1.) Piece Of Your Heart

“Piece Of Your Heart” is the first single that MP dropped in anticipation for this album, and I gotta say that I love it. As I mentioned before, I wasn’t the hugest fan of their last two albums, but this song actually has me looking forward to their new album. It feels reminiscent of early Mayday, which as you’ll be able to tell soon, is my favorite era of MP (thus far). The lyricism is similar to their “A Lesson in Romantics” days, something I didn’t know I wanted to hear again. The instrumentation has been cleaned up since their last album (which IMO was a failed attempt at trying to “get back to the roots” of pop punk) and from what I’ve heard of the new album, it sounds like it will flow smoothly.

2.) I Swear This Time I Mean It

If there’s one thing that MP is really good at, it’s sappy ballads. This song, from their sophomore album “Anywhere But Here,” features an acoustic guitar paired with soft vocals from lead singer Derek Sanders. The tempo is pretty slow, almost as if Sanders is singing a lullaby. The song slowly builds, the music crescendoing from the slow tempo to fit smoothly with his gentle voice. Tbh, I could totally listen to this on repeat until I fall asleep. His voice is so soothing.

3.) Kids In Love

“Kids In Love” is another track from their sophomore album, and it’s also the first song I ever heard by the band; I was in 7th grade and thought that I was so in love with the guy I dated that year *cringe*. For as cringey as that is, it felt so applicable at the time – “We were just kids in love / the summer was full of mistakes we wouldn’t learn from.” Despite the memories of my first puppy love, this song feels timeless to me. The instrumentation stays interesting during the entirety of the song, and the lyricism doesn’t feel like it was directed at 13 year olds.

4.) When I Get Home You’re So Dead

This song hails off of their first and most celebrated album, “A Lesson In Romantics.” At the time, Derek Sanders was a co-vocalist with Jason Lancaster, who ended up leaving the band and joining Go Radio (before they broke up and he went solo). This break up song is so 2007 – not sappy and sad, but savage AF. The lyrics basically allude to the fact that the girl is a cheating whore and she won’t ever change. One thing I love about the lyrics is that it doesn’t sound cheesy AF, like some songs I’ve heard calling out ex-girlfriends for being whores. Instrumentally, the guitars sound angry, which helps the direction of this song channel the angsty side of pop punk.

5.) Three Cheers for Five Years

Eeeeeek, this song is so sad. This song was written by drummer Jake Bundrick, who found out that his girlfriend of five years cheated on him (and she told him on their anniversary, nonetheless). This piano ballad features a back-and-forth vocal trade off between Sanders and Lancaster, with vocals sometimes overlapping each other, but in my opinion showcasing the conflicting thoughts of a break up and how to deal with the news of your S/O cheating on you. I love that MP are able to tell stories of break ups in completely polar-opposite ways (see choice 4). The twinkling piano, the switching vocals, the overlapping of thoughts – they all culminate into a song that brings out emotion I didn’t even know I had.

6.) Still Breathing

“Still Breathing” starts off with a somber-sounding guitar, the chord blending seamlessly with Sanders’ vocals. Drums subtly come in throughout the verse and eventually build up into the chorus, which isn’t anything mind-blowing, but isn’t overly simple and boring either. I don’t really know what draws me to this song, but I enjoy it nonetheless.

7.) Just Say You’re Not Into It

Let me tell ya, this EP was *~amazing~*. This song follows the hearts of a conflicted relationship, where the two are fighting, however they want to forget about it for the night and “bring their hearts back home.” I love the way the song starts off, with the lyrics “In a show of hands / who has ever said these words before? / And in a show of hearts on the floor / who has ever meant them more?” I thought that line was just cleverly crafted and didn’t even need to be explained for it to be understood. That right there my friends, is good lyricism.

8.) I’d Hate To Be You When People Find Out What This Song Is About

Long live the days of long song titles – can we bring that back please? I heard some rumors that “Sunnyland” will have more long titles – yay! Anyway, back to this song. The main reason I love this song so much is because you can hear so much emotion in both of the vocalists voices, but especially Lancaster’s when he jumps into the chorus. I honestly don’t really know what this song is about, who it’s about, what’s going on, but it makes me feel. It’s the weirdest thing – but hey, that’s what music does to ya. Also, with the guitar solos and the way that the song builds, the song flows together so smoothly and makes me want to throw down.

9.) Terrible Things

Okay sorry, we’re going to get sad again. But this song is just. so. beautiful. The narrator, a father, is telling the story of the father and mother – when they first met, when he proposed, and when she told him she’s sick. I mean, shit. Paired with the somber piano, this song is so sad and evokes so many emotions. The father is telling the son “So don’t fall in love / there’s just too much to lose.” and “Now son / I’m only telling you this / because life can do terrible things.” This song is basically a Nicholas Sparks book summed up in four minutes.

10.) One Of Them Will Destroy The Other

This song is one of the songs I actually like from their 2015 album, “Black Lines.” I love how raw this song sounds, in terms of instrumentals and in vocals. Sanders experiments with some more screaming, a change that really shook up their discography since Lancaster left the band. Some fans were disappointed, citing that MP is a band they go to for more sappy, heartfelt songs, not heavier music. However, I thought this was one track that actually did a good job of capturing that raw, stripped down sound that they were looking to do for the album. I don’t think it completely worked out for them – I saw them live shortly after this album was released and they played 3 songs out of a 20 song show from this album. That being said, the songs they did play were the good ones, so I wasn’t too disappointed.

