My Life In 35 Songs, Track 3: “Hide” by Creed

Let’s leave, oh let’s get away, get lost in time/Where there’s no reason left to hide

The first CD I ever owned was Creed’s Human Clay. I got it for my 12th birthday. The second and third CDs I ever owned were Creed’s other two albums, My Own Prison and Weathered, which I got a month later for Christmas. I was not at all aware at the time that Creed were one of the most derided bands of their era, and I’m glad for that. One of the great things about loving music when you’re young is that you do so without pretense or insecurity. Those things come later. What comes first, at least from my experience, is a fierce connection to the words and the melodies and the way the songs make you feel. Such was the case, for me, with Creed, especially in the winter of 2002-03 when those three albums – Weathered in particular – became the soundtrack to a particularly fraught period in my young life.

Adam Grundy 3 days ago

The sixth studio album from pop-punk band All Time Low found them working with a ton of outside collaborators/writers and showcased a slick sound led by production from veteran producer John Feldmann. Future Hearts is now celebrating its tenth birthday today, and each of the 13 songs found on the record featured an outside writer on it. This type of collaboration was new to the band, as they had typically composed the majority of their material in-house. Future Hearts was one of All Time Low’s most successful LPs at launch date, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 upon its release and selling over 80,000 copies in its first week. The band took their major label misfire (2011’s Dirty Work) in stride and would quickly follow this up with Don’t Panic and their final Hopeless Records record in Future Hearts. While the band would reach their creative peak on 2020’s Wake Up Sunshine, Future Hearts is filled with a ton of great pop-punk tunes that deserve another look.

Adam Grundy 3 days ago

This year’s Record Store Day occurs this Saturday, April 12th, 2025. Get your lists ready and prepare to dive into the key vinyl releases for this celebration of indie record stores. The Record Store Day “Ambassador” for ’25 is Post Malone, and he shared in a press release:

What an honor, I can’t believe I was chosen to be Record Store Day’s Ambassador for 2025. Record Store Day is so important and I really hope to do my part to keep it alive. We love hitting local shops when we’re on the road, seeing all the crazy artwork, the whole energy in a record store is just super inspiring. I feel at home. It’s really an unexplainable feeling to hit up a shop and dig through crates, just see what grabs your eye. You can be looking for something super specific and end up finding something totally different. It’s the best. Keep supporting y’all and let’s keep records and these local shops going strong. Happy Record Store Day everybody!”

In this article, I’ll be providing some tips & tricks for navigating this year’s Record Store Day observance, plus some early previews of some of the key titles. You can also check out my initial RSD ’25 preview here.

Adam Grundy 1 week ago

After the breakthrough success of Household Name, indie rock band Momma have returned with their highly anticipated fourth record called Welcome To My Blue Sky. The new album was produced by Aron Kobayashi Ritch, who also contributed on bass, and showcases the rapid improvements in Momma’s already-dynamic sound. The vibrant feelings come oozing through the speakers early on in vulnerable songs like the opening track of “Sincerely” that helps set the tone for the rest of the album. Led by the two primary songwriters/vocalists/guitarists in Etta Friedman and Allegra Weingarten, Momma tighten up their songwriting while still presenting songs that are both catchy and relevant. Momma shared in a recent interview that Welcome to My Blue Sky is “an open letter to those who have come in and out of our lives,” and this particular letter is well-received and invites wider audiences to sing along to every lyric and connect with this band on a deeper level.

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My Life In 35 Songs, Track 2: “Hanging By A Moment” by Lifehouse

Craig Manning 1 week ago

Desperate for changing, starving for truth/I’m closer to where I started, I’m chasing after you.

One thing to know about the way I consume music is that, by and large, I do not care about the charts. While knowing what songs have gone to number 1 over the years makes for fun trivia, it has little to no bearing on what music I love or find value in. But for one summer when I was 11 years old, I became obsessed with chart-watching, and this song was the reason why.

