English Premier League Reflections

So looks like most of my predictions for the 2016/17 English Premier League season were spot on. And no, I didn’t edit, alter, change, tweak or update that blog post at any point. Figured I do an end of year wrap up after the FA Cup final, which officially concluded the season despite almost everything being decided entering Championship Sunday.

I picked the champion, Chelsea. I picked 2/3 of the relegated clubs; Sunderland and Hull City. I picked half the top four spots correct. Arsenal really threw a wrench into my predictions, as I’m sure they did many others as well. I didn’t have them winning the league or even finishing second like they did last year, but I did have them winning their annual fourth place trophy. Where things kind of went off the rails is the rest, especially the top half.

Bournemouth and West Brom overachieving combined with Stoke and West Ham underachieving, and the obvious failure of Middlesbrough to avoid going straight back down to the Championship made a mess of my top and bottom half predictions. I tabbed Burnley for relegation, but they somehow managed to be in the top half of the table for a decent amount of time until late in the season when they likely suffered from the 40 point daze, much like West Brom did. I don’t think anybody expected West Brom to finish as high as they did. And they might have finished higher and even earned a place in Europe had they not seemingly fell into that 40 point daze.

I did alright with Everton, Crystal Palace, Swansea City and Watford. They all finished in their respective halves as I predicted. I threw Palace and Swansea into the relegation mix, but their mid season managerial changes proved vital as Big Sam steered yet another club out of relegation and Swansea turned it on late under Paul Clement to avoid the drop.

I didn’t expect Watford to finish as low as they did; 17^th, but with the calamity their season turned into after Christmas it really shouldn’t be that surprising. It will likely be more of the same next year, as they will change managers, yet again. And there will likely be a revolving door of players as well. I had them as a dark horse to finish in the top half based on their capability as a squad, but ultimately it was the completely unnecessary managerial change for this season that did them in.

Turns out I nailed Chelsea. Antonio Conte made a major difference, and combined with their light schedule compared to the rest of the title contenders, made their title aspirations a reality. I picked Manchester United for a top four finish, but their inconsistency spoiled that. When their focus shifted to winning the Europa League in order to guarantee a Champions League spot I knew that pick was in trouble.  Tottenham over performed a bit in my book. Well, I didn’t expect them to be able to maintain the same level of success as last year solely based on how the other big clubs improved their squads. Not so much that they would play worse in any way, just that the competition would surpass them even more.

Now I guess it’s time for me to make some extremely early predictions for next season. So here goes, based on hardly anything seeing as transfers haven’t even really started yet and there could still be managerial changes. I expect Chelsea to win the league again next year. I doubt much will change with their squad despite the persistent rumors of Diego Costa leaving for China. The rest of the top four will remain mostly the same, with the one change being Manchester United jumping in and Liverpool falling out. Unless Liverpool seriously address their problems at the back they won’t be able to skate by relying on Arsenal and United not being there. The one wild card that nobody can predict is how not being at White Hart Lane will affect Tottenham. Will being in a somewhat new stadium have a negative impact like it clearly did with West Ham this year?

I predict Arsenal will finish outside the top four again. Whether that is fifth or even lower remains to be seen. Nothing will change for the positive at the Emirates. Arsene Wenger will almost assuredly be back at the expense of winning anything significant. The Gunners will lose their two best players in the summer in Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, if not more as rumors swirl around Oliver Giroud, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Hector Bellerin leaving as well. Being in the Europa League next year instead of Champions League will have a negative impact on signings for Arsenal too, further worsening a squad that is already questionable.

West Brom is my dark horse to challenge for a European place. I doubt they will nab it away from Everton, who seem to be back on track under Ronald Koeman. But every prediction has to have a dark horse. I do see the Baggies building on this year’s success though. Southampton, West Ham and Stoke will round out the top half.

