Some of my favorite all time records have come from groups like The Clash, Against Me, and Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band. And while these 3 firecracker groups are often regarded as scathing political preachers when it comes to their music; politics have absolutely nothing to do with what I admire about "London Calling," "Born In The USA," "Sandinista" or "New Wave."

I mean yea sure, I occasionally like raging against the machine, wearing skinny ties and railin' the man, but what really magnetizes me to a band is pure unbridled passion. Gut emptying, veins busting in your forehead, eyes bleeding delivery.

But I hear less and less of that fury and passion these days. Blood and guts is so hard to find anymore! I wasted so much money on new releases this year that ended up bumming me out about the state of the music biz that I actually stopped paying attention for a while. Even the new Nada Surf and Subways records let me down. But then I got a wake up call from a young Jersey foursome with ringing guitars, big dreams, loud hearts and no money.

The Gaslight Anthem's much-buzzed about record, The 59 Sound, is everything you heard about it. Fertile, hungry, powerful, instantally classic, and sopping with maxed-out soul-on-fire songwriting. If you've waited this long to check it out, you need to stop that. It's one of those that will not leave your player for a long time, because it's still in mine and I can't remember the last record that fired me up like this.

It's as Joe Strummer as it is Bruce Springsteen. Energy, energy, energy, with warm and melodic delivery. Heck, you could even say it's like a good Alkaline Trio album without all the goth, blood, and self-loathing. Think of Springsteen's "The River" with a shot of adrenaline in the arm. And for a group that clearly worships Strummer and Springsteen with equal twinkle, there is nothing political and nothing to preach on a single song; just love, struggle and hard blue collar work from corner to corner.

It surely doesn't break any rules or create any new musical conventions or subgenres. It's just plain ol' empassioned rock, strong on tradition and made with genuine soul and heart. Check these songs out.

MP3: The Gaslight Anthem-The 59 Sound
Irony would have it that this here title track about death is the song full of the most life on the album. It's an ode to singer Brian Fallon's friend who died in a car wreck, but I love the imagery and notion of what song we'll hear when we pass along to the afterlife. I'd die to hear this song (and I almost do every day at work, waiting and waiting and waiting till 6 pm when I can dart to the car and crank the speakers up with this tune full blast)

MP3: The Gaslight Anthem-Here's Looking At You, Kid
This slower, sweeter kissoff to all the girls that Fallon lost through the years bangs my head up just as hard as the louder songs on the album. It's as potent as Springsteen's "I'm On Fire" and reminds me of High Fidelity where Rob Gordon nostagically retraces his steps with his "Top 5" ex-girlfriends, which not-so-ironically features a cameo from The Boss. And that's why me, John Cusack and The Gaslight Anthem all get along so well.



"Give that one final good bye and good luck to your all time top 5, and move on down the road."

Thanks, Boss.

Hopefully you dug out V For Vendetta last night. ("Remember, remember the 5th of November") But now we're here on American local election day, and that can mean a lot of things. It means you get to vote in "the only poll that matters," as they say. It also means the end of all those wretched signs that dirty up the beautiful fall scenery this time of year. But here at the Scene & Heard office, it means we're digging up our favorite breaking-the-system records and wailing away all day long to rusty guitars and out of key singers, singing along to songs about letting freedom ring and stickin it to the man. Dig it! It's top 5 Tuesday! These records are the ones you NEED to get fired up at the man when the man steps on your toes.

5. Nine Inch Nails / Year Zero - This album paints a haunting picture of a future where everyone is under complete control and censorship from a government out of a control, with a leader who "signs his name with a capital G."...
4. Against Me / New Wave - The sound of fire on a record, one of the sharpest releases this year.
3. Dead Kennedys / Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death - The one and only classic. The song "Police Truck" has the ability to round up armies.
2. Rage Against The Machine / Rage Against The Machine - When this album came along in the 90s it re-tightened the fists of an aimless generation that had gone somber thanks to grungey Nirvana rock. The only reason this record doesn't make the number one is because it directly led to crap like Limp Bizkit who employed the same energy, but had nothing to say. Rage, however, had a lot to say.
1. The Clash / The Clash - The late Joe Strummer was arguably one of the most important songwriters of the 20th century. The Clash's songs weren't as anti-political as they were pro-use your voice, change the world, make it a better place...which is what the HEART of punk is, as opposed to the image. This album is where punk began to take that shape.

Not that we should be surprised, but Stephen Colbert won't be on the ballot next November when we all go to vote for our next president. He announced this last week on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report when he said he had been turned down by Republicans and the Democrats.

During that episode, he interviewed a guy who lectures on multitasking who said Colbert failed to secure a spot with a political party because he's trying to do too much and isn't focusing on getting elected. If he would campaign heavily and play the whole game, then he'd actually have a shot, despite the immense popularity garnered among young potential voters.

Colbert's response was something along the lines of "think about what that says about our government, that you gotta play the game."

Think about that if you're going out voting today.

Me? I'm gonna hang around and listen to The Clash all day.