Cru Jones Society

This list was more difficult to put together than the movie one. Since most of the decade was spent drinking it would have been very easy to pick nothing but party music. There was also my tendency to only want to talk about the albums Rancid and the Bouncing Souls released since 2000, but they have been rocking my soul since the mid 90s. But I combed through all my music and found the 5 acts that really seemed important to the decade. So crank it to 11 and let’s rock again. Continue Reading »

Our Best of the Decade feature rolls on. Thanks again to Rob Rector for offering his two cents on our movie series (Visit Natsukashi dammit!). This week we move to music as Hart, another very special guest, and yours truly discuss our five favorite music acts from the aughts. So strap on your headphones, settle in, and let’s talk some tunes. Continue Reading »

Monday Night Football is on tonight and the Green Bay Packers take on the Baltimore Ravens. Two teams that have names that are not completely dumb. Dealing with local history and daunting, soul eating birds. Unfortunately these are part of a small selection of non-asinine names used by teams or bands. There are a lot so we asked you: What are the best and worst team and band names out there? You responded in full force. So as usual the CJS staff is first and then we follow it up with your responses. Continue Reading »

Thanksgiving has come on gone, we hope you all enjoyed yours, but now Christmas is right around the corner and that means our local soft rock station is gearing up to over play their Christmas playlist, the cable network USA is going to put Elf on every night and of course TBS will have its 24 hour marathon of A Christmas Story. For this Monday Confessional we followed in this spirit of over indulgence as we asked: What is your most played CD and most watched movie? Let’s get to it so you can get back to watching your movie. Continue Reading »

Concerts are a staple here at the Cru Jones Society. We have spent many a night, and a few days, at concerts listen to music, drinking and growing friendships. And we’re willing to guess you have seen a band or two in your day. But like pizza delivery, televised sports, or two for one drink night, all good things have to start somewhere. With that we had one question for you: What was your first concert?

The responses this week run the musical genre gambit, from Alternative, country, and even some decade defining 80′s awesomness. We’ll start with the usual opening acts of Hart and Dagger and then what you have all come for, your responses. The stage is set so let’s get the house lights down and turn this mother out. Continue Reading »

How many rude boys does it take to screw in a light bulb? One to drop it and three to pick it up, pick it up, pick it up. If that joke makes any sense to you at all, then you like myself, are a fan of ska music. Don’t get me wrong, punk rock is my first and true love. But sometimes I sneak around on her with a mistress known as ska. Now I love punk and she will always be the one I go to, but sometimes she doesn’t want to have the fun ska does. Sometimes she is angry and depressing and I just seek the upbeat and smile of my mistress. This is why I love ska, please, if you see punk rock, don’t tell her about it.

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Since several people (Okay, one) have asked me about my birthday playlist that I mentioned in Happy Friday last week, I thought I’d give you a rundown of the songs I chose to celebrate my birthday. Plus, it’s been a while since we’ve had a playlist article, so it just feels about time. As we approach Labor Day, that means summer’s coming to an end, but that also means there’s time for one last chance to hang out on the patio with a beer, some good friends, the setting summer sun, and a handful of good time summer music. I just so happen to have a list of songs you should play prepared, so come on in… or out, as the case may be. Continue Reading »

Today we find confessions from our favorite island castaways. For the next three weeks, we’re playing Desert Island here at the Cru Jones Society and all of our topics focus on everyone’s favorite hypothetical set-up: If you were stranded on a desert island…

Today’s question: If you were stranded on a desert island, which five albums would you bring with you? Even though the concept of an album continues to inch toward obsolescence, so does the concept of being stranded on a desert island what with the advent of GPS everything and very few (if any) undiscovered corners of the earth. Regardless, here are the 5 albums CJS Staff and Regulars would keep with them should they find themselves in such a predicament. Next desert island question will follow. Continue Reading »

When we last off, we had just gone to two of Denver’s premiere punk rock venues. But there are still two more I frequented over the past 12 or 13 years. We have had a long enough intermission, so without further ado here are the other two venues where I learned what life was about.

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I have been going to punk rock shows for 12 or 13 years now, who can really keep track, also I can’t count. This thought struck me as I was watching Unwritten Law play the Bluebird Theater the other night. Aside from the few shows I have seen at Red Rocks, and the countless Warped Tours, I have seen the bulk of my shows at four different venues in the Denver area. They are all more or less the same, but for some reason there are still ones I like better than others.

I thought I would take a stroll down memory lane (and Colfax) and revisit each venue as well as the best and worst shows I have seen at each. The sound check is done, the lights are dimming, and it is time to rock this bitch. Continue Reading »

Whether you stepping into the octagon, coming up to bat, or meeting a date you’ll want to make a good first impression. The best way we can think of to accomplish such a feat is with a kick ass entrance, and all kick ass entrances are accompanied by a kick ass song. So we wanted to know what song you would use when entering the arena for a fight, or the batter’s box, or the quasi fancy restaurant you’re meeting your date at.

And we got some great responses; responses that would be great for situation where you would make an entrance; responses that trump, or at least are on par with, Darth Vader’s dark and ominous tune. As usual, aside from last week, Dagger and Hart are first, then Daniel Larusso, and finally our reader’s submissions.

