TITR WAS SO GREAT AT REV NYC

Is what i would be saying if I had gotten tickets. But I didnt, So I still have never seen Texas is the Reason.  However, going off of how they have been so active on twitter and are about to start an online merch store, i think its safe to guess they will be doing more shows soon.

Even though I havent seen them still, I can still buy their records.  Revelation recently repressed the s/t 7" on orange vinyl. I saw the thread about it go up on Vinyl Collective and immediately got up and ordered it. Very good move.

DISCOURSE

So recently Bitter Melody records and Head First records teamed up to put out the first Discourse 7".  This band is from down south somewhere, but list up north influences like Indecision, amongst other 90s hardcore bands. I really love 90's hardcore and Its great when I find a current band doing that sound right.  This record is 2 new songs and the demo, and completely worth the money. The clear on the bottom is the preorder version w/ preorder cover limited to 50, the grey is also limited to 100 and the black is limited to 300.

Here's the back of the preorder cover, mine is 22/50.  I was just looking at Bitter Melody's pressing info for this, and each label had 25 of the 50 covers, nothing different btwn them. But then the band also has 50 of the clear w/ regular covers. Should i get really nerdy and try to grab one of those?

Common Rider

Ah Common Rider. I used to absolutely love this band. I listened to This is Unity Music constantly in highschool.  This is the Thief in a Sleeping Town ep.  I dont think i ever even had the music til now.  Pleasant surprise to find it at Academy last month.  Definitely a good listen and it really brings me back to highschool.

Face the Reality

So this is the self titled Face Reality 7" on Youngblood. I've listened to it a few times and at first i was meh about it, just straightforward straightedge hardcore.  But now that i've spun it a few times I'm definitley enjoying it more,  They music is definitely progressing since their demo, and I am finding myself wanting to get up and mosh around my room.  Thats a good thing.

Morning Downer

So let me be honest here, before I found hardcore, I loved bands that fell under the "ska-core" moniker.  Choking Victim, Leftover Crack, Morning Glory, loved them.  I always enjoyed MG a little more because their songs were rougher and a little harder.  When I heard they were putting out a new record after years of doing jack shit I was excited and actually pre-ordered it from Fat Wreck.  Double Lp on colored vinyl? How could I go wrong. Well I listened to the 1st of the 2 lps and I didnt make it any further.  This doesnt sound anything like old morning glory. Maybe I'll visit it again down the road, but for now when i want morning glory ill listen to This is no Time Ta Sleep.

Drug Church

So this band is being sold as having Quicksand influences.  Usually this means an insta-buy for me.  I had listened to this bands songs on their bandcamp and really enjoyed them so I was excited to buy the record.  I was going to order it right from the label to get the more limited color, but then I opted to just buy it at Generation.  This is pen ink blue out of 500.  The band name is screen printed on the plastic cover which is a nice different touch. This record is good and definitely has that post hardcore feel that i love, albeit a litte more poppy.

The LP's are stacking up

So i'm just gonna catch up here and talk about a few different LPs i got recently:

This is the Memorial "The Creative Process/Berlin" lp on black vinyl, Limited to 100. The sleeve is stamped with the photobooth records logo.  Something originally happened with this lp when it first came out.  I think it was supposed to come out on a different label and when it finaly did the preorder version didnt play at all? I really dont know but this version and the yellow i have play great and this is an amazing record.

Ah Mind Over Matter! I love this band and Security is easily my favorite material by them.  The frustration and mental anguish is easily conveyed in this record.  I've been lucky and have gotten to see them multiple times since the broke up.  Most recently June 11 when they played long island fest. And they covered LSS at that show, insane.

Anyway this was an ebay score where the seller listed it as black and having white streaks. He didnt post a picture of the vinyl but i took a chance.  You can see pretty clearly what he is talking about here, but I dont know if thats enough to classify it as different.  In other news, I still need this on RED, someone help!

