Sidney Crosley

I ordered 6 records to Canada - shipping appeared to be quite cheap: $8.95 + $1.00 per each record. Anyone international ever order from them before? Am I setting myself up for some surprise fees (other than customs fees, which I already anticipate)? Otherwise, even without the discount code, some pretty solid prices.

I just responded in the thread about the new book from John Darnielle (the Mountain Goats). I'm a pretty avid reader in general, and I am always curious to see how musicians can take their songwriting craft into writing a book (that is not specifically about being a musician). Here's my brief list of books I've read by people who are otherwise musicians. For now, it's predominantly fiction, but please add your own (and your thoughts about the books if you'd like). Josh Ritter - Bright's Passage (love the songwriter, book was very beautifully written, but a bit boring) John Darnielle [Mountain Goats] - Wolf In White Van (great read - fits in with his oeuvre of music, as well as standing out on its own) Joe Pernice [Pernice Brothers, Scud Mountain Boys] - It Feels So Good When I Stop (loved this book; seems a bit overwritten at times, but well structured and enjoyable) Frank Portman [a.k.a. Dr. Frank of Mr. T Experience] - King Dork (hilarious and engaging book for young adults; relive your awkward teenage experience including making up as many bands with friends as possible) Colin Meloy [Decemberists] - Let It Be by the Replacements (33 1/3 series) (by far the worst book I've read in the 33 1/3 series; self-indulgent and poorly written) Dave Bidini [Rheostatics] - On a Cold Road / Writing Gordon Lightfoot (I like his non-fiction writing more than his music; a really talented writer) I'm sure there are a whole lot more. What have you read?

This book is amazing. It's one of those books that kind of haunts you by the end - it's interestingly and at times oddly sequenced, but you can tell it's very purposeful. The prose is so well-written; Darnielle is well beyond the 'musician-trying-to-write-a-book' type, and it shows. The book totally fits in with the rest of his music, and stands out on its own as well. Highly recommended.

Here's the single LP version of Midnight Organ Fight: http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Organ-Fight-Frightened-Rabbit/dp/B00133FBFC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1412733317&sr=8-4&keywords=frightened+rabbit+vinyl http://www.amazon.ca/Midnight-Organ-Fight-Frightened-Rabbit/dp/B00133FBFC/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3DWYIK6Y9EEQB Out Oct 27.

Amazon.ca has the first 4 albums (Firstborn, Kicking, Funeral, From Her) at $19.42 each. http://www.amazon.ca/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=nick%20cave%20vinyl&sprefix=nick+cav%2Caps For us Canadians/non-Americans, vinyl-digital.com has the newer albums (Lazarus, Abattoir, Nocturama) for about 24 euros each, and with shipping to Canada for two of them (not rushing to get Nocturama), 53 Euros (they take off the VAT if you're not from the EU), which is about 67 USD, or 74 CAD, if you're checking. I don't imagine I'll get them as cheap with shipping.

Awesome! Gonna have to spend more money! Seriously not enough Canadian distros of good music. Thanks Chisel!

I've shipped to Italy twice, plus Russia, Portugal, Israel, and Ukraine. All packages have made it. For each of these, the value is pretty low overall ($10-15 record). I usually have a conversation with people in countries other than Canada and US to let them know that without tracking, I can't guarantee it, but so far I've had total luck. I really do think that there's a percentage of luck. I have had three packages that have taken more than 8 weeks (to Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium no less), and for the most part, people have been patient, and the record arrived. In one instance, after 2 months, I discussed with someone what to do about a $10 record (with $10 more shipping) that never showed up. He was very reasonable, and felt it fair to be refunded just the cost of the record (not a huge loss to me - something I had kicking around for a while). Sure enough, three weeks later, the record showed up and he paid me back the $10. Generally you can get a feel for whether someone is pretty honest/just a collector like you. I am usually willing to risk sending without tracking if that's the case. Maybe I'm a bit of an optimist, but so far I haven't run into any issues. I'm sure if I do I'll change my tune...

I got a package (in Canada) from Insound with 5 of 6 records I had ordered. Paid a lot for shipping (as we Canadians always do), and despite the fact that the package was worth $42, UPS wanted almost $40 for brokerage fees at the door. I called UPS, because that is bullshit to the max, and they said that most of the brokerage fees come from shipping UPS Ground - the fee for shipping UPS Airmail would be a flat $10 plus $4 fee and duty if any, which would mean that the total should have been $20 or so if Insound had shipped Air. But then I realized that when checking out, the shipping is listed as 'International Air - Canada & Mexico'. So I wrote Insound about this, and said that I thought that it would be fair for them to refund me $20 because they didn't ship the way they said they would. And, would you believe it, they wrote back about 24 hours later, and refunded me the $20, and said sorry for any inconvenience. Given the history of poor customer service, I was downright in shock. Good on them. They'll keep me as a customer for now.

If you're looking to buy in bulk and buy a large amount, contact Packaging World (in Toronto - I imagine they do delivery but I picked up mailers). They had lots of record mailers, and I think they said they have stiffeners too: www.packagingworld.com

I work for a school board in Ontario as a special education technology consultant. I may not be able to donate money at the moment, but happy to share some ideas, insights, and resources for integration of Apple technology (and otherwise) into the classroom, especially supporting struggling learners. Feel free to send me a quick message if you have any specific questions with regard to practical set up and functionality. Usually that's when staff in my board tend to contact me the most - the moment when they go 'wow, I have all of these iPads, now what do I do?'

okay, i'm kind of glad i'm not the only one who thinks it sounds off. mine sort of sounds a bit out of tune. at first i thought it was an intentional re-mastering to sort of have the guitars/keys sound a bit warbly, but i'm pretty positive that there's something off with it. did you contact sub pop directly? i got mine from you've changed, but i think it's the same pressing, just distributed differently.