Derek™

Congrats to you, Castaway. You'll enjoy this one.

My bad, duder. I'm happy to see that you of all people were on the ball in creating the original thread. I had no idea you were a Young Widows fan.

I was tempted to check that out... but I'm all about those ritualistic listens with either the vinyl or a top-notch set of headphones. I know you're courteous enough to not post too many spoilers, but just in case... I beg you to be super cryptic about anything you'd like to share, haha.

Your wife is a keeper. Glad to hear you weren't the only person at the show who had a good time. Seriously. I think I've come to play and enjoy Memorial more, but having both bands release an album around the same time-frame was incredible. I always use their names in the same sentence when discussing post-metal and stellar riffs. I feel really grateful and even a bit spoiled to receive a full LP from both of them last year.

I won't derail this thread into a Young Widows discussion, but... yeah. While they're not the most accessible band out there, to say that the vocal delivery is black-metal esque is pretty far off. It's been a painful reality, but I've come to accept that many of my friends and loved ones simply can't music to save their life. But pertaining to the band at hand... there are people like my dad who are completely unaware that "post-metal" is even a genre. He listens to classic rock exclusively, but he can still appreciate the play-style and technicality that goes into this band's performance, and their ability to write engaging music. I believe, 100%, that he wouldn't find himself bored at a Russian Circles show at any given point.

Whoops. Didn't see the previous thread. My bad. This can be closed if need be, but if it stays open you can count on me to update it with info, pressing information, pre-order links, etc. How do you guys feel about Kerosene Girl? I'm sticking to my "only 1 listen before the album" rule, for it... but that one listen was exceptionally good. It sounds like a really natural progression from their sound on Youth & Lightness. The hints I've been reading from those who've heard the new album are saying that it's the band's most primal sound yet.

I feel like the sort of people who wouldn't enjoy a RC show are the same kind who can't acknowledge instrumental groups as "a real band" due to the lack of vocals. A handful of their songs are lengthy, and no doubt far more enjoyable once you're familiar with them... but unless you've got a seriously narrow attention span, I don't understand how you couldn't at least be entertained by their musicianship. Oh okay. You posted this halfway through my response to the quote above, so that makes sense. You're essentially telling me that victimofadriveby needs better concert buddies.

Wait, what? How? Back in 2012 I talked a friend into attending one of their shows. He hadn't heard any of their material outside of spinning Station a few times. And after the show concluded, he claimed he was very pleased with their performance, and insisted that they put on a hell of a show. Which they completely did. Band simply kills it. Not sure what your friends were expecting or hoping for.

Justin_cole12 is now the owner of this thing. Congrats to him, and thank you all for the interest.

Awesome - I think you'll have a great time. Let us know how it goes.

Done and done. No worries. I actually update the thread's initial post on a daily basis. You'll find a current list of all participants at the bottom of it.

01. I don't care enough to go back and tally up the votes if there are any. So, what? - did two people in total vote for Brand New records? Whatever number it was, it was super miniscule and deceptive of the love the band gets on these boards. And honestly, even if there was a split between Deja and TDAG, I think fans would be able to make up their mind enough to vote for one or the other. It'd make more sense for there to be multiple votes for each, respectively, instead of a "draw" where no one voted for either. Also, *Derek. 02. You probably shouldn't talk down on someone's music library or preferences without providing your own. It's a petty thing to do, and gives your argument about as much credibility as a troll's. 03. Obviously debatable, and you're entitled to your own opinion, but I think for as polarizing and out there as Daisy can be, it's significantly more interesting from a musical standpoint. Power chords and breakup lyrics are pretty run-of-the-mill.

Great rule. I'm sure you get spammed pretty hard within the first 10 seconds of posting the item up for grabs. Eager to see what's going up in a few hours.

I can't be the only one who's down with Young Widows. McPherson -- back me up on this one. The grungy, experimental, stoner-punk In and Out of Youth and Lightness really put this band on the map for me in 2011. Temporary Residence Limited handled the press of the album, and it turned out beautifully. I can only imagine they'll be in charge of pressing Easy Pain, though I could be wrong. Anyway. The album is just a few months out, and drops on May 13th. I foresee pre-orders going live sooner than later. The first single they've released is pretty damn solid. Anyone else looking forward to this one?

Based on the discussions I read and the tradelists I've skimmed, I'd say that Brand New (and pop-punk) can be found in the collections of 70 - 80% of the board's members. That's a number I feel is very real, but I have no legitimate numbers to back it up. You're a good dude, and I have no desire to hash it out with you. Damaged is solid and worthy of winning the letter D, along with the various accolades it's accumulated over the years. It's not my favorite genre by any means, but I can still respect it immensely. I was never trying to dispute any of that.

