Pink Flag

A few months ago, a friend was selling up some of their collection and dropped me a line with a list of what was up for grabs. I passed it on to a friend and between us we picked up a few heavy hitters. Here’s one from my pile that I nearly didn’t pick up because I get in my own way sometimes. 

Black Flag - Damaged - SST Records - Pink/? - ? Pressing

I honestly don’t know much about the numbers of these 90’s SST colour represses, but I know they can be a hassle to track down. I would love to add a colour copy of My War to the collection at some stage. 

There’s no insert included with this pressing as far as I’m aware, so all you really need to know is right here on the back cover. 

The centre labels were changed up a little for this pressing to indicate this is a re-release. I’ve seen earlier pressings with blue, white and grey labels. I’ve always liked the red centre labels, aesthetically it just matches Black Flag so well for me. 

The etching in the run out grooves is pretty wild here - something about Neo Orthodoxy and WHAT THE HELL. Again, this differs from earlier pressings so I assume this was re-tested but I don’t think it was remastered. Who knows? SST are pretty hard to keep on top of with stuff like this. This post has taught me that I have a pitifully small amount of Black Flag records in my possession, and in the UK they’re not the easiest of bands to track stuff down but I’ll keep chipping away at it I guess? 

Lament/ Forget/ Reset/ Collect

Coming down from a weekend for this history books; Outbreak fest 2022 and a headline Touché Amoré show in Milton Keynes. Plenty of driving and plenty of terrible coffee on the road but damn it’s been a blast. I wasn’t ready to end my TA listening quite yet so I pulled out their latest full length ‘Lament’ for a quick spin. Whilst digging through my copies, deciding which one was hitting the turntable I grabbed the record release version and figured I’d do a quick post about it. 

Touché Amoré - Lament - Epitaph Records - 1st Press - Electric Blue /1000 - Record Release Livestream Cover /300

This record was made available during the release show for Lament, which was live-streamed with the merch store going live during the stream. Sadly I didn’t get it during the show, there was a little confusion with the UK store and the US store wasn’t shipping to the UK so initially I missed out on this one.

I reached out to the band who were sweet enough to put the feelers out on their social media and some kind soul reached out to me in a matter of minutes and sold their copy for not much over retail.

I ended up with number 127/300 in the end. The sleeve is a quarter fold type deal that fits over the regular sleeve. I love that there is a limited sleeve for each of their studio albums, and all of them have incredible art. 

The record arrived to me still sealed, so I got the extra joy of peeling the sticker off the shrink and putting it on a nice resealable sleeve because I clearly care about these things a little too much for my own good. 

I’m currently hunting down two variants of this damn record, both the US and Euro tour variants. The band didn’t have copies of the Euro tour variant with them at either date, so the chase is truly never ending. I also wanted to pick up the Scowl LP (who I also caught at Outbreak and at the TA show), but they cleared out of literally everything (that band fucking rip). Finally, the Lament record release is up on YouTube in full and it’s a great show to watch. If memory serves Hate5Six handled the filming so it looks incredible. The livestream was followed by Jeremy Bolm doing a DJ set with some gems from his record collection but I’m sure that’s been lost to the sands of digital time.

Voodoo Leather

 Another post night shift evening, another Doors LP on the Turntable (this time it’s the truly incredible Absolutely Live double LP) and another post. Moving from the 7” format into cassettes, mostly because it was pretty late in the evening and I couldn’t get enough decent light to photograph an LP. 

Give - Voodoo Leather - 1st Press Cassette - Yellow Shell /200 w/ Zine - Heartworm Press - 200 Copies

 

Voodoo Leather was released through Heartworm Press, a label and publication works run by Wes Eisold of American Nightmare and Cold Cave. Putting out a Give release seemed a little left field, but I’m a big fan of near enough anything Wes does so this was cool to grab. 

The J-Card folds out into a weird vibey Live Photo that works well with the cover art and the shell. As a quick aside, the tracks were mostly new efforts with a re-recording of ‘Godspeeding’ from the self titled 12” - I haven’t listened to that 12” EP in a minute, but I’ll likely do a post on it before long, I’m in a real Give mood when the sun comes around. 

This is the central page from the zine, which keeps the colour scheme of the release, and it ties in with the Heartworm connection well. The zine came a little dog eared but I’m more than okay with it, as most copies floating around nowadays are missing the zine completely. The seller also included a copy of a Wes Eisold poetry collection ‘Alternative Useless Irrational Magic’ which was super sweet of them. 

The zine contains a mix of band personnel info, Flowerheads stuff, lyrics, flyers and live photography. I love reading through this kinda shit. 

