Daniel's SSR Pick: June 23, 2022

Scarecrow spent last weekend at the inaugural Something to Talk About Fest in Philly and I had a great time! Everyone loves to complain about fests, but I like them. You get to see a lot of great bands you wouldn’t see otherwise (especially if you live in North Carolina), you get to see loads of friends you don’t see enough, and often you’re in the same space with said friends for much longer than you would be if they were just passing through on tour. Sure, fests can be overwhelming and exhausting, but for me the good far, far outweighs the bad. Even as fests go, STTA was something special. Jim and Amy, who organized the fest (with a lot of help from the other Philly punks), have a habit of surrounding themselves with great people, which made for a great vibe. And the lineup was phenomenal. I watched every single band that played at STTA (including the aftershows!), and I didn’t see a bad band the entire time! There wasn’t a band I wasn’t interested in, which made making time for things like eating, using the bathroom, and getting adequate amounts of rest very difficult. But hey, I made it! Like I said, I didn’t see a bad set all weekend, but for me the standouts included Rat Nip, Scalple, Mujeres Podridas, Fuckin’ Lovers, Savageheads, Quarantine, Horrendous 3D, Delco MF’s, and Ammo.

While we were in Philly, the hardcore record collecting contingent of the Scarecrew hit up Sit & Spin Records. I’ve only been to Sit & Spin a few times, but I feel confident saying it’s one of the best punk-oriented record shops in the United States. They have everything you could want in a record store… a top-notch selection of new stock, cool new and used band merch, and a wild selection of used items that ranges from bargain bin rippers to mega-rarities. I could kill a day and several thousand dollars there, but most of my attention (and my dollars) went to the rarities section, where one item got me very stoked.

This score brings together a couple of threads I’ve referenced in previous staff picks. I’ve mentioned numerous times that I am always down for a beater copy of a rare record… particularly if the vinyl is in decent shape but the sleeve has radio station call letters or other kinds of damage. I just don’t get those collectors who want pristine copies of everything… I like my records to feel like they have a little history, not like they’ve been sealed in a time capsule for decades. When I saw this copy of Iron Cross’s Skinhead Glory 7” on the wall at Sit & Spin, I could see right away that someone had used scissors to cut the band’s name out of the top of the record’s sleeve. Why would they do that? Maybe they booked the band and needed the logo for a flyer… maybe they needed it for a zine layout, or maybe they thought the name sucked and didn’t want to be reminded of it? Who knows, but when it allows me to get a rare record like this at way, way below the going rate, it’s easy for me to look past it. Plus, Skinhead Glory isn’t a record that I’d want to pay the going rate for. It’s not that I hate it or anything, but when you compare it to the other Dischord whole and half releases from the same period, it’s the runt of the litter.

Since I just filled this major gap in my Dischord collection, I think it’s time for a new family photo that brings me up to Dischord 8 1/2.

Now that I have Skinhead Glory, it seems very important that I acquire copies of Still Screaming and Boycott Stabb, which to be fair I should have done long before now… I’ve had plenty of opportunities. That’ll bring my Dischord collection up to about #15, though carrying it much beyond that will involve buying more and more records that I don’t care too much about.


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