Against All Authority brings the Recommended Listening series back to the ska genre in a very hard way.  Primarily a ska-core band, Against All Authority mixes the sounds of ska and hardcore punk in a blender of musical glory.  To put it succinctly, Against All Authority will ska-core your normal-music-listening-panties off. Read the full story

Against Me! started out as an incredibly rough-sounding, but incredibly talented band down in Florida.  They started off as a, for lack of a better genre term, folk-punk band, mixing acoustic sounds with rough vocals and a fast sound.  They eventually lost the acoustic sound as they grew, and moved farther and farther from their original identity.  They’ve moved into the mainstream with their last two albums, but unfortunately, the quality of their music has suffered at the same time.  We’ll discuss their first three albums only. Read the full story

Few people will have heard of Common Rider, of that I am fairly certain, which is a terrible shame.  More of you will have, however, heard of a band called Operation Ivy, which launched the career of Tim Armstrong, better known in the mainstream for his band Rancid and as a songwriter-for-hire.  The true talent of that band, though, found himself with less of the spotlight, but retained more respect from his peers. I am speaking of Jesse Michaels, creator and lead of Operation Ivy, and later, creator and lead of Common Rider. Read the full story

Before Streetlight Manifesto, Tomas Kalnoky brought together a group of musicians to create a project known as Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution.  Even though Tomas Kalnoky’s focus has moved on to Streetlight Manifesto, Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution is far from dead.  Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution’s sound has a strong ska foundation to it, but mingled in you can hear classical styles, world music styles, folk styles, and more. Read the full story

I have a special place in my heart for third-wave ska music, as you will undoubtedly see during my upcoming Recommended Listening posts.  I like the rhythms, I like the instruments, and I like the feel, among other things.  More than any other ska band, Streetlight Manifesto truly captures my attention and adoration. Read the full story

There was a time when I was heavily into non-mainstream music.  I still am, it’s just that I no longer have the time necessary to devote to keeping up with new developments.  Many of the bands I enjoyed back in “the day”, however, I still enjoy immensely today.  Many of them have not yet received mainstream recognition, but they remain some of my favorite bands.

For today’s blogathon, most (if not all) of my posts will be music related, seeing as the charity we are supporting, One Love for Chi, directly benefits a wonderful musician who met with an unfortunate accident.  You may or may not have heard of some of these bands already.  If you have, please comment if you agree or disagree with my recommendation.  If you haven’t, please consider giving them a chance.

-[insert NO COUNTRY EXCEPT THE MAN IN BLACK here]

Good morning (if you can call being awake at this abominable hour “good”)!  Please allow me to use this first post of our 24 hour One Love for Chi blogathon to thank you for coming, and to invite you to return every half hour for a new topic. Read the full story