Saul Williams - The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust!

The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust was the first time I paid for digital music. It was released as a sort-of experiment of pay-what-you-like - similar to how Radiohead released In Rainbows. I think there were two options: free or $5. I'd been a fan of Saul Williams for a few years at this point so felt it was important to support him. I was also incredibly excited at the collaboration with Trent Reznor. 

At this point, Radiohead still hadn't released a physical version of In Rainbows and Saul Williams wasn't planning any physical either. It was quite an exciting but strange time; would musicians really start moving away from physical media? Would these albums really never be pressed into vinyl? My own guesses to those questions formed my paying-decisions - Radiohead I downloaded for free, figuring they'd probably release a cd/record fairly soon (they did, and I bought a copy) but I was less sure about Saul Williams. A year later I found this double 12" in Spillers and was proved wrong. $5 is less than a pint, so I don't feel cheated. If I met Saul Williams, I'd definitely buy him a pint, so it's fine.

I suspect there's quite a few people for whom the same is true, but it was Trent Reznor that introduced me to Saul Williams. In July 2005 I went to see Nine Inch Nails in Brixton with Saul Williams supporting. Slightly off-topic, but it was the first I'd ever seen NIN and I was very excited. I'd just come back from Roskilde and there were only 3 days between returning from Denmark and moving to Australia for a year, but I decided to spend one of the few nights I had remaining seeing NIN. They'd played a very sold-out show a few months ago but other than that, these shows were the first NIN concerts in the UK in many years. I had tickets to the night before too, but our flights from Roskilde meant we couldn't go that night. Anyway, Trent had picked Saul Williams as the support act and, judging by the crowd, most of the people weren't that fussed. Hugh and I (and a handful of people down the front) were hugely impressed by Saul's show that night; the mix of hip hop and industrial music was really exciting and he had some mind-blowing raps. One of the things I've enjoyed most about Saul every time I've seen him since has been the intense spoken word/rap/poem moments. It always takes my breath away.

So from that day on, I was a Saul Williams fan and picked up his two albums that were out at the time. Niggy Tardust was then quite a different record to both of those. Maybe it's because my background isn't so heavily based in hip-hop, but the title of Producer on a hip-hop record means a lot more than it does in other genres. In this case, Trent is credited with writing the music on most of the songs. In a lot of cases these could basically be NIN songs with Saul rapping (and, in the case of Skin of a Drum, it apparently is). Trent Reznor has a very particular sound - when watching The Social Network I kept thinking that someone was playing NIN in the other room (less so with Gone Girl). That sound is very evident here, but that's both the albums charm and its problem.

There are some incredible songs across the 15 that make up the main album - Black History Month is a huge opener, Tr(n)igger and Niggy Tardust are two of the most notable songs on the album. There are some slower moments that lose the pace a bit too, like Raw and No One Ever Does. Generally, Saul does a lot more singing on this record than previously, which I think might be a product of Trent's involvement. In itself, that's not an issue, but I do really like the raps on the other albums, which is probably why in the years since the first two albums have had a lot more play than this one. Sometimes the collaboration does come together in great ways, like WTF!, Skin of a Drum and Raised to Be Lowered. Interestingly, Scared Money, the only song that Trent isn't credited on, has both one of the best raps and is the only song that feels it would fit on any other Saul Williams album. 

Of course, no piece of writing about The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust would be complete without mentioning the cover of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday (which has the fairly-prime position of track 4). It's just strange. I get the idea behind the song itself, but I still see it as an odd choice. There's also the fact that it's unusual to put a cover at the start of an album at the best of times, let alone when it's an album that, either by association or release method, is going to see your music reach far bigger audiences than ever before. It's a little jarring on the first few listens, mostly because it's such a well-known song, but it doesn't really hurt the flow of the album; there are quite a few ups and downs so the notion of flow doesn't really apply here.

