This blog hasn't seen a lot of action in a few years. I built it on Squarespace in 2019 to fill the time between classes and continued to use it as a writing outlet during Covid-19 quarantine. Then, once I was able to get back out in the world and go to shows, the posts dried up.

So, where have I been?

Well... I got a new job, bought a home, and continued gathering up material to write about on this blog. I've written some things too—most of which is in nearly finished states. It's been sitting in my drafts folder.

I've also been building out the infrastructure to make my goals for this website more attainable. I've developed a library of scripts to help in preparing files for sharing and built a brand new platform to blog to live on. Farewell Squarespace, hello Eleventy.

I'm a big proponent of loving where you publish. The old site was fine, but had its limitations and costs. Part of my inability to publish came from the shame of letting my billing cycle complete for 4 years straight while the plans for a replatforming swirled in my head. $200/y for a business page is fine. That cost cannot be justified for a music blog, not when alternatives exist.

The new site is hosted for free on GitHub pages and I've built out a bunch of custom snippets that will let me format tracklists and other media embeds how I want them. There's more metadata on each post, including mirrored or archived links where I find that old links have died. The site is also static with minimal client-side Javascript, so it's very fast! I hope you like it.

For the geeks who care: I've kept the old urls as they were, but will switch to a /YYYY/MM/title format going forward.

While I don't have search on this version of the site, I've fleshed out the tag archives to make them easier to search. I plan to build a complete archive page with article titles that will be ctrl+F'able. More plans available on the roadmap.

I've also been sharing material to YouTube. I haven't promoted it much, but this project does have a channel that I've been populating with rarities that are hard to find elsewhere. Recent uploads include:

• Bacon Ray's 1994 self-titled cassette (reupload)

• Two releases from Nate Ruess (The Format, Fun.) and Sam Means' (The Format) first band This Past Year / Nevergonnascore

• Stacy Clark's debut EP (the first time this has ever been shared online)

• Some demos from By A Thread

• A higher-resolution copy of The Panic Division's "Versus" music video

• A rare punk / ska compilation

• Some '90s Christian Hardcore from PA

• Fall Out Boy TTTYG Director's Cut Q&A clips

• Some high-def live footage from some gigs I've been to (Including The Beths, The Hotelier, and Milk Carton Kids)

In terms of written content, I have some of that too!

I got ahold of a bootleg DVD of a Copeland show in 2006 that was barred from sale by the band's label. The label's owner has since sold it to me. 🤫

I've published a long-in-progress discography of Christopher Browder (Mansions), which dates back to the very beginning of his musical career. I did this to prove out a format I intend to use for other bands and musicians. I'm working on a sessionography as well, which will document all the live session recordings the band has done and make the audio available to download.

The site's about page has been expanded with information on how to contribute (please contribute!) and there's now a blogroll-style list of other archiving endeavors that relate to what I'm doing here.

That's it for now. More to come. Thanks for reading.

On Friday, March 5th, 2003, Copeland played third of four at Ace’s basement in Greensboro, NC. Ahead of them on the bill was Mae, with supporting acts The Working Title and Slow Coming Day warming up the crowd.

In an article on the venue and its impression on the Greensboro scene which flourished from 2003 to 2005, Jordan Green writes for the Triad City Beat:

[Ace’s Basement] was in the subterranean level of a crack hotel. The Coliseum Inn, a hive of prostitution and addiction across the street from the Greensboro Coliseum, has long since been demolished, taking the briefly illustrious Ace’s Basement down with it.

Show promoter Joe Ferguson was pivotal in this scene, propping up local pop-punk acts and pulling in touring staples in the genre to headline gigs. On top of that, he recorded the shows he put on, creating a video record of the venue’s impact.

“My specialty was on-the-fly, multi-track editing,” Ferguson recalled to Green. “After the show I was able to hand a DVD to the band before they could even get the sweat off of them.”

Closely associated with the venue were bands like The Necesssary/House of Fools, Alli with an I, Kudzu Wish, Sullivan, Farewell, and Far-Less. Thanks to Ace’s Basement, many more bands would make tour stops in NC, including Lovedrug, The Format, Armor For Sleep, Hot Water Music, Codeseven, Bear vs Shark, A Static Lullaby, The Lawrence Arms, Bayside, Between The Buried And Me, Stretch Arm Strong, Underoath, Glasseater, Halifax, Silverstein, Alexisonfire, Hawthorne Heights, Emery, Demon Hunter, Haste The Day, Dead Poetic, Piebald, The Chariot, Gatsbys American Dream, Circa Survive, Alesana, and Lucero.

Did I mention the venue was only open for two years?

Short-lived as it was, the recordings live on. Some of which were produced into unauthorized DVDs. The Militia Group founder Chad Pearson brought to my attention one such DVD produced for Copeland’s set that night in March of ‘03. He said that that he was “pretty sure only a few copies exist.” The band’s singer, Aaron Marsh, recalled Pearson sending a cease and desist over it. That I have not been able to confirm.

