Compilations Music

Just like the other CD i bought this one to go with my daughter Luau theme birthday party and i found this music to be pretty relaxing.

This is my absolute favorite Hawaiian CD. For one-hour, you are transported to the South-Seas Paradise of Hawaii. I wish there were more recordings like this available today.

This is a beautiful CD. Of course, some of the traditional Polynesian chants lose a little without pulsating drums, intoning by the natives and exotic rhythms. (And if you want some local color, get Henry Kapono's Evolution of Poi.) But that aside, this IS the Strings and it's delightful. And yes, there is no "r" in the Hawaiian alphabet, but "Moon over Manakoora" is especially soothing. (Sung by Dorothy Lamour in The Hurricane (1937) - awesome). Just relax and float.

There are basically three types of songs on this CD: the straight ahead Hawaiian style songs (the kind that make you think of a Hawaiian Punch commercial), then there are the Martin Denny-ish types of songs, complete with jungle animals in the background, and lastly, there are songs with exotic melodies done in a symphonic style, what you would expect to hear in a 101 Strings album. It's a fun CD to listen to.

If you are looking to be transported to the South-Seas Paradise of Hawaii for an hour, then please don't buy this CD. I gave this CD the benefit of the doubt when I saw that it was made in Canada, and gave it a spin. Boy, was I disappointed. If you want good Hawaiian music buy IZ, Hawaiian Slack Key Masters, or many others CDs by talented Hawaiians. But don't buy this CD.

What everyone says is true. It is long, repetitive and not much "true" chanting. It is melodic, peaceful, pleasing, and beautiful in its sameness.I have owned this CD for several years and always return to it; however my son (early 20's indie rock band member) hates it. I can see why; it seems to never end to him. For me the eternal continuing joy in the voices pleases my soul.

The Buddhist Chants & Peace Music cd arrived timely and in new condition. It plays great.

I bought this disk to try and bring some calm energy to an otherwise hostile and negatively charged environment. I find that in playing it lowly in the background, my fifth graders are more focused and relaxed, less likely to get aggressive with one another. I imagine if you were simply sitting and listening to it, it would be boring, but it makes for soothing background noise for myself and my students.

It should be said first of all that this is a quality recording. Clearly, the producers put a lot of work into it. This is the only reason I give it more than one star.

That said, it is the antithesis of Buddhist chant. The music is overproduced, too lush and much too saccharine. It is the audio equivalent of a big hunk of birthday cake.

Unless that's what you were hoping for, I would advise potential buyers to look elsewhere. Very disappointing.

Songs may be long if you seat and listen to them, however if you use this CD during some activities or training you may find it excellent.

Dennie Ferrer shows the true meaning of house, some house DJ's bring you to the highest high then throw on a track to get you off the dance floor, not Dennis, he starts out on a high note that just escalates from there. BUY this track, Trust me, I'm a house head from the Garage Days in New York City, Roseland, Bonds international, Gothams City West. So believe me when I tell you this is some real house music.

Dave

This is my first Hed Kandi purchase and I have thoroughly enjoyed this mix of summer-style house music. As my introduction to the Hed Kandi label, it has brought me back for more. This CD is great if you are into the soulful house music found elsewhere on the Kandi label and others. If you are not a house music person don't bother, but if you enjoy yourself some upbeat, summer style soulful house, then you will find happiness here.

I have been listening to the Hed Kandi UK labels and I love those albums. I just got my Hed Kandi US today in the mail and without skipping a beat I through the disk in the player at work and I find myself head bobbin, foot stompin, rockin away to some funky tunes.

People are always in my office asking what kind of music am I listening to, and I tell them "Hed Kandi"

Ever since the Hed Kandi label was taken over by Ministry of Sound, many of the collections have struggled to maintain excellence and direction. Judging by the overall decrease in positive reputation and critical acclaim, it seems that many people have given up on the label. Sales might be up, but that would be due to the wider commercial appeal, not the quality. Recent collections are improving, but still okay at best. However, this localized edition of Beach House is a gigantic failure.

