Top 10 Countdown: August 31, 2019

10. Roam - I Don't Think I Live There Anymore
Last week: NEW!


9. Grayscale - In Violet
Last week: NEW!


8. The Story So Far - If I Fall
Last week: 8.


7. Courage My Love - Teenagers
Last week: 3.


6. Neck Deep - She's A God
Last week: 7.


5. Marshmello Ft. A Day To Remember - Rescue Me
Last week: 6.


4. Mayday Parade - Looks Red, Tastes Blue
Last week: 5.


3. State Champs - Frozen
Last week: 4.


2. Grayscale - Painkiller Weather
Last week: 2.


1. Hawthorne Heights - Starlighter (Echo, Utah)
Last week: 2.

Special: Ranking Waterparks "Entertainment"

What's good everybody. Today we're going to do something new as I'm going to look at an album and rank the tracks from worst to best, today's album is the last release from the Houston band Waterparks in honour of their new album Fandom dropping in October but before we look ahead, let's look into the past at Entertainment...

10. Crybaby

Track 9 on Entertainment is the obvious worst. It's the only track I actively skip on this album and for good reason. Although I can appreciate that the band was trying to experiment a bit with new sounds in ends up not being great, worst of all they crammed it in with Not Warriors on the music video. I must say the shorter version of Crybaby in the video is better since it only amounts to less than a minute with most of that instrumentation. But the crime there was cutting out half of Not Warriors.

9. Lucky People

Track 6 on Entertainment lands at #9 on my countdown, this was also the 2nd single released from the album and it's a fine tune still as the drop off from Crybaby to this is big but still something had to clock in here and after much thought it had to be this slow jam about Awsten's then girlfriend, who their previous album Double Dare was mostly dedicated to, before breaking up halfway through writing Entertainment.

8. Sleep Alone

The closing track to Entertainment is once again not a bad song at all, it's very upbeat and fun despite the lyrics being mostly dark until the chorus pops in with Awsten singing he'll come to this person so they won't ever have to sleep alone. The reason this is so low is mostly due to placement on the album, by the time this song plays you've already been singing and dancing to tons of other upbeat songs that this one can't measure up to.

7. We Need To Talk

Track 4 on Entertainment survives the bottom third of the album but doesn't get any higher. We Need To Talk was not technically released as a single during Entertainment's life cycle but it did get a music video after the 3 actual singles did which featured Awsten in Zombie makeup. The song is one of a few that was written after Awsten's breakup. It's a mid-tempo jam which I normally love but this one just couldn't hit that next level for me.

6. TANTRUM

Track 8 on Entertainment hits hard. This is probably the loudest Waterparks has ever been and will ever be. As you can guess by the songs name and the all caps stylelization this song is very angry and Awsten names the person this song is mostly about (Cam) and then states he'll keep the others nameless before adding a fuck it and naming Richard, Clayton, John and Will as well. Angry Awsten is great but this song is very hard to sing along to since Awsten can sing it all very fast.

5. 11:11

The opening track on Entertainment, 11:11 sets the tone for the entire album. It's fast, it's upbeat it deals with the main theme (luck). The lyrics are infectious, the pre-chorus especially as I can not stop singing it after even just one listen. It officially cracks the top 5, but that really doesn't do it justice. This album is just that strong that an awesome track like this can only barely squeeze into the top 50%.

4. Peach (Lobotomy)

Peach is the 3rd track on Entertainment and also got an unofficial single release as the final music video off the album seen a release about a year ago now as it was a live video the band filmed while on the final cross country Warped Tour. The song is a love song about the struggles of a long distance relationship and the lobotomy context is because the girl is all Awsten thinks about. It's a mid-tempo jam that just misses the top 3.

3. Rare

The highest ranking non single on Entertainment is track 7, Rare, which gets into the top 3 on the strength of it's overall catchiness. Another love song, Rare once again touches on the subject of the difficulty of long distance relationships and lyrically it is probably the strongest on the album which you discover right from the first line, "I save my metaphors for rainy days" which in itself is a metaphor. Awsten Knight you clever bastard...

2. Blonde

Well it took this long but finally at #2 we have the first instance where the song ranking mirrors it's tracklisting number on the album. Blonde was the lead single for the album as it most mirrored their previous albums even referencing their earlier EP Crave in the song. Awsten has gone on record saying Blonde is about a number of things but mostly it's about the difficulty of being in a touring band. Awsten also stated this song was being written when him and his girlfriend broke up which is why, tonally, the song is everywhere.

1. Not Warriors

The third and final official single from Entertainment was track 5, Not Warriors. This should not surprise anyone as this song got into #2 on my top songs of 2018 despite the aforementioned Crybaby bit in the video which may just have held it back from getting the #1 spot. This song also is a love song (shocking right?) that has nods to both Lucky People and Sleep Alone in it which makes it lyrically interesting. The musicianship is perfect making this an absolute bop being too punk for the pop kids but too pop for the punk kids which is right in my wheelhouse.