Lastly we have one of the most important, if not the most important, hardcore record ever.  The Cro Mags "Age of Quarrel". I picked this up off a guy from the B9 board. The cover is in alright condition, and there's a skip in We Gotta Know, but otherwise it is fine and well worth the 50 i spent.  I am happy to own this record finally, and next up i have to get the uncensored sleeve. I was supposed to see Cro-Mags again over the summer. But then something happened between Harley and DMS which caused the show to stop.  My friends and I were standing in the middle of the floor waiting for the mags to start, when the light came on. I got excited because i prefer lights on at shows so i can see if im about to get knocked in the face.  But nope, show ended.  John Joseph promised a make up show but it hasnt happened yet, the Bowery is probably now sketched out on booking them.

Black God

So I bought this solely because of Marcus' post about this record.  I read ex by the grace of god and endpoint and that it was good. So i bought it without checking out the band first, sometimes this is good and sometimes bad. I just didnt like this record. Didnt impress me at all.  I'll be surprised if I ever spin this again.  But then again, I usually hate my favorite bands before I fall in love with them

Incendiary Rarity

One of my favorite things about collecting records is stumbling upon a record that you literally had no idea existed; not on anyone's list, never seen it or heard speak of it.  And when you find it you know you have to get it.  Its a sweet victory when you score something you didn't know existed. Case in point this Incendiary 7".

This is the first Incendiary 7".  The vinyl is exactly the same as the regular press.  The difference here is the cover, its a photocopy of the normal cover on light blue cardstock. Limited to 14.  I got this from Dave Campbell who runs State of Mind records, he was selling a huge list of rare stuff and this was on it. The photocopied cover makes it seem like this could have been a prepress for late covers or soemthing, but i was at the record release show for this 7" and I did not see this anywhere and they had the cover. I have to follow up with Brendan or Audley for the story on this. 

I was going for a full Indcendiary collection and it was going well, BUT closed casket activities just released the 3rd press of the split with Xibalba.....on 27 different covers.   Yes you read that right, 27 fucking colors.  I love incendiary, and I was going to put an order in for all 27, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend all that money.  Especially when you have to order using all in merch's website and get raped on shipping.  Oh well guess I'm done collecting incendiary, fuck you cca.

Recent Rev Represses

Revelation has been repressing a bunch of their back catalog of late; Youth of today, In my eyes, Quicksand, Kiss it goodbye, etc. I grabbed a couple of them at Generation last weekend.

Generation had all the YOT represses (cant close my eyes, break down the walls) but i only opted to grab We're not in this alone.  This is my favorite Youth of today record and since I dont collect Rev or YOT by any means I felt i only needed to own this one.  I really like how they redid everything to look like the original pressing.  The red vinyl matches nicely to the cover of course.

I also grabbed the above two Kiss it Goodbye 7"s.  Both are what is being called the "final press" and are limited to 330. Kiss it Goodbye is awesome and they played brooklyn a few months ago.  I am an idiot and didnt go, hopefully they come back soon. I really need to pick up the lp and the other in my eyes repressess now that i think of it.

QUICKSAND

Back in July Shop Radio Cast announced they would be handling the repress of Quicksand's "Slip".  I immediately became super excited as Quicksand are one of my favorite bands of all time. I began to check SRC and Vinyl Collective daily waiting for them to announce when preorders went up.  They went up July 31st at noon and i was on my phone on break at work buying all of them.  Its so great to finally own psychical copies of this record, and they did a great job with it. The dust sleeve above on the right doubles as the  liner notes.

The lp is also a gatefold! With a bunch of pictures of the band in the 90's, ah such a great feeling to look at this. I constantly hate myself for being born in 87 and not earlier so i could have seen Quicksand in their heyday. 

Here's a picture of the back of the lp, walter shredding silhouette style.

