Original Pressing of The Decline Not Worth 500 Bucks or Is It?

Another antiquated poste from the past is here and that's because I am moving different things around from the backend. I wrote this a couple of years ago, I think. I may have still been living in Idaho and hating life. I then moved this to a number of blogs before finding a home here. It's an interesting record that I liked at the time. I don't know if it's nearly as good as I remember it, but I do recall the record only has 1 track. Anyways, here is the original posting, and well, enjoy it.

I was cruising ebay the other day and ran into an interesting auction. It was for Nofx’s 1999 pressing of “The Decline”. Now, the Decline is an interesting record all alone, but this particular vinyl record caught my eye. Let’s talk “The Decline” then talk about the record.

Nofx The Decline

Nofx released a one track album/ep called The Decline. This album was not one of my favorites when it came out. In fact, I was one of the people that soured on their style upon the release, only to eat my words later and now become a full fledged fan of the release. It was brought into the world during the Holiday season of 1999. It was released on Fat Mike’s label “Fat Wreck Chords” and was a homage of sorts to the punk legends Subhumans, even though many said they were trying to be more like “Rush”, a note that Mike himself would correct in an interview.

The 1 track ep was 18 minutes long and upon being released on cd was $12 and you got literally one song! That’s what made me mad at first, but later, I learned to enjoy it. The song moves through a lyrical satire of the American political system at the time, and it’s interesting to note that the song preceded their mega-hit of “Franco Unamerican”, a point in their career where I said that they sold out. Even if no one liked to hear me say that about Nofx.

The Decline Vinyl LP

Alright, so why is the record so special? Nofx released an LP version of this ep and they didn’t just include the full song, they put on a b-side called “Clams Have Feelings Too” which was originally from their release “Pump Up The Valuum”.

But does that make it worth $400+ right now?

No. But the original pressings came pressed on clear vinyl! That’s right, a clear vinyl version of this record was released and anyone that picked it up and didn’t play it, deserves to get the full $400 some odd dollars to purchase it.

You can purchase “The Decline” on cd, and re-released vinyl lp. However, if you can get your grubby hands on the original pressing, you’re going to be getting no less than $400, so check your archives because this is going to be well worth it. Or you can try your luck and check out ebay and occasionally amazon.com will have up rare stuff, it goes fast though. Oh and don’t get me started on the cassette tape version.