New Kind Of Kick

As a kid, I rarely had the opportunity to listen to a band or a record before buying it. It was kind of a thrill to see a record that I'd never heard of before in a store, and use three criteria (cover art, what the band looked like, and record label) to determine if it was worth the gamble to purchase. Often times this process worked out, but there were a few times that young Mike was left with an album that left him wondering what the fuck he had purchased. One of those times was when I bought the cassette for Bad Music For Bad People from The Cramps.

I saw the cover for this album in the racks at the record store around 1987... and with that creepy face artwork, and the font for the band name, I thought that was in for some evil shit. What I imagined, and what The Cramps sounded like, did not match up at all. Still, as a kid with a limited budget for buying records, I was stuck with that tape, and even though it wasn't metal, I made myself listen to it and try to find something redeemable in the music... and there was a kind of depravity there that kept my attention and lyrics like "I cut your head off and put it in my tv set" were fun enough that I would play it for a laugh with my friends. So yeah, I came to enjoy that cassette.

I hadn't really given The Cramps much of a thought since those days when the Bad Music cassette was new to me. I've been opening my mind and enjoying different kinds of music the past couple of years... stuff that I would have told you with the utmost confidence that I hated... and when The Cramps came up on my radar last year, I thought that it was the perfect time to revisit the band. Man, I would just throw Spotify on a Cramps shuffle playlist and not hit a single bad song. So fun and so good. When I saw that Tim's collection included the vinyl for Bad Music Bad People, I had to make it mine. Also, I feel like I might need more Cramps vinyl this year.

Acting Like A Maniac

About 10 years ago, I was big on trying to collect all of the early Megaforce Records releases. I was hot for those silver label first pressings, and scooped up a bunch of those classic records. I'm still missing some of the smaller releases like Grave Digger and Blue Cheer, and to be honest, I'm not sure if I care enough about those to even bother... and my obsession stalled out once I'd checked off a number of the classics from the list. There were still a few others that I'd like to pick up, and seeing the Whiplash single from Metallica as I was going through Tim's collection, I knew that it was time to add another silver label to the collection.

As much as I love early Metallica, and needed to have the first pressings of the band's first four albums in my collection, I wasn't really overly interested in buying their early singles. I don't know if it was because of the price tag they carry, or if it was because the records didn't really offer me anything new that I hadn't heard, but I'd never bothered with them. Holding the 12 inch of Whiplash in my hands suddenly put it at the forefront of my mind, and I desperately needed to own this.

I just love those early photos of Metallica. Worth buying the record for that back cover alone.

Winds Of Praise

7 Seconds records don't seem to be very difficult to collect, and yet I've never really put much effort into it. When I saw a couple of them in Tim's collection, I figured that it was about time that I filled some holes.

I'd probably consider New Wind to be the end of the "classic" 7 Seconds era, although there are a few songs here that hint to where the band was going in the next year or so. I remember picking up the CD for this in the early 90's and being very unsure on what to think of this record. Some of the songs were great (hell, I named my single issue zine that I did in the mid-90's after the song Still Believe), but at the time I remember having a difficult time getting through this album and I didn't play it very often. I probably enjoy it a bit more these days though, so I'm glad to finally own a copy on wax.

Black vinyl with the green labels will do for now, but I'd really prefer the red vinyl version.

Look, my introduction to 7 Seconds was when I bought the CD for Soulforce Revolution. It was a bit confusing at the time because other hardcore kids seemed to talk highly of this band, and this U2/alternative influenced version of 7 Seconds was not what I was expecting... but I didn't know any better, so I listened to that record over and over until I forced myself to like it. Once I bought the Skins Brains & Guts 7 inch, then it all made sense, but Soulforce Revolution had still earned an appreciation in my mind.

While I did like Soulforce Revolution at the time, I considered it lessons learned and didn't bother to check out any other 7 Seconds record from that time period. So when I saw the Praise 12 inch in Tim's collection, I was excited to finally check it out. These past couple of years have proven that I'm hungry for different things and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and give it a spin... and it is no surprise that it is exactly what I wanted from this record. Give me more of the Kevin Seconds goofy hat era.

Cool to see the two merch inserts with this record.

No Escape From The 90's

When No Escape released a new album in 2021, it had me hopeful that their underrated 1993 classic record, Just Accept It, was finally going to be pressed to vinyl. It took a few years, but I'm happy that it has finally happened.

No Escape were a hardcore band out of New Jersey in the early 90's. They released a split 7 inch with Turning Point, and I think that people tend to overlook those No Escape songs just because the TP songs are so good... plus they released an album that was only available on CD from Overkill Records, and not being available on vinyl, plus from an obscure hardcore record label, probably caused that album to be overlooked as the years went on. For me though, I've always thought highly of Just Accept It, so when I saw that REV was packaging the album along with the comp tracks and demo songs, and releasing it on wax, you better believe that I was grabbing it. I was so excited about it, that I even bought one of each color vinyl options they had in the store.

