My Bloody Valentine - Before Loveless [12", 2LP, Unofficial]

Another strange MY BLOODY VALENTINE bootleg. Spread over two LP's, you'll find the Ecstasy And Wine compilation (on red vinyl) and the Feed Me With Your Kiss and You Made Me Realise EP's (on black vinyl). It has the Feed Me With Your Kiss artwork as front cover and the pic on the back is from the back of Ecstasy And Wine. How original.
However I still don't have original copies of those two last ones on vinyl, so i didn't have to think too long before i decided to buy this. Bought it online from a US mailorder company. And the quality is not bad actually.

SIDE A:
01. Strawberry Wine
02. Never Say Goodbye
03. Can I Touch You
04. She Loves You No Less
05. The Things I Miss

SIDE B:
01. I Don't Need You
02. (You're) Safe In Your Sleep (From This Girl)
03. Clair
04. You've Got Nothing
05. (Please) Lose Yourself In Me

SIDE C:
01. Feed Me With Your Kiss
02. I Believe
03. Emptiness Inside
04. I Need No Trust

SIDE D:
01. You Made Me Realise
02. Slow
03. Thorn
04. Cigarette In My Bed
05. Drive It All Over Me

The Velvet Underground - Foggy Notion / I Can't Stand It [7"]

This VELVET UNDERGROUND 7" came out for Record Store Day 2011. These songs (in mono) were recorded in 1969 but shelved until the mid 80's. A very nice collector's item.

Label: Sundazed
Cat.nr.: S 227
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Foggy Notion

SIDE B:
02. I Can't Stand It

Asobi Seksu - Strawberries [7"]

Although i like ASOBI SEKSU a lot, this is the only vinyl release i have of them so far. It comes in a gatefold sleeve (see pics below) that can also hold another version of this 7" (cat.nr. 816TP7S, with a CSS remix).




Label: One Little Indian
Cat.nr.: 816TP7
Year of release: 2007

SIDE A:
01. Strawberries (Edit)

SIDE B:
01. Strawberries (The Whip Remix)

School Of Seven Bells - Windstorm [7"]

Eagerly waiting for the copy i ordered of their (great) new album Ghostory, i'm spinning some SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS vinyl while i'm writing this. WINDSTORM is from their Disconnect From Desire album. A catchy midtempo tune that could go on and on and on. B-side Crescent Gold is a gentle, almost ambient song; not featured on the album.

Label: Full Time Hobby
Cat.nr.: FTH098S
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. Windstorm

SIDE B:
01. Crescent Moon

Swervedriver / The Dylans - Jesus / Who Loves The Sun [12", Promo]

A peculiar promo 12" release that i found in Cork (Ireland), in the same store where i ran into some other promo 12"es and a Sundays 12". It features two Velvet Underground songs, covered by SWERVEDRIVER and THE DYLANS, and apparently they are taken from a compilation called Heaven & Hell Volume 3 - A Tribute To The Velvet Underground.

It comes in a plain white sleeve, and the only info can be found on a sticker:


I'm just guessing but i think it must be a pretty rare release.

Label: Imaginary Records
Cat.nr.: FREE 2 PROMO
Year of release: 1992

SIDE A:
01. SWERVEDRIVER - Jesus

SIDE B:
01. THE DYLANS - Who Loves The Sun

M83 - Before The Dawn Heals Us [12", 2LP]

M83 has released 5 albums by now (or 6 if you count Digital Shades Vol.1), but i still like BEFORE THE DAWN HEALS US the best. Not only does it contain the awesome singles Teenage Angst and Don't Save Us From The Flames, but tracks like Moon Child and Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun still give me goosebumps whenever i play them. In a postive way, of course ;)
All in all, this album is the reason why some people label this electronic band as shoegaze. Listen to it and you'll know why.

Label: Mute
Cat.nr.: 9281-2
Year of release: 2004

SIDE A:
01. Moon Child
02. Don't Save Us From The Flames
03. In The Cold I'm Standing
04. Farewell/Goodbye

SIDE B:
01. Fields, Shorelines And Hunters
02. *
03. I Guess I'm Floating
04. Teen Angst
05. Can't Stop

SIDE C:
01. Safe
02. Let Men Burn Stars
03. Car Chase Terror
04. Slight Night Shiver

SIDE D:
01. A Guitar And A Heart
02. Lower Your Eyelids To Die With The Sun

My Bloody Valentine - Glider [12", Unofficial]

A strange bootleg/counterfeit version of the GLIDER EP by MY BLOODY VALENTINE. Not only does it contain the four tracks of that EP, which are for the occasion not spread over two sides but are all four appearing on side A; but it also contains the four tracks of the Tremolo EP on side B.
The artwork though is purely taken from Glider - so on the back you'll clearly notice that this is not the original EP. However it doesn't mention the name "Tremolo", or the fact that it contains "bonus tracks" or so:



All in all, a pretty weird release. The sound is a bit thin as well, but hey; what'd you expect of a bootleg? A nice addition to my MBV collection of course. I believe i bought this one in the same shop in Stockholm as my Slowdive "Blue Day" counterfeit.