Now that I know about Joe and Ace’s Basement, I’m hoping to track down more footage. If you have any, reach out. In the meantime, I’ve uploaded a rip of this DVD to YouTube. You can watch the set below.

The other day I found a track from a band called Never Gonna Score on a little-known compilation from Arizona. Turns out, that's the first band Nate Ruess and Sam Means (The Format, Fun.) formed together.

From what I've been able to learn thus far, the band didn't last longer than a few years. This is one of few known recordings from the short-lived punk group from Glendale, AZ. They produced one record called The Byron Sessions, an EP, and a handful of demos I've found loose around the web.

If you have more from Never Gonna Score / This Past Year, please reach out.

Here's a track I learned about only this week. Before there was Fun., there was The Format. Before there was The Format, there was Never Gonna Score (aka Nevergonnascore / This Past Year) which included both Nate Ruess and Sam Means.

The compilation I found this track on is from Moose Records, also from Glendale which had only a handful of releases. This first one featured tracks from Less Than Jake, Rx Bandits, Riverfenix, and more. I uploaded the whole thing to YouTube here.

If you have more releases from Moose Records, please reach out.

Chloe Moriondo's Blood Bunny tour kicked off in Cleveland last night with a sold out show at Mahall's Twenty Lanes.

The line for the gig wrapped around the building prior to doors with dozens of fans and their parents waiting eagerly to get inside. Chloe and opening act Addison Grace made appearances at the building’s side-window to wave hello to those standing in the adjacent gas station’s parking lot.

Grace kicked off the show with a solo acoustic set, followed by Jackie Hayes in the first of three supporting performances on the tour. It was a one-two punch of sugar and spice with Grace’s sweet melodies warming up the crowd for Hayes’ high-energy two-piece performance.

Chloe’s set, which was packed with tracks from her new record, some old favorites, and two unreleased tracks ("Sammy" and "Bloodhound") was accompanied by a lovely cover of The Cranberries' eternal hit "Linger." You can watch that performance above.

Editorial Note: Clearly, the video I captured isn't as well composed at it could be. The Mahall's stage has a mere two-foot rise from the floor (if that… I didn’t bring my yard stick last night). This makes it difficult to see much unless you're right up front. As a tall person, I find it morally incorrect to impede the view of the short in situations like these. I hope the audio will suffice.

The new songs, both about dogs, came as a surprise. Blood Bunny came out in May. It was followed by an acoustic EP in July. She told the crowd last night to expect a new EP soon, on which the song “Sammy” will be found. This one falls in line with her previous material. It’s a whimsical song about her blind dog of the same name. The second unreleased track, “Bloodhound,” is a departure into hyperpop. Heavy vocal effects met with frantic dog barks brought an entirely new energy to the room just as the set met its end.

Chloe Moriondo’s set decoration, following her sold out performance at Mahall’s.

Moriondo turned just 19 the day previous to the show. I mention this not to fall into the trap of saying “she’s such a good performer despite her age,” but because commanding an audience like she does so early in her career is worthy of remark. The performance was fantastic. She brings a nervously excited energy that you can hear in her laugh in the first seconds of the video above. It emanates through the room, infecting everyone.

She has a deep connection with her fans, which goes both ways. During all of the sets, you could hear repeated compliments thrown from various corners of the space to the performer on stage. “You look cool” or “you’re so amazing” were commonly heard, earning blushes and thank you’s from everyone on the receiving end. At one point, Moriondo checked in with the crowd to make sure they were staying hydrated. You hear this a lot at shows— it gets hot under the lights and surrounded by people—but rarely do you see a noticeable wave of fans leave their places in the crowd to fetch some water from the back bar when it’s suggested by the headliner mid-set.

If you get the opportunity, catch Chloe on tour. I believe she’s destined for greatness. I hope she continues to wield the influence she has on her young fan-base with continued positivity and for progressive action.

In October 2011, Brandon “Roy English” Wronski and Cameron “BRKLYN” Trowbridge, both formerly of Dead Letter Diaries and Eye Alaska, began releasing music under the banner Canary Dynasty. Joining them were collaborators Cody B. Ware and VerBS.

Here’s a fun fact: Boston outfit Bad Rabbits were once listed under the collective’s website, but never released anything with the Canary Dynasty banner.

From the Canary Dynasty website (seemingly plagiarized from Wikipedia):

Canaries were once regularly used in coal mining as an early warning system.[3] Toxic gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in the mine would kill the bird before affecting the miners. Because canaries tend to sing much of the time, they would stop singing prior to succumbing to the gas therefore alerting miners to the danger. The use of so called miner's canaries in British mines was phased out in 1987.[4]

Hence, the phrase "canary in a coal mine" is frequently used to refer to a person or thing which serves as an early warning of a coming crisis. By analogy, the term climate canary is used to refer to a species that is affected by an environmental danger prior to other species, thus serving as an early warning system for the other species with regard to the danger.[5]

The same occurred in England. First the birds were only owned by the rich but eventually the local citizens started to breed them and, again, they became very popular. Many breeds arose through selective breeding, and they are still very popular today for their voice.

