We are excited to continue our Guest Blogger Series, an ongoing forum for some of our friends and collaborators to share some thoughts on their favorite music related products.

BJ Rubin is a man of many talents. Comedian, musician, archivist, writer, and all around knowledgeable guy, its no exaggeration to say that a conversation with BJ is always an enlightening experience. As avid readers of his absolutely fantastic blog, Pukekos, we knew we had to ask him to guest blog, but little did we know he would unearth this gem of a record.

For the purposes of full disclosure, it must be stated that some of us here at SSD HQ have Three Mile Pilot tattoos, and don’t own this record. If you have not heard Chief Assassin to the Sinister, head over to Pukekos now to check it out.

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This record is very special.

It appears to have been hand assembled, at great time and effort I imagine. Sewing things to burlap doesn’t sound like the most pleasant way to spend an afternoon, but not liking doing something doesn’t mean that you don’t like having it done.

They obviously couldn’t contain themselves when they were putting this together, as they threw in pages from scientific reference books and Cub Scout manuals. Every bit of positive energy they could muster was put into this artifact; they cast all the spells they knew at the time on these objects.

What we have done here is capture some of that specialness for you. Most of you will probably never know what it feels like touch an actual copy of this record, as there were very few made (and I’m sure some are already lost to history). I agree with the belief that photographing a person or an object does steal its soul, a little bit of it anyway (don’t worry, you won’t even miss it). I am sure many hands touched this object before it was put out into the world, each of them imbuing it with a little piece of their soul too.

Not being able to touch it with your own hands shouldn’t mean that you aren’t allowed to feel it, etc.

Ladies and gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure, Three Mile Pilot’s Chief Assassin to the Sinister.

The New York Times, always the last to know:

“But this is no music morgue; it is more like a life-support unit for an entertainment medium that has managed to avoid extinction, despite numerous predictions to the contrary. The bins above the boxes hold new records — freshly pressed albums of classic rock as well as vinyl versions of the latest releases from hip-hop icons like 50 Cent and Diddy and new pop stars like Norah Jones and Lady Gaga.

And with the curious resurgence of vinyl, a parallel revival has emerged: The turntable, once thought to have taken up obsolescence with reel-to-reel and eight-track tape players, has been reborn.”

We are excited to introduce our Guest Blogger Series, an ongoing forum for some of our friends and collaborators to share some thoughts on their favorite music related products. Creating products that allow people to live with their music, be it apparel or music inspired art journals or frames to hang their favorite gigposters, is the mission statement for Soundscreen Design. As a company, we place tremendous value in the physical, music related objects that take up space in our homes and on our walls. Please send us a note and let us know what items you cherish, and perhaps you could be the next guest blogger.

Joel Speasmaker has been a wonderful partner in crime since we launched Soundscreen. If you know anything about Joel, you know he loves music and collecting objects, mainly records, comics and zines. In a past life, Joel was the mastermind, editor, curator, and designer of the all too short-lived art / design / comics magazine The Drama, and we could think of no better way to kick off the series than with his contribution.

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P.W. Elverum & Sun, ltd.
www.pwelverumandsun.com

As Soundscreen Design has so elegantly been an example of, music is undeniably linked to art in both its presentation and its particular meaning. For me, and no doubt many others, the emotional response a record forces out of me is completely enhanced by its packaging, whether it be through the design of the LP, the visuals accompanying a live show, or even a video streamed on the internet. Format aside, I am most drawn toward artists who obviously spend just as much time with how the public will interact with their creations as they do creating them. And I’m not talking about coming up with new ways to simply sell a product, as the music industry struggles to do. Sure, it will always be a part of it, as we all search for ways to sustain by doing what we love. But I’m looking for a tiny peek inside the brain of the artist; I want to see his or her hand at work, and witness their ideas in such a way that they can subtly influence my own. I’m looking for the honest and the passionate creators of the world.

I can’t think of a more inspiring example than Phil Elverum, formerly of The Microphones, currently of Mount Eerie, and the man behind P.W. Elverum & Sun. Long before mp3 downloads accompanied vinyl-only releases, Phil was crafting his own musical language and releasing it as beautiful and physical pieces of art, first through several LPs on K Records, and then eventually through his own label. Receiving a package in the mail from Phil is like getting something from a longtime pen pal, mailed just to you. The releases on P.W. Elverum all share this personal touch, no matter if its a simple gatefold LP or an extravagant 130+ page hard-cover book. Everything about his work is epic and magnificent, but you can tell that his intentions are pure. He loves to do what he is doing, he is searching for inspiration and meaning, he is haunted by similar demons, he cares enough to share them with you.

Maybe this description is a bit over-the-top, but its a sharp contrast to most of what I find out there. I’ve made it a point to collect most everything put out through P.W. Elverum (there’s special releases by other artists as well, including Woelv, Thanksgiving, and The Spectacle), and would suggest the same to any music OR art lover.