Label: Creation Records [fake]
Cat.nr.: CRE 073
Year of release: ? (original release of the EP was in 1990)

SIDE A:
01. Soon
02. Glider
03. Don't Ask Why
04. Off Your Face

SIDE B:
01. To Here Knows When
02. Swallow
03. Honey Power
04. Moon Song

Sugar - Copper Blue [12", LP]

Like mentioned some time ago, COPPER BLUE finally got a vinyl release last year. And Ryko did a really good job: gatefold, 180gr, glossy insert, and a download card. I simply love this album; definitely one of the best guitar rock albums of the early nineties. Never been a really big fan of Hüsker Dü but what Bob Mould did with SUGAR is awesome.

Label: Ryko
Cat.nr.: RCD11115
Year of release: 2011 (originally released on CD only, in 1992)

SIDE A:
01. The Act We Act
02. A Good Idea
03. Changes
04. Helpless
05. Hoover Dam

SIDE B:
01. The Slim
02. If I Can't Change Your Mind
03. Fortune Teller
04. Slick
05. Man On The Moon

Ringo Deathstarr - Colour Trip [12", LP]

COLOUR TRIP is RINGO DEATHSTARR's debut full length. A lovely album full of shoegaze, noise and dreampop. The first pressing was on clear yellow vinyl, but i am actually happy i have a copy of the second pressing because the bubblegum pink colour fits better with the artwork. Both pressings were done in 500 copies by the way.
Like the other releases i have of them, bought at their show with the Smashing Pumpkins in Amsterdam, 2011.

Label: Club AC30
Cat.nr.: AC308021
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Imagine Hearts
02. Do It Every Time
03. So High
04. Two Girls
05. Kaleidoscope
06. Day Dreamy

SIDE B:
01. Tambourine Girl
02. Chloe
03. Never Drive
04. You Don't Listen
05. Other Things

Mastodon - Leviathan [12", LP, Picture Disc]

Although being not a great fan of picture discs in general, MASTODON's LEVIATHAN (a beast of an album, regardless) has such great artwork that it's a pleasure to only look at this album.
Here are separate pics of the front and the back:




There were only 500 made of the picture disc version. It comes in a pvc sleeve with a fold-out poster:




Label: Relapse Records
Cat.nr.: RR6692
Year of release: 2004

SIDE A:
01. Blood & Thunder
02. Seabeast
03. Iron Tusk
04. Megalodon
05. Naked Burn
06. Aqua Dementia

SIDE B:
01. I Am Ahab
02. Island
03. Hearts Alive
04. Joseph Merrick

Mogwai - Mexican Grand Prix [7"]

I own 2 versions of this single by MOGWAI: a black one as pictured above, and a white one:


The black one is one of 1500 from the first press, and the white is one of 500 from the second press. A super catchy track of their Hardcore Will Never Die But You Will album, MEXICAN GRAND PRIX, and therefore a single that i still play regularly .


Label: Rock Action
Cat.nr.: rockact54
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Mexican Grand Prix

SIDE B:
01. Slight Domestic

Tame Impala - Innerspeaker [12", 2LP]

One of my favourite albums of the last couple of years, and a great live band as well. INNERSPEAKER still spins many rounds on my turntable every month. Here's hoping for a mew TAME IMPALA album soon; these guys really rock.

Label: Modular
Cat.nr.: MODVL128
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. It Is Not Meant To Be
02. Desire Be Desire Go
03. Alter Ego

SIDE B:
01. Lucidity
02. Why Won't You Make Up Your Mind?
03. Solitude Is Bliss

SIDE C:
01. Jeremy's Storm
02. Expectation
03. The Bold Arrow Of Time
04. Interlude

SIDE D:
01. Runway, Houses, City, Clouds
02. I Don't Really Mind

The Big Pink - A Brief History Of Love [12", 2LP, Limited Edition]

Their new album Future This just came out, but after a few listens i can say that i like their debut 10x better. A BRIEF HISTORY OF LOVE is darker, more intense, and to my opinion therefore much more exciting. This is a great package: a 180 gram double album with a nice embossed sleeve with the band name in golden letters:


But what makes this a limited edition, is that it includes a bonus 12". A one-sided, etched, black/pink 12" in a pvc sleeve, that features a remix of Velvet by Gang Gang Dance.




Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: CAD 2916
Year of release: 2009

SIDE A:
01. Crystal Visions
02. Too Young To Love

SIDE B:
01. Dominos
02. Love In Vain
03. At War With The Sun

SIDE C:
01. Velvet
02. Golden Pendulum
03. Frisk

SIDE D:
01. A Brief History Of Love
02. Tonight
03. Count Backwards From Ten


Bonus 12"
Cat.nr.: MIX 2916

SIDE A:
01. Velvet (Bdg Remix)

SIDE B:
etching

Various Artists - A Rekords Rekords Record [10", Picture Disc]

This 10" picture disc on Josh Homme's REKORDS REKORDS label was released on Record Store Day 2011. It has 4 songs on it, ranging from a QOTSA track from their recently reissued first album, to new tracks from Alain Johannnes (Desert Sessions) and Mini Mansions (Mikey Shuman played on QOTSA's latest; Era Vulgaris). Plus a Desert Sessions track.



SIDE A:
01. ALAIN JOHANNES - Endless Eyes
02. DESERT SESSIONS 7&8: Nenada

SIDE B:
01. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE: Regular John
02. MINI MANSIONS: The Room Outside

M83 - Hurry Up, We're Dreaming [12", 2LP]

HURRY UP, WE'RE DREAMING by M83 was one of my favourite albums of last year; if not: the favourite. I've seen them live last year as well, and it definitely was the best show of the 3 times i've seen them now. The only slightly negative thing i could think of about this album, is that Morgan Kibby's voice is not as present as it is on their previous album Saturdays=Youth. But for the rest it's as amazing as their other albums. Melancholic and glorious. And a prestiguous double-album as well; awesome. I♥M83.

Label: Naïve
Cat.nr.: NV824361
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Intro
02. Midnight City
03. Reunion
04. Where The Boats Go
05. Wait

SIDE B:
01. Raconte-Moi Une Histoire
02. Train To Pluton
03. Claudia Lewis
04. This Bright Flash
05. When Will You Come Home?
06. Soon, My Friend

SIDE C:
01. My Tears Are Becoming A Sea
02. New Map
03. OK Pal
04. Another Wave From You
05. Splendor

SIDE D:
01. Year One, One UFO
02. Fountains
03. Steve McQueen
04. Echoes Of Mine
05. Klaus I Love You
06. Outro

Team Ghost - Celebrate What You Can't See [7"]

Released in the same year as TEAM GHOST's debut EP, this 7" is another great release by this band. Majestic, almost cinematic songs of which Signs & Wonders is my favourite. If the rumours are true, they will release their full length album this year on the French Disque Primeur label. I'm definitely keeping an eye out for that.

Label: Sonic Cathedral
Cat.nr.: SCR 024
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. High Hopes
02. Celebrate What You Can't See

SIDE B:
01. It's Been A Long Way, But We're Free
02. Signs & Wonders

My Bloody Valentine - Loveless [12", LP]

Here it is; the album of the nineties. Unfortunately i only have a reissue on Plain Recordings, and the sound quality of their vinyls leaves a bit to be desired. But still it's better than nothing. I wonder how the original pressing of 1991 on Creation sounds. Anyway, LOVELESS is my favourite MY BLOODY VALENTINE release. A true genre-defining classic. And although disputed by both Alan McGee and Kevin Shields, rumoured to have cost around £250,000 in the making.


Label: Plain Recordings
Cat.nr.: Plain105
Year of release: 2003

SIDE A:
01. Only Shallow
02. Loomer
03. Touched
04. To Here Knows When
05. When You Sleep
06. I Only Said

SIDE B:
01. Come In Alone
02. Sometimes
03. Blown A Wish
04. What You Want
05. Soon

School Of Seven Bells - Silent Grips [7"]

This single by SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS was released in the same year as their Alpinisms album, but SILENT GRIPS is not featured on that album. Neither is the B-side, which is a Wire cover. A limited release of 2000 copies on green vinyl.

Label: Suicide Squeeze
Cat.nr.: S073
Year of release: 2008

SIDE A:
01. Silent Grips

SIDE B:
01. Used To

Gary Numan + Tubeway Army - Are 'Friends' Electric? [7", Picture Disc]

A 2008 reissue of his 1979 single; this time with Down In The Park as B-side. Both classic tunes of course.

