Music Pimp Extraordinaire

[revid]

My second or third favorite band (depending on the day of the week) is a trio out of Australia called The Living End. They're probably best characterized as punk-pop, although they've also been called punkabilly, in deference to the clear musical influence of Brian Setzer and the Stray Cats. Not unlike another famous trio however, the genre lines have become somewhat blurred, so the type of music they play? I just call it GOOD.

TLE got one of their first big breaks courtesy of Green Day. In the late 1990s (not sure exactly which year) when Green Day was setting up an Australian tour, TLE sent them a demo tape. Green Day liked it so much that they invited the band to be their opener on the tour. They continue to be one of Australia's best selling and most popular rock bands. They are currently signed to Adeline Records here in the US.

Some of you may recall that last December sick_of_me03 and I traveled up and down the state of California stalkingfollowing TLE on their tour. (My god Ash, it's been almost a year!) One good thing about being a fan of a band that isn't huge it that it's a lot easier to meet and chat with them. After their San Francisco show, we chatted with then outside the venue for a bit and Andy (the drummer) told us where they were headed, so that's where we went too. :-) This picture was taken by me at a place called The Beauty Bar.


Bassist Scott Owen, Drummer Andy Strachan, Guitarist/Vocalist Chris Cheney

It's always an added bonus when you like someone's music and they turn out to be absolutely fantastically nice and funny guys. (Makes me feel sorry for fans of Oasis or 30 Seconds to Mars, for example.)

So you can understand what Ash and I are always on about, I have put together a sampler of The Living End music. This playlist is based, for the most part, on the set list from their last tour. I also threw in an excellent live cover of the 80s classic "Tainted Love." It contains songs from all four of their albums: The Living End (1999) Roll On (2001), Modern Artillery (2003) and State of Emergency (2005). You won't be sorry adding it to your library.

You can find more info about TLE on their (what else?) MySpace, or their official website: http://www.thelivingend.com/ .

Everyone has a band that they love so much that they are just infuriated that the rest of the world (or in this case, the US) hasn't recognized how great they are. For me, that's TLE. If I could corner Green Day in a dark alley, the one thing I would do would be to tell them to bring TLE along on their next US tour. (Well, maybe that wouldn't be the only thing I'd do! :-) )

TLE Tour Playlist
18 songs, 1:03:33 total time, 59 MB

Roll On 3:08 Roll On
What's on Your Radio? 3:02 State of Emergency
Who's Gonna Save Us? 3:21 Modern Artillery
Into the Red 3:08 State of Emergency
All Torn Down 4:08 The Living End
We Want More 3:40 State of Emergency
Nothing Lasts Forever 4:52 State of Emergency
Pictures In The Mirror 3:17 Roll On
Wake Up 4:31 State of Emergency
Black Cat 3:44 State of Emergency
Prisoner of Society 3:52 The Living End
Long Live the Weekend 2:53 State of Emergency
Tabloid Magazine 3:21 Modern Artillery
Second Solution 3:00 The Living End
Uncle Harry 3:18 Roll On
Hold Up 2:28 Modern Artillery
West End Riot 3:53 The Living End
Tainted Love (live) 3:57

Enjoy!