Monday, 30 June 2008

Weezer - The Red Album

I got into Weezer later than most people. I never listened to them until 2001. I'd heard 'Buddy Holly' when it came out (and I thought it was crap), but like most mainstream bands, they just passed me by. I don't follow radio or mtv or read magazines or anything like that. So in 2001 I heard them pretty much for the first time, liked them & spent the whole summer spining the first three albums. The next year 'Maladroit' came out and, unlike most people, I thought it was good - well, except for the crap cover. What the hell was that about? Three years later and 'Make Believe' came out. By this point I was losing interest, and that album was pretty weak, with the exception of about two songs. Maybe one. And now, three years later, I've been listening to them for 7 years and another album has appeared...




On the plus side, the cover is back to the familiar theme of 'four dudes stood in a row', which I like. It doesn't feel like a Weezer album unless there's a picture of them standing there. Although, having said that, their legs aren't in shot and they're all stood in the wrong order. Fuck, if you're going to make every album cover look pretty much the same, you could at least do it properly. It's also a nice colour (gatefold) sleeve, and the vinyl matches the artwork. And it's quality US vinyl. All good.

On the downside, I played it and it bored me. Although, to be fair, it seems that they've 'themed' the song order. Side A is the rock songs, and Side B is the slow, whiney side. So when I say it bored me that's because I just came off listening to the slow side. Hopefully after a few more plays it'll turn out to be a good one. I'd hate to be disappointed by these fartknockers for the second time in a row.

Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Self Destruct

I used to think that Test Pressings were crap, mainly because most of them had plain white labels and came in a plain white sleeve. But also because you could, in theory, collect test pressings of every single record you already have, which makes collecting even more of an endless quest than it already is. These days, however, test pressings are cool. They have different sleeves and are nice to look at. So I'm into them. But there are still way too many to collect. So it occurs to me that the best ones to aim for are the ones for which there was no other rare or limited pressing. Even when I didn't like Tests, I was keen to acquire a Supertouch LP Test Press a few years ago because I collected Revelation colour vinyl, and it was the only Rev release for which there was no colour or limited edition pressing. So that's my new policy. I collect Test Pressings of records for which there was no other limited press. Or ones that are cheap.

So here's one. The SELF DESTRUCT 7" on Dead & Gone Records:


I bought this from the CEO of Dead And Gone Records, Ian Ian, which explains why I have a strange "number":



If for some reason you've not heard (or heard of) Self Destruct, or indeed Dead And Gone Records, check out these links:

http://www.myspace.com/selfdestructhc

http://www.deadandgonerecords.com/

Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Black Flag Damaged Purple

Another one ticked off the list:


Just need "My War" now. And some others too.

Monday, 23 June 2008

Triggerman LP

Somehow I never picked up the Triggerman LP before. It came out in the 1992-93 era, which was when I was discovering hardcore, and it's on the same label as the 411 LP, which I totally love, so not sure how I missed it really. Pathetic.




As I was looking at the cover, it struck me that I'd seen the exact same font before on a record... although admittedly, on a record that came out about 7 years later:

Now, does anyone know if this LP comes on colour vinyl? I've never seen or heard of it on colour before, but I'll bet it's out there somewhere.

Monday, 16 June 2008

Trade!

Today I received a couple of 7"s which were part of a trade. I was stoked, seeing as I haven't done a trade in a LONG time. Nothing particularly exciting, but still, it was cool to get records without having to spend cash and damage my money collection.

First up, yet another version of another new-ish crap-ish Revelation release, the Down To Nothing 7" on yellow:


In my opinion, this record is probably the worst piece of vinyl that Revelation have ever created. The cover is horrible. I don't know what is going on here. It's like they tried to make it look retro with the words at the top and pictures underneath. "Tried" being the operative word, because the result is not "retro", but rather "crap". The card that the sleeve is made from is also horrible. It's way too thick, and somehow has "mass produced" written all over it. Worse, the vinyl is from the (thankfully brief) period when Rev used GZ to press its records, and is consequently a cheap, nasty looking plastic. And this one is an awful colour. I hate this record, but still I need it, because the collector nerd within me dictates that I have to have all Revelation colour vinyl. I hate everything about this record, but still I own three copies of it... and need two more. Christ.

