Koji

Andrew Koji Shiraki (who just goes by Koji) is a singer-songwriter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He got started upon signing to Run For Cover in 2010. With nothing but his own voice and acoustic guitar, he managed to write some incredibly catchy and compelling songs that caught the attention of anyone who heard them. His voice is fantastic, and there's this energy when he performs that overflowing with passion and sincerity, which is what makes his music so powerful. He's heavily involved in numerous organisations and charities, which just goes to show that his passions are so strong that they go outside of just music. His more recent material, and debut full-length (which is now two years old) incorporate more instrumentation, which just elevate his core songwriting to new levels.

Koji is one person I definitely encourage you to support, not only is his music amazing, but he just flat-out seems like a great guy. Most of his music is available through his music on a Name-Your-Price basis, which is commendable and deserving of anything that can be given. If that's not a possibility, enjoy it here. I should have done a post on him long ago, so here it is, very overdue (as so many posts are, haha). Enjoy.

Spring Song Vol. 1 (2010)

1. Eating Lemons

2. Monsters/Stay

3. Most Of Everything

4. Color Quiet Loud

5. Like We Do

6. To The Dogs

7. Little Bird

8. Minute 7

9. Wagon Wheel

10. Spring Song

Some Small Way (2010)

1. Eating Lemons

2. Waking Up

3. Stay

4. Windows (Live)

5. Color Quiet Loud

IIOI/KOJI (2010)

1. Into It. Over It. - Wicker Park

2. Into It. Over It. - Humboldt

3. Into It. Over It. - Ravenswood

4. Into It. Over It. - Pilsen

5. Into It. Over It. - Logan Square

6. Koji - Most Of Everything

7. Koji - All Below

8. Koji - Matches

9. Koji - Shift

10. Koji - Giants Sleeping

Never Come Undone (2011)

1. La Dispute - Sunday Morning, At A Funeral

2. Koji - Peacemaker

3. La Dispute - Last Blues

4. Koji - Biomusicology

Crooked In My Mind (2013)

1. Chasing A Ghost

2. Near And Far

3. Spinning Silent

4. Distance/Divide

5. Fragile Times

6. Creeping

7. In The Line

8. Pang And Flash

9. What You Leave Behind

Off The Board: A Studio 4 Family Compilation (2013)

8. Breaking And Broken

Note: Full comp here

Matters EP (2013)

1. Hemlock

2. Like We Do

3. Placeholders

4. Matters (Of The Heart And Mind)

Fury (2015)

1. Fury

2. Breaking And Broken

3. Everyday

4. Question

Facebook

Bandcamp

GIVE

GIVE are a five-piece post-hardcore band from Washington, DC that formed in 2008, about 25 years after the movement they embody. They take obvious influence from Revolution Summer-era bands off of Dischord, which has to be one of the best places to take influence from. If you're looking for tight, compelling music, it doesn't get much better than that. They've also recorded with Don Zientara at Inner Ear Studios, who did pretty much every Dischord album, from the early Minor Threat and Faith EP's through to Rites of Spring, Embrace, Soulside, Gray Matter, Marginal Man, Dag Nasty, and of course Fugazi, Nation Of Ulysses, Lungfish,  Jawbox, and the list just goes on and on. GIVE are the 21st century celebration of those bands, both by taking inspiration from them and turning it into them one of the best punk bands around now. They put out an LP titled Electric Flower Circus last year which is absolutely flawless. That along with the compilation Singles Going Confetti are good starting parts. Enjoy.

Give (2009)

1. Aaron's Interlude

2. Amphetamine Dream

3. Godspeeding

4. Like Unknown

5. Transparencies

6. Forever Forward

7. Sun In My Hand (Sweetwater)

Singles Going Confetti (2012)

1. I Am Love

2. Petal Pushing

3. Heaven is Waiting

4. Going Confetti

5. Solid White

6. One

7. Boots Of Faith

8. Flowerhead

9. Kiss The Flame

10. Taste Of Smile

11. Pat Weird

Note: This is a compilation of singles and b-sides they released between 2010 and 2011

Voodoo Leather (2014)

1. Voodoo Leather

2. Daisy Pains

3. Godspeeding

4. Snakey Charmer

5. Snakey Rider

I Am Live (2014)

