God, Please Save These Troubled States

Starting tomorrow morning, I won't have access to Buzznet until late in the day on June 7th. The time has come; we're both riding in the 7th AIDS LifeCycle. Between the two of us, we've raised over $5,000 for the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to provide healthcare for those affected by AIDS and for the prevention of AIDS.

Our ride starts on Sunday, June 1st. 545 miles and 7 days later, we'll be in Los Angeles. Frightening and insane? Yes, but I can't imagine a better way to combine my love for activism and my love for bikes.

You can follow me on Twitter and LiveJournal since I won't have internet access for a while. (THANK GOD.) There's actually a Twitter widget embedded in my shout out box. I'll also have a Buzznet phone to snap photos and video!

If you have any community issues, feel free to hit up Breesays through her profile or email (bmcguire@buzznet.com) while I'm gone.

BEHAVE. Just 'cuz I'm not moderating with an iron fist doesn't mean Bree won't be. I expect a good report when I return!

So yeah! Rich and I are terrified and so excited to do this. Thank you to everyone who donated! It means the world to me!

Interview taken on May 19, 2008 at Vegan House in Hollywood.

Present:

Panasonicyouth = Buzznet
Dan Yemin - Vocals
Josh Agran - Guitars

Buzznet: So the cover art for New Lexicon; I look at it and it's very desolate. I wanted to know where that photo was taken and what was the intention of having an empty parking lot at night [be your cover].

Dan Yemin: We did not direct the photographer that much. I mean, he...we had images of other photographers that we liked a lot, and just pointed them out for reference. It's just turned out that the guy who was doing the photos for our record actually apprenticed for one of the photographers who we really liked, whose pictures we thought, "Oh man, these are amazing."

Josh Agran: And who's to famous for us to get.

Dan: Yeah, way too famous. He was on the cover of the Whitney Bi-Annual catalog last time.

Josh: But whose idea was it to have that empty parking lot? I thought that was your idea. [To Dan.]

Dan: I think it was just that all the pictures we liked were just empty spaces of commerce after hours.

Josh: We felt that it sort of personified the album, the songs on the record.

Dan: The concept was about the American desert, the American cultural desert. And then Andy [Nelson]'s whole point was, "You crawl through the desert on your hands and knees and you get to the oasis and it's a fucking gas station.

Buzznet: Yeah. That's very California.

Josh: It's SO California, right?

Buzznet: There's those long stretches where you go through the desert and there's nothing and then, gas station! And then there'll be something like an Applebee's right next to it or some other chain.

Josh: Like the James Dean joint. I love that.

Buzznet: What's that?

Josh: The James Dean gas station that's got his picture up there.

Dan: The last place he stopped before he died, supposedly. Although I don't know if that's legend or not.

But we had...I guess Andy, our bass player, was the first person to be real strong about  what we don't want the record to look like. We were looking at a lot of layouts that were real simple. Real classic, real Swiss, that didn't have pictures of the band.

Josh: Or that didn't look like angular punk, like the other two records.

Buzznet: Like how you can look at the others and say, "That looks like a punk album."

Dan: Yeah, you can't say, "That looks like a ragin' punk record."

Josh: You know, it reminds me of Jersey's Best Dancers. [Lifetime record.] It's the same vibe.

Dan: Interesting.

Josh: I just put that on the other day and I was looking at the record cover. 'Cause, you know, it's just the four guys and... [Dan holds up all five fingers at this point.] Pardon me....all five members. And it's just that and the title.

Dan: Oh, well that's just a rip-off of the old Bluenote record covers. Which is another thing, the same concept of the real simple, real sparse design.

Josh: I'm really into it. I was kind of worried, we were all kind of worried that it would come across as too hoity-toity, you know...too snobbish. But then I don't think it does. And I don't think it's getting that reaction.

Dan: I don't really care.

Josh: I don't really care either.

Buzznet: Atleast to me, listening to the songs [on New Lexicon] and reading the lyrics, the whole thing is about taking risks anyway, so you might as well take risks with the album cover.

Dan: Exactly. It's the new lexicon.

Buzznet: So, addressing that, you mention it in the song "Saccharine." You say, "Like priests we speak a dead language, written in sand. We need a new lexicon, devils be damned." So what is the new lexicon? What's this new language or vocabulary that we need?

Dan: The goal is not to answer that question for people. Let's create a sort of proposition that we need to create a new language, not only because the parameters of punk and hardcore are really conservative and constraining, but also because I think the language that we use to talk about politics and the language we use to talk about experience, inner subjective experience, it's like...it needs to grow and evolve. And I address that...a lot of this record is about language as a metaphor, indirectly about language, and it's kind of like one of themes is that language is a really imprecise tool to communicate what we're feeling and experiencing inside; yet it's the only....we don't really have much else. We can paint; we can make art as another way to communicate internal experience, but even that's a language. Painting has it's own lexicon.