First, a considerable number of the songs included on both discs have been overused and are featured on Hed Kandi releases from 2007. In fact 4 of the tracks, "So Far," "It's Gonna Happen," "Watertight", and "Ride the Storm" which, except for the last one, are good songs in their own right, are straight from Beach House 2007. If that's not ridiculous, I don't know what is. Either MoS thinks that Americans are stupid or behind the times. Other songs, like "Inside Out" (The Mix 2008) and "Another Chance" (Kandi Lounge) are also recent repeats. That's a fourth of the tracks. There's a big difference between classics that haven't been heard or featured in years and songs that are getting recycled every quarter. And it's not as if these are remixes either; the tracks are exactly the same.

Another point of concern is the trend of using more and more tracks that frankly belong in the Disco series. The disco-ification of summer House collections is a turnoff to those of us who don't particularly enjoy that subgenre. I know that I'm in the minority when it comes to disliking the disco side of House, but am certainly not the only one, especially amongst longstanding Beach House fans. This includes the tracks "Rough Times", "Wonderful", "Rise", "Ride the Storm", and "Colors Are Forever" (the last being decent in its restraint). Hed Kandi is not the only culprit in this as Mark Doyle's Beach Angel series is also an offender (except to a lesser, milder degree). Now one or two disco House songs have made an annual appearance on past Beach Houses, but not nearly to this extent. And none so blatantly out of place. Needless to say, I find most of these songs grating and annoying. But it's just a side effect of the whole Beach House series getting more dance oriented in recent years. Which is fine on its own, but isn't what Beach House is really supposed to be. There's Stereo Sushi or Twisted Disco for that. It also makes the collection feel lazily put together.

Besides those two major complaints, the 2 CDs are mediocre to say the least. A few songs are good, like the remix of the Samantha James hit, "Breathe You In" or Rasmus Faber's "Demanda". However, there is almost no sense of pacing, as songs are seemingly put in random order. Like "Empty Streets", a song from 5 years ago, with its cool and somber beat, being followed by the bombastic "Ride the Storm." This might be a side effect from the lack of track mixing, but having to choose between over-editing or random track sequencing isn't something you should have to do. Some of the songs are rather bland and unoriginal, like "The Music", "One", and "Quiero Tus Caricias". They're not exactly horrible, but aren't memorable at all. But a large amount of songs are throwaway filler. There's no sense of discovering of a truly amazing track like there should be.

Some of the music itself isn't terrible, just okay with a few good tracks. But considering that many of best are just cherry picked from other Hed Kandi series, it lacks the individuality of past Beach House titles. Classics are good and all, but to call recent songs "classic" is really stretching it. Besides, a sizable number of new tracks are straight up, misplaced garbage. The overall set honestly feels more geared toward the Madonna electro pop crowd than the regular House fan. I hope that this isn't the start of splitting the series into regional editions. If the U.S. is just going to get a mish mash of old and ill fitting music, then there's really no point for it to exist, outside of hooking unquestioning fans that'll buy and endlessly extol anything with the Kandi label. But for the rest of us, it's hard not to feel cheated and under-whelmed by the whole experience. Flooding the market with uninspired, regionalized versions is just makes MoS seem money grubby. They can go ahead and take money from the brainless, image obsessed, name-dropping drones ("great CD for the beaches of the Maldives when I'm partying with my sexy millionare friends!"), but it's a true shame when decent people waste money on stuff like this because of a biased and uninformative review. Those who actually like Disco and hyperactive summer tunes might enjoy this collection a lot more, but even then, to call it amazing is willingly ignoring undeniable faults. It only deserves 1/2 a star, and really pains me to even give it a whole one.

As a final note, this Beach House is NOT the same as the UK version. There are a few (5) track similarities, but it's mostly different. And none of the tracks on that edition are from Beach House 2007. If anything, get that version if you must.


Favorite Tracks:
It's Gonna Happen
Demanda

Least Favorite Tracks:
Rough Times
Ride the Storm
Wonder
Open Your Eyes

Finally, Summer 2008 has officially arrive and again Hed Kandi delivers another great Beach House album. The beach party has moved to the sunny beaches of the US.