When explorers discovered large dogs on one of the islands, the island became known, in Latin, as Canaria Insula ("Island of Dogs"), the root of Canaria being canis ("dog"). By about A.D. 300, the entire group of islands had the Latin name.

Because only male canaries sing, the traders tightly controlled the supply of male birds and created a monopoly on them. This kept the price of canaries high, increased their desirability and made them affordable as pets only by the wealthy

Brandon would continue releasing under the Roy English moniker for a few years before adopting Jagwar Twin as his new persona. Cameron has found continued success with BRKYLN by adding Cody Nadeau as a creative partner.

The Canary Dynasty project lived for roughly a year, culminating in a shower of singles over Tumblr, Soundcloud, and YouTube. The metadata for some of these songs hinted at a Canary Dynasty Mixtape. So although the primary duo of Roy and BRKLYN never formally released the tape, I eagerly collected it track by track and compiled one of my own. This 15 track collection contains every song released by Canary Dynasty.

Tracklist:

Changelog:

V1 - February 12, 2021 - Initial release

• 15 singles encompassing the career of the Canary Dynasty collective.

It was reported earlier this week that singer-songwriter Cady Groves has passed away at just 30 years old (obituary). Anyone who followed her eleven-year career knew her to be a vivacious, talented, and caring person. She will be sorely missed.

Cady leaves behind an all-too short catalog of published works that includes several EPs and singles. According to friends and family, she was preparing for the release of a full-length album when she passed.

To commemorate her life and work, I’ve assembled a 51-track compilation of demos, features, and “unreleased” songs that Cady recorded and shared on various platforms over a period of roughly nine years. It’s my hope that these songs continue to reach and be enjoyed by fans new and old for years to come.

The artwork for the collection uses a photograph by Glamour Kills, shot for their 2011 Summer clothing line. I do hope they don’t mind. I could think of no better image to capture Cady’s essence during the time period in which many of these songs were recorded.

The compilation’s tracklist is ordered by date. Tracks are dated by the best approximation for when Cady first released them on the Internet. In some cases, like with “Roll (Ride 'Til We Die)” or “Pouring Kerosene,” these demos weren’t heard by the public for many years after they were written and recorded.

The collection is comprised only of Cady’s music that is not available to purchase or stream on services like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. We will continue to update and document the project, so if you know of anything missing here, please reach out.

I’d like to relay that the Groves family is requesting that donations be made in Cady’s name to the Music Health Alliance or MusiCares. I strongly support doing that if you can.

Tracklist:

1. Take It All (feat. Ethan Gibson)
2. I'm Still Here (demo version)
3. City of Lights (demo)
4. Not Someone I'd Call My Friend
5. Like A Soldier
6. Better Than Better Could Ever Be (feat. Stephen Jerzak)
7. Blend
8. Your Worst Fear (demo)
9. All That I Need Is You (feat. Cady Groves) - Andrew De Torres
10. Mending Fences
11. He Left (acoustic demo)
12. Nights Too Cold To Sleep Alone
13. The Sting (demo)
14. Meant To Be (demo)
15. Fantasy (demo)
16. If I Die Young (The Band Perry cover)
17. Crazy (In Love) (demo)
18. Never Enough (demo)
19. The Only Exception (Paramore cover)
20. Yellow Brick (demo)
21. IDGAF
22. Revenge
23. 4 Years (Casey's Song)
24. Your Enemy
25. So Called Love (demo)
26. I Want It (demo)
27. Merry Go Round (demo)
28. Pouring Kerosene (demo)
29. Completely (demo)
30. Roll (Ride 'Til We Die)
31. Take My Hand (demo)
32. You Can Have My Car (Inadequate Lover)
33. Not Afraid of You (demo)
34. Another Day In The Life (demo)
35. Temperamental (demo)
36. Stuck On You
37. I'm My Only (demo)
38. Live My Life (demo)
39. Graffiti Love (demo)
40. Same Old (live acoustic)
41. Show Me You Love Me (demo)
42. Similar Taste...Similar Touch (feat. Chase Ryan)
43. Bring Back The Sun (Our Lady Peace cover)
44. Hell Or High Water
45. Crybaby (demo)
46. Mr. F (demo)
47. Anything But You (demo)
48. We Survive (demo)
49. Red Handed
50. Stand Here Alone (feat. Andy Lawrence)
51. Kitchen Island (demo)
52. Find Out For Sure
53. Jump In The Lake (demo)

Changelog:

V1 - May 6, 2020 - Initial release

• 51 demos, features, and unreleased songs collected from Myspace, Purevolume, Tumblr, Soundcloud, and YouTube over the course of roughly 9 years.