There's that line in "New Folk Song": "I know the language will fail us, but it's all we've got." It relates to what I do for a living, it relates to how important it is for us to be to communicate what's going on inside of us, so we're able to connect with other people. Otherwise, we're just alone, in a void. Isn't music all about connection people anyway?

Buzznet: No, that's totally right.

Dan: We just got all philosophical right there, didn't we?

Buzznet: No, it's fine. I'm not a big fan of asking typical interview questions anyway.

Josh: You know, this made me think of something. About the whole "new lexicon" thing. It made me think that our language that we use today is so fucking bloated. It's so complicated. And a new lexicon could just simplify things. I think things are blown out of proportion.

Like government. If you think about things like "government" to a young person, it seems like the most ridiculously complicated and hard-to-understand concept, when in reality, it's not that difficult to understand. People make it difficult.

Buzznet: Well, then there's the whole idea that...I don't know. At least the way my schooling was, growing up in a conservative town, was that the government isn't something you're supposed to participate in. You're a bystander and you're so far away from it. And that's not the truth.

Dan: Totally true.

Josh: Yeah, not at all. Not at all the truth.

Dan: But it benefits--power benefits by us learning that. I mean, it's real simple once you figure out their main function is to get re-elected in four years. They're not going to take risks proposing any solutions that are long term, and to trick us into thinking their short-term schemes are going to create some radical change...or any kind of change. They just want to make it look like they're working for our benefit so we vote for them again.

Josh: Like a war in Iraq.

Buzznet: Or an economic stimulus package. Like that, they're quick fixes.

Dan: $600 isn't going to do anything. I mean, people can just...go buy TVs?

Buzznet: If it was...if we lived in age where rent wasn't three times that and that would actually go towards reasonably paying off something, then it might make sense. It's just...it's almost an affront. "Whoa! $600! You're gonna stimulate the whole economy!" I can't even stimulate my own economy with that kind of money.

Dan: Yeah, $600 isn't even going to be a student loan payment. Asshole.

Buzznet: On "The Ledge," you sing, "Too young to call it quits, too old to settle for nostalgia. So he settles for this." Even though the song is in third person, I was wondering: Are you talking about yourself in that song? Or is that actually another person?

Dan: I'm writing about a character. That's the first time I've really done that in this band. Like all characters, he's somewhat autobiographical. What scares me is...there's a lot of narrow-minded people in the world. People are like, "He writes about his alcoholism on this record!" I'm not writing about my alcoholism. It's really presumptuous to say. But I am writing about weakness and the tendency to indulge in anesthesia rather than face up to your problems.

Buzznet: Well, I can definitely relate to that.

Dan: But the character is somewhat me.

Josh: I would say so. I mean, I don't write your lyrics, but yeah.

Dan: There's specifically a line in that song that's about my life; the last line is.

Buzznet: So does being in Paint It Black, or being in any of these bands, in Lifetime, in reinvigorating that, are you in a state in your life where you're fighting between being a 17-year-old in a punk band and being (I guess what the world would call) an adult?

Dan: I'm fighting in between being a 38-year-old in a punk band and being an adult.

Buzznet: Is it a constant fight for you? Or are you comfortable existing in this realm?

Dan: I'm mostly comfortable with it. The transitions aren't so comfortable. We'll get back from this tour Sunday, and that will be really hard to reassemble. I really hate leaving my wife, so I hate getting back. I hate going back to work. I mean, I love my work. But to work after this is difficult, because it's a jarring transition. It's  like speeding down the highway and pulling up the emergency brake. Thankfully, the one thing you get with experience, if you really work on yourself, is that, continuing in that metaphor, at least you've got a seatbelt on.

Buzznet: For me, listening to "Past Tense, Future Perfect," it seems like the angriest song out of the collection of the three albums. Was there any specific event that inspired you to make such a song?

Dan: Yeah, it's another song about the sort of events that kick-started this band. In the space of a year, I had a stroke and then my wife left. Now ex-wife. It's all about bouncing back from that and learning to live with dignity in the wake of...not only turning a really shitty set of experiences into -- well, alchemy. It's turning a set of shitty experiences into something else. It's about transformation. It's about turning shit into gold.

Someone actually said that to me, the opening line. Ah -- the second line. "God's got it in for you. You're fucked."

Josh: Who's that?

Dan: I don't want to say, but can you believe that you get out of the hospital and a year later your wife's gone? Seriously? Someone's sending you a message. Time to quit!

Buzznet: The line that stands out to me the most is, "We're out of God's jurisdiction." Do you think that people rely too heavily on that idea? That there are things that happen in their lives because of some outward power?

Dan: Yeah. One of my least favorite things to hear is - especially when people are offering you solace - is when they put their hand on your shoulder and they lower their voice and go, "Everything happens for a reason." I find that to be one of the least helpful things in the world, and kind of condescending.

