Motion City Soundtrack – Capital H / Mary Without Sound 7″ (VIP Package Exclusive)

Motion City Soundtrack reunited to tour in 2020, and with it came a VIP package exclusive 7”. VIP packages loaded with various exclusive items and experiences are one of the new trends bands are using to ring every penny out of fans. Apparently gone are the days of chatting with band members before or after a show. I remember the days when band members would come outside to hang out with fans waiting in line before doors, or meander amongst the crowd before their set. Not saying that doesn’t happen anymore. But nobody should feel the need, want or urge to pay $50 on up on top of a ticket to the show for a meet and greet and photo with the band. Some people may view these are unique experiences and items, but let’s see it for what it actually is; a chance to make more money.

The band charged $100 for the VIP upgrade, and it included this 7”, a handwritten lyric sheet by lead singer Justin Courtney Pierre (no mention if fans got to choose the song), a photo with the band, a soundcheck party (whatever that is), first access to the merch booth, a VIP laminate (a backstage pass kind of thing), a signed screened poster, guitar pick and a drawstring bag to put all that crap in. So not only was this one of the most expensive VIP packages I’ve seen (at least for bands I’m a fan of), they’re also potentially screwing over other fans by letting VIP ticket holders pick through the merch booth before the general admission folks even get into the venue. The “Don’t Call it A Comeback Tour” of 2019 went so well tons of merch is leftover, including this 7”.

Come August 2020, over six months after the tour ended, the band decided to finally let go of the remaining copies of the VIP exclusive 7”. They let a local Minnesota merch company handle order fulfillment, with the 7” costing $20 before shipping, which was an additional $8 as the only option (turns out it was for media mail). Ordinarily I would balk at that price tag, especially after the rip off shipping is, but there was no other way to guarantee I get a copy. By doing this the band set the minimum price on the secondary market (though that is not stopping asshats from listing coies for $35 on up on Discogs). But it’s not all doom and gloom, as proceeds are going to Save Our Stages. A cause most people who read this blog can get behind, as it’s helping keeping venues around the country from permanently closing as a result of the Covid pandemic. Portions of the proceeds are also going to the band’s crew.

Pressing info has not been released. I’m not going to speculate on it, but considering this still hasn’t sold out after the leftover copies were put up sale, there may have been a lot of copies pressed. Or maybe it’s simply that the price is turning people off. Anywho, all copies were pressed on translucent orange with black smoke, and don’t come with a download card/code. The 7” features alternate versions of “Capitol H” and “Mary Without A Sound.” There are rips found online, but the quality of them is awful.

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Justin Courtney Pierre – My Girl Margot / Everything That Hurts 7″ (VIP Tour Exclusive)

Justin Courtney Pierre, of Motion City Soundtrack fame, embarked on his first solo tour in 2018, and with it came a VIP exclusive 7”. VIP exclusive records and variants are becoming one of the latest trends as bands look to scrape out every dollar they can out of their most dedicated fans. Apparently gone are the days of band members hanging out before, during or after shows; mingling with their fans as they waited in line for doors to open or before or after their set in the venue. Not saying those things don’t still happen; I’ll just never see the point in paying money for the opportunity to briefly talk to a band and/or get a photo with them. Sure some VIP packages have things that may be worth it, like acoustic sets, early entry to see sound check or exclusive merch like this 7”, but they’re mainly an extra source of revenue. Especially when fans are forced to buy a General Admission ticket along with the VIP ticket, which was the case with this tour. This VIP package cost $65, and included a meet and greet/Q+A session, one “limited edition” button (I kid you not; one, uno, eins, un button), two separate Polaroids (one taken by Justin on the road and the other being a selfie with him. I should point out the promo image for the VIP package literally had a motorcycle parked in a parking lot for the Polaroids taken by Justin), a VIP laminate and an “intimate performance” along with this 7”.  Rant out of the way.

Leftover copies of this 7” were put up for sale in the beginning of 2019, which is another reason why most of the VIP ticket packages are not worth it in my opinion. Many times there are leftover copies of the exclusive record/variant, and they are put up for sale at some point after said tour concludes. Modern Radio Record Label, who jointly released this with Epitaph (I think Epitaph’s name is simply placed on this release due to contractual reasons), sold the leftover copies in their web store, and are charging $22 before shipping for them.