Next up, the first Flagman 7" on clear vinyl:


I used to own this, but at some point I must have traded it away. I can't remember when or why I did that, but it must have been a long time ago. Maybe 10 years now. Jesus. Anyway, now I finally have this back. I like this record a lot. I think it's the best of their 3 7"s. The vocals remind me of Mean Season.

I traded these two for a Conviction 7" on blue, and the very same Flagman 7" on black. A fair (if unexciting) trade to kickstart the week.

Thursday, 12 June 2008

RZL DZL 'Strictly Saucers' LP

It's not often these days that I get excited about a new release. But I was excited about this one. I literally could not wait for it to arrive. After receiving it, it's even better than I expected.

First up, I have to say, this is the coolest idea of all time - a record packaged like a pizza. The cover looks like a pizza box, and the record looks like a pizza. I can't believe that nobody has thought of this before. Genius!


Cover:


Record (A side):


Record (B side):


Inside the gatefold sleeve:


Back Cover:


This band is so good. I don't really understand if they're a "hardcore" band or not, but to be honest it doesn't matter & I don't care. They're just rad. A mix of hardcore and 'Licensed to Ill' era Beastie Boys, they're definitely having fun, which seems pretty fresh these days.


At first I didn't understand the title of the record. But after listening to the song 'Strictly Saucers' it all makes sense. Lyrics include:

Pizzas!
Pancakes!
Foods that are round.
Bagels!
Cookies!
It's how we get down.
When we meal, we keep it real.
I eat STRICTLY SAUCERS 'cause it's how I feel.


The whole thing clocks in at just under 18 minutes. I have listened to it all the way through about 6 times today. In my opinion, the best album I have heard in a long time. Get into it.

Yet More Rev

Today I got a couple more variations of newer Revelation releases. More copies of two records I don't think are very good. Sinking Ships LP on clear green, and Shook Ones 7" on white. I think I have four copies of each of these things now, and I still don't have them all. God help me.




I also got the Bold 'Looking Back' LP on purple. I already have this, but picked up a second copy to try to trade with someone who might want it.



The sleeve is in pretty poor condition, but the vinyl is mint. A nice colour purple. If you want it, get in touch.

Monday, 9 June 2008

Sick Of It All

I have pretty much every piece of Revelation Records colour vinyl there is, save for a small handful of variations of the newer releases that I missed. One that I never owned is the Sick Of It All 7". Until now.

Actually, that is not true. I did own it for approximately 24 hours back in about 1994. I bought one from some dude at a two day hardcore festival in Bradford. I think I paid £10-15 for it, which back then was a lot of money. Then I took it home and played it, and it skipped. I wasn't happy about this, so the next day I took it back to the dude and forced him to take it back and give me a refund. If I would have known that it would take me 14 years to get another, I probably would have just kept it. I mean, as if it matters that it skips. Clearly, these things aren't meant to be PLAYED :o)

So last week I saw one for sale on eBay uk, which looked to be selling at a low price. I think that the reason is that the description said it had no lyric sheet. I can't think why else people wouldn't bid. This thing usually sells for about £40, but I won this copy for £6.50. For any American readers, that's about $13. Which is pretty cheap by today's standards.

So it came today in the mail, and it's the coolest thing ever. I had never seen one like this before. It's red but with black speckles all over it. According to Jordan who released this record, "Most of the speckled copies didn't have the black as even distributed as that". Which, in case you're wondering, means that this copy is pretty unique.

I scanned it in because I thought that the black speckles would show up better using a scanner, but then I was conscious that it almost looked like a photoshop creation. So rather than have people think I made the picture on my computer, I also took photos, so you can see both. Here are the results:






The only thing I wasn't particularly happy with is the sleeve. It's a crappy photocopied version. I know that the red copies came in a regular, glossy sleeve with glued tabs, and they were numbered. But not so with this copy. I emailed the seller on ebay, and she tells me that it was bought at Selectadisc in Nottingham when it came out, and is 100% legit. I have no reason to not believe this. So I'm guessing that it was made by Revelation when they ran out of proper covers, although Jordan can't actually remember, so I guess nobody will ever know the story behind the sleeve variations.



What is interesting about this sleeve is the absence of the Revelation logo. Notice - no R in a star. So not a copy of a later pressing.


Anyway, regardless of how legit the sleeve is, the record itself is cool as hell and I paid next to nothing for it, meaning that today was a good day... which makes a nice change for a Monday.