Totally, great album!! I love all tracks but Belezamusica's version of the Odyssey classic "Inside Out" is simply fantastic, too good to pass on. Somehow, I never get bored of the 2 CD's and for some reason they place me in a happy place while driving my car to The Hamptoms!! Come on summer, with the windows down and music blaring!

Top album, if you don't like Hed Kandi or this album, there is something seriously wrong.

The 5 CDs collected here are the new remixed expanded reissues, each CD given its own cardboard sleeve identical to the original LP sleeve in miniature excepting the altered catalog number. This means the mini-LP sleeves have only the original tracks listed. The outside sleeve does list bonus tracks but does not detail what many of the bonus tracks are. I believe some are single versions (a couple with alternate Mick Ralphs guitar parts left in while the album versions were altered after he left the band). When demos were recorded is left to the imagination, as is the date of the live recordings included! The lack of liner notes cost this package a few stars! As a historian who likes to reedit my favorite band's music chronologically I find this very annoying and will be purchasing the individual releases for the liner notes from now on. An exception would be the wonderful Argent 5-LP collection which includes no bonus tracks and I don't need the new liner notes. (No matter how well I cared for the albums those soft keyboard and sparse vocal passages were starting to sound a bit rough on my vinyl.)

After seeing about half of this documentary on the Bravo Channel I went online to buy one to see the whole movie. After seeing the whole movie, I bought 3 more to give away to friends. This is THE BEST history lesson of the history of the Punk genre and an explanation of how it still has influence to this day. A must see - must own DVD.

this dvd is awesome! by far the most extensive, educational, entertaining, thorough, and credible documentary on punk rock that is in existance, as far as i know. i've watched it 3 times already. it's that good! for anyone who wants to understand the attitudes and history behind punk rock, this is a must! i will cherish this forever and will be sure to educate my kids on it one day!

Amidst all the corporate dross that these days desecrates our favorite movement and what it originally meant, it is truly gratifying to come across something like this that puts Punk in its proper context. First, last and always, Punk is an attitude and for a brief moment in post-war Western history, this attitude (which has always existed in humans since time immemorial) expressed itself in popular music, the culmination of that being the blazing 18 months spanning 1976, '77 and '78. Don Letts' documentary is focussed firmly on that idea and really, when you think about it, remove the idea from the music and you're left with something rather dull and ordinary. The idea was what fuelled the music - something that relatively few musings on Punk these days seem to concentrate on. Packaged rebellion it was not.

As far as dealing with the music of Punk, this is an excellent, if slightly disjointed history of the roots and mechanics of the genre, stretching back to the echo-laden Rockabilly tones through to the '60s Garage band era (great footage of The Count Five!) and onto the proto-Punk sounds of the Velvets, MC5, Stooges, Dolls, Richard Hell etc. A large proportion of the documentary is dedicated to this which should be enough to recommend it alone. And all the while, Letts never allows us to forget the attitude that drove this music and made it what it was. The focal point is obviously the late '70s Punk explosion and I disagree with those who say that he neglects the '80s - a reasonable portion of the film is dedicated to Hardcore and it gets equal amounts of coverage/discoverage as anything else here. If there is a criticism, it is that the film has almost a piecemeal characteristic to it; you often feel as though it doesn't quite hang together and that as a history, it could have been tighter.

But then that's missing the "Attitude" portion of the title. As a manifesto, a true understanding of what this movement was, Punk Attitude is bang on the money. When someone way off in the distant future feels angry enough to kick out the jams once more, whatever their modus operandi, they'll be able to look back to the original Punk movement for inspiration. And this film will certainly be a part of that.

Knowing that this film was by Don Letts, the 70s English punk era D. J. that turned punks on to reggae (therefore influencing punk music through groups such as the Clash and Ruts) I was expecting this to be GREAT. It wasn't. If you're into punk, dont expect a history of it here. Lots of essential groups are ignored, from MANY 70's English and American groups to almost the entire hardcore and oi movements. The movie moves to later stuff like rap and grunge and other music that isnt punk instead. It is called PUNK ATTITUDE, not PUNK, so that may be its goal (although there is a lot of non-punk punk attitude not covered either). If you want PUNK, it has some stuff but is a real disappointment. The extras are worthwhile for reasons stated in other reviews here, so I wont be redundant and set them forth.

