Probably my favorite band of all time, Lifetime was/is a melodic hardcore punk band from New Brunswick NJ, rising out of the same area that gave us bands like Bouncing Souls (who they frequently toured with) and You and I. They bounced around the early 90s playing a heavier. more metallic style before refocusing into the lineup that produced the albums Hello Bastards and Jersey's Best Dancers. Both albums featured songs that combined energetic, hyperspeed drumming, with dual guitars, and Ari Katz's distinctive interestingly enunciated english language, with each song containing 4 of 5 different parts, with few songs lasting more than 2 and a half minutes. What really separates Lifetime from their compatriots is the quality of their lyrics. Lifetime rarely had a typical verse-chorus-verse arangement, with each song almost coming off as a diary entry from a literate diary (in a good way)springsteen meets husker du meets rites of spring meets bad religion?
This mix i assembled includes things from all of their albums, including their self-titled comeback record. also included is their excellent cover of Billy Bragg's "New England"
Lifetime Mix
1. all night long
2. rodeo clown
3. francie nolan
4. somewhere in the swamps of jersey
5. irony is for suckers
6. knives bats new tats
7. starsixtynine
8. turnpike gates
9. a new england
2 comments:
Hmm.. hard for me to review hardcore punk mixes because - I have never yet figured out what makes me like one hardcore punk song and not another.
I thought this was a very strong mix, I do appreciate some of the other influences in the music. The cover of A New England was a little rough for me (I actually don't like the one in my pack a lot either due to my feelings about the original - I do enjoy most songs being covered but there are a rare few that I just feel dirty with and that's one.)
I'd say the middle of the set (starting with Somewhere in the Swamps and going to starsixtynine) was the real meat of my enjoyment - pretty well put together that way.
despite my few friends who were into punk insistence that i was being a snob, i was never able to get into lifetime.
however, i hadn't heard them in at least 5 or 6 years, and apparently i'm slowly warming up to them because several of these songs really clicked.
i think tracks 1, 2, and 6 were probably my favorites.
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