Tuesday 30 May 2017

The Prodigal Son Brings... Records

Following on from the Search post, here are the other records I received as a part of the same trade deal. I'm putting them as a separate post as it somehow didn't feel right adding them to the end of the Search post.

This one's a funny one, but I saw a copy of the Mind Eraser 'The Prodigal Son Brings Death' 7" a few months ago on this particular colour of vinyl, and it made me wonder if I owned it. In my head I had three copies and this wasn't one of them. So I checked, and I was correct - I owned three colours, but not this particular colour. And I couldn't think why that was the case, given that I thought I owned pretty much everything from Youngblood. Well anyway, I then saw one for sale on ebay, and bid and won it. But somehow forgot to pay for it. And then I started negotiating a trade with the person who was selling it, so he just threw it in as a part of the trade deal, which was nice as it saved me some hard cash.

I'm not sure how to refer to this colour. It looks kinda brown, but when held up to the light it's more like gold with black swirls. Whatever. Anyway, it's a colour I didn't have, so I'm happy. Here's my updated lot of this one:

Now, I was happy with the trade right there. But dude was under the impression he still owed me more to make it an even trade. So to keep him happy in feeling that the trade was even, I happily accepted the offer of yet more versions of a couple of LPs I already own. Just because... well, you know. The first of the two is this clear & white vinyl version of the last Blacklisted LP, 'When People Grow, People Go'. I was into this LP when it came out a couple of years ago, and at the time I picked up the rarest colour, which just so happened to be the one that loooked the worst (benig a blue and pink swirl). I always thought that this white & clear version looked visually the most interesting, so figured I woud take one if it was being offered:

The second LP I got was this purple vinyl copy of the Gypsy LP:

It's funny how when I fist picked up the Gypsy LP when it was released in 2012 and a local shop had a couple of the colours, but I said back then that I didn't need more than one of this one. And now here I am adding a 4th copy to my collection, leaving only one that I don't have. You probably don't need to have special powers to predict how this story is going to turn out...

Monday 29 May 2017

We Will Never Forget Who Our Friends Are

This year has been a tough one so far for sure. At the start of January, news emerged that Dave Franklin (vocalist for NJ band Vision) had passed away. Even though I never met Dave or saw Vision play, it felt like a sad day, and the ripples were obvious all the way over the pond. Dave and Vision were a critical part of the NJ scene, having been a part of it since the 80s. The tributes were many, and pretty quickly a benefit show was set up to take place at the start of April.

A few days before the show, SEARCH posted some pics on their facebook page of a limited cover for their 7" that they would be selling at the event. The choice was perfect - a rip off of the classic Vision 7" 'Undiscovered'. More perfectly still, the record inside the sleeve was to be a second press Search 7" on green vinyl, which would match the limited green vinyl pressing of the original Vision 7". Sounded cool. The only problem was that I wasn't going to go, and this thing was obviously going to sell out quick.

Fortunately I managed to find someone who had one to trade, and I had something he was after too. I guess you could say that it worked out perfectly. I received this record in the mail a couple of days ago, and I have to say it's every bit as cool as I thought it would be.

The limited sleeve wraps around a copy of the regular sleeve. There's also a SEARCH sticker thrown in.

The back cover:

Printed inside the front cover is this touching message:

The best way to appreciate the attention to detail here is to compare it to the original Vision 7". So here are some photos that do just that.

Not much else I can say really. A great version of a great record, and I feel very lucky to have it. I know I say that a lot, but this time it's especially true.

Sunday 28 May 2017

Face Reality

This collection was a long time in the making. I used to only be interested in owning one copy of each record, but somewhere along the lines that changed and I started picking up multiple copies. I had a blue vinyl Hard Stance 'Face Reality' 7" since the early 90s, but it wasn't until 2012 that I picked up a second (green) copy. At this point I guess I was pretty much committed to trying to collect the set of all four colours.

The red vinyl copy of this 7" has always seemed like the most elusive. I've seen far fewer red copies over the years than any other color. So when I saw one pop up for sale, I knew I should grab it.

After I had bagged the red copy, by coincidence a clear vinyl one appeared on eBay UK. It felt like destiny. I then won it and was the only bidder. It cost next to nothing, which made it even sweeter.

So after nearly five years since I last picked up a Hard Stance 7", I picked up two within the space of a month of each other. And of course, for anyone who can count, that meant that I now had all four colours.

Friday 26 May 2017

One Year Later

The second post I made on this blog last year was the white vinyl copy of the 2nd Magic Circle LP, 'Journey Blind'. In the post, I said this:

Hopefully it won’t be too long until I receive the blue, but for now, I only have the white one.

Little could I have known at that point in time that my blue vinyl copy would go missing in the mail, along with a shitload of other records. A year later, however, I finally got around to replacing the lost copy.