• “The Only Exception” was taken from a radio session at B98.5 Studios in Neptune, NJ. I RX’d two coughs out of the beginning of the session.

• ID3 tags and filenames list the earliest known date for the track’s availability online.

V2 - September 24, 2021 - First revision

• Collection expanded to 53 demos, features, and unreleased songs collected from Myspace, Purevolume, Tumblr, Soundcloud, and YouTube over the course of roughly 10 years.

• Collection title changed to reflect new date range. 2018 -> 2019

• “Kitchen Island” is a demo from 2017 shared by Cady’s moth Carol and brother Cody on May 2, 2021.

• Similarly, “Jump In The Lake” was shared by Carol and Cody on July 30, 2021. No date was attached, but It can be assumed that it was recorded in late 2019 or early 2020.

Today's treasure of Drive Thru Records' past is a 2002 Something Corporate documentary called 'A Year In The Life.' This captures a really interesting point in the band’s career.

Something Corporate (or SoCo) formed in 1998 and released their first full length, Ready… Break, in 2000 with funding from a local venue called the Coach House. In 2001, the band signed with Drive-Thru and released the Audio Boxer EP with all new material (save “Hurricane”). That was followed by Leaving Through The Window the following year which was made up of a mixture of tracks from Audio Boxer and rerecorded songs from Ready… Break.

In a half hour, A Year In The Life documents SoCo during the recording of, and subsequent touring for, Leaving Through the Window. It takes you behind the scenes of recording with Jim Wirt (The Rocket Summer, Jack’s Mannequin, Alien Ant Farm), the recording “If U C Jordan” and “I Woke Up In A Car” music videos, their early days of Warped touring, and writing what might be the most beloved b-side ever recorded, “Konstantine.”

Unlike The Starting Line Acoustic DVD released by Drive-Thru the following year, this one came in a standard 19х13.5cm case. I’m not sure how necessary that was, really. There are no inserts or booklets to accompany the disc inside. I supposed MCA just had the money for it. I’ve included here a cleaned up scan of the front cover.

I haven't seen this one posted online previously for what I'm assuming is the same reason I had to recut it today. UMG puts out claims on any video containing footage from the "If U C Jordan" and "I Woke Up In A Car" videos, both of which this documentary goes behind the scenes. I’ve trimmed the videos from the documentary and posted the documentary below.

While "If U C Jordan" was directed by Drive Thru's own Richard Reines, "I Woke Up In A Car" was directed by renowned Canadian producer Harvey "Harv" Glazer who went on to work with acts like Kendrick, Drake, Rihanna, and more.

Production credits:

Produced by Tim Stedman
Co-Produced by Brent Kidwell
Edited by Buzz Chatman
Filmed by Brent Kidwell, Hadi Salehi, Buzz Chatman, Jeff Jackel, and Andrew McMahon
© MCA Records

In November of 2003, The Starting Line released The Make Yourself at Home EP which featured 6 acoustic tracks. “The Best Of Me,” previously released as a full-band track on Say It Like You Mean It (2002), was given the acoustic treatment. The 4 remaining songs were new.

From the liner notes:

Thank you to all of our families and friends. We would list everybody but it would be longer than the lyrics.

Everyone,
Thanks so much for checking out our acoustic EP, we hope you enjoy it. I just wanted to clarify what this recording is, for anyone who is curious. The first three songs of this EP were written while touring in the summer of 2002. With some time off we spent at home, the songs were recorded by my good friend Bob Jones of The Prize Fight in his bedroom. For convenience, the songs were recorded from an acoustic guitar and the beats were taken from an 80's Casio keyboard. Between the positive feedback we received from our friends and our desire to get the new songs out, we decided to release a five song EP including a new song and an acoustic version of The Best of Me. The last two song[s] of the CD were recorded in my basement during March 2003 and this EP was completed. It was a great experience to work on this recording as independently as we did. So thank you again, we hope you enjoy listening to this as much as we enjoyed making it.

Love, Kenny and The Starting Line.

P.S. We added Lasting Impressions on quite awhile after the EP's completion. This song was recorded on my own in the back of the bus. It will appear on our next album as a full band song.

“Lasting Impressions” was demoed with the rest of the band during the Geffen Sessions, but would never see an official full-band release.

In addition to the EP, there was a lesser known companion DVD as well, The Make Yourself At Home Acoustic DVD. This release contained a live-recorded acoustic performance with a slightly different tracklisting. The set on the DVD was recorded at the Skate & Surf Festival in late April of 2003.

As far as I am aware, this DVD has been out of print for a long time. On Discogs, the number of Wants exceed the Haves and, although it's not historically expensive to pick one up second-hand, the opportunity to do so is fairly uncommon.

So here's the video. I hope nobody associated with the group will mind. It's a fun set that those who have attended the band's 20 year anniversary tour this year should appreciate.

