Oblivions

I don't know if I've posted it on here but I do have a semi-large collection of R.E.M. bootlegs on vinyl. If you or anyone was ever curious about the quality or contents of specific ones, I'd be glad to help answer questions. I own or have owned most of the ones that were listed in the Discogs database. Some are awesome, a lot are terrible quality wise, but they're all pretty interesting as collector's items. I've only ever got rid of 2-the one where the non-Stipe members played some Byrds cover songs live and the Rolling Stones one were so bad I didn't want to hold on to them. Speaking of, when Discogs stopped allowing bootlegs on the marketplace, it was a huuuuge bummer. I had maybe 6-7 more I wanted to pick up that I was waiting for a better price on and now they're gone. They haven't turned up on eBay or any of the smaller UK/european marketplaces. I was also starting to collect Talking Heads bootlegs when bootlegs were yanked from the marketplace.

More records added! Millencolin Life on a Plate NEW/SEALED Pennywise Straight Ahead NEW/SEALED Superweaks, The Bad Year NEW/SEALED Damien Jurado Brothers and Sisters of the Eternal Son NEW/SEALED Forth Wanderers Slop EP NEW/SEALED Wolf Parade Apologies to the Queen Mary (3xLP Version) NEW/SEALED Sufjan Stevens The Greatest Gift NEW/SEALED Fever Ray Fever Ray NEW/SEALED Moaning Moaning NEW/SEALED No Age Everything In Between NEW/SEALED Mono Walking Cloud And Deep Red Sky, Flag Fluttered And The Sun Shined NEW/SEALED David Bowie Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars (Motion Picture Soundtrack) NEW/SEALED

Yeah. I think it sounds cool on paper but, after doing a few subs the last 2 years, I think I'd rather buy the records individually and get them when they are released and get customer support on individual releases, if needed. As a label, I bet it's nice to get a ton of cash upfront in January but then it's June and most if not all of that money is gone and you still have to pack hundreds of orders every few weeks that you aren't earning new revenue on. If I ran a label with a handful of employees, I wouldn't do a sub.

The delays are more understandable knowing they are trying to move all their inventory to a distribution/fulfillment service on top of dealing with pressing delays. But I agree that another "state of the sub" email would go a long way. The last time they sent an update to all subscribers was in December, as they were trying to convince people to sign up for 2018. They gave a really detailed breakdown of what packages to expect and played up how much they appreciate our patronage and feedback in that email. Bummer they didn't extend that level of communication and transparency once we renewed.

Looks like both the GG and Tricot LPs were delayed and started shipping 1-2 weeks ago, according to their reddit account: https://www.reddit.com/user/topshelfsquad/comments/ They also acknowledge not responding to emails in one of the comments, for what it's worth. So, hopefully, we should receive that set of LPs in the next week or so. Still no update on the delayed final 2017 shirt/sweater/SE tape box. I imagine they are going to ignore emails about it until they ship out, if ever, if their protocol is to not reply to individual emails about delayed items.

Has anyone received the Tricot or Giraffes LPs yet?

Double post.

That person on eBay has sold about 20 copies. They either bought a ton from the retailers that went up a few weeks back or maybe they have a relationship with the label owner.

I passed on two $50 copies of New Adventures cause I thought that was too much. Then a month or two later, they were selling for $100-150 and $120 seemed like a reluctant deal. I also got the UK addition but didn't realize the US one was inferior or less good.

Yep. I paid $120 for New Adventures VG+, $80 for Up sealed, $45 for Reveal sealed, $70 for Monster VG+, and $70 for Around the Sun sealed about two years ago. Hopefully they aren't more expensive now.

Totally. If they hadn't forgotten to send me my orders for the past half year (as well as sending my previous 3-4 orders at the end of 2017 to a wrong address and not knowing how to prevent/fix it), I'd be super happy with them. Their roster and releases are great and I like the people working there.

