Cameo

"Did you know the singer of Velocity Girl was on The Adventures of Pete & Pete?"

No I didn't.

My brother informed me of this a couple of weeks ago. One line in a great episode.

I also didn't know Sarah Shannon appeared on a number of Severin tracks.

A repurchase of the album and a look through the liner notes informed me of this.

Severin - Acid to Ashes Rust to Dust. Amazon.com. Used.

Dead Format

Many of my friends attended Penn State University. Because of that I've made my fair share of trips to State College, Pennsylvania. Football games, Arts Fest, Halloween, random events. Gas was cheap and travel was fun.

When going anywhere, I tend to find myself in record stores. These road trips to Penn State were no different.

It was during one of these obligatory music stops I purchased Yes, Please! on cassette.

Sure, cassettes were obsolete. But they were cheap. Not to mention perfect for my 1989 Volvo wagon.

Happy Mondays - Yes, Please! ??? Used.

Final Act

For the longest time I thought the Ride story ended with Carnival of Light.

It turns out I was wrong.

While going through Cathy's unsorted disc pile a few years ago I came across this.

Another album. It was the first time I had seen it.

And now, I have my own, unscratched copy.

Ride - Tarantula. Amazon.com. Used.

From the Left

Bobb called me from Amoeba Music asking me if I needed the Hurricane #1 album.

At the time I thought I already owned it. So I declined the offer.

It turns out I did not.

To this day I appreciate the cross-country thought.

Hurricane #1. Amazon.com. New.

Now That's What I Call a Maxi-Single

Eight tracks of Erasure.

This is "Maxi" even for Maxi-Single.

Long live the Maxi-Single!

Erasure - Drama! (Maxi-Single). Amazon.com. Used.

Never Say Never

I never thought they would get back together.

Yet, there they were. Part of the Hellfest lineup.

As much as I wanted to go, I couldn't bring myself to buy tickets to the massive event.

Lucky for me, things fell apart.

They scheduled two shows in Philadelphia. I had to get tickets to at least one. I waited in line at Spaceboy and got my tickets to the Starlight Ballroom. The bill featured 108 and Lifetime.

I thought that would be it for 108 (and Lifetime for that matter).

That wasn't the case. In addition to new material, both bands have continued to tour.

I've seen 108 multiple times since that weekend. Hopefully they have a few more shows in them.

I know they have another album. So I like my chances.

108 - Curse of Instinct. Long in the Tooth. Used.

Happy Fourth of July

All states have their pros and cons.

But when it comes to crazy, I think Florida takes the cake.

When I see a crazy story on the news my first thought is always "this must be Florida."

More often than not, I am correct.

Something about the state attracts the crazy. Something about the state breeds the crazy.

I'm sure many will disagree. My own anecdotal evidence isn't an exact science. Unless something or someone shows me otherwise, my mind is set. It hasn't happened yet.

This isn't to say I don't like Florida. I do. Regardless of my views, I never met a state I didn't like.

The differences are what make this country great.

Bloodlet - Eclectic. Amazon.com. Used.

Cheap

Primal Scream played in March.

I thought about going. It would have been my first time seeing them.

Once again I didn't feel like spending the money.

I miss more bands that way.

Hardcore has spoiled me when it comes to ticket prices.

Primal Scream - Xtrmntr. ??? New.

Demo Gems

How cool did seventeen year old me think it was that Zack de la Rocha appeared on the Scrap compact disc?

Really cool.

Although this didn't make my non-hardcore Rage Against the Machine listening friends any more likely to check out Farside.

But I tried.

Farside - Scrap. Long in the Tooth. Used.

Grow Up

I refused to listen to Murphy's Law in high school because of the drinking and the drugs.

I preferred my hardcore straight edge. Or at the very least, not overtly promoting drinking and drugs.

I was a stupid kid.

Murphy's Law - Murphy's Law/Back with a Bong! Long in the Tooth. Used.