Back when I was hunting 45’s, 1994’s Don’t Call Me White by West Coast aggravators NOFX was #1 on my list of elusive releases. Still not in possession of an original, yours truly acquired this re-issue within the 2012 18-record box, 126 Inches of NOFX – Singles Collection.
Tag Archives: record collecting
There’s a Lag in the Wagon
Released in October of ’92 to help promote their debut album Duh, the first 7” by Lagwagon (or, listed here as Lag Wagon) is a bit of a beast to find. I’ve personally never seen an original, but one can be had over at Discogs for a cool $107.29. As the label, Fat Wreck Chords states:
Lagwagon’s first 7″. 2 songs from Duh. WAY outta print. Good luck finding this one. We don’t even have one.
Fortunately for us Johnny-come-latelies, Fat re-issued this 22-year-old record back in 2011 with the mega-11-record box set, Lagwagon – Putting Music in its Place, which is where I was finally able to get my grubby little hands on a copy.
The Brothers Statler
Country (music), as a whole, is a disease with which one should attempt to avoid at all costs. This is, by and large, the general rule… obviously. BUT, as with any and every rule, there are exceptions. Cash, Nelson, Haggard, Williams, Robbins, and Statler, to name a small few, are tonight’s exception.
The Brothers Statler ride that fine line between punny and clever, while simultaneously offering glass-cutting vocal precision, and unforgettable, catchy, wholesome melodies. A time machine with one destination (my grandparent’s living room via the WXRO, rural radio at its best), the weighted power behind these ancient voices gives life to a fleeting memory that was all but taken for granted (at the time), and is nourished and cherished throughout these nostalgic, lamenting days.
As much as one would like, the personal past, and the nonchalant sounds within, cannot be forgotten.
world war three
Angst, disguised as power. Paranoia equates conscious oversight. Question everything. Assume nothing. Honor that which moves you.
Nonesuch Records
Established, spawned, and even birthed in 1964, Nonesuch acted as the cheaper, dollar-store-frequenting-younger-sister-label to Elektra, and fancied the phrase, “fine records at the same price as a trade paperback.” (Thank you wikipedia.org)
Based out of NYC, Nonesuch is now owned and operated under the gargantuan Warner Bros. umbrella, but is still vibrant enough to stand its ground, (without being completely absorbed). Coupled with a fancy-dancy logo (which has since been done away with), Nonesuch Records proves that integrity and quality ear candy doesn’t have to equal ridiculous, inflated-ego prices.
My Favorite Hits – Mickey Mantle Circa: 1958
The year, 1958… the legend, The Mick, aka Mickey Charles Mantle. RCA Victor compiled a list of jazz-pop, country, easy listening, and ballad-type hits which were “allegedly” personal favorites of The Commerce Comet on this listenable baseball card, My Favorite Hits – Mickey Mantle.
Whether these tracks by Glenn Miller, Hugo Winterhalter, Artie Shaw, Duke Ellington, and The Sons of the Pioneers were actually Mantle favorites is a topic of endless debate, but My Favorite Hits is a great, OLD, sports collectable with an amazing cover and a great soundtrack to a warm, summer, Tuesday evening. 
God love the low, low prices at Discogs.com.
Nasty Instrumentals
A hearty thanks to Bri, Meggles and the kids for this amazing instrumental album! 1998’s double Grammy award winner, and the fifth b-boy studio album, Hello Nasty, was greeted with a (not-so-on-the-level) stripped down, almost naked, vocal-less version released some five years later. A perfect way in which to listen to a classic album in a completely new way, Hello Nasty: Instrumentals, and bootlegs altogether, make for perfect gifts, don’t you think?
Thanks again, B, M, K & B!
1979
When you’re sick and tired of the Minutemen (which is an impossibility), check out the band before the band… the Reactionaries. Worthy of the hunt, this EP / LP harnesses the voluptuous ramifications of early Minutemen, but with a modern day influence. Side A is the shit, while side B is a San Pedro area, local musician proud, collective remake of the original, done with deep respect, and unquestionable angst.
I Finally Got My White Whale
It took me far too long to sequester my copy of What Makes A Man Start Fires? “I never gave a damn about the meterman, until I was the man who had to read the meters, man.” – Mike Watt
Dancing for Decadence
The Sainte Catherines, arguably Quebec’s finest punk-rock sextet, released only 220 copies on yellow vinyl of this, their fourth LP, Dancing for Decadence. Their first (and only) release on Fat Wreck Chords, Dancing for Decadence dropped back in aught six, and is one of maybe a handful (a giant’s handful) of records that I’ve yet to listen to… but she sure is a beaut!
Hair
The artist formally known as Debbie, done had her way with hair. Golden locks of poise and envy, Deborah Gibson dreamed… and when she dreamed, there was hair.
Bought for $1.99, this undoubted little 12” features all the best that radio-pop 1987 had to offer, and for only a cool $4.99 ($10.47 today), Only in My Dreams AKA HAIR, was only a little over an hour’s work away (back in 1987, minimum wage $3.35 an hour).
