What would I blog to you now?
Hello, I'm Alternative Press music editor Scott Heisel and welcome to the tenth installment of Positive Jams, your guide to the best (and the rest) of the week's new music as selected by yours truly. Let's get to it!
IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:
Jimmy Eat World's Clarity Live
THE SCOOP: One of the best rock albums of the past decade played front-to-back in front of a hometown crowd? Why would you not want to buy this? (Full disclosure: I flew out to Tempe, Arizona, for this show, and I'm pretty sure you can hear me go, "WHOOOO!!!!" here and there.) What's even cooler is the band are selling it themselves, so you know the money's going right into the pockets of those who truly deserve it.
CRUCIAL JAMS: The complete album (obviously), plus the live bonus tracks "What Would I Say To You Now?" and "No Sensitivity"
BUY IT NOW: JimmyEatWorld.com (digital)
GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:>
Polar Bear Club's Sometimes Things Just Disappear
THE SCOOP: Okay, yeah, this album actually came out in 2008 (and technically came out in December 2007, natch), but today is the day it's officially made available on vinyl, which it so sorely deserves. Thanks go to Bridge Nine Records for giving this record one hell of a nice packaging job, with a gatefold sleeve and even a bonus CD copy of the album with all purchases. PBC are legitimately going to be huge, so don't blow it and buy this now -- if for no other reason than to flip on eBay in nine months.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Convinced I'm Wrong," "Our Ballads," "Burned Out In A Jar," "Hollow Place"
BUY IT NOW: B9Store.com (vinyl)
THIS LIVE CD/DVD WON'T BLOW YOU AWAY, BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT'LL STAY:
The Hold Steady's A Positive Rage
THE SCOOP: If you know me, you know how much I love love love the Hold Steady. Still, I have to say that the DVD portion of A Positive Rage is wholly underwhelming. It's a tour documentary that just shows the band getting progressively bigger each show. Nothing exciting really happens; there's no drama, either. Considering how much this band drink, I was really hoping for some funny drunken footage, but alas, twas not to be. The audio side of A Positive Rage is a live album recorded on Halloween 2007 in Chicago, so it's heavy on the Boys & Girls In America songs (which is A-OK by me, as that's my favorite record of theirs). It sounds good for what it is, but I feel like this package could've been a whole lot more.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "You Can Make Him Like You," "Lord, I'm Discouraged," "Citrus"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon
(physical), 
(digital)
ALSO OUT TODAY: Beastie Boys' Check Your Head [reissue], Bob Mould's Life And Times, Doves' Kingdom Of Rust, Left Alone's Left Alone, Single File's Common Struggles, The Color Of Violence's Youthanize, the Thermals' Now We Can See, Youth Group's The Night Is Ours
What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!
IF YOU BUY ONE THING TODAY, PLEASE LET IT BE:
Jimmy Eat World's Clarity Live
THE SCOOP: One of the best rock albums of the past decade played front-to-back in front of a hometown crowd? Why would you not want to buy this? (Full disclosure: I flew out to Tempe, Arizona, for this show, and I'm pretty sure you can hear me go, "WHOOOO!!!!" here and there.) What's even cooler is the band are selling it themselves, so you know the money's going right into the pockets of those who truly deserve it.
CRUCIAL JAMS: The complete album (obviously), plus the live bonus tracks "What Would I Say To You Now?" and "No Sensitivity"
BUY IT NOW: JimmyEatWorld.com (digital)
GOT MORE CASH? SNAG THIS NEXT:>
Polar Bear Club's Sometimes Things Just Disappear
THE SCOOP: Okay, yeah, this album actually came out in 2008 (and technically came out in December 2007, natch), but today is the day it's officially made available on vinyl, which it so sorely deserves. Thanks go to Bridge Nine Records for giving this record one hell of a nice packaging job, with a gatefold sleeve and even a bonus CD copy of the album with all purchases. PBC are legitimately going to be huge, so don't blow it and buy this now -- if for no other reason than to flip on eBay in nine months.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Convinced I'm Wrong," "Our Ballads," "Burned Out In A Jar," "Hollow Place"
BUY IT NOW: B9Store.com (vinyl)
THIS LIVE CD/DVD WON'T BLOW YOU AWAY, BUT YOU KNOW THAT IT'LL STAY:
The Hold Steady's A Positive Rage
THE SCOOP: If you know me, you know how much I love love love the Hold Steady. Still, I have to say that the DVD portion of A Positive Rage is wholly underwhelming. It's a tour documentary that just shows the band getting progressively bigger each show. Nothing exciting really happens; there's no drama, either. Considering how much this band drink, I was really hoping for some funny drunken footage, but alas, twas not to be. The audio side of A Positive Rage is a live album recorded on Halloween 2007 in Chicago, so it's heavy on the Boys & Girls In America songs (which is A-OK by me, as that's my favorite record of theirs). It sounds good for what it is, but I feel like this package could've been a whole lot more.
CRUCIAL JAMS: "Your Little Hoodrat Friend," "You Can Make Him Like You," "Lord, I'm Discouraged," "Citrus"
BUY IT NOW: Amazon
(physical), (digital)ALSO OUT TODAY: Beastie Boys' Check Your Head [reissue], Bob Mould's Life And Times, Doves' Kingdom Of Rust, Left Alone's Left Alone, Single File's Common Struggles, The Color Of Violence's Youthanize, the Thermals' Now We Can See, Youth Group's The Night Is Ours
What did you buy today? Leave a comment and tell us!
Labels: jimmy eat world, polar bear club, the hold steady
