Bargains Are A Collector‘s Best Friend

A few weeks ago I went to see Be Well at one of my favorite venues. Truth be told, I‘m not a big fan of Be Well. I tried to get into them a bunch of times, because with the personnel behind the band I feel like I should like the band, but nothing‘s clicked with me yet. I decided to go anyway because my wife is really into them and I also knew that a bunch of friends would be there. So basically I went to the show to be able to go on a roadtrip with my wife to see friends. There are definitely worse premises to attend a show. I didn‘t have a lot of expectations for the show itself, but I must say that Be Well were absolutely fantastic live and I‘m glad I did go to see them play. 

While we were driving to the venue a friend sent me pictures of records a friend was selling at the show. Actually he was selling the records for a friend who didn‘t want to bother with local listings or Discogs. I browsed through the records and found a few things that I liked.

A few days ago I posted about the Underdog Demos LP I‘d gotten not too long before I went to the show mentioned above and how much I liked the songs. As chance would have it, I saw the band‘s first and only LP The Vanishing Point in one of the bins and I didn‘t hesitate to grab it. I like this LP a lot as well and I regret even more having slept on the band for so long. 

1st Press on Black on Caroline

I‘ve been collecting Sick Of It All records for many years, but one record that has always eluded me so far was their first live LP Live In A World Full Of Hate. Maybe ‘eluded‘ isn‘t the correct word because the record is not that hard to get. But a) pictures discs sit pretty low on my want list in general and b) paying shipping for a ugly records doesn‘t make getting them more attractive. But when I saw it just sitting right in front of me and hearing the price, I just had to get it. It‘s not as good as Live In A Dive, but it‘s still a good live record. 

1st / Only Press as a Picture Disc on Lost And Found

My friend had sent me only pictures of the records his friends was selling, so seeing a bunch of demo tapes sitting in a separate box was a pleasant surprise. I‘m not a tape nerd per se, but some demo tapes I definitely want to own (I can hear Marcus sigh in disgust at this statement, haha). The Stop And Think Demo had been on my want list for years and finally I had the opportunity to grab one for a very, very decent price. This is the European version which was released on Bloody Sunday Records

European Version w/ Light Blue Cover on Bloody Sunday 

All in all it was a great evening. Friends, great live band and a few items crossed of my want list at bargain prices. Not much more you can ask for in one night. 

I Against III

The other record I‘d mentioned in my previous post was another colored version of Bad Brains‘ I Against I. It‘s been a lot of fun collecting different colors of this repress from the early 90s. I‘m missing only the clear one I think. This might be hardest one because no copy has shown up on Discogs in a couple of years. If you have one or know someone who has one, let me know.  

Repress on Clear Green on SST

Underdog

I don‘t know why, but Underdog always flew a little bit under my radar. But when I bought a record on Discogs recently, I checked the rest of the seller‘s inventory and saw that he had an Underdog Demos LP for sale for a really good price, I knew the time was right.

And what can I say, I was hooked from the first time I listened to the record and this record has been on heavy rotation since I got it. I like the artwork of the original pressing better, but hey, this was (re-)released on Rev, so I‘m fine with getting this version.

Repress on Black on Revelation 

First Ten Of Taang!

Taang! Records was a pivotal record label in the early days of hardcore in general and for the Boston scene in particular. The singles the label released in the early 80s are highly sought after and many of them are rather pricey theses days. In 2014 Taang! Re-released the first 10 7“s in a neat box. Back then that box flew under my radar and I didn‘t get one. In 2021, the label released those 7“s on a 12“, which 2024 me really appreciated. Listening to 7“s has sort of become a drag for me to be completely honest. I‘ll still listen to them, but most of the time I listen to LPs/12“s nowadays. I‘m very happy to have picked up this record because it‘s such a nice time capsule of days gone by. 

12“ 2021 Repress on Black on Taang 

Lots Of Noise And Even More Disturbances

We played a weekender a few weeks ago and to make time on the road pass by a little easier, my bandmates and I made a playlist every one could contribute to. Now, we do have a lot of bands in common that we all love or at least like, but there‘s also some huge differences. Gaps you might actually say. Abysses might be another word that comes to mind. I had to endure more metal than I usually listen to in ten years probably. However, I was pleasantly surprised when a song by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones came on. When I was back home, I decided to revisit their catalogue and after doing that, I decided that I wanted to finally own their first few records. Originals are hard to come by, so I was more than happy to just grab s repress. Especially because it comes on this nice green color. 

