CD: Vans Warped Tour 2008 Compilation Artist: Various Label: SideOneDummy Records Rating: 2.5/5 Best Song:Bouncing Souls - I Think The World Reviewer: Bobby Gorman

It’s really quite sad to admit it, but compilations are a thing of the past. Where we used to get treated to yearly compilations from various labels, they have all died out or have simply gone digital to save money. One of the few compilations still going strong is SideOneDummy’s yearly Warped Tour compilation. With fifty-one songs from bands all appearing on this year’s tour, you can be sure to get the same out of this year’s edition as you have previous years. And that is a few bands you’ve never heard of before, a few bands you love, and a few bands you hate all combined in one neat little package.

This year’s package is once again a cornucopia of different styles and sounds.  There’s the Warped Tour staples like NOFX, Bad Religion, Anti-Flag and The Bouncing Souls – you know, the bands that have been there forever and have left a legacy behind them. Alongside those acts, the comp also features a few good ska or reagge tunes from the likes of Less Than Jake, Westbound Train, The Flatliners,  and Streetlight Manifesto. Then there’s also a few representatives from the hardcore scene like Attack! Attack!, Underoath, Thusday and Pour Habit.  It’s a nice, varied selection of the punk rock scene.

However, the compilation, just like the tour, has expanded and added in some new styles into the mix. Styles that some may love but I find quite forgettable and passable. There’s the overly computerized and digital pop from Breath Caroline and Dance Gavin Dance, or the horrible hip-hip wannabe stuff from 3oh!3. There’s some new school pop-emo from Chiodos, Ivoryline, Madina Lake, Every Avenue and the likes and some just pure pop from Anarbor, All Time Low, and The Maine. It is these songs that make me cringe and reach for the skip button and unfortunately, this year’s compilation features a rather large selection of tunes from bands like those which is quite disappointing.

Still, the Warped Tour 2009 Compilation was able to introduce me to a few new bands that I like, which is the entire goal of the album and because of it I’m sure I’ll check out more from Middle Finger Salute and Murderland; just like I hope the compilation will get you to check out more from Tat, Civet, Left Alone and Broadway Calls. And, unlike some of the compilation’s predecessors, this year’s edition has some unreleased tracks (NOFX, Bouncing Souls) and a few preview tracks from upcoming albums (Big D & The Kids table, Ataris, Broadway Calls) and that deserves some merit too.

For five bucks at the tour, Warped Tour 2009 isn’t that bad but it’s much more geared towards fans of the new school pop-emo sound than anything else. It’s nowhere near as awesome as the 2002 compilation that I first got when I heard of the series, because bands from that CD I still listen to and love whereas most of the bands on this one will be forgotten about within a few years.