with the removal of BMTH from my likely january 2024 releases schedule, I don’t have any nailed on certs in my release calendar before jan-19th (neck deep, green day, goldenboy, and free sergio), with #AlkalineTrio, of course, just a week later
yes, technically, the lovelies in taken days say that any minute is due for release, well, any minute … in fact they’ve said jan-5th … but I’m not sure I want to get my or your hopes up, based on previous missed dates … even their own website just says january 2024
did paramore break up? … I don’t have a clue … anything else I can help you with?
RIP Tom Wilkinson
GRANDPA’S 2023 RETROSPECTIVE (all totals are number of days) select distinct SONG from TWITA DATA RAW tells me (and I, in turn, tell you) that there was a total of 80 distinct songs on my playlist during 2023 (including 25 left over from 2022) … meaning 55 were actually added during 2023
same sort of SQL lets all of us know that there were 52 distinct bands on my playlist during 2023 (including 12 left over from 2022)
the individual band that spent the most days on my playlist during 2023 was craig’s brother, with a total of 697 days during 2023, across 5 songs (the only band with 5 songs on the list … sic waiting had 4 songs … frank grimes and the disasters had 3 songs)
and the individual song that spent most days on my playlist during 2023 was pinky swear by the used, may-23rd to dec-22nd (213 days)
the band that got shafted the most by the way I do my calendar-year-based stats (ie those who most straddled 2022/3) was frank grimes and the disasters (who would be second in the table based on 2022/3 aggregate) … similarly, l s dunes would have been fourth on aggregate)
the song that got shafted the most because of the 2022/3 straddling was frank grimes and the disasters’ polonium wipeout (345 days aggregate but only 19 days in 2023)
let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to know (excluding the usual, like why are you such a colossal twat, grandpa, or what the fuck is your problem, grandpa)
bottom line: even though you don’t think math is the correct way for me to gauge my favorites, it turns out these [mostly] mathematical rankings smell about right to me
GRANDPA’S TOP TEN SONGS OF CALENDAR 2023
GRANDPA’S TOP TEN (OR SO) OTHER SONGS THAT GOT SHAFTED THE MOST BY COUNTING ONLY 2023 DAYS IN HIS STATS
GRANDPA’S TOP TEN ARTISTS OF CALENDAR 2023 … NOTE THAT IF YOU COUNT ONLY 2023 DAYS, THIS DOUBLES AS MY TOP TEN ALBUMS
GRANDPA’S SOMEWHAT-MATHEMATICAL-BUT-HEAVILY-EDITORIALIZED VERSION OF MY TOP TEN (OR SO) ALBUMS OF 2023 (EVEN IF THEY CAME OUT IN 2022 … DEAL WITH IT)
2023 STUFF GRANDPA IS MOST EXCITED ABOUT THAT DOESN’T FEATURE IN ANY OF THE ABOVE STATS … GO AHEAD … TAKE A WILD GUESS
Grandpa’s [mostly] melodic punk [with some alt, pop punk, straight-up punk, and post-h thrown in] weekly [ish] music review
RANDOM NEWS AND/OR INSIGHTS INTO GRANDPA’S SHIT
I was appalled last week that a monster like giuliani could afford to pay appx $150m to the people he defamed … well, it turns out he can’t afford it … filing for bankruptcy … I hope those he defamed still get what they’re owed
btw, did giuliani say anything about those individuals that trump didn’t also say? … where’s the defamation suit against trump?