You can purchase The Make Yourself At Home EP digitally on Bandcamp along with the rest of The Starting Line’s discography.

As a bonus, here's a ~6 minute tour bus interview with Kenny Vasoli that came on the DVD, as well as two enhanced CD live videos of “Classic Jazz” and “Surprise Surprise.”

The Make Yourself At Home Acoustic DVD

The Make Yourself At Home EP

This emo-tinged indie-rock band was formed by Christopher Browder, crystalizing from various solo projects in 2007. The following is a reverse chronological discography of Browder’s work, including his previous solo releases and college-era bands Good Driver and Once More (Than Never).

While I was working on this archive, Chris went ahead and built something very similar on the band's website for their primary releases. There, too, are some great making-of accounts of several full-lengths in the discography.

Mansions (2007-present)

Another one-off cover. This one came with a note from Chris on the band's Instagram.

While writing Tuff Luff I got hit with major writer’s block, and one attempt to bust out of it was recording dumb rock versions of songs that were very much not that (e.g. what if Phoebe bridges had a pop-punk band). I’ve always loved New Love Cassette, and after recording a demo Robin and I were both like “wait…why can’t the album just be like this???” That discovery unlocked Tuff Luff in a very real way, and we recorded this “real” version in those same Tuff Luff sessions. I hope you dig it as much as we like playing it!!

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Mansions' 6th studio album was marked as a return to the sound that married Dig Up The Dead and Doom Loop. It was recorded from December 2022 to March 2023.

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Recorded from August 2020 through March 2021, this collection continues a long-running theme of reimagining old material to give it new life.

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In a series of covers, also known as 'VS TikTok', Chris transformed these viral hits into charming acoustic ballads.

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Bad Timing Records released the compilation on vinyl for its 20th Anniversary. This release features remixed and remastered versions of the songs. While "All Eyes On You" was dropped, "When I Sleep" and "The Constant" were added.

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Recorded from July through September 2020, these new takes on cuts from Big Bad were released as a digital-exclusive.

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Released 7 years after the last, Mansions' fifth LP is known for a slight departure from the band's signature sound. This is the first full-length first released by Bad Timing Records.

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A collection of demos and b-sides from the making of Dig Up The Dead. The collection was only available from June 5-7, 2020 on Bandcamp and all proceeds were donated to Black Lives Matter.

From Christopher Browder on the release:

Most of these were never intended to see the light of the day. Unmastered, mp3 quality, no guarantees that any of it is good.

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After partnering with the label in 2014 for the vinyl pressing of Dig Up The Dead (Acoustic) and The Biggest Lie / Tangerine 7”, Bad Timing Records released the Deserter EP exclusively. The record was premiered on Billboard.com on October 31, 2017.

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Alongside a repressing of New Best Friends, Bad Timing Records printed 250 copies of The Biggest Lie / Tangerine, a two side single with the two tracks from the self-titled EP that didn’t make it on the full length.

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Mansions’ fourth full-length album, and the second release from the band on Clifton Motel Records. Cassettes by Pretty Lush.

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Together with John Nolan (and Street Spirit) of Taking Back Sunday and Straylight Run, Mansions released a two track split featuring their single “Heavy Dungeon Echo.” The release was limited to 1000 physical copies.

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This Burning House Records compilation features six of the label’s artists covering one of each others songs. Mansions covered “Miserable Without You” by Jarrod Gorbel and The Holy Rolling Empire covered Mansions’ “OMG.” Proceeds from the sale of the EP go to the San Francisco School Alliance.

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This acoustic rendition of Dig Up The Dead was originally released on a limited edition CD-R that was included in pre-orders of the standard album's pink variant and some copies of the CD. It was pressed on vinyl by Bad Timing Records on January 6, 2015.

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Mansions' third full-length album, released by Clifton Motel Records. CDs were pressed by Burning House Records and cassettes by Pretty Lush. Vinyl repressed by Bad Timing Records in 2019.

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Best of the Bees is a compilation of various tracks from the EP Initiative. Each track was hand picked by Christopher Browder for a Bandcamp exclusive release. The compilation was reworked and re-released by Bad Timing Records in 2020.

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Roughly 100 copies of this limited edition tape were made. “Unwell” was later put on Best Of The Bees. “Family Dinner Week” was previously released by Browder’s former bands Once More and Good Driver in 2005. “All Those Dreams” was recorded twice more. Once for Mansions’ Daytrotter Session and again as a Dig Up The Dead bonus track.. As far as I’m aware, “Lost In Space” is exclusive to this release.

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A collaborative release by Weatherbox’s Brian Warren and Mansions’ Christopher Browder. Pre-release CDs were hand numbered /200 and hand-painted.

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The second full-length LP from Mansions. A direct follow-up to the EP Initiative, featuring newly recorded versions of the series' best tracks. The original vinyl pressing was hand-assembled and contained a special-edition color poster and CD insert with an interview and unreleased recording of "The Worst" Part.

