On January 12th, 2012,  At the Drive In broke radio silence. After 11 years, the ATDI station is once again operational. Reading about the 2012 Coachella line up sent me into a bit of a nostalgia spiral, longing for times past that seem like 11 months ago, but were actually 11 years ago.

Part of my memory tour was spent in my hard drive, culling photos of fresh-faced bands playing small shows at Knights of Columbus halls and tiny bars.

So, I present, as either a badge of my scene cred, or a telling tale of my age, five photos of a band at their peak.

After seeing The Mars Volta’s surprise show at SXSW 2011, I’m sure At the Drive In will bring it back like it never left.

Some seriously great stuff from some seriously great guys in Bloomington.

We played a few shows with Transistor Transistor on that tour, and I’d be remiss to not include their set from the same show as well.

The used bin youtube review:

Seriously though, it is pretty awesome.

These guys are truly awesome, and they were kind enough to play the last Thin Fevers show. Their full length is out now, and they just got back from tour, which I am sure was also truly awesome.

A friend of mine passed away recently. Tonight there is a memorial show in his honor that I am going to do my best to get to. Jared was a truly talented guitar player, and a great guy. I spent a week on the road with him in 2002; braving some crazy snow storms while on tour with Mara’Akate. Years later Thin Fevers was fortunate enough to play shows with The Dream is Dead, and I was able to capture The video below. It showcases a great example of Jared’s amazing guitar prowess.

I first saw Jared play with a band called Legion my freshman year of college at Ball State University. I’ll never forget watching Jared completely shred a lightning bolt adorned guitar while his hair swung around him. Being a small town kid that had only recently discovered punk rock; that show with Legion was one of my first experiences watching a metal band, and honestly Jared Southwick was part of a moment that quite literally changed my life forever.

Tonight I will go see some of the same bands that played that day, and remember a man that people across the world already miss terribly.

Enjoy “You Could Ruin My Day” by Fourtet.

I have plans in January to throw together my best artists of the as of now closed decade, but for now, lets get to it. The list below is my list of top 10 songs I added to my iTunes library in 2010, limit one (most listened to) per album, ordered by most plays.

“Good Neighbor”  The Dillinger Escape Plan

I start off with a song released in 2010 – “Option Paralysis” found me via a random nostalgic visit to BuddyHead.com and honestly kicked off a re-discovery of heavy music for me that is apparent in the rest of this list.

“Castratikron”    Dethklok

This record came out in 2007. I discovered “The Dethalbum II” in late 2009 via my friend Chris Commons, and picked up the original “Dethalbum” this year. Simply amazing tongue in cheek death metal from Cartoon Network‘s Adult Swim.

“Reap What You Sow”    Converge

Another late purchase for me, I caught up with one of my favorite bands of all time, Converge and their 2009 release “Axe To Fall.”

“Horse Hunter”    The Dillinger Escape Plan

After I picked up “Option Paralysis” I realized I missed out on “Ire Works“. My mistake. This track features Brent Hinds of Mastadon on background vocals.

“Meat Market”    Spitfire

In 1999 I could not wait for Spitfire’s “The Dead Next Door.” I loved the record, but eventually forgot the band. Another random conversation left me beyond excited to find out that not only did they release “Self-Help” in 2002, but “Cult Fiction” in 2004 (see next song). Brutal, amazing stuff.

Chemotherapist    Spitfire    Cult Fiction

“Isak” Baroness

A band I was told I would love, I wrote these guys off. But you know what? Chandler was right. “The Red Album” has some gems. I have yet to pick up any subsequent releases, though.

“Kolnidur”  Jónsi

Jónsi – Kolnidur – Terminal 5 (5/9/10) from Andrew Cornett on Vimeo.

One of the two songs to actually be released in 2010, this song is also one of only two songs on the list that aren’t metal. Jonsi is amazing. The album “Go” is amazing as well. I was fortunate enough to see him live in Columbus, OH, and it was also amazing.

“One Cross Apiece”   Obits

I finally got around to listening to this band. Having been a huge fan of Hot Snakes it was time. This track was the first and so far is still the best Obits song I have heard. From their first 7 inch release.

“And Then the C.H.U.D.S. Came”    Daughters

Yet another blast from the past. Daughters was heading into orbit with “Canada Songs” as Mara’Akate burned up during re-entry and I lost my taste for the sound. This band is amazing and does some great stuff on all of their records, this year found me again catching up on stuff I shouldn’t have missed.

Today I share a most overdue post – the second and final episode of the RockitBomb.TV pilot project. I am happy to post an interview and set opener from Russian Circles, an amazing band that I have had the fortune to see multiple times, as well as the honor of sharing a bill with them via Thin Fevers.

Check out Andy and Annie’s interview, and the band’s set opener from the April 23rd, 2009 show at Radio Radio .

For anyone who missed my previous post – this project was a collaboration that I embarked on last summer with A2 Industries. Unfortunately, due to my career change, and A2 busy bringing awesome to Indianapolis, the project has been indefinitely shelved.

Thanks to the guys in Russian Circles and A2 for being awesome to work with!

We shot three pilot episodes, the first of which was an interview with Tim Barry, formerly of Avail. We got to sit down with Tim for an interview, the folks at NationalUnderground.org were kind enough to lend us some archival footage, and we got footage of Tim performing two great songs at Local’s Only in Indianapolis.

Special thanks to Those Young Lions, NationalUnderground.org, and A2 for working with me on this project, the “as final as it is going to get” cut is below for your viewing pleasure: