellite) (2001)

30. “This Ain’t a Surfin’ Movie” by Minus the Bear (Menos el Oso) (2005)

31. “Vices” by Dead Poetic (Vices) (2006)

32. “One Eight Seven” by Senses Fail (From the Depths of Dreams) (2002)

33. “My Last Serenade” by Killswitch Engage (Alive or Just Breathing) (2002)

34. “Mein” by Deftones (Saturday Night Wrist) (2006)

35. “Second Sight” by Placebo (Sleeping With Ghosts) (2003)

36. “I Miss You” by Blink-182 (Blink-182) (2003)

37. “Passive Aggressive” by Placebo (Black Market Music) (2000)

38. “Here we are(Family in the Hallways)” by The Appleseed Cast (Peregrine) (2006)

39. “One Step Away” by Unearth (The Stings of Conscience) (2001)

40. “Losing Touching Searching” by The Appleseed Cast (Two Conversations) (2003)

41. “She Loves Me So” by Anthony Green (Avalon) (2008)

42. “We've Had Enough” by Alkaline Trio (Good Mourning) (2003)

43. “Evil” by Interpol (Antics) (2004)

44. “Seabeast” by Mastodon (Leviathan) (2004)

45. “Ocean Breathes Salty” by Modest Mouse (Good News For People Who Love Bad News) (2004)

46. “Turn Down Elliot” by Poison The Well (Tear From The Red) (2002)

47. “Destroy the Map” By 36 Crazyfists (A Snow Capped Romance) (2004)

48. “Infected” by Demon Hunter (Demon Hunter) (2002)

49. “Colder Than My Heart, If You Can Imagine” by A Day To Remember (For Those Who Have Heart) (2007)

50. “And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman” by Dance Gavin Dance (Downtown Battle Mountain) (2007)

Well I hope you all enjoyed my list and I’m sure I left out a lot great songs and it was pretty hard narrowing it down to 50 songs but I tried my hardest to pick the right ones. Keep an eye out for some new posts by me about some of the other great songs of the decade that didn’t make my list that deserve some credit.

Tweed