Here all all three 1st press colors, each limited to 500 and on 180 gram vinyl.  The red/black and green/yellow were available through SRC and the black was available through Dine Alone Records in Canada.  The vinyl is perfect and I couldn't ask for a better repress.  SRC actually handled the mailing for Dine Alone's black version.  When I got the black one i assumed it would say Dine Alone Records somewhere on the sleeve or vinyl labels, but no nothing there at all. Just says SRC.  Meaning that SRC pressed the black, said it was available thru dine alone in canada, then shipped it themselves. Kind of weird to go through that extra effort to include Dine Alone on this, when they dont seem to have done anything at all involving the repress.

LIHC Demos

So last Sunday I was sitting in my kitchen eating a cheeseburger and reading a book when Nick texted me saying he had extra lihc demos and wanted to know if i wanted them.  Of course I said yes and within minutes I had paypaled him 20 bucks.  2 days later they arrived. The clockwise demo is from 1994 and is classic 90's long island.

Here's the tape iself and the liner notes. Look at that cut and paste photocopy job!

Next one i got was the Motive demo from 1996. I havent gotten a chance to listen to this yet as it appears my dad has hijacked my cassette player.

Once again, the tape, liner notes and lyrics. Thanks nick!

BBB Preorders

Before I go into the records I got from my most recent BBB preorder, I just want to give this label some praise.  A guy name Sam runs the label, and he goes above and beyond for this label.  Case in point for these 7"s. Both of these went up for pre-order in late May. In August i realized i hadnt gotten them yet and i checked out the BBB website.  And right there in the recent news i saw that the covers for the Clear 7" had been delayed.  He didnt have to put an explanation or status of preorders on his site, but he did because he actually cares about his customer.  On the contrary you have a label like Six Feet Under where you wait months on end for something to come, and if you ask for a status update you are met with annoyance and anger at you even questioning them.  On to the records.

First one i preordered was the Clear demo 7" on, well clear vinyl limited to 300.  I downloaded the demo and I liked it a lot so i figured I might as well buy the 7".  When i got it i was reading the liner notes and realized that Pat Flynn of Have Heart does vocals for this band! No wonder why I liked them haha.

Secondly I preordered Rude Awakening's "The Awakening". I got Teal limited to 100.  This band played long island recently with Incendiary and Shipwreck.  I stupidly missed their set in favor of getting coffee.  Next time i wont because this band is awesome.  Also, once again while reading the liner notes i discovered Josh Hynes does the vocals, the man responsible for most of the boston/eastern mass hardcore shows in the 2000's.

TARPIT

So a few posts ago I mentioned a seller making up for sending me the wrong color Elliot LP.  In apology he sent me the Tarpit ep "Checkmate" on Red wax. Once again this band rips and it seems i've fallen into starting to collect this band, even though I've never seen them.

He also sent me this 7" by Alarms. Ive never even heard of them but it was cool of him to throw in something extra. I have yet to even listen to the record, I will soon.

Brand new weaponry

So maybe a month ago i was on my phone at work when i got an e-mail from Shop Radio Cast that they had the repress of Brand New's "Your Favorite Weapon" back in stock.  Knowing that the regular presses go for literally hundreds of dollars, I knew this was my only chance to own it for a reasonable price.  This record itself actually goes for over 30 on ebay!

The coolest part of this is the embossed title of the lp on the lower front of the sleeve.  God i get so nostalgic when i look at this record, brings me back to being a teenager on long island.

SSD

SINKING SHIPS DEMO 7" haha. Not much to say about how great sinking ships are. Truly miss this band. Excursion put some good effort into this.  I like how the labels on the vinyl itself are just silver with the band name stamped on them, keeps the demo feel to it.

The cover is the coolest party however.  Its a 2 part cover, part of the artwork is printed on the paper sleeve and the rest is on opaque acetate.  This gives the cover some sort of a distance to the powerlines when you look at it. Well done!

