I’ve been re-visiting the first two From First to Last records, Dear Diary…, and Heroine this week. To be honest, given how young Sonny was when these records came out, I’m surprised they hold up so well. Both are absolute no-skips.
Category: Music
One – Chris Cornell Cover
What a fun cover.
Davey Havok Interview with Alternative Press
Everyone on the internet is discussing Davey’s appearance in this video, which to be honest theres a lot to say about. However, he doesn’t frequently do interviews, and its nice seeing a long-form video interview with him. This video got me to go back and give Bodies a second try. I didn’t care much for that record when it released, however its definitely grown on me in the last week or two since I’ve been listening to it. Excited for the new record.
Knocked Loose feat. Poppy on Jimmy Kimmel
Just spectacular. Chef’s kiss.
Pantheon – Dance Gavin Dance
I’ve been listening to the latest record from Dance Gavin Dance, Pantheon, all week. The whole record is great, but the songs and titles are a little disconnected, so I’m not sure which song titles are the standouts I like. “The Stickler” and “All the Way Down” have music videos, linked below, and both of these are great tracks.
Favorite Albums of 2024
I’m continuing to go through my back-log regarding favorite records from the past few years. In no particular order, here are my favorite records of 2024.
POST HUMAN: NeX GEn – Bring Me The Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon gave us the second installation in their Post Human series, and I daresay this installation is better than the first. The band seamless goes between their classic metal core, pop, and perhaps some hyper-pop vibes as well. The release was delayed several times, in part, due to their separation from Synthesizer and co-write Jordan Fish leaving the band. More on that later.
Saviors – Green Day
Well, well, well, what do we have here? A good Green Day record? Boy, its been a while. I was a die hard fan throughout high school and college, but I haven’t really enjoyed the last 5 (!!!) records or so. Very happy to hear some fun new material. Songs like “Bobby Sox” seem to have struck a chord w/ the fan base and incorporated themselves as staples in the live set. Great to see a solid addition to their discography.
Negative Spaces – Poppy
And what did Jordan Fish work on in 2024 after being dismissed from Bring Me the Horizon? Poppy’s Negative Spaces. Poppy is a terribly interesting artist, which I’ll admit I don’t quite fully “get”. Her career started on YouTube…. She’s had several full-on pop records… but here she is just doing extremely heavy metal, intertwined with some solid pop-rock tracks. I first became aware of her on the single “Scary Mask” which featured Jason from Fever 333. That collabortion must have lead to her meeting Stephen Harrison, who co-wrote many of these songs, along w/ Jordan Fish, and has played a few things live w/ Poppy as well.
Live, Vol. One – mewithoutYou
As of writing this in the summer of 2025, volume 2 of this live series has just been released, so volume 1 has recently been in heavy rotation. Mewithoutyou is/was truely a remarkable one-of-a-kind band, which we are all better off for having existed. What a treat these live shows are. The end of the band went out as good as fans would have desired. 2 years notice, anniversary tours, a lengthy goodbye tour, professionally shot and streamed shows, and now these live records. We do not deserve them.
Heaven :x: Hell – Sum 41
Heaven :x: Hell feels almost too on-the-nose. Sum 41 has forever straddled the line between metal and pop punk, and this, thier final record, just lays that out as clearly as possibe: Sum 41 is both. Overall, its a good record. Its a solid goodbye to their fanbase, and if I’m really being honest, it won’t shock me if they reunite in the next 5-10 years
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F–1 Trillion – Post Malone
Huh, I didn’t expect this to be here. Its easy, its fun. Crack a bud light lime and sit back, man.
analysis paralysis – Four Year Strong
This is another record I’m cheating with, because I didn’t get in to it until this year, 2025. Its another great Four Year Strong record. I think these guys keep growing and changing, and making interesting records. I’m not sure why I was so reluctant to try this one, but I was the same with the last record, Brain Pain, as well. Lesson learned.
American Motor Sports – Bilmuri
Lastly, another record I’m cheating with. This band rules. My friends got me in to them earlier this year, so I was introduced to this as well as their back-catalog. They’re a fun/weird band, heavy, poppy, and unafraid to add in a little twang as well.
Mike Stringer of Spiritbox playing through Secret Garden
Mike Stringer has a bunch of these videos of him playing through Spiritbox songs, and nearly every one surprises me. For instance, I would have bet money that the clean part in his song is a slapped bass, not him on the guitar. This guy is too good.
Favorite Albums of 2023
Better late than never, but in no particular order: here are the records from 2023 that really stuck with me.
Why Would I Watch – Hot Mulligan 
The last song on this record is probably the best, but the whole thing is a fun ride. You do leave thinking “man, is this guy ok? Is he still drinking?”
Toxic Positivity – The Used 
Another wonderful record from John Feldman and The Used. Tracks like “Dancing with a Brick Wall”, and “I Hate Everybody” are real standouts.
This is Why – Paramore 
To be honest, this might be my least favorite of the last there Paramore records, but I still get “C’est comma Ça” stuck in my head from time to time.
ONE MORE TIME… – blink–182 
This was a really great return from blink. I liked the Matt Skiba era better than most, I think. However, Turpentine might be my all-time favorite blink song. The whole record is great, and in the intervening two years they released a Deluxe version that is also great.
The Maine – The Maine 
The Maine continue an incredible run of records following American Candy. Dos #2 is a fun opening track, but several others really hit as well. This band just keeps getting better
So Much (for) Stardust – Fall Out Boy
I had written about this album when it came out, and I think that that holds up. Its a good album. It feels much more like the latter half of Fall Out Boys run prior to their disbanding, than their radio-ready singles from ~5 years ago.
The Fear of Fear – Spiritbox 
I know I said these aren’t in any particular order, but this is probably my favorite release of 2023. Theres something to be said for a really tight, concise E.P., and more bands ougt to say it. No bloat; just the best 4-6 tracks. I think it really helps w/ cohesion and continuing a theme throughout the release. This was the first thing by Spiritbox I had listened to, and believe me, they’ve become a mainstay of the last several years.
Love From The Other Side
Fall Out Boy’s new song, Love From The Other Side, is pretty great. It feels like it could slot in nicely somewhere between Folie à Deux and Infinity on High. Chorus.fm had a good summary of several interviews Patrick Stump has done, and it sounds like they nailed precisely what they were aiming for me to.
2023 feels like it’s shaping up to be a massive comeback year from aughts-eta Warped Tour bands. Paramore, Fall Out Boy, and Blink-182 all have confirmed 2023 releases, and it won’t shock me if My Chemical Romance, Cartel, Taking Back Sunday, and The Used all also have released out.
Asphalt Meadows – Death Cab for Cutie
I’m a “they’ll never do wrong” sort of Death Cab fan. Even when I don’t really dig an album when it comes out, I always end up coming back to it and find a few gems (I’m looking at you Kintsugi). I loved this album from the first listen. I was so relieved when I liked the first album post-Chris Walla’s departure from the band Thank You For Today; the EP that followed that up, The Blue EP was fantastic too. In fact, I went to go see them on that tour, and thought they sounded better than any other time I’d seen them – adding a fifth member really fills out their sound. Asphalt Meadows just builds on that momentum. My favorite song on the record is probably “Foxglove Through The Clearcut” – its a weird one. Weird in a very good way.
At Ken 