it has been quite a while, imho, since paramore hit the top of their game, but I’m still a paramore watcher … I’m not going to speculate about their future now that they’ve reached the end of their contract, but I still hope they keep doing their thing
I already wished you a merry christmas, so I refuse to do it again … someone else may be interested in doing so, but it won’t be me
belgium in august, anyone? … grandpa could combine it with a family visit, maybe? … anyway, seems like #AlkalineTrio may be spending the entire summer 2024 in Europe
oh … yeah … matt sees aliens
and so do I
SHIT YOU SHOULD BE LISTENING TO (band, song, etc … my main playlist)
spoilers; skip to the end; super cool pop/melodic punk
smoking popes; madison; oh, of course it’s melodic punk … oh, of course, it’s also fucking amazing
spoilers; none taken; another very cool pop/melodic punker
taken days; least of all you; totally terrific new melodic punk
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; couldn’t be more excited … awesome melodic punk
splitcast; west broad; wonderful skate/melodic punk
tearjerker; bad mind; absolutely fucking awesome melodic punk from sunderland
bridge the gap; revenant; excellent melodic punk
youth fountain; identical days; this one’s at the pop punk end of what these marvelous melodic/pop punkers do for us
tearjerker; full circle; another amazing melodic punker from these sunderland lovelies
wasting time; no one’s home; groovy melodic/skate/pop punk
modern shakes; icing on the horizon; excellent melodic punk
deecracks; burnt out; new austrian pop/melodic punk goodness
ces gens-la; le vent de l’est; spectacular french melodic punk
ces gens-la; le mepris; more awesome melodic punk from these french lovelies
alkaline trio; bad time; terrific melodic punker … yes, it’s upbeat and it’s pop-influenced, but it’s also fucking amazing
fine gents; the prisoner has escaped; very cool cali melodic punk
too bad eugene; shaking my fist at clouds; melodic/pop punk … it’s very exciting to have some new material from them
the lonely surf; happiness; some of you will say that it’s too indie or pop-ish for your taste, and I get it, but it’s awesome indie/melodic punk stuff afaiac
taken days; she wants more; fuck her … grandpa wants more … very cool melodic/pop punk
pile of love; happy to hide; unexpected terrific little pop punk banger
ALL THE GOOD LISTENS FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS (a rather short list this time)
fully released and added to grandpa’s library
pile of love; super sometimes; less post-h here than you’d expect from a band with their provenance … excellent musicianship, terrific production, and great songwriting, but ixnay on the ost-h-pay … not at all what I was expecting, but still a lovely little release (recorded feb 2022, apparently) … this one is song 2 … (hey, grandpa … enlighten me … what’s a bus stop payphone?)
upcoming albums with pre-release tracks already streaming
blowfuse; the fourth wall; this one lands feb/15/2024 (or, maybe, mar/1/2024); barcelona skate/melodic/pop punk … I know I told you (last week?) about move on … here’s the new/real video
carpark; born to be average; all I know is that it’s due feb 2024; there’ll likely be some pop punk in here … probably some other stuff too … streamed MIA (or maybe just a snippet? … not sure)
bring me the horizon; post human nex gen; I no longer believe this will be jan/12/2024, so ima just say 2024 for now, and leave it at that; there’s a snippet of a song called kool aid doing the rounds … kinda-genre-defying pop-post-h
oh, btdubs … jordan fish go bye bye, apparently
UPCOMING STUFF I’M EXCITED ABOUT
looking forward to a quiet few days just to chill with fam … here’s hoping you can do the same
UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS (I have tix for and might actually get to)
#AlkalineTrio, boston, march 2024
STUFF REMOVED FROM MY PLAYLIST THIS WEEK
the used; pinky swear; melodic/easycore/pop punk … terrific stuff
RECURRING SHOUT OUT
HoldenCC & LCTap … without them, this crap wouldn’t be called grandpa’s anything
<<WTF, COLORADO … I GET IT, BUT SURELY YOU KNOW THIS CAN ONLY HELP HIM … TUCK FRUMP>>
Grandpa’s [mostly] melodic punk [with some alt, pop punk, straight-up punk, and post-h thrown in] weekly [ish] music review
RANDOM NEWS AND/OR INSIGHTS INTO GRANDPA’S SHIT
merry christmas, if that’s your thing … at minimum, I hope you get chance to not work and to hang out with proche … I doubt I’ll publish anything next week (tho’ I also don’t rule it out)
it was another very quiet week for [non-xmas] releases and pre-releases, but the stuff that landed on my radar screen was all quality
yes, of course it’s good news that giuliani has to pay for his defamation … it’s horrifying that such a monster could have accumulated enough money to cover the expense
exciting news for the bonnevilles and their fans
Season 2 of Prime Videos highly anticipated show Reacher drops of Friday with “The Bonnevilles” featuring in episode 2 with their Garage Rock banger “Long Runs the Fox”.
