Archive for August, 2008

If you are a record collector and an Isis fan your already expensive habit is likely doubly so thanks to their seemingly infinite reissues and variations of their records. If you are a completist their discography is enough to make you crazy and broke at the same time. Even if you are on top of the releases and buy them as they come out, the fancy packaging, colored vinyl and multiple discs means the things are pretty pricey a lot of the time. Thank you weak dollar!

It was 10 years ago that I went to see Neurosis play a show here in Chicago and some band called Isis opened up for them. I had never heard of them before until that night, but after their set I was so impressed with them that I went downstairs to their merch table and bought their new record, an 8 inch EP called The Red Sea. They had a few different colors of vinyl available and being the completist that I am (to a degree, I’m not nearly as bad with the newer records than I am with the old stuff), I picked them all up. It seems like yesterday but it has now been a decade since that purchase took place. Since then, not only has there been about 10 different pressings of this EP as the original 8 inch, but it was later reissued as a 12 inch on about as many different colors.

Now to celebrate its 10th anniversary, Second Nature Recordings, a label infamous for pressing each of their releases on an almost insulting amount of various colors all at the same time, has made a special edition of The Red Sea 12″. It wasn’t enough to just do one special edition, oh no. They did four!

The Red Sea 12″ - red with black splatter vinyl - 109 made

The Red Sea - White/Metallic Gold vinyl - 100 made

The Red Sea - Clear with White and Red streaks - 100 made

The Red Sea - Black 180gm edition - 89 made

Aside from the fancy colored vinyl (some of which look really cool) or 180gm vinyl, the covers are gold foil printed with embossing. The print job on the covers alone had to be pretty pricey, along with the gold foil ink on the record labels themselves. They all come with a big insert too with similar printing containing the lyrics and liner notes.

All the deluxe packaging and special vinyl comes at a price though, they cost $25 each, making them perhaps one of the most expensive new release/in-print 12″ EPs ever released.  Of course knowing how rabid Isis fans are about their records, it’s probably half of what they’ll be selling for on eBay by Xmas.

Want one for yourself (or all four?) - go visit Second Nature Recordings website as I’m pretty sure you can only get them direct from them.

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks - Beirut Slump/Shut Up and Bleed CD
Atavistic

In punk rock’s infancy, one of the more interesting scenes going on was the No Wave scene happening in New York City. The No Wave compilation is one of those mandatory punk records that should be found in every record collection and Teenage Jesus and the Jerks was my favorite band from that scene.

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks was the brainchild of a young Lydia Lunch who from there would go on to a now three decade career in underground music, art, poetry, fiction, and film. It should come as no surprise such a prolific woman would be the instigator behind such a great and influential (whether those who were influenced by the band knows it or not) band. While the punk rock at the time was a lot more musical with the speed and volume turned up, Teenage Jesus and the Jerks went an entirely different and more unique and challenging direction. The music is very minimalist with clangy, angular guitars, simple percussion and Lydia’s unique voice driving the entire thing. The music will get under your skin, and the vocals will not let you divert your attention and will sometimes even give you goosebumps. Their first single, “Orphans” is the finest example of how the above ingredients made for such a great stew, but one that won’t please everyone. The band was challenging, and thirty years later the music is still not for the faint of heart, but it has aged wonderfully.

This CD collects everything Teenage Jesus and the Jerks recorded along with the Beirut Slump sessions, which was another project band Lydia Lunch had going on at the same time who only played three shows and recorded one record. Beirut Slump featured a different, male vocalist and was perhaps even more “out there” than Teenage Jesus. There is also some live material that has never been released before until now. The booklet contains some great photos and liner notes from Lydia Lunch and Adele Bertei and even contains a pretty detailed discography. There is a total of 29 tracks and the disc is about 50 minutes long, which is just long enough to really piss off your neighbors if you play this at loud volume with the windows open.

It has been a pretty good summer for Lydia Lunch fans with the release of a retrospective DVD and now with this excellent compilation of Teenage Jesus and the Jerks material. This CD is mandatory for anyone who considers themselves a fan of old punk rock or someone just looking for a history lesson on underground music. Now someone just needs to do a vinyl version of this collection!

Related Links:

Order the CD from amazon.com

Atavistic website

Lydia Lunch official website

While sitting here recovering from getting a cortisone shot to the spine, I just posted the latest episode of LFCM. After numerous tours among other things delayed production, episode two of the new season is up and ready for download.

You can download the episode right here. And the show website has older episodes and the podcast feed for those who want to subscribe to it.

For those who are new to this site, LFCM is Live From Combustion Manor, a classic punk radio show hosted by myself and the members of Destroy Everything. We drink, play rare old punk vinyl from the depths of The Punk Vault, and entertain you with our drunken tales and punk rock news.

Narcoleptic Youth - Barbi in Bondage 7″
Dr. Strange Records

When I placed this single on my turntable and started it, I thought for sure this must be a reissue of some old punk single that eluded me in my youth. I thought wrong as Narcoleptic Youth formed around 1992, but it’s pretty apparent that they were raised on 1980’s punk rock.

Three of the four songs on here could easily fit in on any number of 1980s punk compilations and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between them and bands that actually were from that era. The music is fast and punchy but it’s not thrash. There’s a bit of melody lingering in the music and a bit of a UK feel at times too with a singer that is reminiscent of Cliff Hanger from The Freeze at times. The four songs on here are short and to the point and all pretty damn catchy.

This 7″ was originally available once before and is long out of print, however this new edition features a bonus track which is a Ramones cover. I think the cover was pretty unnecessary, especially considering the strength of their original material, however it is nice to have something extra that the first pressing didn’t have.

There were two variations of this record pressed: pink vinyl and shit brown vinyl. Both can be acquired direct from Dr. Strange records. It’s nice to hear a newer band with an older sound that doesn’t sound completely generic and this single will enjoy a lengthy life here in The Punk Vault.

Related links

Narcoleptic Youth website

Narcoleptic Youth myspace

Dr. Strange Records

I just updated The Punk Vault Store with some new limited and old/rare vinyl. The store has also be retooled so it displays your shopping cart on the sidebar and most importantly non-U.S. customers can now finally use the online store instead of having to email their orders in and wait for a total.

Now please buy some of this stuff so I can afford to get my back fixed!

Once again my two favorite ladies in the punk record business, Lisa and Betty from Frontier Records, have made my day by sending over the latest in color vinyl goodness. The first of which just so happens to be my new favorite variation of the particular release.

Christian Death - Only Theatre of Pain on translucent purple vinyl

Adolescents - Welcome to Reality 10" on translucent purple vinyl

Adolescents - LP on opaque red vinyl

All three of these lovely colors are available in limited quantities direct from the Frontier Records website. If you happen to stop by there, tell them MXV sent you. Thanks again to Frontier for the latest color vinyl fix!