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It’s summer time and we can’t help but to be reminded of our school days when summer meant running free and not giving a fuck. So with that in mind, June has become Guilty Pleasure Month here at Cru Jones Society. As we have stated, but to emphasis it once more, we realize the concept of a guilty pleasure is patently ridiculous. No one should have to feel bad about anything they derive enjoyment from unless that enjoyment comes from pedophilia or something equally as immoral/illegal/fucked up. We’ve decided to kick off Guilty Pleasure Month by asking you what your guilty pleasure music is? As is the custom, Dagger and Hart are up first, followed by your responses. Put another dime in the jukebox and let’s rock. Continue Reading »

Senor Limon and I were at a bar during karaoke night a couple years ago where some drunken idiot took the stage and belted out a surprisingly energetic rendition of “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John. It was so much fun, the entire bar joined in on the falsetto “laaaaaa-la-la-la-la-laaa” parts and stood up and applauded when it was over. And why shouldn’t they? “Crocodile Rock” is an upbeat party tune about the early days of rock ‘n roll. It bursts with good times, a silly chorus of non-words, and rock and roll piano playing. It’s perfect for a good night out at the bar and gleefully singing along with strangers.

But not all songs are “Crocodile Rock.” Sometimes beneath that effervescent veneer lurks a sad song wearing a happy disguise. I alluded to this type of song in the Monday Confessional and cited it as one of the reasons I love “Under the Bridge” so much, so I thought it appropriate to expand on this more fully. Here are six of my favorite happy sad songs as well as a brief explanation of why I find this micro genre so interesting. Continue Reading »

It’s Monday which means we pay another visit to the Confessional. This week CJS Staff and readers tackle the question: What is your one favorite song of all-time? No hedging allowed here – you’re allowed to pick one song, and one song only, a task that sounds easy enough, but considering how much music tastes change depending on mood, situation, and a raft of other factors, this question forced our readers to distill their choices into their most base elements and really get at the root of their feelings. Just like a good Confessional should. We’ve got seven responses this week, and as always, Dagger & Hart answer first followed by our readers. New question’s at the bottom. Continue Reading »

(Note from E Dagger: 99% of the time our goal is to make you laugh, but sometimes life is overwhelming and we have things we can’t escape and have to get off our minds. Today is one of those days, so this post is semi-serious. We think you’ll like it anyway, and hope you’ll gain something from it. We’ll be back with the funny tomorrow. For now, here’s this.)

Life is full of paradoxes. It is at once beautiful and miserable. You’re simultaneously dwelling in prosperity while eternally wishing for something different. You don’t even know what that is, but given the expanse of the universe, you know it’s out there somewhere. You’re an optimist by nature, but can’t help but feel trapped inside your own created reality and get plagued by the fleeting desire to blow it all up. Sometimes the only thing to do is to turn on some jams, crank that fucker up as loud as it’ll go, and cathartically punch through the brick walls to push on. This is why I love the music of Rise Against. Continue Reading »

Welcome back to the Monday Confessional, sinners and saints. This week’s topic was music, and we received several interesting responses. Our question: “What song sends you into a blind rage more than any other and might cause you to drift into oncoming traffic if you were unable to change your radio station?” generated some of the funniest emails to date. We’re going to break form temporarily to let one of our readers take the top spot, but only because it ties into one of the staff responses. So come on in, and let’s hope none of these shitty songs implant themselves in your brain for the rest of the day. Continue Reading »

Welcome to Monday Confessional where we have the windows down, the system up and we’re screaming out, “We don’t give a Fuck!” We wanted to know what song causes you to turn the dial up to 11 in your car.  Assuming we all still have volume dials in our cars. We got a lot of responses, which proves that everybody does in fact want to be a rock star. So without further ado, let’s check out the drive time playlist. Continue Reading »

The last time I was hanging out with Dagger he wouldn’t shut the hell up about High Fidelity. At least once an hour there was some kind of reference to that comedy about fear of commitment, hating your job, falling in love and other pop favorites. It was enough to convince me to re-watch it. Doing so has inspired me to create this list: My top 5 songs for a Monday morning, because you don’t want to hear that sad, bastard crap. Like I said this is just my top 5, I want to hear what yours are as well. Continue Reading »

Yesterday was Election Day, but you already knew that. And if you came here for any election news then you are shit out of luck. I’m no political expert, nor do I play one on T.V. Besides there are probably several dozen websites covering the new President and other election related topics, sites like this one, or this one, and for our younger readers: Myspace.

So instead of half assed information on something important, I will be supplying half informed opinion on something trivial. So I present for your reading pleasure, or at least distraction, the five most popular bands to come from Colorado, and why I hate them. Continue Reading »

 Halloween is on Friday. We here at CJS enjoy the holiday and will be bringing Halloween themed post to you all week. So carve the pumpkin, set out the candy bowl, and get your costume. Oh and if you’re in Colorado be sure to bundle up.

Most of us celebrate Halloween once a year, maybe twice if it’s on a weekday. There are some people who try to celebrate it all year. For the most part they are goth kids who have nothing better to do because they don’t have any friends.  However there are few who not only dress like it is Halloween all year, but also have found a way to get paid for it.

As you may have guess these people are musicians, well kind of. Here are five of the biggest acts to milk Halloween all year round, because to some a suit and tie is a costume. Continue Reading »