The First Test

What could possibly entice me to spend more money this month...and only days after a huge win with the Champion Count Our Numbers record release. Exceeding the money that I spent on the Champion 7 inch, I managed to get my hands on a test pressing of The First Step's What We Know Sessions. To fund the releasing of this record, in addition to the upcoming re-release of the Right Idea EP, Bottled Up Records put up some vinyl on eBay...this test press was one of those items. I threw a bid on it at the last minute, but in the end I didn't win it. My bid was reasonable enough so I was hopeful that Bottled Up would look to unload more than just the one they had up for sale, and make me a Second Chance Offer...and the next day I got one. Damn, after the money that I had already spent on the Champion record, I had no business entertaining the idea of buying this record. However, if I didn't do it now, I may never get the chance again. Bottled Up test presses are limited to 13, so I bit the bullet and accepted the offer. Other than the Said and Done test press, that Shield Records gave to me, this was the first test press that I have purchased. I've never really been interested in collecting them, because the prices are typically ridiculous, but fuck it, it felt so good to buy this one. The cover that Bottled Up did for this release is pretty unique. It includes a clear plastic overlay with the image of Aaron Chrietzberg airborne with his guitar, which rests nicely over the paper cover photo of Stephen St. Germain. Very cool. Jeff, from Bottled Up, let me know that he finally just got the artwork for the regular press, and they should be ready to ship in about two weeks. I've got two copies of that one coming as well, which will be nice to add to the collection.

Is This My Vinyl?

Another record won from my recent eBay killing spree. I haven't been able to keep away from that site over the past month. My current obsession with older hardcore vinyl, strikes again as I threw a bid on an auction from Jerry's Kid's first album, Is This My World. Man, Boston Hardcore has just been killing it in my stereo lately, as I can't seem to get enough DYS, SSD, Negative FX, and Gang Green. This Jerry's Kids album was the re-issue on TAANG! Records, and not the original press on X-Claim, so I didn't have to pay too much for this copy. Although it was a painful reminder from when I thought that I had an original pressing of SSD's The Kids Will Have Their Say. I've been thinking that I had an original pressing for years, and a few months ago I read on the Livewire messageboard about someone recently realizing that they owned the bootleg pressing that Ray and Porcell (?) released years ago on the EX-Claim label. I checked mine, and sure enough, it was the bootleg pressing as well. No wonder I was able to pick it up 15 years ago for $25.

We're Still Not In This Alone

I've been trying to acquire this record for a few years now. One of the few Champion records that I did not have in my collection...the Count Our Number record release pressing with the Youth of Today ripoff cover. Each time I would try for it on eBay in the past, and it doesn't show up often, the price was always too rich for my blood. Last week, everything fell in to place to make it possible for me to buy this rare record. First of all, I had some money sitting in my Paypal account after selling some records for Rob...by coincidence some of them happened to be Champion records. Then I notice that Words of War Records has posted on a messageboard that they have put up some records for auction, including a bunch of Champion stuff. I check it out and find the Count Our Numbers record release is up for bid. With the extra cash in my account, I knew immediately that I would be winning this record. At the time, it ended up being the most money that I've ever spent on a single record, but then it would only take a couple of days for me to exceed that amount. More on that in a future post.

Hand numbered 55 of 116, on white vinyl. Champion were the band that got me interested in collecting records so I can't express how much it means to me to finally have this in my collection.

Words Of War Records shipped the vinyl in record time (no pun intended). I couldn't believe how fast it arrived. They also included a Built To Last 7 inch with the Champion one that I won. I had never heard this band, and would have probably never given them a chance had they not included this as a bonus. Apparently Built To Last have been around for a while and this is their first record in 7 years, but I've never heard them before. I've only listened to this a few times, but I'm really liking it. The vocals seem very familiar, but I can't place them right now...maybe they sound like The Nerve Agents, I'm not sure. Either way it was nice to get a bonus 7 inch that didn't turn out to be a waste of plastic. Limited to 269 on black vinyl.

