Recently Adam Young of Owl City has collaborated with Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 to create a new song, titled "Dementia". This is Hoppus' first song release since "Neighborhoods" was released in September 2011, but even so it is surprising to see him collaborate with Young, who's music is of such a different genre.
I enjoy the song, it's catchy, has a good beat, and Young and Hoppus both provide solid vocals that fit well into the song. Owl City influences are very prominent with this song, and it could easily feature on one of the albums. I think Hoppus has proven to be a good featured singer on a song, like when he sang a small part on "I'd Do Anything" by Simple Plan.
I doubt the song will ever become a chart hit, but here is the link if you'd like to listen.
In modern football, the way that a club is viewed by the general public is often determined by how said club are portrayed by the media in their respective nation. In a society were televisions and the internet over-rule newspapers, people on one side of the world can be made aware of an event that took place on the other side of the world within seconds. This advancement in technology, has obviously had a major effect on football.
As a support of AFC Bournemouth, I can safely assume that a lot of people in Great Britain think that our club is a bit of a joke, thanks to the theatre act that is Eddie Mitchell. Via Youtube, Sky Sports News, and other sources people all over the globe could stumble into a video of a drunk chairman offering to fight fans on a football pitch, and that will decide the opinion this previously neutral viewer will have. Another example is that of Crawley Town, who have been hated by many this season due to the antics of their now ex-manager Steve Evans. A convicted crook, Evans has been known to make outlandish statements in the media and often act very eccentrically during matches. But now he has left Crawley to join Rotherham, will Crawley rid of their negative status in the footballing world and pass it on to Rotherham?
In my opinion, people are too quick to form a judgement on a club based on the people that represent the club that are featured in the media. It is certain that if the fans of clubs were the ones shown in the news, rather than people such as the manager or the chairman, everybody would more aware about the true values and foundations that each football club is based upon. Maybe I wouldn't think all Chelsea supporters were a bunch of glory hunters if Roman Abramovic wasn't the only representative of Chelsea i'm ever exposed to? I think that each and every football club has unique features that make it great and interesting, whether that be the success of Manchester United, or the compact feel of going to watch Macclesfield play at Moss Rose.
Until next time,
Max
Oh...here's Eddie Mitchell being his oh so charming self.
Monday proved to be quite a turnaround for Bournemouth, they managed to outplay 4th place Huddersfield and win by two goals to pretty much confirm another season in League One for the Cherries. With Wycombe losing 4-0 at fellow relegation rivals Chesterfield, only Walsall, Leyton Orient and Wycombe are real contenders for the final relegation spot.
Today provided more positive signs for next year, hopefully showing not much more money needs to be spent for this squad to be promotion contenders next season. Wes Thomas struggled to find his shooting boots once again, but luckily Scott Malone and Marc Pugh were able to provide the goals today and reward Paul Groves with his first win as interim manager. Accounts of the game are suggesting that loanee Zavon Hines has been turning in good performances of late, would a cheeky bid be a good idea? I'd rather us sign a bigger forward to compliment Thomas and Tubbs. While it is too late for Bournemouth to mount a last gasp play-off run, the gloom and doom of 3-4 weeks ago has disappeared and hopefully foundations are being laid for next year.
As for Huddersfield, the firing of Lee Clark has not improved their chances of automatics at all; they were 3 points off second when he was sacked, and now automatics are out of reach. Huddersfield's form has not been bad, but in my opinion they can't afford to blow it in the play-offs for a third straight year. A convincing loss to mid-table fodder isn't a good sign heading into the play-offs. I hope Huddersfield do finally gain promotion this season, as it will stop a play-off spot being guaranteed to them every year, and it will make the league less northern!
Note: These predictions will only cover the top four spots, and the bottom three.
1. Manchester United- A team that looked unlikely to win the title earlier in the season, their strength in depth and vast experience has shone as the season has progressed. Alex Ferguson has made clever moves this season, he brought in youngsters such as Phil Jones, while also bringing back old heads in Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs. Even without the large budget of their city neighbours, Ferguson has put together a balanced squad that has only performed better as the season progressed. While it's not yet set in stone, Machester United do not have difficult upcoming games, and it's my belief that they will clinch the title at Eastlands in front of the Manchester City fans.
2. Manchester City- The sun has set on Roberto Mancini's time at Manchester City. While he brought them an FA Cup win and Champions League qualification, for the money spent his return has been below-par. In my opinion, the season was lost because of his failure to control his squad and command authority over them. It is beyond belief that he would let Carlos Tevez play for his team again, though it shows how desperate Mancini has begun as the points have dried up. The other liability has been, of course, Mario Ballotelli. As I watched the Arsenal game today, I was baffled as to how Mancini could possibly leave that man on the pitch. He has extreme immaturity issues that have caused him to be sent of 4 times this season, and always remain in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Though Roberto Mancini claims Ballotelli will never play for Man City again, I think Mancini won't be the one in charge to make that decision.
