Tom DeLonge Apologizes For Being Pretentious, Not For Being an Asshole

The story surrounding the buildup of hype for post-Blink 182 project Angels and Airwaves keeps changing. First, AvA was going to revolutionize music and be the most important band of the last 20 years. Then it was that their impact wasn't going to be felt for another 30 years. Now Tom DeLonge told MTV's Buzzworthy Blog last week that those claims were just the drugs talking:

TD: I broke my back years ago and got spun out on all these narcotics, so when we were making the first Angels & Airwaves record [We Don’t Need to Whisper] all that stuff kind of exploded and I went out into the press with all these crazy things and all this controversy erupted.

BW: Because of something you said?

TD: Yeah, ’cause I went out and said [the band] was the second coming of Christ. But that’s what’s funny in the documentary; I was like, “If God came down I really, truly believe it wouldn’t be bigger than this record.” [Laughs.]

BW: Is all that behind you now?

TD: Yeah, it’s all behind me. But the documentary will shed a lot of light onto the meaning of this band and what we’re trying to accomplish and how it all stemmed from the breakup of Blink-182.

DeLonge went on to say that he hasn't had any contact with former bandmates Travis Barker and Mark Hoppus, now with (+44). (+44) issued their thoughts on DeLonge in 2005 with the song "No It Isn't":

Lay rotting where I fall
I'm dead from bad intentions
Suffocated and embalmed
And all those dreams are cashed in...

...So please understand, this isn't just goodbye
This is I can't stand you

Well then. Seems like DeLonge has as much credibility as Axl Rose. Also seems like a Blink 182 reunion is dead in the water.

Speaking of reunions (or lack thereof), Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti has sworn off the idea of Creed getting back together, expressing as much irritation with Scott Stapp as everyone else in America. Too bad the guys from Extreme decided to join the reunion train.

New rule for 2008: before a defunct band reunites, there has to be a significant population of fans who want said reunion. On that note, apologies to the guys from Third Eye Blind, Smash Mouth and any other '90s band having trouble paying the bills.

+44 - No It Isn't
Angels and Airwaves - Everything's Magic
Alter Bridge - Rise Today

==TJ==

MTV Buzzworthy Blog
Give Thanks: Creed Is Never Getting Back Together [Idolator]

Angels and Airwaves Start To Fill Some Empty Promises

So the writers in Hollywood are on strike meaning that TV favorites like The Daily Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien are already in reruns, and others, like Grey's Anatomy only have enough new episodes to last till mid-December (the worst scenario award goes to Lost, which due to contract clauses and other randomness, may not air again until February of 2009). Meanwhile in New York the Local One Stagehands are striking, which has effectively shut down Broadway for the second time in 5 years (in 2003 the musicians staged a four-day walkout). So for the time being, TV and Broadway are in a state of limbo. For more on these events, special commentator Michael Stipe:

Audio Commentary from Michael Stipe

At any rate, the music world soldiers on, despite being plagued by the likes of pirates like you and me. Which brings me to tonight's reviews. First, Angels and Airwaves sophomore album, I-Empire:

You kinda have to hand it to Tom DeLonge; the man has a hell of a lot of confidence in his work and refuses to let anyone sway him from it. Prior to releasing We Don't Need to Whisper, his first album after the demise of Blink 182, DeLonge promised that Angels & Airwaves would be the biggest thing to happen to music in two decades, among other such inflated nonsense. The album was an underwhelming ho-hum, an exercise in over-the-top, neverending songs with no clear direction or reason to keep listening. PMA put it best when they said "There was actually a pretty good album buried in WDNTW, but it was difficult to find". DeLonge spent too much time trying to put on the face of maturity and growth without any substance in the music to back it up.

Now AvA is back with I-Empire. The pretentious promises to reshape music and revolutionize the world, etc. are still here, as evidenced by the accompanying website modlife.com, which offers music, podcasts, and film features tied to an eventual movie (all available for a small fee, mind you...). On the surface the music hasn't changed much either; lots of huge intros and spacey guitars vaguely similar to early U2. But beneath the surface, the songs are a bit tighter. They still run between 4 and a half to 5 minutes, but they have more focus than before, and the hooks are much more defined than they were in the past. DeLonge and company come in, make their point and get the hell out. As for DeLonge's songwriting, not much has changed, for better or for worse. DeLonge's lyrics still sound best when written in a highschool yearbook, but there's still a charm to them, that right something that makes you say "Yeah, I've been there" as he sings. Songs like the pedestrian first single "Everything's Magic" and opener "Call to Arms" may not help their crusade, but once those are out of the way, AvA treats us to arena-ready, upbeat rock, highlighted by "Love Like Rockets" and "Rite of Spring", both prime examples of what AvA could accomplish if they spend more time rocking and less time preaching (are you taking notes, Bono?).

Now comes the great question of how Angels and Airwaves compares to the other post-Blink band, Mark Hoppus's and Travis Barker's (+44). Prior to I-Empire, (+44) was obviously the better of the two. The fast pace and tight hooks made Blink so popular, and Travis Barker took both with him and Hoppus. Even after hearing the new album I think that musically (+44) is the better band, though admittedly Mark Hoppus's songwriting is an attempt to mimic the sincerity of DeLonge's. But Angels and Airwaves win the award for most improvement with I-Empire, now if Tom DeLonge could stop making absurd promises, maybe we really could have something great on our hands.

Ruling on the Field: 7/10
Highlight Reel: Rite of Spring

I'll be back in a bit with a review of The Killers B-Side collection Sawdust, due out this Tuesday.

==TJ==

New Singles from Jimmy Eat World, Springsteen, and AvA

OK, lots of cool stuff coming this entry, but first some clarifications;

-If you comment, please be kind enough to sign your post. Gina, I know you reminded me about the Backstreet Boys album dropping in October as well, but please do sign your comments so I can separate the legit from the spam.