Anyway, less than a year after the album came out, I stumbled across this copy in Spillers.I was excited to finally have a physical copy of the album - owning mp3s on their own really does nothing for me. As a nice gesture, the fourth side has some bonus tracks, mostly from the same sessions, and a version of List of Demands. Gunshots By Computer is the highlight, but it's mostly just nice that they added something extra - feels like a treat for everyone who paid to download the album. Looking at Discogs, it seems that there weren't too many of these pressed and they sell for a lot more than I paid for it, which is always nice.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 20
Cost: £16.50 new
Bought: Spillers Records
When: 22/07/08
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

The Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

Siamese Dream is a huge album. I think everyone knows that, but sometimes it's worth restating these important facts. Each Pumpkins album hit up a slightly different niche, but Siamese Dream is the one that everyone agrees is one of the most important albums of the 90's. I've always had a strange relationship with it, because I came to the Pumpkins as a Mellon Collie fan and I couldn't understand how people could consider Siamese Dream better - how could they possibly not love the epic that was Mellon Collie? But, in a lot of ways, Mellon Collie was an album you had to love as a teenager to really love, but Siamese Dream was for everyone. That's how I've always seen it anyway.

Very nearly half of my life has passed since I first heard Mellon Collie and Siamese Dream. I still love them both, but they've changed over the years; MCIS remains one of my all-time favourite albums, but Siamese Dream is the one I play more often. Maybe it's because it's shorter, or perhaps it's more instant - can you think of an album with a stronger opening three songs than Cherub Rock, Quiet and Today? Those first two alone are quite something then Today appears. Genius. And it just stays strong - Hummer, Rocket, Disarm, Soma and that's just the first record.

I can't really remember the first time I listened to Siamese Dream (I remember the first time I listened to MCIS vividly). I do remember getting less out of it on those first few listens. I knew the singles and a lot of the rest wasn't quite what I hoped. I was 16 and wanted excess and drama like on Mellon Collie. Of course, I wouldn't change a moment on it; it's the Pumpkins album no one can judge you for liking in your thirties.

I found this copy in FM Music in Southampton, a small independent record shop in a fairly shitty shopping centre at the far end of town. It was a year and a half since I'd bought the cd and knew it would be a great album to have on vinyl. The fact it was on double orange, slightly marbled vinyl only drew me in further. At the time, £14 was a lot for an album, but I was a huge Pumpkins fan and knew I'd always feel pleased to have it in the collection, which I do.

I've probably not listened to the vinyl itself very many times. I've played the cd to death (and since bought the reissue boxset) so I rarely needed to. It does sound nice and it's kinda strange having the three natural breaks that you don't get on cd. It's quite nice sometimes to take that pause and reflect on how brilliant the three or four songs you just heard were for a moment.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 13
Cost: £14 new
Bought: FM Music, Southampton
When: 03/05/03
Colour: Orange
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Cursive - The Ugly Organ

The Ugly Organ is one of my all-time favourite albums. I've written before about how I got into the band (see here) and that Domestica is also one of my all-time favourite albums (see here) so I'll save repeating those stories. When I saw Cursive, in the summer of 2006, they were touring with a cello player who would come out for the songs from The Ugly Organ. I've always been a sucker for classical instruments in rock music, so I think that definitely added to the appeal of this album for me. I'd read about the band and figured I'd definitely enjoy The Ugly Organ, so asked for it as a Christmas present that year (which I received, along with Yank Crime by Drive Like Jehu and A Flight and A Crash by Hot Water Music - quite the strong year).

The Ugly Organ didn't disappoint. The slightly harsher sound of Domestica was largely made a bit friendlier by the cello and song structures, but The Ugly Organ still had balls; the opening (proper) pair Some Red Handed Slight of Hand and Art is Hard explode and are both over in minutes. The Recluse follows hot on their heels and still hits pretty hard too. The self-referencing, anger and bitterness from Domestica and Burst and Bloom were all still there too. Until I heard it on the album, I didn't realise that I'd actually heard A Gentleman Caller before, on a mix-tape given to me by Hugh. Somehow, out of the context of the album, I wasn't that impressed and entirely forgot that I'd heard Cursive years before. Listening to it now, with it's outro that matches that of Staying Alive, I can't see how it passed me by. I wish it hadn't.

