{
"$type": "site.standard.document",
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"$type": "site.standard.content.markdown",
"text": "\n\nTo honor the inauguration today, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite punk\nalbums of all time, [Titus Andronicus's _The Monitor_](https://open.spotify.com/album/5U09FQWagzAU5HPmufUAlU). This album is sort of\na concept album framed around the Civil War juxtaposed around a break up and\nmodern general anxiety.\n\nSonically, this album sounds awesome. The guitars are loud, but never overpower\nthe vocals and the riffs will remind you of Bruce Springsteen meets Civil War\nmarches meets traditional punk rock. This album will make you want to overtake\nthe means of production cause it rocks so hard. There are also softer songs,\nlike _To Old Friends And New_, which feels like a punk rock power ballad.\n\n> So give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light\n>\n> Give me a kegger on a Friday night\n>\n> Give me anything but another year in exile\n\nLet's talk about the concept of this album, because it's what makes this album\nreally special. The album opens with the lead singer's high school history\nteacher reading a part from an Abraham Lincoln speech and then immeditely cuts\nto the lead singer (Patrick Stickles) singing about moving from Jersey to\nMassachusetts after a bad break up. Throughout the album, there are more Civil\nWar quotes that fit perfectly with the album. Using the backdrop of the war,\ntopics like relationships, addiction, and just general anxiety are explored.\n\n> There will be parties, there will be fun\n>\n> There'll be tall gallows for everyone\n\nThis album benefits from repeated listens as well as following the albums lyrics\non [Genius][2]. This is because Stickles makes a lot of references that you\nprobably won't catch on the first listen (no joke, there is a Springsteen\nreference followed by a Rakim quote in the first verse).\n\n> The enemy is everywhere\n>\n> But no one seems to worried or care\n\nMy favorite part of this album involves the lyrics above. They first appear on\n_Titus Andronicus Forever_, which is the second song, and it seems like\na throwaway punk song with a simple chorus. Then, a bunch of long sad songs\nhappen, and out of nowhere, this chorus repeats itself on _...And Ever_ with\nadded Springsteen-ish saxophone.\n\n> This is a war we can't win\n>\n> After 10,000 years, it's still us against them\n>\n> And my heroes have always died at the end\n>\n> So who's going to account for these sins?\n\nIn closing, I don't like to get super political, but I would suggest diving into\nthis album with the headspace of the next 4-8 years being extremely regressive\nwith the government being run by people that are simultaneously corrupt and\nincompetent. Yeah, get angry, listen to this album, and prepare for the war we\nare about to fight.\n\n- Standout Songs: _A More Perfect Union_, _Theme From \"Cheers\"_, _Four Score And Seven_, _...And Ever_\n- Rating: 4 pieces of hardtack, some salted meats, and a handle of rye.\n\n[1]: https://open.spotify.com/album/5U09FQWagzAU5HPmufUAlU\n[2]: https://genius.com/albums/Titus-andronicus/The-monitor\n[3]: /img/icymi/the-monitor.jpg",
"version": "1.0"
},
"description": "Epic punk album about anxiety and fighting the man.",
"path": "/blog/icymi-the-monitor/",
"publishedAt": "2017-01-20T05:00:00.000Z",
"site": "https://eligundry.com",
"tags": [
"icymi"
],
"textContent": "To honor the inauguration today, I'm going to talk about one of my favorite punk\nalbums of all time, Titus Andronicus's The Monitor. This album is sort of\na concept album framed around the Civil War juxtaposed around a break up and\nmodern general anxiety.\n\nSonically, this album sounds awesome. The guitars are loud, but never overpower\nthe vocals and the riffs will remind you of Bruce Springsteen meets Civil War\nmarches meets traditional punk rock. This album will make you want to overtake\nthe means of production cause it rocks so hard. There are also softer songs,\nlike To Old Friends And New, which feels like a punk rock power ballad.\n\nSo give me a Guinness, give me a Keystone Light\nGive me a kegger on a Friday night\nGive me anything but another year in exile\n\nLet's talk about the concept of this album, because it's what makes this album\nreally special. The album opens with the lead singer's high school history\nteacher reading a part from an Abraham Lincoln speech and then immeditely cuts\nto the lead singer (Patrick Stickles) singing about moving from Jersey to\nMassachusetts after a bad break up. Throughout the album, there are more Civil\nWar quotes that fit perfectly with the album. Using the backdrop of the war,\ntopics like relationships, addiction, and just general anxiety are explored.\n\nThere will be parties, there will be fun\nThere'll be tall gallows for everyone\n\nThis album benefits from repeated listens as well as following the albums lyrics\non [Genius][2]. This is because Stickles makes a lot of references that you\nprobably won't catch on the first listen (no joke, there is a Springsteen\nreference followed by a Rakim quote in the first verse).\n\nThe enemy is everywhere\nBut no one seems to worried or care\n\nMy favorite part of this album involves the lyrics above. They first appear on\nTitus Andronicus Forever, which is the second song, and it seems like\na throwaway punk song with a simple chorus. Then, a bunch of long sad songs\nhappen, and out of nowhere, this chorus repeats itself on ...And Ever with\nadded Springsteen-ish saxophone.\n\nThis is a war we can't win\nAfter 10,000 years, it's still us against them\nAnd my heroes have always died at the end\nSo who's going to account for these sins?\n\nIn closing, I don't like to get super political, but I would suggest diving into\nthis album with the headspace of the next 4-8 years being extremely regressive\nwith the government being run by people that are simultaneously corrupt and\nincompetent. Yeah, get angry, listen to this album, and prepare for the war we\nare about to fight.\nStandout Songs: A More Perfect Union, Theme From \"Cheers\", Four Score And Seven, ...And Ever\nRating: 4 pieces of hardtack, some salted meats, and a handle of rye.\n\n[1]: https://open.spotify.com/album/5U09FQWagzAU5HPmufUAlU\n[2]: https://genius.com/albums/Titus-andronicus/The-monitor\n[3]: /img/icymi/the-monitor.jpg",
"title": "ICYMI: Titus Andronicus - The Monitor",
"updatedAt": "2025-02-12T02:34:47.000Z"
}