1. I Am Love (Live)

2. Voodoo Leather (Live)

3. Godspeeding (Live)

4. Boots of Faith (Live)

Electric Flower Circus (2014)

1. Sonic Bloom

2. Head First Opened

3. Beware Of The Sun

4. Burning At The Stake

5. Voodoo Leather

6. Electric Flower Cult

7. Fuck Me Blind

8. Bedrooms

9. Sunflower Youth

10. Paint My Life

11. Crush

12. Welcome To Dust

13. Waiting For It

Sonic Bloom (2015)

1. Sonic Bloom

2. Learning to Die

3. Brand New Flag

4. Eat the Rainbow

5. Crushed

Electric Flower Cult (2017)

1. Electric Flower Cult

2. Beyond The Gun

3. Out Of Your World

4. Do As You Feel

5. I Will Always Leave

Bandcamp

Facebook

I Hate Sex

I Hate Sex are a four-piece emo/screamo band from Edmonton, Alberta (Canada). They began earlier this year, and put out their debut EP a few months. It's got to be one of my favourite releases within the emo/screamo realm this year, it's definitely worth the listen. There's tons of melodic guitar parts that are nicely balanced with the harsh, screamed female vocals, making them a more noodly Cerce, or something like that. Either way, check them out, they're one of the many amazing screamo bands that have come out of Edmonton in the past few years, and they are definitely a good example of what makes bands from there so good. Enjoy.

Demos (2015)

1. January 24th

2. Sleep Paralysis

Circle Thinking (2015)

1. January 24

2. I Fucking Hate Sports

3. San Francisco

4. One by Metallica

5. Sleep Paralysis

6. Happy Anniversary

7. You + Me = Slipknot

Low Level/I Hate Sex (2015)

5. weird dream, conscious stream

6. old new girlfriend

7. new new girlfriend

Note: I Hate Sex side only

I Hate Sex/Black Knight Satellite/Algae Bloom (2016)

1. I Hate Sex - This Floating World

2. Black Knight Satellite - Unrequited Love! The North Pole Aurora

3. Black Knight Satellite - Nü Jersey

4. Algae Bloom - A Weight in Space

Facebook

Bandcamp

Super Unison

Super Unison are a four-piece post-hardcore band from Oakland, California that began in 2014. They're fronted by Meghan from Punch and Justin from Snowing is their drummer. They put out their debut EP this year through Deathwish. Super Unison takes their name from a Drive Like Jehu song, which makes sense when listening to them. Off-kilter rhythms and riffs drive this EP, along with shouted vocals that sound like a Sleater-Kinney melody turned up to 11. The band hammers out 4 solid songs in under 8 minutes, making this EP a must for any fans of modern hardcore or 90's Bay Area post-hardcore. Enjoy.

Super Unison (2015)

1. Walk Away

2. Recognize You

3. Close Your Eyes

4. On Repeat

Auto (2016)

1. Prove Yourself

2. Keeper

3. Losing You

4. You Don't Tell Me

5. Luxury

6. Time & Distance

7. Muted

8. Broken

9. What Are You Going To Do

10. Don't Look Up

11. Everything

12. Auto

Stella (2018)

1. Unconditional

2. The Snake

3. Parts Unknown

4. The Birthday Gift

5. Comfort

6. Falcon

7. Nev

8. Virus

9. Quiet Again

10. Scars

Facebook

Bandcamp

Bear vs. Shark

This band should have been up years ago, but I suppose later is better than never. Bear vs. Shark were a five-piece post-hardcore band from Detroit, Michigan. They were active from 2001 to 2005 and signed to Equal Vision. They only released two full-lengths and an EP in their time, but they've proven to be one of the most influential post-hardcore bands from the early 2000's. They picked up on what At The Drive-In were doing on El Gran Orgo and ran with it. The gruff yet melodic vocals, the dual guitar riffs, loud/quiet dynamics, and the pounding energy are not only heir to ATDI, but what defined Bear vs. Shark most. Their two full-lengths are brimming with solid songs, which is why they're one of those bands that just have to be known within their respective corner of the musicsphere. Enjoy.

