Rock emos Fall Out Boy have made a special vinyl pressing for "maximum emotional fidelity”... Euronews Culture explores the strangest things that have been pressed on vinyl.
ADVERTISEMENTThe band Fall Out Boy is giving new meaning to the term ‘emo music’ by launching a new vinyl version of their recent album ‘So Much (For) Stardust’.
How you ask? Well, the vinyl contains real human tears.
The Crynyl™ records was made with real human tears for "maximum emotional fidelity” – as bassist Pete Wentz collected his own tears to be shipped off to a lab. The record was limited to just 50 copies, and sold out within an hour. However, the band has stated that they had held a few copies back that would be used for a giveaway.
Fall Out Boy are not the only ones to have included strange things pressed into vinyl. Here's a brief overview of some of the weirdest ones.
Hair, urine and menstrual blood
Bodily fluids seem to be on several bands' minds…
Colorado outfit Eohippus released 100 limited edition copies of their delightfully titled ‘Getting Your Hair Wet With Piss’ record, which was pressed with hair and soaked in human urine. The band didn't provide details on where they got the hair and urine... And we're not sure we want to know.
As for the blood, several bands have had a go.
The Flaming Lips filled 10 copies of their 2012 collaborative album ‘The Flaming Lips And Heady Fwends’ with blood from contributing artists Erykah Badu, Ke$ha, Yoko Ono and Coldplay’s Chris Martin. Each of the limited edition 10 copies retailed for $2,500 (approx. €2,265), and the proceeds went to The Academy of Contemporary Music at UCO and the charity The Central Oklahoma Humane Society.
Another example was American rock band Perfect Pussy’s ‘Say Yes To Love’ (2014), an album which was specially issued as a clear vinyl pressed with lead singer Meredith Graves’s menstrual blood. The limited release saw only 180 copies, as the artist stated she didn't have any more blood to give. Fair enough.
Finally, on the fictional lifeblood side of things, you could technically buy a vinyl with alien blood in 2016. Indeed, in celebration of Alien Day, Mondo Records released a very limited edition of the soundtrack to James Cameron's sci-fi classic Aliens. 75 copies were pressed on ultra-clear vinyl, filled with green "Xenomorph Blood" liquid.
Haemorrhoid-infected diarrhoea
Not grossed out? Brace yourselves.
In 2004, artist RA-X released a very special edition of ‘The Opium Den (Parts I-IV)’. The vinyl was pressed with haemorrhoid-infected diarrhoea.
Yep. We'll let that sink in.
The record was described to have a "brownish, purplish shade" and boasts a "subtle but detectable odour of human faeces when played". Charming.
The ashes of the Holy Bible
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they spin...
Detroit hardcore thrash / punk band Hellmouth went all sacrilegious in 2010 and pressed the ashes of a 1800s Bible into their record ‘Gravestone Skylines’. 33 limited edition copies were released.
Ashes to ashes
Speaking of ashes, the wonderfully named British company And Vinyly have been offering a rather service to their customers, alongside the slogan “Live on from beyond the groove”. They can press a person’s cremated ashes into a 12" clear vinyl, containing any audio of your choice. The 'Basic Package', which includes 30 copies of the record, costs a pretty penny: £3,000 (approx. €3,300).
Smelly records
Several records over the years have been made by using a scented varnish that remains dormant until first spun.
ADVERTISEMENTKaren Elson used this method in 2010 with ‘The Ghost Who Walks’, a peach-scented LP. Another example is the Ghostbusters theme song, which was reissued with a marshmallow scent, paying homage to the film’s Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. (Ray Parker Jr.’s 30th anniversary editions of the Ghostbusters soundtrack could also be found in a glow in the dark version in 2014.)
Another scent was honey, as Honey Disco released ‘Do Anything’ on a special translucent vinyl pressed with natural beeswax – one which smells of honey when spun.
Beats diarrhoea, we think you’ll agree.
Nom nom nom
French DJ Breakbot had a limited pressing of 120 copies of his single 'By Your Side' that was cast in edible chocolate. It was intended to be played only once and then eaten.
So, hardly a collectible then.
ADVERTISEMENTPlatinum and Gold
The vinyl release of the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby included a very limited-edition double-vinyl version in platinum and gold coloured coatings. Just as fancy as Jay Gatsby himself.
Human X-Rays
Underground Soviet group ‘stilyagi’ made vinyl out of old human X-Rays in the 90s.
Members Ruslan Bogoslowski and Boris Taigin clandestinely collected disposed X-Rays from hospital bins, hand-cut each one and used a cigarette to burn for the hole in the middle.
The ‘stilyagi’ distributed the records on the black market, often featuring artists prohibited by the Soviet government. Sadly, authorities took note and reportedly sentenced both Bogoslowski and Taigin to five years of hard labour in a Siberian camp.
Asteroid Dust
The 2014 release by UK psychedelic pop band Emperor Yes was out of this world – quite literally.
ADVERTISEMENTThe band pressed dust from a meteorite that landed on Earth in the 16th century into 100 copies of their appropriately-titled album ‘An Island Called Earth’. It became known as "the cosmic vinyl."
Autumn Leaves
Considering we started off with various bodily fluids, we’ll end on a more mellow note…
Barren Harvest's 'Subtle Cruelties' was pressed with real leaves and was limited to 100 copies. How bucolic and delightful.
There we have it. Congratulations if you happen to own any of these limited edition vinyl pressings. Except for that diarrhoea one, which we just can't condone.