Josh: Really?

Dan: Yep. "Everything happens for a reason." Yeah right.

Josh: Well I sort of feel that way. But we've talked about this. I'm more religious than you.

Buzznet: But you could trace a reason for everything happening in general. There's a reason we're sitting here; it's because we were hungry and we wanted to eat.

Josh: You could trace everything. I really think that everything is connected. Honestly. It's one of those things where I get shit upon a lot in this band because my train of thought is a little different from everyone else's. I'll connect things that don't seem to have a connection. But in my mind, I find a connection. My point of view.

Dan: That's 'cause you're stoned.

Josh: There you go. It's cause I'm stoned. Right. I get met with a lot of sarcasm. But seriously, I do see a lot of connections in things that are not so obvious.

Dan: That's called schizophrenia.

Josh: That's not funny. My brother is schizophrenic.

Dan: Oh right. I'm sorry.

Buzznet: Do you think with a song that also deals with a religious issue ("Missionary Position"), do you see it as more of a political statement than a religious one?

Dan: Yeah. I mean, I think people have got to do what they've got to do to make it through the day. I'm not offended by spirituality. I'm offended by turning your spirituality into a means of social control.

Josh: Totally. It's awful. Like televangelists.

Dan: Or just the whole back of the Republican party. [They've] just consolidated their power by creating these unseverable ties with the religious right and it's just...it's kind of terrifying. I don't think people know why that's the case. Like, 25 years ago, the Republican party and the far-right, evangelical Christians were not in bed together. They were often at odds with each other. As a result, this country has become more and more socially conservative.

Josh: I'd like to point out that this food here is fucking amazing.

Dan: Yeah, what'd you get?

Josh: I got the a la carte cashew nuts and it comes with a ton of veggies.

Dan: THis is great.

Buzznet: There are two of these and the other one's a mile or two from my house, so I'm literally here all the time. Anyway, so as far as the sound of the record, what inspired you guys to create these interesting segues between songs. Like at the end of "We Will Not" and "Gravity Wins" and "Missionary Position." When during the writing process did you decide, "Hey, we need to try something new" or was it when you were in the studio?

Josh: No, that was way before we even started writing the record, at least together as a unit. Basically, real quickly Dan writes the skeleton of the song and then he emails it to us and Jared, Andy, and I will hammer through them and figure out what we want to do with them. You know, try to structure them a little bit. We talked about this at an Indian restaurant. Me, you [Dan], and Andy talked about this and that we wanted someone else to produce it and and add their own sort of stamp on it. We all talked about Oktopus, who plays in the group Dälek. We basically sent him our rough tracks and he did his own thing, without us there. Then we came in for a week with him and pointed out what we liked and didn't like and went from there and sent it to the press. Put it out to the kids.

Buzznet: Wow, that's rad.

Josh: Yeah, it was scary and fucking awesome all at the same time.

Buzznet: Yeah, putting your music in someone else's hands.

Dan: This was like a two-stage thing for this. This is the first record that was really written by Paint it Black, not just by Dan. You know, not just my friends playing my songs. Last year was kind of crazy for me because Lifetime had a new record out and we spent a lot of time playing shows. I also got married, so I spent a lot of time with that. I'd say that 70% of rehearsals for this record I wasn't present for. For me, letting go of the songs...I barely policed what they were doing at all.  So that, for me, was really liberating and really exciting. And then to do it again with the production....yeah.

Buzznet: Again, taking risks.

Josh: Yeah. Putting trust into other people. It's tough to do.

Dan: It's so essential, especially if you believe in music as a form of communication. And I believe it is. And you know, the term "new lexicon," that song specifically is about my experience with underground music in 2007. That line -- it's funny, it became the title of the record, but one of my main focuses in that song is that I wanted to have a verbal reference to the Germs.

Buzznet: Oh shit.

Dan: So even though there's a comma, that line was built around "lexicon devil." It kind of expanded outwards from there.

Josh: And and: he came up with it in California.

Buzznet: Very appropriate. So, musically, I think my favorite song on the record is "New Folk Song." So I wanted to know where the inspiration came from to write some non-traditional guitar lines for that song. [It's] not like any Paint it Black song.

Dan: Drive Like Jehu.

Josh: And he even wrote a song -- you could say you had me in mind.

Dan: Yeah. I wrote parts on this record...well, Josh wrote this song a long time ago that's very Jehu-influenced that he plays constantly. He's like, "Someday, this song...my band's gonna play this song and it's going to be amazing." His older bands were really mid-tempo, equally influenced by Fugazi, Gravity Records, and Drive Like Jehu.

Josh: And Swizz. And Ink & Dagger.

Dan: So I did write that guitar part with him in line. I wrote drum parts for this record with Jared in mind, which was really fun. The drum break in "Dead Precedents" I wrote for Jared. I asked, "What would Jared do?" W-W-J-D.

