Justin Pearson - How to lose friends and irritate people on Soundscreen Design

Soundscreen Design is back with another pushing the limits package design, collaborating with original artists and then on this project in particular taking it one step further in making the tiny record itself more than just the usual seven inch.

Justin sounds like a maniac renaissance man, his myspace is full of so many remixes, side projects, spoken word and weird videos....it doesn't seem to ever be about what you think you're getting into, as going along with the fact this is going to be part of his epic ride.

So this collection of book/zines and flexi disks is just an extension of his usual practice. Sounds like the books are stories about fronting DJ duo acts in order to give them some kind of punk cred, and all the misadventures that inevitably come out of that touring mess. Sort of reminding me of that Slow Death comic single....listen to the band and read about the adventures...great idea. It's even like those read along books with a 45 I used to get as a kid about star trek or batman...very cool, and coming from soundscreen, these will be printed with the craziest standards.

Get this one from Soundscreen Design, publishers of the greatest book ever written: Touchable Sound

7Inches - Singles awards of 2010 extravaganza- PT 3 - hello 2011

Finally.... best singles of the year:

Dirty Beaches - on Italian Beach Babe Records - I just hope more people can get their hands on this one, or he does a stateside single soon on someone's label...cool, detached, minimal home recorded awesome, with completely unique world influences.
Tonetta - Get it Going on Black tent Press - Oh Tonetta, where do I begin? Completely inspiring weirdness from Toronto (!?). The videos almost ruin the music they are so freaking amazing. A thousand thanks to Black Tent for putting this and TWO full length albums out now.
Useless Eaters - Mr. Oscillations on Mastermind Records - Everything Seth does is punchy to the point punk pop with a great layer of crisp distortion across everything. I hope it never ends. Everything so far has been on cassette and 7"....I never thought I'd say it, but enough already. I want a full length.
Sore Eros - Blackburn Recordings - Incredible hazy, melodic weirdness in line with the genius of Ariel Pink and Gary War. Completely mindblowingly complex. I have to catch this live this year.
Ariel Pink (round and round) - 4AD - I don't care how many times I hear this, it gets better and better. He works across genres in the most authentic and sincere way, with tons of experimental pop strewn across every track. There's a sad nostalgia to all of Before Today, that title now makes sense.
Sediment Club - on Soft Spot records - I still can't get over the ragged, simple, new wave from these guys. They're playing Jan 2nd.
Bare Wires - on Southpaw Records - So glad they ended up putting out a single from the guys that did Artificial Clouds, a record I played at least once a week because I wanted to. Mathew Melton is a serious bad ass.


RIP: Blessure Grave, Jay Reatard




Greatest Book ever written award goes to Touchable sound from Soundscreen design : A clear winner, no contest really, everything I ever wanted from a book: that it's entirely about the greatest single design of the past 20 years, every page in full color. The closest I'll get to ever seeing a lot of these historic pieces of art.

See you monday, happy new year.

THE NEW BIBLE - Touchable Sound from Soundscreen Design

I talked with Mike Treff from Soundscreen design about the amazing book he co-curated with Brian Roettinger, and Diego Hadis about US 7" record design. It goes further than just a coffee table book of reproductions of 7" sleeves, they approached the book with the idea that the modes of production should be just as important as the graphic "art" itself.
Of course I completely agree...the thing that truly makes the 7" great a lot of times has to do with the handmade nature of the object as much as the artwork on the sleeve....or the music inside for that matter. I think they are tackling a whole new angle in history of the 7", a history that's just getting started.


But they didn't just stop with the information about singles, the press runs, the designers, they made the book itself a similar handmade artifact. All of the 7"'s were sent in by collectors around the US, photographed and reproduced in full color, which let's face it you'd be crazy not to do, but there's different paper stocks and page sizes. It's like McSweeneys and 7inches came together...they created a piece of art as amazing as the singles inside they celebrate, except that they will press this for whoever wants it...which is not the case with anything pictured in this book.

If you have ever thought about starting a label and pressing a 7", or just bought your first 7" from your favorite band on tour, this book is an essential resource.
If you think you know everything about 7"'s, and your collection is complete...this book will prove you wrong...and educate you about something you can actually use in the real world.

7"'s are freaking awesome.

Thanks Mike.

Download the interview here.

Now available for pre-order is Soundscreen’s latest book, Touchable Sound: A Collection of 7-inch Records from the USA.

In an era that advocates streamlined product, and music at the click of a mouse, Touchable Sound celebrates those independent-minded bands and labels that make their own records and relish the opportunity to produce labor-intensive one-off artifacts. As Henry H. Owings puts it in his introduction, the book honors “those who invest countless hours of themselves to further their art. It’s about having an attention to detail and a disinterest in the bottom line.”

Organized by region, Touchable Sound focuses on unique, exquisite examples of American 7-inch-record packaging. Spanning nearly 25 years, it lovingly documents the obscure and the hard-to-find with help from musicians, artists, and label owners. Many of these records-by bands as diverse as the Locust, Olivia Tremor Control, Angel Hair, Stereolab, Los Crudos, the Melvins, and more—have never before been seen by a wide audience, and were originally pressed in extremely limited editions.

Curated by Brian Roettinger, Mike Treff, and Diego Hadis, the book features over 300 records and 600 bands that have set the bar for record packaging and design. The official release is set for October 5th, but make sure you reserve your copy by pre-ordering.