If you don’t know Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, they’re this supergroup that played punk versions of non-punk songs — usually songs that you wouldn’t ever in a million years consider for punk covers, like “Mandy” and “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.” I knew a dude who was way, way into them, but the appeal was always lost on me. ‘Cause the band didn’t really do anything but take non-punk songs and play them fast. That was the group’s whole “unique spin” on the original material. As an intellectual exercise, that might be kinda interesting — ’cause it proves that great hooks are great hooks, period – but as an ongoing musical endeavor, I find it pretty boring.

Now the reader known as “devin townsend’s lost skullet” has alerted us to the existence of Necrocomiccon (Facebook, Bandcamp) a band featuring Bill Henderson (ex-Thursday) that basically does the same exact thing as Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, only with black metal instead of punk. And, as is the case with Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, the appeal is pretty much lost on me.

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First things first: screamo is literally worse than the Holocaust in my book. With a few notable exceptions, I absolutely cannot stand this shit. That said, with bands like The Devil Wears Prada and Underoath selling out huge venues, putting out platinum-selling albums, and selling truckloads of cookie-cutter merch to every angsty suburban teen within driving distance of a Hot Topic, it’s hard not to pay attention to the genre. I might not like it, but Kids These Days certainly do. My biggest question: Where the fuck did this shit come from??

As someone who saw the birth of metalcore and “true screamo”/skramz firsthand in the 90s, I am highly confused when I listen to these bands. On the one hand, they are not so different from anything that could have been on Victory or Indecision in the 90s (Earth Crisis, All Out War, Bloodlet). Obviously there are some things that have changed over time, but the fundamentals of metalcore are still there (see my post “The 5 Kinds Of Music Teens Are Into” for more details). On the other hand, the kids in Alesana, August Burns Red, and possibly even As I Lay Dying have no fucking idea who those pioneering metalcore bands are, much less that screamy vocals were born in the tiny basement shows and vegan bakesales of the 90s DIY hardcore scene.

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From FuckThatBand.com:

Great, just great. This is just what we need. The Number 12 Looks Like You has announced that they are heading back into the studio sometime this week. They will be recording some shitty new album in some shitty recording studio in shitty New Jersey. It is official, my day is ruined. bleh

I’m neither here nor there on the band in question, but that is some serious vitriol the likes of which only Axl Rosenberg reaches from time to time. For some other entertaining diatribes about the likes of Funeral For A Friend, Thursday, The Maine and more, check out FuckThatBand.com.

I’m still smacking myself on the forehead for not registering that domain name years ago. D’oh!

-VN

There must be something in the water; another awesome supergroup has been born. Says a press release delivered by carrier pigeon to the MetalSucks Mansion:

United Nations is a power-violence band that features members of Thursday, Glassjaw, Made Out of Babies, Converge, and other special guests:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_(band)

Full album. Streaming. MySpace. Now. Listen.

-VN

Apparently New Jersey screamo pioneers Thursday have a new album. News to me, as I kind of lost track of this band after their 2001 breakthrough Full Collapse and completely lost track of them shortly after the release of  its follow-up War All the Time. A few albums and a failed major record label deal later, Thursday is back with Kill the House Lights, a retrospective CD and DVD collection featuring live tracks, demos, alternate versions and some other goodies. Check out the video for the new song “Ladies and Gentlemen: My Brother, the Failure” fom Kill the House Lights, below. I’m not sure whether anyone who visits this site is a Thursday fan, but I’m willing to bet there is some crossover due to the band’s consistently heavy output.

-VN

[Visit Thursday on MySpace]

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