1653 (2001)

1. Campfire

2. United Tribes of Pangea

3. Kylie

4. California Hotseat

5. Michigan

6. Remember This Assignment

7. Bloodgiver

8. Ma Jolie

Right Now, You're In The Best Of Hands. And If Something Isn't Quite Right, Your Doctor Will Know In A Hurry (2003)

1. Ma Jolie

2. Campfire

3. Buses/No Buses

4. The Employee Is Not Afraid

5. We Were Sad But Not Rebuilding

6. Kylie

7. MPS

8. Second

9. Don't Tell The Horses The Stable's On Fire

10. Bloodgiver

11. Michigan

12. Broken Dog Leg

Terrorhawk (2005)

1. Catamaran

2. 5, 6 Kids

3. Six Bar Phrase Hey Hey

4. The Great Dinosaurs With Fifties Section

5. Baraga Embarkment

6. Entrance Of The Elected

7. Seven Stop Hold Restart

8. What A Horrible Night For A Curse

9. Out Loud Hey Hey

10. India Foot

11. Antwan

12. I Fucked Your Dad

13. Heard Iron Bug, "They're Coming To Town"

14. Song About Old Roller Coaster

15. Rich People Say Fuck Yeah Hey Hey

Say Anything

Finally my friends at long last the day has come. We have the means, the understanding, the technology to allow Say Anything to finally be posted on here. They've gotten countless requests, and I couldn't put it off any longer, they are just too good to share. So, here you go.

Say Anything are an alternative rock/emo/indie/pop punk band that formed in 2000 in Los Angeles, California. They were started in Max Bemis' college dorm at the time, and have had quite a few line-up changes since then, with the only consistent member being Bemis himself. Say Anything are a band with an interesting history, from their little-known debut album Baseball to their breakthrough album ...Is A Real Boy, which was immediately followed by a hiatus. Upon returning, they've released four new albums, all of which have gained a ton of acclaim and established Say Anything as one of the best bands around. They've got a big, dedicated fanbase which includes just about any kind of person you can imagine. This is probably because their music covers a vast amount of genres and styles, and they never really settle on one thing without experimenting with something a little different. It makes for an interesting listen, and I'd like to think there's one song in their discography for everyone, but as a general introduction give ...Is A Real Boy a try. It's quite different from the majority of their discography, since it was written when Bemis was heavily suffering from depression and substance abuse, and is much more self-deprecating and cynical compared to their newer material, which is much more positive. Of course, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the change, and thankfully they've continued to make amazing music.

Their discography can be a little tough to delve into. Aside from their studio albums, they've got a lot of demos, B-sides, rarities and such to their name, so I'll try and include notes on anything that isn't a major studio album. If anyone has anything I'm missing, feel free to send that to me too. It's tough to fully complete this discography since there's so many lesser-known songs that are hard to find, but here's a close collection. Enjoy.

Junior Varsity (2000)

1. The Last Great Punk Song

2. Dreaming Of Manhattan

3. She Got Away

4. High School Low

Note: This was their first self-released material, later reissued under the name "In Your Dreams"

Baseball (2001)

1. Colorblind

2. Showdown at P-Town

3. Into The Night

4. All My Friends

5. Ants In My Pants

6. The Ocean Liner Incident

7. Mackdaddy

8. Shameless

9. That's That (Do What We Want)

10. Resounding

11. Rats

12. Dreaming of Manhattan

13. Sure Baby... Hold Back

14. The Last Great Punk Song

15. Where The Hurt Is

Menorah/Mejora (2002)

1. Walk Through Hell

2. You Help Them

3. Try To Remember, Forget

4. By Tonight

5. Baseball But Better

6. I Am A Transylvanian

7. I Want To Know Your Plans

Florida Demos (2003)

1. But A Fleeting Illness

2. Spider Song

3. Woe (The Optimist)

For Sale... (2004)

1. Belt

2. Woe

3. Alive With the Glory of Love

4. We Will Erase All Life On Earth

5. Slumming It With Johnny

Note: This was a tour EP that included three songs from ...Is A Real Boy and two b-sides

...Is A Real Boy Demos (2004)