The original CD pressing featured artwork from Browder and a CD bonus disk for The EP Initiative.

The album was repressed on March 4, 2014 through Bad Timing Records. Handrawn artwork by Robin Dove. This release included the afore-listed "Biggest Lie / Tangerine" 7".

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This compilation is comprised of tracks released on the various EPs released in 2008, leading up to the release of New Best Friends. It was included as a bonus MP3 disc in the CD release of the record.

A full description of The EP Initiative and it’s seven individual parts is in progress and will be published here at a later time.

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This self-titled EP was released by Doghouse to drum up buzz for the forthcoming Mansions full length. The first two tracks of the EP were included in that that release. The latter two were rereleased as a 7” in 2014 along with the New Best Friends repress. The CD contains further content accessible via a computer.

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The first full length released under the Mansions moniker. Self-produced and recorded. This album includes early versions of many songs that would be re-recorded and used on New Best Friends. Only a few hundred copies were produced.

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Good Driver (2005-2006)

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Bristopher Crowder / C.L. Browder (2004-2005)

These tracks were released in an ongoing series that's significant as it's the first "solo" work Chris Browder released online.

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Once More (Than Never) (2004-2005)

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Not much is known about this demo. By the time it arrived on my Radar, Purevolume's data had been purged and the Internet Archive was barred from retaining any data related to the site.

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This was a song demoed by Christopher while he was in college. It's been described as "mellow with a techno-ish vibe." It was available for download on Once More Than Never's university-hosted web page.

This short guide serves as an explainer for what hidden track one audio (HTOA) is, how to determine if it exists on a disc, and how to properly extract it. This variety of audio easter egg is otherwise known as a pre-gap hidden track.

In my guide to configuring and using X Lossless Decoder (XLD) to rip lossless audio from CDs, I mentioned a dropdown setting on the CD information window that deals with pre-gaps. The four options are as follows:

1. Include pre-gap for all tracks

2. Include pre-gap except for HTOA

3. Exclude pre-gap (incompatible with AccurateRip)

4. Save as a single file (+cue)

In most cases, including the pre-gap for all tracks but the first is what you’ll want to do. This keeps your copy compatible with AccurateRip and leaves out what can be a lengthy and unnecessary silence leading into track one. Of course, if there is audio hidden in the pre-gap of track one, you’ll surely want to capture that as well as the rest. That’s easy enough to do, provided your optical drive is capable of it.

You can often identify the existence of hidden audio in track one’s pre-gap via the pre-gap column to the far right of XLD’s disc information window. In the above examples, you can see that Lit’s A Place In The Sun has nearly two minutes worth of pre-gap on track one, whereas The Long Winters’ When I Pretend To Fall does not. That’s generally an indicator that it might be worth exploring further.

If you intend to copy the entire disc, proceed to rip it as you normally would using the “Include pre-gap except for HTOA” option. Once the standard tracks have been copied to your hard disc, uncheck all of them but the first. Then select “Include pre-gap for all tracks” from the dropdown. Extract the audio again. This will export a new file with its own log. The file itself will contain the audio located at sector zero, leading up to and including the entirety of track one.

In the case of the Lit album pictured above, ripping “Four” with its pre-gap will result in a single audio file with a five minute and eight second length. That’s everything from sector zero through the end of track one, which includes your hidden audio.

You can use the pre-gap duration to cut the file into two. I suggest using Rogue Amoeba’s Fission software to perform this surgery.

Once you’ve exported this isolated audio and edited the metadata appropriately, you’re finished.

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Below is a running list of HTOAs I find as I digitize my CD collection. A more complete list of these tracks can be found on Wikipedia.

The following is a tutorial on CD ripping using the software and preferences used in my archiving workflow.

This guide assumes that you intend to rip audio to lossless formats with checks and logs. My preference is FLAC, which will be used as the primary example here.

It also assumes you are using MacOS as your operating system. If you want to rip audio using a PC, I would recommend Exact Audio Copy (EAC). Hydrogenaudio has a guide for configuring that software.

X Lossless Decoder (XLD)

X Lossless Decoder (henceforth referred to as XLD) is a tool for MacOS that is able to decode/convert/play various 'lossless' audio files. It works on Mac OS X 10.4 and later.

You can begin the setup process by downloading XLD from the developer (mirror 1, mirror 2). Once you’ve installed XLD on your system, continue on to the configuration steps below

Step 1. General Preferences

When opening XLD for the first time, the application will automatically open to the general preferences pane. If it does not, you can access this by navigating to the XLD dropdown in your menu bar and clicking “Preferences” or using the ⌘, shortcut.

The only action you need to take here is changing your output format to FLAC and your character encoding of cuesheet to Unicode (UTF-8).

If you wish to specify a folder for your output, you can do so. Otherwise, XLD will prompt you for an output folder at the beginning of each rip. Your computer should automatically set the threading settings based on the processor you have on board.