Leicester will be on the fringe of the top half and bottom half. Nothing will surprise me with them other than finishing in a European place. I see them losing some of their better players, like Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy during the summer, which will hurt them. But it won’t be quite the roller coaster year next year for the Foxes. Burnley just doesn’t have the budget to do anything but further consolidate their place, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they are battling to avoid relegation. Bournemouth might lose their manager, and I just don’t see them finishing any higher than they did this year. I don’t see them being relegated, but it’s not a desirable destination for top talent, aside from the obvious fact that they wouldn’t be able to afford them anyway.

Newcastle should be able to avoid the drop back down. Rafa Benitez seems to have righted the ship, and they blazed through the Championship to immediately bounce back up to the Premiership after being relegated in 2015/16. Palace should be safe for another season, and if they bring in more attacking power, which I know is not Big Sam’s forte, I would feel more comfortable with their place in the league. Swansea played like a different team under Paul Clement, and if they keep that up and manage to hold on to Gylfi Sigurdsson, along with getting one more clinical finisher they’ll be safe again.

In these early stages I’m tabbing Watford, Brighton & Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town for relegation. Huddersfield Town will likely be a repeat performance of Middlesbrough this season; a team who struggles to score and gets badly exposed defensively when going forward. Somehow Huddersfield managed to get promoted from the Championship despite a negative goal difference. And unless there is a sudden influx of cash, they won’t be able to bring in enough players of the quality needed to be competitive in the top flight.

Brighton will likely be in the same boat as Huddersfield. Though I see them having an easier time of it. Let’s not forget that their manager, Chris Hughton, led Norwich City to relegation back in 2013/14. Unless something drastic changes at Watford, they’re in major trouble. There seemed to be a mutiny taking place in the later stages of the season. Walter Mazzarri is gone, but whoever they bring in will likely change the system for the umpteenth time and not bring any stability. The club is on their eighth manager since the Pozzo family bought the club in 2012, who run it more like a corporation than a sporting club. Players brought in won’t fit the system and if they lose players like Troy Deeney, the heart and soul of the club, they’re in even bigger trouble.

 

Kyle Kinane – Whiskey Icarus

Kyle Kinane’s albums have steadily been released on vinyl, and his second album, Whiskey Icarus, was released on vinyl in 2014. The album was pressed as a double LP, and to my knowledge only comes on one variant; black with yellow splatter. I was surprised to see this come on colored vinyl. I fully expected it to be on black vinyl, especially since no color was mentioned anywhere. And I mean anywhere. No stores selling this, not the label releasing it (Comedy Central Records), not Discogs. Plus, I’ve never seen photos of this record prior to buying it. Since I wasn’t even aware it would come on colored vinyl, it should be no surprise that I don’t know how many copies were pressed.

All copies come in a gatefold jacket, and a download card/code is included as well. The gatefold is rather bland and pointless in terms of artwork/creative packaging. It’s a tiny picture of Kyle Kinane on each panel, set against an all black background. Rather than traditional paper dust sleeves, each record comes in card stock dust sleeves. And is there anything even printed on these more expensive dust sleeves? Nope. They’re completely blank. All they do is drive up the price of this release. Not that this record is expensive (around $20 retail), it just could have been cheaper. And should have without having the unnecessary gatefold jacket and cardstock dust sleeves. You’re not really getting a good bang for your buck here. Had there been nice artwork, or really anything better than what is actually printed inside the gatefold, and the same goes for the dust sleeves, the price would be more justified.

Kyle Kinane/The Slow Death – Under The Table #2 Split 7″ (1st Press)

Kyle Kinane’s albums have steadily been released on vinyl, even releasing a split 7″ with a band. Which may seem like an odd pairing until you consider the standup comic was briefly in Masked Intruders. The split, part of the Under The Table series (#2 in series), was done with The Slow Death, was released by Silver Sprocket Bicycle Club and Rad Girlfriend Records in 2014, and has already gone through a second pressing. What is featured here is the first pressing.