So there you have it! I’m really excited to hear what their album will sound like, and of course, I will see them live at Warped this summer.

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The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: My Favorite Mayday Parade Songs appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Fans have been speculating for months about who was going to play the last tour, with guesses ranging from plausible to never-gonna-happen (*cough cough* a My Chemical Romance reunion). Alas, the lineup has been revealed and the consensus is split: some are very ecstatic about the lineup, and some are incredibly disappointed. As for me? I’m definitely excited, but I can see where people were disappointed.

Before I jump into my top ten picks, I want to address the certain marketing tactic that they used to announce the bands. As always, they post a photo with all the bands written on it in alphabetical order, with asterisks by the bands that weren’t playing the whole tour. This year, instead of asterisks, they put those bands in a purple font as opposed to the black font. At first glance, you don’t realize that they aren’t playing the full tour until you see the fine print at the bottom.

A lot of fans were upset about this, mostly because some really big bands are playing, with a lot of them only playing select dates. This sucked, because there are a lot of big names, Warped-esque bands, such as All Time Low, Asking Alexandria, Bowling For Soup, Sum 41, and Taking Back Sunday, that are only playing one or two dates. While they do clarify that they aren’t playing the full tour, one can’t really tell at first glance, which makes the lineup a little bit more disappointing.

But enough of that. I’m still pretty pumped about the bands that are playing the full tour, which all ten of these are.

1.) Movements

I CAN’T CONTAIN MY EXCITEMENT TO SEE THIS BAND LIVE AGAIN. I saw them at last years Warped Tour, when they were on a small stage with a small crowd, and this year they have been upgraded to the MAIN STAGE! These guys released a killer album last October, titled “Feel Something,” which skyrocketed their career (hence the spot on the main stage). If you’re into post-hardcore emo, then you definitely need to check out this band.

Favorite song: Vacant Home

2.) The Maine

The Maine also released an amazing album last year, “Lovely Little Lonely.” I’ve only seen them once before, but that was before LLL came out and before I was really that big of a fan. The Maine are a rock band from Arizona, and they’ve played Warped shows in the past. Now that I’m into their music some more, I’m really excited to see them this summer.

Favorite song: How Do You Feel?

3.) State Champs

Tbh, I’ve seen State Champs like 5 or 6 times already. What can I say? They’re one of my all-time favorite bands that also happens to be one of the biggest in the pop-punk scene today. When I first saw them at Warped Tour back in 2014, they were still relatively small. I’m excited to see them again this year, back on the main stage, performing my favorite songs. Talk about coming full circle, huh?

Favorite song: All or Nothing

4.) Knuckle Puck

Knuckle Puck are a band that I’ve fallen deeply in love with over the last few years. They just released their sophomore album, “Shapeshifter,” this past October. It took a little while to grow on me, but I absolutely love it now, so I’m definitely excited to see them play some of their new material live.

Favorite song: Want Me Around

5.) Real Friends

Whenever I think about Real Friends, I think about the first time I saw them at Warped Tour 2014. If you couldn’t tell already, that years Warped Tour was an amazing year that got me into a lot of my current favorite bands. Real Friends are a pop punk band from Chicago, and they always give fun performances no matter where they play, but there’s something a little bit more special about their Warped shows.

Favorite song: Summer

6.) Grayscale

At this time last year, I had no idea who Grayscale was. And now, I. love. them. I discovered them shortly after the release of their 2017 pop-punk album “Adornment,” and now I can’t get enough of them. They’re still relatively small(ish), and I think those are some of the most fun sets to see live at Warped. I haven’t had the chance to see them live yet, and I hear that they’re awesome, so I’m excited.

Favorite song: Beautiful Things

7.) Broadside

Broadside are a pop punk band that I tried to see at Warped 2016, but just barely missed. They also released an album last year, “Paradise.” I haven’t listened to it too much, but from what I’ve heard of it, it’s pretty good. I loved their album “Old Bones,” and their sound overall, so I hope that I get to see them this year.

Favorite Song: Coffee Talk

8.) Simple Plan

You might be thinking, “Simple Plan are still around?” and the answer is yes, yes they are. I actually got to see them live here in Iowa City a couple years ago for the University of Iowa Homecoming (review of that here). While that was a fun, outdoor night show, I want to see them during the Warped atmosphere. They’re definitely one of the more popular Warped Tour veterans, having played the festival 1999-2005, 2011, 2013, and 2015. I’m excited to hear their most popular tunes.

Favorite song: I’m Just A Kid

9.) With Confidence

After some drama went down with the band over the past year, they’ve been kind of silent. But now, they’re ready to play Warped this year, and I’m pretty excited. I saw them as an opening band once, but what I’m really looking forward to is seeing them at Warped.

Favorite song: Voldemort

10.) Mayday Parade

And last but not least, Mayday Parade. I’ve already seen them live a handful of times, two of those being at past Warped Tours, but nonetheless, I’m still excited to see them. Mayday Parade always puts on a great show with their outstanding stage presence. They’re always so excited to be playing live, making the Warped experience that much better.

Favorite song: Just Say You’re Not Into It

So there you have it! Make sure to stay tuned for my review of the festival this summer. In the meantime, check out my review of Warped Tour 2016 here, Warped Tour 2017 here, and also my thoughts on the end of Warped Tour here.

The post Jen’s Top Ten’s: Bands I want to see at Warped Tour 2018 appeared first on KRUI Radio.