Bane - 11:58 PM Dublin 7"

SO THIS IS IT - The first of too many Bane 7"s to be released in the next few weeks. A total nightmare for collectors, there are 6 songs being released as two different 7"s… and different continents are putting out their own versions. So the two 7"s in the States are on two different labels, and the two 7"s in Europe are on another label. Each version of each record has about three versions (excluding tests), except for the first Euro 7" which has five versions. So, in total, there are going to be at least 14 different 7"s to pick up. Excluding tests. Oh yeah, then there's some other Bane 7" coming out with some zine, which also has two or maybe three versions. So basically, my Bane collection is going to double in size by the end of the year.

So what is this 7" like? Well, it sounds much more like "Give Blood" than "The Note" to me. Although, that said, perhaps it's just to do with the time of year it has come out. I remember back in 2002 when "Give Blood" came out that I was playing it whilst travelling on the bus to my night job at Milo's in Leeds. I remember it being dark and cold and Bane being the perfect soundtrack to life at that time. Well, these three songs give me the same feeling. Each night I drive the dark, wet roads to the gym and I play these three songs.

I'm into the songs, but I am not into the aesthetics of this record too much. I don't like the layouts much, and I sure as hell don't like that this is the first Bane record pressed on inferior euro vinyl. And I also don't like that two of the three colours are pretty much the same colour. But hey, I'm fussy.

Most limited version is orange with white speckles out of 200:

Next is plain orange out of 300:

And finally, black vinyl out of 380. These have different labels to the orange vinyl due to a pressing plant error. These labels are from the tour version, which I should have got over two months ago but still don't have.

And finally, the money shot:

Rot In Hell LP Test

I managed to find a test for one of my fave records of the year - the ROT IN HELL 'Hallways Of The Always' 12" on A389 Records. The only slightly disappointing thing is that it only comes in a plain white paper sleeve - I was hoping for something a little more interesting.

This marks 6 versions of this record. I'm betting that not many people can match or beat me on this one.

If you still don't have so much as one copy as this yet, please sort your life out.

XClaim! 5 & 6

Thanks to Fred Hammer for breaking his own "no shipping to outside of the US" rule, I now have parts 5 & 6 of the XClaim! puzzle.

XClaim! number 5 is the F.U.s 'My America' LP. Otherwise known as "the one with the weird cover". Or "the one with the cover that isn't quite wide enough so that when you put the record in a little bit of the dust sleeve sticks out of the side":

XClaim! number 6 is the Jerry's Kids 'Is This My World?' LP, which is debatably the best of the XClaim! releases:

Numbers 2 & 3 still elude me... but hopefully not for much longer.

Random eBay 7"s x 3

Picked up three records from the dude who does Rivalry Records on eBay a couple of weeks ago. He was selling lots of rare Rivalry stuff plus a load of other things. I had my eye on three items that I thought most people wouldn't be interested in and got them all for a bargain price.

First up is the Life's Halt / No Reply split 7" with the Misfits sleeve for the final No Reply show:

In fitting with the Misfits theme, there were 138 copies made, which makes this about the third most common version of this record:

I now have 4 versions of this record. So only 26 more to go to have the full set. And no, I am not exaggerating.

Next up, a test press of the Holding On / Coalition split 7":

I don't even own a regular version of this record. Just bought it because I liked the label.

And finally, continuing today's "138 copies made" theme, here's the second Worn Thin 7" on Youngblood Records on white vinyl, made for some 2004 tour:

I love this band, and (finally) now have the final version of this one i was missing. Cool.

Dinosaur LP on Yellow

I was so excited about this one that I even boasted about having it on facebook the day I won it. Talk about tempting fate! Anyway, until this arrived in the mail this was my 3rd most wanted record. The first Dinosaur Jr LP, original pressing on Homestead Records from 1985... on colour vinyl.

I was stoked as hell to get this. Until about two years ago I never even knew this record existed on colour vinyl. Then I saw one on eBay and have been trying to get one ever since. It is quite highly sought after though. It usually sells for over $100, and indeed, a couple of weeks before I won this copy, I was watching one that went for $160 or so. Imagine then how stoked I was to get a SEALED copy for only $70!

I find it pretty amazing that a record from 1985 can be sealed. I mean, where the hell had this been hiding for 24 years to avoid being opened?

This also exists on red vinyl, although that colour seems even rarer than this one. But clearly I need to get one. Two words - never satisfied.