Before I cut that off prematurely, that song is equal parts Drive Like Jehu, Black Flag and Naked Raygun. And that's exciting to fuse those things, because I think it works, really well, but who the fuck did that? That wouldn't be permissible.

Buzznet: Well, it brings such disparate elements to one song and I think it's the strongest song you guys have ever written. It's so unique. It's not one of those things were people try to experiment with a new sound and it doesn't sound like them at all. Beginning to end, this is a Paint it Black song. It's just a weird Paint it Black song.

Dan: Did you guys practice it this week?

Josh: We practiced everything.

Dan: Let's get Andy to put it on the setlist for him.

Buzznet: More along the lines of taking risks with music, why do you think the punk and hardcore scene has stayed so stagnant for so long in terms of creativity? We get new bands all the time. It's a very energetic scene. As long as I've been involved with, it goes in waves, but there's always a hardcore show in California and there's always new bands coming up. But it's rare that they ever do anything that steps out of that boundary.

Josh: I think I know why. I think it's simple. It's as simple as the fact that you'll see a fad come along, and then there's all the imitators. So what happens with hardcore and punk, since it's such an accessible form of music, you'll see a lot more people attempting to do it who have the wrong idea and attitude about it. And there's so many of them because it's so easy to do.

Dan: Anyone can do it.

Josh: Yeah, anyone can be in a punk band.

Buzznet: Well yeah. That's the appeal of it. It's a more direct form of music.

Dan: It's democratizing music. But on the other hand....

Josh: Look, you're not going to get a Yes cover band that sounds like Yes. You can get a band to cover Black Flag and it'll sound pretty much just like them. You know? It's all about the attitude and the people behind it. That's the secret.

Dan: I think it's fear. I think people want to be liked, you know? And you're not gonna dress really weird if you want to be liked. You might be in high school, trying to figure out where you fit in, and you might start dressing hardcore. You're kind of figuring out your identity and how the things you wear reflect the things you believe. It's a very rare person who dresses like a weirdo. Like a real weirdo, that doesn't fit in with the punks and the goths or the hardcore kids, or the scene kids. Whatever.

Josh: Weirder than a goth? That's pretty good.

Dan: We played this show last week in [New] Jersey and it was us and Blacklisted and Letdown. And there were a couple kids dancing pretty hard to Letdown. Not like obnoxious, Selfish Lover hard.

Josh: Selfish Lover hard???

Dan: Selfish Lover hard is the dude that's spin kicking at head level and obviously, clearly isn't paying attention to whether or not he's kicking anybody. That dude? We've done some research and the preliminary figures are in: That dude, in bed, comes in 8 seconds and will not go down on a girl. It's disturbing. So anyway...

Buzznet: There are many of those in California, just so you know.

Dan: So, they weren't Selfish Lover hard dancing, they were dancing 88 hard. Dancing, floorpunching hard. These two other punk kids, absolute weirdos, decided they would get...the edge kids were getting a little too frisky. So they decided that they'd start dancing like total morons. Not in a violent way; like, in a Laurel and Hardy way. More like Three Stooges. They were like...skipping around and the other dudes were getting so frustrated with them. Meanwhile, like two minutes before, they were running into other people at full speed. They didn't give a fuck. But then these weirdos are running into them and they're like, "UUUGGGGHHHH!!  AAAAGHGGGH! MUST CRUSH!  AGGGGHH! DON'T UNDERSTAND! CAN'T COMPREHEND!" So I think the real brave ones are the real weird ones.

Buzznet: Do you think hardcore is more welcoming to females than it has been in the past?

Dan: I hope. But it depends on what kind of sub-scene you're playing in.

Josh: I mean, most of these hardcore shows you're talking about, with these "crappy hardcore bands," I get the same 'old coat-rack vibe.

Dan: Let me be clear, though. We like a lot of hardcore bands. I don't want it to seem like we're the only good hardcore band. A lot of hardcore bands are actually experimenting with expanding styles. I think the new Blacklisted record [Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God] is really courageous and devastating. I think the new Crime In Stereo record...they took a big risk. That record barely sounds like hardcore at all.

Josh: Not to mention, Blacklisted as a band, they tend to get grouped in with tough guy bands, but they're not at all like that. They're sweet guys.

Dan: And they hate that stuff.

Buzznet: How great is that record??

Dan: Fucking amazing, pretty much. I'm jealous.

Josh: You should talk to George [of Blacklisted].

Dan: Interview him. He's got a lot to say. Although...George was like...well, we were originally going to call our record Gravity Wins. And this was before we even knew him that well. And he was like, "Yeah, I heard you were going to call your record Gravity Wins. You shouldn't do that. That's just not good." So we said ok.  The guy clearly has a way with words. [To Josh] Did you ever ask him the reason why that was?

Josh: Wasn't that because there was another record [with the same name]?

