A- Punk (7 Inch Vinyl Record w/ Sleeve Limited Edition of 1,000 Made)

At the time of this review, the "A-Punk" 7" is listed as out-of-print and going for nearly thirty dollars here on Amazon. The funny thing is, I purchased this very single for FAR less at an independent record store in Dallas about a month ago, and they didn't appear to be hurting for copies. Either a month made all the difference with this release, or I just got lucky.Or did I?The A-side is exactly as it appears on Vampire Weekend's  debut  (which I give an easy four stars), so if it's just a question of owning that number, I'd opt for the full-length, which is readily available on  vinyl . (The LP also comes with a coupon for free mp3 downloads of each track, a trend among vinyl issues I'm happy to see.)The flip, a "rehearsal version" of "Oxford Comma", was recorded either with poor equipment, poor mic placement, or both. I honestly thought something was wrong with my needle, the recording's that fuzzy. To toss off a bootleg-quality rough draft for your own personal use is fine. To slap it on actual product when most people would find it unlistenable is appalling. And charging ten times its original value (something neither artist nor label can help) is flat out unconscionable. (Again, for the newcomer, the finished "Oxford Comma" can be found on the VW album and will be released as a single itself later this month.)I did not want my first review of a Vampire Weekend release to be negative...they're weathering an unnecessary backlash as it is. But I felt a caveat was in order, given the shoddy quality of the otherwise-unavailable B-side and the ridiculous price tag. If you see it cheap enough, and you're a 45 collector or a VW completist, it'll meet your needs. Otherwise, try the album instead.EDIT (May 30): Looks like the going rate has been cut in half to fifteen bucks. Still too steep.