Sunny Day Real Estate Reissue LPs

I guess it must be double LP reissue week over here right now. Here's the next installment...

Originally released in 1994, Sunny Day Real Estate's 'Diary' LP was something of a slow burner I guess. One of those records that more and more people latched on to over time. Fifteen years later, it is hailed as a massively important record, so Sub Pop have given it the reissue treatment.

I first heard this album on a copied tape that Ben Doyle sent me in the post. Ben was a bit of a metalhead and generally into all things heavy, so I was pretty surprised when he sent me this and I first played it. But as well as being surprised because it was nothing like I imagined, I was also surprised at how good it was. I was REALLY into it. Kinda hard to describe, but back then this just sounded like a completely new sound. Really gentle, whiney vocals over some quite heavy(ish) guitars. I don't know, I am crap at describing bands, but I knew straight from the first second that this was something new and interesting, and I played nothing else for weeks. Quite a while later I finally bought a copy of the LP from Jumbo Records, and was stoked to get the blue splatter vinyl version (which I still have). A few years later (circa '99 maybe?) Sub Pop reissued it on a clear green vinyl, and I bought one of those too. And now we have a double LP, red vinyl, gatefold sleeve version. I'm not complaining though. They could press a different version of this record every week and I'd buy it every time.

The sticker on the shrink wrap claims that this is the first time on LP in its entirety, which is true - the previous vinyl versions have been lacking a couple of songs that were on the CD version. They've also padded this out with a couple of other songs from their second 7" before they got signed by Sub Pop.

Even though I hate gatefold sleeves these days (because even the crappiest records with the worst artwork use them), having one on this release seems like the right thing to do. It works well.

Interestingly, one of my two discs had a small flash of black. I guess modern idiots would call this the 'transition press' and claim it to be a different variant on the red vinyl. Haha!

Well, anyway, the story doesn't end there. Sub Pop have also given the same treatment to the second Sunny Day Real Estate LP and reissued that as a double LP too... but thankfully, without a gatefold sleeve! And thankfully, someone had the sense to match the vinyl color to the artwork, which is always a nice touch. So here we are - 'LP2', otherwise known as 'pink':

I like how the two records are different shades of pink. Keeps it interesting.

Also, the dust sleeves have some nice stuff printed on them. A history of how the record came to be, written by all the band members and the guy who recorded it, including an explanation of why the cover is just pink.

And finally, because I ordered directly from Sub Pop, I got a couple of extra pieces of crap thrown in:

I've been playing these records again recently. As much as I loved 'Diary' when it came out, I find it difficult to listen to now, simply because I played it too much in the past. The pink album seems far more interesting. Visually though, 'Diary' beats it hands down. The artwork is beautiful and very cute. Overall, Sub Pop have done a great job with both reissues. Each have extra songs and some nice things to read, making them worth picking up even if you have the original versions. Two (or rather, four) great pieces of vinyl.

RORSCHACH 2 x LP

The funny thing about getting older & time passing is some of the things you remember. Or things you don't remember. I remember talking to Hallam from Above All and him telling me that he had seen Rorschach play in a pub in London. I also remember seeing Stalingrad play at a festival at the 1in12 Club in about 1994 and somehow knowing that they sounded kinda like Rorschach, even though at that point I had never actually heard Rorschach. I also remember buying Rob Holden's spare Rorschach 'Needlepack' 7" for £2, and wondering why he had two copies of the record in the first place. And I remember getting the 'Protestant' LP in the mail and staring at the purple sky on the cover for ages thinking it didn't really look like a 'hardcore' record at all. However, the thing I have no memory of is how I became aware of Rorschach in the first place. A lot of bands I remember friends pointing me toward, or hearing songs at people's houses, or reading about them. But I have no idea on how I picked up on Rorschach. All I know is that I suddenly had a strong urge to buy their second LP, and after doing so I knew I had made a wise choice.

Despite breaking up many years ago, Rorschach got back together recently to play a couple of shows. I'm not sure how or why this came about to be honest. But anyway, they played a few shows at the end of September 2009. You can see some footage on youtube if you wish. A couple of weeks ago I found out that they made a record for this little reunion tour. So obviously I had to grab one. The record is a double LP, with each disc containing one of their two albums.

There were 5 different colours of vinyl, and 150 copies of each colour, with a different one being sold at each show. I wasn't about to buy all five, so picked the red vinyl, which is from the New York show:

All copies were numbered. I think mine is number 4. Although it my also be number 48. Not sure.

