Fear Of Smell

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I haven’t been keeping up with ebay at all, which is totally due to the fact I have zero cash. Anyways, a dim rememberence that I should check it out once in a while, has yielded this gem. It could be a yeti eating a hot dog dropped from the sky, or perhaps a volcano exploding. It’s currently on ebay here if you have a hole burning in your pocket with the $350 buy it now offer on the table. I would be an asshole and offer 1/10th of the price, but well I guess I’m not that much of an ass. Either way, great cover, good restart to the blog.  This cover has similarities between it and #24, #16 and #10.

Quick follow up note:

Hey there!
I was going on about how much I wanted a FOS to my girlfriend a while ago and she went and bought me version 93 on ebay!

You gotta love rich benefactresses!
I think she got it for about 70 dollars, thats only about 30 in pounds.
This one has a secret message scratched around the sticker on the vinyl with a pin or something.
It reads:
NR-19216AX
NHOEP CRESTE SOF BENMUR SNIDGHITM OFULNOLM

NR-19216BX
CELTLOC. SNEDHIDRUX STYXIXIS LORDLAS ZIRPE

At first I thought this was crusty latin but an internet anagram thing helped me translate it to:
phone secret fos number midnights fullmoon
Collect. sixhundred sixtysix dollars prize

I guess there isn’t really a prize but the message is cool enough, I used to hide secret messages in the back of all the cds I borrowed so this is super cool to me.,
Once I get another camera (broken) I’ll comment on the blog with pictures of the message.
So yeah #93 lives in Scotland now though It’ll move back to Ireland with me eventually, all animals go home to die 😀

Thanks for the FOS documentation you rule!!!

JJ

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Another cover, similar in form to Variation #32.

Here’s what Brad Wallace had to say about it:

Here’s another copy for your blog. Pretty sure I traded for this copy with my friend around 97/98. Don’t remember what record I traded but I kind of think it was some other comp that I felt was musically inferior, but he needed for some sort of collection completion.

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“Planetary and Binary System” sounds like someone was doing some reading. Here’s what Justin, who has some loose affiliation with Sounds From The Pocket, had to say about his copy:

I got mine in what might have been 93 or 94, from Gavin aka
stickfigure distro, at some show at Somber Reptile in Atlanta Georgia.

price tag that i tried to remove back in the day says 5.50

Apparently Stickfiguredistro is still going. I haven’t ordered from them in probably seven or eight years… I should rectify that.

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Here’s another copy that looks somewhat like  Variation #67 and Variation #31. Here’s what Dave Brown said about his acquisition (and merger?):

Got it when it came out from a shop called Sound on Sound in Highland Park, NJ.

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Close Up – “We’re Going to Play in Our Underwear”

Dwayne Dixon sent in this copy, and here’s what he had to write about it:

I discovered your amazing site the other day and am finally getting a chance to send you photos of my FOS comp.  I’m pretty sure I got my copy from Charles Maggio while hanging out with him and Jon Hiltz in C’s basement.  I was really siked on this comp since it represented the diversity and intimacy of the early 90s punk scene in Jersey, NY, and Philly that I was deeply involved in.  The Sam & Joe freak-out was seriously the best track and while on tour with Policy of 3 and Shotmaker we’d scream “Where little dogs wear suits & ties!” randomly at  strangers.  Delightful.

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Here’s another reference to “Foot Foot” (see top right corner). This copy comes courtesy of Jon Hiltz – who of course was the drummer of Born Against and later in Computer Cougar as well.  As advertised, a fine “Compilation of Band” (or perhaps Eat Shit or Fuck Off). Here’s what Jon wrote about it:

since i was a denizen of the vermiform universe at the time, i can offer quite a bit of insight.
i’m pretty sure adam did this cover, but it could just have been someone else copping his style.
comes from the first round of covers, just picked the one i wanted. i remember the christmas-garland/spraypaint ones quite vividly; chris leo had a lot to do with those as i recall. also present at said party were joe martin and john ariz, probably some others.

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Richmond Address Sticker

Got this submission about a month ago from Matt Anderson, to which I thought I put it up. But I didn’t… so here it is now. A really curious case, this one has a weirdo Richmond address. I was under the impression the first press was long gone before Vermiform moved to Richmond, but I guess not. I mean, lets face it, this is the early run type of cover of the comp, so maybe it was the last to exit the compound?

Here’s Matt’s take on it:

The cover of my copy has tinsel & a stenciled title on the front (+ a “Featuring Rich Oliver” sticker, though you can’t really see it through the tinsel).  I bought it in Raleigh, NC in, oh, probably 1994 or so, I think from some other kid who was “distributing” records.  I don’t think I would’ve paid more than six dollars.  The back, though, has a crappy neon orange “Vermiform Records Richmond Branch” sticker on it, unlike all the ones I’ve seen on your blog, which have the Vermiform logo & the NY address.  So I don’t even know if it’s the 1st pressing, tho I’d guess it is.

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This copy comes courtesy of Nick Pimentel. Here’s what Nick had to say about it:

Here is my copy of Fear of Smell.

I got my copy when it first came out at a show my band (Anasarca) was playing in Baltimore or Washington DC.  Some distro had a few copies and I was instantly drawn to this particular one with the inverted crosses, pentagram, and the “Alcohol and Drug Counselor Certification” because I was a secret headbanger.

The photos are not that great, but the back has “Only 5 made!!” and “featuring John Woods”

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Here’s a submission from Nick Turner, one of the proud owners of the first batch of tinsel laden comps. Here’s what he had to say about it…

Bought for $4.99 or so at Rhino Records in Claremont, CA around 1996. Most likely arrived there via MITB or related folks but that’s just a guess based on the location. “Fear of Smell” used to appear there fairly often.

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Isn’t this the cover of one of the Big City comps? Or maybe I’m crossing my NYHC history with the Cro-Mags? Either way, 1980’s Cold War hysteria brought to you via 1990’s PC hysteria. Not that any of the bands on Fear of Smell were particularly PC.

Thanks for the submission Phil!