neo_styles

What YouTwo said. I've actually seen some people get rather upset already over their referral links not being used by people requesting them for that reason.

Not a bad idea at all. I'll follow suit

I mean I think I pull the liner notes out maybe once or twice the first couple times I listen to it. After that, they stay in the LP jacket for posterity's sake and I just listen to what's between the grooves.

Ironically, VMP ran a magazine article about why half-speed masters were potentially a really, really shitty idea. I just hope whatever mastering engineer they chose is on his A-game this time around. Oh, and we could really, really stand to not have to sift through a million pages requesting or offering referral links. I know I've been guilty of it, too, but I'm sure a lot of people don't want to deal with multiple "me too" posts.

Familiar with "I fly, you buy?" Maybe we can work something out

Sorry nobody gave you the heads up on that. Swaps are only for the 3-month or year subscriptions. Realistically, you might as well keep it sealed up. If no further variants come out, you'll have one of two of the only official pressings and a little piece of history to talk about.

Meh. I subscribed for a year. Don't have to deal with maybe.

Pepperidge Farm remembers

From the VMP staff: "We can't limit them in the future, but for now, yes, this is the only plans for a pressing of Demon Days. The band and label are worried about the new album"

Sadly, no. Some of the VMP members are quite...upset...that Jamie didn't make the pack-in artwork that's supposed to come with it.

What did we do?

I'm seeing a lot of Stankonia guesses, but that doesn't fit the MO of the clues we've been receiving. Don't think I'd care either way.

One of my buddies, as a cheap and effective method, ended up filling a cardboard box with shredded jean material (found at THD/Lowes) and then wrapping said box with matte black vinyl. Longest part of the whole thing was lining up the edges to be seamless, but he's a neat freak. It's not 100% effective since it takes a lot of damping energy to completely eliminate LF transmission, but it's noticeably better than not having a stand at all. I've also considered just using tennis balls on each of my turntable's legs, but that seems a bit cheap/corny to me. Still, it should serve the same benefit of decoupling your turntable from its resting surface.

I'll PM it to you

Surprised it it never got answered, but it's common knowledge that Capital's Radiohead repressings were pretty crappy. Luckily, the XL repressings from last year are significantly more dynamic and don't seem to have the same surface noise problems. I highly recommend any of them and my copy of Kid A sounds phenomenal. And I think that's what this thread is trying to point out, but the title misleads people to the point where it just ends up being a bitch-fest. Maybe I'm just an odd case, but having a thread like this to reference and save me from making a purchase decision I'll regret due to bad QC shouldn't be considered a bad thing. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'll throw up that I've learned to avoid any pressing that has a "From the Capitol Vaults" foil sticker. Between their reissue of OK Computer and Mer de Noms (and the MULTIPLE exchanges to learn that it's a repeatable problem), I've just learned I'd rather not have one at all if they're the only ones with a pressing I have access to. Both were wet-cleaned with a Record Doctor V and kept in MoFi sleeves between uses and multiple auditions were given to confirm results. The first copy of MDN went back because Judith would skip in the same exact spot by about 20 seconds with no readily-visible defects. Bright light and a magnifying glass revealed that there was a semi-circular cut that linked about 5 grooves to each other, most likely from the plant. Second copy I received didn't skip, but it did have a pretty high noise floor that was also shared by 3 separate copies of OK Computer. But that's why I try to keep my business local. If one of my records is fucked up somehow, I can take it back and have them make it right. And they do, every time, because THEY know this shit can happen. And if it's something Victory puts out and it's fucked, well, consider it as part of the album's charm. I've never gotten a response from them about reporting issues I've come across with their records. The reissue of Alkaline Trio's Crimson jumps in volume level halfway through the second side. Anything before that is basically covered in fuzz. Thursday's Full Collapse reissue (the colored one) sounds like it was pressed directly from the CD. So yeah, I can echo the sentiment they don't really care.

Got an email from VMP stating that they would be doing a live review on their Facebook tomorrow morning at 8:50am Pacific time. Guess we'll finally put this one to bed soon. They're pretty rabid fans, for sure. There's a couple negative nancies over there, like someone who wanted to give me shit because I wasn't fawning over FJM but talked about grabbing a copy anyway. On the whole, though, I really like that community and this one for different reasons. Doesn't take much effort to figure out who collects as a hobby, as a religion, or just has a basic interest in it. As for grabbing a copy of The National, VMP limits you to one copy of any album AFAIK, so might be tough convincing someone on that one.

I think Spotify is working on launching a similar CD-quality option to Tidal soon as well as more original material. I couldn't give two shits about Tidal's video content, but I love Spotify's curated playlist. If you have any more questions about my comparisons to both, fire away. I'll hunt down what I can

Same pricing as Spotify if you do the 320kbps subscription. "Hi-Fi" is 20/mo and that's at 16/44. The fact that they do higher-fidelity "masters" that can only be accessed via a web browser on your PC/Mac is kinda cool, but I'll be sticking with Spotify when my free trial is over. I just couldn't pass on 6 months free.

The only reason I have Tidal is because someone leaked a 6-month free coupon on FB. Otherwise I wouldn't bother paying for it. i also feel I've been plenty snarky over there. I think you just need the right kind of sarcasm to not get flagged and you'll be fine. but each group serves its own benefit

I bought a record on discogs and they packed in a Hesitation Marks button. Took me four months to realize that's what it was, though. Fucker was tiny.

Apparently getting in line for #RSD2017. He doesn't have time for this crap.

I get both sides of the argument. People like what they like. I never would have found the patience and level of fun required for crate-digging if it weren't for RSD, so I appreciate it at a pretty basic level. I do think they've gotten a bit out of hand over the past few years with such limited pressings, even if it's with the intent of encouraging people to walk into the door. Realistically, though, that's two days out of the year. What are most of those people doing the other 363?

Nope. Totally agree with you. We're all rabid fans here and there. Even if the FJM is totally not my thing, I ended up getting a lot of potentially interesting things. Life will move on.

That was a TENSE on-sale. Managed to grab a copy of FJM; figure if I own it, maybe I'll actually learn to get it. Also picked up way more than any reasonable human being should. Wonder if their copy of Fight Club will make it out to customers before SRC?

Passive methods are the safest, but might not be very effective. I just pack that particular shelf a little tighter and forget about the record for a while. So far, it's helped soothe a couple more exaggerated warps, but nothing that's affected play yet. If it's unplayable, I send it back. Ain't nobody got time fo' dat.