1. Belt

2. The Writhing South

4. Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat

5. Tiny Portions, Artful Abortions

6. An Orgy Of Critics

7. Slowly, Through A Vector

8. Molly Connelly

9. I Shall Grow

10. Admit It!!! 

Note: Never officially released, and sadly I'm missing track 3 "Alive With The Glory Of Love"

Vs. Aids Demos (2004)

1. Metal Now

2. Most Beautiful Plague

3. Total Revenge

4. It's A Metaphor, Fool

5. Wow, I Can Be Sexual

6. I Will Never Write An Obligatory Song About Being On The Road & Missing Someone

7. Little Girls

8. You Don't See Me Right

9. The Presidential Suite

Note: These were initially intended for an AIDS benefit album that was never released. These songs would later be remastered and released as ...Was A Real Boy, the second disc of the reissued version of ...Is A Real Boy in 2007.

...Is A Real Boy (2004)

1. Belt

2. Woe

3. The Writhing South

4. Alive With The Glory Of Love

5. Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat

6. The Futile

7. Spidersong

8. An Orgy Of Critics

9. Every Man Has A Molly

10. Slowly, Through A Vector

11. Chia-Like, I Shall Grow

12. I Want To Know Your Plans

13. Admit It!!!

...Was A Real Boy (2007)

1. Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too

2. Little Girls

3. Most Beautiful Plague

4. It's a Metaphor Fool

5. Total Revenge

6. Metal Now

7. I Will Never Write An Obligatory Song About Being On The Road & Missing Someone

Note: These songs were recorded around the time of ...Is A Real Boy as part of an AIDS benefit album, but were not officially released and mastered until the 2007 reissue of ...Is A Real Boy

Live On KCPR (2004)

1. Alive With The Glory of Love

2. Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat

3. Woe

Note: This isn't an official release, just a good quality radio session of acoustic versions of songs from ...Is A Real Boy

Spin Acoustic Session (2006)

1. Belt

2. Woe

3. The Writhing South

4. Alive With The Glory Of Love

5. Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat

6. The Futile

7. Slowly, Through A Vector

8. I Want To Know Your Plans

9. Admit It!!!

In Defense Of The Genre (2007)

Disc 1

1. Skinny, Mean Man

2. No Soul

3. That Is Why

4. Surgically Removing The Tracking Device

5. That Is Fucking Ecstasy

6. The Church Channel

7. Shiksa (Girlfriend)

8. Baby Girl, I'm A Blur

9. Retarded In Love

10. People Like You Are Why People Like Me Exist

11. Died A Jew

12. An Insult To The Dead

13. Sorry Dudes. My Bad.

Disc 2

1. Spay Me

2. In Defense Of The Genre

3. The Truth Is, You Should Lie With Me

4. The Word You Wield

5. Vexed

6. About Falling

7. You're The Wanker, If Anyone Is

8. Spores

9. We Killed It

10. Have At Thee!

11. Hangover Song

12. Goodbye Young Tutor, You've Now Outgrown Me

13. I Used To Have A Heart

14. Plea

Say Anything (2009)

1. Fed To Death

2. Hate Everyone

3. Do Better

4. Less Cute

5. Eloise

6. Mara And Me

7. Crush'd

8. She Won't Follow You

9. Cemetery

10. Property

11. Death For My Birthday

12. Young Dumb And Stung

13. Ahhh... Men

14. Narcissus (Bonus Track)

15. I Love You More Than I Hate My Period (Bonus Track)

16. I Could Be President (Bonus Track)

17. No Games (Truth Serum) (Bonus Track)

Secret Origin (2009)

1. Fed To Everyone (Demo)

2. Hate Everyone (Demo)

3. Eloise (Demo)

4. She Won't Follow You (Demo)

5. Cemetery (Demo)

6. Property (Demo)

7. Death For My Birthday (Demo)

8. Young, Dumb And Stung (Demo)

9. Ahhh... Men (Demo)

Daytrotter Session (2011)

1. Welcome to Daytrotter

2. The Church Channel

3. I Never Knew You Were So Lonely

4. I Want To Know Your Plans

Anarchy, My Dear (2012)

