Michael Jackson in "Scream"

Why do At the Drive-In scream so much? I think they might be one of my favorite bands if it wasn't for the lead singer's almost emo delivery. The music is great, the lyrics are more than decent, but the delivery...it kills me. I can't knock them though, they put out a lot of great music and spawned a pretty decent group after breaking up (some people have less respect for them than I do).

Before At the Drive-In, I listened to both of Ashlee Simpson's discs. Here producers are amazing, and the albums are poppy. I wouldn't claim they're necessary listening, or even recommended listening, except for the song "L.O.V.E." which can't be missed or forgotten. If you have no way to hear it, let me know and I'll make sure you have an opportunity.

Also from my playlist was Ass-End Offend. Awesome. When BMMS was playing on a regular basis we played with them on a regular basis. I think we might have even played together at Jay's Upstairs once. And at Area 5 more than once. I tried to look up Area 5 on google and came back with nothing...so here's a quick primer:

Area 5 was a venue in Missoula run by a crazy artist named Victor. Basically, it was his apartment/art venue and facilitated shows on an almost daily basis. Each show was BYOB and all-ages. It was virtually a creepier, beta version of the Raven, which I'll talk about later, when the time is right. At Area 5 you had to walk through Victor's living space to reach the only bathroom in the area. The venue itself was very similar to a garage with a few salvaged theatre seats on the walls. Oh, and there was an old barbar chair on one side of the room. Volumen, Oblio Joes, International Playboys, Montana Karl, Racetrack, Visqueen, Sex With Girls, Sasshole, and countless others all played there. We had a sort of residence there, since Victor thought we were "artsy" and edgy (notice the lack of quotes on the second adjective; saying we were edgy is a definate understatement). The fire cheif of Missoula ended up shutting down the venue due to a personal vendetta. There were a couple of reincarations downtown, but they didn't last more than a few months. Victor is said to have moved back to Los Angelos, where he moved to Missoula from.

This is what I'm drinking right now, and it is delicious. Olympia and Rainer are my new Pabst...I'm just saying...