Manic Street Preachers - Verses from The Holy Bible

A fairly recent addition to my Manics collection is one that I've been putting off for a long time. I'd read about this flexidisc that was included free with a copy of NME many years ago. A few years later I found a copy at one of the record stalls they used to have at Reading Festival. It was during the peak of my Manics collecting days, but I remember it being in terrible condition and being over-priced. On top of that, it was the Friday and the record would have to survive three more days in my tent; I didn't fancy its chances.

Over the years that followed, I saw many copies on eBay but they often looked like they were in terrible condition. I guess it also just seemed too easy - if I really wanted a copy it wouldn't take much effort. A while ago I was in Sister Ray Records in London and found this copy. It was the first time I'd seen it in real life since that time at Reading Festival many years before. I was buying a few other records, it was in reasonably good condition (despite being over 20 years old) and most of all, it was a mere £3.50. I'm glad I finally bought it.

Of course, musically, there's little of interest to say - the four songs are just short snippets of songs from The Holy Bible. It would have been very exciting to have been a Manics fan back in the day, getting this flexi-7" and hearing bits of these songs that would go on to me legendary. One curious thing is that each snippet starts with the quote that the full song starts with, but isn't necessarily the beginning of the song - sometimes it goes from the quote straight into the middle of the song.

The record itself is one of only two flexidiscs in my collection (so far), although I remember my parents having one. The quality is, as you'd imagine from such thin vinyl, terrible. The sleeve is also pretty flimsy - made of the thinnest paper rather than card. It's no wonder that so many are in such bad condition - it'd be quite the challenge to look after it. I think it was selotaped to the magazine cover as most copies I've ever seen show signs of the tape. It's there on mine too, but not too badly.

Format: 7" one-sided flexidisc
Tracks: 4
Cost: £3.50 second-hand
Bought: Sister Ray London
When: 11/03/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no

Among Brothers - I Am Certain / I Do Not Believe

Among Brothers were a band I got into because I was friends with one of the members. A few years before they became a band (I think) my friend Hugh became friends with Matt after arranging the local Oxjam festival with him. Matt ended up coming to an All Tomorrow's Parties with us and we've been friends since.

A while later, Among Brothers were playing their EP release show in Cardiff the night before Taint played their last ever show in Swansea. I was making the trip back to Wales for the Taint show, so it was a nice bonus that if I got there a night earlier I could see Among Brothers too. A further coincidental bit of timing was that the week beforehand a friend had arranged a trip to Centre Parks near Bath, so I had even more reason to be in that part of the country. As we drove away from Centre Parks (marginally hungover) the sky began turning very dark and somewhere between Newport and Cardiff it started dumping snow. I have never seen snow like that in the UK before. The motorway slowed down to about 20mph as I tried to follow the gaps in the snow the car in front of me had carved out, whilst my window-wipers swept the window clean as fast as they could. We arrived into Cardiff very slowly (as I quickly learnt that in icy weather brakes are your enemy – the only safe way to stop is to drive so slowly the car stops naturally; we very nearly hit a camper van, but at such a speed it would have been a tap on the bumper; we also skidded worryingly sideways at a traffic light). I parked as best I could outside Hugh's house, which was at nearly 45 degrees to the curb due to the snow mounds that had built up.

Nonetheless, we walked into town for the show, trying to keep to grassy sidings that weren't as slippery as the pavements had become. The Among Brothers show was great – they had balloons and tetrahedron flyers about the EP. The turnout was pretty good too, despite the weather. I have vague memories of lots of drinking afterwards in Dempseys, followed by a fairly hungover day before Taint. We got the train to Swansea quite early, mainly because the snow was promising all sorts of disruptions. Taint were great (as ever) and a debaucherous night followed in Swansea with a lot of acquaintances, dancing to Michael Jackson, eating kebabs and sleeping on Stubb's living room floor. The Sunday morning, we returned to Cardiff but I couldn't face the task of digging the car out of the snow and attempting to drive home, so I simply parked it slightly better and got the train back to London (I picked the car up about a month later in the end, since Christmas got in the way). It's worth noting that this whole trip was my first long distance trip since getting a car (having passed my test a few years earlier and barely driving in-between) so I was slightly scarred by the experience. In hindsight, it might have been unwise to go to Wales given the forecast of snow, but a) snow forecasts are rarely accurate in the UK and b) it was Taint's last show, so I had to.

