Parker

Missed it, but congrats to the people who were lucky enough to pick it up. Incredibly beautiful soundtrack. 

Speaking of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame (and to take the conversation in a slightly new direction, since I think we've exhausted the current conversation) --- does anyone else think that it's pretty bullshit about Chad Channing not getting inducted? I mean, I agree,the Hall of Fame is stupid, but stupid as it is, the decision to exclude him seems particularly cruel and disrespectful. 

The idea that Newbury Comics is independent is a little misleading. It's like calling Boston Beer Company a "craft brewery." Sure, technically they are, but the difference between the little guys and them is almost as large as between them and the big boys.

 

That isn't to say Newbury Comics (or Boston Beer Company, for that matter) doesn't do a lot to help the industry and that their success doesn't trickle down to smaller players, but when I walk into one of the high-rent Newbury Comics mall locations full of clothing, shoes and Hunger Games merchandise I'm sure not thinking I'm helping a struggling mom and pop record store.

Absolutely. But I'd rather have them around then not, mostly because they get a large selection of records, more than the local mom and pop store.

And yeah, the mall like atmosphere at the stores (clothing, toys, etc) is super annoying, but again ---  selling junk like that helps keep them in business. So ultimately, I'm for it. 

Here's a great example of "limited release" represses of albums priced appropriately.

 

The Black Keys - The Big Come Up

Regular black $13 http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=12575

Pink Marble $15 http://www.bompstore.com/servlet/Detail?no=15420

 

There are over 20 represses of this one, and none of them have cost more than a couple dollars over the original black.

 

Against Me! - Reinventing Axl Rose.

 

$10 http://store.noidearecords.com/collections/lp-s/products/againstmereinventingaxlrose

 

38 reissues, tons of colors, always dirt cheap.

 

Obviously Nirvana is far more famous than either of these bands, and Newbury knows they will sell at the price point they have set, but that still makes it a rip off.  I would have no problem paying up to about $20 for this Bleach repress personally, but $28+ shipping is too much.

I don't think there has been any debate about this being a ripoff. It is. It emphatically is. My whole point is that, ripoff or not, I'd much rather more money going to independent record stores and labels like NC and Sub Pop than something like Amazon. 

I don't think complaining on an internet message board changes much.

 

However.

 

Shit like this is potentially bad for a large portion of people that use this site. If you have been around and listening to records for a while, you might recall the reason many of us got into this - we enjoy the music, it allows us to physically connect to a medium that is becoming more and more digitized, and maybe we enjoy the sound/nostalgia of notes coming from a piece of plastic that we pretend sounds better than any other form of music. 

 

But when labels/stores think they can charge $35 for something that is worth $15 and get away with it - because it will sell out/people will buy it/'we gotta keep the doors open! - it starts to (economically) become a huge problem for a portion of us. Because soon, I know this might sound crazy, but other labels and stores will think "hey that one store sold it and sold out" why shouldn't I? And what became something a lot of us started doing because it was cost-effective has driven us out by a hobby mentality. 

 

So you might think it'd be a 'stupid reason' to sell a product will sell out for a cheaper price, but some people out there don't think that way. We tend to have a slightly more positive spin on things and think that taking advantage of customers might not be the best thing in the world.

 

TL;DR - I like listening to my records and would prefer they stay in a price range I can afford.

I like my records affordable too, but as several have pointed out, you can BUY all these records at affordable prices. Every album Newbury Comics is releasing already exists, just not in a colored/limited variant. So really what this sounds like is people are pissed they can't buy the colored/limited variant at price they prefer. This is hardly "the death of reasonably priced vinyl."

Releases like this are totally the beginning of the end for the "vinyl renaissance." It may not be right around the corner, but when you start seeing things like this - releases that are limited for the sake of being limited, hand numbered, over-priced and basically released to market as pre-packaged collector's items - you know things are hitting a saturation point.

 

It happens all the time - look at baseball cards, comic books, beanie babies, whatever. You have a group of core diehards that create a market out of nothing due to their sheer love of a product and then the floodgates open and everything goes downhill from there.

 

Don't get me wrong, there will always be a market for records and those that love and collect them. But remember we're not talking about first pressing of Velvet Underground albums or rare mono releases of the Beatles. These are readily available cash grabs and in one or five or ten years, who's really going to care enough to spend a premium on the 2014 edition of Nirvana's first album on some random color that was released by some random retail store? It's just going to be one of the dozens of colored vinyl releases of Bleach and no one will give it anymore attention than any of the others.

 

It really makes me sad when I see teenagers drooling over these types of releases (usually while proudly exclaiming how they just got their first turntable from Brookstone or Third Man or wherever...) when I know they can get a quality used black vinyl version at one of the truly indie record shops around here for $10 (or heck, even on eBay!).

 

IN FACT, at these prices, they can get a quality used colored vinyl version of this from the 90s which at least has a little more cachet than this, right?!

This is such nonsense. A relative recently gave me a whole stack of Elvis Costello records. He was a huge Elvis fan and he had tons of different reissues of different albums in different colors and variants. When I asked how much he paid for them at the time he said "way more than I should have, way more than they were worth."

We might not like it, but this is nothing new. 

because not all people share the same thoughts?

Some don't even share any!

Whatever. If you all type a little harder, maybe Newbury Comics will make all their limited records that are going to sell out cheaper for everyone for some stupid reason. 

Newbury Comics & Sub-Pop were both around way before they had the balls to charge $35 for a bare bones repress. I don't get it, do you think $35 is a reasonable price for one album or are you sticking up for the people that do? Nobody is whining here, we're talking about the audacity of some labels nowadays. Look around, it's totally justified. 

Someone is winning. Newbury Comics and Sub Pop are winning because they're charing a price for an album that people are going to pay. 

No, I don't think it's a reasonable price. I just don't understand the point about complaining about it on the internet ad-nauseam. 

Newbury Comics and Sup-Pop have been around for a while, but that doesn't mean they're rolling in millions. Newbury sold CD's for years and nearly closed several stores when people simply downloaded music rather than purchase it. Vinyl has given them a shot in the arm. For that, I'm happy, and if stupid people pay for this record and it helps keep them in business? I'm happy about that and I do benefit from that. 

I do not get why this is so difficult for anyone to understand.

The funniest thing to me is that I guarantee half the people complaining in this thread will turn around and justify paying way too much money in another thread because it's a new and/or more limited release. 

Yeah I know, everyone on here is an economics major whenever someone gets pissed when a record is overpriced. It's not "supply & demand" it's straight up taking advantage of peoples naivety. Some will buy it but I certainly won't. $35 is way too goddamn much for a 25 yr old record with absolutely nothing new on it.

 

Let me be completely honest. This release is for young kids with their parent's credit card & hair trigger impulses. RSD is coming up and this shit will sell like hot cakes but it doesn't make it okay. 

Stupid kids! Get off my lawn! 

Maybe posting a little harder on the internet will help those poor, naive kids and they're poor, naive, rich parents from helping keep independent record stores and labels in business by paying for overpriced vinyl that you'd buy in a heartbeat if it were fifteen bucks cheaper. 

I don't think people are pissed because they're forced to buy these. They're pissed because they love collecting records and before the New York Times, Tiger Beat & every other form of media wrote the "VINYL IS MAKING A COMEBACK" article, all of these would have cost 1/4 as much. It's fucking frustrating. I'm not buying it even if it was reasonable but yeah it pisses me off how quickly the price of vinyl skyrockets the minute they realize someones interested. If records went from $10 to $15 dollars people wouldn't care but this is blatantly greedy.

 

So, you really think record prices are skyrocketing because Tiger Beat wrote an article? 

Here's the reason things get more expensive: people pay for it. Supply and demand. 

A lot of this just seems like petty whining. I don't plan on buying this and I agree that it's too expensive. But I want Newbury Comics around. I want Sub Pop around. I want records around. So who cares? 

Complain all you want. As long as stuff like this keeps my local independent record store and Sub Pop in business, I'll be happy. 

Nobody is forcing you to buy these. I mean, maybe some of you should be happy it's expensive. It's another record you don't need to spend money on. 

Might be. I guess only Meredith really knows.

It's definitely her menstrual blood. 

Has anyone else not gotten shipping confirmation?

 

I haven't yet. 

Part of me wants to buy this because I like a few of their songs and they're from my hometown. The other part of me feels like the hype around them is a bit too prepackaged and built up for my taste. 

She's so good, annoying toggle case typing or not. Is there any preorder for this yet? It doesn't look like it. Will there be?

Ugh. Bad weekend to be kinda broke. 

It's certainly an "in the mood" record, but when you're in that mood, it hits hard. The production is also incredibly (sometimes deceptively) lush, even more so than on Sea Change. 

I love this album and I think it's going to sound amazing. 

My apologies for getting some of your hopes up, then. I just googled for a code, found ShakyDream, used it and saved a few bucks. 

and ShakyDream don't work in eu or usa store

That's weird. It worked for me. 

Clear Blue / Black and Black are still available on KingsRoad Europe:

 

https://eu.kingsroadmerch.com/epitaph-records/artist/?id=210

 

If you don't want to pay the extra for shipping, Travis mentioned Hot Topic having an exclusive color at some point.

Coupon code: ShakyDream for 20% off checkout at KingsRoad. 

Jesus, that was fast.

Bought this on RSD in 2010. I love the Hold Stead but I wish I liked this album more.

Serious or trolling? Sometimes I wonder if Im just sitting here discussing music with 13 y/o girls... 

This is such a condescending statement. Who sounds like the 13 year old? "Derr the only serious music has guitarz." 

I mean, I'm not this raging Beyonce fan, but the attitude some of you guys have about her is weird. Like...hinging on the misogynistic weird. Did anyone go into the Magna Carta thread and talk shit about Jay-Z this much? And that album is a piece of shit compared to this.