—-

 

‘A picture disc is a record containing a base layer of PVC (poly vinyl chloride), surrounded on both sides with a photographic layer, and finished up with a clear layer of PVC, again on both sides of the disc. As the five layers are combined, a continuous groove of music is pressed into the playing surface. Any excess vinyl is then trimmed from the surrounding area giving the recording a clean edge and thereby completing the disc. Although pleasing to the eye, the overall sound quality of these recordings are not comparable to the better sounding black vinyl discs. This is due in part to ultra thin outside layers of clear vinyl which supports the grooves.

‘Picture discs debuted in the early 1930s, when various materials were used experimentally as gimmicks or for advertising. These early picture discs were simply a sheet of thin vinyl film which was placed over a thick paper print and then pressed with the grooves and had very poor sound quality. Adolf Hitler released a 7″ picture disc of this type with one of his speeches. Known as the Patria (Fatherland) picture disc, it holds an image of Hitler giving a speech on one side, and a hand holding a swastika flag on the other, and recordings of speeches by Hitler and Party member Hans Hinkel.

‘Following introduction of colored vinyl, picture discs started to appear in the 1970s. The first ‘modern’ rock picture discs was British progressive rock band Curved Air’s first album, Airconditioning, a UK issue (1970). On some picture discs, the images used were meant to create an optical illusion while the record was rotating on the turntable (as in the B side of Curved Air’s Airconditioning), while others used the visual effect to add to the music — for example, the 1979 picture disc of Fischer-Z’s The Worker featured a train which endlessly commuted around the turntable, reinforcing the song’s message.

‘Later picture discs included liquid light show style fluids between the vinyl, Rowlux 3D effect film, defraction rainbow film, metal flake, pressure-sensitive liquid crystals that changed color when the record was picked up, a real holographic record (the first ever), and even a genuine “live album.” Made as a demonstration for Stevie Wonder’s Journey through the Secret Life of Plants, it featured a layer of blotting paper between the clear vinyl layers that contained alfalfa seeds. A tag of the blotting paper protruded below the record, and resting the disc on a glass of water with the paper in the water allowed the seeds to germinate and grow inside the record.

‘Starting in the late 1970s, a push by several recording companies including Capitol, Epic, and Columbia Records, was made to bring picture discs onto the commercial market in vast numbers. As the 1980s came about, commercial production of picture discs was in full swing, although production eventually switched from domestic presses to the British and European plants. Towards the latter half of the 1980s, interest in picture discs began to diminish. With the arrival of the 90s and the demise of vinyl records, the production of picture discs was again used somewhat promotionally or limited to small batches.’ — The Vinyl Underground

 

_____
Extras


Our fully automatic LP press for picture discs


with records // MAKING


‘Ride a Cock Horse’ by Record Guild of America Picture Disc


DREAMEND ‘SO I ATE MYSELF’ ANIMATED PICTURE DISC IN MOTION


Guns N’ Roses Interview Vinyl Picture Disc

 

______
Further

Pirates Press, Independent Picture Disc Manufacturer
Morphius Mfg, Picture Disc Manufacturer
Rainbo Records, Vinyl Manufacturers
Vogue, the Picture Record
The Prince of the Picture Disc
Terry’s Picture Discs
My Picture Discs
Book: ‘Extraordinary Records’
Picture Discs for sale on eBay

 

____
Show


Sculpture ‘Rotary Signal Emitter’

 


Able Thought ‘Skeleton Morning Coffee’

 


AC/DC ‘Shake Your Foundations’

 


Joseph Plateau ‘Phenakistiscope’

 


Agnostic Front ‘That’s Life’

 


AIT! ‘Florie di Carne’

 


Amebix ‘Sonic Mass’

 


Anders Bhana ‘Dead Clubbing’

 


Anthrax ‘Make Me Laugh’

 


Anti-Flag ‘JCE’


Anti-Flag ‘Bacon’

 


Arcana ‘Body of Sin’

 


Archon Satani ‘The Final Completion’

 


Art of Noise ‘Moments in Love’

 


Aztec Camera ‘Still On Fire’

 


‘Beats in Space’

 


Bel. 05 ‘Pizza 4 Seasons’

 


Boese ‘Blumen’

 


Boris ‘At Last Feedbacker’

 


Burial Chamber Trio ‘BWVRM’

 


Caustic Window ‘Joyrex’

 


Cloud Nothings ‘Should Have Known’

 


Cromagnon ‘Orgasm’

 


Current 93 ‘In Menstrual Night’

 


Daft Punk ‘Tron Soundtrack’

 


Dave Clarke ‘The Wolf’

 


David Bowie ‘Rebel Never Gets Old’

 


David Horvitz ‘Lucky Dragons’