Talk about an early pre-order. Thanks for this. Surprised to see it being sold by itself. I actually really like the print and extra goodies in the bundle, at the price they're offering. Going to compare totals with shipping to see what's more practical for me.

Yeah, dude. Excuse me while I spend my evening clicking through everyone's tradelist and compiling the data into a Google doc just to prove a point in a thread. If you need a fancy pie chart and a properly formatted table to grasp this simple concept, I apologize. Just pick and choose 10 tradelists at random and tell me how many contain Brand New records vs. Black Flag records. You're a smart guy, Bowski. This isn't rocket science.

I've been around the board long enough to know that you, personally, will beat the hell out of a horse and argue until you're blue in the face. So I'm not going to try to persuade you to think or feel something you don't. But it doesn't take a poll to realize Brand New is far more hyped on these boards. From the amount of threads, to the posts that fill them, to everyone's collection. I'm comfortable in saying that you can check the Deadformat or Discogs list of most anyone on this board, and they'll likely own at least one Brand New album. I can't say the same for Black Flag. Not comparing the bands' music by any means, whatsoever. I'm just talking raw numbers at this point. I also never said that Damages was a joke, or that the fact it won is a debacle. You're reading between the lines and that's why I refuse to sit here and argue with you. Say what you want; but on a forum where ~80% of the users are head over heels for Brand New, and where 75% of their discography starts with the letter D but still receives zero votes... something is fishy. It doesn't matter where you stand with the band or their music. I'm speaking purely statistically at this point.

You may be missing the point, 'bowski -- it's not a debacle because I personally think Brand New deserved to take the letter. (If that was the case, I probably would've voted for them, you know?) It's a debacle because - statistically, on this board - they should've received the majority of votes, when in fact they received none. It's like working with an office full of fellow peers who rave about Pepsi every day. But when you poll them on their favorite beverage - and someone jokingly says "inb4 omg Pepsi! <3" - they all vote for Fanta and Mr. Pibb. It's goofy as hell.

I can agree with that. The amount of hype (and occasional explosion of threads) that circle around Brand New get old pretty quick, but I've got to say that I enjoy everything they've written. Granted, I hardly listen to them much these days, you'd have to be pretty naïve to ignore the weight of a record like TDAG. Love them or hate them... there's a reason why their albums have received such praise. And it goes well, well beyond acoustic Youtube covers and Tumblr quotes. But, you know. Bandwagons. [edit] And I've got to agree with Ryan on the D debacle. With the absolute mountain of hype and posts that spiraled around the repress of TDAG, and the collective shit that would fill the pants of board members if a Deja PO dropped at random... there's no way that more people didn't vote for either of those albums. 17 - 20 year-old me would have. In a heartbeat.

I can't speak for everyone who's voting for Your Favorite Weapon... but there isn't any spite on my end. I do own and enjoy YFW, but I have no shame in saying that it's the band's sloppiest and least memorable album. It's a fun ride through and through - and I have many great memories associated with it - but lyrically and musically, it's not anything to write home about. At least not in my opinion. What's cool about this thread and the selection of winners from each round... is that [most] of the albums are undeniably classics. One for the ages. Timeless. I'm not a huge fan of Nirvana, Alkaline Trio, Against Me!, or The Beatles. But seeing their names and album in this "definitive list" just looks right to me. I know that their albums bring defining qualities to the table, and are considered classics for a reason. And Your Favorite Weapon is definitely out of place in said list. Again, this is just an opinion of mine, unpopular as it may be. And I think the majority of people just don't want to see Brand New win a letter on principle. A lot of folks are simply burnt out on the sheer amount of worship the band garners here at VC. I know that's a silly basis to cast a vote on, but I'm just calling it like I see it. But looking back on it, if we're talking about "classics" that influenced future bands and genres, I think I'll revise my vote. I love You Fail Me, but I wouldn't call it half as influential as; It won't even come remotely close to winning, and I'd much rather see Brand New and Converge go neck to neck... but for the sake of thread integrity, this is my official Y vote.

///// TRANSLUCENT STEEL GREY ///// I know a few of us are looking for the translucent grey version of Memorial, still. There's a seller listing one on Discogs for $35 or so. His name is MUNSTERAMA, and his listing can be found here. After contacting the seller, I discovered that his copy is sealed and he literally has no idea what color it is. He's just listing it under a random variant on Discogs, I guess. Figured you guys would like to know.

By and far. This kid posts the dumbest shit on the boards. It'd be humorous if he was trolling, but he's legitimately obsessed with one single (quite mediocre) band. I just don't get it.

Considering your setup, you're probably better off not playing any of your records.

My copy is far more legible, and I'd probably let it go for $500.