the soft bulletin re-released on vinyl
the soft bulletin was re-released on vinyl last week…. it’s a 2x 180-gram lp package with a bonus cd containing 3 non-album songs for $30. wait, only 3 non-album songs…. and $30?? i’m happy just to have the opportunity to pick up the album on vinyl, but that price seems a little steep to me. particularly considering the bonus cd is a complete throwaway that i’d rather not be paying for.
i mean this year was the 10th anniversary of the soft bulletin… i would think it’s due for a lavish re-release a la pavement. instead, we’re getting just 3 non-album tracks, all of which anyone who picked up the 5.1 surround dvd package already got a few years back (plus several other live cuts). like that surround sound package, “race for the prize”, “buggin’” and “waitin’ for a superman” all appear mixed as the band originally intended and the us/uk tracklist differences have been ironed out with both “the spiderbite song” and “slow motion” included. that’s nice… but would it have been too much trouble to put those 3 remixes included on the original release on the bonus cd? why not, right?
the bigger question though, is where is the rest of the re-release bonus content? though i’ve never been sure of their exact origins, the two soft bulletin companion discs have been around for nearly as long as the album itself. that’s nearly 30 tracks — including b-sides, alternate mixes, live recordings and single stereo friendly mixes from soft bulletin predecessor zaireeka– and we’re seeing only 3 of them. maybe it’s just me, but i think the album deserves a lot better for its 10th anniversary.
here’s the list of awesome bonus material that has been sitting around just waiting for an anniversary re-release to tag on to…
soft bulletin companion disc 1
1 – 35,000 Feet of Despair
2 – 1,000-foot Hands (early mix)
3 – Riding to Work in 2025 (You’re Invisible Now)
4 – Buggin’ (The Buzz of Love is Busy Buggin’ You)
5 – A Machine in India (edit)
6 – Okay I’ll Admit That I Really Don’t Understand (Stereo-Early Mix)
7 – The Captain
8 – Satellite of You
9 – The Spiderbite Song (early mix)
10 – Slow Motion (early mix)
11 – 1,000-foot Hands (final mix)
12 – Little Hands (rough mix)
13 – The Big ‘Ol Bug Is The New Baby Bow (Stereo Remix)
soft bulletin companion disc 2 (all live, circa 2000)
1 – Sun Arise
2 – Race For The Prize
3 – Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
4 – The Spiderbite Song
5 – The Daily Hum
6 – The Spiderbite Song
7 – Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
8 – Everyone’s Gone to the Moon
9 – Feeling Yourself Disintegrate
10 – The Spiderbite Song
11 - The Switch That Turns Off The Universe
12 – We Can’t Predict The Future
13 – It Remained Unrealizable
14 – The Captain
15 – Waitin’ For A Superman
[but the vinyl package from amazon (begrudgingly)]
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