-2 entries back I listed James Blunt's All The Lost Souls on the list of albums coming out in October, thus implying you should be excited about the release of said album. Such was a miscommunication; I do not expect you to wait with bated breath for the return of James Blunt, especially if "1973" is any indication.

-If you hadn't noticed, I added my CD Tracker to the list on the left; it keeps a mostly up-to-date list of what CDs I own. Go check it out.

And with that, onto the goods:

-Angels & Airwaves has announced October 23rd as the release date for their sophomore album I-Empire. A clip of the first single "Everything's Magic" is streaming on their MySpace. As of today it had not been released to iTunes.

-However, both Jimmy Eat World and Bruce Springsteen released their first singles "Big Casino" and "Radio Nowhere", respectively, to iTunes today. Springsteen's track is decent, though his voice is starting to show some wear and the message of the song is a bit curmudgeonly, while Jimmy Eat World delivers another great hit. If you hadn't gotten the message, I'm excited for these two albums

Jimmy Eat World - Big Casino
Bruce Springsteen - Radio Nowhere

-More information has come out about Exile on Mainstream, the forthcoming release from Matchbox 20. It will be a 2-disc set, the first disc containing six new tracks including "How Far We've Come", while the second disc is a best-of containing 11 songs even the most casual fans already have. Meanwhile "How Far We've Come" has yet to make it to iTunes. So, in conclusion you will most likely be paying 20 bucks for six songs. Smooth, guys, reeeaaal smooth.

That's all. I'll be back later this week with some more goodies.

Does Jack Bauer care if you buy your music or not? I don't know. But do you REALLY wanna find out if he does?

Jimmy Eat World on iTunes
Bruce Springsteen on iTunes

==TJ==

A Thousand Faces We'll Choose to Ignore...

Current Music: +44 - No It Isn't

New links on the left. More on those later (as in tomorrow-ish).

Before I get into the meat of this entry, I (somewhat shamefully) watched the first 5 minutes of American Idol yesterday (this anomaly is the result of my girlfriend, who is addicted to reality TV). The announcer claimed that Chris Daughtry's aptly named band Daughtry and their self-titled debut album was the best selling debut rock album in history. This would mean that it beat Guns N' Roses Appetite for Destruction. I'm not saying this is impossible, seeings how it sold 304,000 in its first week going up against the likes of Justin Timberlake's new album, but could someone please confirm this for me? My attempts to find out more came up with nothing useful.

I've been thinking about all the music I heard over the past year. I think thanks to things like iTunes, used CD shops and other various methods (legal or otherwise) I listened to more music than I have in previous years. I know for a fact my tastes have expanded, and I feel the need to elaborate. So the following is a look at my thoughts on 2006 as far as music goes.

Best album of 2006: I was originally trying to come up with my pick for best song, but like always there were far too many. I scoff at those that say that good music ended 20 years ago. There were any number of great albums this year. Pearl Jam came out with their best work since Ten, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers came back to form with the massive Stadium Arcadium. Then there were bands like The Goo Goo Dolls, The Fray and Snow Patrol and their ubiquitous radio hit singles. Meanwhile you had grandiose, over-the-top efforts from Angels & Airwaves, The Killers, and the incredible release from My Chemical Romance. The snob in me says to give it to RHCP or perhaps The Raconteurs, but any punk band that references Queen, The Beatles and Pink Floyd and melds them all into a punk-rock concept album that isn't fueled by gratuitous political statements (looking at you, Green Day) gets a mark in my book. The best album of '06 had to be The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. Just two years ago these guys were lumped in with all the other goth-punk bands du jour. I dare you to a) name one of those other bands, and b) tell me what they're up to right now.

Worst album of the year: This is a hard one to pick simply because I take pride in the fact that I don't buy bad music. I tend to know what's bad when I see it (though as Gina will happily point out, I have been wrong about some artists). A lot of albums got mixed or less-than stellar reviews, and of course anytime Hawthorne Heights releases an album, you've got a contender, but this year someone even worse found his way into a recording studio. Without a doubt the worst record of the year honor goes to Kevin Federline's Playing With Fire. I trust I don't need to justify this to anyone.

Best new artist: Lots of new artists made their way into the spotlight this past year. Fueledbyramen Records (former home of Fall Out Boy) churned out a slew of them, from Gym Class Heroes to The Academy Is.... There was also Cobra Starship, best known for the lead single for the cult hit Snakes on a Plane. Grey's Anatomy helped propel The Fray to the top of the charts, while American Idol made stars out of Chris Daughtry and Taylor Hicks. Ultimately I think the award has to go to a band that's been able to work its way out from the shadow of what is allegedly the best drama on TV. Adantage: The Fray.

Most overrated band: Gnarls Barkley. While there's a case for Angels & Airwaves and their unnecessary grandstanding as well as The Raconteurs on the mere basis of Jack White alone, no band annoyed me as much as this second-rate OutKast. All the reviewers kept trying to tell me that I secretly liked "Crazy" but no, I really didn't like it. It was a dumb song. If I wanted some upbeat hip-hop this summer, I went for Fort Minor, not two guys that don't have real names.

Most underrated band: A few months ago The Killers had this one wrapped up. I am in the minority of people that thought Sam's Town was if nothing else on par with Hot Fuss. But then in November Mark Hoppus and Travis Barker (formerly of Blink 182) released the +44 album to the sound of no one caring. +44's When Your Heart Stops Beating is great, solid, no-strings-attached punk rock, especially when compared to the droning whine of Tom DeLonge. If you haven't already, go out and at least sample some of WYHSB. Trust me on this one, you'll like it.

That's all for now. I'll be back tomorrow.

==TJ==