Tied To A Star

I picked up the latest J. Mascis album 'Tied To A Star' this week from an actual record shop. I'd seen the limited pink vinyl 'loser edition' copies on ebay and discogs for about $50 (due to it being sold out at pre-order stage), which annoyed me greatly, as I didn't even know it was coming out. So imagine how stoked I was when I walked into a local record shop to see the loser edition sitting on the shelf for a regular price. I grabbed one immediately and headed to the counter to buy it quick smart.

As usual, the artwork for this record features lots of interesting characters, giving it a very 'cute' look and feel, which goes very nicely with the pink vinyl.

I was surprised to see that this came with a large poster of the cover art... mainly because the copies I had seen on the internet came with a lithograph of the cover art rather than a poster. So this got me to wondering whether there were two different versions. Well, no, I mean obviously there ARE two versions, but I started to wonder whether there was a different loser edition for the UK than for the US? That said, I could find no evidence on the packaging that this was made in the UK, so I then wondered whether the lithograph version is mroe limited, or was just for preorders. At this stage I have no idea though. Anyone know?

I was so stoked to see this for sale at a good price that I decided to grab two copies.

Then as soon as I got home, I started trying to find more info on the internet, and then realised that this version is not hard to get at all. I guess at the point I was seeing them for $50 it was only the people who received orders from Sub Pop that were selling their copies early. But I assume that in the couple of weeks since, all the stores received their copies, and now these things are literally everywhere.

If anyone has a copy with the lithograph that they'd like to trade for a copy with the poster, get in touch.

Second Chances

I placed an order with Triple B Records a while ago. It was one of those times when I only really wanted one record, but then started to look around the store and couldn't help but add a few more bits and pieces. You know how it goes sometimes.

The record I wanted was the Stick Together 'No More Second Chances' 12". This record compiles both of the bands 7"s on to one handy 12" platter. Given that I have the two 7"s, I'm not exactly sure why I felt that I needed this 12", but that's just how this game works I guess. This is the 'Green/Red/White Spearmint Swirl' (out of 300) vinyl.

I also added the second press yellow vinyl version of the Clear 7".

... which made me realise that I also needed a blue copy, so I ventured to discogs to pick one up.

I also grabbed a blue vinyl copy of the Demolition 'World Gone Mad' 7". I picked this up because everyone seemed to be saying good things about it. I can see why. The band is from Canada, but if you had to guess you'd probably think New York.

Finally, the Power Trip 'The Armageddon Blues Sessions' 12". This is basically their 'Armageddon Blues' 7" from 2009 repressed as a 12" with two extra songs added that were recorded at the same time as the four songs that originally featured on the 7".

This is a single sided 12". The flipside is laser etched with the band's logo, which looks pretty cool if you ask me.

Triple B is probably the most consistent and reliable label there is right now. Their back catalogue is pretty solid, as is the current line up of future releases. Anyone think differently?

Disconnecting

Since the early 90s I have bought every Revelation release direct. Back when they used to press one colour version of each new release (which seems hard to believe now) it was easy to keep up. But back in the mid 00s they cranked out disproportionate numbers of Sinking Ships and Shook Ones records (7"s and LPs of each), to the point where it was almost impossible to get them all, especially when you add in all of the limited sleeve versions which aren't even documented on the label's discography. Even now, years later, I'm still trying to pick up versions that I missed when they first came out. Here's my latest - a 1st press green vinyl copy of the Sinking Ships LP 'Disconnecting':

In celebration of now owning six copies of this LP, I took my other five out for a photo:

They made so many versions of this one that I'm not even sure what else exists. I am pretty sure that there is a record release version, which was pressed on the same horrible 50/50 splatter vinyl as my European tour copy (bottom row, middle), and which comes in a white sleeve with gold lettering. Not sure if there are others though. If anyone knows for sure, please let me know.

Dischord Catch Up

So Mike said recently that "there is something less offensive about a Dischord reissue, compared to a Revelation reissue", and I agree. I'm not exactly sure why. Anyway, like Rev, Dischord continue to hammer out some remastered reissues from the many classics in their catalogue.

I was late to getting into Jawbox. I didn't really like this band in the 90s, although I'm not sure why. I think I just didn't give them enough of a chance to be honest. But I finally got around to rectifying that in the early 2000s and really kicked myself for missing out when they were an active band. Dischord recently repressed their second album, 'Novelty', on clear vinyl. The cover has also been re-coloured to make it look completely different to the original. It looks great in my opinion.

Next up, it's the Dag Nasty 'Dag With Shaun' LP. Technically this is not a reissue, but the first time that these songs have been officially issued on vinyl. Again, it looks great, and comes on clear blue vinyl to make things even more interesting.

The 'who is the best Dag Nasty singer?' is an often asked question, and I find it a tough one to answer. I was expecting to like these versions more than the Dave Smalley versions of the same songs, but in honesty I don't, because at this point I am just used to the songs with Smalley's voice, to the point where anything else just feels like a cover. So whilst it's cool to have these songs as an alternative interpretation, I do't think I could ever decide to play this version over the original 'Can I Say'.

Finally, I picked up the vinyl pressing of the S.O.A. '1st Demo' 7". Unsurprisingly, I felt obliged to get both the red vinyl first pressing and the blue vinyl second pressing.

