Bonds Of Friendship

There's been a distinct lack of blog updates recently. I can now reveal that this is because I haven't received any records in the mail for the best part of two weeks. However, in the last couple of days five parcels have rolled up, so March is finally going to see some action...

A few weeks ago I woke up to find the best email of all time sitting in my inbox from a friend. This is what it said:

I topped myself at anything I have ever done before. I have just spent $4k on 2 records.
Guess which ones?
When I clicked that SEND button on a paypal page I actually almost fainted.
Now, to avoid an inevitable divorce (I put that on my wife's credit card without asking first) I have to get this money back before the statement comes (IF the bank doesn't call her first)
Either way I am fucked. But I did it.
Not feeling good about this but I guess that feeling will pass soon and I will just be left with 2 records and $4k debt to pay off in 2 weeks or so...
Fuck record collecting. It's almost like gambling, soon I will stake my house...

Being a concerned friend, I offered to help in the only way I knew how - by buying some of his records! A few emails flowed back & forth, and in the end most of the things I wanted, he didn't want to sell for prices I thought fair. There were a couple he agreed to let go though. So we agreed a price and, as usual, I delayed on paying for a while seeing as paying would mean parting with some money, which I am generally not a fan of. Fortunately though, in the meantime I went to see Floorpunch play, and picked up a spare tour LP, and this got worked into the deal, meaning the amount of money I had to part with was less than agreed. So finally the deal was done, money and records were sent, and everyone's happiness levels increased.

This record is one that I really, really should have picked up a long time ago. Insted 'Bonds Of Friendship' LP on Wishingwell Records. After owning this record for about seventeen years, I finally upgraded to a colour vinyl copy. Wishingwell put out some damn fine records, and three of their releases are in my top ten most wanted records. Up to this point I have never owned any Wishingwell coloured vinyl. Most of it is way too expensive these days. Actually, scrap that - I do own one piece of Wishingwell colour vinyl - the 76% Uncertain LP. Probably one of the more obscure and less desirable releases.

I never really noticed before, but the labels on the red vinyl version are black & white:

Whereas the labels on the black vinyl version are a little more colourful:

This copy also includes an old Wishingwell catalog:

Overall I am stoked to get a colour pressing of such a classic sxe hardcore record.

The other record I got was the friends press of the Soul Control / I Rise split 7". This one looks cool and has hand drawn labels, which I think look really cool: