State Of The Union

All the way back in 2016, I posted about 3's Dark Days Coming LP and how much I loved the song Swann Street. Fellow collector massivewaste was kind enough to point out that an alternate version exists, which was released on the State Of The Union compilation. Well, I managed to finally pick up a copy of said comp before a full decade past, if only barely. I really like this comp because you can't go wrong with Dischord in the 80s. The other version of Swann Street is awesome as well, but I prefer the album version. 

Fugazi, Once, Fugazi, Twice

Why order only one record, well technically a box set, when you can order more? Two more records to cross off my want list. Who says you can’t buy happiness?

2023 Repress on Crystal Vellum on Dischord /???

2024 Repress on Blue Marble (‘Thor’) on Dischord /???

Swiz

I got to know about Swiz by proxy when I discovered Sweet Jesus, one of the myriad of bands featuring Pat Flynn on vocals. I remember reading reviews citing Swiz as a big influence. I’d only heard the name of the band but never listened to them until then. Since I really loved Sweet Jesus, it was kind of a given that I like Swiz as well. However, their full length records are a little hard to come by and as much as I like the band, shelling out 100 bucks for Hell Yes I Cheated was out of question for me. 

When one of my favorite record stores / mailorders in Germany announced they might get a Swiz box set, done by Dischord no less, I was all over this. I wrote one of the guys running Bis Aufs Messer and he said he couldn’t make any promises but he’d put me on the waiting list. Great guy that Robert is, he contacted me a couple of months later out of the blue and said the box sets would ship soon and asked if I was still interested. Hell, yes, I was still interested! As everything Dischord does, this is a high quality product. The box is well done, the records look and sound great and the booklet is incredible. The box set wasn’t cheap, but it cost still less on what I’d have paid on just the first Swiz LP, so it was money well spent. 

Box Set (All Records on Black Vinyl) on Dischord /???

Lost

The last record I picked up at the local store was Open Up and Bleed, an aptly titled record for an album by Iggy and the Stooges, given Mr Pop's usual stage antics. The sub heading is The Great Lost Stooges Album? The record itself, which was released in 1996 way after the disbandment of the band, is a collection of live recordings of songs performed by the Stooges regularly. The songs might have appeared on the fourth full-length, but the band split up before they were ever recorded properly. There are some good songs on here, but no actual tracks to my ear. Still, it's a fun listen. 

1st Press on Black on Bomp

X-Post

As much as I love early US hardcore, I’m not that well-versed in German hardcore from the 80s. I know a lot of bands by name, but I’ve only listened to a handful of them and to be honest, most of them were rather underwhelming. I took a gamble on this compilation because it was sitting there for less than 10€. The record was released in 1990, but all of those bands had been active throughout the 80s. I listened to the comp a few times but nothing really stuck out and grabbed my attention. It’s not like the songs on the compilation are bad, but they’re not outstanding either to me. If nothing else, it is a cool document of the time. 

X-Mist was an important label, and later on distribution, for hardcore in Germany and many German hardcore bands that are considered classics nowadays had releases on that label. It’s fair to say that without X-Mist hardcore in Germany wouldn’t be same, whether you like the bands on the label or not. The founder, Armin Hofmann, passed away a couple of years way before his time, and since the record store owner knew him personally, he had a bunch of memorial cards behind the counter and gave me one. The drawing was done by Tim Kerr of The Big Boys and other bands. RIP. 

So Far From Home

It’s funny how your perception of a band can change. I remember someone playing Reach The Sky to me a long, long time ago and me not liking the songs at all. I don’t know what it was, but the songs didn’t click with me at all. So I never really bothered to check them out again. 

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I last went to the local record store. I’d seen the record sitting in one of the bins during my previous visits and I’d pondered getting the record to give the band another shot, but the other records I’d put on my pile always seemed more desireable. So I put off buying it, until my last visit. I wanted to buy something at the store and after flipping through the usual bins, I still didn’t have that many records, so I decided that day was the day. It definitely helped that the record was priced very reasonably. 

When I got home, I still had some work to do at my desk, so I put on the new records one after another. When So Far From Home was over, I just flipped the record and listened to it again. And again. And again. I couldn’t believe that was the same band I’d always considered lame. The album has been on constant rotation since then and I just listened to it again today. Might be my favorite discovery of an old band in 2025!

1st Press on Black on Victory

This Is Heaven

The local record store has been a steady supply of new records this year, which has been the biggest surprise to me all year when it comes to buying records. Couple of weeks ago I went in there and picked up a couple of records I‘d been dancing around at previous trips. On my way to the check out counter I happened to look at one of the 7” display things the store has on the wall and saw an interesting looking 7”. Turns out, it was the 7” with one of my all-time favorite songs, Just Like Heaven by The Cure. I haven’t figured out the remix part yet to be honest, but any which way, this is just about one of the greatest songs ever. I don’t like everything by The Cure, but this song I love. 

Oh yeah, since I started that conversation earlier this year, this would be the #1 choice for the song I’d use for a skateboard part if I’d ever be able to pull that off. 

Big Dreams

Finding a variant of a a record you love and still need is great. Finding a variant of a record you love and still need at a reasonable price (single digit price tag in this case!) is awesome. Finding a variant of a record you love and still need at a reasonable price in combination with domestic shipping and no customs fees attacheis the best. 

 

Big Kids rule, listen to Hoop Dreams.  

2nd Press on Clear Red w/ Black Streaks on Topshelf /300

The Love Movement

Ever since I started listening to A Tribe Called Quest seriously, they’ve been one of my all-time favorite hip hop bands. Their first three records are pure gold and I wouldn’t skip any song. The Love Movement is their fifth LP, originally released in 1998, and while it is still a really good record, for me it’s a rung below the first three records. There are also too many songs for one album, so it’s a hard listen to begin with. Still, there are some great tracks on The Love Movement.

Latest Repress on Black on Jive /???

Random At Best

I love finding records of random bands I’ve heard of before and just falling in love with. If you’d asked me a band called Between Owls couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t have told you anything about them. As of today, their second album Vacation is one of my most listened to records in 2025. Somehow I ended up browsing the KROD Records webstore and the cover of the LP spoke to me. “A bunch of flamingos standing in a park, really?” I hear you say and I don’t really have an answer. But something made me check out the music behind the band/album and I just happened to really like what I heard. It’s not a style of music I usually listen, so if you’d just described the music, which is somewhere between indie, low-fi and dream pop, I probably would have been dismissive about it. But again, the music triggered something in me and the singer has a really beautiful voice. Sometimes it’s just like that. My favorite song by far is Go For A Ride, a cool 60s inspired indie song. And you can call me crazy, but I could see some of the songs featured in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

The record was pressed on a bunch of different marble colors, all of which looked cool to me. You couldn’t order a specific colour though, whichever record you got was chosen randomly. While I understand that that might trigger or even anger some people, I was fine with taking  gamble and I got lucky, because the red looks great and works well with the cover.

1st Press on Red Marble on KROD /??? [Random Colors Only]

Who Am I Kidding…

Who ever commented on my last Fugazi post that I definitely need three copies of each Fugazi release, you were absolutely right. Well, at least two-thirds right, because the colored represses and first presses make for a pretty cool collection, but I don’t necessarily need the black represses I bought over the last few years. I feel like whenever I write “Oh, well, I don‘t know if I should buy this record or start that micro collection“, or something along these lines, I pretty much just want someone to confirm the decision I’ve already made subconsciously. It took me about two or three days to give in to my idea of starting to buy the colored represses of Fugazi records and so far, there are no regrets on my part because Dischord knocked it out of the park with the colors they chose. Simple, but very beautiful. 

Most Recent Repress on Solid Red on Dischord

Most Recent Repress on Clear Blue on Dischord

Life On The Moon

Modern Life Is War is one of my all-time favorite bands, as you may or may not know from reading this blog. However, this is mainly based on the first 7” and the first two LPs to be honest. Nothing can ever touch those records. With each release afterwards, the band lost me a little more. Still, I always checked out whatever the band did. Life On The Moon is the latest release and I was very weary of listening to it, even though I didn’t think twice about ordering a copy when I read that the band was about to release a new LP. I even ordered a copy directly from Lifeline Records because I think it’s incredibly awesome that band and label have kept that bond for more than two decades by now. So, in my mind the only sensible thing to do was to order a copy directly from Lifeline instead of another version. After getting the record though, it was sitting in my “new records to listen to pile” for a good month or so. 

I did finally listen to the album and to me this has only little to do with the band I originally fell in love with. There’s a wide range of musical influences to be found on here, more so than on any other of their previous releases, but I’m not sure if the mix works for me. There’s some dub, but you’ll also find post-hardcore on here. I do believe it’s any artists prerogative to grow and do other things than what’s expected of them, but I also believe not everyone has to be on board with said growth. There are some ok songs on the record, but as a whole the record hasn’t clicked with me. The artwork is pretty cool though, although I don’t get the connection between title and art. The 12” booklet with the lyrics and a ton of pictures, all in full colour, is done exceptionally well, too. Great job by band and label. 

This is one of those records I really want to like, but I’m not sure if I will. 

1st Press on Glitter Orange on Lifeline Records /100

Triplets

Dan was also kind enough to hook me up with some demo tapes by Australian bands, something I always look forward to. 

Peace Ritual play a little emo, a little indie, a little shoe gaze, and add a lot of dreamy sounds. There are also plenty of melodies and great hooks. Music for the quieter moments. The band has released a bunch of things since that first release, so I've got plenty of music to listen to while working at my desk at home. 

Flowermouth play what nowadays is called hardcore adjacent music, I'd say. If you like that kind of music and / or 90s music bands like Farside, you should maybe check out their music. Sadly, there's only one original song of theirs. But since this tape came out in 2017, there's luckily other released to listen to as well. The other song on the tape is a cover of The Cure's Just Like Heaven, which is a big challenge. The cover is done well enough, but the audio is not as good as on the original song for some reason. Maybe it was done during a different recording session?

Last, but not least, there's the demo tape by Combat Rock. No Clash inspired songs as one might have guessed by the title, but the cover speaks for itself. Combat Rock play no frills hardcore in the vein of early 80s Boston straight edge hardcore. The rough production makes it sound very authentic. I definitely want to listen to the follow-up release. 

Resist Records

My man Down Under, Dan, is keeping busy hooking me up with music from Australia, mostly bands I probably wouldn’t have discovered on my own. This is a bunch of throwback records all the way to the mid 2000s. 

The first record is the debut LP by Blkout, Total Depravity, originally released in 2009. If I’d seen the cover somewhere in a store or online, I’d have never checked out the band to honest. I know, I know, don’t judge a record by its cover, but I’m just being honest. The music is actually pretty good though. Good, stompy hardcore that would have been fun to watch live I guess. 

1st Press on Black on Resist 

Next up is the s.t. 10” by God So Loved The World, apparently a Christian hardcore band from Adelaide. I dig the music, hardcore with some slower rock elements here and there, but I don’t really need to hear about people being born again.

In the 90s and early 2000s Christian hardcore was an actual thing, but I’m wondering if there are any bands that openly identify that way out there nowadays. I’m pretty sure there must be some, because hardcore is more diverse and open-minded than ever, but I can‘t think of any. 

1st Press on Black on Resist 

When I opened the parcel from Dan and saw this record, I thought for sure that he’d sent me a record - unbeknownst of course - that I already had in my collection. I definitely knew the cover and the name and it just looks like a record I would have picked up in 2007 when it was released. After checking my list and double checking my 7”s, I had to face the fact that my memory had simply played a trick on me. It must have been one of those records I always meant to pick up, but never did. Well, thanks to Dan I finally own a copy. The music is exactly what I want from hardcore from the mid 2000s and even though the vocals are very much of the time as well, the high pitch is a little too much for me these days. 

1st Press on Black on Resist 

Paid In Full

Another classic from the golden age of hip-hop crossed off my want list. I can't stress enough how much my taste in music has been influenced by skateboarding. Videos used to be a great source to find new music, at least as long the music was shown in the credits. In the early 2000s, another skateboard related source entered my world: video games. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater was the shiny, cool game and it was admittedly a ton of fun and the soundtrack of each game was great. Thrasher's Skate and Destroy video game was always in the shadow of the THPS franchise, but I enjoyed it a lot as well and it had a fantastic soundtrack. 

Traditionally, Thrasher Magazine has been more associated with a no-frills, grimy approach to skateboarding and was closely aligned with punk rock, so when I got the video game and saw that it had an all hip-hop soundtrack and the booklet even gave a short history of hip-hop and the acts on the soundtrack, I was very surprised. Playing that game was when I first heard Eric B & Rakim and their song, I Know You Got Soul, was a favorite of mine. It only took me some 20 odd years to finally get a vinyl copy of their debut LP Paid in Full. 

Italian Press on Black on Island /???

There's a weird stamp on the A-side label. I can't really make out what it says, except for the word 'Italian'. I doubt it was done by the label, but I have absolutely no idea what it could be.