Cross-genre shizzle #2 - Glassjaw

pbsuxok1znja4r

Okay, after some deliberation, I picked this band because:

A) I think they're an amazing band (obviously ).
I thought I should pick a band that I thought the majority of people weren't too familiar with. Maybe I'm totally mistaken and everybody else already knows/loves/hates 'em, though.
C) I thought I should pick a band that floated, to an extent, in a genre that most people did not yet have a taste for, so as to expose 'em to something a little 'new'.

This is Glassjaw; one of the most unique and progressive of post-hardcore and screamo bands out there. And yes, they are still together; working on a new album, actually. I think if you're coming primarily from any genre, (excepting maybe only the more extreme of metal), you should find something to like in some of the varied music GJ have made. Some of their more notable influences include the likes of Bad Brains, Fugazi, Morrissey, Faith No More and 80's power-pop band Squeeze, among others.


I've tried to gather links to as many tracks as is legally possible and I'll group them loosely under certain styles so that people might better be able to find something they themselves will most enjoy listening to. You can download some of the "rare and unreleased" tracks from the offical GJ website (which I've linked to several times below) by right-click, save-as, etc. Unfortunately some of the best heavier tracks are from the albums so you'll probably have to find 'em and buy 'em yourself to listen:

Some recommended heavier stuff:
El Mark
Pretty Lush Video + Live video
Siberian Kiss video
Cosmopolitan Bloodloss video (featuring Vincent Gallo )
Lovebites & Razorlines (on Myspace)
Mu Empire (Live in studio video)
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence - (sorry, no link; try to find/buy it if you can...)
Vermont Connection - (I may be able to find a link to this track, if anyone cares).

The recommended less heavy and alternative stuff:
Must've Run All Day Video (not the official video) + Live in studio!
Ape Dos Mil Video + Live in studio!
When One Eight Becomes Two Zeros (on Myspace)
Convectuoso
Midwestern Stylings *Acoustic*
Video of Glassjaw's live, *acoustic* set at the opening of some IPod/Mac store
Convectuoso Video (Live!) - This is really worth checking out, IMHO. Their crowning glory; for me


Piano/keys tracks:
The Number No Good Things Could Come Of
Midwestern Stylings (Remix)
Oxycodone
Losten/Secret Song - Some jerk remixed this and now I can no longer find the link to the superior, original version...


Well, there you go, that's Glassjaw. Try to listen to one or two tracks from each style before you judge...Hope people enjoy, or at least hear something 'new' in them!
Thou shalt go forth and discuss!

DerekD Goldfish

Ive been meaning to checkout Glasjaw for a while (Mainly due to the Dave Allen connection) I hate starting at indivindual tracks or videos so reocmend a full album for me

DarkJager

You have just got to love Ape Dos Mil... its amazing the way song is put together and the vocals are perfect. A great tune altogether..

Karl Hungus

I remember seeing that video with Vincent Gallo before, and hating it. Mainly the fact that singer reminded me of Eddie Izzard doing his Christopher Walken impression. Listening to some more of Glassjaw's stuff now, I'm actually finding that it isn't as bad as that, but at the same time I'm not really finding it all that good. Nothing about their music is leaping out at me, and the singer still annoys me, but I think that's just to do with my taste, something like this is more up my alley.

The whole "Post-Hardcore" thing irks me aswell. I just get the feeling that all the passion is just squeezed out, so we're left with something placid and commercial, with just the bare amount of 'Attitude' left to appeal to a certain market who believe they're getting something different to the norm. Give me the likes of The Cromags and Black Flag any day. Now I know that's not what Glassjaw are trying to accomplish, it's just that I'm having a little rant because I can't pin down what annoys me so much.

I'll just say that they don't appeal to me and leave it at that.

DarkJager

Karl: I would possibly think that the thing that annoys you is Daryl Palumbos voice. He seems to have a method of singing, where he likes to swing the pitch and intensity up and back down. His other band Head Automatica would wreck your head if this is what annoys you....

pbsuxok1znja4r

DerekD Goldfish wrote:

Ive been meaning to checkout Glasjaw for a while (Mainly due to the Dave Allen connection) I hate starting at indivindual tracks or videos so reocmend a full album for me

Well they only have two full-length albums out, so it's not a hard choice. If you like heavy, angry, catchy and melodic screamo and post-hardcore then Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence is a good bet. It's probably the best twenty quid or so I've ever spent. Worship & Tribute is a little more eclectic in its sound and has way more mellow moments. If you're finding them too intense at first, go for W&T. You should definitely hunt down all their B-sides though; they consist of nugget after nugget of pure musical gold.

Heh, Karl, the point of this discussion is to try to say more than just that! Well, anyway, I think to appreciate the honesty and genuine passion of GJ's music you have to know a little bit about Daryl, Beck and their background. I can say with certainty that there's nothing contrived or commercial about these guys. If it helps, don't think of them as a post-hardcore band - that may have been the crowd they ran/run with, but their music itself is way beyond that. They've really pushed the envelope genre-wise and have done so in the opposite direction to where most of their peers have.

Some do people take a disliking to Palumbo's singing, it seems. Which beats me, really... Heh, you gotta love Head Automatica though; pop music done properly

[Edit]: Oh, and in response to someone finding it 'placid' - if you can, try to find a track called Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence. If you can't get that, Babe or Hurting and Shoving (She Should Have Let Me Sleep) would suffice! Personally I think that for genuine aggression, Glassjaw beat any metal band I've yet to hear. Daryl can scream like a TIE-fighter and not just in the formulaic monotone that many bands (sorry to generalise, but especially death metal) do.

Oh and off-topic, tell me what you think of this song by a band called Zao.

metrovelvet

Im sorry. I tried to listen to it but it was like audial torture. They should blast it through Guantenemo, that and Barbra Streisand.

I know - Im a lameass. I cant deal with Long Island post hardcore.

Tar.Aldarion

I really hate it, oh god, it sounds like my brother singing in the shower..
Different strokes and all taht lark but basically what metrovevet said.

Placebo

fckin love daryln plumbo, been listening for years, gig was great too,
theyre broken up now.