 


Death in June ‘Occidental Martyr’

 


‘Don’t Put Things In Your Mouth’

 


Emmett Williams ‘Poems 1950 – 2003’

 


Eric Orr ‘DJ Robot Control’

 


Experimental Audio Research ‘Worn To A Shadow’

 


Ferdinand Kriwet ‘Roundscheibe No. 12’

 


Flaming Lips /Prefuse 73

 


Ford-Lopatin ‘Emergency Room’

 


Fuck Buttons ‘Surf Solar’

 


Gang Green ‘We’ll Give It To You / Skate To Hell’

 


Gary Numan ‘Faces’

 


Genevan Heathen ‘Charlie Sheen’

 


Helloween ‘Halloween’

 


Herman Kolgen ‘Dusk’

 


Hermann Nitsch ‘Das 6-Tage-Spiel des Orgien Mysterien Theater’

 


Hikashu Watashi ‘No Tanoshimi’

 


Hot Pockets ‘Do-nut’

 


Iron Maiden ‘Clairvoyant’

 


J Dilla ‘Fuck The Police’

 


Jack Smith ‘Interview’

 


Jad Fair ‘Bird House’

 


James Jewell ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf’

 


Jay Z & Kanye West ‘Watch the Throne’

 


John Boswell ‘A Glorious Dawn’

 


Karsten Pflum: ‘Revealed’

 


King Kurt ‘Destination Zululand’

 


Linda McCartney ‘Wide Prairie’

 


Lou Killen ‘Sea Shanteys’

 


Marduk ‘Dark Endless’

 


Marion Mann ‘You Took Advantage of Me’

 


‘Marshmallow Ghosts’

 


Metallica ‘Jump in the Fire’

 


MF Doom ‘Rhymes Like Dimes’

 


Mike & the Mechanics ‘Silent Running’

 


Modeselektor ‘Evil Twin’

 


Monty Python ‘Galaxy Song’

 


Mount Analogue ‘S/T’

 


Neon Neon ‘Stainless Style’

 


‘Pee Wee Herman Show Soundtrack’

 


New Order ‘People On The High Line’

 


Nunslaughter ‘Split’

 


‘Oi!.. The Picture Disc Vol. 2’

 


One Bad Habit ‘One Bad Habit’

 


Pale Cocoon ‘黄金時代’

 


Paul Johnson ‘Tu Sonrisa’

 


Paul McCartney ‘Dance Tonight’

 


Paul Shahin ‘Rhumba Lesson #1’

 


Pig Destroyer ‘Blonde Prostitute’

 


Pools ‘Pools EP’

 


P.O.S. ‘We Don’t Even Live Here’

 


Prince ‘Tea Stain’ EP

 


Psychic TV ‘A Pagan Day’

 


Pup ‘Pup’

 


Queen ‘Innuendo’

 


Revolting Cocks ‘Beers, Steers & Queers’

 


Robin Hayward ‘Words of Paradise’

 


Scritti Politti ‘Absolute’

 


Sickness ‘Fuck Your Punk Rock’

 


Sicwax ‘Time Coded’

 


Sigstop ‘Cautella’

 


Skitlive / Current 93 ‘Bloodletting’

 


Sleeper Vegas ‘Hymn to Her’

 


Slipknot ‘All Night Out’

 


Sopor Aeternus ‘La chambre d’echo Anna Bvarney’

 


Spice Girls ‘Amnesty International Interview’

 


Styx ‘Paradise Theater’

 


The Art Farmer ‘Diameter Radius’

 


The Dream Academy ‘The Love Parade’

 


The Last Ninja ‘Tin’

 


The Naked Heroes ’99 Diamond’

 


The Present Moment ‘The High Road’

 


The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus ‘Don’t You Fake It’

 


The Singing Nun ‘Dublab’

 


The Adicts ‘Bad Boy’

 


The Fall ‘Hit the North’

 


Thompson Twins ‘Sister Of Mercy’

 


Thou / Leech split LP

 


Tobacco ‘La Uti’

 


Towers of London ‘I’m a Rat’

 


Troum ‘Ajin’

 


unknown

 


Various Artists ‘Comin’ Down Fast’

 


Vagina Dentata Organ ‘Cold Meat’

 


Van Halen ‘Dreams’

 


Velvet Underground ‘Andy Warhol’s Index Book Flexi-Disc’

 


Virgin Witch ‘Sight Beyond Sight’

 


WASP ‘F**k Like a Beast’

 


We Love the Moon ‘The Royal Family & the Poor’

 


White Orange ‘Middle of the Riddle’

 


Whitney ‘Light Upon The Lake’

 


Winprod 07 ‘Chim’

 


Women of the S.S. ‘Inner-X-Musik’

 


Wu Tang Clan ‘C.R.E.A.M.’

