Long Way From Lawrence

The Get Up Kids is one of my favorite 90s emo bands and Something To Write Home About is one of my all-time favorite records. I know I often post how I don’t really order directly in the US anymore because of shipping and customs, but every once in a while, there’s just no way around it. When Nico posted about a live record of Something To Write Home About, I knew I needed a copy. Originally, the record was only available at shows, but the band made the leftovers available on their website. It took me a minute to pull the trigger because I’d hoped a copy from a seller in Europe might pop up on Discogs, but when that didn’t happen, my fear of the record selling out kicked in and I ordered a copy straight from the band. It helped that they had some cool merch available as well. 

This record is so good. I love the adaptation of the original artwork and it’s cool to hear the songs of Something To Write Home About played live in the order of the album. The only thing I can criticise is the fact that there are no liner notes or a special booklet. I feel like this could have elevated the record a lot and not going the extra mile feels like a wasted opportunity. 

1st Press on Black on Quality Hill

There Are Rules

My buddy I was visiting in Stuttgart had told me a few weeks before the visit that a buddy and he were working on re-launching his old distro, and possibly his old label, in the nearby future. By now it is back online, so check out Drastic Actions for records and probably new releases at some point. He still had some old records from back then and also some new stuff, so I flipped through the records and promptly found one that triggered my interest. I love the first two The Get Up Kids LPs. Something To Write Home About is one of those records I'd take with me to a lonely island. I never bothered to check out their latest, post-reunion LP though. It's a nice record, meaning you can listen to it while doing something else and the music is nice enough for some background noise, but after listening to it a few times, not one song has really got stuck in my mind. Bit of a disappointment here.