It’s a Dead Man’s Party! The Oingo Boingo Album by Album Thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by GunsOfBrixton, Oct 16, 2020.

  1. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    I would definitely want you to play them, I did remaster the audio. Just don't judge the product as a whole based on potential pressing quality.

    I did take my concern up the chain at the manufacturer, a person who I've previously exchanged messages with based on a previous concern. His reply today was very, very corporate in its wording, i.e. Thank you, I appreciate the feedback, I have every confidence in our QC department, yadda yadda... It makes me so relieved to be out of the corporate world, hopefully permanently. I never was a phony and couldn't play the suck up game, despite seeing how it benefitted others (who made my skin crawl). And after I turned 50 a couple of years ago, I just have no patience for any of it. But it's not like I would expect him to say; I know, our QC sucks, no one should press with us. One thing he did confirm, and his justification doesn't really work for me, is that while they do have all these extra stampers on hand that we are charged for, it's true that they only change them when one becomes damaged or unusable... to avoid unnecessary downtime. Sorry, but if you are charging me for a stamper to be on hand, you should DEFINITELY change it for each of my 500 unit color variations because your QC team seemed to miss things that were blatantly obvious to me on a first run through, and perhaps half of this pressing could have been satisfactory.

    I really need to move that mountain of boxes out of the middle of my living room. I'm certainly not lugging them down to the basement with the other stock when I'll just have to drag them back upstairs to send them back when their QC gets through their backlog of complaints to review mine in the next couple of weeks. I will try to neatly stuff them in the corner at some point when I can bring myself to deal with it. On the plus side, I just got two clearances from Universal the other day, and thankfully they are CD's!!
     
  2. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Yaaay! CDs! It's just what we want post 1985. Lovely sounding Rubellan Remasters CDs! So Scott, now that you are doing this full time it feels like there's already been an uptick in the pace of releases. That's great, but please don't do a "Bill Nelson" on me. That's all I ask!
     
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  3. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    Despite owning several of his 80's albums, what is 'a Bill Nelson'? Regarding the uptick in clearances, I think it comes down to having so many in for the past couple of years, it's finally turning into clearances. There were small periods in the past where it seemed like I would get one a month. Recently, it's been more like two every month or so, usually one LP and one CD, although this latest couple of clearances for CD's are the same band so that's two for this go round. Many of the clearances coming through over the last months are approximately a year or so old, and yet some of those even older seem to have fallen off the radar, despite attempted follow ups. But as long as I can keep some bigger catalogs anchoring my sales, like Missing Persons and Boingo did last year, then I should still be ok with my occasional niche products like Slow Children and Peter Baumann. Things like Visage and Divinyls are more of those mid-line artists as far as sales.
     
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  4. Juggsnelson

    Juggsnelson Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island
    I think he was joking that Bill Nelson puts out numerous releases in a very short timeframe that tax the wallet lol!
     
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  5. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    Even as someone who is firmly on "Team CD," music enjoyment is music enjoyment and it's a shame to see any manufacturer half-assing their work. That's a drag for folks like you, but it's also a drag for fans who are eager to pick up these releases.

    I have a sinking suspicion that backlogs and increasing demands have left manufacturers feeling like they can afford to tick off smaller buyers because they're not hurting for business. It's a pretty poor long-term survival strategy, but when has that ever stopped a corporation before?
     
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  6. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Exactly that!
     
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  7. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    Oh, I wouldn't count on that happening. It could run into another multi-month dry spell at any point. You get what you get when you get it, that's it. Even after all these years, I can still send over a simple question or inquiry and be ignored 9 out of 10 times. You're very much a number rather than a valued asset, and if tomorrow you said 'cancel everything, I'm done', you can be certain everything would be cancelled and that would be it. I'm not fooling myself into thinking I'm any sort of valued client, they have many others and I'm just part of the pile. So, whatever clearance comes, accept it and ask no questions. Maybe some of my cautious persistence has helped a little in the background but it hasn't put me in any sort of elevated tier. It's big business, take it for what it is.
     
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  8. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    I tend to agree that there's a lot of rushing to get stuff done and things are falling through the cracks. But if anything, they need to understand that I'm not going to be a client who's just grateful to receive a product that sounds like it's been flung across a dirty floor but who is just happy to have something in hand. These are premium priced products, and while I'm willing to accept some sort of imperfections there has got to be limits. It's possible they could just say it doesn't meet their criteria for a repress, and if so you can be sure if I have to put it up for sale I will include a disclaimer that says send any quality concerns to the manufacturer, of which there will be a link. I don't need my reputation being damaged because of manufacturing shortcuts that are out of my control.
     
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  9. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    Definitely not, and given the obvious attention you put into the audio and visual presentations on these releases, you don't deserve to have your reputation damaged because they won't manage their own due diligence as manufacturers.
     
