I'm officially ready to get rid of jewel cases (and think about all those bigger, dumber cases that some music stores stock jewel cases in). I don't think I really need to explain why jewel cases are one of the worst packaging ideas, besides the fact that it has everything to do with cost and nothing to do with aesthetic (isn't business fun).
If Jewel Cases were six-pack rings washing upon shore, people would be Freaking The Fuck Out (how many pictures would be on the internet, mocked, rings cut before recycling...)! MTV/Current/YouTube should run a small blip video along the lines of a Cool Politician seriously spouting recycle, environmental, and production stats in regards to Jewel Cases, with intertwining scenes of them washing on shore, people accidentally breaking them (the hinge, the inside circle holder thing, not too mention the cracking) and stepping on pieces, factory lines, computers calculating the design and specs, etc. Not an angry political rant, but a logical, Obama-esque...just kidding about that part...but an audible progression away from Big, Dumb, Plastic, Cheap and into something new and interesting. The Music industry deserves it and so does God and Mother Earth.
26 comments:
I'm with you, I hate the fucking jewel case. Why cant CD's be made just like little mini albums. "Cold Roses" is a wonderfully packaged album, it looks like a mini album.
I wish someone like a John Kerry would be rail on this subject. I mean just yesterday he was pissed about trying to pass net neutrality so why not rail on the jewel case. Jewel case railing almost deserves it's own blog.
Your Jewel case picture looks good. I can't say jewel cases really bother me that much.
problem is, the things they hold don't work either. aesthetically, the jewel case closed the door on any sort of dimensional possibility. but i must say, the slip case is dangerous too. no longer does the scratched cd point its finger to slobs and morons. like i said, the things are made to self-destruct . . . just in time for the re-re-re-re-re-release.
You hate jewel cases and STILL refuse to buy an iPod? Albums on memory cards! It's the only practical solution to all of the issues raised!
Very good point, Ryan. Very good point, Nathanael. As mentioned, I'd take a jewel case over the slip case anyday, but fuck it, I have an iPod!
As a follow-up comment... Before I moved to New York, I was very anti-iPodual. They're expense, don't sound great, and I didn't have one; all good reasons to be a hater. Hoever for Xmas, Papa got me the new iPod nano, 8GB, and on those 40-60 minute subway rides to Brooklyn, it mosdef comes in handical.
what the fuck is a slipcase...a sleeve? Digipak over jewel case.
I'm also with you Nat on CD's being crap...cause they are. I'm not sure memory cards would hold the same quality because it's digital...
Comes in Handical, but only answered one of your Anti questions (the expensive one)...aka I'm still trying to figure out why I would need one? I'm not saying I hate iPods...or am anti-iPod...I just need a good reason to get one...besides listening to ok quality music any time I'm not interacting with society.
Can't we just face the fact that they're neat and cool and you can take music around with you at all times. None of those are reasons I like to listen to music.
ipodual . . . great term. when my record player breaks, i can look at it and fix it. if one day, they stop making records, fine. i'm good to go. i prefer to preserve my freedom manually.
I thought Americans liked big dumb things - Records!!! oh yea, I forgot our attention spams only last...only last...only last...only last...
i think people like 'em so they can get in YOUR car or YOUR living room and play THEIR music. its that whole "BYOB-what-happened-to-the-art-of-hosting?" crap.
I'm all for the Ipod and all for the CD but they cant even come close to capturing the magic of an album. Every CD I have tells me nothing but what's on the CD...where as every album has a story behind it. I remember where I got it from and whom I've listened to it with. Almost as if those little grooves capture bits and pieces of my life in it. Also the artwork on an album is much more "ART" than the tiny little printing on a crapy cd cover. And most importantly, the sound quality of albums is so much more pure and warm than that of CD's.
You would never NEED an iPod. But I find them very convenient as a New Yorker. Visiting Jay in Brooklyn or Ryan in Queens takes a decent amount of time (at least a half hour to an hour). Most people keep music players in their car for long trips, when you don't have a car, the iPod replaces the car stereo. Today iPods are not expensive (less than $200), and I bought some Sony earbuds which do make the music sound pretty great.
One could make the argument that in a New York apartment the floor space taken up by a large CD and record collection would be worth much more than the cost of an iPod capable of holding the equivalent amount of music. Also, as Nathanael mentioned, you'd be able to take that entire record collection with you wherever you go.
It's debatable due to issues like batteries and Chinese manufacturing, but in light of Earth day, it's also possible to see how an iPod would be more eco-friendly than a record or CD: You'd eliminate the drive to the record store, the paper liner notes, the oil-based plastics, etc.
the technology is obsessive. it has nothing to do with compassion, human vulnerability, or romantic vision. hardly is this the appropriate platform from which to present an artistic conversation. we just don't have the time to take the fucking time. the ipodual, as far as i'm concerned, support this.
and really, when has anything so popular ever been the good guy?
I'm with Nat, there's just something of the human element missing. Now I do think the Ipod has it's purpose and can be useful for listening to singles. But a full album is best heard on vinyl.
There is no better platform than this BLOG! I've never seen anything more compassionate, vulnerable, or romantic. Show some respect, Mr. Man!
*snicker*snicker* :)
Keep in mind, most of the music being played on iPoduals is total crap anyway. Watching the average Mr. Hipster-Doo-Whop bopping down the street, I'm always wondering what cockrock they're listening to.
this blog is just like a fresh cup of coffee in the morning, without the jewel case coaster underneath
I think I check this blog like 8 times a day. I love it here. Not sure if Matt was the one who started it or if it was someone else, but kudos to whomever it is.
The only way I'm listening to an entire album in one sitting is if I'm in some sort of "Sunday Morning Coming Down" scenario wishing, Lord, that I was stoned if I wasn't already.
I am less interested in an artistic conversation and more interested in engaging entertainment.
Possibly the difference between an artist and a critic?
Well are we all a little (or a lot) of both artist and critic anyway?
artist / critic . . . i think that's a square is a rectangle, rectangle ain't necessarily a square type of thing.
i was searching for a legitimate reason to use the phrase, "That's Spanish for Suck It," but couldn't find one. so, i'll just say it anyway.
That's Spanish for "Suck It!"
I'll save Buster Brown, Stinking Thinking, and Realign your Paradigm for another time.
Imagine this scenario though...work with me here friends...boss man says, "hey, dickhead, we need some way to package these fucking discs that have music on them..." Would you come back with a Jewel Case? Better yet, would that Jewel Case design even cross your mind?
i'd look at the boss man and say, "what the fuck is this?" but really, they were made for a general access. you have a shit load of jewel cases for every release. go to the big dumb pile, print the dumb little paper and slide it in there. you can do that with a copy machine . . . hell, i even did it once. i haven't the slightest idea on how to digitally print on a digipak.
the jewel case world did make a mild jump in aesthetic when they ditched the big black bar on the side and went clear. a new place for secret messages! by the looks of it, the swaggards appeared to be stuck in 1986. who knows, maybe they were.
I still stand by my conviction that the Swags live at Chinese New Year is one of the best shows I've ever seen, PERIOD.
Gotta love those Swaggards!
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