It's funny how excited I was for this LP when it came out, but how quickly I got bored of it. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a good record. But whilst I played the first album for months, this one lasted maybe two before I moved onto something else. But hey, this one looks better though, especially on this cool clear blue, and we all know that's what counts these days. Right?

Tuesday 23 May 2017

Departure

Today's post features yet another cheapo 7" from the 90s that got me super stoked. This is a compilation 7" called 'Departure'. I've owned this record on black vinyl for many years. I don't even know how many. At a guess I would say I probably picked it up in the late 90s in the days of the Revelation trade board. But a few months ago I saw a record posted on instagram which was released on the same record label (Community Chest Records), and it reminded me of this comp, and something in my head clicked and reminded me that I had once, probably twenty years ago, seen this compilation on someone's trade list on pink vinyl. So I had a look around the internet and found no evidence of it whatsoever. But just in case my memory was correct, I added this 7" to my Discogs want list and sat back and crossed my fingers. And then, after a few months, one day I got an email which told me that someone or other had just listed one of these for sale, and in the description it said pink vinyl. I usually message any seller on discogs and ask for pictures, because I've been burnt a couple of times by morons, but in this instance I was so keen to own this thing that I just bought it quick smart. And $8 later, I was stoked as hell.

OK, so this isn't the greatest comp of all time. But that's not the point. As I said a few days ago when I posted the Union 7" on purple, it's the rarity and obscurity that I enjoy with some of these 90s releases. I mean, I can't imagine that anyone would even remember this record, let alone be wanting to buy one in 2017 (although it appears I am wrong as Discogs tells me that there are 10 people other than me who want this!). Anyway, of the few people who may want this, I have to wonder if I could possibly be the only one who knows that this thing even exists on pink vinyl? Given the rarity, it feels totally conceivable that I could be the only person who knows this exists and is trying to find it. And if I'm right about this, it probably means that when it did surface for sale, there was no competition. Which is good for me right?

I'd never seen this thing before I received it, and I have to say that it's an interesting colour. The pink vinyl is kinda halfway between clear and solid pink. It's different. I tried to get a pic with the light behind to show it.

So there we go - another obscure 90s 7" that you probably never knew about and don't care about. Maybe I should put a few of them together in one photo soon...

Sunday 21 May 2017

Cross Section

Last year I got an email from someone telling me that Pete Spielman had passed away. I felt like a fool because, at the time, I had no idea who he was. I was informed that he was a guy from the Syracuse scene who was in Beta Minus Mechanic and Cross Section. The internet also told me he was, at some point, in both Green Rage and Another Victim (there may have been others too, but this is all I can find). Now, I've always been a big fan of Beta Minus Mechanic, but I'd never heard of Cross Section, so I looked them up and damn, I was really into it. So I was straight over to Discogs to buy their 7".

They only released one 7", on Significant Records. I'm not sure how many were on blue vinyl, but in simple terms I would say the minority as most copies on Discogs were on black.

I was around through the 90s and know all kinds of obscure bands, but somehow Cross Section passed me by. I'm really glad to have finally discovered this 7", but I'm sorry that it was a result of such sad news. Listening to this now, in 2017, and I think it's held up well. It does indeed sound like it was released in the 90s for sure, but it's good enough (and interesting enough) to sound still somehow sound fresh. I guess good music never really sounds old, right?

If like me you'd never heard Cross Section before, please take a couple of minutes to check one of the three songs from this record out:

Thursday 18 May 2017

The Most Beautiful Record (In The Room)

And now for something a little different...

Last year I saw a picture of this LP on instagram and i instantly wanted it. The only copy I could find at first was on Discogs and priced at $60. Fuck that. I then found out that this was actually a new release. Or rather, a repress which was exclusive to Newbury Comics. I then went to their store and bought one for whatever the new LP price is. Cool.

For those of you who don't know, 'Flight Of The Conchords' was a TV show that aired on HBO 2007-2009. I watched it on the recommendation of a dude at work who was from New Zealand and told me he thought I'd like it. He was right. I watched both seasons and enjoyed it, and then pretty much forgot about it. Then a couple of years ago, for some reason I can't remember, I watched it again. The second time around it was even more enjoyable, and I found myself really digging the songs. So I downloaded them. I then found out that most of them were released by Sub Pop a few years before when the TV show aired. And on vinyl too. I found this kinda weird, but kinda cool at the same time. I mean, when was yuonger, Sub Pop was the grunge label that released Nirvana and Mudhoney. And here they were putting out comedy records.

So it seemed too much of a coincidence that around the time I started really enjoying the songs and listening to them regularly, the label repressed one of the albums on colour vinyl for the first time. All the signs were there, it seemed. This had been pressed especially for me. So of course, I had to have it.

