Refused were a hardcore punk band that existed between 1991 and 1998. This DVD is named very appropriately, as 8 years after the demise of the band it was released, as an explanation and a legacy for what was one of the most politically charged bands that ever existed.

Shortly after recording their final album, ‘The Shape of Punk to Come’, which itself was their own manifesto in sound, in a basement in America the band suddenly ground to a halt two songs into their set as police charged onto the stage. This DVD remembers this and interviews from the band members show a VERY honest perspective from them all about their feelings for the band and the other band members. The entire history and message of the band has been perfectly captured in this short documentary. Personally, i think that it has been very well done as it contains a ‘raw’ feeling as if it has just been recorded on a home video camera, a feeling that keeps in with the raw feeling of the band.
Also on the DVD is a recording of the entire album, ‘The Shape of Punk to Come’ so it is not only a documentary, but also a live performance for your money and if that wasn’t enough, it also has the superb videos for ‘New noise’, one of the greatest Hardcore songs ever recorded and ‘Rather be Dead’ which is the last song that refused played and they were beaten down by the police and one of their most popular songs.

In conclusion this is a great memory for a great band and a must have for any Refused fan, but also an excellent purchase for anyone who wants so discover the band. I have given it four stars out of five as new people to the band will not be able to appreciate it fully, but all in all it is fantastic.

Just a quick one, found one of the funniest blogs ever.

anonymoushategroup

Doesn’t really need any explanation. Scientologists are so cute when they are mad

Yes, once again i have been out there trying to find ways of earning a little extra on the side. This time i have been looking at paid to complete. After trawling through many scams and wastes of time, i managed to find two sites which actually paid out. Now i must emphasise, Its not a huge income, but for me, it paid for my beer for the last month. Cant complain with that now can we?

Sooo..

Cashcrate

Cashcrate.com

This was the most successful of all the ones that i found. Most surveys were credited within an hour, and at up to $1.50 each for a 2 minute survey, i cant complain. The referral system seemed to work quite well too.

GlobalTestMarket

globaltestmarket.com

This site worked slightly differently to the rest, all offers came via email, typically 2 a day. After 20 surveys on average, i met the minimum payout of $50, and the cheques came the following month.

So thats what i found, please let me know if you find anything else out there that is successful.

~Dave

less than a month to go

An epic quest to banish cemmercial crap from christmas number 1.

Buy it.

These guys have been hanging around the underground music scene for far too long now, and this new album is definite proof. “Look like tramps, sound like Kings.” is how the three piece describe themselves, and I personally dont think that there could be a better description. Reuben have always been a band who have been hard to pidgeon-hole in terms of their style of music, to the point that it is easier to just describe as straight up rock and roll, but of their own style. Their debut album ‘Racecar is Racecar Backwards’ was a straight up brutal effort, with many catchy riffs and many classics, whereas their second album, ‘Very Fast, Very Dangerous’ was a more heavily produced, more electronic and friendly sounding album, but by no means soft. However the new wffort goes further and the experimentation is very apparent. You can still recognise the sound that Reuben previously had, but they’ve dabbled in things like electronics, metal and post-rock and combined it with their trademark riffage.

Bassists in most rock bands are usually very hard to pick out, have simple basslines which seem to be therefor the sake of it. However this is not at all true of Reuben. Jon drives many of the songs forward with his distinctive raw and fuzzy bass tone, which is jsut as important as many of the guitar parts for creating the overall sound. Not to mention the unbelievable live performance up on stage. Definitely not one to fit with the mould.

Jamie Lenman’s humour and attitude to working in music is very uplifting, and is I think one of the big reasons why his band has got such a devout fanbase. The riffs he writes are always exciting and get you pumping (see ‘Blamethrower’ if you don’t believe me) and this time, I think that’s changed a little. However, it’s not for the worse. The guitar parts are more mature (the album in general is), but there’s no quality lost, just the direct bite and pace of their previous album’s guitar work is gone, and replaced with often more complex guitar parts which make you think more than they make you tap your foot. There’s more work with acoustic guitars on “In Nothing We Trust”, and some of the sections where they’re used are absolutely beautiful (and unlike some of their previous mellow songs, don’t get dull). The songwriting in closer “A Short History Of Nearly Everything” in particular is phenomenal, with so many different moods given off climaxing in a crazy hardcore finish.