The Ugly Organ is beautiful record, one of those albums where each song stands out on it's own merits and is instantly recognisable. It finishes as strongly as it starts, with Sierra (a song that regularly find in my head) and Staying Alive, a long song that doesn't want to end and a fitting end to an album that can't wait to start. I love this album.

This copy is the remastered Deluxe Edition. My main gripe here is that it's been remastered and basically sounds terrible. So bad that when I first started playing it I thought my needle had broken. Then I downloaded the mp3s and they sound just as bad. It's not always noticeable, but when it is it really takes away from my enjoyment. The dodgy sound definitely reaches a peak during the outro of Staying Alive. I'm not a musical person, so my description of how it sounds off isn't very technical: it sounds woolly - like the needle has picked up a huge amount of crap from the grooves on the record (which it hasn't - I check every time); everything sounds dulled - the drums are fuzzy and strange; the cello and tune and "do do do do do do's"come through ok, but the flat, horrible sounding drums over the top really ruin it. It's like listening to music in a storm. The original album has such a clear, strong sound, I can't understand why anyone would intentionally make the album sound like this.

But other than that (although, let's not miss the point - the music is the main part of an album), they've done a great job on this reissue. Firstly, there's a bonus 12" of 8 extra songs from the era (which are all pretty great in their own ways, especially Excerpts... and Nonsense). The artwork has been redone (although I do prefer the original) and there's a 16-page book of photos, lyrics and tour dates included. If it wasn't for the dubious audio on the album itself, I'd have to give it full marks. However, I feel there's still basically an Ugly Organ shaped hole in my collection because I can't listen to this and enjoy it fully. I know copies of the original version are fairly easy to come across, so I will try to pick one up at some point. If you're not familiar with the album, seek out the original.

Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, 16-page booklet
Tracks: 20
Cost: Free, new
Bought: Gift
When: 16/01/15
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Manic Street Preachers - Tsunami

Remixes. I still believe that indie music doesn't lend itself to being remixed as well as people like to think it does. The Manics were pretty keen on remixes throughout their career, but especially so at their peak in the late 90's. The bonus disc of their first Greatest Hits album was entirely remixes, mostly from the last two albums. They were good at getting some pretty big names, but rarely did I feel they added much. But maybe I'm not the target audience.

This 12" contains two remixes of Tsunami, one by Cornelius and the other by Stereolab (with a bonus instrumental version of the Cornelius remix). I think it originally came with a sticker over the top of the sleeve, sealing the record in, although my copy neither has one, nor any signs that it ever was there. I picked the 12" up on eBay during a period when I was pretty addicted to eBay. I already had the songs on the cd single and the Greatest Hits album, but it was another record for the collection and a reasonable price. I probably listened to it a few times back then, filed it away and neglected it until today. They're fine remixes, but the original was never one of my favourite songs and I can't say either version offers much more for me.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 3
Cost: £7 second hand
Bought: eBay
When: 13/02/03
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Manic Street Preachers - Australia

We've all been conned once or twice. I'm glad that this one only cost me £35 and not my house. This record is a one-sided white-label promo of the Lion Rock remix of Australia. The sheet included with the record states that it was sent out to only 20 DJs, which is certainly a small number. A number small enough to make you think "wow, that would be a great one to add to the collection", which I did, and was why I was willing to spend £35 on a record of a song I knew I wouldn't actually like that much (not a big fan of remixes of rock songs). Still, what a great one to add to the collection, eh?

Of course, a quick search of Discogs shows a further six copies in their marketplace, which would represent (along with mine) over a third of all the copies ever made. The scepticism should be building. Mine has the title handwritten on the label which is different to the one pictured there. Either way, it's probably not one of only 20 and I probably paid well over the odds. I don't mind that I own a copy, but I do wish I hadn't paid so much; £35 would go a long way back then. As for the song, not as good as the original.