Canada Represent

So this 7" is great, two bands I didnt really pay much attention to when they were around.  Go it Alone and Blue Monday.  As I now get into them I find myself really enjoying both, and am now trying to own at least 1 copy of each of the bands records.  When I got this record I noticed it was put out by Rivalry records, and realized I had completely forgotten that label. In the mid 00's they were putting out some awesome music, but now it seems they have stopped.  Too bad because Kyle at Rivalry had a good eye for good bands. Love the vinyl on this one.

Commence Catching up

Wow its been a while since my last post. I've gotten really lazy about updating, but I haven't stopped buying records. I have about 40 record I need to post about, So lets get started.  Last month I picked up a bunch of records from one guy on the B9 board.  He had set prices that were all extremely reasonable, the type of situation where you are pricing to sell.

First thing I got was the Tarpit "Wake Up" 7" for their California tour.  I have the regular version but didnt know a cali tour press existed. For 2 bucks I would have been stupid not to get it as Tarpit rips.

The coolest part about this record is that the tour cover isnt just one of those covers that slips partially over the regular cover.  Its an actual real cover, nothing makeshift about it.  I love when bands/label put extra effort into things.

Next I grabbed Buried Alive "Six Month Face" on purple wax.  I have this on black already and dont collect buried alive, even though i really should as they are arguably one of the best 90's hc bands. But yea, once again a super low price forced me to buy this.

I also got the s/t Deathcycle 7".  I forgot i already had this so i grabbed it for 2 bucks.  The verison I already had is the more limited white out of 200.  Fun fact, Ron the singer lives in my town and I constantly see him riding his bike.

I was also able to add another 10" to my collection. This make #15!  Anway this is As Friends Rust  s/t.  Doghouse put this record out. One thing im noticing about that label is they put absolutely 0 money and effort into their vinyl.  The sleeve is literally a triple insert, no support or strength.  And the vinyl is flimsy as fuck.  At least the music is good!
EDIT: this is an 8" record, I'm an idiot. oh well, still only 14 10"s.

Next up i got Elliot's "U.S. Songs".  I had bought the Record Store Day 2011 version on grey from the seller, but when i got the lp it was still sealed. Upon opening it I found a black version, I looked up the pressing info to see if they had pressed it onto black when they did the rsd repress but found nothing.  I talked to the seller to see if this was a first press, but he did say he recently bought it and apologized for grabbing the wrong copy and offered to send the correct one asap.  However we made other arrangements and i got a different record and just kept this one.

I also got the classic Outspoken "A light in the Dark" lp, for only 8 bucks.  The cover isnt in the best condition but the record is mint.

Finally, I got American Nightmare's "We're Down til we're Underground" LP.  I'm nowhere near the fan level that most people are with AN, but I do enjoy them a lot.  And seeing them this summer in NYC was one of the most memorable shows I've ever been to.  I got this record for 25 bucks from the seller, this thing on regular non-limited black goes for 50 on ebay! HOLY DEAL. I was super happy to own a 1st press AN record for so cheap!

Tvitching Tongves

So the new Twitching Tongue's 7" went up for preorder a few weeks ago.  Beforehand the band was making all these cryptic twitter posts about it, tryna be all sneaky. It was funny but everyone knew what was going on.

This band is pretty fucking awesome. They sound a lot like Life of Agony and that's something that hardcore is really missing right now.  This color is out of 100 and already sold out. But the coolest thing about it is that its a gatefold 7" sleeve. I mean seriously, how often do labels do that. Never! Clearly a lot of work went into the packaging for this record and it is appreciated.

Only bad this is that Closed Casket uses All In merch to sell their stuff. Which is the stupidest thing they could possibly do.  All in rips you off on shipping like its their fucking job. I absolutely hate purchasing from them.