Label: Beggar's Banquet
Cat.nr.: GNS 2008
Year of release: 2008

SIDE A:
01. Are 'Friends' Electric?

SIDE B:
01. Down In The Park

Lush - Hypocrite [12"]

The later period of LUSH is not really my favourite one, although the Split album (where this single is taken from) still has some pretty fine songs. HYPOCRITE, which is most likely their best known song, is an up-tempo punky tune, quite unlike their earlier work. The other song on the A-side, Love At First Sight, is more my kind of Lush. The B-side has another up-tempo song and a danceable remix of the song Undertow (from that same Split album). All in all a welcome addition to my Lush collection, but not my most cherished one.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: BAD 4008
Year of release: 1994

SIDE A:
01. Hypocrite
02. Love At First Sight

SIDE B:
01. Cat's Chorus
02. Undertow (Spooky Remix)

Youth Of Today - Disengage [7"]

Nothing much to say about this 7" by YOUTH OF TODAY really. If you're only a tiny bit into hardcore punk music, DISENGAGE is just a classic that can't be missed in your collection.

Label: Revelation Records
Cat.nr.: Rev:17
Year of release: 1990

SIDE A:
01. Disengage

SIDE B:
01. Envy
02. Modern Love Story

Coalesce - Salt And Passage [7"]

Although i like COALESCE a lot, i noticed this is actually the only vinyl release of them that i have. A nice one, nevertheless.
As can be read here, there have been 2 pressings of SALT AND PASSAGE in various colours. Mine is translucent red/black, so apparently second press of 226.

Label: Second Nature Recordings
Cat.nr.: SN069
Year of release: 2007

SIDE A:
01. Son Of Son Of Man

SIDE B:
01. I Am This

Callisto - Jemina / Klimenko [12"]

CALLISTO is a band from Turku, Finland, and this was their first ever release on vinyl. Only 300 copies were made of this single-sided 12". I like this band a lot; not just the music they make but also the people themselves are a great bunch of guys.

Label: Kireru Records
Cat.nr.: Kirec01
Year of release: 2004

SIDE A:
01. Jemina
02. Klimenko
03. Dawning End (Are2 Mix)

SIDE B:
-

Ride - Nowhere [12", LP]

NOWHERE is of course the ultimate RIDE album. Whatever they did after this might have been good (Going Blank Again is also one of my favourite albums), but it never got better than this classic debut full length.
I've been looking for this album on vinyl for a long time, but finally -in December 2010- Rhino in the US decided to re-release it for the first time since its original release on Creation Records in 1990. And they did a great job. Excellent 180 gram quality vinyl, a coloured cardboard inner sleeve, and an embossed band logo front cover:



Great stuff!

Label: Rhino
Cat.nr.: R1 525987
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. Seagull
02. Kaleidoscope
03. In A Different Place
04. Polar Bear

SIDE B:
01. Dreams Burn Down
02. Decay
03. Paralysed
04. Vapour Trail

Tame Impala - Sundown Syndrome [7"]

Not that SUNDOWN SYNDROME on the A-side is a bad song -quite the contrary- or that a single necessarily needs to have a full color sleeve instead of a generic label sleeve, but: the only reason for me to buy this 7" is because of the fantastic B-side. TAME IMPALA makes their version of The Blue Boy's hit REMEMBER ME completely their own. I played it once and somebody came up to my DJ booth and asked me if "this was the original version?", thinking it was some kind of sixties song.
This 7" is the only place where you can find this awesome cover version.

Label: Modular
Cat.nr.: MODVL115
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. Sundown Syndrome

SIDE B:
01. Remember Me

Inside Out - No Spiritual Surrender [7']

INSIDE OUT was a hardcore band that only released this 7" (later put to CD with 2 bonus tracks) and shortly after broke up. Their singer Zack de la Rocha went on to form a new band, called after one of the last songs they wrote (but never recorded in the studio): Rage Against The Machine.
NO SPIRITUAL SURRENDER is one of my favourite hardcore songs of the nineties, and this 7" has become a true classic.

Label: Revelation Records
Cat.nr.: Rev:19
Year of release: 1990

SIDE A:
01. Burning Fight
02. Undertone

SIDE B:
01. By A Thread
02. No Spiritual Surrender

School Of Seven Bells - Half Asleep [7"]

First time i heard about SCHOOL OF SEVEN BELLS was when i saw them at ATP festival in the UK in 2009. When i got back home i started looking for their releases on vinyl, and this HALF ASLEEP single is one of the first ones i bought. Definitely one of my favourite tracks of their Alpinisms album.