  10. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    Update: The manufacturer has approved my QC claim for the Good For Your Soul LP issue. They checked the two stamper sets they had on hand and confirmed a visible issue with both. They said they will have the master plate reviewed to see if that's where the damage originated (which I suspect it did since it's on both sets of stampers), and if so then they will have to recut a new DMM master. Either way, they will be sending me new test pressings to review before the re-manufacture. Eventually, they will give me instructions on how to get this 700 pounds of unusable stock back to them where they will dispose of everything other than the jackets and inserts and then start again. No idea how long any of this will take.

    While I'm grateful they have owned up and are taking steps to rectify the issue, it begs the question how the hell this made it through QC in the first place. Perhaps most clients don't check their stock with a play through, or they wouldn't be concerned about the issue of a constant rotational TICK going through two full songs, but I'm not going to put something like that out there with my label name on it.

    I also got word Nothing To Fear completed early this week, but with the ongoing shipping delays on their end it hasn't been sent yet. My hope is to have it in hand by the end of next week, and if all checks out then hopefully it will be on sale by next weekend. For those who didn't see the new color variations on the Good For Your Soul repress, this is what you can expect. They came out as I had hoped. The tan and yellow is based on the skin tones and clothes of the guy in the drawing, the green and blue is based on the colors in the window:

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2022
  11. killerofgiants

    killerofgiants Forum Resident

    Location:
    US
    With the amount of new pressings I see on Discogs where an overwhelming majority point out clicks at the exact same spot, I can imagine that many aren't doing the due diligence to make sure the records are going out the door without defects. Really sucks, but catching it now is a helluva lot better than when it's in everybody's hands and your reputation takes a hit.
     
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  12. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

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  13. Scroopy Noopers

    Scroopy Noopers Forum Resident

    Location:
    Liverpool, UK
    Has everyone seen the announcement that there's a remix album coming out called "Bigger Messier"?
     
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  14. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I enjoy his soundtrack work more than his time in OB...
     
  15. bluedemon25

    bluedemon25 Me, I'm Just A Lawnmower

    Location:
    united states
    I thought someone mentioned a few months back that a number of ex OB members we're putting out an album and the way the person talked about it made it sound like it was something akin to an oingo boingo minus Danny elfman album at least in style. Has there been any update on that? Or failing that can someone remind me the name of the album or what the group was calling themselves please? I thought some of may have said some of the updates were on Facebook but I rarely use Facebook so I wouldn't have seen or known where to look. Thanks.
     
  16. Oleo

    Oleo Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    Oingo Boingo Former Members
    They recorded an album some time ago with reworked old songs and new songs from some of the members. Not sure what the current release plans are. The only thing I’ve heard from it so far is a few clips of classic Boingo songs that have been used in advertising for shows.
     
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  17. Beholdentonoone

    Beholdentonoone Forum Resident

    I sure hope Scott does a repress of the Dead Man's Party and Only a Lad CD's. They blew out before I could get my hands on them and now go for RIDICULOUS prices on the secondary market.
     
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  18. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Jeez! I just got my copies of those in June before they sold out. Even though money is tight this summer for me. I wanted the 10" EP bonus tracks on "Only A Lad" and never had "Dead Man's Party" ever. I also wanted his versions of "Good For Your Soul" and my favorite, "Nothing To Fear" but those are now kaput!
     
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  19. Post-Punk Monk

    Post-Punk Monk Seeking divinity in records from '78-'85 or so…

    Location:
    North Carolina
    Let's be thankful for the small miracle of the pressing agent owing up and doing a make right. QC is cheaper though, and maybe this will help to convince them to give it a shot!
     
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  20. Scott Davies

    Scott Davies Forum Resident

    I will do at least one more repress of albums 1 and 4, since those are clearly the ones most in demand. Just not sure exactly when but should be before the end of the year. I still have two years on my contracts, so with the amount of people that have sent me "I missed these! Will they be repressed?" messages, it would be foolish not to.
     
  21. Koabac

    Koabac Self-Titled

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Hi all - long time no post.

    First, thanks again to Scott for these amazing reissues and keeping Boingo Alive (as it were)!

    Just checking on two tears later to see how my pals on this thread are now finding "Big Mess." I am so excited to hear from Scott regarding the releases (which is a totally legit topic for this thread in a digressive way), but I am mostly curious to see if "Big Mess" and "Bigger/Messier" have grown on anyone (or incurred further boredom, annoyoance, wrath, disappointment or shrugs).

    For the last year or so, I mostly listen to the material mixed in with a MASSIVE Elfman/Boingo OCD completist shuffle, which, for me, has shown clearly that these new songs slot in beautifully with Elfman's inventive, original, always evolving/changing songwriting, arranging and production approach. I still agree with many that the aggressive, sonic assault, as well, as dark, angry, merciless vocal/lyrical tales from the front line of a nasty couple of years.

    That said, the distance from 2020, along with me MOSTLY hearing the new material mixed in the playlist shuffle has continued to reveal it's truly inventive, "only Elfman could do it," shapes, structures, arrangements and balls-out artistic vision. The new stuff slots in SO well with the older material from the Mystic Knights era through Boingo through the soundtrack years up to "Big Mess/Bigger, Messier." Way more new songs (than probably have a right to) slot right in and would not be out of place on virtually ANY pre-2000 Elfman/Boingo release to my ears (assaultive, brick-walled, negatively energized, trendy cynicism aside. I HIGHLY recommend creating a massive Elfman/Boingo playlist and then letting it just run on shuffle during any activity, such as driving in the car, cleaning the house, getting ready to go out, or even while searching online for places to sell "Big Mess."