Inbred and Under Appreciated

Do you have one of those bands that you just lose your mind over, but no one else seems to know them? A band that you think should have been huge, but for some reason history has swept them under the rug. A band that you think that everyone should be exposed to...and you know that if people just gave this band a chance, you know that they would love them as well. For me that band is Th' Inbred. I got turned on to this hardcore punk band around 1988 or so. I can't remember how this tape ended up in the hands of my brother. The cassette, Family Pack, held both of the band's albums and we both fell in love with the quirky hardcore punk style. There is a strong Dead Kennedy's influence here with the sarcastic styling of lyrics and the odd song structures. This small band out of West Virginia was so far ahead of their time in their critique of hardcore and scene politics...a lot of this stuff is still valid today. The lyrics really set a foundation for me, before I even fully understood the whole punk/hardcore mentality of thinking for yourself and not following the company line. With songs like Jesus Youth/Satan Youth that takes a stab at both Christian religion ("do another hit of this Jesus, man, and you'll never have worry about your free will again") and Satanism ("a black sheep by any other name is still a sheep"), Fool's Paradise ("I'm going to get so fucked up, I can't see how bad they're fuckin' me"), and The Positive Song which blasts the generic, blind positivity in hardcore ("if everyone skates a lot and goes to a lot of shows, everything's going to turn out alright, okay?"). Absolute punk genius.

I've had original copies of the bands two albums, A Family Affair (1986) and Kissin' Cousins (1988), for while now. I was surfin' around on eBay, checking out some Youth of Today records, when I stumbled across a seller that also had the 1989 re-issue of A Family Affair up for auction. I'm not too familiar with the pressing info for Th' Inbred, but I had no idea that this album was re-issued, and on orange colored vinyl no less! I knew immediately that I NEEDED this pressing for my collection, and I set a maximum bid to insure that I won it. Maybe not the smartest move since I saw another copy of the album sell for around $10 on eBay a week later, but hey, this was still worth every penny that I spent on it.

In the photo above, I included both the original pressing on black vinyl with the orange cover, next to the repressing on orange vinyl with the blue cover...because I think the album is that cool. Ha! Anyway, you need to hear this album, and since it isn't in press anymore, you can download it here. Maybe I've got too much nostalgia wrapped up in this, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Forgotten Formats

I had second thoughts about buying the latest release from React Records...the Gone But Not Forgotten Seattle Crew '08 demo. A cassette tape? Seriously? I have no interest in buying tapes again. The format sucks. Plain and simple. However, since it was released on React (limited to 300 and are now sold out), I wanted to show my support for the label and buy one. Gone But Not Forgotten play a straight ahead, Hardcore style that you would expect from React. They have a great sound that reminds me of Brotherhood. I love it when bands offer free downloads of their demo...what a great way to get the word out. So if you don't want to waste your time with cassette tapes, you can grab the mp3s here.

In addition to the GBNF demo, React is also helping Effort Fanzine with their distribution in North America. Fanzines are another long forgotten format...another casualty due to the internet. To be honest, I lost interest in fanzines years ago. This one seems different though...a step above anything else. This issue of Effort is THICK...bound like a book, instead of stapled together. Plus the interviews are long and very well done. Seriously, I'm impressed. Interviews with The First Step, Mindset, Anthony Pappalardo on the Radio Silence book, and Justice. I haven't been this interested in a fanzine in a long time. Nicely done.

Mailorder Euro Tour

I happened to be browsing the Six Feet Under webstore the other day, and to my surprise, I found myself on tour across Europe with some of today's best bands...all without leaving the safety of my office cubicle. Belgium's Loud and Clear took a few days to play in Denmark and Sweden, and they printed off these special tour covers for the occasion. I can't say enough good things about this band. When I was on a listening streak of early 80's hardcore, somehow Loud and Clear fit in with that playlist, and would often times follow up a round of SSD and DYS with this album. Band is so good it made me pull out the Elephant Skin album from Justice. I found that I loved that album as well, and need to find some more early Justice stuff.

Black vinyl from the U.S. pressing on Six Feet Under. I was surprised that they only made 36 of these covers, and then had some left over for the webstore. Why didn't this shit sell out on tour? Either way, I'm very happy to have one. Hand numbered, and I got 14.

Next up was Common Cause from Oslo, Norway...a great straight edge hardcore band featuring ex-members of Damage Control and Eyeball. They did a tour across Europe last year, and sold this pressing along the way. Black vinyl, with hand written labels, packaged in a "DJ sleeve" and limited to 250.

Have Heart also did a Euro tour, and Bottled Up Records pressed the demo on a special orange colored vinyl (limited to 250) for the band to take over the Atlantic with them. Yeah, the picture makes it look like it's red vinyl, but trust me, it is a nice dark orange.


As you can see, I have many different pressings of this record. This record has been pressed so many times, it is insane. I don't care though. In fact, I love it when a label will press an absurd amount of colors for one record...it makes for a great picture. I think that I only need two more pressings of this to make it complete.


