Alkaline Trio: My Shame is True

Alkaline Trio: My Shame is True

2013

Heart & Skull/Epitaph

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. She Lied To The FBI  2. I Wanna Be A Warhol  3. I’m Only Here To Disappoint  4. Kiss You To Death  5. The Temptation of St. Anthony  6. I, Pessimist  7.  Only Love  8. The Torture Doctor  9. Midnight Blue  10. One Last Dance  11. Young Lovers  12. Until Death Do Us Part



 Ahh, 2013...The year of the drone...

 ...the year we got a new pope...

 ...and also the year we got a new Alkaline Trio album in the form of "My Shame is True." I like these guys and their constant use of macabre puns! They kind of remind me of Freddy Krueger, in that sense...

...and the album is pretty good too...At this point I'm sure you know what to expect...A bunch of dark, cynical pop-punkers by Skiba and a few anguished ravers by Andriano thrown in...Not quite the throwback that "This Addiction" was...This seems to further things a bit, with a more mature outlook. I think this is stronger overall than "This Addiction," but it doesn't have the highpoints that album had...Still, quite a few good 'uns...



Honestly, the first two songs ("She Lied to the FBI" and "I Wanna Be A Warhol") don't really bowl me over. "She Lied to the FBI" is slight fun, and I love the verses to "Warhol" but the chorus doesn't do much for me.  But that doesn't matter cos "I'm Only Here to Disappoint" comes along,  punches me in the gut and forces me to sing along...This is the reason I'm first in line whenever the band puts out a new album...

Y'know, I find myself with not a lot to say about this record...It's not their best and it's probably not their worst...If you're into the band's post "Good Mourning" material you'll probably like it..If you're stuck on the Asian Man years, this ain't gonna change your mind...I think I'm going to write a review about Alkaline Batteries instead...

Alkaline Battery

Expiration Date 2048

Size: AA

This is a pretty good battery. I keep it in my fridge right behind a package of hotdogs and next to the soymilk...

I can recall going to Quality Farm and Fleet in 1998 and buying this battery, with friendly assistance from Tina who had big, party hair....

I'll never forget going home and putting the battery into Billy the Loudmouth Bass. He and I had a long talk about where my life went wrong and how others would never love me until I learned to love myself...

"I'm hooked on prescription painkillers!"

I'm surprised this battery still works...I've had it for over 15 years now and it's like an old friend to me now...We eventually had a falling out over some money he loaned me, but hey! Why should I pay him back?!?! I don't even have that that hooker anymore!

Anyhoo, I highly recommend this battery cos it says, "Thunderbolt Magnum" on it and that's what I named my motorcycle.

Well, I don't have a motorcycle exactly, but I do have a shirt that has one on it...Sometimes when I wear this shirt, I close my eyes, hold my arms out and I can feel the cool wind in my face and it kinda feels like I've got a sweet Harley between my legs...I eat a couple bugs to complete the illusion...So yea, I've got a motorcycle, I guess...

Oh yea, the "My Shame is True" cover has a motorcycle on it! Look, I'm tying it all back together!



I should probably mention how much I like the big dumb chorus on the "Torture Doctor." I know people who say it's cheap and underwritten, but I'm sticking up for it, because it sounds great when you're all beered up and feel like pumping yer fist in the air..."Hey! Ho-o-o!" Hell yea! I'm not sure about that Rise Against singer on "I Pessimist" though...I think Matt would sound better...The guy sounds a little generic and emo-y for mt tastes...I've only listened to one Rise Against album and I literally felt nothing...



But then again I was watching some live video of them and they sounded pretty good...Am I listening to the wrong stuff?  And why do I always get Rise Against mixed up with Against Me?



And why do I always get Against Me mixed up with Born Against (who are easily the best "Against" band)?

I don't know...I didn't invite you here to ponder life's unknowable answers...I invited you here to listen to some Alk..Here's "I'm Only Here to Disappoint"...Enjoy...

