Making Boxes

A few months ago I made a post about the mess in my flat, caused by having records all over the floor (you can read it HERE). A few weeks ago I finally got around to tidying them up into a small area of my room. But they were still on the floor, as shown here:

I wanted to tidy them up and move them off the floor into boxes because I was sick of my room looking messy. However, the reason I have had them on the floor for so long is simply because I didn't actually have any boxes to put them in.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I always have boxes. But the records on the floor are ones that I don't like to keep in boxes. Why? Because they are "at risk". This means they have photocopied (or low quality printed) sleeves. About three years ago I discovered over 100 of my 7"s had sleeve damage, where the ink on the covers had gone sticky. I am 99.9% sure that this results from heat, although I also think that it does not help to keep large quantities of records together, since I think that the weight of records pressing onto other records is not a good thing. So I keep my "at risk" records in little boxes like this:

The little boxes don't hold many 7"s, which means that there is less pressure on each record.

Unfortunately, I don't have any more of these little boxes, so I've been stuck with the records on the floor. But a few days ago I decided to sort it out. I figured I would MAKE some boxes, cos if there's one thing I have quite a lot of, it's cardboard:

So here's what I did. First up, grab a few standard mailers:

Next, take one of the little 7" storage boxes and open it up:

Next, open up the mailers and cut the tabs off:

Then draw round the unfolded 7" storage box:

Cut out:

And then make the necessary folds:

Then fold together, and tape to keep it secure:

Then simply repeat the whole process five more times:

Finally, fill each box with 7"s, then put these small boxes into a bigger box:

Job done.

More Free 7"s!!!

It's not too often I get sent records for nothing. I got given two 7"s a couple of weeks ago, and now I got sent some more, this time from Mike. He posted that he had a spare Said & Done 7" on his blog a few weeks back, so I said I'd gladly take it. And, being the nice guy he is, he very kindly sent it to me, along with a couple of other things... although I had no idea what the other things were. So a surprise box landed on my desk, which I was stoked on.

So yeah, the Said & Done 7". I don't know anything about this band really. The record is on Suburban Voice Records who also released the Kingpin 7", which is a kind of classic in some people's eyes. The Kingpin 7" comes on two different vinyl colours - gold and dark red. And the Said & Done 7" that I got sent comes on the same dark red:

Like a lot of records from the early 90s, this suffers slightly from poor production. The mix is not great. But the songs are still pretty interesting. I figured I would use the wonders of modern technology and upload it so that anyone reading this can check it out HERE

The next record out of the box was a surprise... the Daysgone 7" on gold. There are only 100 of these. Mike threw it in figuring that I wouldn't have it. However, I picked this up back in about 1999 in a trade. I gave some dude an Insight 7" on orange, and he gave me ten 7"s in return, this being one. It's amazing what I remember. No idea who it was though.

Since I already own this record, I'm not sure what to do with this spare copy. I figure that the fairest thing to do is to pass this on to someone else via the same means it arrived with me. So basically, I'm making an open offer here - if you want this, just let me know & I shall send it to you for free. But don't just ask for it thinking you can sell it on & make a fast buck - nobody is going to buy this thing if you list it on eBay. So please only ask for it if you actually want it for yourself. If you want to hear it first, you can get the mp3s HERE

Mike also threw in a Suburban Voice compilation 7". I didn't know about this record. This copy has no cover. I'm not sure what the deal is, whether it is supposed to have a cover or whether it was given away with the fanzine. It features Verbal Assault, a band I really like, so I'll probably give it a spin at some point.

Finally, Mike also threw in the record release version of the Betrayed 7" on Bridge Nine, which has plain red labels stamped on one side (90 were made):

This means that I can NEARLY re-create one of the most famous pictures on the internet, as you can see here:

THANKS MIKE!

Iron Age 'The Sleeping Eye' 2xLP

Thew new Iron Age LP "The Sleeping Eye". There was a bit of an internet commotion when the pre-order for this one was announced. At $35 (postpaid) for a double LP, people were saying this was too expensive. Yet still it sold out in two days. And then the people who complained about the price were trying to buy one off of ebay for $50 probably. Clowns.