1. Burn A Miracle

2. Say Anything

3. Night's Song

4. Admit It Again

5. So Good

6. Sheep

7. Peace Out

8. Overbiter

9. Of Steel

10. Anarchy, My Dear

11. The Stephen Hawking

12. Here's To You, Blue Eyes (Bonus Track)

13. Their Notions (Bonus Track)

14. So Good [Demo] (Bonus Track)

All My Friends Are Enemies: Early Rarities (2013)

Disc 1: Baseball

1. Colorblind

2. Showdown at P-Town

3. Into The Night

4. All My Friends

5. Ants In My Pants

6. The Ocean Liner Incident

7. Mackdaddy

8. Shameless

9. That's That (Do What We Want)

10. Resounding

11. Rats

12. Dreaming of Manhattan

13. Sure Baby... Hold Back

14. The Last Great Punk Song

15. Where The Hurt Is

Disc 2: Menorah/Majora + Dorm Room Demos

1. Walk Through Hell

2. You Help Them

3. Try To Remember, Forget

4. By Tonight

5. Baseball, But Better

6. I Am A Transylvanian

7. I Want To Know Your Plans

8. For The Silent

9. All This Fashion

10. Until The Bombs

11. The Keg Is Bleeding!

12. Signal The Riflemen

13. A Boston Peace

14. The Great Awakening

15. A Certain Type Of Genius

16. My Bare Hands

17. Nudity

Disc 3: Junior Varsity And Other Early Rarities

1. Baseball, But Better (2012 Version)

2. The Presidential Suite

3. Thoughts On A Liberal Education

4. A Boston Peace (Brett Gurewitz Mix)

5. Consigliore

6. Jessie And My Whetstone (Saves The Day cover)

7. The Last Great Punk Rock Song (JV Version)

8. Dreaming Of Manhattan

9. She Got Away

10. High School Low

11. All My Friends Are Enemies

12. Sappy

13. Anti-Anti

Hebrews (2014)

1. John McClane (feat. Chris Conley and Matt Pryor)

2. Six Six Six (feat. Sherri DuPree-Bemis, Andy Hull, and Jon Simmons)

3. Judas Decapitation (feat. Gareth and Kim Campesinos)

4. Kall Me Kubrick (feat. Chauntelle DuPree-D'Agostino)

5. My Greatest Fear Is Splendid (feat. Keith Buckley)

6. Hebrews (feat. Brian Sella)

7. Push (feat. Aaron Weiss)

8. The Shape Of Love To Come (feat. Sherri DuPree-Bemis)

9. Boyd (feat. Sherri DuPree-Bemis)

10. A Look (feat. Stacy King and Bob Nanna)

11. Lost My Touch (feat. Christie DuPree and Jeremy Bolm)

12. Nibble Nibble (feat. Tom DeLonge and Sherri DuPree-Bemis)

I Don't Think It Is (2016)

1. Give A Damn

2. 17 Coked Up And Speeding

3. Rum

4. So Numb

5. Goshua

6. Jimmy

7. Princess

8. The Bret Easton Ellis School of Witchcraft And Wizardy

9. #Blessed

10. Wire Mom

11. Attaboy

12. Varicose Visage

Oliver Appropriate (2019)

1. The Band Fuel

2. Daze

3. Pink Snot

4. Greased

5. Ew Jersey

6. Mouthbreather

7. When I'm Acid

8. Captive Audience

9. Your Father

10. Send Off

11. Fired

12. It's a Process

13. The Hardest

14. Sentiment

Demos & Rarities

Alive With The Glory Of Love (Demo)

Belt (Acoustic)

Belt (ft. Brand New, Hot Rod Circuit and Straylight Run) (Live)

A Boston Peace (Demo)

But A Fleeting Illness (Demo)

Colorblind (Rough Demo)

Dammit (blink-182 cover)

Jessie And My Whetstone (Saves The Day cover)

Joel on the Other Planets

Mystery Rash

The Presidential Suite

The Presidential Suite (Electric)

Sappy

Slowly, Through A Vector (Live)

Sure Baby, Hold Back (Demo)

That's That (Demo)

Thoughts On A Liberal Education

Thoughts On A Liberal Education (Rough Demo)

Tickle Me Red

Yellow Cat (Slash) Red Cat (Rough Demo)