Too much Integrity

Record Store Day becomes more and more of a drag. Each year I care less about all those reissues and the feeling of saturation is getting stronger not just annually but with each new REV color repress. Maybe RSD 2015 will see me neglecting all those 'special' pressings and stick with the used bins which probably helps record stores a great deal more.

This year though there still were a few things on my list. Unfortunately my top want didn't surface. Seems like I wasn't supposed to get that The Fix - vengeance / jan's rooms 2x7". I tried! When it was sold through Touch & Go I wanted to order a few copies for our distro and saw that Cargo was supposed to distribute them in europe. I got in touch with them. Waited for a while. Didn't get an answer. Went back to the Touch & Go store to order a copy for myself. Gone. Damn! Well, maybe it gets to one of the stores I usually shop at. No luck. Even the Cargo Records store only put out two for sale which a buddy of mine and his friend picked up. Now I could easily buy one since there are currently 8 copies listed for sale on discogs but I really don't feel like paying that much for a reissue that doesn't even have half a year under it's belt. That's stupid. Fucking flipsters.

Anyway. The record that wasn't really high up on my list for that day but turned out to be the best RSD pressing I bought that day is this:

Integrity - den of iniquity 2xLP - Organized Crime Records – OCR0531

Even though it's just a compilation of old demo and split releases it was worth picking it up for the A side alone. I had never heard those demo recordings in this quality before.

These songs are among the hardest and best that came out at the time. And the difference in recording of the songs that made it onto the first 7" (which is not represented on here) is significant. I didn't think it was possible but they sound even better on 'Den Of Iniquity' than on 'In Contrast Of Sin'.

The rest of those songs I could have done without though. Some are good but others are that Integ2000 kinda crap. In the end a single LP with just the demo recordings would have done it for me and would not have weighed that heavily on my purse either. For some reason we here in europe have to pay more than twice than what this record is being sold for in the US. At least according to discogs.
Oh and I love the page of the gatefold with the live pic. The poster is a nice touch too but will definitely never find its way onto any of my walls. I don't need to be reminded all the time of what this band turned into. I hear they are good again but at this point I truely don't give a damn.

Harry Business

Concerning those sketchy political views I mentioned in my last post. What's the deal with Cock Sparrer's 'England Belongs To Me' for example or Angelic Upstarts' 'England'? A german band with a similar song (title) would sure have to answer a lot of questions.

I even heard english kids weren't too concerned with political agendas back then which supposedly led to white power skins playing with redskins in the same band or hanging out together. But you know what. Let's not get into that and just enjoy the musical artifacts this period in the history of humankind blessed us with.

 

The Business - harry may 7" - Ugly Pop Records UP044

This is another official reissue and was released together with the Cockney Rejects 7" I covered in my last post. Of course it's available from us too. And just like that last one it will just be the only pressing in my collection for a yet undetermined amount of time.

Cockney slippers

There's this kind of music which I got more and more into over the last decade. Before that I mostly disregarded it for being a scene of heteronormative macho dudes who drink too much beer and a lot of times have political views that I consider sketchy at least. Yes. I'm talking about Oi. Nothing about that really changed and for the most part I still consider the above to be true but for some reasons I got to hear more and more of the good old classics which made me appreciate the music a lot more. For obvious reasons Blitz are a band that I know and love for a little longer already but this one I sure didn't listen to 10 years ago:

 

Cockney Rejects - flares 'n' slippers 7" - Ugly Pop UP043

This is the official reissue from 2013 that I ordered for our distro and which you can pick up here. It was the bands first vinyl release, no idea if they did a demo, and it instantly became a classic. Selling all of the 5000 first press copies in 2 weeks. Can you imagine getting all these records and then having to send them right out the door again, maybe to a thousand different people/shops? Must have been a nightmare to pack all these orders.

For now I'm ok with this copy but sooner or later, whenever I'll come across an OG copy, I'll add that to the collection. Does anyone know how to tell the first 5000 copies apart from the 2nd press that was made only a few weeks later? My guess is there ain't none.
Share your knowledge.

 

Gore piano

I honestly have no recollection of how I got introduced to Bohren & der Club of Gore or when that was. All I know is that they can do no wrong.

The oldest release of theirs that I do own is 2000's 'Sunset mission' album. Which, albeit not being their first release I heard, chronologically marks more of a dawning for this band in my collection as this already has all the parts that, further ripened over the two years that passed until its release, made 'Black Earth' to be THE Bohren album.

These two full lengths I just own on CD because the vinyl was long gone before I got hip to them. Oddly enough I'm fine with it and not really looking for the vinyl pressings. If made available at a price I consider decent I'd probably be hard pressed to add it to the collection but I don't think I'll get that lucky and that's ok.