Groundwork

So on another one of my morning ebay searches i found this 7" from Groundwork. I won it for maybe 4 bucks and I was stoked because A) more 90s hardcore, B) cheap. I paid quickly and then I waited. The seller didnt send it for a while and then finally emailed me saying he mailed it. 2 weeks after i got that email i received the record, with a mailing date of 3 days before. It took over a month to get this record.  While thats not that long compared to past experiences, it is when you have a seller who said he shipped it two weeks ago. Anyway, I was happy to receive it.  But as it being my first time hearing groundwork I was disappointed. I wasnt realy into the music. Oh well, another record to file away, maybe I'll revisit it in a few years.

Motherfuck the way it looks like rain

So recently I was searching the B9 board selling forum, looking for what else but records. Anyway I found a guy selling a bunch of records I wanted. His prices were high so we negotiated down on some of them but he really wasnt willing to be reasonable.  I ended up only wanting a few Instilled records from him. But he was still over-valuing these records. At the same time I was talking to Dave from State of Mind records on b9. I forget what the conversation started out on but i mentioned that the guy was overcharging me on Instilled records. He then informed me 2 of the colors(red and green) i was buying from the guy were still available on the State of Mind Webstore. So I put in an order for two of them and then Dave offered to sell me the blue and yellow copies of the 7"... and a test press! He gave me a price, which was insanely reasonable and i instantly sent the rest of the money to him, and let the other guy know i got the records from the label for reasonable pricing.
A week later, everything arrived:

The test press is pretty standard, no numbering or anything. However i love the spraypainting on the cover to differentiate it.

Here's all the records i got: TEST PRESS out of 10-sih, Blue un-numbered out of 100, Yellow out of 100, Red out of 250 and Green out of 300.  Dave said only some of the blue were numbered and were supposed to be numbered through 100, but the guy who was doing the label with him at the time got lazy and stopped numbering them. It is unknown how many are actually numbered on blue. I previously had this record on clear, and now it seems all I need to have a complete collection is blue numbered. Guess I fell into an Instilled collection. I love it.

Dave also included a bunch of bonuses with the records! A ton of State of Mind stickers,  a Krakdown sticker, a download for the Anchor Singles Collected LP,  the Blood Red ep cd that came with the the 7's and the vinyl decal from the Blood Red 7"!!! How cool is that! Such an awesome little piece of LIHC right there! Damn I'd love to get a Blood Red Test press.

Every Word Handwritten

So I got into the Gaslight Anthem right when Sink or Swim came out.  I thought it was a great album.  The 2 albums after that I didnt really pay attention to, I bought the 59 sound and didnt even realize American Slang came out.  When I saw that their new record, Handwritten, was up for preorder I felt it was time to catch up.  I put in an order about a week before they were to begin shipping.

This is a fucking great album, hands down.  Its different from Sink or Swim and you can really hear how the band has matured since that record.  It might even be one of the best albums of the year in my opinion, yea its that good.

The physical album itself is super high quality. The vinyl is crystal clear blue and very heavy, feeling great in hand. The sleeve is a heavy duty gatefold with lyrics on the inside. That big paragraph to the left in the off white color.....a short little essay about how great the Gaslight Anthem is written by Nick Hornby! Yea the guy who wrote High Fidelity! How cool is that!

The dust sleeve is unlike any other dust sleeve I've ever gotten with a record. It's heavy cardboard to the point where it is higher quality than some record sleeves! I love the contrast of the tan color w/ the blue/black colorway of the rest of the record.  But my favorite thing about the sleeve is the little quote on the right side "...every word handwritten".  Its a really nice touch.

Finally, the coolest thing about the record and something I almost missed and I'm sure others did miss.. Inside the sleeve where the record goes is printed black with a white picture of someone. I cant tell who it is, but when would you ever expect there to be something printed inside the sleeve!!! So fucking awesome. Anyway, Mercury did an excellent job with this record. It's great to see that a major label actually put effort and money into a record instead of just pressing something cookie cutter just to make a quick buck.  This record is well worth the almost 30 bucks it cost.