The first pressing was pressed on three variants; “black death” limited to 220 copies and “skunk-piss” yellow limited to 330 copies. If it’s not obvious enough, “black death” is simply black vinyl, and “skunk-piss” yellow is yellow. Translucent yellow actually, in a golden hue. Didn’t know skunks pissed in that particular shade of yellow. But it’s good knowledge to have. Especially when those trivia nights at the bar come around and every other table is stumped when the “what shade of yellow is skunk piss” question comes up.

But in all seriousness, the name for the yellow variant is inspired by the lone track/joke Kyle Kinane contributes to this split; “Skunk.” The third variant is a 2014 Awesome Fest exclusive, with the only difference making it a separate variant is that is comes with a different cover. The covers are apparently black and yellow, and those covers came with random colors of vinyl. I’ve never seen a photo of this Awesome Fest exclusive, so I have no idea what those exclusive covers look like. I’m just going on info posted on Discogs, which can be a double edged sword.

An insert is also included with all copies from the first pressing. I’m not sure about the second pressing. The second pressing was done on only one variant, “skunk stink” green, limited to 500 copies. The green is translucent.

If you’re looking to buy a copy of the split after reading this, you’ll likely get a copy from the second pressing. But with that said, I bought a copy from a distro about one month after the second pressing was released (I bought this a long time ago, June 2016, but just got around to posting this now) and got a copy on black vinyl from the first pressing. Needless to say I was shocked. I didn’t care what color and/or pressing I got, because I was able to buy this for $5 shipped.

Patton Oswalt – Talking For Clapping (1st Press)

Patton Oswalt’s new album, Talking For Clapping, flew under a lot of people’s radar, but not the Recording Academy as at it won the 2017 Grammy for Best Comedy Album. This album is classic Patton Oswalt and anyone, from his diehard fans to the casual observer will enjoy this album full of new material. Standup comedy seems to be gaining in popularity again, thanks in part to Comedy Central’s celebrity roasts and Roast Battle, their latest venture into standup, which Patton coincidentally happened to judge.

Talking For Clapping was pressed on three different variants for the first pressing; 100 copies on blue splatter, 400 copies on white and 1,000 copies on black. I’m not sure of the pressing info for the second pressing, but all copies appear to be on “Halloween” orange. The splatter copies came autographed by Patton and cost $30 before shipping, double the cost of the other variants. But all proceeds went 826LA, a non-profit supporting students ages 6–18 with their creative and expository writing skills and helping teachers inspire their students to write. That is a cause near and dear to my heart. I will always support the arts, especially music and writing, as they were and still are an integral part of my life. This blog itself is an endeavor into writing. And I took many writing classes in college on my way to a journalism and public relations degree.

All the other variants cost $15, with white (along with the blue splatter) being exclusive to the label, Aspecialthing Records. Black was only available from distros and possibly indie record stores, it was not available via Aspecialthing’s web store. With the general retail price already being stated, I bought this from a distro for just $11 shipped.

All copies come with a download code, which is nice because I couldn’t find MP3’s of this album/special anywhere. Oh, with that being said, Talking For Clapping was originally a Netflix special recorded in San Francisco at the Fillmore Theater in 2015. Other than the download card, it’s just a record stuffed into a single pocket jacket.

Dane Cook – Harmful If Swallowed

Dane Cook went from being one of the most popular comics to falling into oblivion seemingly overnight. He burst onto the scene then just as quickly faded away. He has his fair share of critics, and he always had detractors who thought he was a Louis C.K. rip-off in more ways than one. Personally, I enjoy some of his earlier specials, albums and bits more than his latest efforts. But I will add that as I grow older and go back through his material I find it less funny.

With that said, when I saw the vinyl version of Harmful If Swallowed at my record store by the counter on Record Store Day with a sign that said ‘Please rid us of this plague – $1 OBO’ my interest was piqued. I’m in the store several times a month and never saw this record or the sign before. I asked what the deal was and the guy behind the counter said they bought a collection from a kid trying to get money for college like two or three years ago. It was mostly garbage (not the band) that we knew we would struggle selling but the kid was desperate and agreed to $100 for like 300 records. But this Dane Cook record never sold, and it was the last piece of that collection. He went on to say they even tried selling it on eBay several times with a 99 cent starting bid and there were no takers. They just wanted this record gone.