Somehow for me their music works best on CD because I feel that each album should be enjoyed in its entirety without any interruption to get the most out of it.

And still I can't bring myself to buy a new Bohren record on CD while the vinyl version is right there in front of me. As was the case with their latest output.

 

Bohren & der Club of Gore - piano nights LP

[PIAS] Recordings PIASD4804LP

[PIAS] Recordings 556.A090.012

Well, the artwork, undeniably, does work better on a 12" format than on those tiny CD booklets and these days some vinyl releases don't come with a download code but an actual CD as was the case with this one. Meaning I got all the ups with no downer.

I bought this on a Saturday that I was out and about all day until late. Luckily there wasn't much planned for Sunday so after breakfast I laid down on the couch and appropriately appreciated this masterpiece.

Chiller than all

Morrissey's arsenal

Recently every jackass is on about how vinyl is back. Back from where? Did it go anywhere? As far as I can remember it's always been here. Maybe your insignificant little Indie sensation only put out their idea of music on this transitional medium called the Compact Disc. And certainly major labels didn't clog all channels with the millionth repress of records that are filling bins in record stores already. But almost every album, ep or single I like was pressed onto vinyl.

Unfortunately though during the nineties some releases were only made available on vinyl in relatively small numbers. Trying to get those now is not that easy and draws a little more blood than records by the same artist from let's say the 80s when albums were pressed in large numbers and in many different countries at the same time. One of those rather pricey items got an upgrade lately:

 

Morrissey - your arsenal LP Parlophone CSDX 7390A, Parlophone 825646348831

After originally being issued in a few countries in 1992 the album has already been repressed on vinyl once in 2002 but this time around they perfected the release. If OG wouldn't always beat any and all descendents the fine gatefold packaging with the great bandphoto on the inside would transcend this version to be the only one you'd actually need if you're seriously collecting Morrissey but are not into owning multiple copies.

I do collect Morrissey vinyl but not seriously so I'm very satisfied owning this beaut.

Strangely I still didn't see a 'Vauxhall and I' repress in any of the stores I've been to since its release. Which makes me a little nervous about getting one. Though not enough yet to order online and add postage to the damage. Let's see how long it takes until I'm there but hopefully I find a copy before it gets to that.

Can you take a Mucky Pup?

On March 22nd this year we (Stepdown) held another one of our shows at the legendary AK47 in Düsseldorf, Germany. On the bill that night were Empowerment, Isolation and Code Blue Coma but this post isn't about a release by any of those bands.

As always I went to Düsseldorf early to prepare for the show with the other 50% of our enterprise. He has a rather costly trip booked for later this year and had therefore culled a few records to sell andI got dips. Considering the fact that he's not a collector I didn't expect much and yet found this sentimentally charged record:

 

Mucky Pup - can't you take a joke? LP Roadrunner Records RR 9553 1 - 1988

Actually I had never listened to that record before getting my hands on the actual thing. Yet I have fond memories of this band, as I used to listen to the 'A boy in a man's world' and 'Now' full lengths a lot back in the early nineties even though I only had them dubbed onto the glorious cassette format.

This bred a natural curiosity about what that debut record of theirs sounded like. Not enough though to ever order a copy or actively seeking out a copy. I never even had an idea as to what it's worth and I still don't. Which is due to him just giving it to me. So THANK YOU again.

On this release you can clearly hear their hardcore roots.
Although not as good as DRI, COC, Crumbsuckers, etc 'Can't you take a joke' still puts them in the same category. And I'm glad I have this little nugget now as it joins the branch of music Mucky Pup, Freaky Fuckin' Weirdoz, Fishbone, Urban Dance Squad and others are best known for to the branch of hardcore on the family tree of music.

This was a great start into another great day in Düsseldorf which also had these two records - and a great show - in stall for me but more about those in their own respective posts soon.

 

Are you alive or are you Bored (Youth)

It's crazy how much money people spend on hc/punk records. Me included. I drop way too much dough on vinyl but those first two Touch & Go releases... I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to get my hands on any one of those. And even apart from those, collecting early T&G releases is a costly adventure these days.

One band that for some reasons didn't find its way onto the labels roster is the topic of this post and I'm sure had they released their ep recorded in 1981 on T&G as it was actually intended to be you would see it on a lot of peoples want list and changing hands for quite a buck. But instead it was bootlegged almost a decade later in germany. And luckily got a proper release by Alona's Dream Records in 2013. Who later that year also released this LP:

Bored Youth - are you alive? 1982 LP - Alona's Dream Records ADR 12 011

Looks like it wasn't in the cards for Bored Youth to take their rightful place among contemporaries like Negative Approach, Necros, etc. as the LP recordings done by Corey Rusk of Necros fame in 1982 that take up most of Side A of this release were shelved for even longer than the 7". More than three decades later, 31 years to be precise, the general public is finally able to hear those songs.