Alkaline Trio: Damnesia

Alkaline Trio: Damnesia

2011

Heart & Skull/Epitaph Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Calling All Skeletons  2. Nose Over Tail  3. This Could Be Love  4. Every Thug Needs a Lady  5. Clavicle  6. Mercy Me  7. The American Scream  8. We've Had Enough  9. Olde English 800  10. I Held Her in My Arms  11.Blue in the Face  12. I Remember a Rooftop  13. Private Eye  14. You've Got So Far to Go  15. Radio

This is the kind of record Bon Jovi or Foreigner might put out...Where the band re-records their greatest hits as acoustic songs. To be blunt these releases are usually for bands whose fans are just too damn old to rock and refuse to listen to any new songs, because they'll only accept music they've already heard ten billion times...But Alkaline Trio fans shouldn't fall into this category yet...We still have a few good years left in us! So why does this exist?

I don't really know. But it is pretty decent listen if'n you're into Alkaline Trio and you're feeling mellow. I guess the big draw here would be the new songs. "Old English 800" in particular is really fun...




Of course, I'm going to like any song with the title "Old English 800" (although I think it would work even better as a punk song). There's also a cover of the Violent Femmes "I Held Her in my Arms."  I've never heard the original so I can't say how it holds up next to the Femme's version but the song blends in really well with its surroundings...

(Looking at those bottles of OE reminds me of the time I bought a couple and mixed them with orange juice...The combined effect of the two 40's and gallon of orange juice consumed within such a small period of time produced one of the most gut-twisting stomach aches I've yet encountered...mixing the two is not a good idea...I repeat...not...a...good...idea!)

I think this works as a fitting cap to my two weeks spent with Alkaline Trio's music...Like I said, it's basically a greatest hits package and you get to hear how awesome "Mercy Me" really is...This song towers over everything else on here, even "Radio" (which I think loses a lot of its power without its cathartic explosion of electric guitars occur mid-song...) They band performs the songs well, they create a relaxed, moody atmosphere, and they alter the arrangements enough to keep things interesting if you've already heard all these songs a billion times... Of course a record like this is only recommended to diehards, anyway...

Let's check out "Olde English 800" by Alkaline Trio...Enjoy...

Alkaline Trio: This Addiction

Alkaline Trio: This Addiction

2010

Heart & Skull/Epitaph Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. This Addiction  2. Dine, Dine My Darling  3. Lead Poisoning  4. Dead on the Floor  5. The American Scream  6. Off the Map  7. Draculina  8. Eating Me Alive  9. Piss and Vinegar  10. Dorothy  11. Fine  12. Kick Rocks  13. Those Lungs  14. This Addiction (acoustic)15. Dine, Dine My Darling (acoustic)  16. Dead on the Floor (acoustic)  17. Fine (acoustic)

This album seems to be a self-conscious return to the more straight-forward punk of their earlier releases. It mostly works, due to the band adding a few new touches (like the NOFX-y trumpet solo on "Lead Poisoning" and the "Pictures of You" style chimes on "Dead on the Floor") and their undying devotion to delivering hummable melodies.

But it's not all late-90's nostalgia....There's a section of tracks near the end that strongly recalls their more recent work, and these end up being my favorites!  "Draculina" has a great Gothic atmosphere, reminiscent of the Damned, and a killer chorus to boot. And I LOVE Matt Skiba's zombified vocal performance on "Piss and Vinegar" and the big blocks of space between the riffs...Dan Andriano closes out the album with the moody piano ballad "Fine." Fine indeedy! But as much as I enjoy these, it is undeniably fun to hear the band loosen up and kick up the tempos on the more old-school material. The title track is fun as hell and "Dead on the Floor" brings back warm memories of "goddamnit."

The version I own has 6 bonus tracks, which consists of two outtakes and four acoustic songs. I have no idea why "Those Lungs" wasn't included on all versions of the record. I would have gladly swapped "American Scream" or "Dine, Dine My Darling" for this one...The acoustic tracks are nothing Earth-shattering but they're a nice diversion...and they kind of ready you for their next album "Damnesia..."