I wasn't lucky enough to get the pre-order. I missed it. But then, thankfully, it turned out that it hadn't sold out at all, and there were some left, and the order link went back up. So I grabbed one. And boy, am I thankful I did...

The record itself is alright. Nothing too exciting. A double LP on black vinyl in a gatefold sleeve.

It comes with a nice, glossy print, which I think is really cool... except for the fact that it comes folded in half. And because it's on thick, glossy card, folding it kind of ruins it. Oh well.

I've read a lot of good reviews of this record, and rightly so. This is one of the best albums of the year (not that there are many to choose from though). I seriously can't stop playing this. At the moment I'm playing this like 3 times a day. It's just a really interesting record, and a big step forward from their first LP. There are elements of early Metallica and Black Sabbath here, as well as the Cro-Mags style hardcore influence of the first LP. It's not often a new release gets me this stoked. Believe me, you should check this out, even if you heard Iron Age before and weren't too keen.

Free 7"s!

A friend came round to my place a couple of weeks ago and gave me two 7"s. I didn't ask for or expect them, so it was a nice surprise. I gave him a 7" in return, so I guess on paper this may be considered a trade. But no, it definitely wasn't a trade.

The first record I got given was a 7" by the band ON:

I don't know anything about this band other than who the singer is. I don't know anything about pressing info for their records. I don't even know what they sound like as I haven't listened to this yet.

The second 7" is by a band called END OF A YEAR, on Deathwish:

I was determined to give this a listen because Deathwish had taken the trouble to deal with a US pressing plant to have it made. Although I admit that, with it being on Deathwish, I figured it would be metal. That and the cover didn't give me high hopes. But I was pleasantly surprised. This is a good record. Their page on the Deathwish site says that this band brings to mind Rites Of Spring and other 'Revolution Summer' Dischord type bands, and I wouldn't disagree with that description. Pretty good stuff. I guess if I hadn't have been given it for free I wouldn't have heard it. I mean, look at the cover. Who on earth would actually want to listen to a record with a cover like that? Well, apparently the art was done by some dude who used to do art for Dungeons & Dragons, so I guess the answer is - nerds. Anyway, check the band out here if you are interested:

http://www.myspace.com/endofayear

Sick Of It All 7" For Trade

Last year I picked up a Sick Of It All 7" on red vinyl. When it arrived, it turned out that the vinyl had speckles of black vinyl all over it. I emailed Jordan at Revelation & he told me he had never seen one like this. There are known to be some SOIA 7"s on red with a couple of black spots in, but none that he had seen with the black spread so consistently. Basically, it looks like red with black splatter. I didn't pay much for it & thought it to be a total one of a kind. You can read last year's entry HERE

Now, a couple of weeks ago I managed to pick up another. This one has a little bit less black, but still has the same black splatter effect. It also has the same xerox cover. It probably came from the same source as my copy, since both people bought the things from record stores here in the UK back when it came out. I'm guessing they came out of the same box from the pressing plant. Anyway, I paid quite a lot of money for this one, but I picked it up hoping that I could pass it on to a fellow Rev collector who would be willing to trade something nice for it. I've emailed a couple of people I know who collect Rev stuff about this. There are a couple of people interested. But I haven't really had the killer trade offer that I was hoping for. So I'm offering it for trade here. Here are some pictures:

If you are interested in trading for this thing, please get in touch.

XClaim! Road Trip

Two weekends ago (yes, I am way behind on this blog right now), I drove to East London to flick through some dude's collection. Most times I would be excited about such a prospect, but this time I wasn't actually that excited... because I knew that said dude had some big items, and I didn't actually want to spend too much money. I've spent quite a lot lately and I need to exercise more self-control.

Anyway, there were two items that I was going there wanting badly. And I was lucky enough to come away with them both - the first SSD & DYS records on X Claim! Records. These are hugely influential and iconic records... but obviously you know that if you're reading this.

