Eliminator Jr.

Even the bands you like think you should get a half decent table first.

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

To each their own, for sure.  I'm not looking to change anyone's mind if they're already into cassettes, but to me they just channel the whole Beanie Babies™ mentality far more than vinyl does.  The fact that any ambitious hipster can take the weekend to set up shop on their kitchen table and throw some glitter onto colored cassette shells and call it a limited release / run of 30 tapes is just something I can't wrap my head around, as an enthusiast of music and collector of its mediums.  I guess someone could argue that they enjoy the "sound signature" and hiss of tapes, but to me that's on par with overhearing the guy at Urban Outfitters proclaim his love for vinyl's pops and imperfections because it's so, like, you know, analog and natural.  If cassettes perhaps offered an advantage in sound or benefit outside of compatibility with vehicles that lack Bluetooth or a CD / USB deck, I'd probably be all for them.  I do suppose Juan's post caters to their advantage of availability over vinyl; I'll buy into that.  But outside of that, I'd argue that they're even less practical than LPs when you consider that they require to be rewound, sound considerably worse than any other medium, and physically deteriorate faster than any other format.
 
As far as cassettes being a recent trend or not... I certainly feel that they have seen a much bigger boom in the last 3-4 years, give or take, when pressing plants have begun to back up and vinyl sales have soared – two factors that are no-doubt related.  Of course there are plenty of artists who've always released their albums on cassette alongside CDs and vinyl, but I feel like a lot of "newer" bands are tossing in the cassette option to appeal to collectors.  It's why every Converge album has seen a reliable CD and vinyl press dating back to the late 90s, but only their last album (from 2012) saw a cassette release.  It's becoming an "in" thing, in my books; not that tapes ever officially died, but I guess it'd be accurate to call it a resurgence of sorts.  To add to that, a lot of the newer cassette runs seem to be out of 50, or 100, or 200... and have some extra attention given to the packaging, more often than not.  Video game soundtracks made to resemble game cartridges or health bars from the game they're based off of.  Vaporware cassette shells that are made of neon blue plastic with glitter, to match the unique A E S T H E T I C of the cover art.  I get that tapes have been colored in the past, but to me it just feels like there's a far greater emphasis on the look, exclusivity, and physical collectibility of them than ever before.  Obviously the same can be said for today's vinyl trend compared to the vinyl market 20 years ago, but that just goes back to the end of the last paragraph where I'd argue about the practicality of it all.
 
tl;dr: more power to anyone into cassettes, but I guess I don't see the point.  If an artist you enjoy exclusively releases music on tape, then your hands are tied and I understand where you're coming from.  But aside from anyone who's stuck driving with a tape deck, loves the sound of tape hiss, or gets off on manually rewinding tapes... it's a little lost on me, and for that reason I'm inclined to feel like it just boils down to collectibility.  Not that there's anything at all wrong with that – that's a big part of the "fun" with vinyl over chasing CDs and digital libraries.  But everything tapes do, vinyl, MP3s, and CDs do better.  Whether you're looking for the tangible, physical component to owning your music or want the portability for road trips, or need something comparable to a Walkman while you're on the go... I just truly struggle to see their place in the market.
 
But I am but one person with one opinion, and I encourage no one to take this post too seriously.  Just wanted to voice my thoughts and invite anyone to pitch the appeal of tapes, if they have some reasoning that I haven't addressed above.

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Spent the last couple days remodeling my office / record listening / storage area. Still a couple smaller things to do, like waiting for my 7" wooden boxes, new speakers and a couple more frames to arrive, but this is pretty much it.
 

 
vis à vis:
 

Being a slave to the variant-game sucks but I know how that struggle works.  In a similar situation I'd probably pass on the black and save that money for Discogs prowling, down the road.
 
Not to downplay anyone's excitement, but its 2017 and I'm still going strong against the recent cassette trend.  Really cool they're making this available, but a shame that it's exclusive to tape.

London is badass. Today the lady and I are going grocery shopping, then seeing Star Wars, then getting some ramen. So fucking stoked to be here!

Even the bands you like think you should get a half decent table first.

Ordered from SRC on amazon.ca and spent much less on shipping. Wasn't aware of this press, so pleasantly surprised. Sound quality so/so... unless my needle is dusty.

I just got the last piece I needed to complete my Appleseed Cast collection, their first 7 inch, Tale of the Aftermath.  Managed to get a copy on Ebay for $35 after always seeing it for $65+ on discogs. Pretty happy to complete this collection, my largest collection from a single artist. Hoping to get a new album from them this year.
 
The Appleseed Cast complete vinyl discography 
 
The End of the Ring Wars (first press translucent orange /1,000)
 
Mare Vitalis (second press blue/white, black/gold /1,000) 
 
Low Level Owl: Volumes I + II (fourth press 3xLP Big School Records/Deep Elm Records - gold /1,000)
 
Lost Songs (first press half blue/half black 154/500)
 
Two Conversations (fourth press 2014 electric blue vinyl with blood red splatter /?)
 
Peregrine (second press - graveface record club exclusive hand poured hand numbered 228/333)
 
Sagarmatha (first press maroon with purple splatter /1,000)
 
Middle States (first press baby blue /?)
 
Illumination Ritual (second press swamp green on aqua blue /1,000)
 
Tale of the Aftermath (first press black /500?)
 
North Star Ordination (first press orange crush and red haze, hand numbered 203/250)
 

Even the bands you like think you should get a half decent table first.

Even the bands you like think you should get a half decent table first.

Definitely worth your time.

Also for those who don't frequent the Flenser thread this is confirmed to be going up on the US store at 10AM Pacific Standard Time (which translates to 6PM over here in the UK). As previously alluded to Trevor de Brauw's solo album and Braveyoung's new record are going up at the same time, likely to be sold in a three pack.

For EU/UK customers Flenser have also set up an EU distro through Throatruiner/Deathwish EU. I imagine this will save people a fair few bucks on shipping but I can't say as to when the items will be uploaded to this store front or if they will offer the full range of variants that the US store will likely have. Link is here though:

http://deathwishinceurope.limitedrun.com/categories/the-flenser

I will likely be ordering from the US if that's the only shop that's doing all variations of this album but I'm happy to take the hit. I just hope they don't put an exclusive variant in the combo because that'll make things unnecessarily more expensive as I'm not fussed about the other two albums.

Welp, it finally fucking came. It's a tangible thing. It only took almost a year, but hell, it was worth it.


 

My official top 15...
 
15:  Gates - Parallel Lives
14:  Show Me a Dinosaur- S/T
13:  Meniscus - Refractions
12:  Enemies - Valuables
11:  O'Brother - Endless Light
10:  Metallica - Hardwired...To Self Destruct 
9:  The Wild Feathers - Lonely is a Lifetime
8:  From Indian Lakes - Everything Feels Better Now
7:  Deftones - Gore
6:  Native Daughters - Master Manipulator
5:  Russian Circles - Guidance 
4:  Owel - Dear Me
3:  I Built the Sky - The Sky is Not the Limit
2:  Obsidian Kingdom - A Year With No Summer
1:  Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow 

If anyone honestly thinks Phil Collins sucks they can fight me.

My favorite records/songs of 2016.
For some fancy pants pics of my top ten, this way -> instagram.com/eliminator.jr
 
LPs:
 
10. Oathbreaker. rheia 
09. Mamiffer. the world unseen
08. Russian Circles. guidance
07. Wreck and Reference. indifferent rivers romance end
06. David Bowie. blackstar 
 
05. Xiu Xiu. plays the music of twin peaks
 
While staying true to the original on the vocal-driven tracks, Xiu Xiu truly make the music of Twin Peaks their own on the jazz and ambient oriented themes of the score. It's not just a modern take on these songs, but there are plenty twisted and sometimes terrifying interpretations, intensifying the feeling of dread and drowsiness the originals so eloquently convey. A deferent homage to the greatest soundtrack of all time and a wholly enjoyable, ambitious and impressive album on its own.
 
04. Bon Iver. 22, a million
 
It took me some effort to find the songs behind all the mess on this records, but as soon as I had found them they outshone all the filth and autotuned mindfuckery Justin Vernon piled up on them to hide their beauty from everyone who isn't willing to dig deep enough. I get people who liked his first records and hate this one, but to me it's just as good and represents Justin at the peak of his art. 
 
03. The Hotelier. goodness
 
This album really took me by surprise. I thought Home Like NoPlace Is There was a good enough record, but not the modern 17th wave emo-classic young, good looking people everywhere made it out to be. Goodness, though, is. Soft Animal, Piano Player and Two Deliverances are, among other highlights of this record, of which there are plenty, some of the best straight up rock songs of this year and all of them hit almost too close to home on an emotional level. A heartfelt record about growing older, seeking happiness in everyday life and being at ease with the fact that things are tough and always will be.
 
02. 40 Watt Sun. wider than the sky
 
Patrick Walker's voice carries the weight of the world.  His first classic, Warning's Watching From A Distance, is one of the most emotionally crushing doom albums of all time and he continues to paint his elaborate, miles deep and all-black pictures with 40 Watt Sun. For the first time, though, he got rid of the doom, replaced the fuzz with clean electric and some acoustic guitars and plays his 10+ minutes epics as if nothing changed at all. This is slowcore, but slowed down. It's doom light, but heavier than ever. Thrown into the abyss of eternal sorrow and regret. 
 
01. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. skeleton tree
 
Nick Cave spent his entire career writing songs about love and death, the sorrow, despair. The fear of god and redemption, if it may ever come. His protagonists were murderers, lovers, people both deceitful and deceased. On Skeleton Tree, there is no story to tell. No protagonist. No dramatic purpose. Actually, no purpose at all. What is the purpose when the one you love is gone? Nick Cave doesn't tell, because he doesn't know. This record is the possibly greatest storyteller of our time, lost for words, with nothing left to say. And I wept.
 
Songs:
 
Grouper. headache
The Hotelier. soft animal
40 Watt Sun. stages
Bon Iver. 8 circle
Radiohead. true love waits
Nothing. acd
Deftones. rubicon
Nine Inch Nails. burning bright (field on fire)
Swans. cloud of unknowing
Boris. sometimes
 
 
 
 
 

Merry Christmas VC!

Well since I've posted those last pictures, we've let Daisy out throughout the rest of the apartment and her and Harley quickly became best friends.  They play fight and wrestle all the time and they're just the absolute best.
 
First picture I was able to take of them together:

 
Here they are cuddling on my wife's lap:

 
Napping head to head:

 
AND HERE THEY ARE SPOONING!!!  If this isn't one of the cutest pictures you've ever seen, then you're crazy:

Man, what a great year for music. So many great albums spanning so many genres. This year was an especially tough one to narrow down from 100 to 50 to 25 to 15. There were so many albums that were on that edge of 8.5 that just barely didn't hit 9 for me. So only listing 15 doesn't do the year justice, but these are my absolute favorites of the year. These aren't really necessarily in order either. So hard to choose if one was higher than another. I could rate them somewhat easily, but then sorting out the same grade was tough.
 
// Albums
1. | Shawn James - On The Shoulders of Giants | blues / folk / gospel | (10/10) ***
2. |American Football - American Football 2 | emo / math rock / indie | (9.5/10)
3. | Aesop Rock - Impossible Kid | hip hop | (9.5/10)
4. | Every Time I Die - Low Teens | hardcore punk / metalcore | (9.5/10)
5. | NAILS - You Will Never Be One Of Us | grindcore | (9/10)
6. | July Talk - Touch | indie rock / blues rock | (9/10)
7. | Anderson .Paak - Mailbu | r&b / hip hop / neo soul | (9/10)
8. | Oathbreaker - Rheia | black metal / alternative | (9/10)
9. | Childish Gambino - Awaken My Love | r&b / neo soul / psych funk | (9/10)
10. | Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow | alt. punk / dream pop | (9/10)
11. | Kings of Leon - WALLS | alt. / indie | (9/10)
12. | Weezer - White Album | alt. rock / power pop | (9/10)
13. | Russian Circles - Guidance | post rock / post metal | (9/10)
14. | Lost in Kiev - Nuit Noir | post rock (9/10)
15. | Badbadnotgood - IV | electronic jazz / jazz | (9/10)
 
// EP
Caspian - Castle High, Marble Bright | post rock | (10/10)
 
// Live
Julien Baker - Spotify Sessions | indie folk / ambient | (10/10)
 
*** - I highly suggest you check out Shawn James if you haven't heard him before. This album won me over more than anything this year by far. It's is dark, haunting, and full of emotion. I can't get enough of it. Do yourself a favor to get over how shitty 2016 was by putting on this album, and sitting in the dark while sipping some whiskey.