Out Of Outtakes

One of the bigger news last year was that Minor Threat were going to release a new record. It is not a reunion record (luckily), and the songs aren’t new either. The songs you get on this 7” were rediscovered a coupled of years ago and they were recorded around the time when Minor Threat recorded their one and only LP, as the name Out Of Step Outtakes suggest. You get an instrumental track called “The Addams Family” and re-recorded versions of In My Eyes and Filler as a five piece.

                                         

Back cover and the flip side of the insert because everything related to Minor Threat rules. 

Right around the same time as I received the record, I also got this photo book by Glen E. Friedman, a photographer who witnessed the birth of skateboarding, hardcore and hip hop through his camera. The man has seen it all and more importantly, he also documented what he saw. Some of the pictures in the book were already known, some hadn’t been published before. Perfect combo with the 7”. 

Out Of Step

I have come to the realization, that I will never own all of the original pressings of Minor Threat records. Even owning most of them is kind of like a pipe dream because prices have skyrocketed these last few years. Especially the 7" prices are crazy. But every once in a while I manage to pick up an OG copy for a good price and that always make me happy. I was always more of a Minor Threat 7" guy, but as I grow older, I got to like Out Of Step much more. Not that I ever thought this was a bad record by any means or that I didn't like it, but the 7"s were so intense and ferocious. Nowadays I can enjoy the journey a band takes much more and Out of Step is on the same level as the first two 7"s. Well, maybe a tad below. Anyway, I was really happy to cross this variant off my want list and add it to the collection.

Minor Threat - Out Of Step UK Press

XXX

Ok, this is cheating a little, because I got this record about a year ago. However, this is one of my favorite record covers of all time and I really felt like I should blog about this record. Oh yeah, the music on this sampler is also pretty damn good. The 12 panel poster is awesome as well. I mean, what could you not love about this record, right? Samplers in the early 80s were really something else. Too bad they aren't really a thing anymore. 

This is the UK press out of /2000 copies. I wish I had to pay only £3.99 as well... Extra shoutout to Heiner, who was most likely the original owner. 

Collector's Choice 2017

So many good records made it into my collection this year again. I'm more than happy with what I managed to pick up in 2017. I didn't make a whole lot of progress with my want list, but I was able to cross off some items at least. Plus I picked up a few records that weren't on that list and some that I didn't even know of one year ago. That's what makes collecting fun though. The other element that makes collecting really fun is the people you get in touch with. Quite a few people have helped me in my efforts by pointing me to records, selling, trading or straight up giving me records for free. All of which I'm very grateful for. My favorite pick up is the test press for Bane's It All Comes Down To This LP, because it embodies everything I like about collecting: great music, incredibly rare, release by one of my favorite bands, and I was tipped of by fellow collector.

Here's to 2018, which will hopefully add more new good music and some old records to my collection and get me in touch with more people. Let's keep collecting fun.

XXX

Ralf

In My Eyes

2017 is off to a good start. Technically I got this record two days before this year began, but I'll count this one and a few others I'll post about these next few days as 2017 pick ups. A good friend of mine told me a few weeks ago that he was thinning out his collection and since he knows pretty well what I'm into and what records I'm after, he sent me a few pictures. Of course I found a bunch of records and we quickly settled on a deal. Since there was a show coming up that both of us wanted to go to, I told him to simply bring the records along, so I didn't run the risk of the records getting lost in the mail. I wasn't really worried about the condition of the records, because he's a friend and I like to think I can trust the people I surround myself with. Anyway, the day of the show came and during one of the opening bands my buddy and I found ourselves sitting outside the venue in a freezing cold car in the dim light of a streetlight sealing the deal. Not sure what the cops would have said if they had knocked on the window while he was holding a bunch of records and I was holding a wad of cash, haha.
This is one of the records I've always wanted to have. I would have been satisfied with picking up a 3rd press for now, but getting my hands on a 2nd press for a really good price wasn't an opportunity to be passed up. There's a little bit of ringwear, but considering the age of the record, both sleeve and record are in fantastic shape. Comes with the original insert in pristine condition as well.
The only thing I'm worried about now is that I've raised the bar pretty high for collecting this year and the year is only 10 days old. Then again, what is life without challenges?

It Was A Very Good Year

2014 was a really good year as far as records go. There were some really great records released this year and I also managed to pick up a lot of really cool records that had been on my want list for quite some time. I tried to come up with a Top 5 for 2014 releases and 2014 collectibles. It worked fine for the releases, but I couldn't slim down the collectibles to just five. Anyway, here goes.

