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Various

Broken Lamps And Hardcore Memories Vol. 2 (2004)
Suburban Home Records

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Contributed by: Adam
(others by this writer | submit your own)

Published on September 13th 2004

We need an authority who decides who will be allowed to put out compilations. Not necessarily anything too formal, certainly not a government body, but an authority nonetheless. They can live a solitary monk-like existence and raise abandoned children in their craft so we'll always have some of these folks around. Then they can spend their days guarding the entrance to the bridge and ask a series of questions that are required to cross. Then each person planning to release a comp has justify why theirs is necessary. Based on their answers they'll either cross or be cast into the Chasm of Doom. Answer wisely and the bridge keeper will let you cross and you can make your comp.

"Do you care about the sequencing of your record?"

No? Into the abyss with ye.

"Will this be a shameless cash grab featuring of the biggest name acts of the day?"

Yes? Into the abyss with ye.

"Will anyone want to listen to this 6 months from now?"

And so forth... while I doubt we'd get any more Warped Tour or Atticus compilations with this rule set, folks like Jordan Baker would stroll right over that chasm and for that reason you should give his Broken Lamps And Hardcore Memories series a look.

While amount of unreleased material seems to be our benchmark for how worthwhile a release is, that's really a false indicator. Most comps I've kept for unreleased material I've disposed of once I could find the single or b-sides collection where that song also exists. You can expect kids on peer to peer networks to be far less merciful. Broken Lamps is almost entirely comprised of previously released studio cuts yet it's quite an engaging listen nonetheless. What matters in the end, and this should be more obvious than it is, is the sequencing and the flow, those little things that mixtape nerds obsess over and most high profile comps fail miserably at.

It's something that Mr. Baker has obviously put some care into and it shows. I like the pause between the end of The Distance's "And I Have Begun The Longest Year Ever" and the opening riff of A Wilhelm Scream's "The Rip." Sure, I've heard "The Rip" eight hundred times, but in this context it fits and that's what matters. Anyone who reads Pastepunk knows Jordan's tastes lean towards the heavier end of the spectrum and he's likewise delivered a good mix of melodic hardcore and more metal-influenced cuts. This leads to some pretty killer groups of songs, like the punishing batch of Martyr AD / Devilinside / Twelve Tribes / Since By Man followed by more punk-minded luminaries like Love Me Destroyer, Anthym and Death By Stereo. The most theatrical track is left to the end, as Glass Casket wraps things up with the epic "In Between The Sheets."

Broken Lamps And Hardcore Memories is essentially a mixtape of one person's favourite tunes from across the punk / hardcore / metal spectrum. I can think of no better introduction to the heavier side of the genre than this, certainly none that are this solidly put together.

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Anonymous (September 15, 2004)

i think it should be called "broken memories and hardcore lamps" that would be better

BizzleBrizzle (September 14, 2004)

only worthwile tracks

2. CRIME IN STEREO – Warning: Perfect Sideburns Do Not Make You Dangerous
3. WITH HONOR – With The Wind
4. TRIAL BY FIRE – Point An Inward Finger
7. BREAK THE SILENCE – Ocean’s Away
9. MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD – Funeral Photography
18. DEATH BY STEREO – No Cuts, No Butts, No Coconuts (live)
21. NORA – Dreamers

and out of that 2 of them aren't even really hardcore bands, BTS is more emocore, and Nora is more metalcore.

GutterJim (September 14, 2004)

vol 1 & 2
these two discs are awesome

Anonymous (September 14, 2004)

the tracklist is pretty fuckin lame.

Anonymous (September 13, 2004)

This comp is awesome. The first one was pretty good too.

johnnydanger (September 13, 2004)

don't like all the metal but i got nothing but love for jordan baker, good comp

Anonymous (September 13, 2004)

Score is for putting Taken's "Arrested Impulse" on this comp. That song is totally tits.

Anonymous (September 12, 2004)

lame.

- I Hate The Kids

Anonymous (September 12, 2004)

"The Backup Plan and Scraps and Heart Attacks, who are both easily the two best representing Long Island right now. "

scraps and heart attacks are so fucking awful. crime in stereo is a much better representation of long island's good hardcore bands.

pastepunk (September 12, 2004)

If I may....

http://www.pastepunk.com/viewfeature.php?id=122

Tracklisti ng:

1. BLOOD RED – Conscience Calling
2. CRIME IN STEREO – Warning: Perfect Sideburns Do Not Make You Dangerous
3. WITH HONOR – With The Wind
4. TRIAL BY FIRE – Point An Inward Finger
5. THE DISTANCE – And I Begin The Longest Year Ever
6. A WILHELM SCREAM – The Rip
7. BREAK THE SILENCE – Ocean’s Away
8. STARING BACK – Haunted
9. MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD – Funeral Photography
10. ATREYU – Deanne The Arsonist
11. MARTYR AD – American Hollow
12. DEVILINSIDE – Loaded
13. TWELVE TRIBES – Translation of Fixes
14. SINCE BY MAN – Push the Panic
15. TAKEN – Arrested Impulse (demo)
16. LOVE ME DESTROYER – 30 Packs and Pearl Snaps
17. ANTHYM – Darkness Falls (demo)
18. DEATH BY STEREO – No Cuts, No Butts, No Coconuts (live)
19. THE BACK UP PLAN – Looks Like I’m Back On Suicide Watch
20. SCRAPS AND HEART ATTACKS – Don’t F with S
21. NORA – Dreamers
22. THE FUNERAL – Separation Anxiety
23. UNTIL THE END – The Bond To Breathe
24. CURL UP AND DIE – I Hate Almost Every Person I Come Into Contact With
25. MISERY SIGNALS – On Account of An Absence
26. GLASS CASKET – In Between The Sheets

Thanks for the review Adam!

inagreendase (September 12, 2004)

so wait...were there actually any hardcore bands on this?

The Backup Plan and Scraps and Heart Attacks, who are both easily the two best representing Long Island right now.

Even though the future of Scraps is undetermined with Travis gone.

Anonymous (September 12, 2004)

so wait...were there actually any hardcore bands on this?

Anonymous (September 12, 2004)

This site needs more reviews of this....those same atticus and warped tour comps should never be reviewed here, thank you for reviewing something that was worth my time to read!

Anonymous (September 11, 2004)

maybe it was an african swallow

jamespastepunk (September 11, 2004)

Three cheers for Monty Python references!

Anonymous (September 11, 2004)

well, the BR songs have been online since last spring.

GYBE (September 11, 2004)

Taken has the best song on the comp.

Such a great band, too bad they disbanded.