The last album that I bought from Six Feet Under was for a band called Dean Dirg. Don't let the odd name turn you away. This German punk band rips it up...just a lot of fun. 100 made on green and black vinyl.

This Goes Out To Everybody...Ready...12XU

So I finally read American Hardcore by Steven Blush. I've avoided this book for a while now. I've heard reviews where the author makes the claim that hardcore died around 1985, and since I've never really understood this thought process, I've kept my distance from this book. I finally picked it up, and to my surprise, it was a great read. Sure the author voices his opinion on when hardcore died, and peppers the book with a few lame stories, but overall, the history contained in this book is well documented. The chapters on Black Flag, Misfits, the early Dischord years, and the Boston Crew, were outstanding. While reading this book, I found myself with an insatiable appetite for all those early 80's hardcore bands. Bands that I hadn't listened to in years were suddenly finding their way into my daily playlist...repeatedly. Cro-Mags. Bad Brains. Articles of Faith. DYS. SSD. Negative Approach. I was obsessed with hardcore again, finding little to no time to listen to any Metal or Rock. The book also introduced me to some bands that I had never heard before, like Kraut, Die Kreuzen, and The Effigies.

While reading this book, I realized that I had never heard the Dischord compilation, Flex Your Head from 1982. I know, it is another one of those "I can't believe that I waited this long to hear this record" moments. Side one contains songs from bands that were the core of those early Dischord years, Teen Idles, S.O.A., Minor Threat, Government Issue, and Youth Brigade. Classic stuff. Side two has a bunch of bands that I've never heard before. I was introduced to Red C through Ceremony's cover of Pressure's On, and Red Handed did a cover of Void's My Rules. Both bands do some pretty good songs on this comp. I really like the Artificial Peace songs on here as well...I'll need to search Soulseek for more of their stuff. I'm glad to finally have this classic in my collection.

You Tell Me You Want To Be Different

Man, I love album cover variations for different pressings. I'm not sure what it is, but slight differences, whether it be the change from red to blue with Nothing Done's name on the second pressing, or the change from a blue cover to a red cover for the euro pressing of Planet Mental. Yeah, I geek out about that stuff.

Because a serious Minor Threat collection is way past my means, I never really considered it. However, when Dischord recently remastered and repressed the 12 inch collection of Minor Threat's first two 7 inches, I was struck with the urge to own a couple of copies. It wasn't enough that the new pressing was with a new yellow cover, but throw in the fact that one of the local record stores here still had the older pressing with the green cover in stock...how am I supposed to not buy them both in one shot? What self respecting collector would walk away from that? This album could very well be the best piece of hardcore wax ever pressed, and I'm happy to finally own it on vinyl. But, hey, that just how I see it...in my eyes...so what the fuck have you done?

Not only was there a difference in pressings with the album cover color, but the inserts were slightly different as well. The yellow cover insert is smaller, with some other slight differences in the layout.

And then there is the differences in the vinyl. I bought the green cover first and found that it came with a nice matching mint green colored vinyl. I expected the yellow cover to also have the corresponding colored vinyl, but instead found it was pressed on black.

Nailed to the Golden X

The thing that I love about last.fm, other than the fact that it tracks my listening habits, is the awesome people that I've met through the site. Last year, Rob was going to an SSS show in Europe, so I asked him to pick me up a copy of their ultra limited edition CD that they were selling on their tour, and he was kind enough to get it and send it to me. Then last month Onno sent me a message asking if I wanted the Golden X 7 inch that someone had given him. Since he is not a "vinyl freak", he offered to send it my way if I wanted it. I didn't know anything about the band, so I checked out their myspace page. Other than the really bad name...it doesn't get any cheesier than a name like Golden X...the cover for the 7 inch made me kind of nervous. With the picture of a fist knocking Satan in the mouth, I was really afraid that this was going to be some lame Christian core Straight Edge band. Man, there is nothing I hate more in my music than God. Something about just rubs me the wrong way, and I'll immediately shit on it. Same thing was true when Krishna invaded hardcore. I wanted nothing to do with it. Sure the first Shelter album was pretty good, but by the time they started in with their "defense of reality", I found it to be more of joke. In the end, I couldn't find any overtly Christian messages on this Golden X record. It's just 3 Austrian dudes, pumping out some generic Straight Edge hardcore. I can get down with that. This was released on Positive and Focused Records, and was limited to 250 for the black vinyl pressing, and only 180 of those did not come with a CD. This copy has no CD.

