why nobody respects "punk rawk" these days

[rp note: as of 7:50 am, and a full day 4, no calls from taking back sunday. i wonder if they know this tally exists. probably not]

Like many kids who discovered independent rock music in the mid-to-late-90's, I used to adore Jade Tree Records. From the moment I borrowed a copy of "Nothing Feels Good" (I was a bit of a late bloomer with the Promise Ring) to the day when I stood outside Tower Records in the cold to get my copy of "Winners Never Quit," I ate anything that this label put out. I guess that's why I can empathize with kids who hang onto every release from Drive Thru, Victory, Vagrant, or Fat. I may not necessarily like that kind of music (any more) or their bands, but I suppose there's some sort of connection between the first time I heard "Hello Bastards" and the first time that Frannie Friendster (swish for using the Friendster reference) from Michigan heard "Tell All Your Friends."

I personally can write that the first time I heard Lifetime's "Hello Bastards," was similar to the way I felt when I saw Public Enemy a year or two before their break-up: it was exciting, captivating, and just fucking good. But unlike P.E. (who I've seen twice now), I discovered Lifetime well after their break-up and shortly before the end of Kid Dynamite.

So when Lifetime announced that they were reuniting for Hellfest, I was as happy as R. Kelly outside a public high school. Not that I could afford to fly out East to watch them, but the idea that if I had a couple thousand dollars at my disposal, I could hop on an Alaska Airlines flight to catch one of the best bands on Jade Tree's roster.

Whomever said that lightning doesn't strike twice is probably full of more crap than a 50 day old latrine since Lifetime is doing a three date stint on the West Coast in the new year. My happiness was shortlived, however, when I scrolled down the Punk News message board and found this awesome response.

Not to sound like an old person or anything, but what the hell are wrong with these kids? Stating that the Warped Tour is better than a Lifetime show is a lot like saying that Hitler was a humanitarian, or that MC Hammer is a better emcee than Rakim. Warped Tour as a corporate entity is not fit to be on the same message board as Lifetime or any Jade Tree band. To paraphrase Jason Mewes, Warped Tour is fucking clown shoes.

I don't have to go on an even longer rant by suggesting that without Lifetime bands like Saves The Day, Fall Out Boy, Brand New, New Found Glory, blah, blah wouldn't exist...because THEY fucking said it. In a horrible rag like Alternative Press, no less. Like Biz Markie said, "Respect the architect." Buildings don't build themselves, you potzers.

So there it is, I'm done. Check out Lifetime, if you've never heard them before. And if you are going to Warped Tour this year, have fun paying $25 + surcharge to go to the event, $15 for parking, $8 for pizza, $5 for water, $20 for an Underoath shirt, and realize that good bands are often discovered, never sold to you.

Lifetime Best Coast Tour Dates:
1/27/06: Los Angeles, Troubadour
1/28/06: Anaheim, Chain Reaction
1/29/06: San Francisco, Slim's