Dan: No, that was something else. I think it depends. We try to mix things up and try to very clearly stay away from full-on thug core bands 99% of the time. You can't always control that. I think that if you go to a tour with us and, like, Strike Anywhere, you're gonna see a lot more women. If you go to a show with us...or four bands playing pretty by-the-numbers, Madball-inspired hardcore, you probably getting the same vibe you weren't enjoying in 1991, before the whole Gravity and Ebullition scenes blew up and kind of equalized everything.

But I think we made progress. There's all these little sub-genres within punk and they're more open than others.

Buzznet: In terms of equality, I wanted to know what your reaction was to hearing that our fine state had overturned the ban on gay marriage.

Dan: Wait, what?

Josh: Dude! Gay people can get married in California! I was so stoked!

Buzznet: I think it's about...26 days until people can actually get married.

Dan: Really?? California?? Did they not let Orange County vote on that one?

Buzznet: It was actually a Supreme Court decision.

Dan: WOW. Holy shit.

Buzznet: Yeah. It's amazing.

Dan: Wow. California, I'm sorry about all the shit I've said about you. High five!

Josh: Not to mention weed cards. I think you can smoke weed here, legally.

Buzznet: [Picking up Monday, May 19th's Los Angeles Times] Look at this: "I think there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe." The presiding judge.

Dan: We could have said that. We could have said that in this interview. I want to read that. [Reading aloud.] Presiding judge, Ronald George, California Chief Justice, says, "I think there are times when doing the right thing means not playing it safe." Fuck yes.

Josh: What a sweet judge!

Dan: That fucking rules.

Buzznet: So, essentially the ruling, as he says, is unconstitutional. We had passed a proposition that disallowed it. Well, I shouldn't say, "we." A very small minority did. They passed it and he overturned it because of our state constitution. It's not constitutional to prohibit marriage based on sexual orientation.

Dan: High five, California. That is wonderful. Steven George? I've got to dedicate a song to him.

Buzznet: Ronald George.

Dan: That's amazing. Holy shit. That is so amazing. I'm so shocked.

Buzznet: The only negative is that there's a proposition coming up in November to actually change to constitution to say that marriage is between a man and a women. That's why he ruled against it, since our constitution doesn't say anything about that. Actually, I would advise taking that paper and reading that article and reading about his whole struggle with that decision.

Josh: Wow. That is...wow.

Buzznet: Last question. Do you ever worry about having your music co-opted by someone else? In light of the fact that you received a lot of exposure when Lifetime signed to Decaydence...

Josh: Oh, you mean for Lifetime?

Buzznet: Oh no, in general. I know you guys are very conscious...

Dan: What do you mean, co-opted?

Buzznet: Used by someone else, for their own needs. For someone else's gain. I know you guys are very conscious about where you play and what happens to your music, but do you ever worry about that?

Dan: Jade Tree won't give our songs to anybody without our permission.

Josh: I haven't really thought about that, to be honest with you. I haven't really thought of our band in that sort of realm.

Buzznet: Well, I don't expect Paint It Black to appear in....I don't know, a Volkswagen commercial.

Josh: Well, we were in Tony Hawk video games. Two of 'em.

Dan: Yeah, we were. But we greenlighted that. I like skating. And, our poster is featured heavily in American Pie 7. Which we didn't actually greenlight, but it's not our music.

Josh: Our friend Tara, who is over here with us right now, worked on a television show with Ludacris and Tommy Lee recently. Ludacris likes our band name.

Dan: True story.

Josh: Our. Band. Name.

Dan: So we got the thumbs up from Ludacris.

Buzznet: So do you guys get offers to have your music used for other purposes besides...you know...just music?

Dan: It gets used all the time for extreme sports videos. Nothing misogynistic, nothing like the Big Brother tapes.

Josh: Wait, are you serious?

Dan: Yeah!

Josh: I didn't know that!

Dan: Yeah! It's in hundreds of BMX and snowboarding videos.

Josh: I'd love to hear that.

Dan: Um...it sounds just like the songs do on our record.

Josh: I meant...ugh. I'd like to see that.

Dan: So yeah. It gets used for stuff like that all the time.

Buzznet: Do you think there's anything dangerous for bands who are licensing their music away, in that sense?

Josh: I think that's tough to say.

Buzznet: Well, essentially, a song can sell someone else's product.

Josh: It could and it could help. I mean, bands like The Who, who did that.

Dan: The Clash did it.

Josh: The Clash. Yeah. I mean, i don't know.

Dan: So it's cool then? [silence] I'm kidding.

Josh: It's very sell out, but in the grand scheme of life, does it really matter? I guess I don't know. To someone, it really matters. I don't think I'd do it, but at the same time, I have never been offered millions of dollars for someone to buy my songs. Which is...I'd like to say I could stand up to that kind of temptation, but I'm also a human being and I can't guarantee anything. That might be me saying, right now, "Yes!"