As with most hardcore full lengths this one too doesn't really use up the full storage potential of a 12" so ADR rounded out the first side with one track from a rehearsal recording and fortified the whole thing with a pretty good sounding 1981 live recording on the remaing half of the platter.

Pictured here is the ltd pre-order edition out of 100 copies which I snagged for my own collection. The regular edition is on black vinyl and usually comes with neither poster nor button.

For some reason we have regular black vinyl copies still available and they even come with a button as we got those as a thank you for pre-ordering right off the bat. So hit the above link and get that classic material into your home. Maybe along with their 7" which we also still have in stock.

 

Violators

The UK. By many people wrongly thought of as the birthplace of Punk, nevertheless produced an incredible number of iconic, classic, crucial, legendary, or whatever adjective you want to use here punk bands.

In the early days a lot of those punks released records through Major Labels that jumped the bandwagon but a little down river some smaller/DIY Labels surfaced. Clay Records might be the best known next to No Future Records.

While Clay, apart from Discharge, didn't release a lot of records catering to my taste, No Future is a whole different story. At least their first 20 releases are either in my collection or on my wantlist. Admittedly there's quite a range of importance each one of those has for me but sooner or later I want all of those.

The Violators' singles are definitely further up on my scale though but so far I haven't had any luck finding one of them for a decent price. Which is why I was pretty thrilled about this release:

 

Violators - singles 82/83 LP - Vomitopunkrock Records REF 007 LP

 

Some dude from Spain posted on facebook about his label releasing this record. Of course I didn't hesitate for a second and put in a pre-order to get some copies for our distro. By the time they shipped they had already sold all of the 300 copies they had made and it didn't take long until it was sold out from us too.

 

So I guess this band is more legendary than I thought. Which would explain why I only see their OG 7"es being sold online but hardly ever at a real deal record store. Well, for now this record will do.

You should be RUNNIN' SCARED if you don't know this

Well at least if you're into late 80s NYHC that is.

For you folks who are the 1987 demo by Breakdown is probably a well known and loved part of your collection. Be it the ever so elusive real deal tape or the vinyl reissue on Blackout! Records.

But how many of you knew about the Runnin' Scared demo? I sure didn't until this record was announced

 

Breakdown - Runnin' Scared LP - Painkiller Records PKR-049, 540 Records – 540-034

The namesake demo to this record was recorded in late '88 after two members had already started Raw Deal and recorded that band's demo.

The fact that Breakdown went into hibernation for almost a decade not that long after the tape was released is probably the main reason why it only got the attention it deserves a whopping 25 years later. And it's pretty amusing that even today it is better than 99% of the current bands who emulate the style.

The LP also compiles two tracks recorded earlier in 1988 and a live WNYU Crucial Chaos Radio broadcast from early '89.

Any selfrespecting NYHC collection is incomplete without this.

Go pick it up here.

 

Sacrilege

This is the last installment of my obscure NYHC trifecta. And again I don't have anything to share with you about this record:

 

Sacrilege - Thoughts Are But Dreams Till Their Effects Are Tried - 1985 Demos

Radio Raheem RADIO-002 // Wardance WAR-14

 

Luckily for all of us it comes with extensive liner notes that I can revert to to give you an idea of how important this band was to the evolution of Hardcore in New York.

"1985 was a transitional time for the hardcore scene in NYC — the original class of '82 bands were either in limbo, had disbanded or were heading into a more crossover metal direction and the Revelation/straight edge scene and second wave of NYHC bands were a year away from fully exploding. Along comes Sacrilege, formed in late '84, and their aim to couple Discharge-inspired sonic fury with a peace punk aesthetic. Bassist Adam Mucci's previous tenure in Agnostic Front gave them a safe pass from skinheads, and along with guitarist Victor Venom, previously in Reagan Youth, they recruited two Virginia Beach transplants and Sacrilege was born. Their confrontational style of spiky hair, Crass stencils on jackets and military fatigues give voice to a totally separate group that longed for a band of their own. They played less than a dozen shows and imploded by late 1985. One can only guess how they would have fared as their sound and style laid the foundation for the parallel Squat Or Rot scene that sprung up during the late 1980's. Victor would take several Sacrilege songs into his next project, Nausea, the most notable being "Fallout", which became the signature Nausea tune as heard on the Revelation Records' The Way It Is compilation LP. The nine short, sharp cuts from the Don Fury sessions and the six howling, primitive metal workouts from Bolt Studios, both recorded in 1985, bear witness to an overlooked band that provides a missing link to the development of hardcore punk in the rat cage of a big city we know as New York.

Limited to 600 copies. Includes 12" x 24" poster and lyric sheet."

And yes. This is available from us too.