Those who own vinyl will appreciate that a good record collection is something to be proud of. It’s something to show off, display and cherish. But what happens when you want to take record ownership to the next level?
What happens when you’re keen to own copies of music that are not only sonically superior, but are also made from outlandish, often impractical and sometimes downright disgusting materials? Allow us to present five of the strangest vinyl strategies that the music world has seen.
In the midst of the wax renaissance, it’s as good a time as any to take a look back at some of the craziest vinyls the world has ever known.
Marshmallow Vinyl
I went to high school with a guy who claimed to have listened to more than 24 hours worth of the Ghostbusters theme song. Think about that. That’s a lot of opportunities to provide an answer to “who you gonna call?”. I, for one, never thought that someone would answer that timeless question with “someone capable of making a Marshmallow-shaped and scented record”, but there you go.
The 12” inch release hit shelves in 2014 to coincide with the 30th anniversary of Ghostbusters’ original release. The record’s A-Side features both Ray Parker Jr’s classic Ghostbusters theme and also Run D.M.C.’s hip-hop take on the track. The B-Side is marshmallow-smooth, so if my mate from high school had’ve spun this one for 24 hours like he did on his iPod, he’d probably have ended up with S’mores.
Ghostbusters are in form for cool records, having also released 5,000 glow-in-the-dark copies of the film’s complete soundtrack for its 30th anniversary.
Chocolate Vinyl
Remember in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory when Grandpa Joe tells Charlie about this Indian Prince who commissioned Willy Wonka to build him a temple made out of chocolate? Remember how one day the temple melts because, well, it’s made out of chocolate?
Remember that? Yes? You mustn’t be French DJ, Breakbot, then, because judging by his limited edition chocolate vinyl press, he stopped reading the book at that point. Either that, or he takes the phrase ‘tasty beats’ a little too literally.
Breakbot pressed 120 copies of his 2012 single, By Your Side, on chocolate, intending for the single to be eaten after being played just once. Engineered by artisan chocolatiers, the chocolate edition also came with a card used to download two bonus tracks…because having more than one track on a chocolate record is where Breakbot draws the line.
Hair and Urine Vinyl
Iconic music duos. Simon and Garfunkel, Sam and Dave, Sonny and Cher. Hair and urine, apparently. When Denver-based jazz fusion quartet Eohippus recorded a song called Getting Your Hair Wet With Pee, the only logical next move was to help listeners get closer to their dreams of pissy locks by pressing that dynamic duo into vinyl.
Impressively, no two records are exactly alike, indicating a level of tact and craftsmanship that could really only be attributed to a band who mix urine and hair into their records. Only 100 of these records were pressed, so there’s still probably less urine in them collectively than there is in the kiddy pool at Wet ’n’ Wild.
Blood Vinyl
Oklahoma City experimental rock band, The Flaming Lips, are known for doing things a bit differently. They really outdid themselves, however, when they released a limited edition vinyl press of their album The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, which features blood samples from the artists who collaborated with the band on that record.
Among the artists who shared their bodily fluids with Flaming Lips for the release are Nick Cave, Ke$ha and Chris Martin. The record’s 2012 release was restricted to just ten copies, with each being sold for a staggering $2,500. All proceeds went to The Oklahoma Humane Society and The University of Central Oklahoma’s Academy of Contemporary Music.
Asteroid Vinyl
Emperor Yes’ special edition vinyl issue of their debut album isn’t called ‘the cosmic vinyl’ for no reason. The synth-pop outfit released one hundred ‘asteroid LP’ copies of the record, which were pressed with dust from a meteorite.
Amazingly, the asteroid record was available for just €16.99 on release, though unsurprisingly, stocks soon sold out. The album which was pressed, 2014’s An Island Called Earth, is still the band’s only album to date, so perhaps we can expect an even more extravagant limited edition press next time around.
