What's Your Problem

Back when I was heavily attracted to the idea of collecting multiple copies of every record, I thought it would be fun to build a ridiculous collection for one of the best hardcore albums of all time...Group Sex by Circle Jerks. There are a gajillion different colored vinyl pressings of this thing, and it seemed like a good idea to chase as many of them as I could. I changed my collecting priorities shortly after picking up a few different colored vinyl options, and it had been years since I'd been tempted to pick up any more...then I saw the deluxe 40th anniversary pressing that Trust Records was doing and it turns out there was still a spark left of that old collecting flame.

I ignored the initial 40th anniversary pressing from 2020 as I was still standing strong in avoiding reissues, but that shit seemed to sell out quick and when it was announced that the label was doing another pressing in 2021, I could no longer resist.

The packaging on this thing is outstanding. It kind of makes me want to collect more of them, and when I realized that this was the label that released the recent reissue of The Crew from 7 Seconds, I was kicking myself for letting that one pass me by too. Of course the punk rock opportunists are coming out of the woodwork now, and if I want one I can find them posted on Discogs for $150. Thanks, but no thanks.

But yeah, the packaging for this reissue is great. With a nice big booklet that is packed with quotes, photos and flyers, plus there is a reproduction of an old Circle Jerks promo fanzine with info on the band, and a sticker to slap onto the back of your car.

So much great history here.

When I placed my order, I went with the deluxe option that included a signed poster. I don't know why I thought that I needed this, but it seemed like a good idea to spend the highest amount that I could when I was grabbing a copy of this. I guess I thought that this would be great framed on my wall, but the reality is that this poster will most likely stay rolled up and in a corner collecting dust.

Fuck it. I might as well get a group photo for the six versions that I own of Group Sex.

Murder The Disturbed

The majority of the time, I get caught up in impulse buys when collecting and just grab whatever random record has my attention for that second. This leads me to buy multiple pressings of records or singles from my favorite metal and rock bands. It is definitely a fun time, but at the end of the day, I'm left feeling like I didn't move my collection forward. There are so many older albums from my favorite bands that I still do not own on vinyl, and there are times that I wish I could stop dicking around and focus. After a recent run of Japanese singles and some cheap hardcore records, I had the urge to make a move to fill a big hole in the collection.

Circle Jerks have long been a favorite band of mine, but outside of the five pressings of Group Sex, I don't own any of their albums. I've been reading the XXX Fanzine book that Bridge Nine published a couple years ago, and while reading the Keith Morris interview and listening to some early Circle Jerks, I was inspired to finally pick up Wild In The Streets.

A few years ago, I heard someone say that they preferred the original Faulty Records mix of Wild In The Streets. At the time I had no idea there were different mixes, and having only owned the CD version from Frontier Records, I was interested to hear the original.

Now, I'm not much of an audiophile, and there are times when I can barely hear differences in mixes, but yeah, this original pressing of Wild In The Streets definitely has a more raw sound. There are some things that I prefer on the Frontier remix...the typewriter sounds from the original mix of Defamation Innuendo is kind of annoying, but overall you can put me in the camp of preferring the original Faulty mix.

RSD 2018 - Part 4: World Up My Ass [RSD Release]

Okay...one last Record Store Day post.

Prior to Record Store Day, I glanced at the list of special RSD releases to see if anything caught my eye. There used to be a time when I could easy drop a couple hundred dollars on RSD records, but things have been getting a bit thin the last couple of years. For this year, there wasn't a single thing that interested me, and skipped the participating stores completely, and just stuck to the smaller used record stores.

When Doug posted a picture on Instagram of his Record Store Day pickups, I was surprised to see an RSD release for the live Circle Jerks album, Gig. Whoa. I didn't know this was coming. The next day I was tracking down a copy for myself, and thankfully, Bull Moose still had a couple copies available.

Over the past couple of years, I'd thought about grabbing the 2014 German vinyl pressing of this album, but this US pressing does the job.

I'm not that big on live records, but this one is a good time. The energy really carries this record, and the setlist is top notch. Totally worth adding to the Circle Jerks collection.

Group Sex Three Way

When I got started collecting vinyl around 2005, it quickly became an obsession. I was spending a lot of time on the internet looking at record collection photos on the Bridge Nine messageboard, reviewing pressing info, and killing hours on end searching and browsing for records on ebay. Somewhere along the way I stumbled upon The Punk Vault. This guy obviously had some kind of connection with Frontier Records, and I loved reading about all the different variations of the Group Sex record that he would post about. In fact, The Punk Vault is kind of where I got my inspiration to start this blog. So, influenced by The Punk Vault, I've had it in the back of my head that I wanted to build a collection of the Circle Jerks Group Sex record since 2005/2006. There are a ridiculous number of different pressings for this, and I'm a sucker for big audacious goals...cough *Have Heart* cough. I bought a yellow copy back in 2008, but I then quickly stalled on taking it any further as I got distracted with other goals.

With Marcus completing his Black Flag colored vinyl LP collection, and my purchase of an original pressing of Group Sex, I was once again inspired to get back to it. Frontier Records had three different colors available, transparent red, "mystery meat", and rootbeer brown. I bought one of each, and I'm still missing about 10 other colors. I love a challenge.

Original Jerks

In the past, I've often been conflicted over hunting down an original press for a record, or just picking up a nice new mint copy of a repress. Six or seven years ago, when vinyl was starting to make a resurgence, I felt that it was important to buy that most recent repress...kind of like it was my vote to keep this format alive. These days, vinyl is as strong as it has been in years, and while the market is flooded with new pressings of old classics, I'm finding myself less and less interested in buying them. Instead, I feel the need to chase down some original pressings.

After picking up original pressings of Fear and Black Flag recently, I figured that I needed to own an original copy of one of my favorite Hardcore albums of all time...Group Sex from Circle Jerks.

If you aren't already familiar with this record, I'd be left speechless. Early 80's Hardcore perfection.

Back in 2008, I got it in my head to start collecting the Group Sex record. I bought one copy on colored vinyl, and then changed direction to start chasing something else. Hey, I get distracted easily. Over four years later, it feels good to add another copy...an original pressing...to the collection.

Inspired To Have Group Sex

In the back of my mind I have always wanted to collect the Circle Jerks first album, Group Sex, on vinyl. It is an absolute classic...so much fun and just full of attitude. Frontier Records is still pressing it on vinyl, and on lots of different colors. I've wanted to start adding them to the collection, but I just kept putting off...buying other things, feeling safe that they would just always be there for me. After reading Lins87's posts on Black Flag vinyl, I was inspired to finally pick up an old school punk classic. I knew that one of the local record stores had a copy of Group Sex, and so yesterday I skipped out of work and picked it up. I have no idea how many Frontier is pressing for each color, but I ended up with yellow vinyl. At some point, I'll have to head over to their site and pick up a few more colors.