Andy said “We’re so happy to see our music used in the making of films and TV shows" pic.twitter.com/9ZpL2udELS
regarding bad nerves, and as I acknowledged a couple weeks ago, I still have a case of on-the-fence-itis … and their new single is no antidote
I’m not inclined to praise the pope for allowing catholic priests to bless same sex relationships … transparent attempt to protect revenue (revenue that should be taxed, btw) … nobody should give the slightest fuck what this bigoted, anachronistic, paedophilia ringleader thinks, says, or does … also much too little, too late
the used; pinky swear; melodic/easycore/pop punk … terrific stuff
spoilers; skip to the end; super cool pop/melodic punk
smoking popes; madison; oh, of course it’s melodic punk … oh, of course, it’s also fucking amazing
spoilers; none taken; another very cool pop/melodic punker
taken days; least of all you; totally terrific new melodic punk
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; couldn’t be more excited … awesome melodic punk
splitcast; west broad; wonderful skate/melodic punk
tearjerker; bad mind; absolutely fucking awesome melodic punk from sunderland
bridge the gap; revenant; excellent melodic punk
youth fountain; identical days; this one’s at the pop punk end of what these marvelous melodic/pop punkers do for us
tearjerker; full circle; another amazing melodic punker from these sunderland lovelies
wasting time; no one’s home; groovy melodic/skate/pop punk
modern shakes; icing on the horizon; excellent melodic punk
deecracks; burnt out; new austrian pop/melodic punk goodness
ces gens-la; le vent de l’est; spectacular french melodic punk
ces gens-la; le mepris; more awesome melodic punk from these french lovelies
alkaline trio; bad time; terrific melodic punker … yes, it’s upbeat and it’s pop-influenced, but it’s also fucking amazing
fine gents; the prisoner has escaped; very cool cali melodic punk
too bad eugene; shaking my fist at clouds; melodic/pop punk … it’s very exciting to have some new material from them
the lonely surf; happiness; some of you will say that it’s too indie or pop-ish for your taste, and I get it, but it’s awesome indie/melodic punk stuff afaiac
taken days; she wants more; fuck her … grandpa wants more … very cool melodic/pop punk
ALL THE GOOD LISTENS FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS
fully released and added to grandpa’s library
post ramone; sounds like this; sometimes-ramonescore-ish pop/melodic punk … vinyl is available, but I can’t find a complete [legal] digital release … anyway, here’s take me home pt ii
the shorts; denizens; melodic punk from ballarat … just three songs for now (three songs you could easily have been exposed to pre-release, in fact) … hoping for more very soon
upcoming albums with pre-release tracks already streaming
taken days; any minute; now due jan/5/2024 (supposedly); melodic/pop punk … streamed she wants more … as you may know, I haven’t been happy with the wait, but this is very cool
blowfuse; the fourth wall; I think this will be out feb/15/2024 (tho I still see other posts making it as late as mar/1/2024); I think move on explains why I’ve been looking forward to this release … barcelona skate/melodic/pop punk
too bad eugene; tbd; guessing there’ll be a 2024 release; melodic/pop punk … streamed shaking my fist at clouds … so happy they’re back
the lonely surf; tbd; ditto guessing 2024; streamed happiness
UPCOMING STUFF I’M EXCITED ABOUT
cock sparrer; hand on heart; apr/5/2024 … in case you’re not aware this, their eighth studio album, will also be their final studio album … it’s already up for pre-order
UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS (I have tix for and might actually get to)
#AlkalineTrio, boston, march 2024
STUFF REMOVED FROM MY PLAYLIST THIS WEEK
nada
RECURRING SHOUT OUT
HoldenCC & LCTap … without them, this crap wouldn’t be called grandpa’s anything
<<GRANDPA ENJOYED SPENDING A LITTLE TIME WITH TWO OF HIS KIDS AND ALL OF HIS GRANDKIDS THIS PAST WEEKEND … ALSO LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING ANOTHER KID IN A FEW DAYS>>
