“Welcome, it’s here,” is one of the first lines spoken on Fall Out Boy’s third studio album. Not by Patrick Stump, or any member of the band for that matter, but it’s a line spoken by none other than Jay-Z. Infinity on High marked the beginning of Fall Out Boy’s expansion from the safety net of pop punk, into a more unrestricted genre and playing field. While this record, alongside all their others, still maintains elements of what makes Fall Out Boy distinct, it was a brash follow up to 2005’s From Under The Cork Tree, and would be the milestone album which influenced the band to creatively push themselves into making records entirely different from one another.

A consensus of individuals with a heart shows that 2016 was an incredibly painful and difficult year. Whenever the year comes to an end, I find myself immersed in personal reflection - not by choice, it’s just where my brain seems to swim away to, and by the time I call out for it to swim back to shore, it’s already drowning in the waters of self-doubt and crisis.

More often than not, I underestimate the power of music. Inadvertently shove all meaning and emotional ties to the back of my mind. Seldom do I sit and just listen. Music: it is every cliche that has ever been said about it, and isn’t that the point of a cliche? Only the truth is what makes cliches so. Music is everything: our background noise in busy coffee shops, our comfort on our early morning work commute. The soundtrack to the happiest moments and the dull drone in moments of despair. It’s always somehow there. But how often do we just listen?

“Who is Brand New?” is a question I find myself answering in casual conversation with others more often than not. I don’t claim that they’re some unknown band and feel any sort of pride or uniqueness if a majority of people don’t recognize their name. Their devout fanbase makes Brand New seem to be as legendary as Pink Floyd, and in the hearts of many, they are. Brand New are one of alternative music’s best kept secrets - in their scene, they are huge, but nine out of ten people you will meet will probably ask you: “Who is Brand New?”

One year ago, on September 3rd, I was ankle deep in mud at Fort Calgary which was in a state of full blown panic. I found myself asked to leave the premises, trudging to a Phil and Sebastian’s drinking coffee so strong it made me shake, and would end up waiting there for 3 hours only to find out that X-Fest 2015 had been officially cancelled.

Nothing in life is a guarantee. For me, I hold three things as a guarantee, and that’s birthdays, Christmas, and, well, the Calgary Stampede. Because every year, no matter the circumstance, they come around. Walking into the Stampede grounds each year as a born and raised Calgarian has an element of surreal-ness to it. Almost as if each year goes by faster than the last, or that I never really left. The Stampede somehow never loses it’s magic, but I think a lot of that is attributed by the now trendy aesthetic of carnival settings at night. Still, growing up, and even now, I’ve spent so many nights there that I wish would never end.

The Calgary Stampede is over for another year which, for some, is a blessing. While we at Under The Rockies aren't rodeo fans, we are big fans of the music and live performances that come along with the Stampede.

Asking me to choose my favourite Fall Out Boy album is like asking me to pick my favourite child. I can’t do it. I can try, but I usually find myself completely torn and in tears over it.

It’s September 20 and, a decade ago today, Green Day released their seventh album, American Idiot. Today, this record still stands as one of the most influential releases of the band, as well as of punk rock.