I finished the basic layout last week. Finally! It turned out to be a lot more work than I had thought, but anyway, I'm happy it's done.

Final steps:

1. I want to include another 200 or so records I haven't reviewed yet. This could go on endless of course, but I made this a closed set of records, and I will not add any more after that. Gotta stop somewhere.

2. Final column/page break; that should be a rather simple affair, the work of a weekend or so.

3. Printing! I'm looking into a very promising way to do this; at a slightly higher price than before I can get a hard bound book - no more dissolving binding! Also I'm checking out a way to drastically reduce postage to the US. I'll keep you posted.

I'm pretty confident now that I can put the book out before Xmas, so if you're interested you can preorder right now... if you haven't already. (Preorders are non-binding, and I haven't set a price yet).

Preorder address is:
preorder1@flexpunk.com

I finished the Ramones section this weekend, the layout alone took me a whole day. There are sooo many different pressings and it's really a drag to figure out what is what; then I researched something on the web and found out there were more pressings I never heard of, alternate sleeves etc etc... But I'm closing this section now; at 7 pages it was not too bad in the last book, but now it has grown to more than 18 pages (and I haven't even included more bootlegs).

Sorry for the long silence; I was on an extended business trip for the past few months (USA, Japan, China, Malaysia, Thailand).
I couldn't do much while I was on the road, but I have already resumed the FLEX work, and layouting has reached the letter "R"...

Layout won't take too much longer now, the question is, how many new reviews do I want to add before printing? I have about 500 records (vinyl and MP3) that I could review, but I know I have to cut that down a bit, both out of time and space considerations... I can't let the book get too thick, otherwise it will be too heavy and I can't send it as a small package anymore, resulting in very expensive postage.

anyway... just wanted to tell you what's going on here, I'm back at work, and will finish some day :)

I had to put the FLEX work on hold this weekend because a friend has asked me for help to sell part of his collection.

Killer stuff, original Misfits, Necros sex drive, Koro, Fix vengeance, Stimulators (both 7"s) etc etc.

Ask for a full list at
preorder1@flexpunk.com
and I'll send you one.

(I'm re-posting this introduction so new readers will know what this is about)

Hi, I decided to create this blog so you can follow my work in creating the next Flex Book. That's right, I am currently working on a third volume!

What's new?

* 1000-2000 new reviews (I have written almost 900 new reviews already, and I intend to write at least 500 more)

* My main focus for new reviews is old stuff from 1975 to 1989. For this book, I want to be as complete as possible and at least include the important records of that era that have been missing in the past. A lot of KBD, early punk and early hardcore classics will be added.

* I am completely rewriting the existing book. I have added a lot of new info and corrected many mistakes, but most importantly, I am re-translating most of the reviews to English. The old ones tend to be very short and inaccurate, so I felt I had to make that right.

* I am also adding some reissue information, especially about CDs. This is not 100% consistent, but I try to at least check Amazon or GEMM for rereleases for many reviews.

I'm not entirely sure where this blog will be headed, and I won't have too much time to waste on writing entries, but I will try to keep you informed and also use it to occasionally ask for information or MP3s.

There is no fixed timeline for the book yet, but I suppose the translating part will cost me at least 3 more months if I keep working on that on a daily basis (we are talking about almost 6000 reviews!!).

My past experience with layout and page breaks suggests that that will take another 1-2 months, and then I want to include a ton of new reviews, too.

So I suppose it will be mid-2007 before I can seriously think about the printing and distribution part.

Let's just see what happens, enjoy...

I'm getting a lot of emails already, so from now on I will officially accept pre-orders for the new FLEX book.

Pre-ordering is absolutely non-binding. If you send a pre-order email it just means that I will put your name on a list and send you an email when I have more info about pricing etc.
There's nothing to pay yet, and if you don't want a book in the end, just don't reply to my announcement email.

the email for preorders is preorder1@flexpunk.com

I don't have any pricing information yet, there are just too many unknown factors (especially the number of pages), and I haven't even started to look for a printer.