When Onno sent the 7 inch, he also included a CD of his old band Inrage. This some pretty good hardcore out of the Netherlands and probably would have fit in nicely with the youth crew sound that Crucial Response Records was putting out around that time. I just consider myself lucky to have made these connections, and it just goes to show how powerful a tool music can be. Thanks friends.

Haunting The Colored Vinyl

I have been on a huge Hardcore kick lately. All things Metal and Rock have been pushed aside as I find myself interested in only listening to the Core. However, even with this latest listening obsession, I had to make a trip to Bull Moose Music to pick up the third piece in the four part Slayer vinyl re-issues from Metal Blade Records...Live Undead is the only one that I'm missing. Thankfully, Haunting the Chapel is on a nice looking "blood splatter" clear vinyl, as opposed to the shitty looking picture disks (like Hell Awaits). Man, I love this EP...four songs of pure thrashing brilliance.

Getting Down With Swiz

Sometimes when I'm at work, listening to music, I'll do a search on eBay for whatever it is that I'm listening to at the moment. On this particular day it was the No Punches Pulled discography from Swiz. It was then that I stumbled upon their first 7 inch, Down, on green vinyl. I've always loved Swiz, but since I owned the discography CD, I've never been interested in seriously collecting their records. Something clicked when I saw this record up for auction...I needed it. To my surprise, I won the record for only $6.50...and after seeing their first and second LP sell for between $40 and $50, I think that I got a pretty good deal on this one. After winning this, I also found a gold colored vinyl pressing that someone was selling on eBay as well...but the $70 price tag seemed a little too steep for me.

The packaging on this record is well done. The colored vinyl is slick, and the little hand drawn bits on the lyric sheet are a nice touch. The record also comes with a cool Swiz comic book, that according to Jason Farrell in the Radio Silence book, "the gist was supposed to be a kid laying a rose on the grave of hardcore, thereby resurrecting its sleeping ghost, who then shoots him two tickets to a Swiz show where they rocked all...night...long.". Now I know that the singer, Shawn Brown, was the original singer for Dag Nasty, but I never really picked up on how much these two bands sound similar until I was listening to this record. These songs sound like they could have been lifted right off of Dag Nasty's Can I Say album. Great stuff.

Can't Kill What's Inside

Revelation has finally released the vinyl pressing of the Mouthpiece discography. Limited to 343 on "Chung King white" vinyl. With To The Side only available on the Anti-Matter comp, I rarely listened to this song, so it is nice to finally have all the Mouthpiece songs available in one place. While the packaging on this album is good, all I can think about is how it could have been so much better. The band released one album, two 7 inches, plus a couple of comp songs, so I'm not sure how they fit it all on to one slab of vinyl. I would have loved to see them spread things out, and make this a double album with a nice gatefold sleeve. Plus, I would have loved to see some writing from Tim about the band. He did a fantastic job on Double Cross, documenting the stories behind all of their record covers, and they really should have utilized some of Tim's writing for the packaging on this album. The CD version captures all the dates and locations of Mouthpiece's shows, which is nice to have, but it's not really substantial. Over all this is a crucial discography from one of the Straight Edge bands that have really held up over the test of time...in fact I probably listen to Mouthpiece more now, than I did back in the 90's.

Thrash With A Small Moustache

As I had promised, here is another entry for more SSS vinyl. After I received the red vinyl copy that I had won on eBay, I sent him a message to thank the seller, and to let him know that the package arrived safely. Turned out that the seller was the singer for the band, and he mentioned that he had clear vinyl pressings for the Burton 7 inch, as well as the pre-Earache pressing of the LP on Dead & Gone Records. Man, I hate making an offer to people when buying vinyl. Fuck, I'm talking to the singer of the band, and I don't want to insult the man with a low offer, but I really have no idea how much these are worth. In the end, it worked out and he accepted my offer, and let me know what else he had available, so my SSS shopping spree is far from over. And since I seem to have been fucked over by Ian Leck on the Walk the Plank vinyl, I may end up just buying them from Foxy, since he at least seems to be dependable.

The LP is limited to 300, and the 7 inch only had 100 made on clear vinyl. The Burton 7 inch is beautifully packaged, with a nice sturdy cardboard cover, and lots of cool inserts including a comic strip of the band leveling a forest for a skate park. Rad.