 


‘Tweedle Dee


‘


Yacht ‘Psychic City’

 


Zoul / Killer ‘In the Woods’

—-

 

*

p.s. Hey. ** Alice, Hi. Oh, gosh, I hope the interview had the optimal outcome. So … ? As usual, I guess, I’m going to need a bit to think of novel suggestions for you. Coffee isn’t making my memory an all access area this morning yet. But I will. With ‘Frisk’, it’s complicated and lost a little due to the years in between then and now, but I’ve always had this kind of natural subdivide where I at least think/feel I can inhabit the internality of the preyed upon and the attacker, sometimes simultaneously, so I just go there and spill and then go into objective mode and fine tune everything until the balance seems right and the writing is complicatedly seductive, which I realise as I’m typing it is too vague to be of much help. I guess I’m saying that for me that blur and double sided interest is kind of inherent, and I just work with it without necessarily understanding it? Ryan Trecartin is a bonafide genius, I think. Few artists’ work so excites and boggles my mind. ** _Black_Acrylic, Haha. I just immediately assumed that person with the phone was a guard. In which case, assuming they’d been in the room with the Fischer for hours or even days, who could blame them. ‘Villain’: I’ll check it out, thanks! ** Steeqhen, Cool that the job is giving you all of that. Sounds like a good start to me. ** Carsten, As you no doubt know from reading my blog, Conceptual art is central to me. Might be because I grew up in LA where most of the best artists were/are Conceptual-based to at least some degree. As I’ve said at least elsewhere, I never understood art or was drawn to it until I saw a John Baldessari piece at LACMA in my teens, and it was a perception- and even life-changer. Okay, so from here to there is a possible day’s drive but a very, very long day. That makes sense. I think Corman was pretty lenient? You sure would think so, wouldn’t you? Congrats on the publication, and, yeah, pdf access when it’s real. ** Bill, I don’t think it’s just you, Bill. It might be just you and me, I suppose. ‘Strawberry Mansion’: on it. Nutty sounds so good right now. ** Laura, Hi. No, I guess what I was trying to say is that kids don’t need to be presented with a fleshed out fantasy world, they just need a simple suggestion and their minds will go wild imagining it. I’m not sure if we’re on the same page or not? I do think a glimpse is more than enough? Mm, no, I’ve never thought any non-fiction I’ve written came close to saying what I meant. I think my fiction is more triggering, but I could be dreaming. I like my fish when they’re swimming. Or, in the case of vegan fish, backdated into their original material. ** Steve, Good question. Is this Friday bandcamp Friday? I always, always miss it. I was just reading about that ‘Eyes Wide Shut’ association thing. How weird and telling. ** HaRpEr //, Today, wow, so curious to hear. I’m going to peek at that show somewhere so I have a sense of the context. I don’t know it at all. Good if almost hard to believe news if pubs’ populations are diminishing. Crazy. I haven’t seen ‘Castration’ part 2 yet. Most of my friends who have seem to be kind of disappointed by it, but I can’t remember why. ** darbz (⊙ 0⊙ ), Hey, hey! No, I need to go check my instagram messages. I will today. Today otherwise … working on the new film script finally, trying to get it to the finish line. Meeting up with someone who is interviewing me for this very cool queer French magazine/journal called Trou Noir. The rest is mysterious and probably rather banal. I smoke Camel Blue formerly known as Camel Lights. Oh, I think maybe I wrote somewhere about that coke-swiping escort. That was back in the 80s. What a jerk. Cute though. That totally sounds fun. I don’t know anything about Horus, but let me shout that out and see if anything happens. Everyone, Here’s the mighty darbz (⊙ 0⊙ ), so ‘listen’ up: ‘I have been considering working with Horus the Egyptian god if anyone who is happens to be reading is interested in sharing some tid-bits and knowledge!’ ** Uday, Achebe … I haven’t read him in ages. Nice idea. Hm, no, I don’t think I have a water source preference, do I? I do like fountains. I don’t know of ‘Interior Chinatown’. Doesn’t sound like I necessarily need to know? ** kenley, Hi! Yay, don’t forget. Totally, I was such a druggie back when. Been there, overdid that. I like my non-altered brain. It surprisingly has a lot to give. Paris is easy for a non-drinker. I mean, people drink here, but mostly wine. Paris is built for coffee drinkers. Sitting in cafes, sharpening your brain with caffeine, shooting the shit, watching the local world go by. Very likeable. Sure, hunt that thing down if you feel like it. I’m always hungry. Thanks, pal. ** Okay. If picture discs didn’t sound so shitty, the world would be a different and very slightly better place, don’t you agree? See you tomorrow.