Format: 12", white label, promo insert
Tracks: 1
Cost: £35 second hand
Bought: eBay
When: 07/12/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Manic Street Preachers - Repeat / Love's Sweet Exile

The 90's were quite a time. This single was a double-A-side (something unheard of these days) released on cd, 7" and two different 12"s. Sadly, this is the less exciting of the 12" versions - without the gatefold sleeve and live version of Stay Beautiful. But it's nice nonetheless. The two A-sides are both songs everyone is familiar with and the third song, Democracy Coma is one of the more readily-found B-sides, being on Lipstick Traces and Stars and Stripes, the (Japanese version of the) US version of Generation Terrorists. A nice song.

I found this for a very reasonable £4 at a record fair in Southampton 15 years ago. It's not in the best shape, but it had already been knocking around for 10 years at that point.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 3
Cost: £4 second hand
Bought: Record Fair, Southampton
When: 01/06/01
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Manic Street Preachers - New Art Riot E.P.

I'd never heard of the New Art Riot E.P. before I saw a copy of the cd in the HMV in Bournemouth in 1999. I'd just started getting into the Manics and only had their newest album at the time, This Is My Truth, and their first, Generation Terrorists. It was £5, which was quite a lot for four songs especially since I had only just started working and really needed to be spending any money I did have on Christmas presents for my family. I distinctly remember my friend Chris laughing at me for spending so much on a "single".

Of course the joke got worse when I got home and played the cd. New Art Riot is not the Manics at their finest. It's only when you appreciate the EP in the broader context of the history of the Manics that you get the most out of it. This was them at their scrappy beginnings, before they got picked up and convinced they could write good songs. There's not a huge amount of time that passed between this EP and songs like Motown Junk and Motorcycle Emptiness, but the change is pretty extraordinary. After a while, you can start to see the potential hidden behind the terrible production, slightly ridiculous lyrics and dubious vocals (from a man who often has an incredible voice). The songs aren't bad - each has it's merits in some way - but they're not as easily enjoyed as the songs they'd go on to write.

When I bought that cd I was very confused, and 16 years later, I'm not much wiser; why was a copy knocking around in the Bournemouth HMV nine years after it had been released? Surely it hadn't been sat there for nine years. I think the answer is that the label has just never really stopped printing copies of it; why would you if you had music by one of the bands that went on to be one of the biggest bands of the 90's? From what I can tell, it's basically impossible to determine whether a copy is an original 1990 copy or a subsequent repress from the many years that followed. It's quite nice in a way - much like the quote about cans of Coke on the back of the sleeve: "all Cokes are the same and all Cokes are good".

Anyway, a year and a half later I found this very (suspiciously) mint 12" copy at a record fair in Southampton. My Manics collection was in full swing my that point so it obviously had to be bought. I certainly don't play it often, but it's nice to be reminded of the bands early days every now and again.

Format: 12"
Tracks: 4
Cost: £5.50 second hand
Bought: Record fair, Southampton
When: 29/07/01
Colour: Black
Etching: Side B: "Motown wot!"
mp3s: no

The Desert Sessions - Vol III. Set Coordinates for the White Dwarf!!! / Vol IV. Hard Walls and Little Trips

When I first read about The Desert Sessions, one of things I got most excited about (beyond the ridiculous list of musicians) was the artwork for Vol. 3. I still love it. When I bought Vol. 1 & 2, I nearly bought 3 & 4 first just because of that artwork (but I also wanted to hear them in order). Even though it is slightly stretched over 12" rather than 10", it still looks incredible. If this were a legit copy I'd definitely have it in a frame.

Musically, this record did a lot more for me than Vol. 1 & 2. The first two records were stoned jams, but here they recorded actual songs. It's so easy to hear Queens of the Stone Age in these songs, not least because Avon and the great Monster in the Parasol made it onto the first two Queens records. Nova is a great song too. Some of the songs on Vol. 4 were already beginning to tend on the slightly stupid side.

The cover of Vol. 4 has a pen smudge on the top that was there when I bought it, which has always bothered me. Luckily, no one is ever really looking at that side of the record.

Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 9
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Spillers Records
When: 04/11/08
Colour: Orange
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Radiohead - I Might Be Wrong - Live Recordings

I was pretty late to the party when it came to Radiohead. Towards the end of the 90's everyone at school was reaching an age where they were getting into music and a lot of people were getting very obsessed by Radiohead. I don't remember having very strong opinions on them either way for quite a long while - I knew and enjoyed Karma Police and a few other songs from OK Computer. People started going crazy when Kid A came out and it took me nearly a year to actually listen to it.