Making An Effort

So the day after I received the Mindset records from React, I was headed to Haverhill, Massachusetts to see them play at Anchors Up. They were playing with The Effort and Alert, and I was looking forward to seeing them as well. I took off for the show immediately after Sam's basketball practice, skipping the ritual of shooting around until all the kids have cleared out. I thought that I was getting to the show a little late, but when I walked in the door, I think I was the first one there, and some bands were still bringing in their equipment. Since I didn't know anyone, I didn't want to hang around, so I went back to my car and read the book that I had brought along (total geek, I know). While I was waiting, there was a lady whose car wouldn't start, so I helped her out with jump starting her car. I finally got up to the show, and to my surprise No Shit was already playing. They sounded really good. After that I sat through a couple of bands that did not do much for me. The Effort went on early, and played a good set. The last time I saw them play was Edge Day '07, and there was a lot less people at the show this time around. Still the band played with passion and energy which was cool. I believe that after they played their set, some people took off which left the crowd size around 50 people. Alert were really cool. I like their demo, but like Mindset, I wasn't able to get too familiar with their songs before the show. Thankfully they did a Youth of Today and Judge cover, so I was able to get up front and sing along. I'm looking forward to the vinyl release of their demo. Mindset went on last, and regardless of how many people were there, they just went off and played with such energy. At one point the singer said, "This next one is dedicated to the Boston Crew.", and they then busted into Wolfpack by DYS. Holy shit, I fucking lost it...pushing my way through the handful of people to the front of the stage...screaming along at the top of my lungs. At one point I was moshing across the floor and found someone on the floor under my feet, which sent me sprawling backwards, landing flat on my ass. Shit was awesome, as they ended the tribute covering DYS's (The Girls Got) Limits. Cool show...I'm glad that I made the trip.

Mindset only had white and black vinyl, which I already had, but I did pick up the new 7 inch from The Effort. I got one on clear vinyl with the cloud variant silk screened cover (limited to 200), plus the red vinyl pressing with the fire variant silk screened cover (limited to 225). Wow, the packaging on these is amazing. Damn, I wish that I had pre-ordered this record when it was first released on Hellfish.

R E A L P O W E R

I received my Mindset pre-order the day before I was supposed to go see them live in Massachusetts. Sure didn't give me much time to learn the songs before the show. Man, React! Records can not lose, as they release another quality record. This is a huge step up from the band's Anti-Wasteoids CD. Once again, React! does a great job with the packaging on this one. Limited to 200 on red, 300 on white, and 500 on black vinyl. Like the Right Idea LP, the records came packaged with a cool little piece of cardboard, this time screened with the Mindset logo. One of the first records this year that immediately jumps on to my Best of 2009 list.

Gearin' Up For Gettin' Down

SSS are so cool...I feel bad for you if you haven't heard them. Hands down the best "thrash revival" band around today. The band is so good that even hardcore kids should be losing their shit over this band. I recently won this pressing of their first album on eBay. Red vinyl with the SSS logo spray painted in red as well. On the back, written in gold lettering, is a message from the singer, Foxy....okay it isn't so much a message, as it is a listing of show titles from the season 6 DVD of The Waltons...apparently the dude is a huge fan, as the list ends with the note, "Waltons rips it up!". As it turns out, the eBay seller for this record was Foxy himself, which was very cool. We exchanged a few emails, and the guy has a list of other SSS pressings that he is willing to part with, so you can expect to see more SSS records here in the near future.

Since Foxy also runs Thrashgig, which pressed the Blackspot pressing of the Walk The Plank album, I mentioned to him that I'm still waiting to receive the copy that I ordered from Ian Leck. I paid Lecky many months ago, and I'm still waiting for it to arrive! Foxy said that he also had a copy that he would sell to me. If Ian ever responds to my emails, I may need to get my money back and just buy it from Foxy.

Headed For The Adult Crash

Adult Crash is a book of photographs from Dave Brown, who runs Vicious Circle Records. Even though some of the pictures are a little redundant (there are 4 or 5 of Four Walls Falling from the same show), there are a lot of cool bands are captured in this book. The writing is sparse, but includes different pieces written by various people from the scene (from Sweet Pete to John Joseph) about their thoughts on growing older in the hardcore scene. The selling point for me on this was the 7 inch that was included. Pressed on white, blue and black vinyl, I got the more limited of the three (154 pressed on white). The record features cover songs from Down To Nothing (Four Walls Falling), Cloak/Dagger (Warzone), Kill Your Idols (Token Entry), and Slumlords (Gut Instinct). Nicely done.