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ELV005
No Flashlight
by Mount Eerie

The first proper album as Mount Eerie, with LP packaging unfolding into a GIANT 3.5 x 5 foot two-sided poster, with lyrics and quotations and explanations and more.

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ELV012
Don’t Smoke / Get Off the Internet
by The Microphones

Two song 7″ with a beautiful letterpressed cover, and a beautiful message, including “Being ‘free’, you are born with a responsibility. Your parents will not take care of you forever. There is no God. You will not be punished. Deal with yourself. Recognizing problems in the world around you, hold yourself upright and do everything well.”

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ELV019
Lost Wisdom
by Mount Eerie, with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire

I saw this album played live straight through by the original creators (Phil, Julie, and Fred); not sure what else could be better. LP packaging unfolds into a haunting ink and watercolor by Phil. Haunting is a good word for his art.

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ELV020
Wind’s Poem
by Mount Eerie

The newest release, gatefold LP with gold foil on the front and back. OK, maybe there is nothing better than seeing this album performed live: two drummers, heavy distortion, Nick & Julia from No Kids on keys, Tara Jane O’Neil, and Phil - front and center. In my opinion there are few artists who can captivatingly perform in so many different settings and formations.

Courtesy of our friends at Picturebox, we are pleased to announce that designer/photographer/filmmaker Aubrey (Hipgnosis) Powell is making a rare U.S. appearance in celebration of the release of For the Love of Vinyl: The Album Art of Hipgnosis (PictureBox), with a slide show presentation followed by a book signing.

FRIDAY JULY 17
6 PM - 8 PM

ARTBOOK AT X
548 West 22nd Street
New York City

About HIPGNOSIS and FOR THE LOVE OF VINYL:
Formed in 1968, Hipgnosis was the biggest and best design firm for the biggest and best bands of the classic rock era, creating iconic imagery for the likes of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, 10cc, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett and Styx, among others.

For the Love of Vinyl is the first book to document their output in detail, focusing on over 60 package designs – from cover to label – written about in entertaining detail by the men who created them.

For more information, please see Artbook and Picturebox.

The 7″ vinyl single turns sixty at the end of this month, and on the cusp of its anniversary we are ecstatic to update you on our book project currently in the works here at Soundscreen Design, Touchable Sound: Twenty Years of 7″ Record Design. Touchable Sound will focus on 20 years of 7″ packaging, art and design from approximately 1986-2006. We want to highlight the most outstanding, interesting, and exceptional 7″ releases of the independent and underground music communities. The book will be from a design perspective: we’ll include a variety of unique packaging techniques including a plethora of painstakingly hand done detail. The role of DIY modes of production, economics, distribution and consumerism, the role the record played as status within the community, and the simple brilliance of the design are all narratives Touchable Sound will explore through editorial contributions and visual imagery.

Head over to the Guardian (UK) music blog to learn more about the survival of the 7″ vinyl and its resurgent popularity.

A special thank you to all the people who submitted records for consideration. We’re hoping to have Touchable Sound: Twenty Years of 7″ Record Design out by late-Fall, stay tuned for updates.

We are in the process of wrapping up one of our first two book releases, tentatively titled Touchable Sound: Twenty Years of 7” Record Design.

For our research, we’re trying to compile lists of people’s suggestions of the best DIY 7″s, in terms of design and packaging, as this is NOT about music or nostalgia. We’re looking for lists of people’s twenty (or more) best 7″s from roughly 1986 through 2006. Records where either the packaging is handmade or you can see the hand of the creators in the work (even in something that wasn’t handmade, but extra work was put into its creation—like, say, the Black Dice 7″/book on 31G). We’re very interested in the role local communities and record collecting had on the design, and therefore are interested in hearing about stuff that would definitely be off our radar—examples of local records that never really got much distribution, tour version records, non-hardcore/punk/indie records (we do not want to limit ourselves by genre), foreign releases, etc. It doesn’t have to be a super formal list, we just want to make sure that we’ve got all the really good stuff covered, and you all know more than we could possibly research on our own.

Please send lists (with photos, if possible), noting: band, label, city or region label is from, and details you think we need to know about the design to: touchablesound@soundscreendesign.com.

Thank you very much, your help is invaluable, and we hope you’ll enjoy digging in your crates as much as we’re going to enjoy seeing what you’ve got.

Personalization in record packaging is one thing. Personalization on the actual record, via an etching, is something entirely different. While doing research for SSD004, we came across this example of a custom etching for each customer.

Label: Hand Held Heart
Catalog Number: hhh.08
Record: Orchid / The Red Scare, Split 7″
Pressing Information: 1st pressing (2000 black vinyl, gold labels) / 2nd pressing (1000 black vinyl, yellow labels)
Availability: Out of Print

The version shown below was for mail-order only. 108 were pressed as two one sided 7″s. Each record was hand etched on the “B” side with the name of the recipient.

custom etching

accompanying letter