The vocals on this effort are massively improved. Jamie’s screams have more attack (though they certainly weren’t lacking in that department before), and he maintains a high intensity even when he’s playing equally brutal guitar parts (see “We’re All Going Home In An Ambulance”). His clean voice was good on previous albums; it did it’s job perfectly fine, however on this new album he’s phenomenal. His voice is perfect in the quiet parts, particularly on ‘Good Luck’ where the vocal duties are split three ways, between himself, Hannah Clark (of Arthur, an underground band) and Paul Townsend (ex-Hundred Reasons). His style is perfect for each song, with something more traditional for “Agony/Agatha” (what is essentially a pop song), and something a little more urgent sounding for “Three Hail Marys” (a song written during the “Very Fast Very Dangerous” sessions, it shows).

“In Nothing We Trust” is an incredibly solid release. At first, there were a couple of songs which i did not like, but the growing factor on this album is amazing. All of the other songs are fantastic. It’s got some of Reuben’s heaviest and softest songs, and overall the sound has matured a lot. The guitar work has become more interesting and technical, the drumming has mellowed out just a little, and the bass playing is as consistent as ever. The stand out songs are definitely the intro which just sets the scene for the rest of the album, ‘We’re all going home in an ambulance’ which is a catchy epic, and the unforgettable ‘Agony/Agatha’ which i can guarentee will stick in your head for weeks. Overall, an incredibly solid release with no mistakes made, and after a few listens quickly became a firm favourite of mine. Buy it, you will not regret it.

Ok, so i’ll admit, earning money over the internet does scream SCAM at you. However i wasnt so sure, so i decided to put it to the test. Out of 10 sites i looked at, only 2 seemed to be legit after handing over my hard earned money, and only one of them seemed to be totally worth it. However, after managing to regain my losses from the other sites, ive decided to sit down and let you all know how it went.

Data Entry Made Easy

This is the program that is earning me over $140 per day! Now yes, i did have to learn a little and read throgh the information on the website, but is it hard to implement? No! The truth is that i had already began to implement it within 15 mins of starting! Fact is that The owner has put DEME together in such a way that the learning curve isn’t steep at all. Everything included was so simple and after very little time it was all second nature to me, almost on autopilot.

Full time or Part Time – you can still still work a full time job and make extra money on the side with data entry. I have only been spending 20-30 mins a night on it.

Remember, that all data for entry is provided for you in the members only section and step by step instructions ensuring your success! You will also be able to track your earnings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

To be completely honest, i joined with the idea that i would just ask for my money back after a day, as like most people, i was very sceptical. But trust me, it is well worth it.

http://www.dataentrymadeeasy.com/BotrOffer

Keyboarding4cash

This is the other program, also easy to use and rather impressive. I am averaging about jsut under $100 per day with this one. It all operates around 5 easy steps. Which requires very little learning. Once again you will be provided with all the data to input. I must also say that the customer service is excellent for this program. I realy was impressed with it, which is very rare nowerdays.

This site includes all the benefits of the above website including a members only section and the ability to track your earnings 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All data is supplied.

And once again, this site also has 50% off if you visit it here:

http://www.Keyboarding4cash.com/bonusoffer

Give it a go and let me know how it goes for you!

Dave

Just some coursework reference for lots of you out there.