I highly recommend this documentary for any punk rock fans, or fans of music history in general. Even if you don't like punk rock music, there is a lot to be learned from this film. This movie does a pretty good job of summing up why these people were making the music they were making, starting in the mid-60's, going through roughly 1980 in detail. The film includes interviews with many people who either made the music (New York Dolls, Suicide, The Damned, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Buzzcocks, and more...well, the members still alive who would agree to interviews, at least), and people who made music that was influenced by the first wave of punk rock (Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, Thurston Moore, Agnostic Front).

What is "punk rock"? That seems to be the mission statement of the film. How do you define a style that bases itself in the idea of non-conformity? One of the most interesting things to learn from the film is that many of the bands who made the music in the late `70's seem to believe that punk died when bands started referring to themselves as "punk".

The film does have a few faults. There are some glaringly missing interviews. From the pre/proto-punk era, they did manage to get a brief clip of John Cale from The Velvet Underground, and members of MC5, but not one member of The Stooges? Without a lot of interviews from the pre/proto era, that part of the film plays a little like one of those VH1 shows, where they show a clip of something nostalgic, and then a famous person comes on and says something like, "I remember that. I like that." Fortunately, there isn't too much of that, though.

Another problem with the film is the glaring omission of the 80's. The film has members of Black Flag, Bad Brains, and the Dead Kennedys in the movie, and yet sticks to the premise that "punk died in the 80's and nothing happened until Nirvana". This is a poor statement to make, for two reasons. First, when they say that punk died in 1980, many of the band members come off like those aging hippies who wag their fingers at kids and say, "music hasn't been the same since the Beatles". Maybe this is because I lived in California, where in the 80's punk and skate culture went hand in hand, but off the top of my head I can think of Bad Religion, Social Distortion, Circle Jerks, D.O.A., Agent Orange, Descendents, Millions of Dead Cops, Subhumans, D.R.I., T.S.O.L., Minutemen, Suicidal Tendencies, Husker Du, Flipper, JFA, Dead Milkmen, DI, Drunk Injuns, and many more. Punk was alive and thriving, as far as I could tell. It just wasn't like the days when bands like The Clash and The Sex Pistols appeared on the record charts (which may have been a good thing).

Also, lightly touched on, was the 90's generation of punk. Think what you will about the pre-pop-punk like Pennywise, Vandals, Offspring, Green Day, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Swingin' Utters, NOFX, etc., like it or not, those bands are part of the "punk" legacy. Why would the movie mention Korn and Limp Biscuit, but not most of those bands? Fortunately the documentary does make the distinction between those bands, and bands like Blink182, Good Charlotte, and A Simple Plan, who represent the complete assimilation of punk into "the system", the true death of punk.

Well, shortcomings and all, this is still a wonderful movie that will provide you with a knowledgeable history of early punk rock. To fill in some of the blanks, I recommend seeing the movies "American Hardcore", "The End of the Century", "The Filth and the Fury", "Westway to the World", "We Jam Econo", "Repo Man", and "Devo - The Complete Truth About De-Evolution".

EDIT: For a complete punk history, do yourself a favor and watch "Punk Attitude" (~mid-sixties - 1981), "American Hardcore" (~1979-1986), and "Punk's Not Dead" (~1986-present). These three movies have come out in succession, all made by different directors. Yet, as luck would have it, they pretty much cover the span of punk history up to 2007. Also, some time in the next year (I'm writing this in 2007), "The Decline of Western Civilization" will finally be released on DVD.

TWO SECTIONS TO THIS VIDEO: 67 MINUTE PERFORMANCE OF THREE OF BACH'S MOST ATTRACTIVE CANTATAS FOR THE ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY- 60 MINUTE DOCUMENTARY OF GARDINER'S TOUR THAT INCLUDES EXCERPTS OF MANY OF HIS OTHER PERFORMANCES DURING THE TOUR. More specifically, the towns that Gardiner chose for his tour all have special significance in Bach's life, and the cantatas he chose are directly related to the event involved. Gardiner explains all of this very clearly in the Documentary portion of the DVD, which actually mesmorized me throughout, so much so, that I ignored the telephone, the doorbell and anything else that went on during that time. (Unfortunately, it also included the Oven timer!) I would suggest that you view the Documentary before the accompanying concert. The towns visited were: Weimar, Leipzig, Hamburg, Eisenach, Arnstadt, Blythburg, Kirkwall, Iona, St.Davids, Cologne and New York City.

