a wilhelm scream collection

I've been getting into these guys for a while now but only recently started trying to get a collection together. Managed to pick up 1 thing I never expected to find, and haven't managed to track down another thing which should be much easier!

Just how it goes I guess.

beggars

The great new Thrice album, Beggars.

Pre-ordered this one too, managed to score one of the clear presses, limited to either 147 or 99. The first batch were all signed and numbered (but I forget out of how many.... 3000 maybe?) and came on selection of colours.

warren of snares

Fall of Efrafa was a project that lasted from 2005-2009, a post-hardcore project "...based around a re-imagining of the mythological and political overtones in the book 'Watership Down' by Richard Adams..." as Wikipedia puts it.

The Warren of Snares box is the collection of all their albums plus a bunch of other neat extras. I preordered it months and months ago, and it turned up a few weeks back (I forget when).

The packaging is just insane, that's the only word for it.

You can also download all their music free off their site, so get in while you can before the links are taken down or something.

Many more pics to follow!

against me collection

Thought I'd post the current state of my Against Me! collection, as I've not actually put it together before. I'm not one of those must-have-every-colour-of-every-press types, for the most part anyway. I mean, I would be, but there's just so many different pressings to collect - Axl Rose is up to 27! Reading the list on No Idea, that totals an amazing 78 different variations across all the pressings. You'd have to be insane to chase that many variations, and that's just 1 album!

Anyway, the 12s I do have are (top to bottom, left to right):

• Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose - 10th press, baby yellow /550
• Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose - 2006 test press, silkscreen fabric cover /18
• From Her Lips to God's Ears (Energize-O-Tron) - 1st press, black /3185
• Don't Lose Touch - 1st press, black /3050
• The Original Cowby - 1st press, baby blue /524
• New Wave - 1st press, clear yellow /6000
• Searching for a Former Clarity - 1st press, white + black /3105

Still missing a few key 12s, namely As the Eternal Cowboy, the 12 of White People for Peace, the double-12 live record Americans Abroad, and the much pursued self-titled (which will is the current white whale).

In the 7s department, we got (left to right, top to bottom - just to be difficult):

• The Acoustic EP - 1st press, clear gold /256
• The Acoustic EP - 1st press, clear /267
• Crime as Forgiven By Against Me! - 1st press, black (big hole) /5400
• The Disco Before the Breakdown - 1st press, clear red /336
• The Disco Before the Breakdown - 16th(?) press, purple/pink swirl /75
• Thrash Unreal - 1st press, black /6500
• Cavalier Eternal - 1st press, clear blue /327
• Cavalier Eternal - 5th(?) press, pinky/purple swirl /574
• Thrash Unreal - 1st press, black /6500
• Sink, Florida, Sink - 1st press, blue/white swirl /2000
• Sink, Florida, Sink - 4th press, pale blue swirl /150
• Thrash Unreal - 1st press, clear red /500
• White People for Peace - 1st press, white /1000 (signed by Tom!)
• White People for Peace - 1st press, black /6500
• Stop! - 1st press, black /4500

Still a few 7s to go before I'll consider the set is complete. Mostly that's the last colours of the singles from the New Wave recordings - the yellow press of Stop!, the single for New Wave, and I think there was 1 more colour for Thrash Unreal too.

Crazy shit. Hit me up if you fancy helping to fill those gaps

reinventing axl rose test

Today the mail man brought another piece of the Against Me! puzzle - a test press of Against Me! is Reinventing Axl Rose. This was a steal on ebay but took over a month to get here and I was starting to freak out a little bit. Turns out that whole good-things-come-to-those-that-wait thing was true, this time at least.

From what I understand, the original pressing plates started to wear out after so many pressings, so this was a test for the new set of plates made in late 2006 (just before the 11th pressing). This is kinda funny, as my existing copy was from the 10th press, the last on the older plates.

Apparently there were 18 tests pressed in this batch, but the real gem is that the sleeve is actually a silk-screened fabric sheet.

The part I find the funniest is the sleeve that the ebay seller sent as part of the packaging to protect the record in transit. Check the pic after the cut.

involution part 2

Another ebay purchase turned up this afternoon - the 2nd copy of Involution by Soul Control that I've been waiting on. Picked this up for a steal (less of a steal than my 1st copy though!) so I'm pretty happy.

This one is the red/orange swirl limited to 200, but you have to agree it's some beautiful wax.

a day of contrasts

So, yesterday was a bit of a weird one for music. During lunchtime I picked up Based on a True Story and Dr Boondigga and the Big BW by Fat Freddy's Drop.

FFD are just about the best example of New Zealand dub music, and they are fucking awesome. They have that lazy Sunday afternoon BBQ sound that just makes you feel home - the sound of Wellington summer in a record.

