Oblivions

My wife works in aerospace and she says they do this with airplane parts when a company doesn’t “clear customs” on a package and the company does have to pay expensive warehouse fees in those scenarios. But she seemed confused by the notice that they’ll destroy your merch, even if you pay, and that they won’t ship it back out to you after you pay the fees. In her experience, sometimes a company doesn’t get initially notified of customs issues or they get notified and drop the ball and they end up getting these fees but the package should then be put back on track to getting shipped to them. Might be worth seeing if you have any import/export experts in your family or friend group or find some kind of chill lawyer in that realm who would be willing to help explain what your obligations are. This sucks that they can do this to a random individual over a package of records.

This sounds like one of those shady business that exploits government loopholes. It seems like they agree to take and store undeliverable packages from the government/postal service and are locating the recipients and sending them bogus invoices to see if they’ll pay. It’s probably legal because this is America but I have to believe you are under no obligation to respond or engage.

Can I have one friggin day where I log on this site and don’t have to read about vinyl records?!

I have nothing to base this on but Concord seems like one of those boutique labels that is owned by a dude who used to run Universal Music or something and they wouldn’t understand what a Cherry Tree variant is or want to negotiate how it would happen.

I just canceled my ‘Betty (Classroom Version) 7” + Deluxe Digital Download + Deluxe Photo Gallery Download + Deluxe Expanded Liner Notes PDF Download + Deluxe Betty Ringtone Described in Text in a Word Doc Download’ and only got 12 cents back.

I think it’s that, if he’s crazy enough to want to open a record store, then he fulfills the requirements needed to open a record store.

Here’s a GIF of old records that are so well pressed, they snap when you bite into them. It’s a trope for a reason.

If you think I don’t have access to several old-timey cartoon GIFs of flat records, you have another thing coming, bud.

I was about to say that 70% of new records I‘ve bought over the last 4-5 years are warped, which is a significant increase from the previous 10+ years, while most used records I buy through the mail seem to arrive without warps, but I’m reading here that someone only got 5 bad warps in 15 years, so I have to re-assess my experience. Give me a moment.

If $30+ vinyl pre-orders is the new normal, that means I’ll be streaming (and buying tapes, when priced well) for the foreseeable future. I get too many damaged and warped records to justify the premium price. 😞

I should clarify that I don’t think they’re bad. I think they’re more...odd? In how plain and simple they are? I’ll still stream it and I’m sure it’s a better listen in context of a whole album but I welcome the discussion on the music itself as, from fellow National fans. If you had told me a year ago that MB would have a solo album, I would not quite have expected...this...and I’m curious if my feelings are shared and this is a weird, understated album from a musician with an iconic voice and a history of performing over intricate, interesting arrangements. Maybe I’m off? I feel like there hasn’t really been much talk of the music itself on the National sub-Reddit either. I’m rambling now cause I do feel bad about being negative cause MB and the National are my boys.

Scratch that. Thank you, Matt Berninger, for charging $60 for your album. I would have bought this blind immediately if it was $40 and you just talked me into thinking about it for long enough to hold off. All jokes aside, is anyone really into the songs he’s released? I dig El Vy. I like his voice. The National is prob my fave modern band. But I feel like this set of songs (what I’ve heard so far) are oddly plain? And not in a charming, refreshing way?

Matt Berninger, you son of a bitch. I have to pay $60+ to get a dumb vinyl of your pared down solo album with some covers.

Now that it’s been described above and doesn’t seem to be a secret secret, I’ll share that mine is clear with a few whisps of black smoke. I didn’t get a match book with mine but it is a cool random connection between the matches and the smoke effect on my copy. Again, very rad album. ✌🏽

Edit: I just saw the description after I posted. Is it supposed to be a secret? I wouldn’t want to let the cat out of the purposeful bag if Aaron/Maxwell are keeping it on the down low. Double edit: I don’t know if it’s a random color dealio but I’ll say mine wasn’t a transition/mixed brown blob thing. It looked like a real variant related to the bonus item that retail people are getting along with the purchase.

This went out to Lauren Records Record Club subscribers a week or two ago. I’m not that into Signals Midwest but I really dug his songs on this, I recommend taking a listen even if you’re not already an existing SM head.

At this moment in time, I would like to plead the fifth on the condition of the mailer and records I received from Second City.

I checked out of DC entirely post AMAMABAS. Those later albums might be more consistent than Crooked Shadows but IMO the new album is at least more varied and interesting. There are some hard misses but it’s DC and silly emo/pop so, even when it’s cringe, I can still have fun. That said, I really did think a new record from DC would have hit harder, even if the reaction was negative. It feels like it came and went and I don’t know if a majority of his fans even know it happened?

Limited Run has been having issues on Safari, on the iPhone and also regular Safari browser on computers. Good to keep in mind for time sensitive purchases—use Chrome or another browser with any shop that uses LR.

Despite the splash of energy from this selling out so fast yesterday, it seems 24 hours wasn’t long enough for the flippers to mobilize. The extra copies went up without incident and seem to be still around. Good for people like me who don’t read emails immediately but still want this record.

Although no one at all seemed to care about his most recent album, I saw him play a short set right after it came out as part of some radio station arena show and the crowd went wild during the classic songs. We all have those early 2000s albums burned into the pleasure center of our brains forever.

I’m sure the advantage of posting it up immediately and getting the exclusive first wave of pre-order sales, while all other shops seemed to follow the proper protocols, had nothing to do with it. It was purely that they didn’t see an embargo date in bold red font and naively started selling the record.

Hoping the EPs aren’t super limited and hard to get when I inevitably find out 6 hours after the pre-order goes live.

Goddamnit, Grandaddy. I’m supposed to be saving $$$.

How many times do we have to tell these VC newbies? Conserve and save your misdirected, unregulated negative energy for new users who share a college class survey about vinyl, ask basic turn table questions, express mild frustration at shop’s customer service departments, share a new product or invention related to vinyl, or, in any way, express sincerity and vulnerability. If you do this, you can whine and weirdly have a tantrum and inordinately go too hard while still claiming you’re above it all and 100% invulnerable. If you leak your post-teen angst in any other way, people can hurt you and make you feel bad. I would ask mods to sticky my post but I don’t care about anything! F off!