Hot Topic 'Hoods

So my last post was about a record I grabbed from Hot Topic, so it's only right I talk about the other record I got from Hot Topic next right? 

Blink 182 - Neighborhoods - 1st Press - Geffen // Interscope - Clear W/ Black & White Splatter / 2700 (Hot Topic Exclusive)

I've been a fan of Blink 182 since before I hit my teen years, and so it's fair to say this band have been a long standing staple in my musical tastes. So it seems odd that I hadn't even heard this record in full until a few days ago when I spun this for the first time. I guess I was worried, as with the exception of a few great bands, comeback records suck. And since this record, nothing about this band has made me want to stick around for the fallouts, cancelled shows etc. so I put it off. Also, I was so into whatever side projects were going on that I was kind of fulfilled.

Back Cover // B-Side 

What I will say is that these records look incredible, and they sound fine to my ears too. The LP's match the art and colour scheme of the record. Plus, the artwork is so busy that you're forever finding new stuff in there, I like it far more for grabbing a copy on wax I think. Plus, against my initial fears I am really warming to this record. 

The records are housed in a triple gatefold sleeve, so it made sense to photograph it in sections so you don't get too much of a blurry mess. I find it a little funny that I bought two double LP's from HT and neither came in a normal gatefold sleeve. Unimportant anomalies like that make me chuckle I guess? These are the first two panels of the inside gatefold. 

The third panel contains the lyrics and credits, alongside a greyscale Smiley logo. The amount of times in my life I nearly had this tattooed on my body. I'm still certain I'll end up with a Blink 182 tattoo at some point, even if it's something little and dumb. I've certainly got more embarrassing band tattoos on me with no regrets so it'll be fine I'm sure! 

The first two panels of the outside. You can see the third panel for the most part in the 2nd photo in this post; and for the detail in the artwork, you struggle to see much without having it in your hands anyway I guess. 

Overall, I'm really chuffed I finally made the dive with this record. The downside is this is my first piece of Blink vinyl, and now I want to try and collect all the HT splatter variants this late in the game. I'll never learn...