2007 Recap

I love statistics for my music. Last.fm tracks what I'm listening to online, and the OrangeCD database helps keep my music collection cataloged with all kinds of data at my fingertips. With OrangeCD, I can sort my albums by year, compare the number of CD's I've bought to the number that I've downloaded...all kinds of geeky shit. I was thinking of putting together a "Best of 2007" list like Tyler does, but it just seemed to overwhelming to go into such detail, so I scrapped the idea. However, 2007 was such a big year for me musically, that I felt the need to put some kind of recap together, and I decided it would be more numbers based.

In looking through OrangeCD, and sorting some data, I found that I had added around 362 new records/CDs to my collection! That's almost a new album each day of the year. The problem with liking so much music, is that I really never get the time to sit and really spend a lot of time with new albums. I worked to remedy that at the end of the year, and my resolution for 2008 is to really get familiar with new music before filing it away deep into the collection. So, anyway, here is the breakdown of what was added to my collection for 2007.

35 - 7 inches
6 - 12 inch singles

90 - LPs

1 - LP box set
109 - new CDs
119 - burned CDs
2 - CD box sets

While 2006 saw the release of some of the best hardcore records with Have Heart, Verse, The First Step, Betrayed, and Outbreak, 2007 managed to drop a few gems on us as well.

Best Hardcore of 2007

1. Get the Most : Moment in Time E.P.
2. Nothing Done : Everybody Knows
3. Down to Nothing : The Most
4. I Rise : Down
5. True Colors : Focus On The Light

• Notable mention : Said and Done - Everyday, Go It Alone - Histories, Red Handed - Wounds Remain, Soul Control - Involution

2007 was also a great year for Metal, as I went from revisiting my youth and falling in love with the classics again to really digging into what the Metal world had to offer today. There has been a huge revival of Thrash, and David (Genocide_Junkie) was really a big help in keeping me in touch with the new music.

Best Metal of 2007

1. Fueled By Fire : Spread the Fire
2. Municipal Waste : The Art of Partying
3. Onslaught : Killing Peace
4. Evile : Enter the Grave
5. Overkill : Imortallis

• Notable mention : 3 Inches of Blood - Fire Up the Blades, Exodus - The Atrocity Exhibition, Dublin Death Patrol - DDP 4 Life

Of course I would be remiss in not mentioning the incredible album that the White Stripes released this past year. Icky Thump was one of their best, and I have yet to get tired of listening to it. And finally, there was only one Hip Hop album in all of 2007 that really interested me, and that was Brother Ali's amazing The Undisputed Truth. Hardcore and Metal really pushed Hip Hop out of the picture for me this year, but this one album was too good to ignore.

Live at CBGB

One of my biggest regrets is never making it to CBGB's for a hardcore show. The place was a New York Hardcore icon steeped in the tradition of matinee shows. Some may say it was one of the cornerstones of Hardcore's "golden era", with Youth of Today, Judge, Side by Side, Cro-Mags, Sick of it All, and Agnostic Front thrashing out live sets during their prime in that club. In all my years of going to shows, it never really crossed my mind to drive all the way to NYC and go to a show there. Then Rob, Paul and I went on our roadtrip to New York last year, after CB's had closed down, and I was wishing that we had made the trip a year or two earlier and had caught a show there...any show...just to say I had been there. I feel kind of privileged to have caught the tail end of the club scene in Boston, before shows were killed and driven to church basements and VFW halls (which are still cool in their own right). Yeah, there were Slapshot shows at The Channel, or Sick of it All at Bunratty's, or seeing Strife and the beginning of the 90's Youth Crew revival at The Rat, but man, CBGB's, that's the one that I wish that I had made it to.

So anyway, this entry is for the Triple Threat Live at CBGB's seven inch. I'm not really a fan of live records, and this one doesn't really do anything to excite me, other then the cover of Glue by SSD. However, it is on blue vinyl and limited to 200 pressed. Plus, it keeps my Triple Threat collection complete.

