Record store pick ups

I totally forgot that I picked up a few other records when I went to Rekomando Records in Prague some time ago. I did some cleaning up today and found these again in a pile of records. I now recall that I wanted to make two different posts about my trip there, because the two other records I bought had nothing to do with RSD 2014. Plus I got some other exciting records in the meantime, so these two records somehow slipped my mind.

The first one does have something to do with Record Store Day, but a previous one. Back in 2011 Rev re-released one of the most classic records in their back catalogue: Burn's - Shall Be Judged 7", making this the 4th press. There were two different shades of yellow totaling up to 1090 copies, and there were also 300 copies on black. I managed to pick up a Burn 7" on light yellow back then, which was actually the very first copy of Shall Be Judged I ever got and which got me hooked as a listener and collector. As a result of my trip to Rekomando Records a few weeks ago I now also have a 4th press black copy. Apparently it's been sitting there for the last three years, which is kind of sad considering that this is such a good record, but since it worked out well for me, who am I to complain? I still haven't got a dark yellow copy, so if anyone has one and wants to sell or trade it, feel free to hit me up.

I also picked up the 2012 repress of the Texas Is The Reason 7" while I was there. This comes on opaque orange vinyl and is out of 500. Can't go wrong with this one.

All On Black

After crossing off a couple of old records on my want list, it was time to focus on the current hardcore scene again and so I ordered a couple of records that either sounded interesting or I had heard people I know talk about. By some weird coincidence I managed to pick up only records on black vinyl, which in this day and age is somewhat of a marvel. I don't really care about that, but it's kind of astonishing nonetheless.

Let's start with Caught In A Crowd's second 7" 'The Fight', released by React! Records. Caught In A Crowd play youth crew SXE hardcore, as you have probably already figured out from the band's name and the label. It's good music for what it is, but from the couple of times I listened to the songs, this 7" is nothing that got me overly excited. They're often compared to the likes of Carry On and Count Me Out, which is why I bought the record in the first place, but 'like' does unfortunately not mean 'as good as' in this case. Maybe it'll grow on me though. First press out of 400.

I got to know Kids Insane via a message board I frequently use when someone posted a link to their bandcamp page. The songs got me hooked immediately and I bought their LP soon afterwards. I really liked said first LP and listened to it on a regular basis for a couple of weeks. So when I heard that they were going to put out a new 7", I had to get it. And what can I say, I wasn't disappointed when I listened to it the first time and the many times after that. I'm pretty sure this 7" will rank highly on my 2014 list. I really like the cover, too.
Most common version comes on black vinyl again. There are 317 other 7"s on black, but if you're looking to add some colour to your life, 'Frustrated' also comes on silver and blue vinyl. You can even pick up a test press for cheap as far as I know.

Next up is Sea Of Shit's s.t. 7". Decent power violence, but nothing that really got stuck in my head. Might have to give it a couple more spins, but for now it's 'just OK'.

Many people seem to be fed up with the seemingly endless flow of reissued records, but I'm rather stoked about most of them. I can see the perspective of collector's here, but for me, and many others I guess, it's a good and cheap way to pick up records that wouldn't be affordable otherwise. A good example is this Deep Wound 7", which usually goes for $400+ on eBay. Now I really wanted to have that record - and and still want many other classics as a matter of fact -, but not at that price. Since bootlegs are out of the question, I always have to hope for a reissue of a classic record. Armageddon Records seem to have heard my prayers and even more importantly answered them. The first legitimate reissue of this classic 80's record, at least as far as I know. And again, this is a classic for good reasons. Great guitar, awesome drumming and the pissed off voice of the singer make this 7" really stand out. If you're into early 80's hardcore at all, you need this. On a sidenote, the drummer and the guitarist went on to form this band you might have heard of called Dinosaur Jr. Must have.

This And That

Work sucks. Period. Whoever tells you the opposite is lying. It consumes way too much time. Which we don't have too much of to begin with. Then you're too exhausted to do the things you actually want to do. Ugghh. The only upshot is that it provides you with the means to buy cool stuff. Like records. Speaking of which, I recently went to an actual record store, which is sadly not something I do as often as I'd like to. Most of my records come from the endless depths of the internet. I'd love to go record shopping at a real shop more often, but there aren't that many around where I live. Let alone ones that sell the music I usually listen to.
There's a 2nd hand store close to where my parents live though, so whenever I visit them I hit up the store as well. Sometimes they have some used cool punk rock or even hardcore records, but not this time. However, the shop owner recently decided to sell new vinyl, too. There were some sweet records like the first Quicksand LP or the latest Get Up Kids album. I opted for At The Drive-In's Relationship of Command though. When it came out I didn't really care for it because it wasn't 'hard' enough for me at the time. When I realized that music doesn't have to be hard to be good, the record was long sold out of course. So I'm really glad I was finally able to pick up this LP without having to pay through my nose.

Having good friends is probably the best thing there is. Even ahead of collecting records. There, I said it. Having good friends who bring over records in exchange for a free meal is even better. Mind you, this was not part of the dinner invitation. It was just a nice gesture.
If you like Reagan era hardcore à la Negative Approach and the like, you should check out Chainbreaker from Berlin. Standard press of the 2005 s.t. EP. Good stuff.