Hoping for the best just hoping nothing happens. A thousand clever lines unread on clever napkins...

This weeks band is one that a lot of people already know about because of their popularity. Their connection to other bands I have blogged about made it next to impossible to not talk about Taking Back Sunday. Taking Back Sunday band has spawned other bands like Straylight Run, their ongoing feud with Brand New brought both bands into the spotlight, they are cited as one of Cute Is What We Aim For’s influences and have at least toured with the other bands covered in this blog.

Taking Back Sunday was formed in 1999 by Eddie Rayes with a lineup that included Brand New’s Jesse Lacey on bass. Since then they have gone through four major line up changes, the most drastic came in 2002 when John Nolan and Shaun Cooper left the band after the release of their debut album “Tell All Your Friends”. The band would release three more albums between 2003 and 2009. 2004’s “Where You Want to Be” and 2006’s ‘Louder Now” feature new guitarist Fred Maraschino and new bassist Matt Rubano. Maraschino left the band and was replaced by Matt Fazzi who played on New Again which was released in 2009. During this time fans stayed loyal but always hoped for a reunion of the "Tell All Your Friends" line up. In 2010 fans got their wish when the band fired their current guitarist, Matt Fazzi and bassist, Matt Rubano and to everyone's shock John Nolan and Shaun Cooper returned to their home, Taking Back Sunday. The band seemed to have mended the fences that were torn down during the initial split and would release last years self titled album. The album is quite possibly their best, at least lyrically, since Tell All Your Friends.

(Take a listen to " A Decade Under the Influence"  one of the many songs about John Nolan and Shaun Cooper's departure from the band) 

Taking Back Sunday did for their genre of music what little other bands were able to do. They brought emo-punk to a place where it was respected by critics and praised by fans across the world. The band is filled with talented musicians who are able to play their respective intstruments better than many other musicians out there. Adam Lazarra, the lead vocalist of the band, has grown over the years into an insightful lyricist writing songs dealing with his own battles with drug addiction and the fallout with best friend John Nolan. When Nolan returned to the band he brought his mature approach to song writing with him and Taking Back Sunday was able to produce some of their best and most insightful songs of their careers.

(Listen to their first single from their self title album, "This Is All Now") 

I had the pleasure of seeing the band live this summer during their reunion tour. While the band has grown and released a number of albums after many years of being in the business, it was amazing to see how the reaction of the crowd as soon as the words “Your lipstick, his color, don’t bother angel I know exactly what goes on” from their first single "Cute Without The ‘E’ (Cut From the Team) was heard.  Listen to the song which is also the inspiration for this week's blog title, below. 

Hip hip hooray you're our saving grace here's to you and your poker face

            This week’s band Head Automatica is the side project of Daryl Palumbo, the lead singer of a popular underground hardcore band called Glassjaw. In his original band Palumbo does not as much sing as he does scream. Head Automatica is nothing like Glassjaw and started when Palumbo decided that he wanted to do something different from his other band and make music that was influenced by hip hop and pop music.  Since the band first formed in 2003 they have released two albums, 2004’s Decandance and in 2006 they released their second album Popaganda.(Listen to their first single "Beating Heart Baby" below) 

            Head Automatica’s music is much different than the other bands that I have blogged about. While it is rock music it is very much inspire by other genres and is very experimental. Still Head Automatica is a band that stands out because of its substance. While the songs are catchy and easy to dance to the lyrics deal with very real issues from love to god and religion.

(Listen to "Graduation Day" below) 

            According to recent twitter and web page updates Head Automatica has completed work on a third album but it has been delayed due to Palumbo’s work and touring with Glassjaw and his other side projects.

Check out the band at their MySpace and Facebook. 


Take a listen to one of my favourite Head Automatica songs King Caesar (it is also the inspiration for today's blog title) 

Are you perspiring from the irony or just sweating to these lyrics?

This week’s band Cute is What we Aim For comes from the same power pop or emo-pop movement in music that launched the careers of such bands as Paramore, Panic at the Dicso and that little know band Fall Out Boy. The band was formed in 2005 by Shaant Hacikyan, Dave Melillo and Jeff Czum and they were signed by Fueled For Ramen while they were still in high school.

From 2005 until 2008 the band would release two albums, “The Same Old Blood Rush with a New Touch” and “Rotation”.

Once again Cute is What We Aim For offers something that other bands do not. While some may argue that they are simply a boy band with instruments, one only has to listen to their songs to hear that they are very talented music and lyric writers. Their songs cover every topic from love, to sex, to dealing with the music industry but in a very mature and well-crafted way. Their songs and lyrics speak for themselves, just have a listen to their song "The Curse of Curves" (the song that inspired this week's blog title) and you will see for yourself. 

Unfortunately after the release of Rotation the band split up. There has been a great deal of speculation to why this happened but it was recently revealed that it was due to Shaant Hacikyan’s drug problems. Recently, Hacikyan announced he would be continue to release music under the Cute is What We Aim For name while the other members formed Nocturnal Me. A new album is expected in the near future and last year Cute is What We Aim For played at St. Catharines very own S.C.E.N.E Festival. 

Take a listen to one of the songs released after the band's break up "Next to Me" below.

Hear more from and learn more about the band online at MySpace. 

Sing me something sad, soft and delicate or loud and out of key. Sing me anything.

This weeks band is one of those bands that some may know of mainly because of their connection to a much more popular band, Taking Back Sunday. Straylight Run came about after John Nolan (singer/guitarist) and Shaun Cooper (bassist) left TBS. The band was rounded out by drummer Will Noon, and Nolan’s sister Michelle DeRosa. 

Take a listen to "A Slow Descent" the song many fans feel is about the deterioration of Taking Back Sunday. 

Straylight Run never reached the same level of success as TBS but they gained a great deal of popularity, especially among fans of TBS who felt that the band was not the same without Nolan’s lyrics. Like the other bands I have blogged about Straylight Run is a band that has something to offer musically and lyrically in terms of substance. Their songs cover topics like the stress that comes with fame, the fear of getting older, marriage and love and battling alcoholism and other internal demons.

Take a listen to one of my favourites, "Try" 

The band would release two full length albums and four EP's from 2004 until 2009. Michelle Nolan left the band in 2008 to purse other things. Unfortunately it looks like Straylight Run may not be making any new music in the near future as Nolan and Cooper have returned to Taking Back Sunday. However, you can still hear them play some of the more popular Straylight songs live and they have both never closed the door on the band reuniting in the future. Luckily I was able to see the band when they played one of their last shows a few years back in St. Catharines and had a beer with the Nolans. Unfortunately I did not take a picture, something I regret very much.

Check out Straylight Run's MySpace and Facebook pages to hear more from and learn more about them. 

Here is a video I took at a recent Taking Back Sunday concert with John Nolan and Adam Lazarra performing Straylight Run's most popular song and the inspiration for the title of this week's post, "Existentialism on Prom Night" (I apologize for the sloppy camera work)