But we'll get to "Damnesia" tomorrow...Today we rock out to "This Addiction."

 

Alkaline Trio: Agony & Irony

Alkaline Trio: Agony & Irony

2008

Epic Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Calling All Skeletons  2. Help Me  3. In Vein  4. Over and Out  5. I Found a Way  6. Do You Wanna Know?  7. Live Young, Die Fast 8. Love Love, Kiss Kiss  9. Lost and Rendered  10. Ruin It  11. Into the Night 


Alkaline Trio at their most polished and accessible. Every single song on here is big, mid-tempo and glossy with gigantic singalong radio hooks. "Do You Wanna Know" takes it as far as sounding like A-Ha's "Take on Me." My god! Somehow this sound suits them just fine and they emerge with a  few new AK3 classics in the process. Most notably, the choppy, hand-clappy "Calling All Skeletons"  and their Ian Curtis tribute "Help Me." I also love those "Woah oh, Woah Oh's" in the chorus of "In Vein."

The only time they sound anything like the pop-punk of old is on album-closer "Into the Night" which helps prop up the second half of the album which sags under to the weight of overly goth-y numbers ("Lost and Rendered" and "Ruin It.")

I saw them shortly after this record came out in Tucson, Az at KFMA Fall Ball '08. My god, this show had so many shitty bands playing it was incredible. If I remember correctly, there were a bunch of unbearably boring "screamo acts" and bland, faceless mall-punk bullshit like Hawthorne Heights... I remember not being able to get back to my car fast enough. Just because you want to play punk and be on the radio it  doesn't mean you  have to totally suck! I actually think Alkaline Trio is a perfect example that this feat can be pulled off. So there's really no reason for Hawthorne Heights' suckiness (or existence)! Oh here, I found a poster for the show...

But let's not think about Bullet for My Valentine. Let's listen to Alkaline Trio's "Into the Night" instead...

Alkaline Trio: Remains

Alkaline Trio: Remains

2007

Vagrant Records

Format I Own it on: 1. Hell Yes  2. My Standard Break from Life  3. Dead End Road  4. Metro  5. Jaked on Green Beers  6. Queen of Pain  7. "While You're Waiting  8. Rooftops  9. Old School Reasons  10. Warbrain  11. Fine Without You  12. Hating Every Minute  13. Dead and Broken  14. Sadie  15. If You Had a Bad Time  16. Wait for the Blackout  17. We Can Never Break Up  18. Don't Say You Won't  19. Buried  20. Dethbed  (Live)  21. My Standard Break from Life  (Live Acoustic)  22. I'm Dying Tomorrow (Live)

This is their second release featuring one-off singles, b-sides and compilation tracks, picking up where 2000's "Alkaline Trio" left off  and it holds together just as well as that first compilation. I usually don't play this one as much as I should (probably because I can't stand looking at that ugly-ass cover! Yuck!) so I forget that a lot of my favorite Alkaline Trio tracks appear on this disc...

It kicks off with the "Hell Yes" single that Lookout! records put out in 2001.



 I  bought this  single when it first came out, through the little lookout Records catalogs they used to put in all their releases. (I was so obsessed with Lookout, that I ended up buying roughly 3/4ths of the labels output!)  It was later destroyed along with most of my other singles when my cat Padme (R.I.P) pissed in the  box where I kept all of my '45's.

Oh well...

Anyway, the "Hell Yes" single is one of my favorite releases from the band. The song "Hell Yes" is an incredibly great pop song about Anton LaVey, which  kick starts the band's whole tongue-in-cheek Satanism thing...

 The b-side "My Standard Break from Life" was just as good, with Dan memorably bitching about his achin' back... If you ever see this single, pick it up immediately!

This album also features the splits the band did with Hot Water Music and One Man Army...




