Music- Fall ’07

I didn’t write too much about music over the summer due to the fact that I was not really impressed by any new music out there. I did see some kick ass concerts, starting with Incubus and ending with the incredible Projekt Revolutions Tour (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, HIM). However, my summer of no new music is made up for in the first two weeks of school.

Up first is Paramore and their awesome album, Riot!. I am no music reviewer, but they have an awesome sound, and the lead singer, Hayley Williams, has a fantastic and very controlled voice. She is like Avril but with talent. This very young band (the oldest member is 21, Hayley is 18) has some great raw talent and writes some fantastic songs. I listened to their single, Misery Business, and was hooked. You can see just how good they are by checking out their acoustic performances on YouTube.

Up next is Monty Are I and their CD, Wall of People. This band came to my school the first weekend, putting on a really great show, especially considering most of the kids there have never heard of them, myself included. They were energetic and funny; oh, and they rock. They’ve got a great sound of intricate guitar riffs- the classic rock ones, which are highlighted by keyboards and trumpets. Their songs Dublin Waltz and Between the Sheets really showcase this. Another great song is Only the Weak. They introduced it by saying, “This song is about weight lifting and fighting Russians” (a Rocky IV reference) and I think you can really tell they were going for a “Rocky-esq” song. It’s got the build up of songs like Hearts on Fire and Eye of the Tiger, but of course with their spin. Overall, a very enjoyable CD .

These two bands, along with Rise Against, have really impressed me and I have been listening to them non-stop. They were definitely worth the musically dry summer.