Grandpa’s [mostly] melodic punk [with some alt, pop punk, straight-up punk, and post-h thrown in] weekly [ish] music review
RANDOM NEWS AND/OR INSIGHTS INTO GRANDPA’S SHIT
I just don’t know … if I’d ever gotten around to completing the automation of it, it would be a lot more likely … jury’s still out on whether or not I’ll publish my 2023 playlist retrospective
kevin mccarthy leaving the house at the end of the year may temporarily seem like a good thing, but let’s please not celebrate too early
releases from taken days and down memory lane officially moved this week from 2023 to ‘early’ 2024 … certainly too bad, but not unexpected, given the time of year
and, while we’re on the subject of the time of year, yes, my usual prohibition is in place regarding holiday gimmick music … don’t come here expecting me to talk about xmas or chanukah [or other ‘seasonal’-] music (y’know, except when I do)
other than the aforementioned holiday bollocks, not actually much new stuff around this week … bad cop bad cop, even tho it’s only two songs, certainly the release of the week
haven’t yet decided my own personal level of interest, but you might already be on the comeback kid bandwagon … I suppose that also means you don’t need me to tell you that their new EP, called trouble, will be out mar/15/2024 … here’s the first 25% of the release (yup … full release = 4 songs)
yes, I heard that adam ant is hitting the US in 2024 … already saw him live once, back before the earth’s crust cooled … btw, there’s also gonna be black veil brides and creeper … social distortion and bad religion … and lots of other tours worth checking out
the baby bois in #AlkalineTrio released some behind the scenes footage from the making of the bad time video
#BTS footage of our #VideoShoot for 'Bad Time!' . Huge 'Thank You' to everyone who helped make this happen! . The talented @RaviDhar, the beautiful Sarah Lind @sarahlindish, the amazing crew, dancers, and producers. . THANK YOU!! . Full BTS Video Here:https://t.co/2XI0bOkWOtpic.twitter.com/l8xEkrRJr5
the used; pinky swear; melodic/easycore/pop punk … terrific stuff
spoilers; skip to the end; super cool pop/melodic punk
smoking popes; madison; oh, of course it’s melodic punk … oh, of course, it’s also fucking amazing
spoilers; none taken; another very cool pop/melodic punker
taken days; least of all you; totally terrific new melodic punk
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; couldn’t be more excited … awesome melodic punk
splitcast; west broad; wonderful skate/melodic punk
tearjerker; bad mind; absolutely fucking awesome melodic punk from sunderland
bridge the gap; revenant; excellent melodic punk
youth fountain; identical days; this one’s at the pop punk end of what these marvelous melodic/pop punkers do for us
tearjerker; full circle; another amazing melodic punker from these sunderland lovelies
wasting time; no one’s home; groovy melodic/skate/pop punk
modern shakes; icing on the horizon; excellent melodic punk
deecracks; burnt out; new austrian pop/melodic punk goodness
ces gens-la; le vent de l’est; spectacular french melodic punk
ces gens-la; le mepris; more awesome melodic punk from these french lovelies
alkaline trio; terrific melodic punker; yes, it’s upbeat and it’s pop-influenced, but it’s also fucking amazing
fine gents; the prisoner has escaped; very cool cali melodic punk
ALL THE GOOD LISTENS FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS
fully released and added to grandpa’s library
have mercy; numb; emo power pop/melodic punk
bad cop bad cop; shattered/safe and legal single; very cool melodic punk, and some extremely important shiz … I know I told you about this before, but this one’s safe and legal
fuck it … here, too, is shattered
upcoming albums with pre-release tracks already streaming
free sergio; nail in the coffee; due for release jan/19/2024; israeli skate/melodic/pop punk … streamed [something like] what happened … my aleph bet is worse than rusty … that fucker done seized up completely … don’t call them that other israeli punk band … yotam wouldn’t do that, and you shouldn’t either … #WhatWouldYotamDo … anyway, the song isn’t brand new, but I’m excited to see the album announcement … here’s [something like] what happened
