The Brown Book 'Thirty Nothing' LP

Still frantically trying to catch up on the stuff I got in the past few weeks before the end of the year... looks like I might just make it!

Somewhere around the beginning of November, I got an email from a dude called Ryan, saying that his band had just put out an album and saying that he would like to send me a copy. So I sent my address, and a short while later, the record arrived.

The band is called The Brown Book. The record is called 'Thirty Nothing'.

This record has a very DIY feel. No insert, no colour vinyl, no limited editions. Just a black record in a simple sleeve.

I originally said to Ryan that I found this interesting, and I'm keeping with that comment. This record is full of loud rocking sounds, but no vocals. I guess the only bands I really listen to that sound remotely like this is Pelican and Grails, but The Brown Book don't sound like either. Imagine Botch playing Pelican covers but not bothering with the long build-ups and quiet jangly bits. Well, The Brown Book sound something like that. Except better. I've been enjoying this a lot lately. I don't know whether this is classified as rock, metal, hardcore, or something else. But it matters not. All I know is that this has been the perfect soundtrack to cold, dark evenings.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, check out the band's myspace:

http://www.myspace.com/thebrownbook

You can buy the LP there using paypal for only $10 postpaid.

For me, it was interesting listening to a band with no preconceptions whatsoever. Most bands I listen to I pick up on because of the record label that they are on, which usually gives an indication of what it is likely to sound like. So to get a record and have no idea what it is going to sound like was a different experience. Thanks Ryan!

Descendents 'Enjoy!' LP Pink

I guess I'm old now. I can kinda tell this because as time passes I find myself more interested in the past than the present and future. These days I am far less interested in current bands. For some reason I would rather go back and listen to older stuff. And even though there are lots of bands that I have listened to over the years, there are a lot that I have not. Or some that I tried years ago & didn't like, who I now think that I should try again. The Descendents is one such band. I had the album 'ALL' years ago and only really liked one song, so I got rid of it. But a couple of months ago I was listening to a cover of the song 'Bikeage' and really liked it and decided to give The Descendents another try. And you know what... they're frickin' awesome!

So next, as usually happens, I started looking on eBay for their records. I remember seeing some of their colour vinyl LPs sell for big money on eBay a few months back, and never thought I would later be thinking about trying to pick some up for myself. But that's how it works sometimes I guess. Well, as it turns out, I recently stumbled across one on eBay uk just before xmas which I thought looked likely to go for a bargain price, so I bid and won for a lot less than it usually sells for. So here it is - my first piece of Descendents vinyl (which I highly doubt will be the last):

This seems to be universally acknowledged to be their worst album, and I can understand why. Kinda sounds for most of it like they just can't be bothered and are making songs up as they go along. But there are a few good songs on it. And no doubt it will grow on me in time, as their other albums have done. If only I'd gotten into this band in 1993 when Alan Rancid was listening to them I would probably own their entire catalog on colour vinyl now. Oh well.

Carry On 'It's All Our Blood' 12"

Here's the latest release from React! Records and Youngblood Records. A split (re-)release of Carry On 'It's All Our Blood'.

The funny thing about this is that the 'It's All Our Blood' CD was itself a reissue of two Carry On 7" vinyl releases... which I bought when they came out many moons ago. So this 12" is a vinyl reissue of a CD that was itself a reissue of vinyl. Interesting concept huh?

As usual, I couldn't help but order more than one copy. Luckily, I managed to get my hands on one of the colour vinyl copies, which sold out in a matter of hours:

React! put out a limited red vinyl, but I am not sure how many were made. There was also a different colour for the Youngblood customers, which is (I think) white. I don't have one of those. Yet.

This record was subject to a few delays, which was in part due to the tri-fold lyric sheet. I understand that this record was quite the labour of love. The quality of the whole thing is top notch.

As usual, React! made up some screened cardboard mailers to make the package that little bit more interesting, as well as throwing in the obligatory written words and stickers that come with every release.

The craziest thing of all is realising how long it has been since the original 7"s came out. I distinctly remember where I was living and what I was doing in life when they came out. It seems kinda bizarre how much time has passed and how many years Carry On has been in my life. But getting this record forced me to go back and listen to them for the first time in a while, and they have aged well. Kinda feels apt to close out the decade listening to stuff I was listening to when it started.

Bane - 12:58 AM Rome 7"

Today's post is the latest installment in the recent Bane 7" series, which sees 40 different record labels release 800 7"s on 4000 different vinyl colours over the course of the next 30 years.

This one is called 'Rome, 12:58 AM' and is released by Hurry Up! Records. Pressing info on this one is as follows...

Some on grey:

A barrel load on Maroon:

And infinity copies on purple-ish with some blue in it:

Soon I am going to be able to pile all of my Bane 7"s on top of each other and knock the moon out of the sky.

Crimpshrine 7" 1st Press

Well here I am - still catching up on posts from the last few weeks. Clearly I have missed my 'one post a day target'. But I can still just about catch up by the end of the year if I get a move on...

