If It's Too Loud...

If you're wondering what Matt Skiba has been up to since Tom DeLonge rejoined Blink-182, that answer is Lektron. The former member of Alkaline Trio has formed an all-star punk rock supergroup for his new band, which also features Atom Willard (Rocket from the Crypt, Against Me!) on drums, bassist Hunter Burgan (AFI), and lead guitarist Randy Moore (Spiritworld, Dan Andriano & The Bygones). The quartet's new single has the pop punk with an edge sound you'd expect from this collection of musicians, but there's also a mixture of garage rock and heavier mainstream alt-rock throughout. The guitars have just a little unexpected crunch to them, and the song isn't exactly catchy but will still find a way to burrow into your skull. "Dirty Jacks" is the kind of song that both is and isn't what you expect before you start listening. You can listen to "Dirty Jacks" below. The single is available with the B-side "She's a War" via Asian M...

Blink 182 have always been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. I always felt I was too old for them, their lyrics were always embarrassing (but fun!), and as their audiences got younger as they got bigger, I just had to bail. But this is just beyond perfect for me. Colleen Green has released Blink 182's "Dude Ranch" as played by Colleen Green , which is exactly what it sounds like. Colleen Green first came to my attention by covering the Descendents's "Good Good Things." Her extreme lo-fi version of a punk classic works for me, and she's taking the same approach to Blink 182. Right now there are only three songs available to stream: "Waggy" and "I'm Sorry" over at Bandcamp, and "Dammit" on Soundcloud. If the rest are like this, sign us up. You can listen to Colleen Green's take on "Dammit" below. Blink 182's "Dude Ranch" as played by Colleen Green is available digitally on Bandcamp and on ...

With the release of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens coming up this week, I had this bizarre urge to listen to some Star Wars music besides just "The Imperial March" over and over again. This birthed the If It's Too Loud "Songs About Star Wars" mix. I tried to avoid songs that simply make one reference to Star Wars and aim for songs actually about Star Wars. Of course there is some nerdcore (MC Chris), forgotten 90s bands (2 Skinnee J's), 90s bands that are still with us (Blink-182, Presidents of the United States of America), bands you would never think of doing Star Wars covers (Queens of the Stone Age, Ash), and "Weird Al," of course. It's perfect to listen to while you're at work waiting for it to end so you can head out to the theater, on your way to the theater, to avoid figuring out name mix up games in the theater, etc.