Lollipop Magazine

Warped Tour 2003 – Review

October 15, 2003

Everyone should stop worrying about “corporate music” ruining punk. When it’s no longer profitable to produce, they’ll stop signing.

Smash Up Derby – Review

October 15, 2003

A great comp for those who wanna learn about this stuff, and it’s got some cool unreleased stuff, all for a list price of two Rolling Rocks.

Punk vs Emo – Review

October 15, 2003

A pretty decent sampler for those who’ve been under a rock the past ten years and are now looking to be somewhat “in the know” concerning emo and punk.

Punk-O-Rama – 8 – Review

October 15, 2003

As established a tradition as the Warped Tour, every year Punk-O-Rama features a blend of loved and hated stalwarts from Epitaph with upstarts making a buzz.

Liberation – Songs To Benefit PETA – Review

October 15, 2003

Hopefully, projects like Liberation will do damage control for all PETA’s frivolous lawsuits that mar the organization like spray paint on a mink stole.

Guitar Ace – Link Wray Tribute – Review

October 15, 2003

What’s to say? This is the best tribute I’ve ever heard, with the best liner notes, and just plain great roots rock destruction.

Your Scene Sucks – Review

July 23, 2003

Hard. Core. Indeed, it takes physical strength to play the kind of music on this relentless 28-song sampler. Not a lot of snotty-voiced kids made the cut.

We’re A Happy Family – A Tribute to Ramones – Review

July 23, 2003

A no-brainer here. Ramones covered by big stars, CD cover by Rob Zombie, liner notes by Steven King. Most of the covers are pretty lame, but what do you expect?

The Socomtonar Collection – Volume 1 – Review

July 23, 2003

A homerun collection featuring four of the Midwest’s unheard of (but surely future reference points) heavy-hitters: DMS, Riddle Of Steel, Ring, Cicada, and Houston.

The L.A. Shakedown! – Review

July 23, 2003

Some will be too “street punk” or “mod/garagey” for ya, but it’s just cool to hear bands on TKO and Hellcat back-to-back with Estrus/Bomp!/In the Red bands.

The Giant Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle – Review

July 23, 2003

20 bands – spanning multiple genres – come together under Shepard Fairey’s infamous “Obey Giant” moniker to continue the fight against corporate advertising.

The First Crush Compilation – Review

July 23, 2003

Reissue of the highly-influential ’97 comp with impossible-to-find tracks (that aren’t very good) by Jimmy Eat World, Mineral, At The Drive-In, and Pop Unknown.

Summer Solution 2002 – Review

July 23, 2003

Summer Solution 2002 gives me hope that New England still produces great bands and isn’t all hyped-up bullshit garage rock/emo acts who dress the part.

Smoking Popes Tribute – Review

July 23, 2003

Smoking Popes hailed from Chicago, wrote smart, delicately melodic powerpop, made deceptively simply “punky” chords sound sweet, and this is their tribute.

Moonlight Corporation – V1.0 – Review

July 23, 2003

A 17-track compilation, the perfect primer for anyone interested in sampling the wonderful ear-candy the Goth/darkwave/EBM/industrial scene has to offer.

Lookout! Freakout – Episode 3 – Review

July 23, 2003

Last time our heroes were beset by bland “rock” on one hand, and bland “pop” on the other, but this time the real phantom menace is a combination of the two.

Guerrilla Jukebox – Vol. 1 – Review

July 23, 2003

I’ve got damn near every album sampled here, which I suppose speaks highly of Tee Pee’s output cuz I’m a pretty picky motherfucker.

Go-Kart vs. The Corporate Giant – 3 – Review

July 23, 2003

Really good poppy-style punk, and fantastic beer-swilling hardcore ranging from ’77-style to squatter-political to fast-ass rock’n’roll to general sociopathic.

Don’t F**k With Us – Review

July 23, 2003

Mix (old school) Slayer with (very old school) Ministry & play it through a crappy stereo system, so everything (drums, vocals, sequences) is distorted.

Death Is Just The Beginning – Vol. 7 – Review

July 23, 2003

Split (kinda) into power metal on disc one and extreme on disc two, tracked alphabetically per disc, there’s so much to open yer eyes, if yer at all into metal.

Covered in Filth – A Tribute to Cradle of Filth – Review

July 2, 2003

While not the breathless experience of the originals, is a fine tribute to Cradle of Filth. It’s cool to hear 13 bands try to sound like Dani’s many voices.

Contaminated 5.0 – Review

July 2, 2003

Death, technical, sludge-y, grinding, stoner, and occasionally “weird.” The best are death metal gods. Some decent stuff with horrible crap in between.

Black On Black – A Tribute To Black Flag – Review

July 2, 2003

Initial has assembled one of the most punishing tribute albums, pulling together a strong, diverse group of today’s hot acts to give their take on Black Flag.

Atticus – Dragging the Lake II – Review

July 2, 2003

Hear the bands you’ve heard everyone talk about, and spit at the shit bands that, for some reason, are cheered instead of beaten up in the parking lot.

Without Warning, It’s Punch Drunk IV – Review

April 18, 2003

TKO said fuck it and threw a bunch of bands of totally different styles, attitudes, politics, and toughness against the proverbial wall to see what sticks.