In the year 2000, John Eliot Gardiner set out on his Bach Pilgrimage, the goal of which was to perform all of Bach's Sacred Cantatas in various churches throughout Europe. This was done over a fifty-two week period, and it was with religious fervor that his orchestra, choir and soloists achieved this unique goal.

One must admire Gardiner for his belief and perserverence in such a far-out and somewhat crazy project. The difficulty alone of traveling and performing in different areas each week, and having to learn three or four cantatas per week, had to be a grueling experience for the musicians. However, the truth of this DVD cannot be denied, and this tour borders on the miraculous. For the most part, choir and soloists alike give us an emotional and profound experience. And Gardiner has made available for our listening pleasure, not only great performances of familiar cantatas, but has introduced to the world some of the lesser known that we might never have heard.

As to the three cantatas performed in the concert portion of the DVD, I must question Gardiner's selection of these particular cantatas, for surely they are not the most interesting of all the available line-up in his many concerts during the tour. BWV 179 is the most interesting of the three, because it seemed to move along somewhat tunefully and the three soloists(Kozena-Padmore-Loges) performed well; in fact,Padmore was magnificent!

Cantata 199 was attractive, but it seemed that this one lacked variety, mainly because it was mostly soprano solo throughout with the chorus participating in a few spots. But I must confess that two things about Magdalena Kozena delivery bothered me. She used an excessive amount of physical movement that did not convey an emotional involvement with Bach's music. I had to stop watching her because it really bothered me. In addition, I personally like to hear a less operatic sounding voice for Bach's Arias. But I admit to favoring singers like Emma Kirkby who seems to be able to wrap herself around Bach's wonderful music without favoring excessive bodily activity. So sue me all you Kozena lovers; you have a right!

Cantata 113 was easy to take with with such an excellent aria sung near the beginning by Padmore, who really knows how to sing Bach the way it should be sung. A big disappointment was the countertenor, William Towers, who was weak in his delivery, to say the least; I really don't think that he is ready to sing Bach. And the question for Gardiner is: why didn't he call upon some of his well-known countertenors that he used at other concerts on this tour, such as Michael Chance, Derek Ragin and Daniel Taylor??Mayhap they just couldn't make it. I certainly would have welcomed David Daniels.

All of the above is my own personal reaction, that may or MAY NOT agree with what yours may be, but that's the great thing about listening to music. We can all respond the way we like!

The Documentary was truly inspirational to watch as the varied groups in different locations performed briefly, but wonderfully throughout. One can see the intensity and a touch of fatigue on the faces of the singers as the time goes on in their tour. But professionals they are, and they sang well all the way to New York City, their last concert on the tour.

It is most unfortunate that Deutsche Grammofon axed the release of all the recordings (curses to them, I say), but they are gradually being made available through Gardiner's own recording company SDG, and I eagerly await the next one which is Vol. 4 to be released around June 29. These recordings constitute an extraordinary testament to some of the finest music ever written and a true belief in the power of music!

There is an entire Website devoted to the Pilgramage Recordings (Soli Deo Gloria), and it includes an inordinate amount of information about all the volumes of Bach Cantatas in great detail (thank-you Oliver, my friend).

The packaging herein includes an Illustrated booklet with historical notes and biographies in English, French and German; full texts of all three performance cantatas and subitles in English, French and German.

great cd - I played it at my parents 50th wedding anniversary party and everyone loved it.

I thought that these were all great songs of 1973, they chose the perfect hits and put them all on one CD. Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Crocodile Rock are 2 of my favorite hits and they are both on this one CD. All I can say is this is a GREAT CD.

Rhino Records released yet another great CD of rock and roll hits from the year 1973. This album proves that it was a very good year indeed!

