Episode 164 - Jersey's Best Dancers by Lifetime w/ Anna Goldthorp

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There’s a bunch of bands from the late 90s punk and emo scene that are hugely influential. Of them though, one could argue that Lifetime are the least well known.

Which is odd given that many huge bands are on record as stating that they were directly influenced by this album in particular. Everyone from Saves the Day to Fall Out Boy, Thursday and Taking Back Sunday have all voiced their appreciation for this album over the years.

Which until we did this episode, was news to Mark as he had always thought of them as more of a melodic hardcore band.

This week we dive into the band’s rather short back catalogue. We talk about their beginnings, their break up, their reunion ten years later and their subsequent silence after releasing a “comeback” album in 2007. Resident punker Anna Goldthorp joins us this week to give her take on this album too, so we get a variety of opinions on here also.

Jersey’s Best Dancers came out in 1997, which was an important year for emo as a whole, so we take some time to dig into this and talk about the other bands that were floating around the emo scene at the same time.

Mark also gives us a potted history of Lifetime guitars Dan Yemin, his influence, the bands he formed after Lifetime and the way he helped shape an entirely new genre of hardcore on the back of Lifetime, Kid Dynamite and Paint in Black.

But as ever folks, you have to decide the key thing here: is this an unsung classic? You decide. Vote below.