So I figured what the hell. For $1 I’ll buy a Dane Cook record with no regrets. I’ll add that this was brand new, still factory sealed. That kid who apparently took pennies on the dollar for his collection never even opened this record. At the time Harmful If Swallowed was first released back in 2013 retail price was $20. I remember that price because people on message boards were making fun of not just the fact this album was getting pressed on vinyl, but the price of it too. I wound up buying this for like what, like 95% off?

After doing some digging on this record, I discovered that there is in fact pressing info for it. There were 1,000 copies pressed, most likely all on black vinyl. There may be variants for this, but I highly doubt it. Alternate artwork is used for the vinyl version, but it’s tweaked ever so slightly. Instead of a white background like the CD version, the vinyl version has a black background meant to mimic a flag. There is also a 10^th Anniversary logo slapped on the cover, because this was pressed for the album’s 10^th Anniversary. Comedy Central Records wrote up a lengthy sell sheet/press release for this record too.

 

Louis C.K. – Live At Madison Square Garden

The second of Louis C.K.’s albums to get the vinyl treatment, Live At Madison Square Garden was released by Louis’ own company; Pig Newton, Inc., in conjunction with Comedy Dynamics. This record was only pressed as a picture disc, and it comes in a picture disc sleeve. A download card is included. The audio is taken from the last of three shows Louis C.K. did at Madison Square Garden in 2015. Pressing info has not been released, and likely never will be. Discogs erroneously has this listed as an Amazon exclusive, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Almost every distro has, or had copies for sale at one point, and many indie record stores got copies too. Even Wal-Mart and Target have copies for sale.

When this record first came out in late 2015 the retail price for it was on the expensive side; $25. I waited over a year to buy this, and got it on sale for $15. There was no way I was going to pay $25 for a single LP picture disc comedy album. The price is a bit more ridiculous when you consider Louis C.K. has been a staunch supporter of the ‘pay what you want’ model, and cornered the market on his material by exclusively offering up both audio and video on his website utilizing the pay what you want model. His suggested price for only the MP3 files of this audio from this album is $5. So let’s just go ahead and charge 5x that price for the physical version and maybe no one will notice! I understand a physical release will cost more than $5, but charging this much for a single LP is not the right approach either. Especially when the b-side of the picture disc is shamelessly your company’s logo.

Louis C.K. – Oh My God

Louis C.K. had his sixth comedy album, Oh My God, released on vinyl in 2014. It’s the first of his albums to be pressed on vinyl. Vagrant Records, yes that Vagrant Records, released Oh My God on vinyl. Not sure how that partnership came about considering Louis C.K. has his own production company he uses for most of his stuff now, and there are currently only four comedy labels in the game; Comedy Central Records and Stand Up Records.

All copies were pressed as a double LP on black vinyl, with pressing info never being released. There is no insert included nor are the records housed in a gatefold jacket considering the release is a double LP. This is about as no frills a release as you can get; standard weight black vinyl with album artwork that is almost nonexistent pasted onto a white background along with the center labels, with no additional add ins like an insert, download card, printed dust sleeves, etc.

Many people may question the choice of buying a comedy album on vinyl, especially this one because of the hefty price tag, around $25 from most places before shipping. Granted I scored this album for $15 shipped; buying comedy albums comes down to personal preference more than any of form of audio released on vinyl. Many people don’t see a point to comedy albums in general because of the lack of visuals that are needed to get many jokes or bits, let alone a comedy album on vinyl. They would prefer a video of some kind of the performance. Personally I buy comedy albums for the experience you get from listening to them. Using a stereo, especially a surround sound system hooked up to the same receiver as your turntable, you feel like you’re there, watching the performance in person. There is also the aspect of supporting your favorite comics.

