“It was a strange year,” says Alex Dunne, Crime in Stereo’s songwriter and guitarist.
This is in reference to the twelve months between the 2006 release of their critically acclaimed The Troubled Stateside and the beginning of recording "Crime in Stereo Is Dead." “Strange” might be an understatement. Crime in Stereo (Dunne, singer Kristian Hallbert, bassist Mike Musilli, drummer Scotty Giffin and guitarist Gary Cioni) thought they had seen the end of the road. After coming home from six straight months of touring promoting Stateside, a release that All Music Guide praised as “As ambitious as modern hardcore is likely to get,” and hitting the road on tours ranging from support slots for Brand New and the Warped Tour, Crime in Stereo had made a name for themselves. With sharply intelligent critiques of the current social and economic landscape set to a backdrop of music that breaks out of the standard hardcore mold, Crime in Stereo was moving into the forefront of the underground.
But time was taking its toll. Following almost three consecutive years of touring non-stop in support of Troubled Stateside and their debut full-length Explosives and The Will To Use Them, in 2004 the band felt disconnected from their label and, put simply, lost. Dunne went to work as a political consultant, managing successful judicial campaigns on Long Island, New York for the state's Democratic Party. “It was a bizarre thing to have happen; driving around the country playing shows all summer with your hardcore band, and then within a week of coming home from tour, working as a paid consultant.” Further complicating the situation was Dunne’s diabetes reaching a new severity. His situation worsened to the point where he now has to self-administer injections to his stomach every day to maintain himself. Being on the road, for Alex Dunne, suddenly became more complex and possibly life-threatening.
It wasn’t just Dunne that found his home life evolving in strange ways, however. Co-founder and bassist Mike Musilli, on the verge of earning his masters degree in education, gained employment as a teacher in his hometown high school; the same institution he and Dunne had graduated from years before. With the band spending continually less time together and steadily more working in their respective fields, the future of the band looked grim. “For a minute there,” said Musilli “it really looked like Crime in Stereo was dead.”
After spending a few months at home, the band reemerged from a de-facto hiatus to tour the East Coast and Midwest in a whirlwind run with Glassjaw. And as Dunne, along with drummer Scotty Giffin, began spending time back in Dunne’s basement working on songs, vocalist Kristian Hallbert was taking vocal training. At the same time, Bridge Nine Records entered the fold for a very apt partnership. “Initially, the ‘Is Dead’ thing was about the literal end of the band, but then I think it became something else. It was about starting out one way, and then growing into an entirely new beginning,” Dunne explained. “Kristian was really the catalyst in our evolving sound. I think once we heard how he was singing, we realized we had to make this record.” From screams and shouts to the occasional falsetto, Hallbert’s vocal performance on Crime in Stereo Is Dead is exceptional. “We’re a hardcore band because we’re hardcore kids, that’ll never change,” Hallbert explains. “But musically, we know what we’re capable of, and we wanted to challenge ourselves and show everyone.”
Crime in Stereo Is Dead is unlike any record that the band, or Bridge Nine Records has ever produced. It’s a punk record, it’s a hardcore record, and it is an intricately written album start to finish. But it doesn’t really fit into the “melodic hardcore” or “punk” category without having to further qualify the description. With longtime collaborator Mike Sapone (Brand New, Straylight Run, Taking Back Sunday, MC Lars) in tow, Crime in Stereo were able to focus on making their most musically and lyrically ambitious record to date. The result is a record that features the familiar Crime In Stereo sound (“Nixon”), but it also showcases the band at their most explosive and discordant (“XXXX-The First Thousand Years of Solitude”), their catchiest (“Animal Pharm”) and their most ambient and experimental (“Small Skeletal” and “Unfortunate Tourist”). Crime in Stereo Is Dead ends with “Orbiter” and “Choker”- two songs that are almost identical chord progressions played at an entirely different tempo. They culminate in the songs’ respective bridges that are lyrical mirror images. Crime in Stereo Is Dead is a wakeup call to a scene that sees melody as taboo, and a world that sees catchy music as safe and lyrically passive. It is an enigmatic release--it’s hardcore, it’s punk, but it’s a difficult record to preface with bands that have come before because this record surpasses the echoes of its influence in an entirely new mold.