Bands like the Beatles and The Rolling Stones came about at a time where music was mainly from America and was all American inspired. Many factors made these bands as successful and they became the first bands to carve their own path and develop a new unique style of music that was easily available to millions.
In the early 60’s, there were many ‘baby boomers’. Baby boomers were teenagers from the baby boom after the war. This made a huge market for music aimed at the younger generation. Britain was becoming richer by the beginning of the 60’s as the country had become very poor after the war. This new found affluence made it possible for teenagers to be able to afford to hear music on the newly developed 7 inch singles.
The Beatles and Stones were idolised by youths not only in Britain but in America too. This new style of music was ironically copied by many American artists like the Monkees. Initially, the bands were very clean cut and their music was enjoyed by parents and children alike, but as the 60’s progressed, the new found freedom of expression became visible in the music. Good examples include ‘Satisfaction’ and ‘let’s spend the night together’ by the Stones. Also, the most famous album of the 60’s – Sgt Peppers – was clearly influenced by drugs. If these songs had been released in previous years, they would have been shunned and banned for the explicit and offensive content, but with the amount of support for these bands that the 60’s brought, they could not be stopped.
The Beatles were the most popular and idolised group ever. At their live concerts, they could not be heard because of the screaming girls and their long list of achievements included OBE’s from the queen, a number of films, 17 number 1 singles and popularity from most ‘baby boomers’ in Britain.. These were normally reserved for members of the establishment.
The Beatles made a new style of music popular, it was the Mersey style and more bands started to emerge with a similar style with help from the Beatles and their record label Apple. Singers like James Taylor had hits with the Beatles record label. Many of the bands that emerged after the Beatles many hits from Merseyside started off as scat bands with a guitar, washboard and other improvised instruments.
New technology in the recording studio allowed the Beatles to experiment with new effects and techniques. These become more apparent as the 60’s progressed and they spent more time in the recording studio and less time performing. In the studio, the Beatles were able to develop their incredible talent instead of constantly being on the road. The Beatles cut down on live performances because they became tired of not being able to be heard above the screaming girls.
However, it was not just down to the new technology and circumstances that these groups were popular, they were extremely talented. They could write their own music which was very unusual for artists at this time and they were more talented than nearly all of the other manufactured bands in the USA.
In conclusion, the amount of teenagers, the new found affluence, the talent o the new groups and new technology all contributed to making The Beatles and The Rolling Stones the success that they were.

Many of you wont have heared of the band reuben, and if you are one of the majority then check them out (www.wordsfromreuben.com) fantastic band, and a great bunch of lads too, i stumbled upon their studio diaries too, great fun.

Day 1: This is us in Livingstone studios in London. It is day one of our third album.

Day 2: This is Guy doing lots of drums. He’s good at it.

Day 3: This is us recording difficult songs and then an easy song. jim tried to prove that he was ‘better than guy’ by wrapping masking tape around his head.

Day 4: This is us in the studio again. Guy is in drum world.

Day 5: This is a re-enactment of a normal day in the studio for reuben.

Day 6: This week the boys go to Soul Valley studios in Wimbledon, where drum world is waiting for them…

Day 7: Guitar world – Jamie lays down some horrible horrible guitars at the Dog House Studios. They are filthy like a kebab.

Day 8: Sean finds the filthiest distortion he can. Jamie chugs his guitar till his fingers start to bleed.

Day 9: no studio today

Day 10: Sean has a plan for today

Day 11: Now we are at Soul Valley in Wimbledon (Please note: Finding out your mum is dead is not funny at all. We are all laughing at Jim’s absurd brain, not real tragedy.)

Day 12: This is when our singer Jamie started to do some singings.

Day 13: Ric comes to visit! Yaaaaay

Day 14: We are doing pianos at Jon’s Mum’s house. All of us.

Day 15: Paul comes in to do some singings now.

Day 16: Things are very boring now

Day 17: Mixing is boring

Day 18: Everyone goes to sleep and then Hannah and her Dad arrive.

Day 19: Frank comes to do singings now

Because if anyone described anytihng about it to you, you would see it as a total gimick. Even after seeing it your probably would. Myabe even after playing it. I certainly did, and boy was i mistaken, you never want to stop! The lifespan of this console realy is quite incredible taking its concept into account. And when added to games where you are pulling worms out of teeth? How can you go wrong for 180 sheets?

This is it, best of the Rest is live!

here at best of the rest i am going to be basically finding the best of everything and giving it to you. Wether it be pc progrms, games or even which can of beans is the best buy, you can be sure to find it here.

Hope to see you soon!

Dave