bidhardcore.com

Got a couple selections from M. Colin Tappe’s auctions here. Nothing too crazy for sale but some good picks, check ‘em all out. Looks like he’s just selling off a few things to buy other stuff.Numero Uno:Anti-Sect: “In Darkness There Is No Choice”- I guess this is one of the big milestones in anarcho-punk and “crust” music. For 1983 it’s frankly pretty shocking how polished it is, and how many bands it was the template for, not just in style but in the sound of the recording. It’s tricky because on the surface it’s basically just a metal album taking a lot from early thrash bands but with the realist/Discharge-style approach to horror and despair that Discharge mapped out. The songs take on a similar driving and hypnotic delivery, but being stretched much longer (the opener “THEY” runs like 6 minutes at the same tempo), so that it kind of reminds me in some ways of Crass (besides the obvious politics), and in other ways of something like Killing Joke (who I think were a big influence to a lot of peace punkers). It’s a pretty important album, and also at times I find it kind of boring. There’s something about an unwavering cockney accent just shouting and shouting and shouting for 6 minutes… I keep waiting for something else to happen. Still it sounds heavy, although I gotta wonder how he kept from getting tongue-tied, i guess they do have 3 vocalists on this album. A lot of the atmospheric shit like wind blowing and abstract wooshing noises that are meant to be dramatic on crusty HC and punk records also in part originate here, and maybe haven’t aged too well. I also feel like this might be a more overwhelming, powerful, and inspirational album if you hear it at a younger age, where I only really sat down and listened about 2 or 3 years ago. So in conclusion, while this is a stone cold classic to the peace punk crowd, and a “first of its kind” type release, it feels a little obsolete to me. I’d prefer the more rhythmic churning Amebix approach, or Sacrilege’s much more refined version of the sound on this lp. Btw this is the Southern pressing, I believe there is one on Spiderleg predating it.Underdog: “Demos”- Here’s one on the other side of the coin. Gotta love that this is the original press with the classic pool skater artwork. When I was really young Underdog just seemed weird and not that hardcore to me. All the groove and singy vocals confused me which is now kind of embarrassing and probably strange to some people in this day and age where weird-hc is the bread and butter of everyone and there’s a popular band named after Into Another’s shelved trip-hop album. Forget all that BS though, Over The Edge is just a very fine well nuanced song, and if half the bands that put Underdog on their list of influences could compose a song so advanced there would be a lot more good songs, and probably less wars or something. Revelation are the current keepers of these demos, but I think it’s time someone considered re-reissuing the Vanishing Point (w/ original artwork), restoring the original mix to the demos, and tying up loose ends, like the demo with Carl Mosher, etc, all on one disc, or maybe 2. Most records like this have turned 20 or are about to, and it’s time someone do a definitive historical package of stuff like this.  Far Out records back catalog is kind of funny as I remember, I think they did the 2nd press of the Fear Of God 7″ around the same time they did this Underdog 12″.

I split up the post from Jan 1st showing highlights of jrk1332’s collection cause it was too much to take in at one time and was screwing up the layout of the page for some reason.