Blue vinyl was only available in the REVHQ store and was limited to 200. Ummm... why was this not on yellow to match the cover and the REV logo?

Man, it feels so good to have this record readily available and on streaming platforms.

250 pressed on coke bottle clear vinyl. There is also an indie record store exclusive of 250 pressed on green, and I'm wondering if I'm also going to need this one. But if I buy all three versions of this, do I also need to go back and buy more copies of Selective Punches? How far down this No Escape hole do I go?

Guided Tour Through 2024

I'm trying to decide if this past year was as turbulent as the previous one when it comes to my music habits. 2023 might have seen me rewiring my brain on what I listen to and accepting more different styles of music, but I think that 2024 might have seen me focus in a bit more on those sounds that were new to me. While I enjoyed a song or two from bands like The Smiths and The Cure in 2023, this past year had me really obsessing over certain albums from those bands and reaching out to discover more indie sounds. I wasn't really interested in what new bands were doing or what new records were being released... nope, I was too busy exploring older discoveries. Because I was trying new things, I didn't really spend a lot of time chasing records... I wasn't even sure if I wanted to buy records for those bands. Yeah, it was a weird time that I was still trying to figure out.

While I was still lost on what to do about record collecting, and being more distracted with books and reading, it lead to the lowest number of posts on this blog in 15 years. I still enjoy the time that I dedicate to this thing, I just found it difficult to make that time. While the year wasn't too exciting for collecting, there were still a few things that I'm really happy about picking up, so let's get into them here.

For most of the year, I put very little thought into chasing records. The year was bookended however with a couple moments of inspiration... first with a 90's hardcore obsession, and then getting the opportunity to go through someone's collection and buy some older records... and looking back at these few purchases kind of has me excited again. Reflecting on these eight purchases makes me want more of this.

1. Spiritual Cramp 'Mass Hysteria' record release - There was never any doubt that this was going to be the favorite record that I picked up this year. This was probably the only time all summer that I was bit by the collector bug. I saw this record release sleeve for the first Spiritual Cramp 7 inch and needed to own it no matter what the price was.

2. Social Distortion 'Mommy's Little Monster' 1st press - Maybe the most expensive record that I bought this past year. When I discovered this record eight years ago, I threw this 1st pressing on my wantlist, but realistically didn't think that I'd ever spend this kind of money for it. Man, sometimes it feels good to just do it.

3. Remission 'Pain Understood' test press - Buying this test press made me feel like a serious collector again... plus the record was from a time when I was at the height of my record collecting mania. Remission still sounds so good today, and I was stoked to get my hands on this test.

4. Voice Of Reason 'Parody' limited cover and blue vinyl - The thing about me is that I love obscure 90's hardcore bands. Wrap that shit up in a special cover and press it on colored vinyl, and I will eat it up all day.

5. Abuse Of Power 'When Then Becomes Now' tour cover - I was surprised to find this in the racks at Wanna Hear It Records. Abuse Of Power had fallen off my radar a bit, but buying this 7 inch with the limited tour cover was a great reminder of how much I like this band.

6. Cro-Mags 'The Age Of Quarrel' 1st press - An absolute hardcore classic. Honestly, finally buying this record just makes me want to buy more of this older shit that I should have in my collection.

7. T.S.O.L. self-titled EP - While I do wish that this was an earlier pressing, there is no doubt that buying this 12 inch has me appreciating early T.S.O.L. more. I've listened to this record so many times since I bought it, and it is just perfect.

8. Burst Of Silence 'Thicker Than Blood' on maroon - Burst Of Silence is another obscure 90's hardcore band that I fucking love. I didn't know that this was even available on colored vinyl for a long time, so I'm very happy to own this.

1. Bent Blue - So Much Seething

2. High Vis - Guided Tour

3. Spaced - This Is All We Ever Get

4. Wreckage - Self In All

5. Unified Action - This Is A War

6. Planet On A Chain - Culture Of Death

7. Statement of Pride - Rebirth

8. Berthold City - Where Did We Go Wrong?

As I've said, I struggled to find interest in new music for most of this past year. These "Best of" lists don't really mean anything anymore. There was a day when I was narrowing down my favorites from a list of 20+, but from this past year, I only have listened to 11 new hardcore records... so a Top 8 is basically just a list of the only new hardcore that was interesting to me. Still, those records at the top of my list can't be fucked with. Bent Blue continue to impress me, and the biggest surprise here was how much I enjoyed the new High Vis. Spaced was a nice surprise too, and if Marcus hadn't put them on my radar, I would have probably let them skip right by me... so I'm thankful for friends that still reach out and make recommendations.