Leave the automatic updates box checked.

Step 2. Output Format

After setting your output format to FLAC, click on the option button to the right.

In this section, move the compression level slider to High and uncheck the box that allows XLD to embed a cue sheet. You can leave this setting on if you want to rip a full disc to a single file.'

Step 3. File Naming

The next step is to set pre-formatted templates for your file output. Naming conventions vary, but I suggest that each track have, at the very least, the track number, track title, and artist’s name.

Forward slashes ( / ) are translated into new directories. Everything preceding the slash is the folder name and everything following it is the track name.

This is the template I use and an example filepath of the output

%y - %T - %A [%f]/%n. %t - %a

2014 - Cult - Bayside [FLAC]/1. Big Cheese - Bayside

You can use the key to your left to format based on your own preferences. More, less commonly used placeholders can be found here.

Select “Overwrite” as the option for existing file names.

Key:

%D = disc number 
%I = disc id 
%A = album artist 
%T = album title 
%a = track artist 
%c = composer 
%f = format 
%g = genre 
%n = track number 
%t = track title 
%y = year

Step 4. Batch Conversion

While not necessary to configure for individual CD rips, the batch conversion tab holds settings useful if you need to convert numerous files across numerous subdirectories in one go.

For instance, if you have an artist-level directory containing two album directories, you could drag the artist’s folder onto the XLD icon in the menu bar and begin a batch conversion.

Ensure that “Preserve directory structures” is checked and that your subdirectory search depth is 0.

Step 5. Metadata

Skipping over the CDDB panel, we’ll verify that your default metadata settings are configured correctly.

Depending on your storage and playback needs, there are options here that can save you space in the aggregate. If you leave “Embed cover art images into files,” XLD will use the image data it obtains from CDDB/MusicBrainz to populate the cover field for each ripped or converted track. This is less than necessary on platforms where your media player of choice displays artwork from a separate file located in the same directory.

If you’d like to review the metadata being used before each conversion, check “Edit tags before conversion.”

Uncheck the automatic compilation flag setting and decide if you’d like to leave a default comment on each track. This could be something like “Converted with X Lossless Decoder” or “visit discography.fm.”

Step 6. CD Ripping

In terms of the quality and documentation of the media being ripped, this is the most important configuration panel of them all. If you want to obtain an exact replica of the files on disc, make sure that these are set precisely to the image above.

The ripper should be in XLD Secure mode. You can change this via the first dropdown in the panel.

Your sample read settings should be set by XLD automatically. Do not change these, but do restart XLD if you swap out an external disc drive. You can verify that your current drive is recognized by XLD via the downward facing chevron to the right of your read sample offset value.

Leave your AccurateRip settings as is. This will check a database of existing rips to ensure that yours is accurate.

Always save both the log file and cue sheet. These are records account for the quality of your rip. You will also want to verify suspicious sectors. I’ll explain why in the plugins section.

It’s important to test before copy. This essentially tells XLD to read each track twice, double checking them for inconsistencies and saving the best possible rip. This will double the time it takes for your rips to take place, but will ensure the best copy. I always test before copy, but you can save time and drive rotations by skipping this when the track exists in the AccurateRip database.

Lastly, check the “Scan ReplayGain” checkbox. This adds information to your logs that may help identify the edition of your disc. It doesn’t hurt to leave this on.

Step 7. Profiles & Multiple Formats

This step is optional, but may be useful if you intend to rip/convert to different formats or multiple formats at one time.

First, you’ll want to save your current settings. Do this via the Profile menu in the menu bar. Use an identifiable description that includes the type of file you are outputting. Now you are free to change any of your settings from steps 1-6, saving them as a different profile that you can switch to quickly.

Most will use this feature to set up different output settings like VBR MP3s or WAV files, but you can use it to set up profiles that will rip faster for occasions that don’t require the utmost quality.

You can also set up a profile that will output converted media in various formats at once. You can set this up my choosing Multiple Formats from the “Output format” dropdown on the General tab. Click options and generate a list of your desired formats and settings for each. AIFF is included by default, but can be removed after more settings are added. Changing the names of these formats will change the value of %f in your file names. This is helpful when ripping to MP3 in various qualities V0, V2, 320 CBR, etc.

When any changes are made, be sure to save or overwrite your profiles using the same steps as your first.

Step 8. Let’r Rip

Now that you are fully configured, it’s time to rip a disc. Navigate to File > Open Audio CD from the menu bar. The submenu that appears should list the name of the CD in your drive. If it doesn’t, there is an option to refresh this list.

After detecting pre-gaps for your disc, the above window will appear with information about the disc. If the metadata isn’t pre-filled at this time, click “Get Metadata” from the list at the top right of this window.

On some releases, the full metadata may not exist in the databases XLD scans. If there is no album artwork, you can drag and drop a .jpg from your filesystem into the appropriate spot here. You can manually edit the rest of the metadata for one or more tracks by selecting them and clicking “Edit Metadata.”

