Hello everybody and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back at the week in Punknews. I'm Adam White and I'll be your guide through some of the most popular, notable, and otherwise attention getting stories of the past seven days. Each and every Punknews story is built from tips contributed by you fine folks, and here's what got the strange, slow, old people in the community talking...
The People Must Have Something Good To Read On A Sunday
This week's most popular stories
This week had harrowing news for fans of Plus 44 and Blink-182 as drummer Travis Barker was one of two survivors of a plane crash. Four people were killed in the accident, which saw Barker and DJ AM in critical condition with second and third degree burns. Reports have come in that they've since stabilized. Our best wishes go out to them for a quick recovery. With the XM and Sirius merger in full swing the networks' punk rock stations seem to have been lost in the shuffle. Fungus 53 and Sirius Punk are soon to be replaced by a 24/7 AC/DC channel. Alt-country act Lucero is delving further into the major label system, singing to Universal Republic for a four album deal. On their way out of that world, popular act New Found Glory has found a new home at Epitaph Records. One thing that the majors have noticed is the resurgance of vinyl, and Sony/Legacy is planning to bring it back for select releases. Finally it looks like the Foo Fighters are taking a hiatus. There's no word when we'll next hear from Grohl and company, but given their prolific sideprojects they'll hardly go unheard.

There's some interesting new relases on the horizon. Tom Gabel of Against Me! has detailed his solo EP. A Wilhelm Scream has looked ahead to their Career Suicide follow up. Even Reagan Youth are working on new album. Fall Out Boy has posted artwork for their next as well. We had details on the upcoming video game Guitar Hero World Tour, and word that it will feature NOFX, the Sex Pistols, Blink-182 and Rise Against. On the new music front we got to check out "AMERICASPREMIEREFAITHBASEDINITIATIVE" from Dillinger Four and " Collapse (Post-Amerika) from Rise Against.
I Can't Control My Fingers I Can't Control My Brain
New feature content, weekly columns and exclusives
Punknews' own Ben Conoley is on the road now with Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish and the Flatliners. Expect pictures, set lists, a tour journal and maybe even some video over the next few weeks. Our first report just came in.

This week we spoke with Matt Farrell and Dave Hall of Young Livers (interview) and a two part interview with Set Your Goals. We chattted with Junior (aka Audelio Flores) and Mike Ambrose on two seperate occasions (interview). As always we brought you new Streaming Music including a few tracks from the new split between Thursday and Envy, the new full length from Monikers, the return of Dirtnap power pop act The Girls, the new EP from Bridge 9 melodic hardcore act Energy, and new music from Gainesville-based duo Liquid Limbs.

So what's coming up this week? Look for reissues and collections the Undertones and the Replacements with new music from Akimbo, Sing It Loud and the Action Design with tours kicking off from Weezer, Angels and Airwaves and Tokyo Police Club (North America), and Underoath (South Africa).



Radio Free Punknews
Streaming music
Check the Punknews Music page to stream all sorts of anticipated new music including the new full length from Richmond, VA's The Riot Before. a full album stream from "femme fatale punk rock" act Civet, the new record from Leeds, UK-based Forward Russia, the split between the East Bay's Wolves & Thieves and Sacramento's Bastards of Young, the brand new record from Suicide Note, California melodic punk/hardcore band Radio Suicide, Pygmy Lush, which features members of City Of Caterpillar, Majority Rule, malady and pg.99, a full album stream from Boston's Deadly Sins, Resignation Day from Minneapolis' Banner Pilot, Static Radio NJ's new full length An Evening of Bad Decisions, Think Fast! Records act No Harm Done, the new album from Gainesville, FL-based Anchor Arms, Shot Baker's full length Take Control, two new songs from Nashville, TN's Cactus’s.
It's Funny, I Don't Feel Like a Winner
Contests
Win a copy of Death in the Park's (ex-Hot Rod Circuit) new EP
In Spring 2009 the case of the Death In The Park will begin...an ominous beginning to band formed from the death of another entity. Andy Jackson (long time frontman for Hot Rod Circuit) and Joe Ballaro's (bassist of Hot Rod Circuit) new band is releasing a full-length on End Sounds in the spring, but in the meantime they are releasing a teaser Self-Titled CD EP (also on End) that is not available in stores. The EP features 3 songs from the forthcoming album and 2 acoustic songs. Hayley Williams from Paramore makes a guest vocal appearance of the acoustic version of "Fallen" that appears on the EP as well as on being part of the case squad on the full-length.

Win stuff from Static Radio NJ
This month Static Radio NJ released their new full length, An Evening of Bad Decisions...... To celebrate, the label has put together some sweet prize packages for us to give away.
Tonight We're Gonna Give It 35%
Staff blogs and side projects
Your trusty Punknews staffers and reviewers have all sorts of projects on the go, everything from poorly spelled and oft neglected blogs to big official world domination schemes. Make sure to check out editor and videographer Chris Moran collection of recordings online at Vimeo, editor Justin August's blog Kinder Words, editor Adam White's blog 2:59, and editor Jesse Raub's short fiction webzine Bitter Press.

Of course your day wouldn't be complete without knowing every inane detail of your humble editors' lives. Follow Adam White, Jesse Raub and Justin August's every move at Twitter.
Super Powers Enable Me To Blend In With Machinery
Social networking links
We've theorized that you visit other websites out there, and we know it can be tough to leave the calming blue glow of the `Org, so we'll help by infecting the rest of the web with Punknews content. Befriend us on the Punknews.org MySpace page, network on the Punknews.org Facebook group and Punknews.org Facebook fan page, follow us on Twitter, and contribute your listening habits to the weekly charts at the Punknews.org Last.fm group.
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Adam reviews the Sumo Sultan Sac
An amazingly off topic Punknews Navel Gazing review!
Image The Sultan model SumoSac has been something of a sideshow at my home in recent weeks. Family members have dropped in to witness it, to awe and gaze and paw at it like apes to a Kubrickian obelisk. Make no mistake, this is a massive piece of furniture and takes up more room than it's amorphous profile suggests. However the greatest compliment I could pay it is that we so enjoy it's presence that we've rearranged an entire room to accommodate it. Lesser furnishings were cast out to make room.

Praise must also fall to Sumo's shipping department, as the chair arrived in a box less than half it's size. The shredded urethane foam had been compressed to an astonishing degree and contained within a cardboard box, it corner's rounded from the pressure. Rolling the item into our home and watching the Sac expand like some brobdingnagian mushroom was a wonder. Given the eventual girth of the contents, this was a feat in and of itself.

The Sac is satisfyingly massive, and invites it's passenger to attack it. We've found that throwing one's self into the item oft results in the most pleasing grooves. The micro suede cover is particularly inviting and has (so far) held up well. This durable blob of a seat promises to be a central part of my future writing process, and looks particularly well suited to record reviewing. Highly recommend, if you have room.