Bonds Of Trade-Ship

Trading seems to be a lost art these days. I was never that big of a trader because I rarely had money to buy spare records just to trade and I often had a hard time letting go of  the ones I’d bought for myself. Still, I managed to make a couple of cool trades over the years and got to meet, virtually and in real life, some great people. 

When I ordered the represses of Bane’s Boston, 6.58pm, I asked a couple of friends if they wanted copies too, so we could order together and save on shipping. One of them who was onboard happened to be selling a bunch of records right around the time when the records arrived and instead of him sending me the money, we managed to work out a record for record deal. I’ve long given up on collecting every variant of Have Heart 7”s, but whenever I can get my hands on a special version, e.g. some different cover art, I’ll gladly jump at the opportunity. 

This Insted rip-off sleeve of the What Counts 7” had been on my want list for 10+ years but somehow it always slipped through my fingers whenever one popped up. But finally I managed to close that gap in my collection. I never knew that this variant comes with a regular cover and the rip-off is just an additional sleeve. I really like the rip-off itself, but “bro-ship” is pretty cringe, if it’s not some sort of irony. I mean they once had a shirt that said “Have Heart masturbates after the first date”, so they’re not beneath making fun of themselves. 

3rd Press on Black w/ Bonds of Bro-Ship Cover on Think Fast /150

Calvin X Hobbes

This is one of my favourite rip off covers out there, because, well, it's a Calvin & Hobbes rip off. Love all the little details going on here as well. The quality of the print is a little disappointing though. You only notice it when you actually hold the cover in your hands. Other than that, it's pretty cool. It's also my favourite sleeve for any Have Heart 7". 40 copies were made for Have Heart's winter tour back in 2004/05.

Have Heart Goes To Posi Numbers

One more special Have Heart cover. This one was made for the Posi Numbers festival 2005. Red vinyl out of 125 copies. All sleeves were numbered on the back flap of the cover. My copy is #22/125. The pressing plant had made an error since the vinyl was supposed to be blue. The mistake was rectified later and the blue vinyl was used with regular sleeves. Again, the lighting is really bad. They yellow is much more vibrant in real life.

Have Heart Goes To Sink With Cali

I don't know if any of the guy in Have Heart are records nerds, but they made damn sure to keep collectors on their toes. There are so many different covers for tours, festivals or no apparent reason at all. This is the special sleeve for Sink With Cali III, which features Scorpion from Mortal Kombat.125 copies, all on black vinyl. Poor lighting job on my part. The cover is much more yellow in reality. Might have to take a new picture.

Neon Lights

This is the other record I bought to rationalize ordering a CD in the US. I didn't know anything about Ambitions, except they had releases on Think Fast and Bridge 9 in the mid 2000s. That time period in combination with these labels is usually a good frame of reference. I like the three songs by Ambitions, but I'm not a fan of the Misfits cover.

Our Impact Will Be Felt

There are mainly two reasons why I bought this tribute sampler. First of all, I really like Sick Of It All and I feel it is somehow justified that they're being paid the tribute they deserve. Secondly, my favourite band Bane is one of the bands contributing a cover. It'd have been awesome if they had played their version of We Stand Alone live at some point. This sampler was originally released as CD only, but after 8 years Think Fast finally put it out on vinyl too. 500 copies on clear green vinyl.

Turning Point

The new Turning Point discography has been highly anticipated because, well, Turning Point are awesome, and because there has been 'new' material added compared with the previous discography version. You now also get a live set on WNYU. Think Fast has really done a beautiful job with this release. As a bonus you get the original demo on a 7" as well. Pretty cool. There are 1,000 copies of the yellow vinyl you can see here. There are also 500 copies on blue vinyl.