Red Chunks

At some point last Fall, Marcus reached out to me with an eBay link for someone that had a copy of the Last Rights 7 inch on red vinyl for sale. It was no surprise that I hadn't heard anything about this colored vinyl pressing, but Marcus appeared to be stumped as well. We couldn't find any info anywhere online. Was it a legit TAANG release, or was it a boot? Well, for $15 I figured that I'd take the chance.

Turns out, TAANG is selling the record on Discogs, and have it listed as only 200 pressed on red, so it appears to be an official release. Surprisingly though, Discogs shows the selling history is at zero. None of these have sold through Discogs... and I'm one of three people listed as owning it there? Kind of weird for a classic hardcore record reissue that has been available for at least six months.

I love the Last Rights songs... a lot. Their entire output is some of the best Boston Hardcore, but the reality of me owning an original pressing of the Chunks 7 inch was very low. Sure, I've dropped $500 on original pressings for albums... but, man, to spend that for a two song 7 inch... I don't know. Seeing this colored vinyl version seemed like a good enough option to get something into my collection.

Test Tour Remission

There was a time, not that long ago, when the first thing that I'd do each morning was open my latest Discogs wantlist message to see if there was anything new that I should buy. Over the past 6 months or so, I gave that routine up. Same shit everyday with the same shit prices. It was frustrating, so I started ignoring them. A couple months back, I was itching to buy some records, but didn't know what I wanted... so I hit one of the wantlist messages and was surprised to see something that I wanted... and at a good price.

What? Posting my second test pressing this year? Damn, this almost feels like a record collector blog again. I've got a pretty solid Remission collection, so when I saw this test available on Discogs from the guy that used to run Amendment Records, I quickly added that shit to my cart and bought it.

This has been a nice reminder of how great Remission were. This record came out near the height of my record collecting mania, and it is cool as fuck to get my hands on this test press eleven years later.

I exchanged a few messages with the seller after he had shipped the record, and discovered that he also had a copy of the tour press that I was missing. I was so excited about the test press, that I failed to look to see what else he had available when I ordered. We worked a deal off Discogs, and quickly another Remission record was headed my way.

There were 110 copies on blue vinyl, with the European Tour 2013 stamped dust sleeve.

The tour press also included a couple of nice inserts with tour dates and stuff. Cool additions to capture the moment in time. This completes the Pain Understood collection, and now all I need are the tests for the two albums (and a transition press of Winds Of Promise if you want to get technical about it).

New Idles

Last year, I was all about checking out new music that was outside the normal spectrum of what I typically listen to. I was really craving something new and different for me, and I found all kinds of stuff that was fresh and interesting to me. In that spirit, I stumbled upon the band IDLES as I was checking out some new music on Spotify. The artwork of the pink frosted cake for the single Gift Horse caught my eye, and I figured that I'd take a chance and give it a quick listen.

I was really digging the Gift Horse single and quickly checked the other two song that were on Spotify to promote the upcoming album TANGK. I listened to those songs a lot... partly because I really liked them, but also because I wasn't sure how much I really liked them. A couple of the songs were a bit raucous but still restrained, and one of the songs, Grace, was really laid back... and I couldn't easily define the band. I could feel myself starting to obsess over the songs, and after being drawn back to Grace over and over, I started to wonder if I wanted to buy the record.

There was a deluxe edition of the vinyl available, and I was wondering if I should make the jump for it. It cost a bit more than the regular version, but the holographic cover sounded like it would be a cool touch... but I still wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the cash for a band that I didn't know too well, so I stared at it in the webstore for about a week... and then it sold out. I was mad at myself for not making a move sooner and for playing it so safe... and then a couple of days later the webstore had it in stock again, so I quickly pulled the trigger.

Initially I wasn't sure how I felt about the full album, but after a few listens it really started to click with me, and it is one of the most listened to records for me so far this year. I'm still listening to a bunch of stuff that is a bit different for me, and this IDLES record is definitely one of my favorite things right now.

The entire packaging of this record is so good. The metallic holographic TANGK logo on the front, the great looking vinyl, the large booklet insert, and the Love Is The Fing sticker on the front. There is also a sticker that is stuck over the opening for the record, and I had to carefully peel that off to get into the gatefold cover, which was a bit of a pain in the ass, but was a unique touch. Well done all around.

Out Of Takes

I'm not big on alternate recordings for songs. It just doesn't interest me. All I need is the final version that ended up on the record. Anything else is wasted on me. So when I heard that there was a new Minor Threat record with some outtakes, I didn't give it much thought. However, as I was listening to the DJ station on Spotify and it queued up this different version of In My Eyes, it caught my ear and I thought it was kind of cool.

