The Truth About Music

"What's hot, what's not, and whats next in pop music"

Green Day Cement Rock Star Status With Intimate Punk Rock Show Inside the Worlds Most Famous Arena

By Harris posted July 28, 2009 at 13:33

As I have become more entrenched in the music world it only seems natural that more music passes through my ears and I attend more concerts each year. Me and a close friend had the discussion a while back that we were becoming numb to concerts. Luckily I found out last night that this was not true. It might be that I have become numb to the run of the mill cookie cutter shows that crowd nightclubs and holes in the wall alike but on this night I would be touched by one of the first bands I ever listened to. Green Day are no longer the band of the 90’s. Instead the band (with help from “American Idiot”) have become the representative band for anyone born from 1985 until now. After a solid set from british rock group the Kaiser Chiefs the lights dropped Madison Square Garden into complete [...] Continue...
Harris’ Song of the Week: Jigga What/Faint by Linkin Park and Jay-Z

By Harris posted July 23, 2009 at 10:50

For a few years now I have thought one of the best collaborative projects ever recorded was “Collision Course,” which was a mix created by Linkin Park fusing Jay-Z and the rock group. This collection of six songs is pure brilliance as they fused the songs into a perfect blend of rock and rap. My favorite parts are when the boys from ‘Park sing Jay’s lyrics. The reason I chose to honor the album and specifically this song is because for me, Jay-Z is at his best when he’s rapping at a really fast tempo and this song demonstrates that perfectly. The verse which features this up temp rap is layered with the main track from “Faint,” and it seems to fit perfectly (partly because Jay-Z actually re-recorded that part for this song). Regardless, this short project showed how great production can come together with the best musicians to create [...] Continue...
The English Beat Join Reel Big Fish in Rocking One of New York’s Best Venues

By Harris posted July 22, 2009 at 09:06

Anyone who knows anything about Reel Big Fish knows that in the past five years or so it would be rare to see them perform live without hearing Streetlight Manifesto just before them. The two bands have shared numerous tours and I have personally seen the two team up about eight times. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that Streetlight would be on Warped Tour and Reel Big Fish would be touring with two bands I had not heard before; The English Beat and The Supervillains. In typical form, I did no research into the openers and decided to form my opinion of them live, in person at Nokia Theater. The Supervillains took the stage first and demonstrated early their interesting mix between reggae jams and fast paced Streetlight style ska. Although I am impartial (I am the rare ska fan that does not enjoy reggae) I enjoyed [...] Continue...
Greg Attonito of The Bouncing Souls Talks Punk, Twitter and 20 Years

By Harris posted July 21, 2009 at 09:08

Back on May 10th, 2009 I ventured out to the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, New York on one of the first truly hot summer days of the year. I found Greg a few hours before doors out behind the venue hanging out with some of the opening bands. With planes flying low over our heads and asphalt burning under our feet Greg leaned up against a 90′s era sedan and talked about life 20 years since The Bouncing Souls began recording. Harris Decker: Could you give me a very brief history of the band from your point of view? Greg Attonito: We were like any high school band, just some friends who were looking for something to do that wasn’t the typical deal, we were into music and were just goofball creative types and we just kept going with it and we just didn’t stop. We had enough success and [...] Continue...
Harris’ Music Video of the Week: Now We Can See

By Harris posted July 20, 2009 at 11:23

There is something to be said about taking what everybody else is doing and creating the oppsoite affect. In searching MTV’s list of brand new music video’s I saw video’s for two songs that I am completely in love with. Green Day’s “21 Guns,” video was released alongside Cobra Starships “Good Girls Go Bad.” Despite Green Day trying to go lo-tech filming the video in what appears to be a single room the video has no substance. All that happens is an apparent drive by shooting with the band playing through it. Cobra’s video on the other hand the height of what music video’s have become in 2009. It features an underground club (located under a deli?) in which there is gambling, apparent drug use, drinking, sex and text messaging courtesy of some blatant Nokia product placement. Despite being flashy the video once again does nothing for me. So if [...] Continue...
Goodnight Sunrise Stopping, Dropping and Rolling to a Hot Topic Near You!

By Harris posted July 16, 2009 at 17:21

In one of the more successful marketing campaigns in music over the past 10 years Hot Topic and alternative (emo/punk) labels have joined forces to bring music directly to the fans. For many people, traveling to a large city like New York or Los Angeles is simply not an option and for that reason the musicians must be brought to the fans. One of the bands taking part in this program is Goodnight Sunrise who are touring Hot Topic stores playing acoustic sets and promoting their latest album “Stop, Drop & Roll.” Personally I think this idea is a great way to introduce fans to live music and new music all at the same time. In a Twitter post earlier today the band stated that they were on their way to a Hot Topic show in Scottsdale, Arizona. Although this town is located only about a half hour outside Phoenix, [...] Continue...
Harris’ Song of the Week: Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship

By Harris posted July 12, 2009 at 22:22

In a shocking turn of events, Cobra Starship has finally broken out of their mediocre club hits and produced a song that mainstream audiences care about. For years I have been saying that Cobra was one big hit single away from making it in the world and this week’s song might just be it. The song which features Leighton Meester from Gossip Girl is incredibly catchy and has the potential to be a huge club hit in the same way that “Clothes Off,” was for Gym Class Heroes. “Good Girls Go Bad,” has an incredibly catchy chorus and cool breakdown at the end featuring Sapora and the gang rapping along. The low point is Leighton’s appearance but for the sake of publicity it was a great move. Hopefully this song will help to bring Cobra Starship into the spotlight. Although I have not yet heard the album if this song [...] Continue...
Pictures From Reel Big Fish!!

By Harris posted July 11, 2009 at 16:32

More to come a little bit later including a full show synopsis and review!! Continue...
Greetings From Nokia Theater

By Harris posted July 09, 2009 at 18:24

For those of you that have never been to a rock club (hopefully none of you) they are generally smelly, dark and gross looking. I’m all for classic looking clubs but let’s face it, there is only one CBGB’s and it’s time to join the 21st Century. I am currently sitting inside Nokia Theater in Times Square, New York which is the opitimy of class and modern clubs. You don’t feel like you will get an STD while using the bathroom and sitting on the floor does not bring back memories of college dorms after a big party. Instead this club features clean bathrooms an enourmous amount of drink and food selection and both seated and standing room, all covered under general admission. The point is that as a concert goer I would like a higher level of rock club so take note and if you haven’t been here yet [...] Continue...
Harris’ Album of the Month: The Tranformers Movie Soundtrack (1986)

By Harris posted July 08, 2009 at 23:36

Although I’m a few days late I think this months album of the month is truly a diamond in the rough. Back in 1986 very few things were as celebrated as The Transformers. The television show had been a huge success and with everything from toys to snacks, robots were taking over the world. It was only a matter of time before these robots would meet the big screen in cartoon form. For those of you who do not know, I am not talking about the 2007 or 2009 movies but instead the original cartoon movie. Enough about the movie. The thing I am here to discuss is my album of the month which is the soundtrack from this class 80′s film. As with a lot of other music from this time period many of the songs are synthesized and feature screeching vocals, providing a good mix of classic rock [...] Continue...