 


I have fond memories of both these. I especially loved the One Man Army split, as it featured the band's knockout version of the Damned's "Wait for the Blackout." I think I like Dave Vanian's suavely crooned verses better on the original, but Alkaline Trio actually improve the chorus, giving it a little extra punch...The band also takes on a  smokin' cover of Hot Water Music's "Rooftops," which stands as one of their best covers, along with their mean version of Berlin's "Metro," that you just have to hear to believe (luckily it's included here too!).  Naked Raygun's Jeff Pezzati makes a surprise appearance on "Dead and Broken" doing his trademark "woah oh ohs"...

I'm telling you, there's really a million different reasons to check out "Remains"...The only weak point is the okayish live songs that close out the album (If you're in the mood for some live Alkaline Trio, I think you'd do better checking out the "Halloween at the Metro" dvd)...



But overall this is yet another enjoyable Alkaline Trio release. If slick, hooky pop-punk is your thing you can safely walk into your local record store and pick up any album by these guys...

 Hell yes! We're gonna listen to "Hell Yes'" by Alkaline Trio!

Alkaline Trio: Crimson

Alkaline Trio: Crimson

2005

Vagrant Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Time to Waste  2. The Poison  3. Burn  4. Mercy Me  5. Dethbed  6. Settle for Satin  7. Sadie  8. Fall Victim  9. I Was a Prayer  10. Prevent This Tragedy  11. Back to Hell  12. Your Neck  13. Smoke

The band takes the Gothic undertones of "Good Mourning" even further...But don't worry, these aren't the type of dark, dreary goth drones you'd get from the Sisters of Mercy or something, this is all still snappy pop-punk when you get right down to it. I mean, listen to "Mercy Me." What is that you hear?  Pop-punk!  The production this time is even more lush; full of strings and pianos, but the guitars and drums still hit as hard as ever...

Matt Skiba has his voice back too, so that's a plus. He and Dan Andriano also start swapping vocal lines within the same song, which helps keep things exciting. I have zero idea why they didn't do this on their earlier albums... Speaking of Dan Andriano, he steals the show with his blown-out punk rocker "The Poison," even though Skiba's anthemic "Dethbed" comes close to dethroning it...Their richer, fuller version of "Sadie" from the Alkaline Trio/One Man Army split, is also worth a mention...

I went to see these guys in Phoenix on this tour. A huge chunk of the show was dedicated to playing "Goddamnit" in its entirety, but they played a great deal of "Crimson" too. I remember being struck at how much more theatrical their live shows had become at this point, with fog, dramatic lighting, spooky voice over intros, etc...Which is good for me, since I happen to be a fan of theatrical live performances..Perhaps, I may even take in a performance of "Cats" this weekend at the community theater...




Oh yea, what do you drink while you listen to this album?


Old Style would have worked for the first few albums, but they're goth-ier now...

 FREAKIN' HUMAN BLOOD! YES! No wait...That's red wine..A pretty good choice but, I think we can do better...




That's it!! Absinthe! Man, just looking at it gives me a headache. The biggest headaches I've ever had in my life occurred the morning after drinking this stuff. It does get you hammered though...I'll give it that...


While we're nursing our Absinthe headaches, let's take a moment and reflect on events that occurred in 2005, the year "Crimson" was released...

Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith is released.

 
43rd President of the United States of America, George Walker Bush, begins his second term..

"In this job you've got a lot on your plate on a regular basis; you don't have much time to sit around and wander, lonely, in the Oval Office, kind of asking different portraits, 'How do you think my standing will be?'" --George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., March 16, 2005

Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, ultimately causing an unprecedented  81 billion dollars in damage. President Bush urges the American people to help:

"So please give cash money to organizations that are directly involved in helping save lives -- save the life who had been affected by Hurricane Katrina." --George W. Bush, Washington D.C., Sept. 6, 2005

Hee-hee! Cash money. This is fun!

Awww, I didn't invite you guys here just to bust on an ex-President, I invited you here to ROCK!  So let's pour ourselves a tall, cool, refreshing glass of absinthe and check out  "The Poison" by Alkaline Trio...

