Making Amends for September

Boom! October is a great month for records I feel. I don't know what it is, I don't even remember what I got last October, but I bet it's great for most people. I actually crossed some major wants off my list, including one that has been in my top ten wants for years now.

The most notable finds here are the ones that I have been searching and searching for, without wanting to resort to ebay, discogs, or whatever other electronic means there are. Those would be first and foremost Bloodflowers, From Her to Eternity, and The Idiot, in that order. I think I may these albums may be entitled to posts of their own.

Other finds of importance: The Cure's "Catch" 12" single, which is significant because it's a German single with the b side being made up of two live tracks from The Cure In Orange performance, which has as of yet only been released on VHS and laserdisc (which had the audio terribly out of sync from the video), meaning high quality versions of these songs are not available. This performance is actually incredible, Simon is a boss in it, and the film is a must see/own for any major Cure fan. All you need to know: they play mostly goth material in an outdoor ampitheatre built by the Romans two thousand years ago. I also got the "Killing The Arab" seven inch, and at a decent deal, but to cut a long story short, I coul've had it for a measly three bucks. It's got that cool embossed centre thing going on that old singles had. Does nobody do that anymore?

Oh and Quickness is awesome. I bought that album on tape in Victoria's Fan Tang Alley back in 2008 or so, and it rips. Even the reggae track. Probably my third favorite Bad Brains album. Stoked to get it on proper vinyl, so I passed the cassette onto Finner. Apparently "Don't Blow Bubbles" is super homophobic, but it kinda just comes across as nonsense (Trash Pits?).

Some new records in there too. Lost Tribe's debut LP is incredible, Condominium I haven't spun too much to be honest. Cutest Band in Hardcore is on No Way, not the legendary Mutha label, so no hype here on that front.

Shoutouts to AK, Blank Stare, Rotate This' 20% sale, Not Dead Yet, Turning Point, the new Sonic Boom in Kensington, trcoffins, Alex and Creem, Blind Prophet, some Zine distro, Grave Mistake, and Hits and Misses.

Another July Has Passed...

...which means one more month until summer's end. I've been doing this thing where I keep track of what I accumulate through the month, and then culminate it with a monthly photo. I hadn't posted any here, but I suppose I'll start doing that starting now with the month of July.

I spent much less on records in July because my summer was basically over. I was no longer travelling to Montreal or Toronto every week, my vacation had already been spent on a trip to LA, and I mentally switched from vacation mode to workfulltimeandpayforschool mode. Regardless still found a couple decent things.

The bottom of this picture is the four 7"s that came with the BEGN of the new Fucked Up album. I love that band, and I think the album is decent, but I think they went overkill with all these releases. Ideally I would have trimmed down the 2XLP in length a bit, and avoided these redundant 7"s. There is nothing about them that makes me want to jam them. This is especially true of the middle ones, but it's just pictures of people or things, and nothing really attention grabbing. What made the slew of the Fucked Up releases in their earlier period exciting was the fact that tons of different (and much smaller) labels were putting them out, meaning each 7" had its own unique vibe. All 7"s released since signing to Matador however come in the exact same packaging and format, rendering their run of releases somewhat stagnant if I were to speak boldly. The constant white bar and text that has been there since "Police" is great because it creates a subliminal bond with their whole catalogue while securing an aesthetic, but all other format opportunities have been somewhat lost in recent times. Long story short: shake things up!

Other notable finds in this lot: A French Cure bootleg (whose picture disc properties are excused by the fact that it features a picture of Robert Smith with Santa), The Cure Happily Ever After (a double LP compiling Faith and Seventeen Seconds for American audiences, Billy Bragg Peel Sessions, some New Order and Depeche Mode, and finally the gayest record I now own: the "Disappointed" 12" single featuring Neil Tennant by Electronic (the music duo of Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr). In conclusion, not enough punk this month.

Shoutouts to: Ross P., AK, Erin Power, Krista, Beatnik Records, Aux 33 Tours, and Vertigo Records.

Finally, I figure I would post the past couple of months here, because they are no longer posted anywhere else. April, May, June:

 

A Few Things

Went to the Omegas LP release show in TO, Mad Men opened and were incredible of course. Got the new Omegas LP, which from cover to the songs is incredible. It only makes me laugh when people hate them. Get into it! Mad Men were supposed to have a 7" but it experienced pressing plant delays. Jonah said they might sell some tests instead, which led to Finner and I stressing out over who, when and where was going to be selling them. Needless to say, none were had, so I bought 2 pins instead.

Photos by my brother Logan. It was his first hardcore show.

I also established a new personal record shopping rule. I've long wanted a Cure discography collection, probably since I was about fifteen. Due to the extensive nature of their releases, I figured I would start with the LPs. Well years later I have most the LPs, but there are some rare ones that are holding out (namely Wish and Bloodflowers!!!). So after having not bought any Cure records in a couple years, and after having constantly passing on the singles, I decided if I found a single I didn't own, and it was under $10, it would be a must buy. I have since made an extensive excel sheet to help me with this quest. I then found this amazing website. I wonder if there are similar sites for other cool bands. Anyway, as cool as it is, I'm bummed cause I just found out my copy of Three Imaginary Boys my ex bought me years ago is a 90s boot. Kinda cool I guess, cause the quest continues!

Lastly I'm moving in May, up one floor, so I'm deciding a whole new record storage format. I'll post about that and try to post about other things as they happen.

Also, lots of cool mail order in lately. Maybe I'll post about it on my dumb tumblr. Record store day this Saturday, only excited for Fucked Up and maybe Bad Brains (the LP not Pay to Cum).

Also, who bothers going to record stores that don't have used vinyl when that option is available?