It’s been long enough since the summer of 2001 that I don’t really recall what initially inspired me to turn on the clock radio in my bedroom on some stray Sunday morning and tune in to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40 countdown. As far as I can remember, that show kicked off at 8 in the morning and ran until lunchtime. It was not, in other words, the kind of thing you’d expect a preteen boy to find himself enmeshed in during the summertime, when more interesting engagements like sleeping in or playing video games were options. Plus, AT40 was loaded with commercial breaks and packed with songs that I, as someone who did not have much of a taste for the R&B-flavored pop that was dominant at the turn of the century, actively disliked. Why did I subject myself to four hours of this nonsense when I could have been doing literally anything else?

Adam Grundy 2 weeks ago

The fifth studio album from Mumford & Sons, and the band’s first new album in nearly seven years, called Rushmere, gets its name from the pond located at Wimbledon Common in London, where the band first met and began the process of wanting to make music together. The band looked towards their beginnings to find a spark in their music, and create their first new taste of music since Delta. The overall sound of Rushmere recounts the humble beginnings of Mumford & Sons on 2009’s Sigh No More, with more experience under the band’s belt in crafting their desired artistic direction. The set was produced by veteran hit-maker Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell) and was recorded partly in Nashville, and also in the band’s home studio in Devon, England. Rushmere takes all of the stage and life experiences that the band members have had, and gets the ship pointed in the right direction. The next phase of Mumford & Sons career looks bright.

Adam Grundy 2 weeks ago

There’s something to be said for when a band knocks all expectations out of the park on a late-career masterpiece. Underoath have proven the naysayers wrong once again with the ultra-creative, career-spanning tenth LP called The Place After This One. The record was produced by Danen Reed Rector (Charlotte Sands) and mixed by Matt Huber (Boys Like Girls), and they both do their best in accentuating the key parts of what makes Underoath such an interesting band in the first place. After some lukewarm fan reactions to the direction the band was taking based on the singles they released from this set, this album shows the importance of context. While even I was admittedly a little worried about the direction found on singles like “Teeth,” seeing how the song plays out in the full set on The Place After This One makes a lot more sense and shows that Underoath has plenty of reserves in their creative tank. The album ends up being the band’s best work since Define The Great Line, and another defining moment in Underoath’s discography.

Adam Grundy 2 weeks ago

The breakthrough cover series by New Found Glory kicked off 25 years ago with From The Screen To Your Stereo. This compilation of pop-punk covers of famous songs from movies has been long-adored by fans of the band, and NFG has since put out two additional versions of the series as well. Part I is a fun listening experience that preceded New Found Glory’s self-titled record that would make the band a household name on MTV and radio stations alike. This cover album included seven tracks that clocked in at just under the 20-minute mark, and showcased a band figuring out their sound and Jordan Pundik’s evolving vocal range from Nothing Gold Can Stay. The reception to the movie covers EP was more appreciated over time as the band would occasionally add these covers (and others) to their live sets. From The Screen To Your Stereo was produced by New Found Glory and Jeremy Staska, and marks a memorable time in the ascent of one of this scene’s favorite pop-punk bands.

Adam Grundy 2 weeks ago

Recently I was able to connect with singer-songwriter Adam Lytle to discuss everything that went his new single and video for the track “Heaven.” The song comes from Lytle’s sophomore album, Altars, that hits streaming services on May 2nd. If you’re enjoying the video for “Heaven”, please consider pre-saving Altars here.

My Life In 35 Songs, Track 1: “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers

Craig Manning 2 weeks ago

If your life was a movie, what songs would make the soundtrack?

Earlier this year, I found myself trying to answer that question, all because I was looking for a project to get me excited about music writing again. A decade ago, I couldn’t wait to write up reviews of every new album I liked. Now, the thought of going through that process feels exhausting, and maybe meaningless. Does anyone care about album reviews in 2025? And if not, where does that leave those of us who love trying to articulate what it is about a certain piece of music that makes us think, or makes us weep, or gets our hearts racing a little faster?

I came up with the life soundtrack idea almost on a lark. It would be a fun challenge, I told myself, especially if there were limits and rules by which I had to abide. The first rule I gave myself was to theme this project around my forthcoming 35th birthday. In honor of that milestone, I decided, I’d have the space of just 35 songs to tell my life story.