The turning point for me was a well-timed concert. It was the summer after GCSEs and I was on holiday with my family visiting my uncle who was living in Boston at the time. He was going to see Radiohead whilst we were there and asked if my sister and I would be interested in going. We'd both started going to gigs and were really excited to see a show in the US. Radiohead were playing outside at a horseracing stadium/track. It was probably the biggest concert I'd been to at that point (excluding Reading Festival), or it at least felt that way. I remember being blown away by the new songs from Kid A; there was something mesmerising in how loud and intense it all was. Songs like The National Anthem and Idioteque are just mean to be played loudly.

After that trip I bought a copy of Kid A, then this live album, then filled out the rest of the back-catalogue. I was very excited to hear these live versions in the hope they'd remind me of that time first time I saw, which they do. I've seen Radiohead countless times since and they always impress me, even though I'm not such a huge fan of all of their records. This record always takes me back to that first time. I'm sure I would have got into Radiohead eventually, but I love that it was a chance-concert that converted me.

Format: 12", gatefold sleeve, picture sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Tower Records, Southampton
When: 07/06/02
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Pitch Shifter - Industrial

My introduction to Pitchshifter came in the form of Everything's Fucked from their 2000 album, Deviant; listening to Industrial you'd never know it was the same band.

It's now been 14 years since I first heard this album and, up until a few weeks ago, many years since I'd last listened to it. When I bought a copy on cd - the very same day that I bought Deviant - I had no idea what was going on. Whilst I'm not surprised that 16-year-old me didn't get it, I am surprised that 31-year-old has been enjoying it so much lately. With my hindsight-hat firmly on, I have a lot of respect for early 90's Pitch Shifter.

I can't quite seem to find the words for why I'm feeling that way about, but mostly I love how this album fully embraces bleak, angry, brutal industrial music in every way: the title - just one word that sums it all up - is brilliantly simple; the sleeve says in giant letters "VASECT SEETHE DESPISE"; the lyrics to the first song are just "Hate / I hate / You motherfucker / Drown / Bleed / I wish you would"; the black-and-white picture of the band hanging out by a freight train (of course). This record paints a pretty bleak image of the midlands in 1990. I think what it is is that there's no pretentiousness to be had anywhere. That's what I can see in this album now that I couldn't before.

This particular copy I found on eBay in 2004 for the bargain price of £2.85 (including shipping!). I never really intended to have a complete collection of Pitchshifter records but I thought it'd be a good one to buy. I'm glad I did pick it up back then. As I mentioned before, this record hasn't had a huge amount of play by me and spent many years quite unloved. I do love rediscovering albums though and I'm pleased that I'm finally able to get so much out of Industrial.

Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 8
Cost: £2.85 second-hand
Bought: eBay
When: 11/05/04
Colour: Black
Etching: Side A: "Deity embodiment" Side B: "With more clout"
mp3s: no

The Desert Sessions - Vol I. Instrumental Driving Music for Felons / Vol II. Status: Ships Commander Butchered

On a Tuesday in 2008, just over 7 years ago, I nearly crapped myself with excitement whilst in Spillers Records. I was flicking through the racks, as I did every Tuesday that year, and found copies of the first six Desert Sessions. I'd read about them before and Vol. 7 & 8 and Vol. 9 & 10 had been released on cd gathering a lot of attention (and had been on frequent rotation in my friends' cars). I knew the first six were originally all on 10" but I'd read somewhere about them being paired up on 12". Either way I was excited. I'd long been a Kyuss fan (but never that big on QOTSA) and was mostly just really keen to hear the music on there. A part of it was definitely the idea of hearing music that was considered quite rare.