Crime In Stereo Is Dead is in stores October 23rd 2007, and it is a release that guarantees 2008 will be another crazy year for the whole band.
Young
Crime In Stereo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't understand your pain anymore
We can get a lawyer and move on
And we can get a lawyer if you want
And I can understand your pain, but I won't
If we can't get along we can't be in love
In the middle of nowhere nothing, something happens
Anywhere, everywhere, end of the world
In the middle of nowhere nothing, something happens
If we can't get along we can't
If we can't get along we can't be in love
That Irish smile begins
Up the soft snow of your skin
As the memory sinks in
I'd give anything
I'd give anything
I'd give anything
To start again
Anywhere, everywhere, end of the world
That Irish smile begins
In the middle of nowhere nothing, something happens
Up the soft snow of your skin
I can't stop remembering
The lyrics of Crime In Stereo's song "Young" are quite ambiguous and can be interpreted in a few different ways. At its core, it seems to be a song about a failed relationship and the inability of the two people involved to reconcile their differences. The first verse expresses frustration with the other person's behavior, suggesting that they are driven by greed and that the singer can no longer empathize with their pain. However, the chorus implies that despite their differences, something about being together is meaningful, even if it is in the midst of chaos or despair. The second verse is more sentimental, with the singer recalling a past memory with their partner and expressing regret that they cannot go back to that time.
One interpretation of the song could be that it is about a couple that has grown apart due to their different values and goals. The first verse suggests that the other person's greed has become a source of conflict, and that the singer is frustrated with their inability to feel empathy for their partner's struggles. This could represent a larger conflict about materialism or ambition - perhaps one person values success and wealth more highly than the other, leading to tension in their relationship. However, despite their differences, the chorus suggests that there is still something worth salvaging in the relationship. Even if they can't get along or find a way to reconcile their differences, there is still something meaningful about being together.
Another interpretation of the song might be more personal, focusing on a specific memory or moment in time when the relationship was still intact. The second verse is more nostalgic, with the singer recalling a specific memory with their partner and expressing regret that they can't go back to that time. This could represent a more universal feeling of nostalgia and regret - the sense that even if we can't go back to a past moment or experience, that memory still holds meaning for us and shapes our understanding of ourselves and our relationships.
Overall, "Young" is a song about the complexities of relationships and the difficulty of navigating differences between people. It suggests that even when relationships fail or fall apart, there can still be value in the memories and experiences that were shared.
Line by Line Meaning
Veering off your greedy heart
Moving away from your selfishness
I can't understand your pain anymore
I don't comprehend your suffering anymore
We can get a lawyer and move on
We can hire legal representation and move forward
And we can get a lawyer if you want
We can hire legal representation at your request
And I can understand your pain, but I won't
I have the capability to empathize with you, but I choose not to
If we can't get along we can't be in love
Our relationship cannot exist if we do not get along
Anywhere, everywhere, end of the world
Regardless of location or circumstance
In the middle of nowhere nothing, something happens
Even in isolated environments, events still occur
That Irish smile begins
Your charming Irish grin arises
Up the soft snow of your skin
Against the tender surface of your skin
As the memory sinks in
As the recollection becomes ingrained
I'd give anything to start again
I am willing to sacrifice anything to begin anew
I can't stop remembering
I am unable to halt my memories
Contributed by Zachary L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@DaveyD327
This is one of my favorite songs on the CD. I have really enjoyed watching Crime In Stereo evolve. Unlike most bands, they aren't getting worse with new CDs. It's a very positive progression.
@jchuck1737
Damn I was in community college when I heard this album can't believe how fast time flies. Its been 6 years already?
@hideki_usagi1101
Now it's been 10
@RyanJohnston77
One of the greatest bands.
@andrewfulton4585
oh my god i forgot how beautiful this was. RIP
@simonschole
Great melody, very heavy, that's different!
@andrewfulton4585
they are both from Long Island, NY and each of their last studio album's was produced by Mike Sapone
@DarrinStevensExplores
@DaveyD327 totally agreed.
@amygrindhouse4193
mmmmmmm....more pls...moooooooore
@nenadeline
@DaveyD327 Great comment