Fast forward to 2021: the legendary (at least in these parts!) Creep Records determined that there actually is a market for a (semi) defunct band's second odds and ends LP. At this very moment, I hold in my hands a vinyl copy of "Okay, Enough Reminiscing." Hindsight Is 20/20, My Friend Volume Two. I'm not usually a format geek, but I've got to say it's really freaking cool to have this album on vinyl! I'm staring at Jay Insult's beautiful cover art depicting a scene from Dirty Work -- one of the true cinematic masterpieces of modern times and the official favorite movie of The Ergs! It makes me sad that Norm Macdonald and Bob Saget have recently departed us just as this LP finally receives a proper release. In that respect, this album is a tribute to their immense talents.
Remarkably, The Ergs! were able to fill a 22-track album largely with songs that were released after their breakup. "Okay, Enough Reminiscing." contains the entirety of 2008's That's It...Bye 12", four of the five cuts from 2010's Thrash Compactor 7", the band's tracks from splits with Teenage Bottlerocket and The Measure, a whole slew of hard-to-find compilation tracks, songs from the band's aborted project Experimental Test Pavement, and a couple of live tracks. Listening to this collection again a few years later, I'm still impressed that a band with a double LP compilation of non-album tracks already under its belt was able to assemble a sequel compilation and not have to fill it with crap (And, no, I definitely would not consider a 24-second hardcore song about Johnny Rzeznik deserving a beating to be anything close to filler)! Of course this is not anyone's ideal starting point for The Ergs! But it was never supposed to be. If you're a fan, you will want this album in your collection. Quite a few of these tracks ("Anthem for a New Amanda", "Encyclopedia Self Destructica", "Blah Blah Blah, Fuck You, Blah Blah Blah") are in my estimation essential Ergs! songs. And covers of the likes of Egghead., Sicko, Parasites, Devo, and The Minutemen acknowledge the wonderful variety of influences that made The Ergs! what they were/are (If you're an Ergs! fan who has never heard Egghead., I'm giving you two months to acquire a copy of Would Like A Few Words With You...there will be inspections!). Joe Keller's liner notes are a super cool touch. If you were curious about where these songs came from or how this album came to be, all the juicy details await in fine print!
It's kind of strange the way technology continues to change the face of underground music. Five years ago, I might have agreed that a vinyl version of "Okay, Enough Reminiscing." would likely meet with lukewarm sales. But what I've noticed in our community in recent years is that technology isn't replacing the experience of buying records --- it's facilitating it. People in our world still love records. They hear about cool releases via social media, podcasts, blogs, etc. and can go right to a label's Bandcamp or webstore and order the vinyl. On that note, you can hit up the Creep Records online shop today and order a copy of "Okay, Enough Reminiscing." on a mystery color of vinyl! I'm no expert on punk rock vinyl marketing, but I've got a feeling that Creep will have no trouble moving a full pressing of this stellar comp. I hope they saved a copy for Artie!
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