I should have, of course, been suspicious. Why would Spillers, a shop that only stocks new music, be selling copies of long out-of-print Desert Sessions? Many years later, a few quick internet searches proved that these copies are from a series of bootleg reissues from around that time. A better question might be why were Spillers selling bootleg reissues? I even asked the girl in the shop if she knew much about the pressing, but she didn't. I assumed I'd stumbled across some unearthed old stock and excitedly bought Vol. 1 & 2. A week later I bought the remaining two 12"s, despite the idea of the year being one record a week. I skipped the following week knowing I'd basically stuck to my rules. It's worth noting that at £13 a pop, I don't feel too ripped off.

What about the music? Well, of Vol. 1 & 2 I was mildly underwhelmed initially. Now I can listen to it as what it is - some stoner jams from some excellent musicians, but at the time I was expecting more. Maybe it's because I was hoping for Kyuss but instead got Queens (quite literally on later records). As the title suggests, the music here is mostly instrumental (except for Cake (Who Shit on The?)). There are some pretty good moments and I wish a lot of them lasted longer; any of the proper songs on Vol. 1 could have been twice as long. The only exception is Screamin' Eagle, which goes on for too long (there's no pleasing some people).

Expect posts about the other two 12"s to follow sometime soon.

Format: 12", a4 insert
Tracks: 7
Cost: £13 new
Bought: Spillers Records
When: 28/10/08
Colour: Purple
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Magnolia Electric Co. - Trials & Errors

A few months ago I wrote about Magnolia Electric Co. on here for the first time. Any regular readers will have to start getting used to hearing about Jason Molina as my collection of his music only keeps on growing. It saddens me that soon there'll be no more to hear, but in the meantime I keep discovering more and more beautiful music.

Trials & Errors is a live album recorded in shortly after they formed (so to speak) in 2003 and captures the band in a way no other recording I've heard has. I was lucky enough to see Magnolia Electric Co. once and this albums leads me to believe that every show was as incredible as the one I saw. There's a furiosity to way they play the songs that reminds me why I first fell in love with them along with hints of their gentler moments which are why I keep finding more and more in their music. If someone were to ask me where to start with Jason Molina, I'd be tempted to say start here; sure there are other important albums, but this one I think will grab most potential listeners.

A few of the songs made it onto other records (or found their way here from other records) but there are so many great songs that didn't appear in any other form - 9-minuters like Such Pretty Eyes For a Snake and Almost Was Good Enough as well as my favourite on the album The Last Three Human Words. That they had such great songs that never made it onto a studio album terrifies me - what other incredible songs did they play live that no one will ever hear again?

I hadn't planned to buy this record when I did. After moving to Oxford I discovered that the guy who runs Truck Records is huge Jason Molina fan and I knew they'd be a great source of his albums. I'd bought a few from there before and saw this one on a day when I was buying a couple of other albums. I'd considered buying it but figured I was already spending enough money that day. I think he saw me studying it and really strongly recommended buying it when I got to the till. I was easily convinced - I mean, I knew it was going to be good, so the guy telling me it was awesome was enough to make me add it to the armful of records.

Needless to say, I'm very glad he did convince me. I'm sure I would have bought a copy eventually, but sooner if definitely better than later in the case of this album. It's just such pleasing music to fill my ears that I wish I'd heard it sooner. I really can't recommend this album enough.

Format: Double 12", insert
Tracks: 10
Cost: £17 new
Bought: Truck Store, Oxford
When: 11/04/10
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code

Thursday - Waiting

I first heard Waiting 12 years ago after getting the cd for Christmas. I'd bought a copy of Full Collapse from Hugh earlier that year and loved it; I think everyone would agree that Full Collapse is Thursday at their very finest. In comparison, Waiting was the messier younger sibling. I still remember being amazed at the difference - Geoff's vocals on the opener, Porcelain, warbled in this endearing way that somehow made me feel closer to the band. I guess Full Collapse was the polished, proper album, but Waiting made me realise that they had once been a scrappy local band (for some people) like the scrappy local punk bands we were starting to get into.

