After more than 14 years of existence, it is time to close the doors on Pastepunk. I have long told myself that when the energy and excitement in doing the site was not there, it was time to put it to rest. Truthfully, it’s been time for awhile now, and I am sure that many of you have realized that through the sporadic posting and general pairing down of content. I’ve never wanted Pastepunk to turn into something that lacks commitment, so I think the song below (“All or Nothing”) from CAULDRON is most appropriate.

Thank you to everyone who has helped out along the way. I cannot put into words the immense gratitude I feel from having the support of our readers, and the bands, labels, and beloved PR firms that have shown an interest in what we were about. The incredible hard work that drives the gears of the independent music scene should be an inspiration to all, and I know that I will continue to be impressed by the lengths people go through to do great things on their own terms. To paraphrase one of my favorite SILENT MAJORITY songs, “No I’m Not”, this was my therapy, this was my outlet, this zine her tape recorder, this platform, a leather couch.  I will continue to maintain the @pastepunk Twitter account, please feel free to reach out. The site will also be kept online for at least a year for archive purposes.

Finally – I did an interview with ScenePointBlank in August for an upcoming “the coalition of the webzines” feature. They graciously allowed me to post it on the site as a “some last words” entry. Please check it out here, and look for the upcoming SPB feature which I expect to be well worth reading.

Five Favorite Releases of 2012

• 1. WHITE LUNG – Sorry
• 2. MAKE DO AND MEND – Everything You Ever Loved
• 3. CONVERGE – All We Love We Leave Behind
• 4. STRIFE – Witness A Rebirth
• 5. HOT WATER MUSIC – Exister

And here’s a note from our senior contributor James Hepplewhite, to which I owe my sincere appreciation:

Thank you all for reading. Pastepunk was something special and I’m overjoyed to have done it. To the PR firms, labels and everyone who offered content, thank you. To the bands that took the time to talk to us, thank you even more. All this madness ultimately revolves around your art. Don’t ever forget that. Thank you Jordan, for taking me on. Time to be someone else. Love, James Hepplewhite.

Bonus James content: audio interview with HOSTAGE CALM conducted in October 2012.

- Hard-charging punk rock with snarled out vocals and a less than fluffy exterior. There are enough melodic elements to keep your attention, but I’m a fan of the band’s decision to not make any in-roads to pop-punk status. Out now via Black Numbers.

- From an upcoming single release with a b-side titled “A Little Death”, out in January via Columbia Records.

- Just when I began wondering “hmmm, what’s going on with the new PENTIMENTO record? Seems awfully quiet on the promotion front from Paper + Plastick/Black Numbers…” Here’s one side of the story. I’m sure another side will be coming soon. In the meantime, enjoy some earnest emo/punk with a flair for the overblown.

Update: well that stream didn’t last long. Hopefully the legal issues involving the band and Panic Records get sorted out. It’s record worth hearing whenever everyone can actually do it.

From the inbox:

Finally it’s ready! The highly anticipated sampler from Strength Records combining the best of the best out of various subculture scenes!

As a follow up of the very successful “Worldwide Tribute to the Real Oi!” albums, Roger [Miret] and Onno [Cro-Mag] now compiled a sampler with the scene’s best bands around today going back to their roots and covering the songs of their youth. This time the bands were free to choose whatever song they wanted to cover and were not restricted to a genre or a style.

The result is an impressive tracklist with a great variety of songs and is combining the best of hardcore, punk, oi!, rock, rock n roll and a shot of metal.

The CD comes with an impressive 36 (!) page full-colour booklet with band pictures, info and a story from each band about the song they chose to cover.

TRACKLIST:

• 1. Agnostic Front – Blitzkrieg Bop (The Ramones)
• 2. Coldside – Tied Down (Negative Approach)
• 3. Street Dogs – GOP (Menace)
• 4. Terror – Last Warning (Agnostic Front)
• 5. Dropkick Murphys – Badlands (Bruce Springsteen)
• 6. Pro-pain – Party In Paris (U.K. Subs)
• 7 . Misconduct – Don’t Drag Me Down (Social Distortion)
• 8. Wisdom In Chains – I Believe In Miracles (The Ramones)
• 9. Beowulf – Diplomatic Immunity (G.B.H.)
• 10. Good Riddance – I Am On Fire (Chelsea)
• 11. Peter Pan Speedrock – New Rose (The Damned)
• 12. Ringworm – The Nightmare Continues (Discharge)
• 13. Flatfoot 56 – Spirit Of The Streets (The Business)
• 14. the Crimson Ghosts – Sick Of You (Gwar)
• 15. No Turning Back – Ready To Fight (Negative Approach)
• 16. Rancid – Someone’s Gonna Die (Blitz)
• 17. Hard Resistance – Reaganomics (D.R.I.)
• 18. Napalm Death – Lifeline (Sacrilege)
• 19. Razorblade – 45 Revolutions (Blitz)
• 20. The Bones – Punch You In The Face (The Child Molesters)
• 21. The Other – Forbidden Beat (Bad Religion)
• 22. All Bar & the Insurgence – Broken Bones (The Freeze)
• 23. Generators – Outlaw (Chron Gen)
• 24. The Old Firm Casuals – Pride (Madball)
• 25. The Unseen – Violence In Our Minds (The Last Resort)
• 26. Biohazard – Where Eagles Dare (Misfits)
• 27. Bonecrusher – Where The Hell Is Babylon (Cockney Rejects)
• 28. Freddy Madball – London Calling (The Clash)
• 29. Deafness By Noise – Livin’ In The City (Fear)
• 30. Hudson Falcons – A Town Called Malice (The Jam)
• 31. Death By Stereo – Soulcraft (Bad Brains)
• 32. Red Alert – Groovy times (The Clash)
• 33. Maddogs – Fight To Live (Blitz)

- No word on whether there will be a vinyl version of the compilation or if it will be available for download. Pretty sure I haven’t read the band name HUDSON FALCONS in a decade or so… 

- Creative mid-tempo post-hardcore from the UK. An EP released earlier this year can be streamed here.

From the inbox:

- Noisy, screamy post-hardcore from Brooklyn, NY. The song is from their upcoming full-length “Trials”. I could do without the harsh yelling parts, but I like the uptempo, jittery style the band is working around.