Oh, Brand New. For a band that is so emotionally-heavy in their lyrics and music, they bring out the best in people. Or not.
Each and every time a Brand New vinyl release is announced or rumored (as has been the habit lately by alleged music “news” sites who bank on rumors and take vague unfounded tweets or FB posts as “news”) a shitstorm always ensues. It was no different when word of a repressing of The Devil and God are Raging Inside Me was announced. What drew ire from the hardcore fans was that it was being reissued by Music On Vinyl which is an import-only company based in the UK. Add on top of that being that the pressing would be on a Red Marble out of 666. Start the scrambling to find out where to get copies from. Nevermind the cost from $40+ (it is an import after all) but some felt the need that they must have it even if they already had copies from the original Triple Crown and Academy Fight Song pressings from three years ago. (Click here for a trip down that memory lane)
Those who kept up with the drama on this release, mostly perpetuated by the nerds in Vinyl Collective, then you know what it all came down to. Biggest point of complaint was the big-ass sticker on the front of the jacket. Not on the plastic sleeve or wrap. On the jacket itself! A few brave souls tried to peel it off, some more successful than others. A few people jumped plenty of guns ordering from Amazon in Germany and UK banking on red marble copies. There were other Euro distros carrying it briefly. Stateside, Sound Stage Direct carried the red marble for a hot minute before selling out however few they may have had. Subsequent copies were to be on Black 180gram vinyl.
As expected, the entitlement issues by a few came up. “I deserve a red marble copy because I am the biggest Brand New fan on the planet” may have been a prevalent mentality of a few. Especially those who threw very public temper tantrums online across message boards. Ah, the internet. Giving the idiots a voice.
I got lucky ordering from Sound Stage Direct. I know they always carry the MOV titles and even though expensive since they’re imports, they always come through. So Red Marble copy secured. Although it felt silly since I already have almost every variant from the original pressing anyways. But I will chalk it up my OCD variant-whoreness with some bands and their releases.
More drama ensued when Shop Radio Cast announced that they had struck a deal with MOV to carry an exclusive color of the reissue. They’d be carrying a clear variant on 180gram vinyl limited to 2,500 copies. Plenty to go around and satisfy everyone. Right? Wrong! More and more people complained as expected because they felt that they had been misled by someone (usually pointing fingers at SRC as usual) and that it wasn’t fair. Things got heated even further when SRC announced that they had been able to secure a few copies of the Red Marble variant. Suddenly the hater machine went into overdrive. People “calling out” SRC for being shady or pissed off at MOV for scamming “deserving fans” and on and on and on. Typical day and business in the world of variant collectors and entitled record nerds.
But the clear variant is pretty nice.
At this point, where all copies of all colors have pretty much sold out everywhere, I am not 100% sure there is a single person who is 100% happy of having just secured a copy to listen to or even have in their collection. Hell, they can frame their copies and hang them on the wall for all I’d care, but I’d be more concerned in knowing if they’re 100% happy. Or even content.
This whole drama over this reissue has reached a level where it’s comical. And that’s been happening more and more lately with any records being released. Some people, especially the younger and newer record collectors, feel that they are owed something. Their entitlement issues are so inflated that if they don’t get their precious record in the color they want or “need”, then they throw a shitfit. Granted, it’s all online and on message boards. But if it were in real life, it’d be like watching that seven-year old child at Toys R Us rolling around the floor and punching the ground because mommy didn’t want to get them the new hot toy that week.
I used to get upset when I didn’t get that record I wanted. But then I grew up.
You’re never going to have or get all that you want. This is a reality of life.
Move on.
They Still Press Vinyl 