So, how rare is "mega-rare"? Is it rarer than "ultra-rare" or "hyper-rare"? And is "hyper-mega-rare" the same as "mega-hyper-rare"? And what the hell is "giga-rare"? At a time when just about every old punk record is a "mega-rare punk classic killer!!!!!!!!", you can probably assume that most of them aren't. My Concise Oxford dictionary defines rare as "few & far between, uncommon, unusual, exceptional, seldom found or occurring". Since finding records that are on Killed By Death, Bloodstains and similar compilations isn't an every day event, most of them could perhaps be considered as "rare". Even finding good records that aren't on compilations isn't that common anymore, so maybe we can conclude that some worthwhile old punk records are at least uncommon. On the other hand, a lot of the records on KBD type compilations appear regularly on lists from people who sell such things. So are these really that "rare"?
The typical "mega-rare punk classic killer" is usually featured on a KBD style compilation. These records were often pressed in quantities of 500 or 1000. So if there were less than 1000 copies made does that mean the record is at least "mega-rare"? But what would a "hyper-rare" or "ultra-rare" record be? I'm so confused (which most people would say isn't uncommon, seldom occurring or unusual).
From my days as a physicist I remember that the difference between something like megahertz and gigahertz is a factor of 1,000 hertz. Does this also apply to punk records? Say your average 1000 copy punk killer is megarare. Does that mean that there was only one copy made of that "gigarare" classic you've just seen advertised? Probably not.
Some of the records advertised as some form of rare really are. But
like most of the punk collecting scene a lot of it is simply bullshit. Oh
yeah, the rarest punk record is probably the one from 1979 by Dick &
The Heads. We did a few test pressings, then promptly smashed every one of
them to pieces. Good luck finding one!
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