Man Without Plan

OK, first things first, I am lazy. Second, I just got into ripping vinyl. Audiophiles, beware- this shit is ripped at 96k. Fuck your 192k and 256k rips, if this was some 80's Italian disco, I could understand a high-quality file... But we're talking about punk. Hardcore punk. Hardcore punk for the hard core punks.

So, I am going to post a melodic record... for the punx. Man Without Plan is without a doubt one of my favorite bands of this style. They're fast, tuneful, smart, funny, moving, WHATVER adjective you can use to describe hardcore punk is 100% applicable here. Except maybe "epic". Or "amazing". The only people that use the word "amazing" to describe bands are herbs. Dudes who totally mark out to drab shit like Modern Life Is War. ANYWAY, Man Without Plan, in my eyes, were always close cousins with West Chester, PA bands like Super Hi-Five and Plow. On the same label, same kind of style, all that. Except Man Without Plan have always had this maniacal twist to their lyrics. Their primary singer (whose name I am not allowed to reveal due to uhm... tax purposes) is without a doubt an evil genius, albeit one with keen songwriting abilities. His zine, A Punk Kid Walks Into A Bar, is an absolute cult favorite and needs to be reprinted without question. I would go into detail, but that's a whole different animal; I'm just here to talk about music.

"Commence Primary Ignition" is Man Without Plan's first record. All of their trademarks are here- moving lyrics, barely-riding-the-rails speed, and an attention to catchy hooks. This 7" has 3 originals and a cover of "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" Wow, yeah, they are fucking on point with that. I hate making comparisons for bands like Man Without Plan- their sound is very unique. Try to be open minded about this- imagine if Void did a cover set of later Husker Du songs. Void's recorded output gives the impression that their songs were an inch away from tumbling into a mess- the songs were played so aggressively and urgently that you didn't know if and when the train out run off the tracks. Man Without Plan has that same feeling. Like they are choking the tunes out of their instruments- and the result is a moving, melodic wall of sound. If this sounds like it'll blow your skirt up, click here and find out for sure.

I recently discovered than not only are Man Without Plan back together, they are recording new stuff soon. I'm so stoked. If you like these four songs, PLEASE visit Man Without Plan's website.

Also check out Creep Records' website (featuring releases from FOD, Super Hi-Five, and more- they put this 7" out) and Man Without Plan's MySpace (with tourdates, blogs and photos).

I Accuse! "s/t"

I love this record. There are plenty of bands who play fast hardcore, but there is a quality to this lil platter that can't be recreated. I Accuse! play their songs recklessly; to the point where I'd assume their recording session must've been a mess. I saw these guys in Youngstown, OH a couple of years ago and they pretty much replicated the instense, tuneful mess that their 7" presents. I happen to be a big fan of bands with that almost out of control sound- Void, Gang Green, Otophobia, stuff like that. I Accuse is sloppier, with a more youthful feel than those bands, but a similar all-out approach to their tunes. For those of you intereste, here's a little linky to the 7". But if you're a TRUE fucking punk, you'll head on over to www.sound-pollution.com and buy the fuckin' thing. It's worth the money, AND you can find plenty of other awesome records to get into.

Time for some beef. Just recently, IA came around this area on tour, but they played in one of those sort of a venue sort of not places, and I wasn't cool enough to get the address. FUCK that. And while I'm at it, if you're going to have a show in your house, I understand not giving the address out on the internet. I DON'T understand being a little priss and not replying to polite emails requesting the address, or worse, replying the day AFTER the show in question. I'm looking at you, New Brunswick.

Just an observation, now that Chris Therien is no longer eternally hustling to keep up with Jaromir Jagr, he seems to have let himself go. Dude is looking like Dan Aykroyd.

Finally, some administrative issues- I will be taking down all links to songs after 7 days. Sorry.