Feature / Music
Pass The Mic: Record Labels and Artists on 2008

Words: Michael • Posted pre-2010

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No Sleep Records (Chris Hansen)

What are your top five albums that were released in 2008?

  1. Polar Bear Club - Sometimes Things Just Disappear
  2. Narrows - Narrows
  3. Trash Talk - Plagues
  4. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (Reissue)
  5. H2O - Nothing To Prove

What band did you discover in 2008 (can be a brand new band or an older band) that had an impact on your life? What made them significant?

More of a re-discovering of my love for Smoking Popes

How will you remember 2008? (In terms of music)

The rise of vinyl, the demise of some great bands.

Vinyl record sales saw a significant increase this year while hard copy sales continued to dwindle. Is this a return to the glory days for vinyl or just a phase? Explain.

I think this is definitely a return to the glory days of the all mighty vinyl record, or I hope it is anyway. Now a days it is so easy to just steal a record from a blog, a torrent site, whatever, well you can't steal the beauty of a well done vinyl record (ie: packaging, colors, bonus stuff, etc), and I think that is one reason it has seen a increase. I hope it continues to increase, but as we get older, the younger kids get older also, and I feel most of them still don't know what a vinyl record is (flashback to Cornerstone 2008, merch booth, some kid asking brad from la dispute what a 7" was, and brad said "it's a record, it plays music, or I guess you could use it as a Frisbee" and almost instantly the kid threw the record? true story).

What was the most memorable moment for you in 2008? (Can be in terms of anything)

Watching my label grow more and more, meeting new friends along the way.

What can we look forward to from you in 2009?

Hopefully continue to release some great records that stand out from the garbage that gets released these days. A few fun special one off 7"'s with some powerhouse members (or at-least they are to me in some ways), just more good and true music.

What three records are you looking forward to most in 2009?

Coalesce, Converge, and New Found Glory

Homepage: http://www.nosleeprecs.com

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