10 Songs to Jumpstart Your Week (curated by DS editor Bizarro Dustin)

10 Songs to Jumpstart Your Week (curated by DS editor Bizarro Dustin)

Ever wonder what the folks who run Dying Scene have been listening to lately?  We’re going to pretend you said “yes” to that question and feature a curated playlist from a different DS editor each week with the intent of exposing you to some new kickass punk bands.  This week’s playlist is brought to you by DS editor Bizarro Dustin.

Discover some great tunes, and get your shuffle on with Dustin’s playlist below.

01. Iron Chic – “Bogus Journey”

I firmly believe that every Iron Chic song sounds the same. I also firmly believe that Iron Chic writes a damn good song. I went to see them last week, and afterward I made a playlist of their set so I could re-live the show (which is unnecessary for several reasons, including the fact that I go to see Iron Chic at least every three months if not more often). I wanted to just use that playlist for this week’s Editor Playlist, but I was told I’d get the can for that so I decided to stick with the song I was most surprised to hear that night.

02. Teenage Halloween – “666”

Continuing my Iron Chic story, of all the opening bands that night the only one that I was unfamiliar with was Teenage Halloween. And after seeing their set, I wish I had listened to them beforehand. They had an energy to them that drew me in and I was bobbing along wishing I knew the words to any of their songs. They were one of those bands that warranted me pulling out my phone just so I could add them to my digital library as quickly as possible.

03. The Shell Corporation – “Kumbaya”

I’ll admit that I’ve slept on The Shell Corporation for much longer than I should have. Vocalist/guitarist Jan Drees once wrote for this very site around the same time that I joined the staff, and former DS editor Lauren Mills sung the band’s praises every chance she got. Yet the band’s newest album, fucked., which only came out this month, is the first album by The Shell Corporation that I’ve listened to. There’s a lot to be said for a strong opening track, and “Kumbaya” is certainly an incredibly strong one. If there ever were a song that really sets the tone for an album, and makes the listener (in this case, me) feel regret for not listening to the band that wrote the song sooner, “Kumbaya” is it.

04. Polar Bear Club – “Boxes”

Lately I’ve been leaving my listening habits to chance by putting my phone on shuffle. So far it’s been working out, and it’s been playing plenty of stuff that I had forgotten all about, like this Polar Bear Club banger.

05. Direct Hit! – “Home to You”

You might notice a recurring theme of this playlist is “songs that I haven’t listened to in awhile until they came up on shuffle.” That’s essentially how I came up with this playlist. Brainless God was my favorite album of 2013, but I had listened to it so much that I needed to take a break from it for awhile. Having “Home to You” pop up randomly reminded me of how much I still love the entire album.

06. Hey Mercedes – “Police Police Me”

Another discovery that I made via shuffle- Hey Mercedes is one of those bands that I always wanted to listen to more and I even went as far as to save their albums to my Spotify library. I listened to Everynight Fire Works a handful of times, but I hadn’t ever given Loses Control the time of day until this one came up. I know that Braid is the Bob Nanna project that everyone was excited about reuniting, but if Hey Mercedes ever did a reunion tour I would get in line for that. (Yeah, they played the Wrecking Ball Fest a few years ago, but I don’t do festivals.)

07. Jimmy Eat World – “Kill”

Believe it or not, this is not a song that entered regular rotation through the power of shuffle. I just really like Jimmy Eat World.

08. Camp Cope – “The Face of God”

I missed the boat on Camp Cope’s self-titled album when it was first released, so I was all about getting ahead of the curve for their second album, How to Socialise & Make Friends. And then the album came out in the beginning of March and I hadn’t heard it until a week ago. So much for being on top of things! But I digress. I like them all, but of the nine tracks on this album, “The Face of God” is the one that catches my attention every time.

09. The Copyrights – “Worn Out Passport”

The other day I was trying to figure out if I which Copyrights album I thought was better than the others. The conclusion that I came to was that they’re all amazing, but I listen to Learn the Hard Way and North Sentinel Island the most. This one is off the latter, but if you’ve managed to make it to 2018 and not listen to The Copyrights ever, I suggest you fix that immediately.

10. Pinhead Gunpowder – “I Am An Elephant”

I haven’t listened to Pinhead Gunpowder in what feels like years. “I Am an Elephant” is another blast from my past. When I was younger, I don’t think I truly appreciated just how great Pinhead Gunpowder is- but now that I’ve seen documentaries and read oral histories about the East Bay scene in the 80’s and 90’s, the idea of Billie Joe Armstrong and Aaron Cometbus teaming up seems like the type of supergroup that only happens in hypothetical discussions. Pinhead Gunpowder is one of those bands that people will always say “should be bigger” but I think they’re perfect exact the way they are.

Post a Comment

Your email address will not be published.