Studio Nibble

What's Greek for "I Shot The Sheriff?"

Lazlo — 2007-02-20T03:03:00Z

Ron Gerber's Crap From The Past site has a section on early compilation CDs that caught my eye a few weeks ago, so when I was flipping through the 15-for-$10 bins at Rasputin yesterday I was watching for any examples. Sure enough, buried in the cruft was Greek Magic In Laser, a very very early folk song compilation released by Philips in 1983, and a fine example of the short of hackwork graphic design the labels inflicted on the first CD releases. Even the foundation is rotten; discolored stock photography combines with classic 1970s "computer" lettering to makes the whole package look a decade older than it actually is. And no early-80s compilation CD is complete without a Giant Hovering Compact Disc somewhere on the cover, preferably being struck by a laser; no points off here.

But the thing that makes this release extra-special is only revealed when you closely examine the disc pictured on the cover: the tiny numbers on the inner ring of the CD aren't just random, they're the disc's catalog number. And looking up that catalog number, we can see that the Parthenon -- ancient temple of Athena, the Greek goddess of civilization itself -- is being brutally attacked by a rogue copy of Timepieces: The Best Of Eric Clapton.

A statement on Clapton's Athenian stint with The Glands (sometimes known as "The Greek Loon Band")? Or something darker? Only the Slow Hand knows for sure.

A Tale of Justice, Wrought Large and Gaping

Lazlo — 2007-01-05T16:50:00Z

Those whose souls are steeped in the Intertubes have seen this a dozen places already but for the rest, let me toss a little man-love in the direction of my old BBS compatriot Jason Scott, now known to zillions as The Man Who Goatse'd Myspace. And if you don't know what that G-word means, take great care with any further clicking once you follow the link that contains it.

The Era of Tactical Sonic Integration has arrived.

Lazlo — 2006-12-20T07:30:00Z

Back in 1985 the little clique of teenage nerdboys I ran with had one of those BBS-based take-turns-posting-a-chapter storyboards. Given our ages and proclivities it turned into a Miami Vice-with-Apple IIs techno-fantasia pretty quickly, and among the symptoms was the car my pal Synth imagined for himself: a DeTomaso Pantera with an integrated digital synthesis/audio processing system that (among other things) could sample and reamplify the sound of the engine in three-part harmony while you were tearing down the highway at 125 miles per.

Twenty-one years later, the technology has caught up. Too bad you can't say the same for our prose...

(Based on a post to Metafilter.)

Photoshop!

Lazlo — 2006-09-24T03:06:00Z

Theme: Advertisements for things that don't really need them.

...And Two More Desktoppers

Lazlo — 2006-09-04T21:48:00Z

About halfway through, I realized that this sleeve and the Politics Of Dancing artwork were both designed by Keith Breeden. He uses the same typeface on both of 'em -- the "Politics" title font shows up in the "Zillionaire" background text! Unfortunately Identifont is no help in figuring out what it's called.

Breeden is now a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and apparently does commissioned portraiture for a living. Hey, if I had $20K lying around, I'd sit for one. Have my picture painted by the guy who did the Beauty Stab cover? Sign me the hell up!

New Desktopper

Lazlo — 2006-09-03T01:01:00Z

Jacked By The Booty Crew!

Lazlo — 2006-08-30T04:24:00Z

Found in the street while walking home tonight:

You might wonder why this particular piece of litter caught my eye. Well, it seemed just the teeeeniest bit familiar...

Little Fluffy Clouds

Lazlo — 2006-08-28T00:29:00Z

Albuquerque Vista,
originally uploaded by Diluted.

Because we don't get back home nearly often enough, we've been missing the amazing monsoon season this year in Albuquerque. I've never seen it this green in the foothills. Thanks to all the folks contributing to Flickr's Duke City Fix pool for helping an expat keep up to date.