Punk Goes- Punk Goes Classic Rock

Compared to other albums, it's a little bit more difficult to rate this album as a whole, simply because it's a collection of various artists rather than just one. I won't be writing about each song, but the songs I don't mention get a general thumbs up in my opinion. If there were any shitty songs, I'd take the time to write about them. Punk Goes Classic Rock was released last week (4/27/2010) and me being a huge fan of the Punk Goes... collections, I had to get my hands on it as soon as I could. One of my absolute favorite covers off of this album would have to be VersaEmerge's cover of "Paint It Black" originally by The Rolling Stones. This isn't even just coming from a VersaEmerge fan, but a Rolling Stones fan as well. It's safe to say that VersaEmerge are the kings (and queen) of covering random music. This is the 4th song I've heard them cover and they've done a wonderful job of each of them. "Paint It Black" always had an eerie feel to it, but with VersaEmerge's duet vocals and modern twist, they've managed to make it catchier and even eerier. I have no complaints on I See Star's cover of "Your Love" by The Outfield. They did a good job of it, I just don't approve of the song choice. Come on! Midtown already covered "Your Love" on Punk Goes '80s and I would've liked to hear I See Stars record a different song. I know "Free Fallin'" originally performed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, and covered by The Almost, is ridonkulously popular on iTunes, and I must agree; "Free Fallin'" fits The Almost extremely well. I was actually really surprised when I heard that Punk Goes 'virgins', Envy On The Coast, were going to be on this album. But once I discovered they would be covering Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" in the style of Jimi Hendrix, I could only respond with "OH. They would..." Yes, they do Jimi Hendrix justice, but in a strange way it's more so that that particular song just fits them well as a band. As an Envy On The Coast fan, this is just a minor detail that I feel the need to point out: there are many reasons why I love them, but one of them being that I love the fact that they have multiple singers! Maybe they were trying to stay true to the song by only having Ryan sing, but I would've loved to hear them change it up by having all three singers (Ryan, Sal, and Brian). If VersaEmerge can do it, so can Envy On The Coast.

I don't have much to say about Mayday Parade's "We Are The Champions," but just a general thumbs up. It may just be a slight change from their last cover... "When I Grow Up" (off of Punk Goes Pop Vol. 2). Like Mayday Parade, Never Shout Never also covered a Queen song. Except, Christofer took the ballsy risk of covering "Bohemian Rhapsody." I'll be totally honest, I expected the worst. I imagined Never Shout Never doing the worst cover possible. The truth is, yes, it sounds like he's trying WAY too hard at some points to make it epically dramatic, but it could've been worse. The Maine's cover of "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is another song I don't have much to say about, but want to give a shout out to. It's humorous compared to their typical music, not as hysterical as their cover of "I Wanna Love You" (from Punk Goes Crunk), but not a disappointment either. Last but not least, I want to mention Forever The Sickest Kids' Ozzy Osbourne cover of "Crazy Train." They've added their own FTSK style to it and whether you're a fan of the original or not, the new FTSK/Ozzy intro is simply orgasmic with their guitar riffs and synth. I have nothing bad to say about the rest of the song, it's just that the intro is the kind of EPIC Never Shout Never was striving for.

1. Hit The Lights "More Than A Feeling" (originally recorded by Boston)
2. VersaEmerge "Paint It Black" (originally recorded by The Rolling Stones)
3. The Almost "Free Fallin'" (originally recorded by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
4. Mayday Parade "We Are The Champions" (originally recorded by Queen)
5. The Summer Set "Rock 'n Roll All Nite" (originally recorded by KISS)
6. We The Kings "Caught Up In You" (originally recorded by .38 Special)
7. A Skylit Drive "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (originally recorded by Journey)
8. I See Stars "Your Love" (originally recorded by The Outfield)
9. Pierce The Veil "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" (originally recorded by Blue Oyster Cult)
10. Forever The Sickest Kids "Crazy Train" (originally recorded by Ozzy Osbourne)
11. The Maine "Pour Some Sugar On Me" (originally recorded by Def Leppard)
12. Envy On The Coast "All Along The Watchtower" (originally recorded by Bob Dylan as covered by Jimi Hendrix)
13. Every Avenue "Take Me Home Tonight" (originally recorded by Eddie Money)
14. Never Shout Never "Bohemian Rhapsody" (originally recorded by Queen)
15. blessthefall "Dream On" (originally recorded by Aerosmith)

<3becca

Sing It Loud- Come Around

In my opinion, Sing It Loud is truly an underrated band (and while we're on the topic, Mayday Parade is insanely underrated). They were on the Sassyback Tour with Cobra Starship, Forever the Sickest Kids and Hit the Lights and their next tour will be with Ludo, This Providence, and The Morning Light. Say what? You can't catch them on their next tour? No worries. They'll be playing Warped '09! Thank god. Their album, which was released 9/23/08, was produced by Motion City Soundtrack guitarist Josh Cain. One of my favorite songs off the album is Come Around, which also sounds amazing acoustic, so I suggest everyone checks out both versions. And not that they need an incredible guest vocalist to make No One Can Touch Us super catchy, but it doesn't hurt to have Alex Gaskarth (All Time Low). I always try to convince people to buy CDs when possible rather then downloading, so let me just say, that the album art is so much cuter in person. So, if you're looking for a great pop-punk band to dance to (maybe a lil bit of moshing) that your friends might not know of, I suggest getting this album.

myspace.com/singitloud
purevolume.com/singitloud

<3Becca

Mayday Parade- A Lesson In Romantics

A lil bit emo and a lot of pop-punk. Guaranteed to have you rocking out (but you can't really dance to it). Check out their newest single, Jamie All Over and one of my personal favorites When I Get Home, You're So Dead. They'll be on a lil kickass tour called The Compromising of Integrity, Morality & Principles in exchange for Money Tour. Fucking amazing lineup: All Time Low, Mayday Parade, The Maine, and Every Avenue. Basically it's the ultimate pop-punk tour. Oh and I almost forgot. Any album that has that amazing song that gets you through a tough time deserves recognition. Be sure to listen to Miserable At Best. I'm sure this song has helped tons of couples get through that rough patch.

myspace.com/maydayparade
purevolume.com/maydayparade

<3Becca