Dan: I know a lot of people personally who said, "Never never!" And they're now offered "life-changing money" from Coca-Cola. Even the kids from 1026 did a commercial up on the roof of the building or some weird thing.

Josh: Space 1026 is a space in Philly, like underground and cool.

Buzznet: So what's "life-changing money"? What does that mean?

Dan: I don't know. I never asked.

Josh: I think it's obvious.

Dan: How is it obvious?

Josh: I think if you were offered a few million dollars, that's life-changing.

Dan: I don't know anyone who got offered that much.

Josh: That's a lot of money to be offered. I think that's life-changing.

Buzznet: But it would have to be millions upon millions.

Josh: It would have to be. Otherwise, would it be worth it for your integrity?

Buzznet: I guess it's...is there a price tag on your integrity?

Dan: I'm too busy licking the bowl my food came in to answer that question. That's how good it is.

Josh: I'll be honest with you. Sorry to cut you off, but this is the first band I've been in where, after a few shows, I'll be handed a few hundred dollars for payment, and I'm not going to tell you that it's not great and fun and cool, and I'm not going to tell you I would do it for free.

Dan: You would do it for free. You've been doing it for years.

Josh: Ok, yeah. I would do it for free. What I'm saying is that I'm not going to say no to that.

Dan: Well, yeah. It's a different issue. I don't think that the people who produce culture should necessarily feel ethically obligated to work for free. That's why people doing good things often burn out. Like people doing DIY shows. Scenes will be amazing and then it will die. At a certain point, why shouldn't you be compensated for your work?

Buzznet: I think if we existed in a different framework, that might work.

Dan: I would barter. I would definitely barter for music if I could. I'd be much happier to.

Josh: In this society, you need money to live. I read an interview with this band, I can't remember their name, but they're this awful, awful punk "rock" band that's on MTV. But they're talking about, in their interview, that they make pop singles to make money. I could never see myself being like that.

Buzznet: Was it Simple Plan?

Josh: Not Simple Plan...

Buzznet: Like big or....?

Josh: Like that big or even bigger. Polished punk with perfectly harmonized vocals.

Dan: It was Bikini Kill.

Buzznet: Ha! Yes, it was them.

Dan: Bikini Kill. No wait. It was Downcast.

Josh: But anyway, I could never see myself like that. I've never been like that in my whole life. I always looked at people like and thought they were crazy.

Buzznet: Well, it's weird, because the motivation I have when I write songs has always been...shit, I can't even imagine the idea of writing songs so that it shows up on the radio.

Dan: I can say we definitely hate bands who pander. I can't imagine doing that. We did music for free, or at a loss, for years and years and years. And we'll still do it at a loss. But I think that if people come to pay and see you, you should get paid for it. Should The Knitting Factory make all of the money?

Josh: It's crazyness. I mean, we put work into making this music. And yeah.

Dan: And what little we do get paid, probably comes out to a few cents an hour, if you divide it by how much we're working on the music, in the studio, driving.

Josh: But it's the greatest thing. When I first started to tour, the first I ever did was when I was 18. It was just along the East Coast and we didn't make any money, but we somehow broke even, and I was so thankful for that. But I know so many bands who have spent thousands just to go on tour. A lot of bands come back and become broken, but some don't care.

Dan: The real ones don't care. R.A.M.B.O. played in like...900 countries or something.

Josh: They played in Asia.

Buzznet: I remember going on tour the first time and coming back with like...$120 and we all flipped out. We'd never had money before. So we went out to dinner and that was our big thing. Other bands keep asking us, "How much are you saving? Are you investing in this and that? I don't really care. I just want to play music. It would be nice if one day, I certainly wouldn't turn it down, but to be in a band that could tour full time. Go on tours for weeks and weeks.

Josh: But you know what's funny about that? Our friend Beau, who used to play with bands like The Curse, he went on tour with a band, that will go unnamed, that seemed like that was their thing. They were going on tour to become famous or rich. I remember him coming home from tour and being like, "Yeah, that sucked. That was terrible."

Dan: Yeah, the people I know who flirted with that world just got disillusioned with it really fast.

Josh: It's so depressing. When you're out on the road and you're not having fun, and the people there are just for...whatever.

Buzznet: It becomes more of a business.

Dan: Yeah, and then it's no fun.

Josh: Being on the road is tough. But when you're with your friends having a blast, it makes that tough part easy. But when it's not fun, it makes that tough part 10 times worse.

Hollywood, CA - In an exclusive interview with Buzznet, Dan Yemin and Josh Agran of Philly hardcore band Paint it Black opened up about their experiences in the hardcore scene, life as a touring band, and why they'd like to create a "new lexicon" and change the way we communicate.

Paint it Black want to change the world...