These dudes are brilliant fun. A total pair of buffoons. Jermaine cracks me up. His face alone makes me laugh.

Interestingly, I think that this is the first Sub Pop release I can ever remember being hand numbered (well, except for the Nirvana 'Love Buzz' 7" that is). It's kinda odd to see a nicely printed LP sleeve numbered in black marker in the corner. Kinda feels a little unnecessary to me. I mean, 600 copies does feel like a lot to hand number. This ain't hardcore after all.

To end this post, I thought I'd share this video from youtube for one of my favourite songs. 'The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)' is a love song full of back-handed compliments. The video makes it even better, especially the bit where Jermaine does his dance move. Enjoy...

Tuesday 16 May 2017

How The Nerds Chill

One of my favourite LPs from the last couple of years is the second full length from Cold World, 'How The Gods Chill'. Back when this came out in 2014, I was REALLY into it. So much so that I bought three copies of the damn thing. But you know how it is. Sometimes three is not enough. And when I saw a test press for sale, I couldn't help myself.

I was pretty stoked on the test, but then of course I started to get that nagging feeling that there was one copy I was missing. Back when this came out, there was a clear blue vinyl version which was sold at whatever fest they played at. It kinda felt wrong to not have one, so I then had to start looking. Fortunately I found one for super cheap, which made the task more bearable.

It's always nice when the vinyl colors match the artwork. And this release is a great example of that.

Sunday 14 May 2017

I Fell For It

I don't think there are many people who are still interested in obscure records from the 90s. But a lot of these $5 7"s get me excited, because I know how scarce they are, even if nobody else these days seems to care.

I originally bought this record back in the late 90s. The band is called UNION and the 7" is titled '...You Fell For it'. It was released on Ferret Records, a label probably most well known for releasing the Converge 'Petitioning The Empty Sky' 7". Looking back, I think that I originally bought this record by mistake. I had acquired a compilation 7" called 'The Sunny Side Of Louisville' which featured four bands, one of which was named Union. So when I saw a 7" for sale by a band called Union, I bought it.

Well, wouldn't you know it, this 7" turned out to be a different band completely. Whoops! But in a bizarre twist of fate, this band also turned out to be well worth listening to. They were from Buffalo (rather than Louisville), and sounded vaguely similar to Snapcase (first LP era). This 7" hits you immediately with a hard groove. If you're the kind of person who's recently been 90s stuff like Cast Iron Hike, then you might enjoy this too.

My original copy of this is on dark, clear red vinyl. And I was always happy with that. But a while ago I saw this purple copy for sale and had to have it. I remember hearing a few years ago that Ferret Records used to press 100 copies of every release on purple vinyl, and whilst I'm not 100% sure that is the case, it sounds plausible.

Wednesday 10 May 2017

Another Day Rising

So I've been collecting Hüsker Dü records for five years now. It all started when I picked up a grey vinyl repress of the 'New Day Rising' LP. Around the same time, I saw a blue vinyl copy on eBay UK, which ended insanely cheap (like £5) but I forgot to bid. I figured that another one would pop up pretty soon and I would win it for cheap. But that didn't happen. I guess that around the time I got into them, so did lots of other people, helped in no small part by Record Store Day reissues. Anyhow, five years later and a blue copy finally fell into my hands.

What is REALLY interesting about this copy is that it comes with an insert. Now, I have a few SST Records releases in my collection, and aside from the standard SST catalog that used to come in every 12" back in the late 80s and early 90s, I have NEVER seen or heard of any SST release which contains an insert. So this is pretty cool. As you may expect, the insert contains the lyrics.

I was only saying to Nico a couple of weeks ago that I have no idea what the pressing info is for this LP. I had assumed that the blue vinyl was the first color pressing made from back in the early 90s, but I wasn't sure. With the discovery of this insert inside the sleeve, however, I'm a lot more confident that is the case and that this must be an earlier pressing than the other copies I own which do not have the insert.

The other two colours of this that I own I am pretty sure are recent represses. The grey one I bought in a shop in 2012, and the purpley one I'd bet money is also a variant from the same press.

I think that there was an early 90s pressing of this LP on grey marble vinyl, as I have seen one on eBay which had the 90s 'color vinyl' gold sticker on the shrink wrap, and they definitely don't use those stckers anymore. So assuming I am right and this thing exists, clearly I now need one of those too.

Monday 8 May 2017

One Life Thug Free

I'm convinced that there are some records that I'm chasing that literally nobody else in the world cares about. Here's a great example. I've been looking for one of these for YEARS. I'm not sure how many, but at least ten, and possible as many as 18. Regardless, the point is that this record is tough to find, but I FINALLY have one and am stoked!

