What’s (Re)New? — NoMeansNo, Butthole Surfers, Bad Brains, Helmet
To whom it may interest,
For collectors, especially those of us with genre-centric fixations that reveal signifcant gaps in their respective libraries, reissue campaigns offer relatively inexpensive (albeit rushed) opportunities to remedy those gaps. Flipper culture, though, permits and encourages opportunistic price gouging, the rampant acquisition of limited album runs or vinyl variants which forces scarcity and justifies the price hikes that typically ensue when all supplies have suddenly run dry. So, you either pay too much for an original copy, or too much for the reissue you were too slow to purchase. This is a rough sport.
I’m guilty of having reprehensible gaps in my record collection, particularly as a self-professed punk fan and music geek. I do question at times the audacity to write ANYTHING tied to music when realization sets in regarding the music I’ve yet to absorb or add to my collection. Reissue campaigns work as gentle reminders, light taps on the shoulder or breathy whispers to the ear: “Hey, poseur fuck face. Don’t let anyone find out that you’re missing that one, you fake piece of shit. Buy that now.”
Two of these reissued albums are embarrassing misses. I repent: five Our Fathers, ten Hail Marys, and willing surrender of my punk pass.
Fucking poseur / poser.
NoMeansNo
Wrong
Alternative Tentacles
Reissued: 2024
I ordered NoMeansNo’s Wrong in May from Alternative Tentacles. My copy arrived on 7/1. It’s standard black. Wrong is NoMeansNo’s fourth LP, originally released in 1989.
As an admitted procrastinator, it’s a trait that has rarely done me anything other than disservice. This album would’ve rocked my gray matter into oblivion when I was teenager, back when I wasting money and time on Epitaph albums. From the moment the needle hits the groove NoMeansNo rocks to profanity-laden heights, boasting some of the best low end riffs I’ve ever heard beneath a truly masterful rush of musical ideas that never skimp on intensity for the sake of showcasing true skill. To that point, “Brainless Wonder” immediately comes to mind. There’s no riff or change too precious to spend on silliness like “Tired Of Waiting” or “Big Dick” and the band’s humor doesn’t overshadow Wrong’s excellence. Well-balanced and relentless. Perfect.
And a sinful omission on my part.
Butthole Surfers
Psychic.... Powerless.... Another Man's Sac
Matador Records
Reissued: 2024
Butthole Surfers 84-91: A Retrospective seems a sophisticated title for a release campaign tied to one of the most anarchic, notorious, and fucked-up bands to ever corrupt or terrify an audience. But Matador Records has taken on said campaign, circulating newly mastered Butthole Surfers albums from the band’s pre-majors era. I’ve been slow to acquire them—though I already own other versions of some of these albums—but I did manage to obtain a copy of Psychic.... Powerless.... Another Man's Sac.
Being the first full-length Butthole Surfers release, Psychic.... Powerless.... Another Man's Sac exhibits early signs of what was to come as the band’s absurd sense of performance delved further into acid-drenched nihilism and violent expression. It’s easier to sit through than Locust Abortion Technician, but must’ve permanently skewed an otherwise conventional frame of mind or two back in 1984. I can’t imagine having been a record store shopper in search of Boomer-adverse musical curios whose sights suddenly caught A). the band name and B). the album name and thought with zero indication of what to expect, “Hmmmm… I shouldn’t need to hide this from my parents.”
Artists like Captain Beefheart and The Residents had already been upsetting the post-Woodstock corporatized rock paradigm by the time the Surfers hit underground youth culture, but the bottom had yet to be reached so there was plenty of damage to commit.
Apparently, you play this record at “69rpm.” Excellent touch.
Bad Brains
I Against I
Bad Brains Records /
ORG Music
Reissued: 2024
Over the past couple of years, the Bad Brains discography has been getting the reissue treatment via Bad Brains Records and ORG Music respectively. In addition, the highly inspired renditions of punk rock album covers created by designer John Yates, whose designs paid homage to the visual language constructed for Blue Note Records by the label’s art director Reid Miles and label co-founder and photographer Francis Wolff, resonated with the band enough that they issued “Punk Note” editions of these reissued albums. I’ve managed to acquire three “Punk Note” reissues: Rock For Light, Quickness, and (happily) I Against I.
My high school era CD copy.
I Against I was my intro to Bad Brains. I acquired the CD, along with some other items I’d circled in a folded-up paper catalog from SST Records, in the early 90s as a punk rock primer meant to help me gain insight into this then-unknown world of music that I would soon become addicted to. I Against I challenged my expectations, the obviousness of fast-&-loud (“I Against I,” “House Of Suffering”) strangely juxtaposed by funk rock (“Re-Ignition”), 80s-era soul (“Secret 77”), and songs not too dissimilar from the pop metal I’d grown up via Headbanger’s Ball in the late 80s (“Return To Heaven”).
“Coke-bottle” clear variant.
Helmet
Born Annoying CD EP
Amphetamine Reptile
Reissued: 2024
For its 35th anniversary, Amphetamine Reptile reissued Helmet’s Born Annoying CD EP in early September. The reissue features custom redesign from AmRep founder Tom Hazlemyer (HAZE XXL), which takes cues from the artwork used on the original two-song 7.”
I remember buying a copy of the EP from the local CD shop in Ambler along with Helmet’s Wilma’s Rainbow EP and a live bootleg titled Cole. They were gifts. I was able to get them all dubbed onto cassette, which I’ve since lost track of over the last 30 years.
Though available as a 45rpm 12” in two beautiful variants—the “Underrated Flash” edition sold out very quickly—I purchased the CD. I couldn’t justify the $50 price tag and $12-plus shipping cost. The CD was $5, for which I got the updated artwork and the tunes that I’m eager to hear and reconnect with.
The “Underrated Crush” edition is still available for purchase.
Sincerely,
Letters From A Tapehead