HOLLYWOOD - Philly's Paint It Black, nearing the end of their tour opening for punk gods Leatherface, proved that hardcore isn't dead in 2008. Ripping through a frantic set that balanced New Lexicon tracks from their older LPs, the band left The Knitting Factory in awe on Monday. See why Paint It Black are the best band you've never heard of.

Buzznet is blogging! We've created our own blog where you can find out the latest information about redesigns, new features, announcements, Buzznet in the news, and keep updated about what's going on around our wonderful site.

http://blog.buzznet.com



We've never had a central place to make announcements or updates before; usually they simply lived on my profile. From here on, Richard and myself will keep you updated about Buzznet. Want to know what new features we're launching? Have we made any changes on the site? What have we improved about the Buzznet experience? The two of us will be bloggin' our heads off about these sort of issues.

Additionally, we'll be able to notify you of any bugs we're experiencing, what we're doing to solve them, and when they've been fixed. You'll be the first to find out about any promotions currently running on the site as well.

We're big fans of staying in communication with each and every one of you. So add our blog to our your RSS feeds; it will also be linked on our new Community Hub, which is currently being redesigned to better reflect our vibrant community.

Just like the Music Genre blogs, the Buzznet Blog lives on Movable Type. For the time being, you'll have to sign in with your username before you comment until we can switch it over to the Buzznet platform. If you want to know how to leave a comment, check out my brief summary right here.

I'll be linking to the Official Buzznet Blog from time to time, but you can expect all site announcements to appear there. We here at Buzznet look forward to giving you the best website on the planet!

After some feedback from our members and a review of the commenting process on our new Music Blogs, we've decided to do away with the OpenID commenting. In short, it's simply too confusing for people who've never used it before.

For now, when you want to comment, you'll be asked to provide a user name (use your Buzznet name!) and a comment. That's it! Way simpler than before and it's a nice compromise until we can use the Buzznet platform for comments.



Simply use this the same way:



You can preview the comment or submit it. The end!

Now go comment on our new Music Blogs! (Metal Monarchy and Pressed For Sound) Also, keep an eye out for the Official Buzznet Blog, which is coming soon!

The T4 Project: Story-Based Concept Album features contributions from many longtime and respected members of the punk-rock scene. It's a wonder, then, how this record turned out so mediocre. Full T4 Project album review inside.

Against Me! recently visited the set of AOL's "The Interface" to record acoustic performances of three New Wave songs, as well as sit down for a short interview. Frontman Tom Gabel elaborated on the surprise success of their new record, their tour with the Foo Fighters and more. Against Me! videos inside ...

In case you haven't noticed yet, there are two new blogs that appear in the sub-header on the homepage and that are currently being linked to on the Music News Blog. These are our new Buzznet Genre Blogs.




Pressed For Sound is our new Indie Music Blog




Metal Monarchy is our new Metal Blog



You'll notice a more streamlined and traditional format for both blogs; they're far more flexible in terms of tagging, organization, and have allowed us to use more customization to give you the most aesthetically pleasing experience when reading about the latest indie and metal news. (Don't I sound so important???)

The most important issue to note about these blogs is that we've switched over to the Movable Type platform, which most larger blog sites currently use. This means that, for the time being, you won't be able to comment under your Buzznet account. You can either comment anonymously or use your OpenId login to leave comments.

I'll give you an example. Let's say you're a big a fan of Dave Grohl as I am and you REALLY want to sing your praises of him in the article about his letter to Metallica. So you scroll down to the bottom of the entry to leave a comment:



You're given two options: Sign in with an OpenId or comment anonymously. If you don't want to deal with signing up for OpenID (I highly advise you get an OpenID!), then select "comment anonymously." You'll get the following screen:



You can choose any name you want; it'll probably be best just to use your Buzznet name. Type in your comment too!



You can also preview the comment before submitting it:



If you're fine with your comment, hit "Submit." The comment won't appear until it's been approved.

If you'd like your comment to appear automatically, sign up for an OpenID!

At the comment box, choose "Sign In" instead of "Comment Anonymously." You'll be brought to the following screen:


If you've already got an OpenID URL, enter it in the box. Once you do, hit Sign In. You'll then be asked for your account's password to verify that you want to stay signed in for our blogs:


That's it. You'll never have to log in again! If you do get signed out, just entering in your URL will sign you back in.

If you don't have an OpenId account, click "Learn More About OpenID" on the Movable Type login page:



Click on "Get an OpenID today!" on the right hand side.


Now here's the awesome part. You'll be given a list of sites that already give you OpenIDs. For example: AOL, LiveJournal, Blogger, Flickr, Yahoo, etc:


The table gives you the format to enter your URL into the sign in window! So, for example, let's say I want to comment with my LiveJournal username, I would enter rollfizzlebeef.livejournal.com into the login window for comments:



That's it! You'll stayed signed in until you sign out!

Let's say that you don't have an account with any of those websites. You can still sign up for a basic OpenID account. On the OpenID page with the table above table on it, click on MyOpenID under "Well-Known & Simple Providers."