As something to end on; this was the only piece of correspondence I got as a Flowerhead. This was the newsletter from Fall 2018 saying the band were done and played their last show in DC. The reverse contained lyrics of the last 3 Give tracks (Build Your Own God / Love in This House / We Want New) and those songs came out on a promo cassette released through Advanced Perspective (I think?). There was a sticker with this newsletter too. 

The reason I added this at the end is Give posted from their Instagram account for the first time in a few years this last week. The photo is of the band timestamped in 2022; and who knows what that means for us? Personally I’d love more from this band, and the chance to see them once more. 

First Six Records

 So a little whilst back, Dischord announced they would be putting out a box set containing the first 6 Dischord releases - some of which had been out of print in the 7” format in quite some time. The records would be remastered, and come with an era correct insert. With a label like Dischord, you know you’re going to get a great physical release, and they’ll do the best by their customers. Was I interested in buying it? Of course. Was I aware that there was a time limit on the preorder and that they were only making numbers up to the closest round figure of the preorder? Of course. Did I preorder it? Of fucking course not! But, as is the way - sometimes life throws you another chance.

Long story short, the box sets were sent out - people started posting them on social media and I started feeling some terrible regret. I got wind that the label were setting up an email list for folks who missed out and would like another chance at getting a copy without dealing with flippers. I sent an email, waited like a patient boy. Handed over some money and a couple weeks later I got to crack this open. 

So what we have here is the contents. A booklet, the first six records and something else real fun. Let’s dive in. 

The Teen Idles - Minor Disturbance EP. Dischord No. 1 and a posthumous release to boot. This record was the birth of the label and an early indication of Ian’s love for documenting the world around him. This record rips - true starter pack harDCore. Out of print for decades in the 7” format, and still sounds so vital. 

S.O.A - No Policy - Henry Rollins enters the chat. Before Damaged, before End Of Silence and before Getting in the Van is this collection of damn fine hardcore. I recently watched an interview with Rollins where he briefly outlines being a fly on the wall for the formation of Dischord at Mackaye’s Mother’s house and the effect it had on him. The green vinyl is a cool touch here, and with the red labels I think this is visually the most pleasing release in the box. 

Minor Threat - Minor Threat. Maybe the most influential DC 7” ever? Some days I think Filler is my favourite Minor Threat track. Every song on this 7” makes me want to spin kick through a wall, which at my dusty age is nothing short of a miracle. 

Government Issue - Legless Bull EP. Honestly I didn’t know much about GI other than J. Robbins was a member of the band at some stage, pre Jawbox. I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this record, and how clear the recording is. Again, this has been out of print in this format since maybe 1981, so it’s a cool piece of history for sure. HOWEVER, nothing holds up to Dischord 5… 

Minor Threat - In My Eyes. What can be said about this record right? Lovingly restored to look like it did way back in 1981, and sounds INCREDIBLE. Another visual highlight of this box set, and some real starter pack hardcore. I’ve had the S/T 12” comp of the first two Minor Threat 7”s for years, and having them as separate entities feels weirdly more wholesome. Maybe it’s having the benefit of this box laying things out in timeline order, and the booklet providing just enough nostalgia to put you in the moment for just a brief second. 

Youth Brigade - Possible EP. I don’t have much to say on this one really. It’s the record I’ll return to the least in this box set. Apparent the 7” was called possible as a slight to Dischord about this release being a ‘Possible’ release. Kids being kids I guess, but nothing I’m fussed over either way. 

The Slinkees - Who Cares? 

The Slinkees existed for the duration of one show, and one recording made in Jeff Nelson’s basement. This band are really the genesis of Dischord, as they’re essentially a precursor to The Teen Idles. The history of this band, the show and the circumstances surrounding are all detailed in the insert. This record has never been made available before, and is rough and charming all the same. 

Here we are. First post in a while and what a fun ride it’s been. It’s currently around 01:30 AM and I’m listening to Waiting For The Sun by The Doors because apparently I handed in my punk rock card some time ago. I’m going to try and do one post a week for a while and see how I get on. Record collecting is fun, the stories surrounding these often imperfect pieces of plastic are fun and I’m still up for the ride. I kept the mailer for this thing too, it came in a custom screened mailer and I’m sure there’s some sense in keeping it. Maybe? 

The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 3

Later on in 1988, a CD box set of the debut Pooh Sticks release came out through Fierce, and included all 6 tracks from the box set and the 12''. It also contains a couple of weird into's and a rather charming photo of Hue Pooh with Hue's Pubes. 

The contents on this one is pretty basic: a CD and a booklet. The last of the Alan posts features a little more, but I might get Christmas out of the way before that one comes about. The next time I'll write about these songs will also be when I'm writing about my own copy of the Optic Nerve reissue! 

The inset comes as a stapled booklet; and this page has a couple of album recommendations. They take some of their influences to a pretty drastic level by the time The Great White Wonder LP rolls around; and that finally saw a Record Store Day reissue earlier this year. 