That price apparently scared lots of people off, as close to a year after leftover copies were put up for sale, they’re still available. Personally I would’ve held out longer to buy this, but I was getting 5% cash back on all Paypal purchases, and decided to place orders for several higher price items literally the day that cash back offer expired to maximize profit. It’s not all bad, as all proceeds go to Dissonance, a non-profit organization which focuses on creating safe spaces to learn and talk about the intersection of mental health and creativity.

There were 548 total copies pressed, all on translucent blue vinyl. Each copy comes sealed, with a sticker on the right hand side of the jacket. Yup, the portion of the jacket where it looks like the artist’s name is printed is a sticker. This sticker also makes note that these records were pressed in France, which is something I wasn’t aware of. I know the Czech Republic and Canada are big players in the vinyl manufacturing game, at least internationally speaking, but France is news to me.

The 7” features two songs, both of which make their first appearance on a physical format. “My Girl Margot” is on the a-side and was unreleased at the time, but was later released on Justin’s Record Store Day 2019 release, Open Mic At The Lo-Fi Volume 1. “Everything That Hurts” is on the b-side, and it’s a track Justin wrote for Everyone Is Gay for their The Gayest Compilation Ever Made Vol. 2 album, that was released back in 2014. Everyone Is Gay deals with mental health and was previously only available in digital format. No download card/code is included.

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Halloween Score/Soundtrack (40th Anniversary Edition)

The score/soundtrack for Halloween has been re-pressed a few times now, most recently by Mondo and then again by Mondo, but technically through Death Waltz Recording Company. For the 40^th Anniversary of the film, a slightly different master source was used, which features clips of dialogue. This is the official wording from Death Waltz/Mondo regarding the audio source; ‘The audio is taken from the “music stem” derived from the 35mm mono tracks that comprised the dialogue, sound effects and music of the original film which when combined, comprise the complete soundtrack of the classic film.’

The original Mondo pressing uses the Alan Horwath re-master of the soundtrack used on the first pressing of the soundtrack done in 1982, which was optimized for the best sound quality, not necessarily to stay true to how it was heard in the film. This 40^th Anniversary edition of the soundtrack goes back to what was used for the film, and may offer a more authentic listening experience. The track listing between the two versions is obviously different as a result.

Personally I can see both sides of the master source for the two versions of this soundtrack. But based purely on sound quality of these two vinyl pressings themselves, I feel the original Mondo release from 2013 is much better. There are too many factors to pinpoint just one reason for this.

On top of the audio differences, everything else about the 40^th Anniversary edition is different as well. The artwork all around, the packaging material and the fact that the 40^th Anniversary edition was done as a single LP as opposed to a double LP like the 2013 Mondo pressing.

The artwork for this edition was done by Mike Saputo. The cover features a close up image of Michael Myers looking through a rain covered window. The rain has a spot gloss finish, which is an awesome touch and really sets the cover off. This spot gloss is only found on the cover. The artwork on the back has a wider shot of Michael looking through the same rain soaked window, with a curtain partially blocking his form. Inside the gatefold jacket is more artwork; an image of the road into Haddonfield. An obi strip is also included, which is purely for advertising purposes. It basically serves as a hype sticker. Personally I can take or leave obi-strips. I can their purpose for overseas releases in countries that don’t use the Latin alphabet, but outside of that I think they only drive up the cost of releases.

For the 40^th Anniversary edition, there are no cover variants, or exclusives to certain retailers/events. It’s just the standard color variants for the record itself. And there are only two, and you have your choice of color when ordering from Mondo. There are no hidden/random variants, so no roll of the dice or having to splurge to get any or all variants you want. As expected pressing info has not been released for either variant.

The two colors are clear with black and orange splatter, and orange. As of posting this the only variant sold out in Mondo’s store is the orange. I’m not sure if that means it’s out of stock everywhere though.

Retail is between $32-35 depending on where you buy it. Mondo is charging $32, most distros and record stores are charging $35. Some though have already started slashing prices on it, as this edition has apparently been a tough sell. It may also be because it’s well after Halloween.

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