Month: September 2015

Hollowpoints – Rocket to Rainier

© 2015 Sailor’s Grave Records

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Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆

hollowpointsIt’s been a statistically significant amount of time since I’ve heard anything from the Seattle, WA punk rock getup The Hollowpoints. It’s been over five years since I reviewed “Old Haunts”, and well, that’s just been too damn long. Hell, it’s damn near a third of the time that I’ve been reviewing music. I’d just about given up. Thankfully now I can continue trucking on.

A bit over five years ago, the previous Hollowpoints release was the darling of the day. I pegged it as a must have album and my favorite thus far in 2010. (It actually landed at the #5 spot for my Top 10 or 2010) Now I’ve got my hot little hands on Rocket to Rainier. The new album drops on October 2, 2015 (Did you totally just read me saying “The new album DROPS?” Yeah, I’m pretty insidery and shit, but enough about me. Here’s some important things that you might want to know about the new record: It contains 13 songs. They are all rad. The material is face paced and melodic but with the rough edges left intact.

The band has stayed consistent to my perception of them from time past. The songs are sonically rich with excellent arrangement. However, I don’t want to mislead you. The songs are not technically complex or all bizarre wanking fusion or some such thing. They are orchestrated well, musically and sonically, for fast-paced punk rock tunes. The tracks still resonate with my lyrically as well; poignant, anthemic, without attempting to become (too) epic. Combined, it’s the kind of music that captures the existential angst of a begrudgingly depressing life in America. It’s the kind of tunes that I’d imagine that Springsteen or Petty would make if they would have been born decades after their respective births. (except with vocals that sound eerily reminiscent of Roger from Less Than Jake on occasion)

As I dig my heels into this record, it is in turn latching its hooks into my brain. I have a feeling that this is going to get a bit of heavy rotation though this month. As far as influences go, at least ones that I’m perceiving, the reminders of the Clash and Cheap Trick are still there. I can’t help thinking of American Steele too. In fact, everything I loved about the last album is here, only perhaps more so. Once again I am inclined to highly recommend Hollowpoints. Support your local punk rock band kids. Go to the shows. Buy some records and t-shirts!

–Jerry Actually

Greg Graffin Releases New Book, Population Wars

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September 15, 2015 – Los Angeles, CA – Revered frontman for iconic punk band Bad Religion and esteemed Cornell University lecturer Greg Graffin has released his highly anticipated new book “POPULATION WARS: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence” today via Thomas Dunne Books. Purchase the book now at Amazon, Kings Road and all other digital and physical retailers.
According to popular opinion, the history of humanity has largely been defined by war from the beginning, with war between populations seen as an inevitable part of the evolutionary process. Darwin’s widely accepted notion of “the survival of the fittest” explains and often excuses these actions. But what if Darwin was wrong?
In POPULATION WARS: A New Perspective on Competition and Coexistence (Thomas Dunne Books; September 15, 2015; $27.99), Greg Graffin, lead singer of Bad Religion and author of Anarchy Evolution, offers a fresh argument on the biological roots of competition. A paradigm- shifting book about why humans behave the way they do and the ancient history that explains that behavior, Graffin argues that we need to rethink the reasons for war, not only the human military kind, but also Darwin’s ‘war of nature,’ and find hope for a less violent future for mankind.
Fascinating and original, POPULATION WARS contradicts Darwin’s reigning ‘war of nature’ theory, offering a completely fresh perspective on war, competition, and survival that will redefine the ways in which we understand conflicts of the past, present, and future. Graffin contends that humans have oversimplified the notion of war and in doing so we have become too quick to justify it, thereby preventing us from responding to the real problems we face. He rejects the idea that competition is a driving force of evolution, seeing evolution rather as the product of symbiotic relationships. Ultimately, he argues that we need to rethink the reasons for war, not only the human military kind but also Darwin’s “war of nature,” and find hope for a less violent future for mankind.
GREG GRAFFIN is the lead singer and a songwriter in Bad Religion. He obtained his PhD in zoology at Cornell University, and has lectured at UCLA and Cornell. He is the coauthor of Anarchy Evolution, with Steve Olson. He travels regularly between the cities he considers home, Ithaca, New York, and Los Angeles, California.
To mark the release of “POPULATION WARS,” Graffin will embark on a series of special live appearances. These unique events will offer an unprecedented perspective into the longstanding relationship between Graffin’s academic and musical spheres, examining the correlation between song lyrics and topics expressed in his new book. The events will feature some live acoustic performances of songs related to the book interspersed with spoken word and followed with a question and answer segment.
“POPULATION WARS” is available through Bad Religion’s online store (http://bit.ly/1V4Nwmh) and includes a limited edition 7” EP of specially re-recorded Graffin songs that helped inspire the book.
Greg Graffin “POPULATION WARS”: an event to celebrate the release of his new book:
Fri 9/18/15  – Washington, DC – Rock N Roll Hotel
Sat 9/19/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Coda
Sun 9/20/15 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theater
Wed 9/23/15 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
Fri 9/25/15 – Los Angeles, CA – Bootleg
Sun 9/27/15 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation