Derek™

I have my resources.

Having no discrimination or preference towards streaks is ideal. You were just wondering about - or at least surprised by - the lack critiquing on the BSM variant, and I wanted to give you potential insight. (Not that I'm speaking for everyone.) While the BSM variant doesn't 100% match that original description, it has a subtle / cool / "hold up to the light to really see it" kind of splatter going on, and those are just dandy in my books... hence no critique. So after a couple more listens, I think I'm ready to weigh in on the album. Track by track thoughts for anyone who's already familiar with the album and cares to read an opinion. Spoiler tags for everyone else.

“No streaks, no problem.”

Verdict is in: pretty jazzed on the initial listen. Need another one before I fully nerd out and share detailed thoughts on highlights. I love how different it feels from LP2 already. A lot of people will still dismiss it as a new Owen record but I think it offers so much more.

It is time.

One. More. Week. Ugh. For me, solid streaks look like trash. They’re always weirdly faded and choppy looking and just generally appear as “cheap” in my eyes. (And this feels especially true if the base color of the LP is opaque.) Just speaking from personal experience and preference, anyway.

Someone on VC actually claimed they had advanced copies of the debut and sophomore releases, being “in” with the band to some degree, if I recall correctly.

Forgot to mention that I’d like AlexH’s post twice if I could. Nail on the head, really. Of course I do have some “gems” I’m grateful to own since their aftermarket value has become steep over the years, but I also think there are countless albums I value that have either sold for < $20 once or twice on Discogs, or just haven’t been sold at all. You really can’t lose when you’re buying music you’re stoked to own and enjoy. Having a valuable collection is cool and all, but if the “vinyl bubble” popped tomorrow, I would still be very pleased with everything on my shelf and what it means to me. And to add some legitimate advice to this thread: if you’re sincere about getting into vinyl and nabbing rarer releases or variants of music you enjoy, establish your favorite bands and start following their labels. 99% of the time, a new pre-order or official reissue from a label will feature rarer (and nicer) variants, packaging, etc. than whatever UO offers.

“Urban Outflippers?”

I don’t know why but that FFO you slapped at the end of your topic title is sounding pretty good to me today. Will add this to my radar for sure. Looks like Horseplay is next up on today’s queue.

Variety is the spice of life, that’s excellent to hear. What are some of your standout favorites of 2019 so far?

Wait, people do this?

So that track is really quite solid. Surely has to be on the sophomore album we’ll get sooner than later, I hope.

Single needs more Yip.

Actually a valid point. Imagine a future where a label releases 1,500 copies of a record on black, and then 500 on black but with a holographic or colored spine for the jackets.

I really want to hold strong but you guys are making this tough. Earbuds at work are not nearly as ideal, but I only received a shipping notification yesterday afternoon and this next week will be an excruciating wait.

From my experience, people always seem to go nuts for splatter configurations. They admittedly can look cool when they’re spinning, but they’ll almost always outsell a merge, haze, split, swirl, etc.

Ah, shit. Was hoping you’d wait so we could start up a group buy. No biggie.

Okay I lied. There’s a pretty good thread in the Everything Else board that gives this one a run for its money.

Considering the state of vaporwave I think this thread is probably the richest of soil for sprouting memes.

[PO] Sleeve: Cracking /500 (FFO The Splits, Quadra Dogear, post-wreck, etc.)

I wish I could remember the name of the member who was adamant that “if you’re paying for a new product, there is no reason that it should show up anything less than 100% mint”. They would argue until they were blue in the face, despite everyone suggesting that they need to either taper their expectations for the occasional transit damage, or get into a different hobby. Buying vinyl for a decade now - the overwhelming majority being ordered online - I think I’ve probably requested a new jacket or a replacement LP so few times that I can count the instances on my hands. Sometimes a parcel gets stomped. Other times the shrink is too tight and causes a bit of instant ringwear or seam splits. I’ve seen water damage and pulled out record jackets that could double as dip bowls. It’s unfortunately a dice roll, which sucks when the average cost of a new release is $25-35 PPD. But it’s the name of the game, and I’d personally go crazy if I was sweating every little scuff or tiny corner bend on newly acquired vinyl. Short of unplayable-warped vinyl and major jacket creases, I typically let it slide.

Damaged under the shrink? Damn. With the way mine was packaged, I figure there’d be virtually no wear’n’tear for anyone who ordered through Numero. Are you talking about a seam split? Regarding the storage of the discs, I’ve been making it a ritual to slip new LPs into MoFi sleeves, and ddin’t even think about addressing it in my last post. I never trust any kind of thick cardboard sleeve. It’s my luck that I’d catch the edge at just the wrong angle and scuff my record. I also get more satisfaction than I probably should when removing or inserting vinyl into a fresh MoFi sleeve.

Don’t think I’ll be able to flip this for $300 if I play it, so I can’t weigh in there.

Bump for appreciation, and hype for those still waiting on their copies. While this boxset doesn’t have the heft of something like Numero’s Codeine or Bedhead box, it’s still kind of perfect. I know it’s an odd thing to remark on, but the general flat, matte texture of the package is so fitting. It’s solid, feels just the right amount of dated, and plays into the noisy “lo-fi” vibe that’s a staple of Duster’s sound. Jackets are quality but also straight to the point, not unlike the band’s discography. It would’ve been weird to house each album in an unnecessarily wide gatefold, and have everything high gloss or overly polished. If I had to nitpick at anything, it’s that I wish the booklet was actually a bit larger and hard-cover, like an actual book. Hardly a qualm though, I’m super impressed and pleased to own a copy of this set.