Hardformat

Thanks to Caps who just let us know about the following:

Interesting article I read yesterday about Jeff Jank at Stones Throw who has been doing a series of album covers for Madlib over the years which are literally decomposing: http://stonesthrow.com/news/2008/12/madlib-beat-konducta-dirty-beats-and-dirty-covers

They really are stunningly beautiful.

I um’ed and ah’ed about whether or not to buy the special edition of this release. On the one hand, it seemed to make for ideal material for the site, on the other the reviews sounded unpromising and $69.99 seemed/seems like a lot of money. In the end I bought the regular edition for my partner for Christmas. My first listen made me think I probably made the right choice, but I’ve been known to be wrong about first impressions all too frequently. Anyway, the nice people at Creative Review have posted some pics, a few of which I’ve nicked for your edification below. I’m not overwhelmed by the design, despite it being by Stefan Sagmeister. It looks kitsch and all the extra elements suggest some kind of toy or game, which may be the point. Anyway, here are the pics, what do you think?

Everything That Happens website
Creative Review post with more images
Sagmeister Inc.

Artist:Patrick Bell, Max de Mara, The Joy of Living
Title: Travel Notes, Classist, The Beyond Within
Label: six inch records
Year: 2008
Designer: Designed and made by Stanley Donwood and Richard Lawrence
Type of music: various
Notes: Limited to 333 copies of each. Lovely hand-made feel as detailed in the insert illustrated above. I also really like the way the CD is held by its surround.

Artist: Sleeparchive/Antti Rannisto
Title: Sleeparchive/Antti Rannisto
Label: No name, only catalogue number: ZZZCD1
Year: 2007
Designer: Not specified
Type of music: Arctic/ambient/electronic
Notes: Sleevenote states: “Front photograph shows Lupoid, a sledge dog of Ernest Shackleton’s South Polar Expedition (1914-1916)”

Aaargh! Would you believe it, the 11,060th and last piano roll was produced by QRS Music Technologies recently.

Via: Retro Thing
Story: The Buffalo News: ‘The Day The Music Died’