As with every record that comes out these days, this has a gatefold sleeve:

... with all the lyrics printed inside:

Overall I'm not so into this package. It kinda feels like pressing this double LP was a bit of a late decision and it was done in a bit of a rush. The artwork just looks a bit bare and too far removed from the original LPs. So visually a bit of a let down really.

The best thing about this package, though, was the download code, which gave all the songs in 320kbps mp3 format. I used to own the discography cd, but the mastering was so bad that it was next to useless. I had the songs in itunes ripped from the cd, but never listened to it because the volume was stupidly low. It kinda sounded like it had been recorded by someone using a tape recorded whilst their friend played the records to them down the phone. SO I haven't really listened to Rorschach in a while. But listening to these songs with a bit of volume makes them so much better and reminds me why I got into this band in the first place.

Jesu 'Infinity' LP

'Infinity' is the new album by Jesu. At least, I think it's an album, although the reason I am unsure is that it's only one song... albeit a forty nine and a half minute long song. However, despite being billed as one song, this is actually like several songs all put together. The tempo and style changes relatively frequently. So really it is like an album, but one which has been all blended together to be enjoyed as one long 'experience'.

Once again, the artwork is of landscape, this time trees against a grey sky. And for some reason this needs a gatefold sleeve:

I don't have much to say on this. I love this band and I love this record. The only fault is that, at nearly 50 minutes long, you need a long time to listen to it. Stopping it halfway through would be missing the point.

If you've never heard this band then I suggest checking them out. This is the perfect soundtrack to desolate & barren landscapes and times when you want to sit around & wonder what the fuck the point of everything is.

http://www.myspace.com/officialjesu

No 'No Control'

Years ago I used to wonder if Epitaph Records ever made colour vinyl. I figured not, since I never saw any, but then I wondered if it was so rare and old that it was just seldom seen. I remember thinking that surely Down By Law's 'Blue' LP just HAD to exist on blue vinyl somewhere. But no. The only colour vinyl they did make was the rare instances where the entire press was on colour, such as the second Rancid LP on double white vinyl 10" (I wonder which genius came up with that stupid format?).

Well anyway, Epitaph recently re-pressed some of their older titles on limited colour vinyl. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure how they decided which titles to repress, although part of me suspects it is their better sellers, so they could be confident of selling the lot. Each colour pressing is out of 300 copies, and most of the records sold out within a few hours. Unfortunately, I missed the ones I wanted, but as usual my old buddy eBay was there to help me out. I picked up two of the three colour Bad Religion LPs they made - 'How Could Hell Be Any Worse?' on red:

And 'Suffer' on orange:

The one I have had more trouble tracking down is 'No Control' on green, which seems to be selling for more, kinda suggesting that this is their most popular 'early' album, which puzzles me since I thought 'Suffer' was widely acknowledged to be their best moment. Hopefully I can grab myself a copy of 'No Control' soon enough to complete this little set.

Oh yeah, the eBay seller I picked this up from also runs some kinda online store for rare stuff, which might interest some of you fellow collectors. Most of the stuff they carry is toward the more melodic end of the spectrum, but there are a few nice items available for purchase. Check it out:

http://www.rarepunkmusic.com/vinyl1.html.

Jeremy Enigk 'Vale Oso' LP

I've been revisiting the band Sunny Day Real Estate lately, due to all the talk about them on the internerd, brought on by their first two LPs being reissued and the band reforming for a US tour. Then I read that there was some new Jeremy Enigk LP out, which I managed to find for sale at a UK distro.

Nothing too special about the record or packaging. Black vinyl in a regular sleeve. But notice the sticker on the front boasting that the LP "includes free download of entire album".

So I took the record out to find the download code on a sticker on the dust sleeve. Cool. Except I had real trouble downloading it, because it seemed that the URL doesn't actually exist. I was annoyed.

Then I realised something that I have never heard of before - the URL is case sensitive! Try it yourself - type in the URL above, but all in lower case & it won't work. Then change the 'D' of the word 'Download' to upper case and it works. Now, seriously, who ever heard of a case sensitive URL before? Not me for starters. I mean, they're like email addresses - they just CAN'T be case sensitive, because that would be stupid and cause confusion and problems, like it did for me.

Anyway, download problems aside, what's this like? Well, it sounds pretty much like his previous stuff I guess. Dude has a pretty distinctive voice. The main change seems to be in his appearance. These days he's bald and podgy with a beard. Aside from that, this is exactly what you would expect I guess. Those into his previous stuff will like it.