Music Machine

That last post reminds me of another really cool record buying experience that I had. When the first Beatles Anthology came out in 1995, I contacted a local record store called Music Machine to pre-order the double LP. They took the order, no problem. Then I waited for the release. A few days before the release, the owner of Music Machine (I believe his name was Howie) called me. Demand was greater than expected and his distributor couldn't make good on the number of LPs promised. Howie offered two solutions, he could sell me an import copy for a couple dollars more or I could get the LP from another store. But the cool part is what he said next, "It's more important that you get the album than that you get it from me." Now, I knew Music Machine was a cool store. It was the kind of store that would hold records for you without a deposit. They used to take trips to England a couple times a year and you could give them a list of the imports you were looking for. It was a record store for music geeks. Later, Music Machine moved and got more into the mailorder business with limited store hours. Sadly, I'm not even sure they're still in business.

Sub Pop, the corporate giant

I've always loved ordering music directly from labels and I try to do that whenever I can. By and large, my experiences have been very good. About 12 years ago, I had a particularly good experience ordering some records from Sub Pop. At the time, I was pretty strapped for cash, but I really wanted Mudhoney's My Brother the Cow. So, I called (this was before the days of online ordering) Sub Pop mailorder and ordered it along with three seven inches that I can't even recall now. Then, I had second thoughts, knowing that money was tight and I called back to cancel the LP and keep the seven inches. No problem. About a week later, I get my package with...the seven inches and the LP. The next day, I get another package with just the seven inches. I call Sub Pop and explain what happened, knowing that it was due in part to my own indecision. I explain that I'm willing to go ahead and buy the LP, but that I just want to send the extra seven inches back. I get put on hold and I'm thinking, "I hope this isn't a hassle." To my surprise, they tell me to keep everything and they'll only charge me for the three seven inches. How cool was that? It probably wasn't the best business practice, but I did go back from time to time and order from them over the years and I always had a bit of a soft spot for Sub Pop, even as they became more corporate.

Fast forward to last Sunday night. I'm sitting around thinking, "Man, I should order a couple of Shins records." So, I logon to the Sub Pop website and pick a coupl Shins LPs and the last Mudhoney and proceed to checkout. What's that? Coupon? I don't have a coupon. Maybe I can ask for one. It wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Here's what happened:

From: bob
Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 6:09 PM
To: Lacey S
Subject: Coupon

Hey, I was gonna place an order and I noticed there was a place to use a coupon. How do I get a coupon? I'd love to have one. Please...

Peace...

Bob

I don't think I was being too demanding or anything. I was just asking (nicely I might add). Lacey from Sub Pop responds:

Subject: RE: Coupon
From: "Lacey S" <laceys@subpop.com>
Date: Mon, December 18, 2006 3:07 pm
To: bob

No coupon!

Lacey Swain
Sub Pop Records
2013 4th Ave, 3rd Fl
Seattle, WA 98121
206.441.8441x1337

Wow. That wasn't very nice. I mean, I don't care that I didn't get a coupon, but she didn't have to be nasty. What happened to the old Sub Pop? I respond (copying other emails for Sub Pop, just in case someone there cares):

From: bob
Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 1:37 PM
To: Lacey S
Cc: press; info; directsales
Subject: RE: Coupon

No order! I'm sure I can pick 'em up used on half.com.

Peace...

Bob

Just in case I wasn't put off enough before, Lacey takes the time to respond and ensure that I know that Sub Pop doesn't give a crap about the people who buy their records:

Subject: RE: Coupon
From: "Lacey S" <laceys@subpop.com>
Date: Mon, December 18, 2006 5:07 pm
To: bob

You are probably right!

Lacey Swain
Sub Pop Records
2013 4th Ave, 3rd Fl
Seattle, WA 98121
206.441.8441x1337

I guess I should have known better, but I still hoped that Sub Pop would have some shred of it's old indie self hanging around. I guess not. Thank you Lacey Swain of Sub Pop for your honesty. I won't make the same mistake again. I'll get my Sub Pop releases used and give my money to Turn and No Idea instead. They still treat music fans like people and not just consumers.

Crossover

I've been reading Metal Mark's countdown of the best metal albums of 1986 lately and it has me thinking about crossover. During the mid 80s, speed metal was the result of hardcore's influence on a group of young metal bands looking for something new on one side and young hardcore bands looking to tighten up their sound on the other. Bands like Metallica and Slayer and Anthrax had more in common with hardcore than they did with more traditional metal just like Agnostic Front or DRI had more in common with metal than with the Pistols or the Clash. So it was an interesting time as 7 Seconds pleaded with us to "Walk Together, Rock Together," it was already happening.

But there's another crossover that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle a bit. Other punk bands started incorporating more metal influences, albeit not in the play-as-fast-as-we-can meeting of the minds that occured with speed metal and hardcore. A lot of this other crossover centered in the SST Records catalog with a few related bands thrown in. Black Flag had slowed their pace down and turned up the riffage as early as My War, but by Loose Nut, the 70s hard rock/heavy metal influence was abundantly clear. The Circle Jerks followed suit with a pair of metalic offerings in Wonderful and VI. These were still punk records in both spirit and execution, but influence of metal is clearer as they slowed things down. There were also a slew of lesser bands dabbling in this slower, looser metal crossover. DC3, Overkill (not to be confused with the better-known speed metal band), SWA and others all exhibited similar influences and put out records that shouldn't have been forgotten as they were.