This CD boasts two phenomenal hits from Sir Elton John: "Crocodile Rock" and "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road." These songs are very strong with catchy melodies; the songs also address the universal theme of that awful pain when romance ends. Jim Croce rocks hard with his classic "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." The Edgar Winter Group contributes "Frankenstein" which rocks very strong; this is the only instrumental on this album and it's a great choice.

Other songs on this album have a slower, more soulful feel to them: "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye and "Midnight Train To Georgia" by Gladys Knight & The Pips are beautiful ballads. There's a country feel to the rock hit "Ramblin Man" by The Allman Brothers Band which adds some diversity to the track selection.

The quality of the sound is excellent and the liner notes offer some great black and white photos of most of the artists who perform on this CD. The liner notes indicate the month during which the song was big and this is a nice plus.

Unfortunate news: I can only give this CD four stars. True, it brings back fond memories of when I was younger and life was simpler. True, the songs are great and the quality of the sound is excellent. Rhino Records makes a big mistake, sadly, when they decide to limit all the CDs in this series to exactly ten songs each. Not eleven, not eight, not twelve--ten songs and exactly ten songs. The CD weighs in at roughly 33 minutes so there's clearly more room for at least two or three more songs on this CD. I was disappointed.

Overall, however, this is still a great CD to bring back memories of rock in the early 1970s. It's also a great CD to choose if you want an affordable CD to see if you would like this kind of music. I highly recommend this for fans of classic rock and roll; fans of music from the early 1970s and for people who want to experience the amazing rock and roll music of the early 1970s for the very first time. SMILE

Rock and Roll is often a catchall phrase. Would it include "Show and Tell" by Al Wilson? John Lennon's "Mind Games"? Skylark's "Wildflower"? McCartney and Wings' "My Love"? Kris Kristofferson's "Why Me?"? How about "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon? Thise are just a few of the top selling songs of 1973. Why is Billboard so niggardly with their cheap 10-only selections? Look around before you buy. If ten's enough for the price for you, then you have ten good ones here.

These songs all bring back memories of my senior year in high school. Back then, some songs on the radio were novelty songs or pure crap, but this collection only skims the surface of some of the better music of that era. Whether rock,soul or r&b, you had your pick on the radio and all on one station! Great fun and better than most of the stuff out nowadays.

I have bought all the Warped tour compilations since early 2000's and I have been pleased for the most part. 50 songs ranging from crunchy punk to melodic catchy pop for the price of a Hamburger, fries and a Coke, isn't a bad deal. I have seen these sets on sale for $5.00, but even are full price your bound to like more than you do not. It's also a inexpensive way to learn about bands you may never hear of. I know I didn't know any of these bands before buying these sets. I own 8,000 CD's and I'm glad to have some obscure, but good new material to check out. The Warped Tour sets are worth looking into!

I think this year's warped tour had a lot of good punk songs and even more ska songs. TOO MUCH EMO I CAN"T STAND THAT! Here are the good songs you should listen to on the cd.

Fire Down Below- Alkaline Trio
Summer In B- Amber Pacific
Requiem For Dissent- Bad Religion
Duality- Bayside
Until We Burn In The Sun- Bedouin Soundclash
Steady Riot- Big D and the Kids Table
Song of Babylon- The Briggs
I'm Not Dead- Buck-O-Nine
In It For Life- The Casualities
Lyrical Lies- Cute Is What We Aim For
60 Revolutions- Gogol Bordello
Sympathy of Voices- Guff
Insurance?- The Higher
Amity- LoveHateHero
State of Mind- Mad Caddies
House of Cards- Madina Lake
Little Maggots- The Matches
Black Cat- Mayday Parade
The Shake (The Feeling)- My American Heart
M-80- Olympia
Take Me- Only Crime
Oh The Congestion- Piebald
Killing Through Song- Ryan's Hope
This Song Is Definately Not About A Girl - Set Your Goals
The Patty Hearst Syndrome- Smoke or Fire
Fading American Dream- Street Dogs
Calling- Strung Out
Afterworld- Tiger Army
Your're Gonna Pay- The Toasters
A Pound of Silver- Tokyo Rose
At Point Black- The Unseen