Finally, here is the CD from the box set with the track - listing printed alongside the original artwork. Normally, I wouldn't care much for a CD but for this release I'll make an exception.

The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 2

Alongside a set of single sided 7''s, the self titled Pooh Sticks release also came on a single sided 12'' with an etched B-Side. However, the track-listing sees a little change up, with the debut release 'On Tape' being traded in to the 12'' over '...Alan McGee...' 

The Pooh Sticks - The Pooh Sticks - 1st Press - Fierce Recordings - Single Sided 12'' release 

Back sleeve and etched B-Side 

The inner sleeve comes printed up with a comic that tells the story of Fierce Recordings; the first edition of this record comes in a black and white sleeve... 

The second pressing (shown here) comes in a pink sleeve with an identical insert. The last track also appears behind a locked groove, and I'm not too sure on whether this is true for both pressings... 

Finally we have the test press here, I'm not sure if this originally came in a sleeve of it's own but for now I've photographed it next to the 2nd press sleeve. The test press has a plain white label but an etched B-Side. There's a high chance that this was bought from Hue Pooh, or from someone that worked at Fierce Recordings. Surprisingly they're also not that expensive from previous Discogs sales, they just don't come up for sale very often... 

Another post on that was possible because of Alan's incredible collection. And after two posts in less than 24 hours, if nothing else I am thankful for his collection for bringing me some enthusiasm back in to this blog!

The Pooh Sticks Featuring Alan Pt. 1

As the year comes to a close, I suddenly got the feeling to do another post or two. Not for anything other than the fact that I received a box set that I felt was worth reviving this thing for. Following the 'On Tape' 7'' re-release from Optic Nerve, the label decided to go all out and do a reissue of the Pooh Sticks box set; with a twist on the original press. The reissue comes with a fun book and coloured vinyl and a bunch of B-Sides that the original press sacrificed in favour of etched B-Sides. 

But somehow I'm not posting about that today. In fact, the record I'm posting about doesn't even belong to me (although I really wish it did!). 

The Pooh Sticks - The Pooh Sticks - 1st Press - Fierce Recordings 021-025 - 5 x 7'' Box Set (Unknown quantity but assuming somewhere in the 100 -200 mark - maybe Alan knows?) 

So as I pull the reissue out and photograph it, you'll see some of the differences, but for now we have this one. All of the centre labels and the boxes were doodled on by hand, presumably by the band or label. Maybe a Hue Pooh solo job, who knows? 

The history of this band fascinate me, and over the last year I've slowly grabbed more and more releases from them. This photo is pretty incredible, and perfectly sums up the cool slacker twee indie vibe this band capture so well. 

POOH in big letters for the back of the box. I'm not sure if all of them had this on the back, but the reissue has a different design for sure. 

The whole contents of the box laid out, with a variation of A and B sides to show off the doodling. The A-Sides had track titles and on the B -Sides some squiggling. 

Here is a close up of some of the etchings. Etched B-Sides were a common theme in the early Pooh Sticks releases and there'll be a few more of them shown in this blog before too long. 

The insert contains a track - listing, band personnel, a fun anecdote on their trip to New York City (I'm sure the full story has tales of love, hidden club spots, a flat burning down, hanging out in Rick Rubin's apartment and some band getting upset over a false billing - but the history is out there to read I'm sure). 

The final thing I'll add here is why I'm writing about a record that doesn't even belong to me, and why I'm going to head down a Pooh Sticks rabbit hole for a few releases whether anyone likes them or not... 

I met Alan through an old friend years ago, and I'm sure that a massive percentage of my collection is through him. He has released music from my band on his label (Different Kitchen Records) and he has welcomed me in to his house for coffee and a deep dive in to his collection many times. In fact, I don't think I've ever ordered online from him; I just head to Different Kitchen HQ and that won't likely ever change. 

There's a history to these records, that I feel goes unnoticed unless you were there at the time, and I get to live vicariously through him. This box set came out before I was even born, but Alan seems to remember where he was when it came out, the store he got it from and the letters he received from the band. In fact, I've seen the letters from the band and they're pretty special! They provide a timeline to him, where he was, who he was dating and even down to him finding an old T-Shirt from the era with the classic cover art on the front. 

This box set has sold for as high as £250 on Discogs, and grabbing an original press is about as likely as grabbing a shirt from the time. But the next best thing is to hold one in my hands, hear the history of it all and be able to capture a moment in time and romanticise it a little. It makes hearing the songs that more special to me. 

The next few posts are about The Pooh Sticks, so I apologise if you're not a fan. But even if you're not, these DIY releases with their hand embellished packaging and short run pressings are just as fun as any punk record. So what's the harm right?