    After hearing this relentless burst of angsty energy channeled through a highly creative period for Elfman all blended together with "OaL," "GFYS," So-Lo," etc tracks, they seem less like outliers that an organic evolution of everything he's done before - just pissier. It never will be anyone's cup of tea, but an artist like Elfman has no right to create something SO original that even HUGE fans are bummed it's too unlike his "old stuff" - or what they want from an Elfman album at this point. Now when I hear it all by itself out of the shuffle context, I can hear, even more, and appreciate even more Elfman's artist achievement.

    As you're all aware, I liked it from the start - and now, a couple years in - I love and respect it as much as ANY new work by an older artist I've loved since childhood. Only Nick Cave seems to have puled off going into new, equally valuable and legit creative work as he continues on into his 40th years of making great music (tho many don't care for Cave's new, darkly atmospheric song-craft with Warren Ellis as his musical foil.

    I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts at this point in time now that there's some perspective. "Still hate it, "of course, being a totally fair take. That said, would also love to hear thoughts on individual tracks that, maybe, have grown on you, those that you hate more - and any other thoughts you may have.

    You know, just for the fun of chattin' about music - and Boingo.

    Cheers!
     
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  22. bluedemon25

    bluedemon25 Me, I'm Just A Lawnmower

    Location:
    united states
    I looked at the track listing for bigger messier and I got that a lot of artists such as for example Elton John and others are pairing and partnering with what I guess might be called current artists but it really didn't seem to have any appeal to me. I tried the one that Iggy pop did with them I thought it was a lot crappier than the original version. I liked the first Trent reznor collab that was released I haven't heard the second one but with none of the other names familiar to me doesn't really grab my interest. It's about as appealing to me as the Elton John Dua lipa or whatever the hell her name is collaboration which is very little at all.

    I do hope he continues to make some more new music I would love to have more from Danny elfman
     
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  23. frozen-beach

    frozen-beach Forum Resident

    I love Big Mess, though I haven't really listened to the remixes. I've never really been big into remixes, though there are exceptions.

    Big Mess to me is very cathartic. It got me through many shifts at my former job.
     
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  24. Koabac

    Koabac Self-Titled

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I agree on remix albums. Mainly because the songs are normally placed in the hands of artists I don't know or even like when I hear their stuff outside of "Bigger, Messier." Dance kinda stuff, the stuttering, off-beat assult is just jarring, etc. That said, there are some very interesting takes. I think Iggy's "Kick Me" is actually hilarious - though utterly non-musical. I just appreciate his smarmy, ironic talk-singing. The fun he's having is contagious. I still need to listen more to the remix album, but I am not feeling greatly compelled to do so. It'll be a hit-or-miss grower for 2-3 tracks down the line, I imagine.

    As for "Big Mess," there are, at least, a full 10 track album that is as good as any Elfman-related album (as a whole) after "DMP," imo. Which ten songs is subjective, but it's hard to believe an Elfman fan who has heard everything up to this point can't find its artistic merit. Again, it's the production and sonic assault that may really be preventing a lot of enjoyment.

    At the very least, it's a bold, creative statement from an artist few would think capable of delivering on that level with no sense of repeating themselves. Who else goes so balls-out at THAT point in their career/age? He made personal art for art's sake and I admire that - plus I like the songs, which I can hear under the production (which is growing on me). IN headphones, when you hear how organic and acoustic it really is - the orchestral arrangements mixed with rock in a new way.

    It's art. Not for everyone, but what great art is? That said, what crappy art is?

    I'm glad he made it. Catharsis caught on tape (digital). A howl. I hope he makes another more varied album and the mixed reaction doesn't make him feel taking another stab at a solo album seem futile. He's still got "it" in terms of artistic expression and the next one may be what ALL of us have been wanting for way too long. The reissues may even show him the interest is there, which may inspire him to start slowly collecting a song here, a song there, etc - until "Small Tidy" is released in 2023.

    Here's hoping.
     
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  25. rjraphael

    rjraphael Forum Resident

    Location:
    Palmdale, CA, USA
    Tickets went on sale today for Danny Elfman at the Hollywood Bowl, 10/28/22 and 10/29/22. According to the announcement, this is his "First ever Career Spanning Headline Performance"...."From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess and Beyond". This is from his post: "This Halloween! A special Coachella-Plus concert at The Hollywood Bowl! I promise it will be insane! Same show as Coachella but with MUCH MORE added. More songs from Boingo, more songs from Big Mess (some never before played live on this planet) and more film score highlights. All performed with the same great band and a full orchestra and choir onstage! If you were at Coachella you’ll still love it. If you saw it online, then you REALLY want to catch the full live performance, which is WAY more than what the cameras picked up. Sorry to say this Halloween, my show is NOT for the kiddies! Expect the unexpected and see you there!”
     
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