Before you extract the audio, note the pregap for track one. If this value is anything other than 00:00:00, there may be audio hidden in the pregap of track one. For more information on how to extract this, check out this guide.

After clicking extract and setting the output directory, the ripping process will begin. Depending on your settings, the length/condition of your disc and the speed of your optical drive, this may take some time. A new window will appear so that you can follow the extraction’s progress.

Once the extraction is finished, another window will appear with a log file. If you used the configuration above, this has already been saved and you can close the window.

Plugins:

Now that you have your audio files and a log, you may want to check the quality of the rip. You can do this using a plugin called LogChecker.

To install, download it here and copy the XLDLogChecker.bundle file to ~/Library/ApplicationSupport/XLD/PlugIns. If this directory does not exist, create it. Restart XLD and verify the plugin by finding “Log Checker” in the XLD menu.

Once opened, the Log Checker window will accept log files by dragging and dropping. It will almost instantaneously check the log and show you the results. You want an OK from the Log Checker. If you get the “Not Signed” result, your rip has errors.

Errors that will require re-rips of affected tracks:

• Read Error, Damaged Sector Count

Errors you can ignore:

• Jitter error, Retry sector count

While configuring the CD Ripping settings, we told XLD to verify suspicious sectors. This setting will double check sections of the disc that initially appear to contain errors. If this setting is not set, the Log Checker will automatically deduct 5 points from its 100-point grade.

I received my first piece of physical media when I was about six years old. It was a tape cassette of Backstreet Boys’ second album Backstreet’s Back. I held a dance party in my bedroom that evening with all of my friends. We took turns, one by one, using flashlights from the top bunk of my bed as spotlights to fully reenact our childhood picture of a live show as the rest of us twisted and shouted to boy band mega-singles.

It wasn’t long after that I started asking for blank tapes. Through a friend, I learned that one could use these to record music from the radio. Armed with a six-pack of RCA blanks, I sat waiting for the DJ to introduce the next set of songs with my finger poised on the record button, ready to collect.

I still have some of those painstakingly curated mixes. Each of them are crudely labeled with my initials, “Mix,” and a number that corresponded with the order in which it was added to my shoebox of tapes. These are living, albeit dusty remnants of the impetus of my music collecting obsession. Be it a hobby or a compulsion, it’s a trait that has evolved in scope and size for more than two decades over many formats—both physical and digital.

As cassettes became outdated and personal computers gave us greater access to a network of web pages and digital stores, MP3 players became a prevalent way to carry media. The Creative NOMAD MuVo debuted in 2002 and the iPod followed in 2007. I purchased one from the Creative line in 2006, a MuVo V100 I think, a decade after my music collection began.

I lacked a meaningful Internet connection, so I populated my 512MB player with tracks transferred from friends’ flash drives or downloaded via long defunct audio search engines like Dogpile (still around, sans audio tab) and SingingFish at school. It was middle school when I started borrowing stacks of CDs from the local library to rip on my parents' 2004 Dell desktop computer. I pirated these to 128kbps MP3s and quickly filled my parent’s hard drive, which meant shoving a repurposed hard drive I picked up from Lord knows where.

With the collection growing so rapidly, I came to dislike the organizational preferences of Windows Media Player. As nice as Microsoft’s visualizations were, the passive nature of that player just didn’t scale. I think that’s when I moved to Musicmatch Jukebox, which worked just fine until its Yahoo! branded successor ruined the experience. My library moved to Winamp and stayed until I bought my first Macintosh in 2011.

From 2012 on, I started working in a journalistic capacity within the music industry. Like my parent’s old Dell, it didn’t take long to fill that shiny chrome laptop. I had to buy several Western Digital MyBooks to store the endless advances, mixes, and promos sent to me over WeTransfer, Dropbox, and emails (savages). These were rarely organized, tossed into folders titled “To-Do” or “Unsorted.” It’s a miracle that I can find anything from that period of my life, but I’m glad when I do. Those editorial gigs gave me access to music that I would have never otherwise have found.

To this day, my library is still fragmented into very specific segments based on the time period and devices I most commonly used at the time. I’ve spent weeks over the course of years in an attempt to consolidate these libraries into one master. It’s been slow going, delayed by the never-ending stream of new music I acquire and the desire to replace media with higher quality copies—where I can find them.

Despite what might sound like grumbling, organizing my music into properly titled folders and filling out ID3 tags is genuinely one of my favorite ways to pass time. The archival process is a soothing one that somehow sparks joy in my brain. Talking about it is fun too, but you wouldn’t hear that said by my romantic partner or a lot of my close personal friends. Conversation about bitrates, metadata, and obsessive collecting is generally reserved for like-minded weirdos I meet on the Internet.

With this blog, I’m giving myself a new outlet to journal the music I collect, how I collect it, the history behind it, and how I contextualize it all in the real world. Thanks for reading.