I had digital copies of some of this before, Unknown Pleasures obviously being one of them, but an original UK pressing seemed worth picking up. And I never investigated Hall & Oates albums and full, and their albums are plentiful and cheap, now seemed like the time.

I bought it purely because it had Springsteen's Jimmy Cliff cover on it. It was one of a few records that only cost me a dollar (Hall & Oates being the rest of them).

It was purchased at the same time as the Earth record. It was a weird day.

Actually, that was the easy part. Dedicating a couple hours each day to listening to records was really joyous for me. I also refused to file anything away until it had been played. That helped keep me honest.

The rest of the album is in this vein and I could not recommend it more.

To me, Alexis always felt like Grade's younger, less powerful brother. I've got no problem with Alexis, but I always end up listening to Separate The Magnets or Under The Radar instead.

Not to spoil anything coming up, but I wrote a little something that addresses the fact I have PMFS tattoo.

Alta is great. My first exposure was seeing them play a house and I was floored. Can't wait to see where they go from here.

You make a great point about dubstep, and in a similar way I feel it applies here. To some degree emo has been able to break from that stigma, and I hope that the new screamo bands are able to do the same.

PBTT definitely qualifies. The Lack Long After is beautiful, and the song on the split with Touché Amoré is among their best work. See them live if you can, they are in a league of their own.

La Dispute has a place here, as does a band like Touché Amoré, but it was hard to find a place to fit them in here. It's nice to see people actually discussing this, so thanks for reading and inquiring.

Sorry for introducing you to "skramz." But, given it's uptick in usage, I felt I needed to acknowledge it.

If this was a Primer, Pg. 99, Orchid, and the like would have taken up a bigger part of this (as they are all great). But, when approaching it as a way to introduce people who perhaps have an issue with the genre based on name alone, I figured starting with Envy and working through the early stuff would help dispel…

Orchid definitely counts, and Blood Brothers certainly have a place in the conversation. But, while they were part of it, their dance-fueled rhythms made them an anomaly in a scene that already lacked definition. Hence my omission.

For me, a lot of those things never left (though I was never huge on Saves The Day or Get Up Kids). As for Joan Of Arc, How Memory Works and A Portable Model Of have held up nicely, and 2011's Life Like comes pretty close to sounding like Owls, which is always welcome.

You are correct, Bill.

Daitro is fantastic, with Y being a rather stunning work throughout. However, after the band splintered we got 12XU, and its 7-inches and LP fill the void rather well.

I agree with your sentiment, and I think they've aged better than a lot of their peers. But, as you said, it's essentially Collection with a bunch of things tacked on. Most notably, "My Unanswered Whys," which is easily one of their best songs.

Everyone needs to get on that Cutman album. It rules from start to finish. Same goes for the Hawks and Doves record.

"Never Meant" by American Football is one of the best break-up songs ever. The lyrics are absolutely crushing, and Kinsella's delivery makes it all the more intense.