3. Arsenal- This has been a controversial season for Arsene Wenger and his men. The loss of key players at the beginning of the year, coupled with a few disastrous results (8-2) saw many calling for the long time manager to be sacked. While Arsenal fans will always want more than a third or fourth place finish, with their budget, this is realistically the best that the team can achieve. I like the way the Wenger manages his side, he develops young players and also lets star players leave when they are on the way down after reaching their peak (Viera, Henry). Arsenal's form has picked up towards the end of the season, and results against teams like Manchester City and Spurs have proven the team's ability.
4. Tottenham Hotspur- It is noticeable to everyone that Spurs' form has gone downhill since Redknapp has been linked the England post, and involved with court cases. Honestly, I thought that this year would be their most successful yet and that Bale, Van Der Vaart and Modric would lead their team to a second or third place finish. While the wheels have slightly come off, Tottenham are still a good bet to finish third or fourth and achieve their goal of Champions League qualification. To become an elite team, I think they need to strengthen their forward line. While Adebayor and Defoe are good Premier League strikers, they don't score enough to outscore teams like Manchester United and Manchester City. It will be interesting to see what happens to them if Redknapp does ultimately leave.
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18. Blackburn- I had a really tough time choosing the final team to go down this season, but after examining remaining schedules I thought that Blackburn had too much of a challenge to stay up. Their other main competitors (Bolton has a much easier schedule, Wigan looked brilliant against Chelsea) seem able to do enough to stay up. Blackburn have never been a good side since Steve Kean took over, and while they have improved recently, it is tough to see where the points will come from. The one thing in their favour is that in Junior Hoilett and Yakubu they have two goal-scorers, but they might be relying on them too much. Should it come down to the final day of the season, a home game against Chelsea won't be easy for them.
19. QPR- Currently sitting outside the relegation zone on goal difference, QPR are a team that I could see staying up or going down. However, their remaining fixtures include Spurs, Chelsea and Manchester City who all still have something to play for. The team has been let down by their big money signings such as Djibril Cisse and Joey Barton. Promoted teams often make the mistake of signing big name veterans to aid their cause, but it is the young, determined players that are much more useful (see Swansea and Norwich). It will be close, but QPR should be returning to a league much more suited to a club of their size next season.
20. Wolverhampton Wanderers- It is safe to assume that Wolves are dead and buried at the bottom of the Premier League. Since firing McCarthy after a devastating 5-1 home loss to rivals West Bromwich Albion, things have gotten even worse under interim manager Terry Connor. They have barely gained a point since he took charge, and the only reason his team has gained headlines is the wife of one of his players question his team on twitter. Wolves should be back up soon, as they have always been a yo-yo club.
Another match, another failure to gain three points from the Cherries. Since early February, Bournemouth have been struggling to win their games at all, let alone convincingly. Before this drop in form, the Cherries were right in the mix for the play-off race, only a couple of points off 6th place Stevenage. Curiously, the team played better before all of the money was spent of new players, hinting at a possible lack of cohesion and spirit within the squad.
Today Bournemouth continued their winless run after losing 2-0 at promotion chasers Sheffield United. Since Paul Groves came in charge, the team has played the game in a different manner, going back to the Bournemouth faithful's favourite passing football, rather than the hoofball recently instilled by Bradbury towards the end of his regime. However, in 3 games Groves' team has only gained 2 out of 9 points, highlighted by dropping a 2-0 lead at Stevenage, and failing to beat fellow mid-table languishers Yeovil at home. While we could never expect anything from an away match at a team like Sheffield United, it is worrying how close the team is to the relegation zone (8 points). Suddenly, the team has to look down the table and begin worrying about the results of the teams down in the relegation fight, because Bournemouth aren't safe right now. Though, hopefully a win or two in the final games should guarantee another season in League One.
The defence has played reasonably well all year, and Cook, Zubar, Daniels, Francis is a more than good enough group of starters for any ambitious team in this league. When their is little going forward, the defence did well to limit a 2nd place team with Ched Evans up front to only two goals. The concern is at the other end of the pitch, where as Thomas' goals have dried out, so has the whole team's production. Next season, it is vital Tubbs and Thomas learn to play together, with Malone, McDermott and Pugh contributing also. In my opinion, the squad has too much dead weight for it to carry out a successful promotion campaign. These constantly injured players and those not able to play up to standard in League One need to be replaced this summer. Most importantly, Eddie Mitchell must get of his stool in the stadium bar, and get to work on hiring a smart, experienced and winning manager that will take advantage of the funds the club has.