1. Husker Du - In A Free Land - 2nd 7″ by Husker Du, this might be one of several cheap deals in this lot because the right corner on the sleeve is all chewed up. This phase of the band is kind of under-rated and overshadowed by lps like Zen Arcade which have more critical acclaim and thus, are the ones you always see written about. Husker Du as a hard core band though were like a graft of Beatles melodies onto a kinda Minor Threat delivery. I’m not sure if that’s entirely accurate but you can always hear a little 60’s pop influences even in their early days. Bob Mould - reppin’ a Roland Jazz Chorus. I hope mine is fixable.
2. Graven Image 7″ & Honor Role 7″ w/ limited cover?! - Not one but 2 7″s on ESKIMO RECORDS. If that name doesn’t immediately jar your brains, I’ll just remind you of 2 of the least interesting 5th teir bands from the less interesting part of Virginia in the early 80s - Norfolk. However, Sami if you’re reading this, please laugh with me at a band called GRAVEN IMAGE on ESKIMO RECORDS. HA! Okay, first of all you got your Graven Image - Kicked Out Of The Scene 7″. Imagine (if you will), a less good, more generic 7 seconds clone band (as in a clone of a clone band) with the worst vocalist, and some song about being kicked out of the scene. If that weren’t enough you’ve got the Honor Role 7″, another slab of generic 82-core (at least it’s actually from 82), with an even worse singer than Graven Image, however, notable because it has a limited cover. Frankly I’m only pointing this out to say how bad these records are. They shouldn’t be worth more than the dollar-bin mystic fodder. As we say about records like Cross Purposes and The Eternal Idol, “FOR COMPLETESTS ONLY”. Regardless, if you are that level of completest (the kind that can talk with me about why Glenn Hughes ultimately fails as a vocalist on 7th Star — if we continue the previous reference) you may want this Honor Role e.p .
3. Necros - IQ32 - This is the most listenable record by what I consider to be an over-rated, middle of the road band. The Necros were big in their time. I’m not sure how or why. Maybe they just had songs that were good to skate to. Maybe they had a live sound never captured on record. Maybe. Or maybe there just wasn’t a whole lot to choose from at the time, and often times, the bands that are the biggest are the most boring, and just work the hardest. Still this is a collector’s piece, and much better than the coveted, but musically worthless, Sex Drive 7″, or the over-long, mid-pacey, Conquest For Death (which like this is still okay, and not bad).
4. Code of Honor - What Are We Gonna Do - Skate rockin tunes. Only they don’t really rock too much. Like 30 seconds deep in the first song the singer busts out a preachy talking part and from there I’m tuned out. People love to love Code Of Honor, and I think maybe that’s a big reason why I love to hate them. Maybe I’m a sad sack, but I greatly prefer Sick Pleasure who they went on to do a split with. Sicky Nicky looks like a homeless freak now, but he wins the contest of snotty vocalists in punk. To put it in Scooby Doo terms, if Sick Pleasure are Shaggy, then Code of Honor would be Velma.
5. Final Conflict (WI) - Ah the other Final Conflict. The one without a Ronflict in it. Produced by Bob Mould and there’s an evil zombie guy on the cover which is sort of cool… I guess. I don’t have a lot to say about this one, but it’s desirable, and thus being noted.

I started compiling a hi-light list a couple days ago for the Jan. 1st post so it would be ready to go the day of, and then I noticed the dawg selling all that stuff is also posting a lot of cool O.G. foreign HC tapes from around the same time as the above like a Declino/Negazione split tape, Pandemonium - Are You The One tape, Inferno - Anti-Hagenbach tape, and some records of similar ilks. There’s plenty of cool North American stuff I haven’t already mentioned that they’re selling in addition, like NOTA, Rebel Truth, sleeveless Articles Of Faith - What We Want Is Free & Agent Orange Blood Stains (wonder what this will go for), Drinking Is Great & Process Of Elimination comps, as well. Something for everyone sort of (but not really), keep your eyes on this one. PS. Happy new year.

Holy crud. Here’s another one of those collections I like to post so much. Most of the notable items I would say sit in the 2nd teir of USHC, but there are a few top shelfers too. In addition I noticed some “nice deals”. I whittled out a list of 10 interesting, or good items, but somehow it ended up actually being 11:

1. Kraut - Unemployed 7″ - Doug Holland. Such a distinguished career. 5,000 copies pressed of this but it still pushes between $75-100, maybe in part because it was comped on the first volume of Killed By Death.
2. A.O.D. -Let’s BBQ - Let’s BBQ is the template for at least 50% of the current 82-core bands around right now whether they know it or not. Suburbia is one of the finest lead-off tracks you ever will here, and my favorite thing about it is the guitar solo. Well more specifically, there’s a spot where the solo should go but instead, an extra guitar track comes in and plays the same riff the rhythm track is already playing. This is a classic trick on older punk and HC records that is scarcely employed now, and I love it whenever I hear it. Please note readers: this is first press (red letters).
3. CIA - God Guns Guts - Well i believe grand theft audio sufficiently jacked the reissue of this so you’ll never see it any time in the next 10 years. What a scumbag that GTA guy is. This is the best record of the collection and I also expect it will go the highest. I love the jangley breakdown in Commie Control, I love the guitar sound, this is a stylistic best. A perfect encapsulation of what 80’s American Hardcore sounds like.
4. The Mob- Step Forward - This, the best Mob release (IMHO), is for some reason not included on their now semi-irrelevant (because it’s also out of print) collection cd on Profile. I was once at Smash Records in Georgetown with Clif Shumaker (Iron Age roadie, My Luck singer, long time record collector) and passed by this very record thinking “it must be a boot, it’s only $4″. Clif pulled it out and declared “you missed this Mob 7 inch, awesome!”, and so ended that evening. The “Bust-It!” used in the title track is one of the earliest instances of the term, and the surfy breakdown it leads into is sorely under rated. Why did Mental (or failing that, Dumptruck) never use a surf breakdown? If anyone has this record on black vinyl, I demand you stand up and be counted (unless your name is Kyle Hughes, we’ve already counted you buddy).
5. Artificial Peace / Exhiled split - Here’s another DCHC, also ran combo. Artificial Peace is a weird band. First of all there’s a semi legitimate discography of them on Lost and Found, complete with tracks of their precursor band, Assault and Battery, that runs 3o or 40 tracks. The pieces all seem to be in place for classic tuneful DCHC circa-82, but whenever I try to listen to it, I feel things never catch fire. I do sort of like the song Suburban Wasteland from the Flex Your Head comp, but even that I’m not in love with. Nonetheless they were one of the seemingly bigger (or at least more active) local bands of the time, with this being their only non-compilation or demo release. Kind of weird. Some of them went on to Marginal Man, who are even less appealing to my ears. Exhiled are 2nd teir at best, but probably 3rd is more fitting. Just totally vanilla American Hardcore of the time. This is the first release on Fountain Of Youth records, a weird DC area label with pretty much nothing but “also-ran” type releases, other than a couple Government Issue albums and singles. I like Fountain Of Youth though, there are some gems.
6. Mecht Mensch - Acceptance - This is a record I’ve always wanted and never persued. Someone outta boot their split w/ the Tar Babies. It’s about that time for someone to do this, I mean it’s 2008, you know. Great 2nd rate midwest HC. Like a baby Die Kruezen.

I’ll be honest. I’m too busy eating figgy pudding and  Wasailing to make this a very detailed post, but for anyone peeping here’s a quick post of “good jams”. I’m not going to talk like I’m an O.G. with this stuff, or even that I know the most, but I know hits when I hear/see them.  This dude’s got ‘em for sure…Stalin, Judgement, Lipcream, LSD, Tetsu Array, Ghoul, Death Side, Outo… these are all names in Japanese HC/punk.But what would any Japanese record sale be without some Madball and Next Step Up? Incomplete I tells you. I once saw Next Step Up open for Biohazard in Hagarstown MD. Rob from Straight Ahead was playing guitar. That doesn’t make it cool to admit that I was seeing Biohazard in the late 90s though, but I was merely an adolecent, I had no idea.

Anyhow, I’d like to volunteer, that while it’s the most common of their 4 singles, and after the departure of Nori from Bastard, Judgement’s - “Haunt In The Dark” is one of the top 5 riffs of the 90’s, fuckit, of any genre. An opening riff like the one it has might play itself, but it didn’t write itself thats for sure. You’re blessed with a riff that good. Where from? Wherever you want to believe, it doesn’t matter, but something that dominating only comes every now and again. It’s the musical equivalent of He-Man, dominating with its authority and control, and also righteous, good, and very likeable. It feels like an anthem hardwired into your brain from birth being accessed by the correct password combination, it’s familiar, or it feels that way as it takes hold.  Well that’s a pretty mellow dramatic take on it, but it is a really good riff, and song, and single. In fact all their single are worth their weight to the 10th power in gold. You’re not going to find Process up for sale here though.

Greetings… 2 picks for you today.