George Carlin – An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo

George Carlin’s 1975 album An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo may or may not have gone through multiple pressings. According to Discogs, which I never completely trust for information, the original copies of this record came with an offer sheet for a t-shirt. Since this record is over 40 years old, I would venture to guess that not many copies will still have this t-shirt offer sheet for a multitude of reasons. Discogs has three separate listings for this record for the U.S. pressing, all with the same catalog number, LD 1008 (it’s worth noting the Canadian pressing has the same catalog number) and release date (simply 1975, no month or day) That is the beauty of Discogs, you can be purposely as vague as possible and it’s acceptable.

Each of the releases entered into Discogs have different matrix numbers though. Which is the true key to determining different pressings. Each subsequent pressing of any record should have different matrix numbers. Catalog numbers generally remain the same but matrix numbers should change with each pressing. Matrix numbers even go as far as having different numbers for the same pressing depending on where they were pressed. Some pressing plants have their own unique code that goes at the end, either with a space or attached directly at the end of the sequence. Back when vinyl was the main medium for music, albums were pressed at multiple plants across the country. So it wasn’t unusual for one copy to have a matrix number like this ‘0000001 S’ and another copy of the same album to have ‘0000001 T’ depending on where the respective record was pressed. Some albums and/or singles were pressed at as many as three different pressing plants.

That is the end of the lesson. Here are the matrix numbers for the possible different pressings of An Evening With Wally Londo Featuring Bill Slaszo:

First pressing: Side A: ST-LD-753469-A PR       Side B: ST-LD-753470-A PR

Later pressing: Side A: ST-LD-753469-AAA-1-11 PRC    Side B: ST-LD-753470-AAA-1-11 PRC

Later pressing: Side A: ST-LD-753469-MO     Side B: ST-LD-753470-MO

 

Aside from those matrix numbers I believe all copies are identical. Same label that released it (Little David Records), same artwork, same track listing, same center labels etc. The dust sleeves may have subtle differences though.

George Carlin – Jammin’ In New York (RSD 2017)

Once again I decided to camp out for Record Store Day (RSD), getting to my store 8 ½ hours ahead of opening. I know I said on Twitter that I likely wouldn’t bother with RSD this year, but things changed obviously. That thing was adding more and more things to my list, which ending the debate of do I want to go out for the one thing I know I won’t be able to find online for retail price. I’d rather not spend $30 on something if it means the only thing being sacrificed is a good night’s sleep. If you think I’m crazy for waiting that line and getting to a store that early, keep reading. But I do sleep for at least 2-3 hours of that wait time. If you want to skip this column-esque story, skip ahead five paragraphs for the start of the write up on this particular RSD release.

To lay the ground work for RSD this year, I actually had fun the past two years (2016 & 2017) waiting in line, which makes the time go by faster. That was not the case every other year, and I’ve been attending RSD since its inception in 2008. I had some cool people to talk to these past two years, which rarely, if ever happened every other year for RSD. I’m talkative person, it’s the other people who either can’t or refuse to hold a conversation for whatever reason. The past two years I was next to the same group of people actually. You see, at my local store, the same groups of people show up around the same time every year, especially the diehards. I’m talking about the real early birds, the people who get there 7+ hours ahead of opening. And at my store you have to show up by 4 am (for an 8 am opening) in order to have a serious chance of getting what you want. Otherwise you’re like 150+ in line and will spend around 2 hours (after opening) just waiting to get in and get checked out. It’s a popular store in a highly populated area.

For those curious about what store I go to, I never mention it because I want to maintain some privacy for myself. I don’t want people knowing where I live. It’s not a matter of turning people onto the store and having more people show up. Trust me, this store is well know and one of the most popular stores in the region. It draws people from four different states for RSD, and there are no shortages of record stores in the area either.

