Bad Copy

A lot of bad stuff has happened since my last post.

So much bad stuff that I couldn’t really bring myself to be productive on any level at all. I like writing silly posts about the stupid music we all love/love to hate, but it just didn’t seem like the plague times were the appropriate times to be poking fun at Billy Joe‘s fake English accent or Tim Armstrong just as a human being.

But the time is now! We’re starting to go to shows again! Music is fun! So let’s do all we can to try and push forward by looking at silly things are favorite artists do.

What better artist to talk to after dark times than kings of modern dark punk, AFI!

Let’s Hear It For The Spooky Boys

Everyone has a different era of AFI that they love or that they hate.

You like hardcore clean cut angry boys? Check out classics like Answer That And Stay Fashionable, Very Proud of Ya, or Shut Your Mouth and Open Your Eyes.

Too fast for ya? You more of a angsty spooky kinda person? Well then go ahead and dive on in to Black Sails In The Sunset, The All Hallows EP, or The Art of Drowning.

That was pretty spooky, huh? You’re more into being the source of controversy amongst your friends? Hell yeah! Go check out Sing the Sorrow, Decemberunderground, or Crash Love.

Really? You thought those albums made them sellouts? Ok, nerd. Then try some of their modern classics like Burials, The Blood Album, or Bodies.

Any band having this much song diversity, and so many different haircuts, is bound to get some love and hate in different areas. But is it deserved? I don’t think so. It’s been said time and time again that if a band never changes their sound people will hate them for being stagnant and redundant, yet if they change their sound they will get accused of “selling out” and giving the middle finger to their old fans. Both are just the absolute dumbest arguments and if you hear someone trying to argue either way, please slap them for me. Thanks.

AFI gets more hate than just about anyone else for changing their sound so much. I remember seeing “Silver and Cold” on VH1 as a 12 year old and thinking to myself “that pretty lady sings awesome!” I later learned that Davey Havok was the “pretty lady” and is in fact a pretty man. That was an awakening for me in a non-musical way, but I digress. Anyway, I had a baldheaded punk in Medford, Oregon come up to a friend and I and say, “You should check out those guy’s older shit. It’s way better than what you’re listening to now.” He then handed us Answer That and Stay Fashionable. Was it better? I wouldn’t say so, but it was super different and still awesome. It’s not bad to like different things!

Did Those Boys Destroy The World?

So, you want my opinion on whether or not AFI has “sold out” or which of their music is the best, right? Well I’m here to say that I absolutely love every era of the band! Did they change sound? Duh. I like when bands evolve. AFI never really changed their ideals at their core, which is to say that even though they make more money now than they did in 1996, they aren’t sellouts. Just a couple of straight-edge spooky dudes who really love Punk and Darkwave. Every era of the band is them turning those two dials to different settings. The Burials era is very The Cure-esque, but dial up the Punk a little and you get “Kill Caustic.” Have both settings at 12 o’clock and you get “Days of The Phoenix.” Turn off the dark and crank up the Punk and you get “He Who Laughs Last…” Y’all just need to remember that no matter the arguments:

“You like that basic 90s Hardcore shit?”

“It’s better than when Davey pretended to be Danzig on helium!”

“Both of you shut up and watch long haired beautiful Davey be an Emo scene king!”

Then there’s me in the corner, “Uhhh… Burials is literally a masterpiece. Please don’t hurt me.”

You can like any of it because it’s all great for different reasons! And hey, if they do try and hurt me just remember that through my bleeding, we’ve all won.

RANKING THE ALBUMS

1. Sing The Sorrow
2. The Art of Drowning
3. Black Sails
4. All Hallows EP
5. Burials
6. Answer That
7. Decemberunderground
8. Shut Your Mouth
9. Very Proud of Ya
10. The Blood Album
11. Bodies
12. Crash Love