Alkaline Trio: Good Mourning

Alkaline Trio: Good Mourning

2003

Vagrant Records

Format I Own it On: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1.This Could Be Love   2. We've Had Enough  3.One Hundred Stories  4. Continental  5. All on Black  6. Emma  7. Fatally Yours  8. Every Thug Needs a Lady  9. Blue Carolina  10. Donner Party (All Night)  11. If We Never Go Inside  12. Blue in the Face

The band's sound shifts a bit here. It's still melodic pop-punk but with a darker, colder  tone. Keyboards start to become more present, the words black, crimson, and blood pop up with more frequency on the lyric sheet. But really, all this death and morbidity really seems like set dressing as the band's sense of humor is still present, if merely painted black.  I'd go as far as to say the biggest actual change would be Matt Skiba's voice, which is uncharacteristically raspy. Finally punk rock has its own "Dark Horse!"



I mean, it sounds like his throat is going to explode during the last chorus of  "Continental."  However, this hoarse delivery really pays off on acoustic closer, "Blue in the Face," when he asks "Your coffin or mine?" it really sounds like it might be terminal.

The band delivers one of my favorite Alkaline Trio songs with "Blue Carolina." The giddy poppiness of the chorus comes off as absolutely radiant, given its shadowy surroundings. Whenever I listen to this album I never fail to keep rewinding this track. "Fatally Yours" is also notable, in that it sounds anachronistically like one of their 90's singles. The only song that seems to make good on its threat of gothiness is the spooky  "All on Black," which winds up being one of the album's strongest (and most memorable) tracks...

Oh yea, I forgot to mention that Alkaline Trio has one of my favorite T-shirts of all time...The one where they just straight-up rip off the cover of the first Clash album and put their name on it...Respect.


Honestly, I  don't have a lot to say about "Good Mourning."  I own 10 Alkaline Trio releases and they are all, roughly, of the same quality. The two weeks I spent listening to nothing but Alkaline Trio feels roughly like the two weeks I spent listening to nothing but AC/DC. Just a dependable band that never fails to deliver a good listen...So let's listen to "Blue Carolina..."

Alkaline Trio: From Here to Infirmary

Alkaline Trio: From Here to Infirmary

2001

Vagrant Records

Format I Own it On: Vinyl and Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Private Eye  2. Mr. Chainsaw  3.Take Lots with Alcohol  4. Stupid Kid  5. Another Innocent Girl  6. Steamer Trunk  7. You're Dead  8. Armageddon  9. I'm Dying Tomorrow  10. Bloodied Up  11. Trucks and Trains  12. Crawl

I always forget how much I like this one. The band switches to Vagrant Records, adds new drummer Mike Felumlee (formerly of the great Chicago punk band Smoking Popes), polish up their sound and rack up a hit with "Stupid Kid."  And they do all this without significantly diluting their punk rock sound. It still sounds exactly like Alkaline Trio...it just sounds like SUPER-Alkaline Trio.



I went to see them in Detroit right around the release date of this record (in fact it might have been the day of its release) and the band played quite a few of the new songs. I remember being blown away by "Take Lots With Alcohol," and as soon as the show was over I went straight to their merch booth and bought the vinyl copy of this record that I still have to this day.  I can recall taking it home, eardrums blown from the show, and playing "I'm Dying Tomorrow" 500 times. And miraculously, it still hits me like the first time I heard it. A simple, hooky pop-punker where Dan Andriano makes plans for his last day on Earth, drinking and having fun with no regrets. It's celebratory and sad at the same time. He also pulls off another winner with "Crawl'" which I was familiar with at the time from some comp I cannot recall. When the piano comes in on the break? I'm telling you!



 "Private Eye" and especially "Trucks and Trains" both foreshadow the darker new sound they would adopt starting with their next album. I think that may be why I tend to overlook this one a bit, even though I love it whenever I put it on. It seems a little like it's neither here nor there. When I'm in the mood for rougher punk, I put on one of the three prior releases and when I'm in the mood for the slicker-gothic punk I put on one of their subsequent releases. However,  I could see people enjoying this for that exact reason, since it does seem to have the best of both worlds...

