Wait… Whut?

When the announcement of a 10 year anniversary was made, I heard talks about a very special, special version. While some of the versions that were part of the anniversary press were cool, others fell rather flat. But I had high hopes for the special version and man, I didn’t get disappointed. 

So, this is what the record looked like when it arrived. This is the only record I own that comes with a safety warning. Of course, I cut out the stickers and now I keep the with the record.

Standard shot of the record and the sleeve. Everything looks pretty cool if you ask me. 

10 Year Anniversary Press on Purple Swirl w/ Confetti on End Hits /100

Having said that, when you hold the record up against the light, it looks incredible. Just look at it. The purple swirl would have been a great color for the record on its own, but the rainbow confetti makes it that much more special. Such a beautiful sight to behold. 

Because the record is so beautiful, here‘s another shot against the light. 

End Hits also included a bonus lyric sheet. They really went all out with the packaging. 

Another cool feature is that you can recharge the light. With a simple battery, you wouldn‘t have been able to turn on the lights up eventually, but with the plug-in charger, you should be able to enjoy the lights much longer. Each record was hand-made, which probably took forever. 

When I talked to Marcus about this record and I told him I‘d send him picture, he suggested that a video would probably make more sense and of course he was right. So here‘s a short video of the whole thing. 

This is by far the most money I‘ve ever spent on a new record. It was 99€ in case you were wondering, but the record itself is such a beauty and the packaging is absolutely incredible. No regrets on my part.

Lessons Learrrrrrrrrrrned

Since I really got into Youth Of Today a couple of years ago, I wanted to get my hands on a Can‘t Close My Eyes 7“ on Positive Force. They just looked like a cool record to own. Unfortunately any press of that record comes with a hefty price tag these days. So I waited patiently until I found a rather cheap copy. Here‘s where the lesson learning starts:

#1 Buying from eBay in the US nowadays sucks. While the price for the record was okay, I almost paid the same amount for shipping, VAT and other fees. So, all in all I just could have bought a more expensive copy in Europe and saved me some heartache and money.

#2 Because I was so happy to finally have found a reasonably priced record, I didn‘t check for all of the details of the auction. Which is why I ended up with a record without a lyric sheet. So not only did I pay too much when all was said and done, I also paid too much for an incomplete record. If anyone has a spare copy of the lyric sheet or could provide a copy, I‘d be most grateful. 

I knew that the sound quality of this record was always describe as poor and I am definitely not an audiophile, but this does sound incredibly thin. I can appreciate the record for what it is - a documentation of a band at a certain time under certain circumstances, but I know I‘m not going to listen to this version that often. 

I know this was a rather negative post, which is kind of ironic, but having said all of these negative things, I‘m still happy to finally own a copy. 

4th Press on Black on Positive Force

The B-side label is just so rad. It deserves a picture of its own. 

Pezcore Forever

As much as I love original pressings, sometimes getting a repress is just much more convenient and of course affordable. Pezcore is the debut LP by Less Than Jake and was first released in 1995. To commemorate the 30-year anniversary, Pezcore was rereleased at the beginning of this year. It comes on nice 180g vinyl. The rerelease comes on a bunch of different colors, but the mock ups were all incredibly ugly splatter vinyl and there‘s no way those could have looked good in real life, so black vinyl was definitely the better choice (sorry, Marcus). 

While this is not my favorite LTJ LP, there are some real tracks on this album. I mean, each of the first five LPs has a bunch of absolute hits in my book. All of them are just a good time. 

Close-up of the hype sticker. I‘m not quite sure what makes this the ‘forever version‘, but that‘s ok. 

 

…Home Is So Far From Here

I have a weak spot for emo music (sorry, Ian), be it Revolution Summer style music or 90s emo. I’ll draw the line at what became known as emo in the early 2000s, but I’m still down with the two aforementioned styles. So, when newer bands play music of that ilk, I‘m always willing to check it out. … Home Is So Far From Here is the debut LP by The Arrival Note. The cover has a very 90s feel to it, but with a modern touch. Someone also put in real thought when it came to choosing the vinyl colors. Both, dark blue and white, match the artwork really well. The music is what you‘d expect by my introduction, but the band managed to add a modern touch to it that works really well for me. 

1st Press on Dark Blue Marble on Sunday Drive /200