i hate the sound of guitars

1. The Capstan Shafts
   Canceled the show at T.T. the Bear’s Place, bah. I love them anyways. And fortunately headliners Hallelujah the Hills were worth staying up for.
2. Bad Brains
3. I Was Totally Destroying It
4. 45 Grave
4. Laura Veirs
6. The Lucksmiths
7. Sleepyhead
8. The Alarm
   Declaration still quickens my pulse. Bye-bye, hipster cred.
8. Andrew and Esther are Music
   (This is the soundtrack that the songstowearpantsto.com and his bride made for their wedding)
8. Chelsea
8. Cheap and Nasty
   Cheap and Nasty was perhaps the most surprising of the Hanoi Rocks side projects. Guitarist Nasty Suicide (real name: Jan Stenfors) wasn’t credited as a major writing voice on the Hanoi Rocks albums, and his band doesn’t much like Hanoi Rocks. It’s more-or-less a hard rock album, but it’s strong flair for melody gives it a distinctly pop vibe. Suicide’s vocals are appealingly gruff. The title track, “Beautiful Disaster” is quite pretty, and overall it feels like one of those albums that should’ve been a hit in some alternate universe.
8. The Cherry Bombz
   This was songwriter/guitarist Andy McCoy’s first band after the original breakup of Hanoi Rocks. Uninspired writing + underwhelming singer = has not held up very well. You would not believe the trouble I went through back then ordering Japanese import EPs and such, and I think I must have deluded myself into thinking it was worth it.
8. Chicks on Speed
8. Cranes
8. Hangman’s Alphabet
   Well-recorded debut ep from this newish (but pedigreed) Boston-area math rock outfit. A couple of the tunes make me think that someone in the band might’ve like Rush in addition to hipster-approved stuff, but not in a bad way.
8. Hanoi Rocks
   I listened to some of the post-reunion Hanoi Rocks discs. A mixed bag, mostly not bad, but I think when I’m in a Hanoi Rocks mood I’d much rather put on Back to Mystery City or Two Steps from the Move.
8. Little Champions
   I have to admit that Fire Let Me In, Lava Let Me Out isn’t quite as good as I wanted it to be … some of the tunes in the back half drag a little bit. But I still like it lots and hope it’s not seven years till the next one. And mostly I hope there’s a next one.
8. Marnie Stern
8. Naughty Zombies
8. Nerf Herder
8. Plastic Slap
   I stumbled on this band through some obscure last.fm path. They describe themselves as power-pop, and their sole disc was recorded in the 90’s, but they sound to me like a long-lost new wave-era band that might’ve opened for Translator or Wire Train. The song “Inside Out” totally knocks me out, and most of the rest of it is pretty good. I would love to find this on CD.
8. The Postmarks

71 artists, 451 tracks.