Someone Was Buying the Albums, Buying the Tickets, Buying the Shirts

No one ever admits to liking them.

They played a lot of shows.

A long career. For hardcore.

A release in 2000?

I've owned things. I've seen a few shows.

Nobody admitted to liking them then.

Nobody admits to liking them now.

Their staying power is impressive. Was impressive. A band that seemed to be a punchline. Continues to be a punchline.

As recently as May 2008.

"Sam. Will I regret buying a Brother's Keeper disc from Trustkill?"

"Yes. They are bad."

Are they bad? They vocals throw people off. Turn people off. Yet. There are flashes of quality.

The style. Musically. Mid-nineties. Not for everyone. It is the vocals though.

People cannot get past the vocals. People I know.

There are people who must. People who do. People who adore their output. Admire. Or at least purchase it. Purchased.

They lasted. Continuum indeed.

Disembodied / Brother's Keeper - Oxymoron. Trustkill.com. On sale.

Does Every Band, Regardless of Genre, Go Through a Country Phase?

Every band eventually comes across Gram Parsons.

Even The Byrds came across Gram Parsons.

That might be a gross overstatement. It is a gross overstatement.

Sometimes it's Johnny Cash.

Band. After band.

Return to "their" roots.

What they think are "their" roots.

American roots.

Influencing bands. Artists. Across the musical spectrum.

Split Lip. (Chamberlin.) Bruce Springsteen. Asteroid #4. Tim Burgess. Kula Shaker. (The Jeevas.) Supersuckers.

They say Menswe@r as well. Unconfirmed.

Supersuckers - Must've Been High. Used at AKA Music. Not quite bargain bin.

The Heat Took Away the Air Conditioning, the Fans, the Dr. Mario and the Ability to Post this New Age Release from 1995

I spent more time. And money. At Generation Records. After I moved to New York.

I would leave work for extended periods of time. Or for the day. To enjoy some shopping.

Sometimes clothes. More often music.

Working on twenty-third street. Generation Records was not a far walk. Or subway ride.

Their used section. Full of hardcore castaways.

Walking back to work. With Ire. Jihad. In my hand.

Generation Records continues to feed my addiction. For the hardcore that time forgot.

The Suppression Swing - Just a Word. Used at Generation Records.

Something Strange at SUNY Potsdam

It was his roommate. Maybe just friends.

Something happened.

When we met John. Or when I met John. It was his story to tell.

His personal conflict.

Somehow. That became. An imagined slight against political correctness.

Homophobia. Specifically. Ridiculous. In retrospect.

All words. Of course reserved for the Internet. A one-sided battle. Our side.

Finally. After a Fugazi show. At the Electric Factory.

A stop at a gas station. Spring Garden. And Delaware Avenue. What was a Mobil. Is now a Lukoil.

Words were exchanged. From my Volvo.

We returned to Syracuse.

Of all the bands to take issue with. Endeavor?

To be nineteen. And have ideals. No matter how misguided. Or misplaced. They may be.

I don't miss it.

Endeavor - Constructive Semantics. Trustkill.com. On sale.

I Bought an Extra Large Copper Shirt in the Past Year with the Intent to Have It Tailored to Fit

Erin liked Copper more than me. Loved.

There wasn't a lot of substance to our discussions. Copper discussions. Beyond. "How good is Drag Queen?"

She liked Copper more than most. More than anyone.

At least in my experience. Limited experience.

Erin asked me if I listened to Idle Hands.

Hadn't heard them.

Filed it away.

When I saw it. Finally. Years maybe.

I recognized the name. I thought Youth Crew. Based on the name.

After pulling the disc from the shelf. I remembered. Definitely not Youth Crew.

Idle Hands - Building a Desert. Princeton Record Exchange sale rack.

Sweet, Petty, What's the Difference?

Do you remember the video for "Girlfriend?"

I do. Though sometimes I remember it as the video for "Runnin' Down a Dream."

Both cartoons. Yes. Related. Not at all.

He seemingly came out of nowhere. MTV. Follow up album.

Faded away.

To Ming Tea obscurity. Novelty. Proximity. To Susanna Hoffs.

Lucky.

Matthew Sweet - 100% Fun. AKA bargain bin.

Surprising Finds in West Philadelphia and All Because I was Early

Arrived for The Simpsons Movie. The Bridge. We were early.

There was time to kill. To waste.

Parking was validated. The car wasn't going anywhere.

We decided a walk around University City was in order. That part of University City. We didn't go far.

We came across a record store. I knew how I would be spending my next thirty minutes. To an hour.

It was the first time I had been there. I didn't know it existed.

It may have been there for years. I'm sure it was. I spend limited time in University City. West Philadelphia in general. Mostly for dining. Ethiopian. Indian. Pakistani.

This place was new to me. Those are sometimes the best.

I made my way to the used section. Students like to sell out and/or drop out of hardcore.

Often their music finds its way to the local record shops.

I speak from experience.

"You're selling Earth Crisis and Bloodlet? And buying John Cougar Mellencamp and The Moody Blues?"

Yes. Yes I was.

I was limited on time. So I made my way quickly through the used compact discs. Incredibly. I found Godspeed. I was really excited about this. Finding what really isn't a very good release.

If it's of the nineties. And hardcore related. That tends to trump any quality issues.

I checked the watch. I still had time.

I flipped through the seven inches. I no longer have a record player. Yet I still go through records. I enjoy it.

Four Walls Falling.

Statue.

Some others.

I thought Sam would be interested in the Statue. I gave him a call.

He was.

Something to Say. On white. No real value.

I always thought. Prior to that day. The release was a ten inch.

It was not.

Statue - Something to Say. Digital version acquired on Livewire.

[Image via imagecache2.allposters.com]

Think of Them as Forgotten Gems, Diamonds in the Rough or Plain Old Coal

Mark liked Stillsuit.

He was the only person I knew who liked them. Stillsuit.

I had forgotten about them. Long ago.

I owned it briefly. Mid-nineties.

Wreck-Age Records. Again. Mid-nineties.

A lot of releases are written off. Barely remembered. If so. For nostalgia's sake.

Some. Better than others.

Better or worse. Always worth owning.

Stillsuit - Green Spock Ears. Princeton Record Exchange. Sale rack.

Oasis Is a Gateway Drug

All of the sudden. Brian was into Oasis.

It may not have been that sudden. Not sudden at all.

I was down on Oasis during this period. Not listening. Not purchasing. It was the height of the Oasis versus Blur feud.

I sided with Blur. As if my support was important.

It was nice when a year or so later I stopped being a moron and decided I could listen to both bands. And enjoy them.

I was living Quadrophenia. Only in my head.

Oasis - The Masterplan. Purchased at Best Buy. Or via eBay. One or the other. I'm leaning towards eBay.

Bonus Discs, Bonus DVDs Reel You In

Every so often an album will come along. Packaged with a bonus disc.

Sometimes a DVD.

I appreciate the bonus material. If given the choice. That is the format I will purchase.

I prefer the bonus compact disc. To the bonus DVD.

I don't think I've ever watched a bonus DVD.

Yet I keep buying them. Will keep buying them.

Oasis - Standing on the Shoulder of Giants. I couldn't tell you where I bought this. I can tell you it has a bonus single.