Howabout I shut up for a minute so we can listen to "I'm Dying Tomorrow..."

Alkaline Trio: Alkaline Trio

Alkaline Trio: Alkaline Trio

2000

Asian Man Records

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing:  1. Goodbye Forever  2. This Is Getting Over You  3. Bleeder  4.  I  Lied My Face Off  5. My Friend Peter  6. Snake Oil Tanker  7. Southern Rock  8.  Cooking Wine  9. For Your Lungs Only  10. The Exploding Boy  11. Sundials  12. Nose Over Tail  13. '97

Although this is a compilation of tracks from various singles and whatnot, it's of the same high quality as the rest of their albums. It's even arguably, the best place to start if you're looking for an entry point into the Alkaline Trio discography. If you already own "goddamnit" you're going to find a few repeats but it's no big deal, since it  never hurts  to hear "Southern Rock" again, and the versions are slightly (very slightly) different.

If anything, get this for  "'97." It's  one of the all-time great Alkaline Trio songs and a masterwork of gut-wrenching late 90's emo. Other highlights are the storming opener "Goodbye Forever" and  "I Lied My Face Off" which features one of Dan's most memorably anguished vocals.  Oh, and check out their cover of the Cure's "Exploding Boy." It sounds almost like the original but it rocks just a little more! Which is always the right decision when you decide to do a cover....

By the way, I love the cover photo. It seems like there's been numerous CD covers that depict a cassette tape on the cover...like this...




...and this...



...and don't forget this horrible album....




...but I think Alkaline Trio's might be the best. The tape on the cover looks exactly like the tapes my old band, Deranged Chimpmunks, would use to record our albums on 4-track. I was buying cassette tapes for that exact purpose well  into 2003, with my current band TA-80. Eventually I switched to all-digital but sometimes I look at the dusty 4-track sitting in my apartment and get nostalgic for some analog action...

 sigh...





Enough of these wistful remembrances...It's time to  go back to the year 2000, and listen to "Who Let the Dogs Out" by Chicago punk legends the Baha Men...



Wait...I meant "'97" by Alkaline Trio...I always get those two mixed up...

Alkaline Trio:Maybe I'll Catch Fire

Alkaline Trio:Maybe I'll Catch Fire

2000

Asian Man Records

Format I Own it on: Compact disc

Track Listing:  1. Keep 'Em Coming  2. Madam Me  3. You've Got So Far to Go  4. Fuck You Aurora  5. Sleepyhead  6. Maybe I'll Catch Fire  7. Tuck Me In  8. She Took Him to the Lake  9. 5-3-10-4  10. Radio


I can't even look at that cover without artificially lowering my voice an octave and cartoonishly crooning, "Shayyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."

I suspect a lot of people have that same reaction. Alkaline Trio pulls off their greatest song here, "Radio." When the droning bass and heartbroken guitar line finally explode and Matt Skiba lets loose with that full throat-ed, "I'VE GOT A BIG FAT FUCKING BONE TO PICK WITH YOU, MY DARLING!" That's a great moment! If any lyric deserves to be written in all-caps, this is it.

This was the first Alkaline Trio album I'd ever heard. I bought it blindly out of the Asian Man catalog around 2000, just cos I bought everything out of that catalog, but this one really shook the shit out of me. I know most people will say the first album they hear by a band they like is always their favorite one, but I really don't think I suffer from that particular affliction. I believe I can sit here and tell you with a clear head that "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" is their best album. 

To me, as soon as "Keep 'Em Coming" blasts through the speakers, it's an improvement in every way from the previous album. The performances seem more confident, the lyrics are even darker and funnier than before, the melodies seem better constructed, it all come together beautifully.
The record boasts two more pop-punk classics, with "Fuck You Aurora," whose cathartic dynamics make it a close relative to "Radio," and Dan Andriano's "You've Got So Far to Go," with its bouncing bassline and affecting vocal. I think he's really starting to channel Elvis Costello this time, which is a win for everybody. Unless you're not into Elvis Costello. In which case you just have no soul...