Top 10 Countdown: August 24, 2019

10. Issues - Tapping Out
Last week: NEW!


9. Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
Last week: 9.


8. The Story So Far - If I Fall
Last week: NEW!


7. Neck Deep - She's A God
Last week: NEW!


6. Marshmello Ft. A Day To Remember - Rescue Me
Last week: 8.


5. Mayday Parade - Looks Red, Tastes Blue
Last week: 5.


4. State Champs - Frozen
Last week: 4.


3. Courage My Love - Teenagers
Last week: 7.


2. Hawthorne Heights - Starlighter (Echo, Utah)
Last week: 2.


1. Grayscale - Painkiller Weather
Last week: 1.

Top 10 Countdown: August 17, 2019

10. WhoHurtYou - Wish We Never Met
Last week: NEW!


9. Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
Last week: 10.


8. Marshmello Ft. A Day To Remember - Rescue Me
Last week: 9.


7. blessthefall - Welcome Home
Last week: 4.


6. Simple Creatures - Adrenaline
Last week: 2.


5. Mayday Parade - Looks Red, Tastes Blue
Last week: 8.


4. State Champs - Frozen
Last week: 5.


3. Courage My Love - Teenagers
Last week: 7.


2. Hawthorne Heights - Starlighter (Echo, Utah)
Last week: 3.


1. Grayscale - Painkiller Weather
Last week: 1.

Top 10 Countdown: August 10, 2019

10. Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
Last week: NEW!


9. Marshmello Ft. A Day To Remember - Rescue Me
Last week: NEW!


8. Mayday Parade - Looks Red, Tastes Blue
Last week: 9.


7. Courage My Love - Teenagers
Last week: 8.


6. Sum 41 - Out For Blood
Last week: 3.


5. State Champs - Frozen
Last week: 6.


4. blessthefall - Welcome Home
Last week: 2.


3. Hawthorne Heights - Starlighter (Echo, USA)
Last week: 5.


2. Simple Creatures - Adrenaline
Last week: 1.


1. Grayscale - Painkiller Weather
Last week: 4.

Special: Point Blank, Dumbo, Stuber Mini-Reviews

Point Blank:

Synopsis: When his pregnant wife is kidnapped and held as collateral, Paul, an ER nurse, must team with the badly injured career criminal and murder suspect under his charge in order to save the lives of his wife and unborn child. Pitted against rival gangs and a deadly ring of corrupt cops, the unlikely duo find a way to survive together in the fight of their lives.

My thoughts: I've honestly never seen the original but sticking Anthony Mackie and Frank Grillo together in a film again (throwback to The Winter Soldier) and I'm on board. I generally like all Grillo's films I've seen and this one is no exception. The action was fast, almost too fast at times but overall I never found myself not enjoying this film even though it's flaws are apparent if was never enough to take away from the viewing experience.

Final verdict: 3.5 "good" bad guys out of 5.

Dumbo:

Synopsis: Circus owner Max Medici enlists former star Holt Farrier and his children Milly and Joe to care for a newborn elephant whose oversized ears make him a laughingstock in an already struggling circus. But when they discover that Dumbo can fly, the circus makes an incredible comeback, attracting persuasive entrepreneur V.A. Vandevere, who recruits the peculiar pachyderm for his newest, larger-than-life entertainment venture, Dreamland. Dumbo soars to new heights alongside a charming and spectacular aerial artist, Colette Marchant, until Holt learns that beneath its shiny veneer, Dreamland is full of dark secrets.

My thoughts: Like all Disney live-action remakes I enjoy the films that change up the source material and Dumbo does just that even though it follows a similar over arching story the tone and feel is different. The attention to the human characters and Tim Burton's visual flair makes this a great watch.

Final verdict: 4 Pink elephants out of 5.

Stuber:

Synopsis: When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he's thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating.

My thoughts: Stuber is a nice throwback to the 80's buddy cop movies where it was all about over the top comedy and gritty action. It does modernize it, tackling the subject of toxic male masculinity throughout and the pairing of Nanjiani and Bautista is gold. If we don't get a sequel, these 2 better be paired up again soon. With comedies, I always worry that all the "funny" parts are shown in the trailer but there was more than enough material to keep me laughing throughout.

Final verdict: 4.5 Uberpools out of 5.

Top 10 Countdown: August 3, 2019

10. Carousel Kings - Lock Meowt
Last week: 5.


9. Mayday Parade - Looks Red, Tastes Blue
Last week: 10.


8. Courage My Love - Teenagers
Last week: NEW!


7. Beartooth - Afterall
Last week: 7.


6. State Champs - Frozen
Last week: 8.


5. Hawthorne Heights - Starlighter (Echo, Utah)
Last week: 6.


4. Grayscale - Painkiller Weather
Last week: 4.


3. Sum 41 - Out For Blood
Last week: 3.


2. blessthefall - Welcome Home
Last week: 2.


1. Simple Creatures - Adrenaline
Last week: 1.