Label: Ghostly International
Cat.nr.: GI-80
Year of release: 2008

SIDE A:
01. Half Asleep

SIDE B:
01. Caldo

Adorable - Sistine Chapel Ceiling [12", Promo]

Another single that was lifted off ADORABLE's Against Perfection album. Only SISTINE CHAPEL CEILING comes from the album; the other 3 songs can only be found on this EP.
Just like the Favourite Fallen Idol promo 12", i came across this one at Stockholm's Nostalgipalatset.

Label: Creation Records
Cat.nr.: CRE 153TP
Year of release: 1993

SIDE A:
01. Sistine Chapel Ceiling
02. Everything's Fine

SIDE B:
01. Seasick Martyr
02. Obsessively Yours

Lush - Scar [12", EP]

The SCAR EP is one of the first LUSH releases I bought; however only on CD at the time. This 12” I bought a few years ago in a second-hand store; I believe in Denmark but I’m not sure. Unlike other early EP's, this one was not included on their Gala compilation album.

Label: 4AD
Cat.nr.: JAD 911
Year of release: 1989

SIDE A:
01. Baby Talk
02. Thoughtforms
03. Scarlet

SIDE B:
01. Bitter
02. Second Sight
03. Etheriel

Sleigh Bells - Tell 'Em [7"]

TELL 'EM is the only vinyl single that got released from SLEIGH BELLS' debut album Treats. Alexis' sweet vocals over bombastic and distorted beats, and venomous guitar riffs by Derek Miller - like how he used to play them in Poison The Well. B-side Holly, not featured on the album, is a killer track as well. Simple yet effective.

Label: Mom + Pop Music
Cat.nr.: 88697770527
Year of release: 2010

SIDE A:
01. Tell 'Em

SIDE B:
01. Holly

Curve - Frozen [12", EP]

A great 12" by CURVE. Toni Halliday was in those days without doubt one of the sexiest women in indie rock. Coast Is Clear, which just like the rest of this EP was not featured on their debut album Doppelgänger, is still one of my favourite Curve songs.

Label: Anxious Records
Cat.nr.: ANX T 30
Year of release: 1991

SIDE A:
01. Coast Is Clear
02. The Colour Hurts

SIDE B:
01. Frozen
02. Zoo

Slowdive - Souvlaki [12", LP, Unofficial]

This album i've been looking for on vinyl for quite a while. Not so much specifically this bootleg version, but the SOUVLAKI album at itself. So when i found this one in an online webstore in the States i just had to buy it. That was a few months before Music On Vinyl would release their (official) reissue.

It's pretty obvious that this is a bootleg release. First of all, it has more tracks than the original release has: 15 tracks in total, spread over 4 sides (instead of 10 spread over 2 sides):

The bonus tracks are sourced from B-sides from singles.

Also the insert is rather ugly compared to the one in the Music On Vinyl edition. I have no idea if the original on Creation had an insert by the way, but i assume Music On Vinyl copied their version straight from the original.


But the stupidest thing is that they reproduced the correspondence address for SLOWDIVE while that band does not exist anymore for many years:


Also, just like the Blue Day bootleg, this version has Japanese text written on the back. Probably to make it look extra interesting.

Ah well, it's a funny release to have, to spice up the collection a bit. But the sound quality is way inferior to the Music On Vinyl release.


Label: Creation Records [fake]
Cat.nr.: CRELP 139PRDJ
Year of release: 2009

SIDE A:
01. Alison
02. Machine Gun
03. 40 Days
04. Sing

SIDE B:
01. Here She Comes
02. Souvlaki Space Station
03. When The Sun Hits
04. Altogether

SIDE C:
01. Melon Yellow
02. Dagger
03. Some Velvet Morning
04. Country Rain

SIDE D:
01. So Tired
02. Moussaka Chaos
03. Good Day Sunshine

Slowdive - Souvlaki [12", LP]

Shortly after Just For A Day, Music On Vinyl reissued SLOWDIVE's SOUVLAKI album as well in 2011. And just like the originals of its predecessor, the original Creation releases of this album go for a lot of money.
Probably because of that, a while before before the Music On Vinyl edition was released in Europe, an inferior quality bootleg was released in the USA. That version might have a few bonus tracks, but this straight copy from the original album is of superb audiophile quality. Very happy that Music On Vinyl released this album.

This is how the insert looks like:



Label: Music On Vinyl
Cat.nr.: MOVLP 202
Year of release: 2011

SIDE A:
01. Alison
02. Machine Gun
03. 40 Days
04. Sing
05. Here She Comes

SIDE B:
01. Souvlaki Space Station
02. When The Sun Hits
03. Altogether
04. Melon Yellow
05. Dagger