All the other tracks are good too! "Sleepyhead" revives Naked Raygun's power-drill-punk sound. The title track , with its heightened sense of drama, also works. I've heard people don't buy records anymore (I appreciate that they're keeping record stores open just for me!), but if for some reason you're feeling nostalgic for the year 2000  (those long ago days of Napster, when you were probably illegally downloading it then too)  pick up a copy of this at your local record store.



All right, It's time to artificially lower your voice an octave and cartoonishly croon, "Shayyyyyyyking like a dog shittin' razorblades..."

Alkaline Trio: goddamnit

Alkaline Trio: goddamnit

1998

Asian Man Records

Track Listing: 1. Cringe  2. Cop  3. San Fransisco  4. Nose Over Tail  5. As You Were  6. Enjoy Your Day  7. Clavicle  8. My Little Needle  9. Southern Rock  10. Message from Kathlene  11. Trouble Breathing  12. Sorry About That

The first record by Chicago pop-punk band Alkaline Trio is one hell of a killer debut. I got this shortly after I first heard the "Maybe I'll Catch Fire" album back around 2000. I was an Asian Man records fanatic...The label could do no wrong in my eyes...Me and my friends ended up ordering just about every damn release they ever put out. In an odd coincidence, about a decade later my band actually ended up having a song come out on one of Asian Man's compilation albums ( a tribute to the punk rock legends the Queers) but that's a story for another time...

By and large this album sounds exactly like you'd expect Alkaline Trio to sound. Mid-tempo, Midwestern punk with no shortage of hooks and their usual witty lyrics. The darker, horror-inspired aspect of the band hasn't quite manifested itself yet, so don't let the band's scary zombie makeup on the back cover fool ya!

"Cringe," "San Francisco," and "Southern Rock," have endured as 90's punk classics, and show Alkaline Trio already at full-strength.  Vocalists Matt Skiba and Dan Andriano compliment each other perfectly, Andriano wringing every ounce of emotion out of stretched vowels under Skiba's snappier delivery.

 For some reason "stretched vowels" sounds really painful.

The only tracks I'd really skip at my Friday Night Record party are "Cop,"with its poppin' funky bass accents,  and "Enjoy Your Day," which to me, crosses the line into overbearing emo.  I have seen the band do a live performance of "Enjoy Your Day" years later and it was a huge improvement. I actually loved their live version, but the take on the album is unbearably maudlin and overwrought. But the album's other acoustic track Matt's "Sorry About That" ends up being the highlight of the album, showing that a lack of electricity isn't a problem...

Although, I don't think they've quite nailed their winning formula yet (I think that would occur with their very next album) I would definitely recommend this record to anyone even remotely interested in punk rock. Playing this again after so many years brings back warm memories of  hanging out with my friends in Michigan, pounding cheap beer in our band rehearsal room. God, I think I must have owned 500 of the band's T-shirts in my lifetime. Hell, I even married a girl with an Alkaline Trio tattoo!

Let's take a look at what else was happening in the world during those halcyon days of 1998:



42nd President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton proclaims "goddamnit," at a press conference after he's caught having "sexual relations" with White House intern Monica Lewinsky...




Ginger Spice announces her departure from the Spice Girls. She is replaced by ex-Smoking Popes drummer Mike Felumlee...



Google is founded, allowing me to Google images of Bill Clinton, the Spice Girls and Alkaline Trio album covers to post on this stupid blog....

Alright, enough of the history lesson...

I went to an Alkaline Trio show right around 2007 or so, where they played this album in its entirety. I know sometime later Asian Man released this...


... which contains a dvd of the band playing the entire album live. I've never watched it so I'm not sure if it's from the same show or not, but I do know that clips from the show I attended were released on the bonus dvd included on the "Remains" compilation. I should look into that someday...

In the meantime let's relive the 90's with a tall, cool. refreshing Zima...



...and sing along drunkenly to "San Francisco!"

...wait, can you even get drunk on Zima?