Debbie done made good by Debbie prices back in ’87. Debbie done got paid! (High end hair products don’t pay for themselves, people!) Dream… if only in Debbie’s, excuse me, Deborah’s mind.
Presley
From 1956 (left) to 1977 (right), he was king, and we were his kingdom. Coming up on 37 years from the day in which his highness fell (August 16), he is no less commanding now than he was 58 years ago. He was never a favorite of mine, but that didn’t stop me from giving him all the respect he deserves.
RIP Elvis Aaron Presley
Watt ‘er Ya Gonna’ Do?
To my dismay, I received a discogs ordered Mike Watt Ball-Hog or Tugboat? double LP with a chopped corner. The seller didn’t list said missing chunk in the item description, and now I don’t even want to look at the thing, let alone listen to it. I’m torn between reselling it (as returning it, I’m finding, is not an option), or begrudgingly keeping it, only to scowl at it every chance it’s in eyesight. I’ve been contemplating this decision all week as it haunts the waiting room of my collection. Oh well, Watt ‘er ya gonna’ do?
MCA for the Save
So, what do you do when you’re halfway into work and the piercing notion strikes that, once again, you forgot to snap a few pics for the day’s post?! Some would veer their car off the next overpass, while others would make up some vague excuse, double back, and snatch the visual interpretation of one’s daily obsession. So… what did I do? I cursed myself, countless times, and left it up to “oh, well, we’ll figure it out” as a viable, and ONLY option.
So, here’s a photo of a mid-seventies MCA Records logo. Swallowed up by the mighty Universal Music Group, MCA Records gasped its last, fleeting breath back in 2003.
RIP MCA.
Wild Thing
In 1988, I know jack about Delicious Vinyl records… but like any radio-worshiping Midwesterner, I knew every syllable to the song Wild Thing by Tone–Lōc. Produced by the legendary Matt Dike and Michael Ross (Michael Ross is the genie he’s giving us our wishes), and, not surprisingly, engineered by b-boy Mario C., this little 12” time warp is a who’s-who of Beastie Boys crossovers.
Including the aforementioned Matt Dike and Mario C. (you can’t front on that!), the illustrious credits continue with EZ Mike and King Gizmo (AKA the Dust Brothers, producers of the Beasties’ Paul’s Boutique), and none other than Wild Thing video director, and lady b-boy (Mike D’s wife), Tamra Davis.
I knew that when I discovered this album, being labeled as DV 1002, for only $4 at a small and dusty Long Beach record shop that a bit of my childhood would be reinstated. What I didn’t know, was how much of my young adult-era obsession was intimately intertwined.
Please, baby-baby, please!
Missing Arts
Saw this in the kitchen at work yesterday and had to yoink it. An esteemed apology to my coworkers for a missing Arts section in Tuesday’s edition of the Times. (I’ll be more than happy to return it now that this has been posted.)
I’ve yet to fully read the article, but it looks as though Mr. Claas Brieler and his 25k collection made it into the new book, Dust & Grooves. Congrats to him and to record collectors everywhere. The bar has been set, if only momentarily.
The Gift of Bis
The gift of Bis (apparently) comes from seemingly every avenue of social media. The story goes like this… I’d acquired a sealed LP of Bis’ 1997 debut, The New Transistor Heroes, from the now defunct Grand Royal Records, and for reasons I’m not at liberty to discuss, I never opened it. Fast forward to a few days ago when I’m trolling Instagram and someone whom I follow posts a recent record purchase of a used copy of said Bis album, and expressed how happy they were about the bonus 7” within.
Cut to me dropping my phone onto the floor and rushing to the “B” section of the library, where I carefully knife open the 17-year-old virgin record and discover the sly 7”.
A good day for discovering a record I’d already owned.
WWJD?
I’m thinking black… cream and sugar are for half-witted-ninny-poops. No disrespect to the half-witted-ninny-poops. Coffee, like most music, is best served dark. Diluting the base w/ cream makes for chocolate milk, and what self-respecting-half-assed-adult wants chocolate milk? Drink your coffee like a terrorist, established in 1979.
Arthur We Know and We Sympathize
A hearty thanks to JWick1 for this amazing double LP (proper post forthcoming). Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a personal fav, and this graduated version is, simply put, the bee’s knees. A collector and avid Kinks fan cannot go wrong with both mono and stereo versions of this outstanding album. Thanks again, senior choch!
The Story of Crass
Might I suggest a little heavy, summer reading? The Story of Crass by George Berger is a fascinating explosion of intricate and fundamental knowledge of perhaps the only true punk band the world has ever known. The art collective formally known as Crass has always been somewhat of an illusive mystery to me, save for the rough, crude, and politically charged music. Whether you’re a fan of social equality, anti-war sentiments, or just plain into rock music history, The Story of Crass is nothing short of essential reading material, and comes highly recommended by the Prudent Groove. 
The Prudent Groove 