Various Artists – “Warped Tour ’05”

SideOne Dummy released their 2005 Warped Tour comp last week. It is, as all the others have been in year past, a two disc comp of bands that are on the tour.

And, as in years past, it features either music that you’ve heard before, or music that will be on forthcoming albums. However, the mix is a little bit better this year, with more off-the-beaten path type bands, rather than a couple dozen acts with whom you’re familiar and five to ten bands you’ve never heard of.

As per usual, the comp isn’t spectacular, but it’s a great bargain. There’s also something about the comp that hadn’t really clicked when listening to one in past years. See, SideOne Dummy puts out the Warped Tour comps about three to four weeks before the tour kicks off. This gives you a chance to buy the disc (hell, if you pre-ordered tickets, you got it for free) and give it several healthy listens. That way, you, as an informed listener, can determine what acts you want to see at the tour this year.

Not a bad concept, really. This means that kids who would otherwise be checking out a big name they’ve seen two or three times before might be checking out Big D or the Phenomenauts on a side stage. Which might lead to those bands getting a big following, signing a major label deal, crashing under the weight of cocaine addiction, breaking up, banging some models, and ending up on VH1‘s Behind the Music in 2025.

the Phenomenauts – “Mission
Youth Group – “Skeleton Jar
Death By Stereo – “Entombed We Collide
Atreyu – “Bleeding Mascara
Silverstein – “Smashed Into Pieces