Third Eye Blind
Red Eye – EP
7/10
Listening to Third Eye Blind is so sweetly nostalgic, like flipping through a yearbook, or watching reruns of Rocko’s Modern Life. There was a year in my life where someone burned me a copy of their self-titled debut (a year or six after it came out) and I was never the same. It never left my CD player. You know, there’s no accounting for my taste, but I can honestly say that I glowed with excitement when I was emailed the link to their new …

Bridge and Tunnel
East/West
No Idea Records
9/10
This is awesome. I mean that. With Jeff Cunningham screaming at me and Rachel Rubino making my panties wet with her own vocals, Bridge and Tunnel break through the comparisons to Hot Water Music, Small Brown Bike, or any of the gruff-voiced bands that inspire men around the world to grow beards and wear plaid. Standing firmly on their own, B&T remind us that our youthful overzealousness should not be replaced by apathy that is so easy to be seduced by. Layering multiple guitars, multiple vocals …

I Am Ghost
Those We Leave Behind
Epitaph
8/10
Discounting the fact that 97% of their fan base has a Nightmare Before Christmas necklace/patch/tattoo, and discounting the fact that they had tens of thousands of MySpace fans before ever playing a show, I Am Ghost have a grasp of musicality that ol’ Steve and the gang often hides behind corny lyrics, ethereal chick vocals, and spooky synth pads. But Steve Ghost used to be a storyboard animator for Tales From The Crypt, so it’s to be expected, yea?
Anyways, well played, well recorded and …

Jackson United
Harmony and Dissidence
Acetate Records
8/10
I love it when a band’s influences are apparent without being a total rip-off. Jackson United’s love of The Clash is apparent, without trying to emulate the late, great Joe Strummer. Switching effortlessly between ska riffs, snotty punk three-chord standards, and shimmery guitar licks, JU (not to be confused with JEW!) shows that they have true mastery over musicianship. Jackson comes barreling at you from the start, with “21st Century Fight Song” sounding like a mix of Pennywise sing along bro-punk, The Clash …

The Lucky Guide to Mastering Any Style
Kim France and Andrea Linett
Penguin Group
10/10 Frilly, fancy, and fabulous points
(5/10 serious ones)
I interrupt your regularly scheduled metal and mayhem to bring you something strange and foreign- fashion! Fabulous!
Firstly, I must offer you my apologies and admit something- I wasn’t thinking of our readers when I first saw this gem in Lucky magazine. I was thinking of me me me, and how my most guilty pleasure in life is thumbing through pages of iconic styles and beautiful clothes I feel that I can …

Japanther
Tut Tut Now Shake Your Butt
Wantage USA
6/10
What the hell? Alternating between bizarre beat poetry about Africa and poorly recorded jams about some chick, Japanther have left me confused. Horribly, horribly confused. Between the shitty drum loops and the vocals that sound like they are being played through a Speak and Spell, I can’t tell if I am digging them or not. The lengthy spoken word bits sound pretentious and ridiculous while the Spank Rock contribution of Radical Businessmen is head-bob-worthy for sure.
Well, I’m going to let it slide this …

Senses Fail
Life Is Not a Waiting Room
Vagrant Records/Drive Thru Records
8/10
Don’t judge a book by its cover, yea? Maybe…but I’m definitely going to chime in about the overuse of gas mask imagery. Stop it. There, now we can discuss the tunes.
Now, I have never heard Senses Fail before, but to be honest, they sound exactly how I thought they would. Switching between the obligatory angst-screams that accompany blood-splatter band shirts and a slightly nasally singing style that, to be honest, I associate to 80% of Vagrant Records’ roster, Senses Fail …

Speakeasy, Tiger
The Sore Throat EP
Unsigned
8/10
“We think music and art and creativity should inspire people. We think we should share our hopes and dreams. We think you should hear our music.”
Those are the honest and humble words you’ll find when you go to Speakeasy, Tiger’s website for their new project, The Sore Throat EP. As a fan of their original project, Girl Named Kyle, I’ve been impressed by their music before, but now I’m equally impressed by their attitude.
The Sore Throat EP is a solid collection of three songs written in …

Lords
Fuck All Y’all Motherfuckers
Black Market Activities
8/10
Motherfucker, these dudes have problems. You know how I can tell? Music is supposed to be self expression, right? Lords sound like a giant rabid marmoset being put through the garbage disposal while gnawing a squirrel’s head off. Tell me that’s not fucked up. Lords = fucked up. It’s not a bad thing, either. See, sometimes when people are crazy, they make music like Wesley Willis- with an old school Casio and their government money. Sometimes other crazy people rape their guitars and vocal chords …

The Status
So This is Progress
Doghouse Records
7/10
The Status saved my life. Not by their music being the epitome of pop-rock, but by smashing the biggest fucking spider walking down the inside of my windshield as I was cruising at 80MPH down the 57 freeway in Anaheim. Fuck that spider. Thanks The Status. The tunes aren’t too shabby, though I tend to think that their catchiness stems from formula versus originality. That being said, I owe them a debt of gratitude, and won’t say anything else negative about them. Again, catchy pop-rock, …

My Ruin, a unique and ass-kicking metal band, originated from southern California in 1999. With a female lead singer, Tairrie B, their sound is like nothing you’ve ever heard. I got the chance to interview her myself, check it out!
Racket Damara: What are your influences?
Tairrie B: I don’t really think I have as many influences as I have inspirations. I find inspiration in many things and people in and around my life. The Bible has always been a huge inspiration for me as an artist. I am not …

Who loves short shorts?! I love short shorts! I mean, short…films! The AFI Film Festival is NOT as uber-conservative as I had once believed. Don’t get me wrong, the mass of filmmakers, actors, the red carpets along with the random Audis everywhere could have fooled me, but even you fine, fine Racket readers can find something to love. Alongside movies like Until the Light Takes Us, a flick about Norwegian Black Metal (brutal!) to the previously-reviewed Gogol Bordello Non Stop, I was pleasantly surprised to come across a series of …

Dead And Devine
The Fanciful
Rise Records
7/10
“I am a sorry excuse for a fucking hero.” OK, calm down. This is some pretty brutal shit, man. I bet this guy is super nice too. All the hardcore and metal guys I have ever met are far more outgoing and nice than ska, emo, or pop guys. Seriously, the dudes in Dear Life and Cradle of Filth are all cool as hell, telling jokes and stories, and then you get these guys on stage and I want to hide under a table. Dead and …

Free Range Chickens
Simon Rich
Random House
7/10
Brief, bizarre, and hysterical- this is the world of Free Range Chickens. Brought to you by one of SNL’s finest writers Simon Rich, Free Range Chickens is a tiny book full of large laughs and one liners that will have you reciting bits until your friends disown you. Though it is only 176 pages long, the book covers all the basics: youth, adolescence, adulthood, and Dracula (“You come to castle.”). A little bit of everything, and a whole lot of nothing. Interesting bits include “I think …

Cherry Bomb: The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a Better Flirt, a Tougher Chick, and a Hotter Girlfriend, and to Living Life Like a Rock Star
Carrie Borzillo-Vrenna
Simon Spotlight Entertainment
3/10
Dear Cherry Bomb,
You insult my intelligence as a woman.
Hoping you are well,
Caitlin Elgin
At first I thought Cherry Bomb was a mildly amusing concept. A self-improvement sort of book for those of us ladies wishing for a bit of dating advice and who need a bit more rock ’n’ roll in our lives. It had such potential! School young ladies on a bit of …

The Ergs!
Carabar
Columbus, OH
October 13, 2008

I don’t remember exactly how I first found out about the Ergs. I do remember when I first saw them though. It was in 2006, and they were playing a house show at the Stinkhouse with The Parasites, which it turned out was just Dave Parasite with the Ergs as his backing band. That was definitely the first time I heard anything by the group. It was a pretty incredible show. There weren’t a whole lot of kids there, as …