• First of all, if you’re a Misfits collector this Horror Business 7″ is probably one of your most sought after items. This has an a-side label on both sides, and as you can see the opening bid of $2000 has already been met. If someone’s got some Xmas money on their side this could maybe get up to $3000 but probably won’t. This is one of the stupider pieces of Misfits minutia, IMO, but I’ve bought things nearly as stupid I guess. You’re probably not going to buy this but you might as well have a look anyway. This one is my 2nd fav misfits single and layout btw (3-Hits is numero uno). I guess I should bust out the Misfits Xmas-day ‘79 boot, next week so I can have a Ghooooul Yule. Maybe not.
• Also seller kiitollinen_kansalainen has a fine spread of dirty hardcore picks. A few worth mentioning: Neanderthal’s life changing “Fighting Music” 7″ , as well as their split with Rorschach, which is where the song Fighting Music is actually found (”let’s fight!”). Outo’s “No Way Out” E.P., is a personal favorite and a great sleeve on it too. A Totalitar/Disclose split LP a true “d-beat” classic, and the best of a number of listend genre items. The Crucifix lp is not a first press so don’t bother, I’m not sure what the deal is with the Battalion of Saints 7″ either. What I wanna know is how this Floorpunch EP made it into the collection? It looks so lonely as the only record without a large ammount of black on the cover. I guess when it comes to genre boundries Mark Porter is just trancendent. In my mind though I’m imagining this crust punker heard Division 1 Champs, took a shower, went straight edge, and then bought 5 more copies of the 7″. Now he’s just selling off the remains of his punk collection, and throwing in an extra FP 7″ for good measure. I think he sings in a band called SobrietyXPoint that sounds like a harder Turning Point 7″ mixed with the Invasion demo, and are playing a show in fantasy land this weekend (see you there).

Generally most ebayers are unloading at least 50% percent junk. Unwanted split 7″s w/ Napalm Rod Stewart 3000, 6 volumes of common KBD comps, those tour shirts that everybody else bought and wears to every show… not so w/ Seller: fisheggr from the country of Japan. You’re only going to find this dude selling 5 items but each one could be displayed in a hardcore museum (Jesse Standhard’s record museum R.I.P.). Here’s a breakdown of what I’m talking about, in the form of a list:

1. State Of Alert - No Policy E.P. This is looking like a 3rd press copy to me. The photo is small but I think I can see the Black Flag bars that were added to Henry’s arm for this pressing on the front cover (notice that tiny black dot that would probably look like The Bars at full size). At 16 this seemed like the hardest thing I had ever heard, which prior to that was probably either Pantera or Pro-Pain, but this was a different kind of hard. As a side-note, I heard that when Government Issue first made it to Detroit they played with Negative Approach, and John Brannon and some of the local dogs did a band called SOA-Mania which was just an SOA cover band (ala Beatle-Mania duh). John Stabb reportedly said they were better than the real SOA.
2. Youth Of Today - Break Down The Walls (Wishingwell Pressing). This is the most common item on the list here, but it’s becoming more and more scarce with the passage of time. I now sometimes see these selling for around $50 which a few years ago was pretty unheard of. This is definitely the best mix/mastering job on a poorly recorded, overproduced, and nonetheless start to finish CLASSIC lp. The drums are not nearly as FX-laden, the snare actually sounding like a snare, and some of the chintzy reverb that is heard on later pressings isn’t yet present giving the guitars a little more buzz.
3. Unicef - 1st EP.I can’t lie. I had to ask what this one was. My knowledge of Finnish hardcore is pretty lacking but my understanding is this is 1st teir, “top-want” type stuff. The thing to note here is the opening bid is $200, meanign it will probably only get 1 or 2 bids overall. $200 is slightly lower than going rate, which in effect could lead to someone getting a better than average deal. Keep an eye out.
4. Septic Death - Need So Much Attention (Pusmort Pressing). I think that’s the title of this one. Anyhow this is the original version without the added tracks, and revised art. Septic Death being one of the most confusing discographies to get a grip on, I’ll post a beginner’s guide sometime in the future, as ‘ol Pus has a tendency to just constantly reissue the same songs under different record titles.
5. Terveet Kadet - Message 12″ (Test Press). More specifically this is a release that only made it to the test press stage as a 12″. Meaning there were 20 made, and I don’t know how many are accounted for. This is true collector-scum bait. The kind of thing you could con the right someone to jump off the empire state building for.