Friday, 6 June 2008

Black Flag Loose Nut

A few months ago I bought the Black Flag "Loose Nut" LP on eBay uk for about £8. I thought it was a good deal. Unfortunately though, it arrived in a crappy thin mailer and had been destroyed in the post. It was the first (and remains the only) record that I have bought in the past 16 years that has arrived broken. And although the vinyl was shattered, it had somehow remained intact. So I framed it & put it on the wall:



Last week I was checking eBay uk, and came across another copy for sale. I expected I would have to pay more for it second time around. But somehow there was still no interest, and I got it for £7.50, which I consider to be a bargain. I can't understand why nobody else would want this. Strange. Not that I'm complainig of course. Anwyay, that's another Black Flag early 90s colour vinyl repress ticked off the list.



I know that "My War" and "Damaged" both exist on colour. I also used to own the live record "Who's Go The 10 1/2" on clear purple. But apart from that, what is there? Anyone know? If so, please get in touch. I'd like to know what I'm chasing.

Thank Heaven For Little Girls

My first exposure to The Dwarves was when my friend Simon Nash loaned me a vhs tape called "Sub Pop Video Network Programme 1". This was about 1992. They've reissued it on dvd now (HERE). It features bands like Mudhoney, Tad, Seaweed, Afghan Whigs and my favourite back then... The Dwarves.

After watching them perform the song "Drug Store", The Dwarves were a band I wanted to know about. I bought a few of their records. In my opinion, their output from the early Sub Pop era is their only decent stuff. "Thank Heaven For Little Girls", their second LP on Sub Pop, is debateably their best. For many years I had this on marble yellow vinyl. I recently picked up a rare variation on marble green vinyl:



The LP starts with a sample; "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?", and then rages through ten songs in about 15 minutes. Such a good record. I think they played the "Fuck Reading" festival in London in about 1993 or so and reportedly came on for about ten minutes. They were one of about ten bands playing. I wish I had gone to that. Shame that the band seem to be still going, churning out crap record after crap record, fifteen years after they ceased to be relevent.

Another interesting thing about the package I got was that the sender had used an old Steve Martin gatefold LP cover as packing. I looked at it and was like "Who the hell is Steve Martin?"



Then I opened it up, and was like "Oh, THAT Steve Martin!". He looks pretty damn cool in the shots inside the sleeve:



I had no idea he made records. I also never knew he looked that cool. I bet he got plenty of chicks with hair like that. What a dude.

Thursday, 5 June 2008

Swiz 7"

One of the first batch of bands I got into was Swiz. This was because, when I hadn't been into hardcore very long, some dude I met who had been into it for a few years decided to drop out, and wanted to sell his records. I was in the right place at the rigth time and bought most of his collection for next to nothing. In the batch were the two Swiz 12"s, who I had never heard before, but was immediately into. Over the next few months I went about tracking down their 7"s, the weirdest of which was the "Rejects" 7", since that had come out a few years after the band had split and was on the THD label, which at the time seemed to mainly put out pop punk type bands. My copy of the "Rejects" 7" was on green vinyl. In fact, every copy I ever saw was on green vinyl. I assumed that it was the only colour that existed.

Fast forward 15 years, and I stumbled across the 'Rejects' 7" on ebay on white vinyl. It featured my new favourite "best offer" option, so I offered a couple of dollars less than the asking price and won it. Stoked!

This also happens to be one of the best condition used records I have ever received. Totally mint.


EDIT - I got a reply from Jason at THD. There were 3000 pressed on green vinyl, and 100 on White. Cool.

Monday, 2 June 2008

Brotherhood... again

After only getting hold of a rare variation of the Brotherhood 7" a few weeks ago (see HERE), I never thought I would get another one in such a short amount of time. In fact, I never thought I would get this one at all, given its rarity.

None the less, today I got the "Found In My Closet Records" version of the Brotherhood 7". An interesting record. I don't know anything about this record, but i would hazard a guess that the guy who released it "found" 40 records in his closet (as so often seems to happen in hardcore, although how people manage to misplace boxes of records I have no idea) and then made up some sketchy covers using manilla envelopes and a photocopier.

Here are the pictures...

Sleeve (front):

Sleeve (back):

Insert:

Insert (close up):

This brightened up my otherwise boring Monday no end.