Regular readers of this may know/remember that about 4 years ago I discovered 120 or so 7"s in my collection that had damaged sleeves. Pretty much all are records that have photocopied (or cheaply printed) sleeves. The problem is to do with the ink, which over time somehow goes "sticky" and starts to look wet. I am convinced that the cause of this problem is heat. Here's a picture of my Crimpshrine 'Sleep, What's That?' 1st pressing, which suffered badly:

Notice how the black ink reflects the light, because it has taken on a wet appearance. Notice also the red, stamped number, which was present on the first pressings of the first five Lookout! releases.

Well, a few weeks ago I got around to replacing this one via a cheap buy on eBay. But unfortunately, when the record arrived, I discovered that the sleeve suffered from the same problem as mine... only far worse. The ink had stuck so badly that it was impossible to remove the sleeve from the PVC cover.

As you can see, this is in very poor shape:

I emailed the seller, he refunded me immediately and told me there was no need to send the record back. Good service for sure, but it still left me without a copy of this record in good condition. So I went back to eBay again, and got lucky. I found a listing for another first pressing copy, but this was one better, because it had (apparently) originally been owned by a member of the band... and for some reason, it came with a second sleeve printed in an alternate colour. I bid and won and, fortunately, when the record arrived it turned out to be in perfect condition.

The alternate colour sleeve is pretty crap in all honesty. Basically it's just a photocopy of the regular sleeve:

This record comes with a little booklet containing lyrics and other stuff. And this copy also comes with a second copy of that too, also printed on exciting white paper!

So now I have one copy of this record in great shape, one in not so good shape that I have owned for about 16 years, and one trapped in a PVC cover in very poor shape.

No idea what I am going to do with the excess two copies. Anyone want a less than mint Crimpshrine 7" first press?

Police & Thieves 7"s

I originally started this blog out of boredom. Sitting around at home one night, bored, I decided to take a couple of photos of some records I had recently bought and then see if I could start a blog. It's only a bit of fun... although is starting to feel more and more like a chore. But there have definitely been some good things come out of this. I have met (albeit in cyberspace) some cool people, and also this has helped me to pick up some cool records. This latest entry is an example of both of those things.

A while ago I got a comment on one of my posts from Carlos. It also had a link to his website, which turned out to be that of his band - Police & Thieves. Now, I'm a big fan of the entire catalogue of Youngblood Records, and have been buying their output pretty much since the label started. But I didn't know that Carlos also used to front another Youngblood band - Worn Thin - which was one of my favourite bands of the early 2000s, and definitely one of the most under-appreciated bands on the label. Their LP is one of my favourites.

Anyway, Carlos ended up hooking me up with a couple of rare Police & Thieves 7"s. The record release edition of the Youngblood 7":

I love this sleeve. I love the bright colours and the crazy purple octopus character. This sleeve is also hand numbered:

I also got a limited version of the first 7":

I'm stoked to now have 5 Police & Thieves 7"s. You know the saying - great band, great dudes!

Capital 'Blind Faith' 7"

Seeing Mike's post a couple of weeks back reminded me that I had ordered the latest Capital 7" ages ago but not received it. So I got straight on to the label, and the dude told me that, coincidentally, he had just sent my package out. Hmmmm. Anyway, a few days later it did actually show up. Like a sucker, I bought three copies, for which the pressing info is (I think) as follows...

100 on pink:

100 on white:

And 300 on red:

This is a really good 7". Artwork of an anti-religious nature, with one (or possibly two, I am not sure which) songs on on the same theme, plus a Dag Nasty cover.

"And you say he's ever present, but I don't think he exists. That's my opinion but to you it's blasphemy"

Rot In Hell Box Set

A little over a year ago (probably circa August 2008) I pre-ordered a ROT IN HELL boxset direct from the band. It was set to be a pretty limited affair and was to contain 3 or 4 7"s and a T-shirt. It was supposed to come out on Halloween. Unfortunately, it didn't. In fact, it didn't even emerge in time for Halloween 2009. I was starting to think that this was going to be a contender for the longest wait for a record of all time.. and then it showed up! (The longest I have ever waited for a record after sending my money was two and a half years, and I hope this is never beaten).

This is instantly one of the best things I have ever seen. I believe this is known as the "Kvlt ov Kali" box set. But another way of looking at it is that this is a super limited version of the 'Hallways Of The Always' 12" that A389 Records released, since it contains all the same songs.

This shows how it looks "closed":

There was also a black envelope with it that unfortunately didn't fit inside:

It was stamped with some evil lamb/goat thing:

I think there are lyrics inside, but I haven't opened it so am not sure. Once the string is removed, the "box" falls open to reveal a giant poster type thing printed on brown paper:

The poster is numbered out of 35 copies (meaning there are only 35 box sets). There is also a patch and button/badge (depending on which country you are from):

Next, four 7"s, a CD and a print:

The 7"s are all on black vinyl and all come in nice black paper sleeves:

My favourite is the first 7". The regular version of this had a spray painted b-side (see HERE), but this special version has an etched (or rather, scratched) picture of a snake eating itself:

This print is probably my favourite thing in the whole package:

The CD is another nice touch. This contains the cover songs that were on the 'Hallways' record:

Oh, and there's also a shirt:

And finally, a pic of the entire contents all together:

Not a bad little package huh?