Rumor Update 3 (3 months later) Since the album is supposed to be released in 10 days and there has been no announcement from the band or the label the album was supposed to be released on, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Legislators or Prophets is not going to come out on June 30th.

Rumor Update 2 (4 hours later) DeSoto has clarified their email. Of course they know who Thorns of Life are, but they're still not releasing the album. This rumor is looking more and more unrealistic, but we're getting closer to the bottom of it.

Rumor Update (an hour later)! I posted the below earlier this morning before hearing from DeSoto Records. They are not doing the album, saying it's an internet lie, and that they haven't heard of The Thorns of Life. I'm skeptical of that last point, though because of the Jawbox/DeSoto/J Robins connections. J Robins recorded with The Thorns of Life last month.

Hearing rumors that 'Legislators and Prophets', a new album by Blake Schwazenbach's new band The Thorns of Life, will be released June 30th on Washington, DC's DeSoto Records. Can't find much more info than that except for the track listing below, and a mention on a French blog, and well, The Thorns of Life Wikipeida page (The Wiki has now been updated with 'no release plans'). This news seems counter to news earlier in the year that the Thorns would self-release an album. This is a living document and I'll keep updating it as I get more info.

From the World Inferno Friendship Society message board a track listing:
1. The Black Arts
2. Kryptonite
3. My First Time
4. Ribbon Head
5. Available
6. Anti-Song for Barthelme
7. Not a Track Bike
8. Mont Blanc
9. I Hate New York
10. Oh Deathly Death
11. Gemini
12. Vivid Green
13. Building Al Qaeda in Washington
14. Tuning Out

From Detroit, Death was punk before anyone knew what punk was, and then everyone forgot about them.

Waxy.org says these are awful, but I disagree. Ruby Soho and Basket Case are great and the 7 minute extended Smells Like Teen Spirit is plain magic. This is what a punk covers album by The Postal Service would sound like if The Postal Service wasn't as good and (a less good) Ayumi Hamasaki was the singer instead of Jenny Lewis. It's called Pun-Colle and it makes me dream.

This Thorns of Life live at 924 Gilman Street recording isn't anything to sneeze at, but if you're dying to hear what Blake Schwarzenbach's new band sounds like, these MP3s do the trick. Sounds good to me and I can't wait to hear more. 3 interviews with Blake: here, here, and here. (Thanks again, Seth!)

Edited to add another bonus. 4 tracks from Thorns of Life show at Bar Pink. Again, iffy quality, better than nothing.


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I think these are from last night's show, but can't confirm it. It's not much, but below are the first notes of The Thorns of Life music to hit the web. Nice work, lyssarella and thanks to my bro for the links. Can we please get some official news?

Ripping through the internet over the last couple days is word that Blake Schwarzenbach debuted a new band on Saturday, November 8th at the Jerk House in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The band features Aaron Cometbus (Crimpshrine and Pinhead Gunpowder among others) on drums and Daniela Sea (The L Word) on bass. It's not totally clear if the band has a name, and there doesn't seem to be anyone on the internet yet who actually saw the band perform.

Heavy breathing internet speculation leads the netizens to believe the band is called The Thorns of Life. This because Schwarzenbach's Facebook image says the same and because he is currently defending his masters thesis on Percy Bysshe Shelly whose poem "Ode to the West Wind" features the line (emphasis his) "I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!"

In an unsubstantiated quotation, Schwarzenbach describes the band as such, "I can say only that it's loud and tender and we're called the Thorns Of Life. whether it's more Jetsesque or Breaker-like I honestly don't know; It sounds like a storehouse of fond hatred from the last few years and in the now."

I'm going to take a cold shower for a week. To say this is exciting is an understatement.

Pic by Brooklyn DIY

(Hat tip to Brooklyn DIY, pop punk bored, Complete Jawbreaker Cigarbox Guitars, and Punknews)

Cory Branan, a singer from Memphis (now living in Austin), sung about in a Lucero song, is a compelling stage presence. Dustying up his voice to better suit the narration of the song and playing the shit out of his acoustic guitar, Branan is a little bit country, a little bit rock n' roll. There weren't too many people there, but those who were had a good time.

So there's these punkers, right, and usually they're playing with electric guitars and amps and drums, and then they go on the Revival Tour without their bands and with their acoustic guitars. They bring along a slide guitar player, a stand up bass player, and a fiddle player for support, and then the awesomeness happens. I liked it better when they were all playing together, but then Ben, Tim, and Chuck in that order.

You can't describe this, except literally. This is a video of Ben Kingsley acting as Ian MacKaye from Minor Threat/Fugazi. It's clear they look alike, but how do you even begin to put something like this together?

This is great. I might get one if my brother didn't already. And Bad Brains is from DC, too.