I don't know much about the band REINFORCE other than that they were from North Carolina. Their second 7" was called 'One Life Thug Free' and was, at the time it came out in 1998, quite interesting. At some point in time I learned that there was a limited version with a cover featuring Mel C (from The Spice Girls). It sounded like something I wanted, so I added it to my want list. I have only ever seen one copy of it before, which was on eBay a good few years ago. Someone else won it, but recently I managed to buy the exact same copy from the person who outbid me. Yet again, patience paid off.

This 'Melanie Jayne Chisholm' pressing is numbered out of 30 copies. No wonder it doesn't show up very often! One nice surprise was that this contains a postcard which has a picture of Mel on one side and an amusing quote from her on the reverse:

So that's that really. An obscure 7" from an obscure band that, in 2017, not many people will remember or care about. But it made my day / week. One thing was is quite annoying, however, is that I checked on Discogs and there's a picture of this pressing on there, except that copy has a different postcard. Both the picture and the quote are different. I thought I'd grab the pics from discogs and put them up here:

This makes me think that there could be three options - either there are two different postcards (mine, and this one), there may be more postcard variations, or possibly all 30 records have a different postcard. it wouldn't surprise me if they made 30 different ones, such seems to have been someone's love of Mel C. Cutting out 30 different photos of her was probably a night's entertainment for this person back in the day. Haha! But will I ever know how many postcards there are? Probably not, sadly. Unless anyone reading this happens to know anything. If so, get in touch.

Well, the person who was selling this one also had a test press of the band's first 7" (the 'Youth Shall Sing' 7" on Third Party Records). I figured I'd grab it as it was cheap.

What I didn't realise until I received it was that this is the rejected test press. The reason it was rejected was that half the songs were missing!

As the sleeve shows, there were upposed to be 7 songs on this record, but this test press has only 4. As cock ups by a pressing plant go, that's a pretty major one!

Aside from two 7"s, Reinforce also had a full length which was CD only. It was recorded by Roger Miret, and was actually really good. I'm not sure why this band ended, but it seems a shame as it felt at the time they were destined for bigger things. I guess that how things work though sometimes...

Friday 5 May 2017

Yes, Record Collecting IS War

I've said it before, but us record collectors are all friends, yet we're all rivals at the same time. And sometimes I find myself picking up a longtime want and feeling guilty about it. Case in point, this gold vinyl press of the first Modern Life Is War LP, 'My Love. My Way.'

I remember when this came out. I picked up a white vinyl copy, but not long afterwards found out that there was a much more limited gold vinyl copy. I immediately wanted one. There are only 109 copies on gold, which was apparently the friends press. And whilst it has never been at the top of my wants list, it has moved up over the years due to my continued failure to find one. Well, that finally ended a few months ago when I won this one on eBay, and this week I finally received the record.

Obviously I'm stoked to have picked this one up, but part of me feels guilty because I know that Ralf still needs one, and he's a much bigger MLIW fan than I am. Sorry dude!

Thursday 4 May 2017

Store Finds

So before i went to the show last Saturday, I went to a newish record shop in Leeds called 'Noise Is For Heroes Records'. It was a small shop, but packed with a real mix of records. Reminded me of the old days, flipping through racks of used records just wondering what I was going to find. Good fun. And I managed to find a few things, so it was well worth the effort.

My first find was this Dinosaur Jr 'Without A Sound' LP. This is the band's 6th album, and came out in 1994, at a time when I had kinda moved on from listening to this band. After collecting their records in a big way for the last few years, I wanted it, but was always holding out for a copy in good condition at a good price.

This is the euro pressing on Blanco Y Negro Records. It'll do for now. There's also a US pressing on a major label that I would like, but I'm sure one will come eventually.

My other pick ups were some 7"s from the £3 box. I figured these were worth rescuing up for that price. The first is a 7" by Amenity. I used to own this but traded it away and it took me 20 years to get around to replacing it.

The band were from CA and played a sound that is typically 90s west coast sounding.

Next, a 7 Seconds 'Committed For Life' 7". This is the repress from 1990on Pazzafist records. I'm not exactly the biggest 7 Seconds fan, but I figured this was worth scooping for such a low price.

And the third 7" was this Voicebox 7" on blue vinyl. I already have one of these, but was sure that this copy was a different blue to my copy, so i grabbed it anyway.

The new copy is the one on the left, whilst my old copy is the one on the right. I know some people collect the hell out of this 7" as there are wide variations in the shades of blue and green vinyl. I don't really want to get into that game, but couldn't resist this when it was in my hand for three quid. You know how it is.

I also picked up a couple of Endpoint LPs which I forgot to take photos of, but which I already own. The first one on blue vinyl and the second on grey vinyl. If anyone is interested, get in touch.