new years day; half black heart; this one doesn’t arrive until mar/12/2024; streamed secrets … expect melodic metal-ish post-h … yes, I’m sure I already told you about this … deal with it … stood so close to ash once that I was told to fuck off ‘cos I was ruining a photo #GreatAnecdote
sum 41; heaven and hell; coming in to land mar/29/2024; they dropped a new vid, for rise up
down memory lane; breathing space (?); all I know about this one is to look out for it early 2024; melodic/skate punk from canada … streamed bpm … fast and melodic awesomeness
sludder; tbd; ditto look for early 2024; streamed porcupine … video coming soon … italian melodic/skate/pop punk
here’s that video I said was coming soon … just landed a few hours ago
girl cologne; tbd; no word from their people (afaik), but presumably there’ll be a 2024 release; grungy alt pop punk, maybe? … streamed don’t wanna hear it
UPCOMING STUFF I’M EXCITED ABOUT
smalltown tigers; crush on you; feb/9/2024 suzi quatro punk (hey, don’t blame me … they said that)
blowfuse; the fourth wall; feb/15/2024 (I’ve also seen mar/1/2024, just fyi) barcelona skate/melodic/pop punk
UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS (I have tix for and might actually get to)
#AlkalineTrio, boston, march 2024
STUFF REMOVED FROM MY PLAYLIST THIS WEEK
lektron; dirty jacks
dead nice; observer
RECURRING SHOUT OUT
HoldenCC & LCTap … without them, this crap wouldn’t be called grandpa’s anything
and, speaking of HoldenCC and LCTap … Happy Birthday to LCTap … I’ll see you at your party at the weekend … excited to see HoldenCC, who will also be in attendance
<<I UNDERSTAND WHY THE REPUBLICANS WOULD HOLD AID FOR UKRAINE HOSTAGE, AND I UNDERSTAND THEY DON’T SPIN IT THAT WAY, BUT ARE THEY REALLY WILLING TO JUST HAND UKRAINE TO PUTIN ON A FUCKING SILVER PLATTER?, AND JUST KISS GOODBYE TO THE BILLIONS ALREADY INVESTED?>>
Grandpa’s [mostly] melodic punk [with some alt, pop punk, straight-up punk, and post-h thrown in] weekly [ish] music review
RANDOM NEWS AND/OR INSIGHTS INTO GRANDPA’S SHIT
RIP Henry Kissinger … met him once (if you count sharing a short elevator ride, and shaking his hand [much to the disgust of his security detail])
in authority zero news, 12:34 is being made available on vinyl for the first time … it supposedly comes with a feb/15/2024 digital release date … I don’t know if the fact that it has a digital release date means there will be additional new songs, but I certainly hope so … anyway, vinyl ships out on or around mar/10/2024 … their last effort, in 2021, was very much a pop-rock melodic punk affair, a sound that turned out to be very much in grandpa’s LZ
so much for the vaunted israeli intelligence … they knew about hamas planning this over a year ago, but guessed they couldn’t execute? … wow
young hearts isn’t the only belgian band making headlines this week … brutus is now finishing up in mainland europe and taking their tour to the uk … wishing I could be there … this shot is from a recent gig in berlin
grandpa has not [yet?] climbed onto the bad nerves bandwagon … everything already hurts, without additional climbing … but you may want to hear this
be fair, also a bunch of brits, comes closer to my sound … on the fence about them too, but certainly closer to my sweetspot
screaming females are done … too bad … oh, speaking of bands that are done, deryck has gone public on his reasons … I presume you’re ok hunting for that on your own … anyway, back to screaming females … this one’s mourning dove, from earlier this year
RIP also to shane mcgowan … not everyone’s cup of tea, of course, but grandpa felt this one more than he felt many others
the lovelies in neck deep got the cover of new noise (issue 69, lol, for the immature readers, and for this immature writer)
I feel like matt is shaming me into it, but I too am proud of my siblings … some of the loveliest, smartest, funniest people I know … naturally, I doubt I ever told them that … all male and repressed and shit, innit
