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The List On AP: Putting The "Special" In "Special Edition"

Alternative Press - Amy Toleson on 11/12/09 @ 7:00 AM - altpress.com

Either we're all getting greedier or musicians are getting more generous. (Or maybe it has something to do with getting you to buy actual CDs instead of downloads.) More and more these days, bands are releasing albums with deluxe editions that include everything from bonus tracks to, well, actual strands of Pete Wentz's DNA. Just this week, Dashboard Confessional released a deluxe edition of their new full-length, Alter The Ending, featuring a bonus disc of all the album tracks in acoustic form. So what other methods have musicians recently adopted to grab your attention and cash?



Billy Talent -- Billy Talent III (deluxe)
Pushing buttons on a plastic guitar doesn't make you a guitar hero--at least not to Canadian rockers Billy Talent. The deluxe edition of their most recent full-length comes with "Guitar Villain," a bonus disc containing every song on the album with the guitar mixed out and posters of the guitar tablature so that aspiring axe wielders can play along.



Cobra Starship -- Hot Mess (deluxe)
Depending on where you bought your copy of the new Cobra Starship album, you took home anything from five bonus tracks to a gold necklace like the one on the cover. But the one thing you definitely got is a code for a one-year membership in the band's fan club, Cobra Crew.



Gallows -- Grey Britain (special edition)
Whether you caught British punks Gallows on this past summer's Warped Tour or on their current run with AFI, you undoubtedly learned that the band have a few opinions on everything from capitalism to 3OH!3. The CD/DVD version of this year's Grey Britain comes packaged with the band's controversial feature-length film of the same name, which had previously only been available in the U.K. In the documentary, Gallows make their own personal commentary about the state of their homeland, addressing what they see as a country gripped with financial recession, racism and ignorance. You know, a swell date movie.



Fall Out Boy -- Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits (deluxe editions)
Fans who pre-ordered Fall Out Boy's upcoming greatest hits compilation, Believers Never Die, had a few hard choices to make. They could order the basic edition, which comes with a rubber wristband and membership in the band's Overcast Kids fan club; the deluxe edition, which also includes a poster, T-shirt and 7-inch; or the $130 premium edition that comes with all of this plus a commemorative plaque. In addition, the first 400 fans to snag the premium edition receive an actual lock of bassist Pete Wentz's hair cut off by Blink-182's Mark Hoppus.



Rancid -- Let The Dominoes Fall (special limited edition)
Why settle for just an album when you can get the "making of" at the same time? Rancid's latest full-length is offered in a special edition bundle that includes 11 acoustic renditions of songs from the disc (and one song that wasn't), along with a DVD chronicling the making of the album. The $150 limited edition package also comes with a shirt, two LPs, a hard-bound photo book, a bunch of posters, guitar picks and more. Hoarding is the new punk. --Tim Karan

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loudernowx2 Posted 11.12.09 at 07:33PM
I didnt get a CobraCrew membership...fuck Best Buy.



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