Suit Of Lights – s/t (Waking Up is Good b/w Goodbye Silk City) 7″

Suit Of Lights is a side project of many guys who had very succesful and popular full-time bands at the time this project got off the ground. Suit Of Lights features members of Thursday, Catch 22 and Streetlight Manifesto, and from reading that list of bands you might think Suit Of Lights is a ska band, but they’re not. Suits Of Lights was formed as an indie rock project, as in zero horns. Members/contirubutors to the project include Joe McDonald, John Underwood, Trevor Dunn, Steve Pedulla, Jamie Egan, Dino Covelli, James Kluz and Arun Venkatesh.

This 7″ is their only vinyl release even though they recorded two full length albums before calling it quits. This 7″ is also their debut release. There were only 100 of these 7″s pressed, all on white vinyl housed in a silk-screened jacket. The tracks are “Waking Up is Good” on the a-side and “Goodbye Silk City” on the b-side.

Circa Survive – Blue Sky Noise Deluxe Edition

The deluxe edition of Blue Sky Noise was released in mid January 2011 and was only sold through two outlets; the band’s webstore and Hot Topic. There are major differences between the regular pressing of Blue Sky Noise and the deluxe edition. The regular pressing was pressed as a single LP on colored vinyl while the deluxe edition was pressed as a double LP on 180 gram black vinyl. The regular pressing is housed in a standard jacket while the deluxe edition is housed in a gatefold jacket. The artwork between the two versions is also different, both however, were done by Esao Andrews, who has down the artwork for every Circa Survive release to date.

While the exact number of copies pressed has not been released yet, a source that works for Hot Topic has said it is close to 1,000 copies. It was advertised as a limited release and did sell out in the band’s webstore before the release date, and copies hit physical retail stores a few weeks later, but not every Hot Topic store nation wide. A big complaint about this release was the price point, which was $30.

Usually I can understand the complaints people make about releases, especially the ones revolving around price, but in this case everyone’s complaint about the high price were completely unfounded when you consider one important fact. The regular single LP pressing of Blue Sky Noise cost no less than $18 everywhere, unless there was a sale on it. The original, or suggested retail price of it was $17.99, which if memory serves me right very few if anyone complained about. The deluxe edition which came in better packaging, with a download code for two releases, the full length Blue Sky Noise album and the new Appendage EP and was a double LP, which factored out runs at most $15 per LP. So with that school of thought the deluxe edition was priced fairly with that big factor considered. Of course I would have liked it to be cheaper, but I was not one of the people complaining about the $30 price tag for this release.

Once the deluxe edition was released people still felt the need to complain, and tie it into the price tag. People complained about the quality of the gatefold jacket and the quality of the artwork that was printed on it. Basically saying it doesn’t match or live up to the price. I have no idea what those people think would be better, maybe if the artwork was printed on a solid gold jacket or if the jacket came with keys to a brand new Mercedes inside. Rest assured the jacket is of great, sturdy quality and the artwork is not blurry nor does it look cheaply done. Sure I have jackets that are better, but many, many more gatefold jackets that are cheaper and of worse quality than the jacket for the deluxe edition of Blue Sky Noise.

Wild Orchid Children – The Wild Orchid Children Are Alexander Supertramp

Another post Gatsbys American Dream breakup/hiatus band is Wild Orchid Children. Kirk Huffman and Kyle O’ Quinn have been busy, forming two different bands since Gatsbys took a break for a few years. On top of Wild Orchid Children, they also formed Kay Kay And His Weathered Underground.  Equal Vision Records signed the band and released their first album, The Wild Orchid Children Are Alexander Supertramp. It was pressed on three different colors, black limited to 100 copies, clear limited to 200 copies and green limited to 200 copies.

My Chemical Romance – Danger Days: True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys (1st Press)

My Chemical Romance’s latest album got the vinyl treatment a few months after its initial release. It was pressed on two colors; red/white/blue swirl limited to 500 copies and black limited to 2,500 copies. The red/white/blue swirl is actually purple, which any grade school child could tell you is the color made when mixing red, blue and a little bit of white. Why Reprise/Warner Bros. couldn’t just say purple swirl is beyond me, but there are hints of red, white and blue in the swirl. On top of those colors my copy also has hints of black, white and grey in the swirl.

The interesting/annoying part of this release, depending on how you look at it, is the price point. The colored copies were only sold through My Chemical Romance’s web store, and they cost $30, while the black copies cost $22 and are available everywhere.

After seeing the price the night before pre-orders went live I debated whether or not to actually buy a colored copy. After weighing the pros and cons I settled on buying a colored copy. The price difference is negligible, because in the end I would only save $5 tops after taxes if I bought a black copy somewhere. Plus I bought another record with my order of the colored copy so I saved on shipping. Plus I have a complete My Chemical Romance collection going in terms of the rarest variant and it’s pretty close to being actually complete in terms of releases anyway. In the end I think I made the right choice, as I could sell my colored copy on ebay right now for over $100.

My Chemical Romance – The Ghost Of You 7″

The third vinyl single released from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. I don’t know how many copies were pressed of the “The Ghost Of You” 7″, but all were done as a picture disc and come in a picture disc sleeve with a sticker on the front. This was another UK only release.

My Chemical Romance – Helena 7″

The first in a very long line of picture disc singles released by My Chemical Romance. Every single they have released since this one has been a picture disc, a streak that continues to this day, stretching more than seven years. I have no idea how many copies were pressed for this 7″. They all come in a picture disc sleeve with a sticker on the front. This was another UK only 7″ and the artwork for it is taken from the music video for the single.

My Chemical Romance – I’m Not Okay (I Promise) 7″

The first single off of Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge, and the song/single that exploded My Chemical Romance. It was pressed on red vinyl and I’m not sure how many copies were pressed. I’ve heard that it was a little as 1,500, but I have never seen official numbers posted anywhere.

My Chemical Romance – Famous Last Words 8″ Pts. 1 & 2

Yes, you read the title to this entry correctly, this set is technically made up of 8″ records. Because they are square picture discs, they record itself is 8″ high, but the actual playing surface is the same size/circumference of a typical 7″ record. One really cool thing about this set is that if you lay each side-by-side, the artwork matches up to make a complete face. The b-sides are identical on both parts (picture in the middle of the two solo faces), and one the first part the it’s the right half of the face and on the second part it’s the left side of the face.

I have no idea how many copies were pressed for this set, but it’s another UK only set.

My Chemical Romance – I Don’t Love You Pts. 1 & 2 7″

Another double picture disc set for a single of The Black Parade. Again, I have no idea how many copies were pressed, but they are another UK only 7″. The b-side is identical on both parts. Part one has a pair of hands meeting (1st picture) on the a-side and part two has a silhouette of a couple on the a-side.

My Chemical Romance – Teenagers Pts. 1 & 2

Another two part 7″  picture disc series for a single off of The Black Parade. Now idea how many were pressed, but these were a UK only set. Both feature the same b-side artwork and nearly identical artwork on the a-side.