the used; pinky swear; melodic/easycore/pop punk … terrific stuff
lektron; dirty jacks; awesome garage/melodic punk … holy jesus, matthew and friends
spoilers; skip to the end; super cool pop/melodic punk
smoking popes; madison; oh, of course it’s melodic punk … oh, of course, it’s also fucking amazing
spoilers; none taken; another very cool pop/melodic punker
dead nice; observer; melodic punk out of leicester … these fuckers are amazing
taken days; least of all you; totally terrific new melodic punk
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; couldn’t be more excited … awesome melodic punk
splitcast; west broad; wonderful skate/melodic punk
tearjerker; bad mind; absolutely fucking awesome melodic punk from sunderland
bridge the gap; revenant; excellent melodic punk
youth fountain; identical days; this one’s at the pop punk end of what these marvelous melodic/pop punkers do for us
tearjerker; full circle; another amazing melodic punker from these sunderland lovelies
wasting time; no one’s home; groovy melodic/skate/pop punk
modern shakes; icing on the horizon; excellent melodic punk
deecracks; burnt out; new austrian pop/melodic punk goodness
ces gens-la; le vent de l’est; spectacular french melodic punk
ces gens-la; le mepris; more awesome melodic punk from these french lovelies
alkaline trio; terrific melodic punker … oh, of course it is … fuck off
fine gents; the prisoner has escaped; very cool cali melodic punk
ALL THE GOOD LISTENS FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS
fully released and added to grandpa’s library
seafloor cinema; s/t (I think); pop punk (steering left into power pop from time to time, and right into post-h-y territory occasionally)
saturday’s heroes; wanderlust and hardships; melodic/indie punk from swedish people land
the hallingtons; guilty of robbery; ramonescore-ish pop/melodic punk
snackwolf; lunch breakdown; gruff-ish german skate punk … second half has more personality, for me, than the first half, but it’s all really very good … this one’s live in clover
dowsing; no one said this would be easy; indie/post/melodic punk … we know they can rock out with their cock out … I wish they would lean into that a little bit more … here’s RMT
fine gents; present; very cool cali melodic punk … this one’s ricochet
upcoming albums with pre-release tracks already streaming
the speakeasy; s/t (I think); still hoping for a 2023 release, tho I concede it’s no longer likely; melodic/skate/pop punk (from canada, I think) … streamed devil in disguise … awesome stuff
zero cost; tbd; ditto hoping for 2023, but 2024 more likely; streamed red or blue … uk (hull) melodic punk … liking this
young hearts; tbd; supposedly due jan/21/2024; melodic-punk-ish belgian alt rock … streamed lottery
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; got to wait until jan/26/2024; streamed bad time, of course … yes, it’s upbeat and it’s pop-influenced, but it’s also fucking amazing melodic punk … come at me … ok, just for that, here’s the fucking video yet a-fucking-gain
mean jeans; blasted; due out feb/9/2024; ramonescore melodic/pop punk … streamed I don’t give a shit anymore
cherym; take it or leave it; this one’s out feb/16/2024; here’s it’s not me it’s you … pop/melodic punk
showoff; tbd; their people say this will release summer 2024; pop punk … streamed bitter pill
trash boat; tbd; I’m guessing there’ll be a 2024 release; streamed liar liar … something-punk
UPCOMING STUFF I’M EXCITED ABOUT
alkaline trio; blood hair and eyeballs; jan/26/2024
I know this sounds like a cop-out, cos duh, but I’m looking forward to #BHE even more now
UPCOMING LIVE SHOWS (I have tix for and might actually get to)
nothing in 2023
#AlkalineTrio, boston, march 2024
STUFF REMOVED FROM MY PLAYLIST THIS WEEK
splitcast; public enemy no 1
sincere engineer; fireplace
RECURRING SHOUT OUT
HoldenCC & LCTap … without them, this crap wouldn’t be called grandpa’s anything
<<OF COURSE THE #OrangeMoron WILL ABUSE POWER IF RE-ELECTED AND, OF COURSE, IT DODGED THE QUESTION … I BARELY EVEN UNDERSTAND WHY YOU’D ASK … DO YOU REALLY THINK THIS WILL CHANGE MINDS?>>
grandpamusic 