Boondigga is their latest album released this year and there's some pretty dense brass arrangements in there (when was the last time you heard a tuba?). True Story was quite dark lyrically, but Boondigga is a lot more uplifting and happy - very we-are-all-a-community-and-we-support-each-other in style. Both fantastic albums and really every kiwi should own them.

It's hard to explain how fantastic FFD are for people outside New Zealand, but really you've just got to sit down and give them a try. There's an audio sampler on their site so get over there and at least do yourself the service of listening.

In terms of the wax, both records are double-gatefold on black wax. No idea on the number of pressings of either, but I don't give a shit if there's a million. Both these records are a must, and the artwork on the sleeves is awesome.

The contrast comes in with this pair of 7"s from The Inoculators which were waiting when I got home. You might recall I scored a free copy of Dropped Their Brains not too long ago with an Against Me! 7" and was pretty stoked. I ordered their 7" split with Noise Attack right then and there, and it turned up today with a friend - their new 7" Home for the Holidays.

I emailed Murphy from the band to check it out, turns out there's 550 of their new single pressed, all on the stunning clear with red + green splatter. The other single was pressed 500 times on clear red with black splatter.

If I'm not mistaken, that completes my Inoculators collection!

landmines....wtf?

This is a bit more "WTF?!" than Landmines - not that their self-titled 12" isn't awesome.
Ordered this off Paper+Plastick a week or two back, under the impression it was pressed only on black wax. In fact, I wasn't even going to post when it turned up because it's just an epic album and that's all that needed to be said.

So you can understand my confusion when I get a beautiful clear orange wax copy in the mail this afternoon. Is that for real? I have no idea on the number of pressings of any colour for this record, so anyone out there with info, please share! I emailed Paper+Plastick to see if they've got the skinny and will update if I hear back.
Pics after the cut.

buzzsaws and politics

It's been a little slow lately while I wait for a bunch of ebay treasures to arrive or for a magical find down at the bargain bin.

I thought I'd had the latter when I stumbled onto a red copy of the Acrid / Left for Dead split Hacked to Pieces on buzzsaw vinyl (picture mercilessly stolen from ihatepunkrock's flickr because I forgot to take any......again).

I was really stoked to find it, mostly because I tend to fall for tacky shit like discs with funny shapes or cool packaging, but what I didn't notice until I got home was that one of the teeth had previously snapped clean off.

Arg!

It must have happened ages ago because the missing piece wasn't in my bags or back in the store, so I took it back and washed my hands of the whole affair. There goes my interesting post for the week. Collectors: you can officially correct the number of presses for this record from 104 to 103, because damage like that makes the copy I owned for the weekend worth approximately three-fifths of bugger-all.

In lighter news, I did find a still-sealed copy of A Perfect Circle's eMOTIVe on lovely orange wax while I was dropping off the saw disc this morning. Nothing particularly special about that - god only knows how many copies of that there must be floating around out there - but the 2nd disc for this has a really beautiful white swirl in the middle of the clear orange and I can't take my eyes off it.

My phone is near-death for battery right now so I'll try and get some pics tonight.

EDIT: Pics added after the cut.

heart burns

I picked up this record on the strength of Tom’s first single Anna was a Stool Pigeon and it’s not a disappointment. The record is a definite shift away from Against Me!'s previous work but not in an unpleasant way. I guess if I picked this up and it sounded exactly the same as Against Me! I wouldn’t be upset, but it wouldn’t be much of a progression of his sound.

There’s a lot more electronics in here - synths and drum machines - so it won’t appeal to a lot of people, but I appreciate he’s trying new things and going in a new direction.

I’m fairly sure this was only pressed on black wax, but it came with the CD and a decent lyric sheet as well so it’s not a bad package. If there are more colours then I’d definitely like to know - anyone got the inside word there?

against me! is reinventing axl rose

Against Me!'s first full length is a total classic - can you believe this is over 7 years old now? Crazy shit.

It's got heaps of really awesome tracks like Pints of Guinness Make Your Strong and Walking is Still Honest. If you don't have this record you are a failure, go and buy it now.

Seriously. I'll wait.



Ok, so there have been 27 pressings of this, amounting to over 20,000(!) individual discs. This copy is from the 10th press on a beautiful butter yellow (limited to 550) which I picked up off ebay a month or two ago. Really I should have taken some pics of it rather than using the ones from the ebay listing, but their pics are way better than what mine normally turn out like so maybe I won't bother.

EDIT: I did bother, but I shouldn't have. The ebay ones are definitely better.

be not content

I was still on a high from my Soul Control find when I stumbled across this 12" from Trapdoor Fucking Exit. I'd vaguely heard of them before but had no familiarity with their music and thought it was worth a spin. Like Involution, this was stupid fucking cheap too, weighing in at five bucks.

