Ünnecessary Ümlaut

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A surplus of geekery by :: Fred Abercrombie

Stacked: (((((Stereo))))) Album Covers

Vinyl porn. Without the PVC bodysuits.

I’ve got a major thang for vintage vinyl album covers. And could spend all day flipping through stacks at Amoeba for the design and over-the-top copy alone. There’s a new site/project that exploits one very specific vinyl fetish: the Stereo header. Whatever kind you’re into—Living, Dual Dynamic, Stereo-Spectrum, Sterophonic, Kaleidoscopic—Stereo Stack collects scans from old covers and stacks them for your ogling pleasure. You can even shuffle ’em with a click.

Sarted by the owner of Seattle’s Jive Time Records and founder of album cover blog Project Thirty-Three, the site currently has dozens of different headers and a promise of more to come.

There’s even a stereo ‘stache:

Go peruse StereoStack.com »

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WTF: Album Tacos

Album Tacos? I expected vinyl LPs warmed and folded like tacos. Maybe filled with shredded album covers. Something you might find at Vinyl Frontier. But instead, it’s the majestically taco-fied reinterpretations you see here.

Much like the contents of a Taco Bell taco, you shouldn’t think too hard about it.

See more at Album Tacos. (Thanks, Rich!)

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Arcade Fire: 8 Suburbs Covers and 4 Tracks


Why is Arcade Fire releasing The Suburbs with eight not-so-different album covers? Pitchfork thinks it’s commentary on the suburbs themselves. I think it’s commentary + shrewd marketing towards music completionists like myself. Damnit.

Arcade Fire “The Suburbs”

Arcade Fire “Ready to Start”

Arcade Fire “Month of May”

Arcade Fire “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)

UPDATE: Check out this Suburbs animation

Out August 3rd: pre-order The Suburbs »

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Awesome: Classic Album Cover Art Extended

It’s like Sleevefacing, but different … Sleevescaping? Sleevemancing?

What happens beyond the borders of classic album cover sleeves? That was the challenge issued by B3TA, to which hundreds replied. Some are pretty damn clever. Check ’em here.

The Pink Floyd Animals cover BoingBoing picked out is my fave. Ace Photoshopping.

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Beer+MP3: The Utica Club National Carbonation Beer Drinking Song, 1968

Ahh, beer jingles. Burned into my brain well before I was legal. Hamm’s From the land of sky-blue waters, Löwenbräu’s Here’s to good friends, and Miller’s If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer. Good stuff. But NY brewer Utica Club tried to take it further. From the jingle to the single. It was the 60s, man. Time to think far out.

LISTËN:
“The Utica Club National Carbonation Beer Drinking Song”

After I heard this on the now defunct 365 Days Project I tracked down the original 7″ on eBay. Been holding onto it since 2003. Expect more randomness from the Ümlaut archives in 2010. (*cue sinister laughter)

Not sure who the seriously swingin’ copywriter is who wrote the back cover. But the songwriter is Sasha Burland, who wrote a Clio-winning Alka Seltzer spot jingle among other things.

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Music: The Hip-Hop Sgt. Pepper’s

beatles_sgtpepper

On this day, May 19 of 1967, the Beatles had a promo listening party for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. So? So what better day to showcase a Pepper’s -related item. On June 1, the actual album’s anniversary? Shut it.

hiphopcover_405

DK Presents … The Hip-Hop Sgt. Pepper’s

Music blogger and friend of the Umlaut, DK Presents … , crafted this incredible work of art a couple years back. It was featured in numerous music mags and blogs across the globe. But it deserves another round of attention.

Is that a mini Hennessey bottle? And is that real weed?
Find out. See the making of.

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