I paid a lot of money for these things, but at the same time I paid fair prices. All things considered, I'm happy... although if I'm going to try to acquire the rest of the XClaim! catalogue then I'm going to need to put my dreams of buying a house on hold for a while.

So anyway, at this point, two thirds of the budget I had set myself had been used up. Oops. I then managed to find some more items on which to spend (aka waste) the rest of my money. For example, the 2nd press of the Negative Approach LP. The second press has a purple sleeve, whereas first press is green. I like the purple better though. Green seems much more common... which is because after the second press, the label reverted back to the green sleeve. So although not first press, this one is less commonly seen.

Next, the second 76% Uncertain LP, 'Nothing But Love Songs':

I haven't got around to listening to this one yet (in two weeks... ha!), but I'm hoping it's more like their 1st LP than their 3rd. Although, logic suggests it's likely to be kind of in the middle of the two :o)

I also picked up the tour press of the R'N'R LP:

I get the impression that most people think this is shite, but I really like this LP. This band was supposed to tour the UK a few years ago and the Leeds show was scheduled to take place on new year's day or some stupid ass date like that. Needless to say, the tour didn't happen.

Okay, so now I'm onto the 7"s... and here's a Cursed 7" on white:

I do quite like the first two Cursed albums (haven't heard the third) but this 7" is awful. Christ.

Next, a band that I like a lot but probably shouldn't admit to - Headfirst. This is their Workshed Records 7" on clear (which I also have on purple - yeah, good job I have two of these!):

Here's one that I specifically remember missing out on when it came out - the Insurance Risk 7" on My War Records on white vinyl. I think this came out in about 2002, the white sold out and I decided not to buy it since I figured I would hold out for a white one. I couldn't have known that would take 7 years, damn.

This next one is a particular favourite of mine - The Life's Halt / No Reply 7". This is probably the 7" with THE most different sleeve variations in the known universe. There are 30 different sleeves out there. Yup, that's right - THIRTY! Most are parodies of well known hardcore punk 7"s for which only 23 copies were made. You can see the different covers HERE if you are interested. This one, with the Circle Jerks sleeve, is relatively common, being one of 75 copies made.

Next up is a Youngblood record that I was missing.. the 1st Rancor 7" on green vinyl with green sleeve. My other copy is green vinyl but has the band name printed in red on the sleeve. So yes, another pointless variation to add to the pile:

This next one is interesting - a Stikky 7" on Slap A Ham Records. I used to listen to a lot of East Bay punk stuff years ago, and Stikky were on an early compilation put out by MRR called 'Turn It Around'. Other bands featured on that comp include Operation Ivy and Crimpshrine. Stikky also feature on the classic Lookout! Records comp LP 'The Thing That Ate Floyd'. To me they were just some band on a couple of compilations. I never managed to pick up any of their records until 2009. So like 17 years down the line.

It's kinda funny listening to this stuff now. Bands like this just remind me of being 18 and starting to buy records and learn about bands. It's kinda difficult to listen to stuff like this with fresh ears and decide if I'm into it or not. I guess that's just what it's like to get old huh?

Next, a black vinyl press of the 'Growing Stronger' comp 7". I kinda have a strange desire to try & collect all the colours of this now for some reason... perhaps because I am an idiot.

Finally, I also picked up a couple of records by The Process, which is a band that I have stupidly overlooked for at least a couple of years. I got a 12":

And a split 7" with Iron Lung:

I also picked up a record I had never heard of before - the King Generator 12". This features the guitarist of The Process, some dude from some bands called Anodyne and Tombs (who I know nothing of, sorry) and Dave Witte (drummer from Discordance Axis):

This record is rad. Fast, heavy hardcore. I don't listen to stuff like this too often, but I always like it when I do & think that I should listen to stuff like this more because, let's face it - this is hardcore.

www.myspace.com/kinggenerator

There were 200 of these things on blue vinyl. The B-side has a laser etching of a dog's head:

Shame there's so many dogs going on here. I hate dogs. I hate cats too. In fact, I hate all pets. Someone should write a song about that.