MyOpenID is the easiest. Click on "Sign Up For an OpenID" on the left side:


From there, follow the steps on the screen to get your own OpenID. Once you're done, use your account's URL to sign in to comment on the new Buzznet Genre Blogs.

Using an OpenID is simple and incredibly safe! It will also help for you to have when we launch the official Buzznet Blog in the very near future as well. The Buzznet Blog will feature site announcements, redesign information, help topics, information about Buzznet in the news, and, for the first time, a place where we can announce and address bugs that are affecting the site.

Stay tuned! Buzznet will continue to get more exciting!

We continue to listen to your suggestions and, based on comments given to us when we launched our new homepage, we've made a few changes to the navigation bar on Buzznet!

Read more for a full explanation...

If you've already taken a peak at our homepage, you've seen the new skins we've added to give the page more personality and color. We've decided to make the process to submit a skin for the homepage much easier for you!

Here's the four current designs that we're running on the homepage:









If you'd like to send in a design to be considered for a skin:

1) Create your design in any program. Your finished project should be a .JPG file that measures 1128 x 860.

2) Send the file to moshiro@buzznet.com.

That's it! We'll do all the work for you.

Some guidelines for creating an image:

*The simpler, the better. Remember, most of it won't show.
*Coats of arms or Hot Topic Light designs suck. Don't submit them.
*DON'T USE SOMEONE ELSE'S ART. EVER. If we find out you submitted content that's not yours....I'll do something. I don't know what, but it won't be good.
*Feel free to submit as many entries as you like.
*Seriously, don't submit copyrighted art or plagiarize. At all.
*Don't use hard edges, especially since they'll be the only thing showing most of the time. All the images we've already used have no hard edges. :)

Manipulate a photo you've taken! Design a skin from scratch! Be creative. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

Buzznet offers forums in tag pages and groups so that you can discuss various topics based around whatever you happen to like. They're easy to start and even easier to participate in.

You can locate forums on any tag page in two locations:

-In the bar along the top of the page


-In the "Forums" module above the "Top People" section of any tag page


Clicking either one will open up the forums!



Much like a message board, our forums contain various topics started by members of the community. You can post a new topic if you don't see one you like or if your query/idea/comment has not been addressed.

Simply fill out the title (Subject) of the thread and write the body of the post under "Body."



If you'd like Buzznet to notify you any time there is a new reply to the thread you've created, make sure to leave the box "Watch this topic" checked. If you uncheck it, you will not "follow" the thread.



Forum notifications automatically appear in your sidebar:



The main original post will then live at the top of the thread at all times:



You can navigate between pages as well; each page contains 10 replies. From the original post, you can also choose to follow the thread (click "Watch This") or flag the thread for removal. "Report" will ask you to send a message to one of the admins. Please describe why you think the thread should be removed.




You can post a general reply to the thread by scrolling to the bottom of the page and adding your reply:



If you'd like to automatically quote a person's post, click the "Quote" button in the bottom right corner of any reply:



This will automatically parse a reply inside our custom Quote Tags:



You can then write your reply and press "Post Reply."

If you'd like to include a photo in your reply, click on the "Insert Photo" button in the top right corner of the reply box:



Clicking on it will bring up the Buzznet photo box. You can upload a photo from your computer or paste the image location from off of the web:



Your forum management page lists all the threads you've requested to watch:



From here, you can check threads you're following to see new replies, to stop following threads, and to search forums.

You can stop watching a thread by clicking the blue "X" at the far right.



Please use common sense when posting in the forums! Spam, harassment, or bullying is never allowed. Be kind, polite, and if you're going to disagree with someone, do so in a respectful manner. If you're at all concerned or confused as to what is the best thing to post, check out our Terms Of Use, which give a great guide to what standards you should use when replying in the forums.

To the shock of nearly every Nine Inch Nails fan, Trent Reznor released a new NIN full-length album, The Slip, at midnight on Monday. Unlike Ghosts, the record has no payment options and is available for free exclusively through the band's Web site. More NIN already???

I've just finished editing and updating all of the How To sections on the Help Page. Check them out!

-Customize Your Page
-Easy Video Uploads
-Introducing User Homepages
-Meeting People
-Posting a Journal
-Posting and Managing Photos
-Private Messages
-Profile Photos
-Reporting Obscenity
-Safety and Privacy
-Tags

If you had commented on an entry with a question that hadn't been addressed in the How To, it's been deleted and I answered the body in the text.

See any mistakes? Is something still not clear? Would you like to see me write a How To on a topic that isn't included? Let me know! I'm listening.

"Iron Man" wastes no time getting right to the point; from the first time we see Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, it's evident that the film is painfully modern and relies heavily on realistic CGI action sequences. The film is a flawed but ultimately tolerable comic book adaptation.

Does 'Iron Man' live up to the hype?