I didn’t know how maddening this game would prove to be – or, ultimately, how emotionally fulfilling. I’m an old veteran when it comes to making lists, but this version of the music list was so much harder than anything else I’d ever attempted. Picking your all-time favorite albums is easy. Picking your favorite songs is harder, but still somewhat intuitive. Trying to boil down your entire life’s journey into what is essentially a two-CD compilation is an exercise guaranteed to result in constant hand-wringing, excessive second-guessing, and endless revising. There are currently 47,145 songs in my iTunes library. How was I supposed to be satisfied picking such a tiny percentage of that?

Adam Grundy 2 weeks ago

Recently I was able to connect with psychedelic indie composer, guitarist, and record producer Romi Peles, as he gears up for the release of his third studio album, Break Up Album, that hits streaming services on June 13th. Today, Romi Peles is releasing his new single and lyric video for “Demons Back In Town.” If you’re enjoying the new single, please consider supporting this talented artist here.

Adam Grundy 3 weeks ago

Recently I was able to catch up with the lead vocalist of Anxious, Grady Allen, on the road to discuss everything that went into the band’s excellent sophomore LP, Bambi. I asked Grady about how the headlining shows have been going for Anxious, if he felt any pressure during the writing process between Little Green House and Bambi, and much more. If you’re looking to support Anxious on the road, check out a show, or visit their merch store here.

Adam Grundy 3 weeks ago

The fourth studio album from pop-punk band, Hit The Lights, called Summer Bones is a solid collection of songs that bookmarked where the band felt most comfortable in. The record has since turned ten years old today, and Hit The Lights have not released a full-length record since then. The closest we got to new music was the 2016 EP, Just To Get Through To You, that also featured acoustic versions of several tracks from Summer Bones. Summer Bones was produced by Kyle Black (New Found Glory/All Time Low/State Champs) and highlights a familiar sound from the band’s most successful record, 2008’s Skip School, Start Fights. After the experimental Invicta, Summer Bones has the vibe of a more matured version of the band, and still plays out well to this day. The set would spawn three singles in “Fucked Up Kids,” “Life on the Bottom” and “No Filter.”

Adam Grundy 3 weeks ago

The eighth studio album from A Day To Remember, called Big Ole Album Vol. 1, finds the band at a bit of a crossroads. This is the first record without founding bassist Josh Woodard, who departed the band in October 2021 due to allegations of misconduct, and A Day To Remember try to regain their footing after the lukewarm reception of their last record, You’re Welcome. Big Ole Album Vol. 1 features a litany of producers, six in total, including lead vocalist Jeremy McKinnon and the album has a bit of a tough time finding its direction. The album feels like an A Day To Remember record, but with so many artistic directions taken here, it’s a bit of a jarring listening experience. Instead, the album plays out almost like a “Greatest Hits” set that goes through the ground the band covered since their early days to now. Preceded by a physical only release on February 21st of this year, the streaming date has arrived for an album that has already achieved a Top Five Billboard 200 debut.

Interview: Catbite

Adam Grundy 3 weeks ago

A couple of days ago, I was able to schedule a Zoom call with Brittany Luna (vocals) and Tim Hildebrand (guitar), of Philadelphia ska band Catbite, to discuss their newly announced EP, Doom Garden. In this interview, I asked the band members about where the EP title came from, the direction they took on Doom Garden, their recent performance doing the Operation Ivy cover set with Laura Jane Grace, and how they were able to get Patrick Stump to sing on one of the songs on the new record. Catbite will be supporting Doom Garden with a headlining tour, and the dates are below.

My Life In 35 Songs, Track 3: “Hide” by Creed

Let’s leave, oh let’s get away, get lost in time/Where there’s no reason left to hide

Review: All Time Low – Future Hearts

Record Store Day 2025 Countdown

Review: Momma – Welcome To My Blue Sky

My Life In 35 Songs, Track 2: “Hanging By A Moment” by Lifehouse

Desperate for changing, starving for truth/I’m closer to where I started, I’m chasing after you.

Review: Mumford and Sons – Rushmere

Review: Underoath – The Place After This One

Review: New Found Glory – From The Screen To Your Stereo

Interview: Adam Lytle

My Life In 35 Songs, Track 1: “One Headlight” by The Wallflowers

Interview: Romi Peles

Interview: Grady Allen of Anxious

Review: Hit The Lights – Summer Bones

Review: A Day To Remember – Big Ole Album Vol. 1

Interview: Catbite