Started as a side-project by Tom DeLonge in 2002, Box Car Racer brought out a musical side of him we hadn't yet seen reflected in Blink's albums. The premier and only album for BCR was filled with dark, emotional rock music that sounded somewhat similar to Blink's self-titled album that was yet to come out.
Personally, BCR were one of my favourite bands, and I find some of the songs to be very creative and eye-opening. Their songs are different to the usual teenage breakup lyrics we knew Tom for; they're religious, remorseful, and promote strong messages about the value of life.
Songs such as "Watch The World" and "Letters To God" are slow songs, that have a heavy guitar breakout towards the end, but it is easy to understand what the meaning of the song. The two biggest hits off of the album are "There Is" and "I Feel So". It's a shame that BCR never got to produce more songs after their debut album, but if that had happened their would of been no Angels & Airwaves.
Posted below are the two popular songs mentioned previously.
After a 7 year break since their last album, Blink 182 released their new album “Neighborhoods” on the 28th of September, 2011. Being a massive Blink fan, I was very excited to see what this new album would contain and whether the Blink of old had returned.
The Blink 182 most people know are not here anymore because their sound has changed dramatically. Long gone are the days of adolescent punk songs like “Dammit” and “M&M’s”, Blink’s new sound is much more mature and “mainstream”. Usually the words mainstream and Blink 182 would not go well together, but Tom, Travis and Mark have made a great combination of their unique sound and the style of music that is popular today. Tom sounds much more like himself when in Angels & Airwaves rather than when he was in Blink, his voice doesn't really fit with the sound, but I'm hopeful he will adjust. Mark and Travis are still the same awesome guys we've known since "Cheshire Cat".
Overall I would give this album 8/10 because the quality is good, especially for a group of guys that had been on a hiatus for such a lengthy time. My favourite songs are “Ghost on the Dancefloor”, “Even if she falls” and “Hearts all gone”. The album will not blow anyone’s mind out of the water, but it is still a good, solid attempt. While I hope in the future that Blink will return to their old punk rock ways, I believe this style of music is a sign of them growing up, which as painful as it is to say, happened a long time ago.
I am disappointed to see Blink move completely away from their previous punk rock sound (yeah, thanks Tom DeLonge) but I am thankful they are back together and writing music once again. Tom is clearly the link in the band, as in if he quits Blink falls apart so Travis and Mark have to adapt to his style of music. As a result, “Neighborhoods” is a very eccentric and cinematic style of music unknown to Blink fans before this new album.
Attached are the music videos for the songs "After Midnight" and "Up All Night" respectively.
Recently I have taken up skateboarding, something I never thought I would take up, but since beginning I have been really enjoying it. I was inspired by the music that I listen to; mainly American Punk Rock from the late 1990′s and early 2000′s. Many members of these bands were skateboarders, and the music is often associated with skateboarding and the whole culture. It seemed like a really fun way to spend my time and get some exercise, so when I found my brother’s skateboard in our garage I decided to give it a go.
I ended up spending most of my free time that week skating up and down the roads in our neighborhood, playing music from my phone, and enjoying the challenges that learning a new hobby presented. Without trying to sound too cringe worthy, or deep, it really felt like I was discovering something that represented who I am and what I enjoy in life. Obviously, learning how to skateboard can be frightening and tough. I have fallen over enough times already, and god knows what will happen when I try to jump of ramps and grind along rails!
Finally, I recently bought my first and own skateboarding from a local store on Queen Street West, and am thoroughly enjoying it so far.
Tom DeLonge caused a lot of anger among his fans when he left famed Punk Rock band Blink-182 to start a new band, playing the music that he aspired to create. Though the falling out may have been unexpected to some, it was very predictable that this was eventually going to happen. Box Car Racer, his first side project, were actually a great band that recorded some darkly themed, punk rock songs. However, Angels & Airwaves brought out a musical side to DeLonge that not many new existed.
Blink’s self-titled album provided a complete change in musical genre, moving from their previous teenage heartbreak punk sound, to a much more dark, heavy and grown up side of music. Though, Angels & Airwaves was another giant leap in the same direction. Known shortly as AVA, the band pursue a cinematic rock sound themed by love, religion, and freedom. Many people have chosen to be extremely skeptical over AVA, because they believe no band DeLonge is in will ever be as good as Blink. I used to be one of these people, but having given a listen to AVA’s songs, I realized that they’re truly a magnificent and unique sounding band that deserve much more recognition than they get.
Angels & Airwaves display emotion in their songs that most musicians would be afraid to display. It is noticeable how passionate the bands seems about the messages conveyed through their music, and it is always a pleasure listening to them. I have selected two of my favourite songs by them for your listening pleasure.