Getting The Led Out

Another afternoon at Jeff's, another afternoon of free records. Once again, Jeff was looking to clean out his vinyl collection, getting rid of the doubles, and I ended up walking away with some classic Rock records. This time around the main focus was on Led Zeppelin, as I was able to grab a copy of Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin III, Houses of the Holy, and In Through the Out Door. Since I've recently discovered how great Rush were in their early years, I was also able to pick up a copy of their live album, Exit...Stage Left. Those early Rush records are amazing...when 2112 kicks into the start of The Temples of Syrinx, it is so heavy and powerful that it gives me goosebumps. One of the best songs to clock in around 20 minutes. The last album that Jeff gave me was a copy of Who's Next by The Who. I'm still on the fence with this band, some of their stuff is pretty cool, and some of it is just okay. It may take me a while longer to fully get into this band, but I can still appreciate them in small doses.

In Rememberance of Old New York...

The Christmas spirit just keeps on rollin' with this entry courtesy of Paul. These three records, he bought for me while we were on our trip to New York with Rob. That weekend was such a blast, and I am still in awe over how amazing Generation Records is. There are still records that I think about from that store, where I am left wishing that I had picked them up when I had the chance.

• Break It Up - No Sides : I took a chance on this one, as I had never heard the band before...but they were on Dead and Gone Records, so I felt it was a safe bet. The band has a couple of guitarists from Voorhees, and play a pretty straight forward style of hardcore. Good stuff. I was surprised to find that the orange vinyl that I got was limited to 200 pressed.
• Youth of Today - Can't Close My Eyes : Pure fucking hardcore fury. Youth of Today are one of my favorite hardcore bands, and I'm ashamed to say that my vinyl collection includes only the Disengage 7 inch, and the live album. When I saw this in New York, I knew it was time to step it up, and finally get it going. The thought of trying to really do something with a Youth of Today collection is pretty intimidating. There are so many different pressings, and it would cost way more than I can really put into it, but I feel like I owe it to myself to at least get some of their vinyl into my collection. This is a start.
• Misfits - Earth A.D. : Speaking of hardcore classics, here is another one that I feel should be the part of every one's collection. This album just totally rips, and is one of the more hardcore Misfits albums. I remember when Paul bought this tape when we were kids. It was a total wall of noise upon first listen, and it was really hard for our ears to hear what was going on underneath the chaos...but over time, wow, this was some intense, pounding shit.

Anyway, it was nice to get this great reminder of our trip from last Fall. Thanks Paul...already thinking ahead to where we might go for Roadtrip 2008.

Picture Perfect Ending

As 2007 drew to a close, I had one more $20 gift card at Newbury Comics to spend and I wasn't about to let it see the beginning of the new year. The last time I was in the store blowing a major part of my gift card load, I stumbled upon this picture disc of Overkill's newest album, Immortalis. I had set it back on the rack in between all the other vinyl, and after I left the store I knew that I needed to make a trip back in a couple of days to pick it up. I had originally put it back because I tend to really hate the picture disc format...they typically sound like crap, and the plain plastic sleeve kills it for me when it comes to packaging. Three things changed my mind on this one. First, the cover art for this album absolutely destroys. Overkill has released a lot of albums, and Immortalis sports the sickest artwork of them all. Secondly, in reading Martin Popoff's book on the Price Guide for Heavy Metal Records, I came to realize that picture discs tend to increase in more value over the regularly pressed vinyl. I finally understood that they are a collector's item. Lastly, and more importantly, this is hand numbered limited edition...mine is number 568 of 1,200. Fuck it, I was sold.

Funny thing about buying this record. I was reminded of being a kid and heading into the record stores at the mall, and feeling the need to buy albums when I saw them, because when I came back the next week, there was a good chance they would be gone forever. Living in Maine, which is not know for being progressive on the musical front, the record stores would typically get only one copy, if any, of the more underground metal albums. If someone bought it before you did, you lost. After I left Newbury Comics last week, that feeling hit me again. I thought that I'd made a mistake and next trip back, the Overkill album would be gone. When I went back, I started flipping through the 'O' section of vinyl, and wouldn't you know it, it wasn't there. My heart sank. Fuck. I knew it! I missed out. Then I realized, that in my rush to find the record I was flipping through the Hip Hop section in error. Phew! I stepped over two rows to the Rock section and there it was, just as I'd left it, like it was waiting for my return.