''Obviously nobody would do such a lame thing as to put a 5" x 5" piece of "art work" in a 12" x 12" package.''

Shellac pretty much sorta took Spencer's last advice on the "1000 Hurts" album -- except they actually included the record in the sleeve, but just threw in a blank CD inside the album (no case, no art on the cd, nothing), which was the CD version of the album, to make a point about the difference in costs.

(The Evaporators actualled trumped Shellac on that technique, now that I remember)

The only thing I can think of is my copy of Screaming Trees Sweet Oblivion on LP is housed in a blank, black jacket with a sticker on the cover with the album title, and the CD booklet stuck btw the shrink wrap and the jacket. I guess this is better than no LP at all, but it's pretty cheesy.

x-post (this is the first time I've ever typed 'x-post'!)

Yes. And neither do I (allowing a break, given the music industry economy these days).

If you can convince the bands that they should stand up for proper vinyl inserts and deal with taking the loss on the costs of those records (because eventually, the band invests, indirectly, in every part of the process of making their records) given the small chance that they'll actually break even enough as it is, then Al, I will salute you. Otherwise, maybe the reason why the vinyl issues get CD booklet inserts throw in is because the band was interested in saving costs, and not necessarily the label's decision.

And good for you for willing to pony up for the extra cost. But (warning: gross generalizing here) indie vinyl dudes are generally amongst the biggest cheapest whiners on the planet when it comes to the cost of music, from my direct experience. (I should know, I am one. 75% of my vinyl purchases are used)

Nope, that award belongs to the downloaders union local 192kbs.

But they made it so that the only way to get a CD version of the album (which had extra tracks) was to buy the vinyl. Key difference.

Actually, Screaming Trees should be lucky they even got to have a vinyl pressing at all. I think major labels only did/do good vinyl issues for about two of their non-mainstream bands at any given time, if even that

I dunno, Sony's actually one of the better labels these days with regards to still releasing stuff on vinyl, and it's stuff that you would never expect to be on wax. Bob Dylan and Springsteen's latest, okay, but the most recent Leonard Cohen album? The two John Mayer records? It seems they'll press vinyl in proper jackets (and they're also priced the cheapest of all labels these days) for pretty much anything, regardless of whether or not you'd think there was a market for it.

Even better, they should include the orangey rusty colored pics of the 70s looking folks modeling the band's iron-on T-shirts for sale as well.

LONGBOXES:
I could've sworn that some longboxes were actually just the front cover LP sleeve folded up.
-- gygax! (gygax0...), January 23rd, 2004.

Sad fact of my mediocre early 90s CD buying life: I once covered my entire white stucco living room wall with cut out long boxes from CDs I purchases back in the early 90s. I used that blue wall-tak gummy stuff. Eventually, long box fronts would start indiscriminately falling off the wall, leaving these white rectangles with blue shit on the corners, and I'd have to make a daily ritual of reaching behind all the dusty stereo equipment to reattach the long box covers back on the wall. And then when i had to move out, I wasted my entire security deposit on having that entire wall repainted because the "non-permanent" blue tak on the wall couldn't come off.

Touché

There are extra tracks on the cd! i didn't know that. i never even listened to the cd.