All of that is a long aside, but often in my mind when I listen to Among Brothers. I saw the band a few times since, lastly on an early date with my wife. I've always had a lot of time for their music and I still listen to their EP a lot. I’ve listened to this 7" considerably less so, but mainly because I don't have the mp3s for it and I don't often sit down to listen to 7"s these days. I found it for £2.50 in Sister Ray in London about two years after it came out (I remember meaning to buy it when it came out, but then forgetting all about it). The sleeve is hand-numbered and mine is #499 (apparently out of 500, which is quite cool).

I Am Certain is a good song, but not as strong as the ones on the EP; it tries to fit a lot into five minutes, and I think suffers for it. I Do Not Believe, on the other hand, benefits from its relative simplicity and is my favourite of the two - the chorus, when it finally hits in the dying moments of the song, has a Sufjan Stevens feel to it, which works well.

Format: 7", numbered

Tracks: 2

Cost: £2.50 new

Bought: Sister Ray, London

When: 23/05/14

Colour: Black

Etching: none

mp3s: no

Oneida - Rated O

I'd never listened to Oneida before buying this album. Even when I was buying it, I was aware it was a strange and unnecessary purchase, yet I still wanted to buy it. Sometimes it's important to feel adventurous, even if all you're doing is buying an album by a band you've not heard (but heard of, of course).

I was in Sister Ray in London (which is far less exciting now they're in their much smaller location across the road) and found this second hand copy of Rated O. Except it was sealed, so kinda new, but had taken some serious wear over its years of not being played - each of the corners was a bit dented and the seal had taken some wear (also, two of the sides have labels saying "Side D", so it's perhaps faulty stock from the label). At £15 it wasn't exactly a bargain either. But I'd never actually seen a Oneida record in a shop before and that alone made me think it was worth picking up - I strongly suspected the opportunity wouldn't present itself again. The sticker on the sleeve helpfully told me that this was the second of three releases in the "Thank Your Parents" albums.

I think I was keen to hear what the band sounded like - I'd heard the name many times and was aware of the drummer Kid Millions collaborating with J Spaceman and Boredoms. That should have given me some warning about what to expect. I've come to quite enjoy Rated O and think there are some gems amongst its six sides on vinyl but, Christ, it was hard work at first - Brownout in Lagos is not easy listening. If you're thinking about listening to Oneida for the first time, don't start there. What's Up, Jackyl is much more my cup of tea and great, but then 10:30 at the Oasis drones on for nearly quarter of an hour and makes me wonder what I'm doing with my life. In a strange move, they use a locked groove at the end of Side A to make the song go on for as long as you can stand it; I often assume I've reached the start of the locked groove far earlier than I have. It took me a few listens to make any progress with Rated O, and it turned out the trick was not starting at the beginning. I know the band probably went to some effort curating the listening experience that I decided to ignore, but sometimes it's got to be done.

There are highlights (and some lows) spread throughout the rest of the album - The Human Factor is uneasy listening but great at the same time; it sounds a bit like a nightmare. Side C is pretty strong with The River, I Will Haunt You and The Life You Preferred (all "songs" in a normal sense of the word). It Was a Wall is another great song. Side E is a bit of a lull, but the lengthy Folk Wisdom that takes up all of Side F makes for a good end.

All in all, I'm not Oneida's new biggest fan, but I enjoy them, which was certainly not a guaranteed result when I bought this album. It could have easily gone far, far worse.

Format: Triple 12", gatefold sleeve
Tracks: 15
Cost: £15 second hand
Bought: Sister Ray
When: 04/03/16
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code