2021 Repress on Clear Green on Taang

Wrong Men

I don‘t like to listen to Spotify radio or to playlists I didn‘t create myself, but every once in a while the algorithm actually points me towards a band I didn‘t know before and actually end up liking. I don‘t remember what I was listening to, but at one point I noticed this wasn‘t the record I‘d put on. I did like what I heard, so I checked out the band. Enter Wrong Man from Belgium. The people behind this band have all played in various bands, some more well known than the others. With Wrong Man, they decided to stray from the more heavy paths of guitar music and enter more of post-hardcore and indie influenced world. There‘s also some classic rock in there I‘d say. And they‘re doing an excellent job. 

After listening to the bands material for a while, I decided to see what records were still available. Luckily both 12“s were still for sale on various distros‘ websites and it was a very welcome surprise to see that both of the 12“s cost less than 20€. Granted, there are only four songs on each 12“, but still. 

1st Press on Black on Atomic Action! /300

1st Press on Clear w/ Blue and Black Marble on Thirty Something /100 

Close up of the color because it was hard to take a decent photo with the record lying on the floor. 

Don’t Look A Free Record In The Mouth

When we played the festival in Berlin some time ago, there was a table with records right next to the bands’ merch tables. Best of all, the records were all free. I was told that someone decided to liquidate their old distro and just wanted to get rid off all the remaining records. I browsed through the records and noticed a record by this band Think Twice. The cover looked kind of interesting and the name is sort of cool (a Minor Threat reference?). When I flipped the record, I saw it was released on Crucial Response and I figured it’d be stupid not to take a free record that somehow had peeked my interest. 

I don’t know why, but I expected a youth crew record. There are some youth crewish elements to the music, but the vocals are much more Revolution Summer influenced. All in all, this record was a pleasant surprise and getting this for free makes it even better. 

1st Press on Black on Crucial Response /1349

One Last Wish

While browsing records at Bis Aufs Messer, I stumbled across this one. I’d never heard of the band, but the cover looked intriguing and after seeing on the back cover that it was released on Dischord and featured members of Rites of Spring and Embrace, it was a no brainer to pick up the record. And what can I say, it sounds exactly what you would an expect from a record recorded in DC in 1986/87 with that personnel. This one was a very pleasant surprise. I also like the coke bottle clear vinyl. It goes very well with the sleeve. 

Edit: When I published this post, I hadn’t checked the pressing info for this release. After Marcus had commented on the color and the similarities between the two color pressings, I checked out the Discogs entry for this record. The 2008 repress on clear vinyl says on the back cover “This LP is $11 plus postage.”, where as the 2021 repress does not state a price at all. I checked the sleeve of the record I bought and I have the 2021 repress, which makes the color shown “sea glass green”.

2021 Repress on Sea Glass Green on Dischord

Instrument

A couple of weeks ago, my band got to play a festival in Berlin with a bunch of awesome German hardcore bands. The festival itself was great. Cool venue, cool people and a general cool vibe for both days. We were supposed to play Sunday night (next day was a holiday) and I had really looking forward to playing that festival. Unfortunately it turned out to be a night to remember for all the wrong reasons. The cops showed up while we set up on stage and we didn't really know what was going on. During the first song my guitar strap broke and after the second song our singer twisted his ankle so badly we had to stop playing and call an ambulance. Not a great evening for us. 

Technically, playing the festival was the main reason to go to Berlin, but since Monday was a holiday and my wife and I had time off work, we'd decided to stay in Berlin a little longer. As did some other friends. So we got to hang out with a bunch of friends and enjoy Berlin for a few days. Not a bad deal. Whenever I'm in Berlin, I make sure to go to Bis Aufs Messer record store. One of my favorite record stores to go to. Great selection of records and the owners are always down for a chat. This time I used the opportunity to fill the last gap in my Fugazi collection. 

Now, I have to admit that I've never actually seen the documentary this records is the soundtrack for. Talk about being a poser. I guess this is my next item on my to-do list. According to the matrix this is the repress from 2009, which I somehow find hard to believe. The last entry on Discogs is indeed from 2009 and the matrix does match, but still, there hasn't been a more current version in 15 years?

2009 Repress on Black on Dischord