These are the good songs trust me other are crap.

this year's compilation has a lot of great songs on it though maybe a few less than the past two years'. first of all, if you don't like screamed vocals, don't look twice at this cd and for that matter, why are you here? you should know better by now. but the screamo on here is really great.

second of all, you can expect both cds to have the latest installment of crap from dinosaur bands like bad religion and casualties etc. but thats understandable i guess. a good amount of tracks are the abrasive punk style of the 90s hardline which had its place and needs to get left off the comp in the future.

what i really dont get is, for the third straight year the gogol bordello crap factory somehow manages to abort a baby onto a studio master copy and submit it to the compilation and somehow it gets on!! how on earth does this keep happening when there are so many good "one off" bands?! i can understand the novelty of it for one year but this is enough. there are also a lot of wear-out-the"next"-button-on-your-cd-player songs on this comp from all the sub-genres.

the ska sub-genre isnt represented very well this year though thats to be expected too these days.

anyway, some highlights from this year are:
as i lay dying and norma jean, human abstract and blinded black for the real hard chaotic firebreather stuff;
killswitch, i am ghost, madina lake, chiodos, and vanna for the melodic, moderately hard stuff;
lovehatehero, amber pacific, smoke or fire, and tokyo rose for the catchier, punkier stuff.

also, mayday parade's black cat (mislabelled here on amazon) is a great swingpunk-ish song and i love it, but not their best in my opinion and ive heard it way too much. speaking of not their best, piebald, the used and strung out put some cool songs on here but not really amazing songs.

two great songs that i dont know how to really categorize are insurance? by higher and paramore's this circle. this circle isnt paramore's usual neo-punk stuff but is great. sounds almost indie (at least as far as the guitars go). insurance? is one of the catchiest songs ive ever heard. it falls in that undefinable super-produced pop category thats not-really-pop and therefore cool enough for scene kids to listen to. whatever genre that is, its not punk. but its definitely scene. i still like it.

favorite songs from both cds:
summer in b by amber pacific (that characteristic punk beat and speed, super catchy melody, wild bluesy-solo guitar, GREAT ENDING),
mea culpa by the human abstract (guitars sound like classical music with a boner, a lot of double bass, not too crazy on the sceaming. this is the future of the genre mark my words)
insurance? by higher (this is what hellogoodbye and panic and the academy is wish they could be if they were all rolled up together.)

Holy mother of Magnuson, I had heard punk music had gotten bad recently, but this is absurd!

To be fair, I'm not between 11 and 14 years old, so I'm outside of the modern target market for pop punk acts, but my early 80's birthdate in no way disallows me to distinguish between what's good and what flat out sucks. This compilation flat out sucks.

If you like or have ever liked Millencolin, Good Riddance, Ten Foot Pole, Pulley, Lagwagon, No Use, Pennywise, Strung Out, the Vandals, or any of the other classic pop-ish punk bands of the modern era, you will hate this compilation. If you like or have ever liked Reggie and the Full Effect or Piebald you might well enjoy this compilation, but if that's the case you're already used to listening to someone throw up directly into your ears, so that's really not saying all that much.

Disk one features a sub par selection from the Alkaline Trio, as well as a new song from Bad Religion (surprise! it sounds like every other song they've ever released). The Tiger Army track After World is actually pretty solid, but it's the only one on this half of the comp. Amber Pacific comes close to registering a good song with "Summer (in B)", a track that might remind a few people of Unwritten Law's sound on Blue Room and Oz Factor, two albums that these kids clearly learned a fair amount from. Tragically, they didn't learn quite enough.

Disk two features a great song from Strung Out (gotta hand it to them, even after completely changing their sound they're still irrefutably good), as well as a surprisingly good track from Bayside, which is a band I'd never heard of before (though their song isn't anything resembling punk, it's still a good track). Meg and Dia's "Monster" is catchy in a "man, I really hope none of my friends catch me listening to this" kind of way, and... well, that's about it. The rest of cd 2 is HORRENDOUS.

Yep, that's about it. Okay, bye now.

warped tour is amazing they have a lot of my favorite bands in one place i totaly plan my whole year around it. its amazing.