Saturday Links
August 30th, 2008 by aj

Assorted links:

  • Paul Mawhinney’s record collection.
  • No matter how many times I read this hot dog story its still funny.
  • A little write up on the Sklipknot 7″ by someone who just decided to check it out for the first time.

Some heavy hitters you missed:

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Agnostic Front - bootleg United Blood problem
May 15th, 2008 by cc

Class is in session! Below, Cooch breaks down the details that stand out about bootleg copies of United Blood. Don’t be swindled!

DUBIOUS EBAY AUCTIONS - BUYER BEWARE!

For some unknown (and embarrassing, at least to myself) reason I have never owned an original copy of Agnostic Front’s “United Blood” ep. I don’t know why this is, since I’ve had my hands on a good number of copies over the years and I own just about every other early NYHC record. So I decided this year I’m just going to plunk down the cash and buy one regardless of price (within reason). After getting beat on ebay for two bona-fide original copies around $300 within the last couple of months, I noticed a smattering of bootlegs for sale as originals.

I emailed the seller of the first copy, and he insisted it was real even though the cover has two telltale marks of the American made bootleg - the cover is a poor quality repro and the copyright information from the bottom of the back cover has made its way to the bottom of the front cover due to a poor print job (and as a result the repro is missing a bit of empty space over the AF banner that is present on the orig), and from the 2nd picture, the pressing marks do not match the original[1] (the boot has a wider diameter, shallower pressing stamper mark around the center hole, original is smaller and deeper). Anyways this unscrupulous seller (also selling many white power records, go figure) got $282 for this copy, I hope the buyer realized it was a boot upon receiving it and was able to get a refund (probably not).

Boot copy number two came up about a week later (sorry no link, same version as above) and I again emailed the seller to see what he thought, and the guy quickly realized it was a boot and canceled the listing. At least there are some honest people out there.

Currently listed copy #3 - Again this one looked like the shoddy cover bootleg so I emailed the seller. Here’s the back and forth -

Me: can you give me matrix information?
Seller: The matrix reads ; AF-001-A and BIOBH on the printed label side and the other label is black.
Me: Oh, that is a bootleg then, that “BIOBH” is actually the number 31634 and the B label should be white.
Seller: I dunno, the matrix #’s check out. If it is a boot, Its an older one, as these records were all purchased in the early 80’s.

At this point, the seller basically refused to acknowledge that he is selling a bootleg, or at least that he is misleading bidders who might believe it’s original, and thus is going to hose the high bidder for $160+ when the auction ends. Greedy/unscrupulous sellers like this are really what makes ebay a crapshoot to the entry level buyer, unfortunately. This seller also has up a lot of nice early 80’s USHC stuff, but obviously does not know much about the records themselves (many are incorrectly listed in regards to their respective pressings, see Minor Threat and Negative Approach 7″s), so, all I can say is… buyer beware!

Footnotes:

[1]Chalk it up to completely useless nerdery (but moreso being involved in releasing a good amount of records over the past 8-9 years), but you can differentiate pressings of certain records by the impression the pressing machine leaves around the center hole. On the original United Blood, the pressing mark is a small, deep circle about 1″ in diameter, and most other early 80’s NYHC singles have the same marks. I believe they were pressed by a plant called Variety that was located somewhere in the NYC area. Check your Mob 2nd 7″ for reference.

Posted in Cooch, Guest Post, nyhc, sketchy listing | 10 Comments »
Ryan Richardson’s latest haul…
March 14th, 2008 by cc

I’ve broken my streak. Due to some internet difficulties, yesterday this post didn’t go up, and so it’s going up today instead. Roky Erikson and Motorhead in one day (yesterday). Also J Masics came to the Fucked Up, Sex/Vid, Iron Age show, and was accosted by every Deep Wound and Dinosaur fan in the room.

I’ve hit Cooch up for an entry, we do Painkiller Records together of course, but he does the most, and we’ve played in rock bands too, so without further delay…

CC asked me to do a scab entry or two for him while he’s on vacation, suggesting for this one that I talk about some of the pre-hardcore era Modern Method Records releases. Before making their mark in the hardcore world with the monumental “This Is Boston, Not LA” comp LP, Modern Method put out just under a dozen releases as the in-house
label for Boston’s famous Newbury Comics music retail chain. Just about all of the early releases are “punk” in some sense, ranging from the pop punk stylings of the Gremies and the Future Dads (both featuring legendary Unnatural Axe frontman Rich Parsons) to the power poppy Outlets to the Mission Of Burma-esque Native Tongue. One interesting release is their second compilation LP, “A Wicked Good Time Vol 2″, which features a track by Leper, who many consider to be the first hardcore band in Boston. Most of these early releases can be found cheap, though both Outlets singles, which are excellent, command good money on eBay.

On to the auctions… eBay’s top purveyor of punk vinyl and ephemera, Ryan Richardson, aka ryebread, currently has the Bound & Gagged 12″ for sale (Modern Method #5, from 1980). It’s a four song ep featuring a six piece all-female lineup, doing some quirky post punk weirdness. It’s produced by Cleveland expatriate Robin Amos of The Girls, a pretty cool Boston area post punk band that had the distinction of releasing the only non-Cleveland area record on Hearthan Records (run by Dave Thomas of Pere Ubu). Robin still works at a local record shop in Boston and is a pretty friendly guy based on my interactions with him. Anyways, back to Bound & Gagged - I had a couple copies stashed away thinking it would have taken off in price over the past few years with the recent explosion of crappy hipster noise and synth punk, but it still sells for relatively cheap (typically $20 and under). This record would really appeal to fans of bands like the Raincoats or Kleenex, I suppose a good reissue of the 12″ and their two tracks from “A Wicked Good Time Vol. 1″ might generate some interest in the original product.

For those of you with more refined hardcore tastes, Mr. Ryebread has some other tasty platters up for bid - classic releases by Black Flag, Crucifix, FEAR, Minor Threat, DOA, test pressings of the first Freeze and Meatmen LPs, and more. One interesting record of note on his current auction list is the Human Sufferage self titled lp - a rare and under the radar release from Ohio, ca. 1983 - great midwest HC style.

Posted in Cooch, cheap picks, collection | No Comments »