For me, Waiting had two truly great moments: Ian Curtis with its layered vocals and gradual build-up and Streaks in the Sky, which explodes onto the record full of angst after the gentle Intro (halfway through the record). In fact, for a long time, I considered Streaks in the Sky one of the finest examples of post-hardcore. It's a song I still love now. I have very fond memories of it coming up on shuffle during my first marathon and giving the extra boost I needed towards the end. Like a lot of songs, I wonder how it would stand up if I was hearing it for the first time now, rather than 12 years ago, but luckily I have nothing but fond memories of it.

However, a few months ago I began to wonder if I never actually listened to Waiting properly. I read an interview with Geoff about the record and he was talking about how Dying in New Brunswick was about the time his girlfriend got raped in a city she'd just moved to. I was amazed that for so many years I'd been listening to a song with an absolutely horrible back-story and I'd never once picked up on it (listening, but not hearing, it seems). Reading the lyrics now it seems so clear. I wonder how many other songs in my record collection have meanings I'm completely ignorant to (probably quite a lot). It was a strange feeling, but it's funny how something like that can change music you know so well.

I was pretty excited when Geoff's new label, Collect Records, announced they'd be reissuing Waiting on vinyl as I was pretty keen to add it to my collection. When it arrived in the post I was even more excited; they'd done such a lovely job with it - the pictures below don't quite do it justice. The small details, like the pouch for the 7" to live in, just show the level of attention that went into it. In a way, I kind of miss the old artwork that was on the cd; I quite liked the simplicity of it. However it's worth mentioning that the original issues of Full Collapse and Five Stories Falling had completely different artwork on vinyl too.

The 7" itself deserves a mention - the demos of This Side of Brightness and Dying in New Brunswick are fascinating. There's something missing from This Side of Brightness that I can't quite describe (a more musical person would have a better idea) and without it the song sounds naked. Maybe it's from 12 years of listening to it. On the final side is Mass as Shadows, an unreleased song from the era, making the reissue even more essential. It's a nice little song - slow and brooding but when it hits it certainly does the job - in fact it reminds me more of Slint than it does Thursday.

All in all, an excellent package of an album I've enjoyed for a long time. I definitely wish all vinyl reissues had the care and attention that this one had.

Format: 12", 7", picture sleeve, insert

Tracks: 12

Cost: £20 new

Bought: Banquet Records, Kingston

When: 04/04/15

Colour: Red

Etching: none

mp3s: Download code

Clint Mansell - Filth OST

I finally saw Filth for the first time last night. It wasn't a surprise that it was a pretty dark affair - Irvine Welsh doesn't tend to write light-hearted books and people rarely get Clint Mansell involved on the soundtrack unless the film is pretty messed up.

I bought the soundtrack about a year and a half ago having been a fan of Clint Mansell's soundtracks ever since watching Pi many years back. The fact that he was in Pop Will Eat Itself came as quite the surprise and never fails to amuse me - the same guy who wrote Can U Dig It? and BulletProof! also composed Lux Aeterna.

It was quite strange watching the film for the first time despite knowing the soundtrack so well. The most noticeable thing was that I knew something significant was going to happen long before it did because I knew the score was going to get more dramatic. It's not necessarily the best way to watch a film, but I don't think it took away from my enjoyment.

As a record, the soundtrack lived up to my expectations - I bought it knowing it'd make for an enjoyable, dramatic, instrumental album. I listen to a lot of instrumental music at work and it certainly works well in that setting; periodically grabs your attention but also encourages you. The main theme in particular, which reappears throughout with increased tension, is an excellent piece of music. Starting with Winter Wonderland is a great trick - lulling you into a false sense of security that what's about to come isn't going to be as unsettling as it is.

I bought the record a while after Record Store Day 2014, for which it had been released on vinyl. On RSD itself, my friend snapped up the only copy that Truck had but luckily Banquet still had a bunch of copies when I popped in afterwards. It's a pretty nice package (die-cut sleeves always impress me) and the blue vinyl is very thick. Mine has some unfortunate pops and crackling during a couple of songs, particularly on Smokey Bacon & A Kiss Goodnight where it actually makes the needle skip.

Format: 12", gatefold, die-cut sleeve

Tracks: 11

Cost: £16 new

Bought: Banquet Records

When: 24/05/14

Colour: Transparent blue

Etching: none

mp3s: no