As you can see, this record looks great. The sleeve is a fold out affair with photos and flyers, and was obviously a labour of love for the fine people at Dischord. Based on this, I'm already looking forward to the Fugazi demo when they issue that in a couple of months, even though I'm not the biggest fan of the band.

Ruined Empire

It's been a while since a new Rot In Hell record dropped. And whilst this release isn't exactly new (it's a compilation of previous released stuff), it's still technically a 2014 release. This was pressed up by Organized Crime Records for RSD 2014, hence the delay in me getting a copy - I didn't bother with it this year. But I had a friend grab me a few releases from a store near him, which I finally received a few short weeks ago. The RSD version was on grey vinyl.

There was also a more limited version sold by the label directly, on clear with black smoke vinyl. Obviously I had to pick up one of those too.

The dust sleeve is stamped and numbered out of 111 copies. If you are interested, it seems that there are still copies available in the Organized Crime store.

When I ordered these, I also took the opportunity to pick up the clear vinyl version of the split 12" with Psywarfare. I had previously picked up the white one, so it's nice to have the second colour too.

Shame about the distinct lack of test presses in this post. With any luck I can rectify the situation at some point in the not too distant future.

Unreal City

I picked up this 7" by Unreal City a while ago. It's on Holy Terror Records and features Rob Orr on guitar, the dude who has been responsible for a lot of the recent Integrity releases. It comes on what the label described as 'fleshtone' vinyl, which seems to mean pale orange.

The label was also selling tests for a price that I thought was ok, so I decided to add one to the cart. I'm glad I did too, as the cover for the test is way cooler than the regular version.

To me, perhaps unsurprisingly, this sounds kinda like Integrity but with not as strong vocals. Is that a good thing? Well, I'm not sure to be honest, but I don't it's not a bad thing, so it probably must be.

Early Hydrahead Tests

I've probably said about 400 times that I used to buy all the early Hydrahead releases directly from the label back in the late 90s. Back then I would happily buy stuff by bands I had never heard or heard of, and as such I picked up some great records. The label was all over the place in the early years too, so you never knew what you were going to get when the records came, but I liked that. It kept things interesting. Anyway, some of those early records have a special place in my heart, so when I got the chance to grab test pressings for cheap I took it.

All the tests come in plain white paper sleeves, so I pulled out the original records for the photos to make things a little more interesting.

First up is a test for the first Keelhaul 7", 'Ornamental Iron'. I remember being really into this when it came out, and the band went on to put out a couple of really strong albums in the years that followed.

Next is a 7" by a band called Six Going On Seven. Again, I loved this band when this came out. It verges on catchy pop music in a proper 90s emo cover. The band went on to release three full lengths and are probably most known for a split 7" with Hot Water Music.

And finally, an album by a band called The Never Never called 'These Ain't No Purple Hearts'. This one seems to be possible the least liked or known of every record in the label's history. You can still buy it from the label now and it has never been repressed.

I Am Live

Nothing is more irritating than missing out on a limited version of a new release. Once these things sell out, the only places to get them is on discogs or eBay for several times what you could have paid if you hadn't been so damn slow off the mark. And such is life. One such record I missed out on recently was the yellow vinyl copy of the new Give 7", a live record entitled 'I Am Live'. I had to settle for the black vinyl, which to be honest I probably would have bought anyway even if I had have got to the store in time to bag a yellow.

Well, just when I thought that I had missed any cool versions of this record, good old Chris came to the rescue. Dude picked up one of the limited sleeve versions which was made for RSD this year. In the spirit of the previous Give 7"s, this one comes in a limited sleeve featuring one of the 'part time' members of the band - this time Dan Horres.

Numbered out of 50 on the inside of the cover.

A while later I found out that there is also another limited cover of this one, featuring Ashley Sykes. Damn. Between that one and the yellow vinyl, I think this one will be lingering on my want list for a while. Ah well, it ain't called 'The Endless Quest' for nothing...

My Girlfriend Asked Me Which One I Like Better...

I hope the answer won't upset her...

SIX PICK!

Another Black Flag colour vinyl 7" for the collection. I don't think I've seen this one up for sale before, so when I saw it I knew I had to grab it or I could be waiting a long time for another to surface.

I'm not sure exactly how old this is, but the condition is great. I don't think I could ask for a better copy. I don't know the pressing info either, but what I do know is that there are two other colours of this 7", both of which come in the same red cover as this one. One is on dark, clear blue vinyl and the other comes on a solid baby blue vinyl. I need both. If I get them, I'll have a complete colour 7" collection. So come on, people, help me out here.

Don't Wait Up IV

So a few weeks ago I was in a meeting at work. It was pretty run of the mill stuff. But my phone went off twice, making it one of the best meetings I've ever been a part of. The first notification was from paypal, telling me that someone had paid me £800 (circa $1,300). That made me smile. The second was a facebook message telling me that I had secured a test press of the new Bane LP. So yeah, like I said... a pretty successful meeting.

The test press comes in a regular cover, with both the inner dust sleeve and the labels stamped and numbered. Despite the weird hand writing looking a bit like a 12, I got number 13 of 20.

Given that I got this from the label, I also took the opportunity to grab one of the second press copies. The first press sold out pretty quick, so they made 500 more on clear vinyl.

Of course, as soon as i received these, I became aware that they also made a black vinyl copy. I still need to get one of those from somewhere. I now have 7 copies of this record, with an 8th on the way and at least two more versions out there that I need to find...