I've only listened to this a little but I'm impressed. They've got a really different sound, the syncopation and odd sounding time signatures are fun. They're worth a listen, so pick this up from No Idea now. They still have copies of this sexy grey marble even tho it was pressed 5 years ago and there were only ever 550 of them. Maybe No Idea just forgot to update their site?

involution

Of all my bargain-bin jackpots, this has to be my fav. A mint-condition 1st pressing of Soul Control's Involution on red wax (limited to 600) and it broke the bank at $NZ6. I've spent more on a cup of coffee than this record, and it's an absolute killer.

So stoked!

I'm keeping my eye out for the red/orange swirl wax on this one too, which was limited to just 200 and it's an absolutely stunning record.

Go and get this, it's a necessity.

against me! remixes

Here are a couple of 12" Against Me! remixes from the Searching for a Former Clarity album. On the left is Don't Lose Touch  remixed by Mouse on Mars, and on the right is From Her Lips to God's Ears remixed by Adrock. Both were only pressed on black limited to 3050 and 3185 respectively, and truth be told I haven't heard either yet. They're essentials for my AM! collection, but I've not managed to track down digital versions so I haven't risked playing yet.

In both cases the record has the remix as the a-side track, and the album version on the b-side. Both tracks are really solid on the album so you can't go wrong with those. The remixes? Your mileage may vary.

dropped their brains

I got sent this 12" free with an Against Me! 7" I was after and have only really had a chance to listen to it in the last few days. The Inoculators have a really great sound and I'm glad I got introduced to them. There's a bunch of tracks up on their site for free download, and I definitely recommend you check them out.
They're also practically giving their vinyl away in the store too - a copy of the above Dropped Their Brains pressed on clear green wax (limited to 855) will cost you $US8, and their 7" split with Noise Attack on clear red with black splatter (limited to 500) is just $US5. Did I mention that both prices include worldwide shipping? I'm pretty sure it will cost them more to ship the 7" I just bought to New Zealand than I paid for the whole thing.

That's fucking cheap.

Get over there and support these guys. http://www.theinoculators.com/

anger management in four chords or less

This is another sweet score from the bargain bin at Real Groovy in Wellington. For the princely sum of $6 (that's 6 New Zealand dollars folks, not even a fiver by American standards) I walked out of there with a really tight album from a great little band.

I love the rough cardboard sleeve, but it wasn't until I got back to the hotel I saw the wax was pressed on a gorgeous orange/white marble! Real Groovy are out of their mind for letting such an awesome record go for so cheap, but to let it go that cheap when there's only 467 pressed is just criminal.

You should already own this record. If you don't, then go and get it right now. Side note: Real Groovy doesn't have any more copies. And I don't apologise.

bridge9 2009 summer compilation

I bought this 12" sampler because the artwork reminded me of the artwork for Based on a True Story by Fat Freddy's Drop. There's a few good tracks on here but I'm not really feeling this either.

It was a one-time press of 1000 on an admittedly attractive blue-grey marble and included a CD, poster and download card. I've not used any so if you fancy getting your hands on it, jump on my Limited Pressing collection and put up a trade.

new wave

I fucking love this album. Picked up a still sealed copy from the Auckland Real Groovy and I'm so stoked. According to the Against Me! website the yellow colour is a limited pressing of 6000, but that's hardly limited. It is a lovely piece of 180g wax however, and it included a CD copy of the album too.

There are so many good tracks on this record you just have to grab a copy. There's probably a good 10,000 on black around but they're on 180g as well so you're sure for a great audio experience regardless.

prototypes and painkillers

Straight up, I don't love this 12" from Strung Out. I do love the bright pink wax but it's a crime that this isn't in the hands of a fan, especially considering the pink was limited to just 316.

Head over to my collection on Limited Pressing and make me a trade if you want it. It's never been played and the download card hasn't been used either.

I'll edit this post when the record has gone, so if you're reading this, yes it's still on offer. Pics after the cut.

the original cowboy

I fucken love Against Me!. I found them originally through a co-worker and was immediately turned onto their folk sound. Searching for a Former Clarity is one of my all-time favourite albums (but I'll write about that later), and I've basically made it my mission to track down a first-press of all of their vinyl. I'm not too far away from that goal, but there are still some white whales that elude me. Their records are the centerpiece of my collection and I'll be writing about them all over the coming days.

The Original Cowboy is a series of tracks that AM put down before they went into the studio to record As the Eternal Cowboy. It's basically a collection of demos recorded and mixed in a couple hours which went on to have the full studio treatment for Eternal, so the tracks have a really raw and gritty sound.

I really love the mixes on this record, and it's really such a huge departure of the studio mix you should really consider the record to be entirely seperate, despite the obvious connection.

I picked this up the day it dropped on Fat Wreck and was extremely lucky in scoring the baby blue wax, limited to just 524. I can't recommend this record highly enough, but you'll probably have a fairly difficult time of tracking down a blue copy. Fat is still selling black presses but the blue is just so stunning you should make the effort to find one.

A good start is Limited Pressing.