New Found Glory – Forever And Ever x Infinity (1st Press)

New Found Glory’s latest album, Forever And Ever x Infinity is a step back in my opinion. After finally seeming to figure things out with a lone guitar player on their previous album; Makes Me Sick, this effort, their 10^th studio album, is just not that good of an album. Lyrically this is probably the band’s worst album to date, and musically it’s not much better.

Apparently that opinion is in the minority, as it sold extremely well. Hopeless Records opted to do a boatload of variants, which is par for the course for them, and most not only sold out, but did so relatively quickly compared to some of the band’s previous albums. You can still readily find copies of Makes Me Sick (along with the re-release version Makes Me Sick Again) and Resurrection (along with the re-release version Resurrection: Ascension). Copies of Resurrection were literally being sold for under $4 at one point. The only reason I can see for the first pressing of Forever And Ever x Infinity selling so quickly is the pandemic. This album actually leaked, and not only that, leaked extremely early due to an egregious error on Apple/iTunes’ part. And with people forced to stay at home under various orders and mandates, apparently people had nothing to do other than buy NFG records online.

I say that in jest, but I noticed the pandemic has sparked a surge in vinyl sales, especially pre-orders. Things have started selling out faster than I ever expected. Whether it’s in part to more people having the free time to sit and wait to play the fast finger contest when things go live, or people wanting to support bands and/or labels when they may be struggling due to lost tour revenue, my money is on a combination of the two; records have been selling not only well, but fast.

Forever And Ever x Infinity has already received a second pressing. It’s not formally announced as such, but I doubt the label was sitting on three variant for eight months. Pre-orders for the album went live way back in February 2020, with a release date in May. The first pressing has seven variants. The second pressing has three, which were released in October 2020. Here is the pressing info:

For the first pressing there are 300 copies on orange/blue mix, 300 copies on orange, 500 copies on red/white/black tri-color (known as the G.O.A.T variant, those colors were chosen because they are the Chicago Bulls’ colors), 500 copies on purple and yellow half/half (hype sticker says purple and yellow split), 500 copies on clear w purple splatter, 700 copies on white w/ red and pink splatter and 1500 copies on translucent green. The orange/blue mix, which is an orange/blue swirl according to the hype sticker, was a Smartpunk exclusive, which came with a unique hype sticker where every copy of the variant was hand numbered. The red/white/bacl tri-color and purple and yellow half/half were Hopeless Records exclusive sold by Merchnow. The clear w/ purple splatter is an Urban Outfitters (UO) excxlusive. The white w/ red and pink splatter, which is also known as cotton candy swirl, was initially intended to be a tour exclusive, but because of the pandemic and said tour being cancelled/postsponed, it was sold online by the band. The green is a mass retail exclusive, though Hopeless is/was selling copies of it.

Hopeless and Smartpunk both relentlessly advertised that their exclusive variants were close to selling out on social media, which also probably fueled them selling quicker. It’s a smart marketing strategy, especially if the amount of copies they said were left were actually the truth. As of writing/posting this there is only one variant left from the first pressing; the green and And I say that before delving into the second pressing.

The second pressing, as aforementioned, has three variants thus far. There is a Newbury Comics exclusive limited to 350 copies on green/black/white tri-color, which costs $26 before shipping. This was dubbed the Boston GOAT version (colors were chosen because they are the Boston Celtics’ colors, and Newbury Comics is a Massachusetts store founded in Boston). A “Voorhees Blood Edition,” also known as the blood variant, limited to 300 copies, which is on red w/ black splatter/swirl vinyl. This variant was released in conjunction with the music video for the song “Scarier Than Jason Voorhess At A Camp Fire.” The third variant is a Looney Tunes (Long Island, NY indie record store) exclusive on yellow with either red (most likely) or orange splatter limited to 300 copies. I have not actually seen an official description of this variant anywhere, I’m basing the colors on the mock ups released. The Looney Tunes exclusive cost $22 before shipping, which they routinely charge way too much for ($8 for media mail is the cheapest option) and rip people off.

No matter the variant or pressing, all copies come in a single pocket jacket with a full color dust sleeve printed on card stock. A download card/code is also included. All variants, not matter the pressing come with a hype sticker that denotes the color. Retail price is around $20, but the price is actually pretty varied. Lots of indie record stores were charging under $20, while Hopeless themselves were also charging $20.

• 

• 

• 

Weezer – Buddy Holly 7″

Weezer’s first single, “Buddy Holly,” is somewhat of an enigma on vinyl. Is it hard to find? No. Can it be expensive? Yes. Prices on this 7” fluctuate, which is the main reason for how costly it can be. There doesn’t seem to be any reason for the wide range in prices. It can sell for as little as $15, but can go all the way up to over $100. What doesn’t help prices is that there are variants.

They’re not variants like most people think of. All copies were pressed on black vinyl. The variants depend on what type of hole the 7” has; either a large hole or a small whole. There are far fewer copies with a small hole, rumored to be roughly one third of the entire pressing. The large hole (featured here) is the most common variant, and by large hole I’m talking about the kind you’d need an adaptor to play. To add in even more fluctuation to the prices on this 7”, only some copies came with a 45 adaptor plugged in to the center hole, a so called “spider.” Take into account copies that lost this adaptor over time for whatever reason, and you have a recipe for copies that sell a bit higher than others should they include the adaptor.

To further complicate things, this was a UK exclusive release, so anyone in the states, or from anywhere else for that matter, would havev to import a copy, which inevitably drives up the price. Especially considering majority of Weezer’s fans are U.S based. But when this single was released, 1995, there was still a market in the UK for vinyl singles. There wasn’t much of a market in the U.S. for vinyl singles anymore, so the UK saw the brunt of 45s, mainly as a means to further promote full length albums while still making some profit by having a physical product to sell.

As you’d guess, “Buddy Holly” is on the a-side of this record, with it backed by an alternate version of “Jamie” on the b-side. This version of “Jamie” was taken from the Geffen Rarities Vol. 1 compilation, a record itself that fetches upwards of $50 on the secondary market. No matter the variant all copies are supposed to come in a “stock” Weezer sleeve. There are some copies that come in a plain white paper dust sleeve, but these particular copies either never came with a sleeve from the supplier or the seller simply lost the original sleeve.

• 

•