crapforgenius

Outside of "Ugly", "Believe" and "Cherry" - which were on the commercial UK "1979" 12" - and "Tribute to Johnny" and "Pennies" - on a UK 12" promo for "Zero" - all of the b-sides are making their vinyl debut. I *swear* I saw a commercial "Zero" 12" in the stores back in the day with a random assortment of the b-sides, but I must be thinking of the promo 12".

Found a coupon for the local store, went down to buy the Colgems copy of The Monkees 'Changes' they've had forever and, of course, it was gone. But I certainly didn't walk away empty handed, though my wallet was $25 lighter: Neneh Cherry - Buffalo Stance US 12" Pet Shop Boys - Yesterday, when I was mad UK 12" Madonna - Material Girl US 12" Grace Jones - Cry Now, Laugh Later US 12" promo RuPaul - Supermodel of the World LP James - One Man Clapping - CD All $5 each with $5 off with the coupon. The only copy of the James disc currently on Discogs is priced at $85 - and it regularly sells for $100+ - so that was a total steal. Now it's time for a 90's dance party in my apartment. Come on over.

Yeah, this is the third delay. I think perhaps they bit off more than they could chew in the allotted time with the complexity of the box. Given how gorgeous the CD set is, though, I'm confident it will be worth it. I do also wonder, though, if perhaps they aren't getting the pre-release sales on this one they were hoping for and they're pushing it back hoping for more people to bite. I just hope it doesn't get canceled due to cost of production vs revenue from sales. (See also: the canceled This Mortal Coil Blu-ray set.)

I was just listening to this the other day on the way to work and was thinking similar, especially if they did the UK track list with the "Ruiner" and "Heresy" remixes. Or, since it would have to be a double anyways, the US track list on the first three sides and the extra tracks from the UK on side 4. I happened to be home yesterday when the pre-sale for Newark went on sale so I figured I'd give it a shot; a friend and I were curious about going if the price was right. Once I saw the $99 price, we both bowed out. That seems a bit excessive, but I have no doubt the tour will have no problems selling out.

Pre-orderes for the seventh Placebo album are live. Once again, there's a crazy massive box as well as more standard options. That last EP was alright, but I haven't really loved a Placebo album since 'Sleeping With Ghosts' so I will definitely want to listen before I buy. http://www.loudlikelove.com/

The return of the font was one thing, but the album cover is supposed to be a completely obvious...homage to 'The Downward Spiral'. Right? Because it might as well be an image from inside the booklet. Curious more than excited, we'll see how this turns out.

I was pretty down on the 'Mellon Collie' set, but this one looks like just about everything I wanted it to be...outside of a still pretty high price point. Deals will surely pop up, and when they do I'll be excited about this one rather than begrudgingly getting it to fill a gap like last time. Huzzah.

Found the new Boxer Rebellion LP out a few days early in Rochester - first album pressed on LP, so that's exciting. Of course, I got home and found 'LSXX' waiting for me, so it's been put to the side while I dig into the Breeders set. Sorry boys.

John Grant's 'Pale Green Ghosts' is the early favorite. But after only a few days with it, the new Primal Scream is giving it a run for its money. 'Wolf's Law' by the Joy Formidable to round out the top 3. Looking forward to new ones from the Boxer Rebellion (next week, one listen to the preview stream suggests it's gonna be a good one), Pet Shop Boys, These New Puritans, and the first time I've been excited for a Sigur Ros album in over a decade. 2013 has been very kind so far and should continue to be so from the looks of it.

I was at Philly too and Manhattan the next night - this tour is such a blast, I hope it hits the east coast again when it comes back for the summer/fall festivals.

The power...of Lard! Nice. Was in Philly last night for the Breeders show. Had a few good finds at Beautiful World Syndicate: Mansun - Six 2xLP $15 Sunny Day Real Estate - LP2 (1995 pressing) $20 Monkees - Instant Replay (Rhino - sealed) $5 I'm glad it wasn't a bust as it took almost an hour to find parking around there with all the Cinco de Mayo nonsense going on.

4AD posted (presumably) finalized artwork for the 'LSXX' package. I am DROOLING. http://4ad.com/uploads/packshots/21800_c_w_350_h_350.jpg

Also, "Walking With A Killer" was initially available at All Tomorrow's Parties and then had a portion of stock allocated to Rough Trade UK before the Kimdealmusic site went live, so there were (theoretically) fewer to be sold from that outlet, whereas "Hot Shot" appears to only be available here. The picture sleeve edition is kind of annoying in that they could have at least either a] announced it as coming in the first place when there was obvious panic and scramble to get the white label version or b] mentioned this go round that they were pressing an "unlimited" version due to demand. They either took advantage of a situation or are taking care of fans, but without word you can't really be sure which. Not that it ultimately matters because if you overpaid for it, you were willing to pay that cost to have it at that moment. Kim Deal is a pretty major artist, it was likely there was going to be someway to get your hands on the material at some point. Am I annoyed I paid almost $20 to import it from the UK only to have a $12 US option available a week or so later? Sure, but I wanted it and felt the cost was worth it.

Yay 'Phantom Power'. The side splits are weird with it being on three sides, but the etching on side 4 is fantastic. Had a nice drive down to the Princeton Record Exchange on this gorgeous day and ended up with a pretty good haul: The Monkees - Greatest Hits (Colgems issue) Sonic Youth - Master=Dik 12" Grace Jones - Pull Up To The Bumper / Feel Up UK 12" The Human League - Love and Dancing (in shrink with hype sticker) The Art of Noise - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (US edition with masks art) INXS - Listen Like Thieves (I never really felt the need to own any INXS but it was $1.99 and I've had "Kiss the Dirt" stuck in my head for weeks since I heard it on a recent trip to LA, so I figured I could spring for it.) CD: Annie - Heartbeat US CDS James - Jam J / Say Something CDS The Juliana Hatfield Three - My Sister CDS Belly - Gepetto (Remix) CD2 Air Miami - World Cup Fever CDS Tanya Donelly - Beautysleep CD Belly - Soft White Under bootleg CD from the 'Star' tour There were also Colgems pressings of the Monkees 'Instant Replay' and 'Present' which I've been looking for but they were beat to hell, so that was kind of disappointing. All in all, $54 plus change, which was store credit anyways so not a bad day's digging.

Pretty solid with one pass - certainly not as immediate or pop-focused as 'Hands', but a great laid back type affair. "Crescendo" is pretty magnificent. The vinyl appears to be sold out on her website, of course before I got chance to put in my pre-order. (When it went live I figured I had a while and focused on other things that were closer to release.) Hopefully she has copies with her next week.