2014 Releases

Dangers has been a favourite band of mine ever since I heard them for the first time. I haven't been floored by a band both lyrically and musically like that for a long time. They're also a great live band and all of the shows I've been to were great fun. 5 O'Clock Shadows At The Edge Of The Western World is not as good as their previous releases imho, which doesn't mean that much cause compared to most other bands it's still very, very good. The song of the same name however is so awesome. My #5.
Our Inner Wastelands is the first full length release by local band Zerre. Their singer is a good friend of mine, plus I know most of the other members as well, and I'm so stoked about what they accomplished with this LP. Plus it looks so good. The red variant is probably the best looking record I got this year. My #4.
I've been a fanboy of Barren ever since I heard their demo. It had been rather quiet around this band for quite some time, but this year they finally managed to release their first full length LP Anachronism. Great politically minded 90s hardcore. Awesome live band, too. Plus we share a craving for the same vegan baked good, which is definitely a big plus. XStreuseltalerYouthX. My #3.
Sweet Jesus are the surprise band of the year for me. I'd never heard of them before, despite the fact that Pat Flynn of Have Heart fame is the singer for this band. When I got their their first 7" Box, I put it on the record player and I was blown away. I had to flip this record over and over and over and over. So, so good. Their upcoming LP just might show up in my Top 5 2015. We'll see. My #2.
It's been a hard debate between me, myself and I, but in the end there could be only one release at the top of this list. Bane is my favourite band ever, just in case somebody wasn't aware of this fact (despite the 15 posts about this band in little more than a year). They decided to call it quits next year, which sucks, but they released a new LP this year, which rules. Don't Wait Up is such a good LP. I was a little afraid they might release a record that could leave a bad aftertaste, urging people to say "They should have quit a few years ago…", but this LP is so much better than I'd ever hoped for. Perfect record to end this amazing journey of this band. My #1 2014.

2014 Collectibles

I managed to pick up a lot of cool records this year, some of which had been on my want list for quite some time. Narrowing it down to just five records was impossible, so I stretched the list just a tad. There are still a few records that could have easily been in this picture, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Some of these records I got for cheap, some I had to pay a pretty penny for, some I got for free or as presents. For various reasons these records are my collectibles of the year. There's no ranking here since all these records give me joy for very different reasons. 

Greatest hardcore record of all time. Prove me otherwise.

Favourite release by my favourite band. Collection complete.

Out of the blue. Rarest release by my favourite band besides test pressings.

Birthday present by the greatest girlfriend on this planet.

There are always more variants out there than you think. Keep looking.

Record I probably listened to the most 2014. One of the wildest and hottest shows this year.

Out of the blue part II. There are still some great people involved in hardcore.

Sometimes you gotta give more. Sometimes you gotta give everything.

Not in this picture but in the one above, you can see a test pressing of Bane's final LP on End Hits Records. This one is definitely one of my pick-ups 2014 as well, but I didn't feel the need to picture it twice.

Thanks everyone for reading my blog and commenting. Keeps record collecting a lot of fun.

XXX

We're Just A Minor Threat

A few weeks ago I posted that I needed to step up my Minor Threat game. So that's what I did. I had the chance to pick up this beautiful 4th press copy of Minor Threat's first 7" for a fair price via eBay. The seller was from France, so I didn't have to worry about long shipping or the customs office. I guess X-mas came a little early this year.

The record looks almost mint to me and the insert is in great condition, too. The only 'flaw' is that the glue of the cover has dried out and the cover is now kind of a fold out (again). It isn't really a flaw though since this is pretty common with these records. On the upside, you get to read the 'Flex Your Head' slogan on one of the flaps, which I think is pretty awesome. Just imagine writing that slogan on all of these covers before glueing them together yourself. Pure dedication. I love it.

Minor Threat

This post is embarrassing for two reasons. One, it reminds me how embarrassing my Minor Threat collection is despite the fact that Minor Threat is one of my favourite bands (whose not, right?). I don't own any of the original 7"s, a situation that needs to be remedied very soon. Two, I haven't changed anything about the lack of Minor Threat records in at least a year, because this is the first post that features Minor Threat since I started doing this blog.
Obviously it was high time I did something about this situation. This record is far from a heavy hitter, but still, it's a Minor Threat record I didn't have yet. This is the s.t. LP, which features the first two 7"s Minor Threat released. What I really like about Dischord is the fact that their releases have always been available for cheap because they just kept pressing the records in one form or the other. Another reason why Dischord is the best label in hardcore/punk.
I decided to use a picture of the backside of the sleeve since that's where you can see the differences between different pressings the best. Unless Dischord changed the colour of the sleeve completely. This is the $5.00 version with blue sleeve. There's another $5.00 version out there, but the sleeve is green. There are so many different versions of this record floating around, so you can expect some more posts on this record and Minor Threat records in general in the nearby future.