Mongo Nation

Are Rise Against the modern face of punk rock? Or just some hippies that play bar chords instead of mandolins?

By Jeremy Azevedo

Going into this interview with Rise Against I had certain preconceptions that I assumed would be the thesis of this piece. According to OG rock Critic Robert Christgau, punk rock originated as a “subculture that scornfully rejected the political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth.”

I believe this to be true to a certain extent. Some would say that this would place punk rock ten years ahead of it’s accepted genesis, and that it was more of a rebellion against big, blustery mainstream 70s rock. I could see why people would think that, but things often exist for many years before they receive their “official genre name and title”, so I’m afraid I’m with Robert C. on this one. At it’s inception, punk rock was aggressive, angry, sneering and self-aware, all of the things that hippies and their folksy psychedelia were not. Rise Against are aggressive, angry, maybe not “sneering” but definitely self-aware. But they are also hippies. What does this mean for punk rock today? Where is the line between the fashion and the philosophy?

CraveOnline: So what can we expect from “Appeal To Reason”? Any big surprises, or exciting experiments to look forward to?

Joe Principe (bassist and original founding member of Rise Against): Well I think it’s just the natural progression of the band. It sounds like Rise Against where you still have your more aggressive punk rock songs and then you have like mid tempo stuff… But I just think that there’s, I don’t know, a certain maturity in the songwriting. I just think on each and every record our songwriting gets better. I think that shows on the record. There’s a couple things that are a little bit different than what we’ve done before, but the core sound is definitely still there.

CraveOnline: How has your music evolved along with your new-found mainstream popularity?

Joe Principe: I think how our music evolves has more to do with the music that we actually listen to… I mean, whatever influences us at the time. We kinda write throughout the year and then we’ll get together as a band and work on those ideas. Tim (McIlrath, lead singer/guitarist and fellow original founding member) and I write most of the music. So like I have my songs, he has his songs we’ll meet up at practice and show ‘em to the band. As far as musical influences, we get older and I guess you just get exposed to new music. Even older stuff, I mean Elvis Costello is a big influence for me, although it’s not like we sound like Elvis Costello or anything. But I appreciate his songwriting, he’s an all-time favorite of mine.

CraveOnline: So it’s mostly you and Tim doing the songwriting and not so much the newer guys then?

Joe Principe: Well, it’s just always worked that way since the inception of the band, where Tim and I just wrote all the music. I guess its just how we work. But these songs obviously wouldn’t be songs without the rest of the guys. But yeah I guess as far as songwriting goes, it’s Tim and myself. Read the rest of this entry →

A darker & more polished offering from an underground favorite

By Jeremy Azevedo

Alkaline Trio has always been known for combining gothic melodrama with hard-driving punk, a combination that has long pleased the elitist music underground. On their new album, “Agony and Irony”, Alkaline Trio has tipped the scales a little bit further into Smiths territory than their more hardcore punk fans will probably appreciate.

It’s probably a smart decision though, because crust punks aren’t exactly known to purchase a lot of albums, and Alkaline Trio has greater expectations to live up to now that they’re on Epic records, with Josh Abraham (Slayer, Linkin Park, Atreyu, Pink, etc.) producing.

So… Agony and Irony is not a particularly upbeat album, but I’ll be goddamned if it isn’t catchy as hell anyway. Not since The Cure has a band been so adept at making such miserable subject matter sound so poppy. Most of the songs here are real finger-snappers, despite being all about sadness and death. It’s like Alkaline Trio is the evil twin of one of those corny pop punk bands like Angels and Airwaves or whatever band those vapid dorks from Blink 182 are in these days.
Read the rest of this entry →

Against Me! playing “New Wave” on tour

Punk rock is a funny genre of music in that it projects themes of inherent outsiderness and outright anarchy, while at the same time demanding almost complete and total adherence to a set of “rules” imposed by formative bands nearly thirty years ago. Thankfully, “Against Me!” is quite possibly the new “Clash” for this generation. They are one of the very few “punk” bands that manages to appeal to both the purist and the popular audience without compromising their style in any way.

It’s no accident that their new album is entitled “New Wave”, as they represent a movement that demands more accountability from it’s musicians and also it’s fans. Instead of bitching about how “these bands all sound the same” or “those bands are all selling out”, Against Me! and their followers are doing something about it, making and supporting music that is both meaningful and enjoyable, and that raises the bar for all those that follow suit.

Check out this exclusive video of Against Me! playing the titular song from their new album “New Wave”, out now on Sire records:

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