Sorry for the long silence.
I haven't been lazy at all, though.
First of all, the re-translating and re-writing work is finished, finally!
I had a little celebration when I finally reached the last review.

What's next?
I'm still writing new reviews to fill up some of the gaps. There's still tons of records missing, but well, it's getting better. If you can help by supplying MP3s of records I list below, that would be great!

I have also started to layout the book, and I'm already halfway through! I'm not finalizing the page/column breaks yet, but I'm inserting all the cover pictures, and that's the biggest part of the layout work - by far. I try to eliminate most of the low-quality scans of the previous scans and replace them with better versions.

I have been working way too much at the computer these past few months, and it's starting to really cause problems for my eyes, so I might have to slow down a bit.

OK, here's the list of missing A and B category records:

Abuse - No Money 6" flexi
Baloneyheads - I'm A Drunk 7“
Cheetah Chrome - Still Wanna Die 7“ (1979)
Child Molesters - Diary Of Madness 7“
Chinas Comidas - Peasant-Slave 7“ (4 track version)
Chuck Wagon - Rock`n'Roll Won't Go Away 7“
Crap Detectors - Police State 7“, I Wanna Survive The Nuclear War 7“, Victims Of The Media LP
DEPROGRAMMER- Discipline 7"
Epicycle - Depend On You 7", Residential Area 7“, LP
Funeral - Funeral 12" (Azra)
Grim/Klone Band - No Excuse! 7"
Gynecologists - Kinder Gentler Nation 7"
Hey Taxi! - I Hate Dogs 7“
Jack Tragic - I Kill Hippies 7"
Lepers - I Wanna Be God 7"
Malcolm Tent & Unnatural Axe - Airplay 7"
Man-Ka-Zam - Spankathon 7"
Mechanics - No Brakes 7"
Mentally Ill - Sex Cells 7"
Molls - White Stains 7"
Nervous Eaters - Loretta 7", No Sleep Tonite 7"
Nubs - I Don't Need You 7"
Public Disturbance - Public Disturbance LP
Reactors - Half Life LP
Reactors / Derislandz – split 7“
RF7 - Acts Of Defiance 7"
Rhino 39 - Rhino 39 LP
Rocket From The Tombs - Ain't It Fun 7", Life Stinks LP+7"
Shrapnel - Combat Love 7", Go Cruisin' 7", Shrapnel 12"
Tot Rocket & The Twins - Reduced 7", Eviction 7"
Tru Fax & The Insaniacs - Washingtron 7", Mental Decay 12"
VA - Cleveland Confidential LP
Vectors - Death To Disco 7", Death To Disco LP
Victims - Help Me Baby 7", Real Wild Child 7"
Voodoo Idols - Do The Kirk 7", Temptation 12"
Youth Gone Mad - Oki Dogs 7" (1982)

Hello, a quick update because it's been a while.
I went on badly needed vacation in January, but I've been home for a few weeks already, and of course I've started working on the book again.

As I am entering the last quarter of the book re-writing (I'm at 78% now), it's time to think about design and publishing issues.

I have decided to continue the complete book layout in InDesign. It's a huge step from Word, and I need to completely re-learn everything (it's an amazingly complex software), but I guess in the long run it will save some time and energy; and, most importantly, I do get competent help from a graphics pro (hello Maja!).

The next issue that is coming up is the selection of a printer. If you can recommend a good, reliable and still dirt cheap print shop who can handle a project like this, please let me know! I might want to print in Germany and the US, so I can use US tips as well.
You can send an email to printers.10.flexblog@spamgourmet.com

Thanks & talk to you later...

I spent the past two weeks rewriting the Ramones section almost completely. It was a nightmare. I re-wrote most of the album reviews, and i tried to research the license pressings, reissues etc etc (one-song Russian bootleg flexis, anyone?), but it's an impossible task, the number of variations is endless. there is a good reason why there is not a single comprehensive Ramones discography on the web.
well, i did a lot of research, probably resulting in the best Ramones discography currently available, but i know it's still FAR from complete.
i need a break now...