While shopping at Six Feet Under Records, I also decided to pick up the Different Needs E.P. from Regulations. I was thinking this was new, but to my surprise it was released on Havoc Records back in 2007. Goddamn, time flies. Regulations play some awesome, snotty punk rock, and this 7 inch delivers. Great stuff.

Crime and Punishment

Back when Youngblood Records released the Police & Thieves 7", I was feeling way too broke to place my order. Months later when the label finally released the CD, and packaged it with the bands first two 7 inches, I decided it was finally time to place my order. Since I waited too long on the vinyl, I was left with the regular black vinyl pressing for the Amor Y Guerra record. I'm disappointed that I missed the more limited pressings for this record, because I'm really liking this band. This is the same singer as Worn Thin, so you can't help but compare the two, but Police and Thieves also has a strong Verbal Assault and Dag Nasty influence as well. Great stuff.

The first 7 inch, on Higher Conscience Records is pressed on yellow vinyl, but I have no idea how many were pressed for this record. This record was originally released back in 2006, and it just proves how out of touch I can be, because I had never heard of this band prior to the Youngblood release, two years later.

Surviving Da Ruckus

Word is born, baby. It has been a while since I really gave two shits about hip hop, as all my musical attention has been focused on three areas...hardcore, metal, and 70's rock. Growing up, I owned a few rap albums from Public Enemy and KRS-One, but it wasn't until I started hanging out with Rob that I really became interested in the style, and even then, it took some time for me to warm up to it. I remember hanging out at his house and playing Magic the Gathering while he would play all kinds of hip hop. Man, I hated it at first...completely closing my mind to songs about sippin' on 40's and smokin' blunts. Slowly, I started to get into the style...first with Beastie Boys, and rappers with a positive message like Jurassic 5 and Brother Ali, and then I became a fiend downloading hip hop albums left and right. Well, that love affair ended with my introduction to 70's rock, and I starting weeding through all those downloaded CD's, realizing that I downloaded a ton of crap...but still holding on to a few that became classics.

One of those groups that I never got into was the Wu-Tang Clan. Rob was a huge fan, and when they had a show scheduled for northern Maine on January 3rd, he wanted to go. We went to see Ghostface Killah a few years ago, and I wasn't impressed, but he offered to buy my ticket, so I figured what the hell, I'd go with him to the Wu. To my surprise the show was a ton of fun. Fights were breaking out all over the place. It was insane, but I guess that is what you can expect when you get a bunch of drunk, testosterone filled, white boys trying to prove something at a hip hop show. If this was a hardcore show, I would have been depressed at all the schism, but here at a Wu-Tang show, it was fun to watch these meatheads go at it. By the end of the show, security had stopped trying to bust up all the fights, and just let people go at it. I really didn't expect to have such a good time, but I got right up to the front and bounced to the beats...good times. A few days after the concert, I dug out the burned CD that I had for 36 Chambers, and again was surprised to find how fun this album is. A few weeks later, I got to work and found a box in my chair with the vinyl for this classic album...a thank you present from Rob for going to the show with him. My first, and possibly only, hip hop vinyl for the collection. Thanks, man.

Cruelty Free

Back when I ordered the new Ceremony album, I also placed an order with Bridge Nine for the new Cruel Hand album, Prying Eyes. To my surprise, they still had the most limited pressing of the vinyl (200 pressed on black). I consider myself lucky on this one, because this album is incredible, and should have sold out long before I got there. If I was more familiar with it when I put together my year-end review, this may have made my top 10 for 2008. Prying Eyes is a huge step up from 2007's Without A Pulse.

Once again, the Bridge Nine mailorder crew went the extra mile with my order. A while back, they really helped me out when the system didn't fully complete processing my order, and by the time we realized it, the last show pressing of Champion's Promises Kept had sold out. They didn't need to do it, but they still managed to pull out a copy for Rob and myself. This time, Matt included a vegan recipe for corn beef hash. I have yet to try it, but it sure sounds good.

• 1/2 cup cooked aduki beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/2 cup diced potato
• 1/2 diced onion

Cook the diced onion in 1 tbs oil until browned and a little caramelized. Next, mash up the beans with a fork in a bowl, and pour into the onion mixture, adding the other tbs of oil. Mix in the soy sauce, tahini, and potato and cook for about 10 minutes until the entire thing is crispy and delicious.