The only thing that changed in the 10 years RSD has been happening is how early I have to line up in order to get everything I want, or at the very least the few things I would have a hard time tracking down for a decent price online. I used to get to my store around 5 am, and got everything I wanted with no problem. But ever since 2015 the line has gotten out of control. I used to be no more than 20^th in line with a 5 am arrival from 2009-2014, but I learned my lesson in 2015 after getting there at 2 am (thinking that additional 3 hours would be enough to compensate for the Deja Entendu release) and being like 50^th in line, resulting in missing out on stuff I wanted for the first time ever. And I mean for the first time ever. Prior to that year I never missed out on a single thing on my list.

Ever since then my goal was to get there by midnight, and it’s worked. And I’ve had more fun in line than ever. People bring beer, people are more talkative, offer to get food and coffee for people and are just more helpful and nicer in general. I think a lot people are immediately grumpy when they get there later in the morning and come to the dreaded realization of how long the line actually is. The line can be a bit deceiving because it wraps around the building/strip mall. Lots of people see what they think is the end of the line at the end of the building/strip mall, only to walk over and discover it keeps going. I’ve heard plenty of obscenities being yelled at 5 and 6 am, some from like a hundred feet away.

That one thing mentioned above was the Thrice 7”. That is what drew me out for RSD, but I also picked up a bunch of other things rather than deal with paying for shipping and the potential for damage during shipping. The George Carlin album was one of those things, but didn’t actually expect my store to get because it was one of those “regional” releases. My store puts a list up of everything they get on their website, and this George Carlin release wasn’t on it. The George Carlin record was another thing I could live without and could have easily been scratched from my list. But I opted to keep it on my list despite my store likely not getting copies, and when I got inside the guy picking my records (my store does it menu style – tell them what you want and if they have it they grab it for you) gave me all my stuff and said “you’re 100%.” I was shocked for once on RSD.

As aforementioned, the George Carlin record was a regional release and those regional releases are typically extremely limited by RSD standards; as in less than 1,000 copies are usually pressed. For example, this George Carlin record was limited to 955 copies. Other regional releases this year were limited to 500 copies, 750 copies, and one was even limited to a miniscule 200 copies.

All copies of this George Carlin – Jammin’ In New York were pressed on black vinyl. It does not come with an insert nor a download card/code. It’s as bare bones as you can get. A flimsy black record stuffed into a cheap, thin jacket. The shrink wrap job was even amateur. This album was first released on CD in 1992 by Eardrum Records. The vinyl version was released by Comedy Dynamics, and it’s not their first rodeo with vinyl. They should be ashamed of themselves for releasing such a poor product that only has five tracks and charging top dollar for it; $18.

Thrice – Sea Change 7″ (RSD 2017)

Once again I decided to camp out for Record Store Day (RSD), getting to my store 8 ½ hours ahead of opening. I know I said on Twitter that I likely wouldn’t bother with RSD this year, but things changed obviously. That thing was adding more and more things to my list, which ending the debate of do I want to go out for the one thing I know I won’t be able to find online for retail price. I’d rather not spend $30 on something if it means the only thing being sacrificed is a good night’s sleep. If you think I’m crazy for waiting that line and getting to a store that early, keep reading. But I do sleep for at least 2-3 hours of that wait time. If you want to skip this column-esque story, skip ahead four paragraphs for the start of the write up on this particular RSD release.

To lay the ground work for RSD this year, I actually had fun the past two years (2016 & 2017) waiting in line, which makes the time go by faster. That was not the case every other year, and I’ve been attending RSD since its inception in 2008. I had some cool people to talk to these past two years, which rarely, if ever happened every other year for RSD. I’m talkative person, it’s the other people who either can’t or refuse to hold a conversation for whatever reason. The past two years I was next to the same group of people actually. You see, at my local store, the same groups of people show up around the same time every year, especially the diehards. I’m talking about the real early birds, the people who get there 7+ hours ahead of opening. And at my store you have to show up by 4 am (for an 8 am opening) in order to have a serious chance of getting what you want. Otherwise you’re like 150+ in line and will spend around 2 hours (after opening) just waiting to get in and get checked out. It’s a popular store in a highly populated area.

