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Thanks man, I really appreciate you giving it a listen.

I do all my recording on a PC I built a few years back. I purposely went overboard on RAM when I did, because prior to that I'd had nothing but trouble with laggy, crashing audio software during marathon sessions. Beyond that, mine is a "budget" setup to the max, but it works for what I do.

The DAW I use is Reaper - I've experimented with several over the years but this is the most responsive one I've found yet, and even the "vanilla" plug-ins are awesome. I think it cost me $60, but in reality it's a Winrar type deal where you could use the free "trial" forever. In the end I really wanted to support the dev though, because it's a great tool for the price tag.

When I'm just looking to bang out a quick recording before an idea escapes me (most of the time), I literally just use a $50 Blue Snowball wired directly into the PC via USB. I never intend for those to be the final versions of my songs, but sometimes I just kind of fall in love with random happy accidents and can't bring myself to toss out tracks with "real" moments in them. Hence the poor quality on a lot of my stuff.

When I want to record something "for real," I use this six-channel USB mixer, this standalone compressor/gate (I'm a bit old school about that), and some combination of a Shure SM58, an MXL 990 and an MXL991 depending on the situation. I was gifted a pair of Sennheiser HD280 cans many years ago, and they have been my faithful monitoring headphones ever since. When I want to play back what I've recorded so far at unreasonable volumes, which I consider a mandatory part of the process, I use the time-honored pair of Dayton B652 bookshelf speakers with a Lepai LP-2020A digital amplifier.

The only thing I somewhat regret is the mixer. It's fine for what it is, but I wish I'd spent a little more money on something that had more channels and enough juice to support the unpowered speakers I use for live performances. Other than that, my setup won't hold a candle to a $5000 or $10,000 rig, but it gets the job done and it's something I'm proud to have built one piece at a time. I paid for all of it using money I've made on gigs at local bars and coffee shops over the years, so it has some sentimental value as well. One day when I have the money for a serious upgrade, I hope I get the chance to pass this stuff down to a random kid who's just getting started and make his fucking year. :)

One hell of a response!!

Your setup sounds scrappy but awesome! Reaper is super cool. You should check out Splice for a great database of cheap/free/indie/not-Waves plugins. Rough Rider has become one of my favorites. If you ever want a second perspective on mixing I'd love to try my hand on some of your tracks.

Also, if you find yourself in the market for new headphones, these were recommended to me by a producer/mixer that I've always looked up to. I couldn't believe it, because they've never been part of the recording conversations I've had/read online, but they're inexpensive and work amazingly well (provided you don't need the over-ear bit).

Anyways, great job on the album. I'm excited to dig back into it again tomorrow.

Listening to:

• Radical Face
  
• Harley Poe
  
• O'Death
  
  I also spent the week devouring Brand New's discography while at work. Monday: Your Favorite Weapon; Tuesday: Deja Entendu; Wednesday: Fight Off Your Demons; Thursday: The Devil and God; and today was Daisy day. I interspersed singles from each album during that time as well, with "Out of Range," "Mene," and the Devinyl split playing today.
  
  Gonna go see:
  
  
• Captain America: Civil War
  
  This one's for my dad. He grew up with the Marvel comics, but only recently started getting into the cinematic universe. He really liked "Winter Soldier," but only got to see it from Netflix. I figure this will be a worthwhile outing.
  
  Gonna play:
  
  
• Skyrim
  
  I haven't played anything in months, but I got the itch midway through the week for some adventuring, popped the game in last night, going to play some more over the weekend.
  
  Personal:
  
  Three of my good friends are all battling various combinations of anxiety, depression, and hormone deficiencies. Two of the three start a new round of medication this weekend, so I've got my fingers crossed that maybe there'll be some progress.
  
  I'm also on the "get in shape" wagon. I fell off two years ago when I got an office job. Since the start of spring I've been trying to get my life back under my control though. Need to keep motivation and discipline high.
  
  Been reading:
  
  
• The Strain Trilogy
  
• The Golden Dawn
  
• Image of the Netherworld
  
  I have very eclectic tastes when it comes to reading material. I like to try and read two things at once: one fiction, one nonfiction, which I find helps me break up the monotony and better remember what I'm reading in each.

Read Nothing Feels Good. All your answers lie within that book:

Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and EMO https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312308639/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_b1bqDb7MDE8FN

As a TL:DR, Emo has gone through several waves of popularity and genre fusions, so it gets confusing.

To summarize the last 30 years, Emo started as a reaction to political hardcore bands in the 80s (Rites of Spring), then it sort of mutated into alt/indie rock (Sunny Day Real Estate, The Promise Ring, Jawbreaker) in the 90s.

The reason people have the reaction to Emo they have now is because of its next mutation was less a musical style and more of a lifestyle/subculture that blew up in the early to mid-aughts. This was Emo's largest mutation, which is why it's hard to define.

Bands like Dashboard Confessional led the way, while bands like Brand New, Taking Back Sunday, and (whether they agree/like it or not) Thursday pushed it along for bands like My Chemical Romance to elevate it to its height.

Today, we're seeing a reaction to that mid-aughts Emo subculture. Beginning in about 2009/10, bands like Fireworks and The World is a Beautiful Place... have taken us sort of full circle. Now Emo can be defined by twinkly or clean guitars (Tiny Moving Parts), or even more of a grunge-y sound (Citizen, Movements, Moose Blood). For a full experience of what Emo is in 2019, listen to Sunsleeper; they are an amalgam of Citizen, Movements, and Brand New.

For me Emo is back in that sweet spot, like how it was in the late 90s, early aughts before it blew up. I don't think it's going to blow up that way again, but for now it's nice to have consistently good music coming out from the scene while everyone else ignores it.

I don't think you asked for a history lesson, but get me started on Emo and I can't shut up (I really just wanted to post the link to the book and look where it took me, haha).

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk, or whatever the kids say these days.

Amazon I think, but they're Bluetooth rgb smart bulbs and you can pick the colors. The lamp takes 2 bulbs so I decided to mix colors up. Happened to have those colors since I got the lamp, just happened to match the canvas pretty well too. I usually don't have the rest of the lights on, so those colors in the lamp make the room look like perpetual sunset.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001JTY3P4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1&th=1

I hear ya for sure. If you decide it's something you want to get into later down the road, this Audio Technica 120 is a pretty good entry level TT that is fairly affordable

https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-AT-LP120-USB-Direct-Drive-Professional-USB/dp/B002S1CJ2Q

Didn't they already officially release Brothers? I am pretty sure I have an Mp3 of it from a release on a single

EDIT: I think it was off of the Jesus single.

EDIT 2: This one https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Brand-New/dp/B000OV11TO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468273825&sr=8-1&keywords=jesus+brand+new+cd

Same price on Amazon, but free shipping with Prime: http://www.amazon.com/Daisy-180-Gram-Gatefold-Vinyl/dp/B002M2N9HA[1]

Definitely got ripped off. :/

link, and I got mine from amazon like, 2 years ago.

The second pair of hi-fi headphones I bought were the Beyerdynamic DT-770-PRO-32. Got them last November after several years of rocking AKG K271s.
My only complaint with them is the cord, which can be too short depending on your needs. It's also hardwired in, so you can't replace or switch it out. They sound great and give you plenty of bass without it being overpowering, which is something my AKGs were lacking. I also use them without an amp.

Here is one I'd recommend. It's cheap at $90, and mine has lasted me three years. Good option for the poor college student

It's on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D231CF2

itunes / spotify / amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Scrubbing-Bubbles-Cleaner-Refreshing-Refills/dp/B0034792S2

here is one