Okay, a little backstory. Chad Lutzke is an author that I enjoy quite a bit. He writes short novellas that tend to come in just over 100 pages, and focus on darker coming-of-age themes and slice of life stories. He writes in a very stripped down style that works incredibly well for him, and I binged seven of his books to start the year, including his classic Of Foster Home And Flies and a reread of one of my favorite novellas ever, Out Behind The Barn. The other thing about Chad is that he loves old school hardcore punk, and we have exchanged a few messages and comments through Instagram... but I was surprised when he had tagged me in a post a few months ago asking if I'd picked up the new Minor Threat 7 inch. While I hadn't really considered buying the record, getting called out like that had me rushing to the Dischord store so that I didn't lose any punk points with the man.

Was I happy that I caved to peer pressure when the record arrived? The packaging is great, with the story on how this recording came to be, plus the photos from that time are a perfect documentation of history... the clear vinyl looks great, and the songs are fun as hell. Does that answer your questions, motherfuckers?

Newbury Power Trip

When I first heard the Manifest Decimation album from Power Trip back in 2013 it didn't do much for me. I think that I just had so much great new music that year, that I couldn't sit still long enough to appreciate it. So many other great records were taking up all of my attention. Power Trip finally clicked with me with their Nightmare Logic album in 2017, and even though that record was one of my favorites that year, I was still slow to go back and give Manifest Decimation another go.

Last year had me revisiting Nightmare Logic a bit, and I figured that it finally time to give Manifest Decimation another listen... and it was no surprise that the record hit me in the best way this time around. The record is pure crossover thrash, and I completely love that style, so I'm happy to be spinning this record even if it is ten years too late.

After listening to these songs a few time, I started my hunt for the vinyl. I wasn't too concerned with original pressings, and just wanted to pick one up for cheap. I found that Newbury Comics did an exclusive pressing, and the vinyl looked nice, so I opened a tab on my browser for the Newbury's store with the intent to buy it soon. That was probably about nine months ago. That open tab to buy the Power Trip record just sat there month after month, and I kept telling myself, "soon". When I saw Marcus post earlier this year about a couple of Newbury Comics exclusive pressings (coincidentally also for an album originally released in 2013), that was the push that I needed to finally just get it done.

Nice sticker for the Newbury exclusive. Rest in power, Riley Gale.

Give Me The Cure

No doubt, last year I really branched out on what I was listening to for music. I was craving something different, and I discovered all kinds of stuff that hit that spot. Part of that shift was that I allowed myself to listen to single songs. I've always been a "full album or nothing" kind of guy, but realizing the freedom with Spotify to listen to a song with zero commitment to chase anything else changed my entire outlook. Plus, as my friend Doug and I were sharing with each other the oddball shit that we had listend to that year, he told me, "Spotify is totally for listening to shit you won't buy." Words of wisdom, and recognizing that I can love songs from the first Lorde album with no commitment to have it on my record shelf was freeing.

Of course this is good for me in theory, but apparently if the obsession is strong enough, I'll still find myself buying records.

Last year, my friend Sarah shared the song Open from The Cure with me. Like a lot of the songs that she shared with me at the time, it took me a while to fully appreciate it, but once it hit me I found myself really enjoying it and returning to the song often. I didn't venture too far away from Open, but earlier this year I wanted to check out more from the band and happened to check out the song Pictures Of You. Wow. This song hooked me immediately. It had all the sad vibes that I was craving and I listened to that song so many times. My obsession with it finally got to the point where I started looking at 12 inch singles for it. I found a UK colored vinyl pressing from a seller in Canada, and even though the price was higher than I expected, it didn't matter as I quickly added it to my cart and checked out.

After sitting with the song Pictures Of You for a bit, I took a chance with the entire Disintegration album, and to my surprise, I love it so fucking much. Goddamnit. All I wanted was one single from The Cure, and now it's got me thinking of buying more.

Priest Revolution

When Sandwell was over from the UK, and I met him in Boston for the afternoon, he was kind enough to bring me a couple of gifts. The thing about me is that my personality is 50% records and 50% books, so Mark knows me well.

First up, Mark delivered me a book on the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal. I've got a few books covering the NWOBHM, and the series of them from Martin Popoff, I've read a couple of times, so I'm happy to add one more to the shelf. It has been a few years since I've spent any time reading non-fiction books on music, but the next time the NWOBHM obsession kicks in, I'll be reaching for this one.

A few years ago, I was really thinking about starting to collect Judas Priest singles. I mean, I have an incomplete collection of Iron Maiden singles, so I might as well start to fuck around with Priest, right? I didn't get too far with that idea, and soon set the plan aside to focus on other things, but I was still excited that Mark brought me a copy of the Revolution single. The Angel Of Retribution album was released in 2005, and Revolution was the first single released from it. This was Halford's return to Priest, and to hear that scream at the beginning of the song at that time, it sent a chill down your spine. It was so good to have him back in the band. This was back in the days when vinyl was struggling to make a comeback, so of course the only option was a picture disc.