For those curious about what store I go to, I never mention it because I want to maintain some privacy for myself. I don’t want people knowing where I live. It’s not a matter of turning people onto the store and having more people show up. Trust me, this store is well know and one of the most popular stores in the region. It draws people from four different states for RSD, and there are no shortages of record stores in the area either.

The only thing that changed in the 10 years RSD has been happening is how early I have to line up in order to get everything I want, or at the very least the few things I would have a hard time tracking down for a decent price online. I used to get to my store around 5 am, and got everything I wanted with no problem. But ever since 2015 the line has gotten out of control. I used to be no more than 20^th in line with a 5 am arrival from 2009-2014, but I learned my lesson in 2015 after getting there at 2 am (thinking that additional 3 hours would be enough to compensate for the Deja Entendu release) and being like 50^th in line, resulting in missing out on stuff I wanted for the first time ever. And I mean for the first time ever. Prior to that year I never missed out on a single thing on my list.

Ever since then my goal was to get there by midnight, and it’s worked. And I’ve had more fun in line than ever. People bring beer, people are more talkative, offer to get food and coffee for people and are just more helpful and nicer in general. I think a lot people are immediately grumpy when they get there later in the morning and come to the dreaded realization of how long the line actually is. The line can be a bit deceiving because it wraps around the building/strip mall. Lots of people see what they think is the end of the line at the end of the building/strip mall, only to walk over and discover it keeps going. I’ve heard plenty of obscenities being yelled at 5 and 6 am, some from like a hundred feet away.

That one thing mentioned above was the Thrice 7”. I have a complete Thrice collection going and didn’t want to ruin that or have to pay upwards of $30 for a 7” if it was somewhat easily avoided. This 7” features two songs, one b-side from the To Be Everywhere Is To Be Nowhere and a live version of a song of that album as well. I don’t consider a song recorded live at a radio station to be a b-side, even though this 7” was marketed as having “2 b-sides”

The one b-side is entitled  “Sea Change” and is apparently about sea levels rising and climate change based on Twitter posts Dustin Kensrue made the day of RSD, which coincidentally was also Earth Day. I didn’t get that meaning after listening to the song though. I got more of a song about general struggle and adversity vibe, not as specific as rising sea levels and/or climate change. The live track, “Black Honey,” was recorded at Sirius XM. There is one track per side.

The 7” was limited to 2,500 copies, and is pressed on translucent blue vinyl. The Fact that this 7” is pressed on colored vinyl was never mentioned anywhere. It wasn’t on the official RSD list, no store made mention of it, the hype stickers didn’t nor did the band or any band members. It came as a complete shock to me, and probably everyone else who bought a copy too. But given the apparent meaning behind the song, the choice of blue vinyl is very fitting.

As aforementioned, there is not one but two hype stickers on the cover of this 7”. The obligatory Record Store Day sticker (though not one of those square silver foil RSD stickers) and another one indicating that a portion of the proceeds from this release got to Climate Central. Which I’m assuming is a non-profit  aimed at working towards environmental issues. Again, that Climate Central hype sticker is in line with the apparent them of the lead song, “Sea Change.”

A download card/code is included, which yields WAV files. There is no insert, and the jacket is extremely thin and cheap. It’s a shame, but that is becoming a trend with RSD releases; making them as cheap as possible while still charging top dollar for them. Of course there are always the super nice releases sprinkled in, but for the most part I’ve never been impressed with the bulk of the RSD releases I get, especially for the price charged for them. This 7” cost around $8 depending on the store, when it should have cost no more than $6 given what it turned out being. Because it’s an RSD release the powers at be feel like they can get away with tacking on an additional $2-3 to every release. I’m actually surprised this 7” came with a download card, many times RSD releases don’t. This 7” was one of two RSD releases I bought this year that actually came with a download card, and I wound up buying 10 releases this year.