unknown pleasures

I don't know, maybe this is a controversial stance, but I somehow feel different about handing money directly to an artist or label, and in this case Newbury Comics is the de facto label. They went to the trouble of licensing the release, having it pressed, and distributing it; it's not really the same as giving money to some guy who bought one and is reselling it on eBay.

So the other day I was thinking about bands that were once popular among record collectors that have fallen out of favor. I don’t mean one-hit wonder bands, I mean bands that had a large body of work and whose releases were once really hot and commanded premiums on the secondary market but can now be found very easily for much less than they were going for then. In my mind, the poster child for this is Garbage. For those that can recall, there was a short period of time in the late 90s when they were arguably the most “collectible” band around and many of their singles - whose special sleeves and individualyl numbered were record collector catnip at a time when vinyl wasn’t at all in vogue - were fetching over a hundred dollars. Now a quick search online reveals that even their rarest singles can be had for under $30. Another more recent example is The Libertines/Babyshambles; while still in demand, their stuff doesn’t fetch nearly as much on places like eBay as it did ten years ago. Or going a little further back, I remember a time when promo stuff from Oasis was like gold and now can be had for a fraction of the price. So what these bands have in common: not one hit wonders and not totally fallen off the face of the Earth. People are still willing to buy their stuff, just for a lot less than they used to. Anyone care to share some examples they can think of?

If yesterday is any indication, that number could move in either direction...

I'm on the fence about their markups. On the ones hand, it's really shady. On the other, I sort of admire them for having the balls to take the profits that would otherwise go to flippers.

You can't be both?

Isn't your real problem that you got vinyl on his signature?

Yes, just like underpants.

What, you mean it's on sale?!

It's much friendlier than the usual OT talk between Mondo releases.

It's not like there's meat in any of these places "beef" patties, anyway...

You obviously haven't seen the price of tin foil lately...

A poster for the unreleased classic "2091" is very rare, indeed.

So anyone thinking of adding that $14,000 Batman painting to their vinyl order? You know, to save on shipping...

Yes, I was thinking before shipping. Why the heck don't they offer a media mail option? Does the tea prevent that?

I'm obviously in the minority here but I'd probably be fine paying around $40 for an autographed colored vinyl LP and $20 for some tea so $60 total - the asking price here isn't too far off. I think it's just seeing the $50 price tag next to some tea that makes this look so crazy.

If you'd told me this morning that Mondo's site would work like a charm but the Relapse site would be hosed I'd have pinched myself...

Yes.

I think you're right but the nice side effect of the 2 LP limit - even if their intention was that people could buy as many as they wanted, just two at a time - was that flippers could (usually) only buy two and then it'd be sold out. Now, in theory, it looks like someone could add a dozen to their cart and checkout. Imagine if that had been the case with Jurassic Park or Batman?

I'm sure that'll make the more in-demand drops fun...

$10 is a big increase for a $35 item. I wouldn't be surprised if this can be had for cheaper down the road.

I think it's kind of interesting. I mean, even if someone thinks it's gimmicky, they should give the music a chance - it's not like if something is gimmicky it has to be bad. And it's not like they're price gouging or anything.

It's hair raising.

This record proves how thin the line between utterly horrible and totally awesome is.

How come people who collect certain stuff are always shocked at the prices and lengths that people who collect other stuff are willing to go to?

That is a thing of beauty.