1. I just got a ton of brand new, extra sturdy Whiplash LP mailers in. So, I'm ready to use them on orders of 1-3 items! 2. I just added the following releases to the sale sheet: 12" Peaer Peaer NEW/SEALED Stephin Merritt Obscurities NEW/SEALED Bully Feels Like NEW/SEALED 10,000 Maniacs In My Tribe (2016 Reissue) NEW/SEALED 10,000 Maniacs Our Time In Eden (2016 Reissue) NEW/SEALED Low The Great Destroyer NEW/SEALED Mountain Goats, The All Hail West Texas NEW/SEALED 7" Fenne Lily .3.09 VG+

The more time goes by, the more I find myself preferring Achilles Heel and the solo albums over the early and classic Pedro albums. I think younger me was more geared toward the slow Christian emo songs and angry-and-using-edgy-words-but-still Christian rock stuff. Now, just give me the steady dependable dad rock.

Something came up and my wife and I can't make this show. Selling our tickets for $5 each if anyone is near Los Angeles and wants to see Wild Ones and Caroline Rose at the Resident. Starts at 9pm. PM me! Thanks.

They have a proper cassette sub now, so all cassette only releases are part of that. Not sure about the CDs and whether they are still sent with the vinyl sub and/or have their own sub level. Not a huge deal but enough to dissuade me from renewing at a higher price. I'll probably wait until a holiday end of year sale and buy all the stuff they've put out in 2018 that I especially like in one order.

They included all their cassette releases (and CDs) with the vinyl sub last year. This year, they removed the cassettes from the vinyl sub and created a new cassette specific sub and the price for the vinyl sub went up (not sure about whether they are still sending CDs to vinyl subscribers since I didn't really care about those). Makes sense from a business standpoint since I think they're upping the # of cassettes they're putting out in 2018 but, in the end, existing subscribers were asked to pay more for the sub while receiving less and I decided not to renew. As far as customer support and shipping on time goes, Tiny Engines were awesome though. Everything came when it was supposed to and I wasn't accidentally skipped on any of the months.

It's a bummer when labels struggle with managing their subscriptions. I ended my Tiny Engines sub this year after they trimmed back what is included while increasing the price and I might have to do the same for my Topshelf and Joyful Noise subs. Joyful Noise is pretty much a guaranteed cancel as they've forgotten to ship out my order for the last 5+ months. It is a bit annoying to drop a few hundred on a subscription and then, every few weeks, have to check a label's website and Discogs to see whether there have been new releases that have been sent out for others but not you.

Interesting. I got the rarest variant for those. Did you sign up later in 2018 or after those were already released, like mentioned above?

I feel you. I'll wait a mail cycle (12-14 days) before I check in on an order that has not updated, especially if it's a label that normally sends shipping updates. Then, I'll wait another 7-10 days for a reply before I check back in. I know there are jerks on both sides of the equation but I think it's possible for there to be a positive "Hey checking in" "Cool, here's the status" exchange where both the label and customer are being cool and polite. Doesn't have to be a shameful negative thing for either party.

Which titles were those?

Updated the list with new 7" records and new FREE 7" and 12" records and FREE CDs. Build your own box of vinyl, CDs, tapes, posters, download codes, random bonus items. See first post for breakdown on how to unlock free stuff. $5 flat shipping on all orders.

I was deep into Moh Lhean when it came out and liked it but I had my buzz harshed a bit thanks to a bummer experience with Yoni's press people. Seems dumb but I guess it was enough to sour me on the record a bit, since the interactions revolved around the album. Alopecia, on the other hand, is so good. That PR company can give me the run around and pawn me off to a second PR company that eventually ghosts me but also spams me with 5 emails a day anytime and I'll always love that record. I bought this immediately when JNR sent that email out yesterday.

I only have the Out of Time reissue to judge but it fits in with the narrative that most of the non-MOFI R.E.M. reissues are pretty average or worse than the original pressings. Hopefully, this is an exception. I'm sticking with my $10 original pressing since it sounds great and I'm already spending way too much money on everything else in my life.

The irony is that the folks who feel mistreated and post long rants attacking VC posters are actually the most VC of all posters.

I know that box was delayed because they had some kind of falling out with their apparel manufacturer at the end of the year. Last I heard, they were hoping to ship that final 2017 bundle out Feb/March. I emailed them yesterday to check in on its status, around the time I posted here, and if I hear back I'll share the deets.