20th Century Music

07/01/2025

Going through the last boxes that were sent from Europe to the States (older catalogue) and I've discovered some Defcon discs that were "misboxed" so I've opened the US store up for more orders. Get them while you can - and yes, more will be on the way soon.

Midwest Hard rockers Defcon originated in Ohio prior to moving to - and taking over - the Chicago rock scene in the late 80s. With a rabid local...

05/07/2025

The hostages have been released from customs.

05/02/2025

The second best news - next to receiving your order - everyone has been waiting for. After nearly three weeks, the CDs are finally released from customs and will be in our hands on Monday. Then straight to you guys.

I had a long talk with someone in logistics at FedEx and he apologized and explained the hold up and how it seemingly will be going forward, as well as the reason we had to fill out so many forms with REALLY specific questions like, "Are the following materials used in the production of your product (I remember cotton being a choice but not plastic, strangely)?" He told me, "it used to be that this level of protection only applied to shipments over $2500 but now, because of the tariffs imposed, that has dropped to $800 and over and has more than quadrupled the amount of goods that have gone to the stricter protection level. We honestly don't have the manpower to handle this as quickly as you'd like." I have no idea how that would change the dollar amount to a lesser number but apparently it did / does.

So, now that we have an understanding of this, we can better predict how to approach it in the future. Lots and lots of changes taking place around here.

Dave.

04/24/2025

As much of an update as I can give for US orders for DEFCON and TEEZE.
Both albums are still sitting in Memphis and apparently have not cleared customs yet. They should have been in my hands yesterday. I'm waiting on a 5106 form to be sent ... they said they've eMailed it twice but I've received nothing. I've asked if I can print a 5106 form from the web and have been told no.
I'm doing everything I can to get them here as quickly as possible but when the carriers don't co-operate there's not a lot that can be done from my end. - Dave

04/16/2025

Okay, we have a tracking number and I see that the CDs are sitting in Memphis at the moment, scheduled to arrive in Vanity's Las Vegas office in one week (23 April).

I can breathe a little easier now, at least. - Dave

04/09/2025

Shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of St. Valentine guitarist, Rusty Shinkle today.

(Photo courtesy of St. Valentine drummer, Chris Lorentzen)

03/29/2025

The new, long awaited update for you guys. Sorry for the delay but I wanted to get some info confirmed before putting my foot in my mouth. Which I actually did on the last update, wgphen I said that the DEFCON CDs had been shipped. I misunderstood - language barriers - and they hadn't been. They were waiting on TEEZE to arrive so they could ship together, I guess. Both albums are now in the hands of the shipping company and will be sent early next week. We will have tracking numbers so the packages can be followed on their journey. It should take 10 - 14 days to arrive in Las Vegas and orders will be shipped immediately upon arrival.
Orders outside of North America will be sent out throughout this coming week.
I will get to all eMails sent to [email protected] over this weekend and into the week. Additionally, we will be sending digital downloads to hold people over until your CDs arrive. We toyed around with the idea of doing that a few weeks back but the memory of the one other time we sent digital files out, which resulted in people screaming at us over eMail that they had paid for a CD - or a record - and not a digital file, still kind of haunts us.
And, as we've said before, this is the last time this will happen. Changes are on the horizon. - Dave / Kai

03/15/2025

New review: Sweet Pain - Sweet Pain (Glam rock/Sleaze - 20th Century Music)

"As a longtime fan of Glam and Sleaze rock, I was thrilled to hear that Sweet Pain's self-titled album was being remastered and re-released in 2024. Lead singer Corky Gunn, who also came up with the new cover concept, has truly outdone himself with this gem. The 24-page booklet included in this edition is a treasure trove for any die-hard fan, featuring never-before-seen photos and the behind-the-scenes story of Sweet Pain as told by Gunn himself. It's clear that this album holds a special place in Gunn's heart, and it's easy to see why.

Sweet Pain's sound is reminiscent of true Sleazy acts, similar artists like Faster Pussycat, The Throbs, and Hanoi Rocks. So we're talking the more Rolling Stones kinda Sleaze with clear 70's vibes, but in a really dirty package. But what sets them apart is their unique blend of hard-hitting rock and catchy, melodic hooks. This album is a perfect representation of what the glam rock scene was all about in the late 80s and early 90s. Released in 1985 these guys was quite early to the party and sure had the qualities as the best. Kelly Nickels on Bass, would later join L.A. Guns, another fantatsic Sleaze act that of course obviously made a lot more impact in the genre."

Read more: http://www.melodic.net/album/sweet-pain-sweet-pain-02

03/04/2025

Hey guys - (Not much of) an update on the Defcon and Teeze Roughhouse situations. We're still waiting for the Defcon discs to arrive Stateside and Teeze is finally almost completed. From what I understand the wholesale CDs (for Defcon) have been sent to the outlets that ordered them.

I saw a bunch of eMails on Friday that had gone to SPAM and I responded to them on Friday evening and Saturday.

The CDs are coming, we promise :) - Dave (and Kai)

02/14/2025

Review of 'Firepower' from Dare Force by Melodic.net "s Johan Wippsson

Melodic Net loves melodic music, rock, pop, metal and more. We got the latest news, videos, interviews with daily updates since 1999.

02/01/2025

Coming in 2025 - Vinyl possible if there's (enough) demand ;)

01/28/2025

Cue the "here we go again" remarks. And, we don't blame you.

Defcon and Teeze are both running behind schedule. Defcon on delivery (it's on the way) and Teeze on project completion. Teeze would and should have been running right alongside Defcon in production but an outside artist was brought in who missed the delivery deadline by a few weeks. We were hoping the manufacturing process could still bring it up to speed but no, not to be, unfortunately,

As soon as the Defcon discs arrive in both Germany and the US they will be shipped. For those that ordered Radio City / Defcon packages those will go out together. Teeze will also be sent as soon as it arrives.

Starting with the Divine Rite / Nasty Idols releases (TBA) the shipping will revert back to Kai in Germany - or his son, actually - and things will return to the way they worked in our first few years of operation.

We hate this more than you do, trust us.

You will be rewarded for your patience.