1. Grand Magus - Sunraven

2. Midnight - Hellish Expectations

3. Satan - Songs In Crimson

4. Bat - Under The Crooked Claw

5. The Cure - Songs Of A Lost World

6. Fu Manchu - The Return Of Tomorrow

7. Whores - War.

8. IDLES - TANGK

Okay, I know that this list is a mess. I've always had an obvious line between my hardcore and metal "Best Of" lists, but I had not idea how to manage those bands that didn't fit into those two catagories. In a moment of panic, I just made a "hardcore" and a "not hardcore" list... and then I was left trying to figure out how to rank The Cure alongside Satan. It is fucking messy and I hate it. But beside my obvious problems in strict buckets in which to compare bands, there was so great stuff from this past year... you know, once I actually started paying attention. Once again Grand Magus, Midnight and Satan take the top of my list, as they do every year that they release an album, but that Fu Manchu record was surprisingly good as well... plus shit like Orange Goblin and The Obsessed that didn't make the cut here are also excellent. Still albums from The Cure, IDLES and the Whores record just floored me when I heard them, so I needed to include them here.

Lastly, we get to the shit that I've been excited to talk about... music that I was obsessed with this past year that wasn't released in 2024. Okay, the Spiritual Cramp record was released at the very end of 2023, so loosely it could be considered a new release, but damn, I didn't care about this band when they released their first 7 inch on REACT Records back in 2017, so I was really surprised to find how much I loved this band with their new album. For The Cure, I really listened to Disintegration and Wish a lot at the start of the year, and it was a lot of fun to dig into these records and discover the band. Another band that could have multiple records on this list is Modest Mouse. Holy shit, I obsessed over this band and even took a 2 hour drive by myself to see them play live in New Hampshire over the summer. I loved them that much. The Moon & Antarctica, The Lonesome Crowded West, and Good News were all records from Modest Mouse that saw a lot of action on my daily playlists. Speaking of unexpected obsessions, we need to talk about Karate. The Bed Is In The Ocean was my summer soundtrack. I don't know what it was, but that record was exactly what I needed when I heard it. Title Fight were another band that I have never liked, but this year the band gave me exactly what I needed to hear. Gulch and High Vis were just extensions of the appreciation that I found with those bands last year. A Perfect Circle fit for when I was in a mood for something different, and Entombed hit the spot for when I wanted something heavy. Man, it was such a great year discovering older bands that I'd missed the first time around. The interesting thing is that of these 9, I only own 4 of these on vinyl, so I obviously still have work to do.

So that is my 2024. It wasn't really exciting or busy on this blog, but as we move into a new year, I feel that fire starting to come back. I'm not saying that I'll get back to regular double digit posts in a month again, but I'm excited by what I can still plunder from Tim's collection over the coming months... plus writing up this end of the year post has me thinking about hardcore again, and I'm looking forward to seeing where that takes me. Music has proven to be an unpredictable journey, so let's see what dumb shit I can get up to here in 2025.

Where Did We Go Wrong

One more 2024 release before we hit the nightmare blog post that tries to summarize the entire year.

Like some of the other new releases this year, I initially wasn't too excited about rushing out to pick up the new Berthold City. I was stuck listening to other new finds at the time, so I wasn't fussed about listening to it immediately... plus the vinyl from War Records tends to look like ass, so if they all look terrible then there is no need to be worry about getting the most limited version. Still, as we started to approach the end of the year, and I started thinking about lists and rankings, I knew that Berthold City was going to be in there with the top hardcore records, so I figured that I'd better get my hands on a copy.

Where Did We Go Wrong falls right in line with the last Berthold City record... just well done straight forward hardcore. The style seems rare these days, unless I'm just not paying close enough attention, but when a band does it this good, you know that it will be getting a lot of playing time from me (you know, when I'm not too obsessed over bands like The Cure and Karate).

The Age Of Quarrel

Another hardcore classic that I bought on CD back in the late 80's, but never have picked up the vinyl until I was pillaging Tim's old collection.

Cro-Mags were one of my first introductions to hardcore, and The Age Of Quarrel, alongside Agnostic Front's Liberty and Justice and Sick Of It All's Blood Sweat and No Tears, probably makes up my Big 3 for that time period. I was still very much a metalhead in the late 80's when I stumbled upon these records, and had no idea what hardcore music was. It had an intensity and realness that I'd never seen in music before, and it made all the metal bands that I'd been listening to start to feel a bit silly. Discovering hardcore was life changing.

I can't believe that it has taken me this long to finally add this classic record to the collection, but sometimes I feel like I spend most of my time focused on buying records that are in my ears at that immediate moment... and while there is no doubt that The Age Of Quarrel is a crucial hardcore record, I've just heard it so many times, that I don't spend a lot of time listening to it these days... and therefore I've never really put a lot of effort into buying a copy. However, seeing this copy in Tim's collection had me stoked to finally get my hands on one.