worst packaging ever?

Runner-up: Joel R.L. Phelps/The Downer Trio's self-titled ep. The cardboard sleeve isn't quite big enough for the cd itself. I've got fingerprints all over the disc from trying to pry it out of there any time I want to hear it.

It reminds me of that mcdonalds burger that was like 'hot on one side, cool on the other' that came in the same packaging as the big breakfast.

http://www.cherryred.co.uk/dvd/images/crdvd30.jpg

i just received the comsat angels - "it's history", and it's one of those. which got me thinking about worst packaging ever.

argh....please elaborate as mine is on its way :-(

i totally forgot about those. i have the porter ricks shitty metal tin, but LOST the cd due to shitty metal tin.

argh....please elaborate as mine is on its way :-(

it's sort of like a small dvd style case (plastic sheet with paper liner inserted) with 2 cd holders inside that aren't really good at holding cd's at all. worth it for 4xcds @ $29 though.

When I'm elected, all releases will be packaged in standard jewel cases.

I'm sure that (aesthetically) I'd hate the inconvenience of the original "Metal Box" (tho I still wish I had one!)

I don't know who Will, is but he better get his ass ready, cause he's gonna get rocked.

Also, most of these are mispelled on both the front and the back of the packaging.

Aluminum Tunes is way up there. My center hole thingies never broke, but they never held the disc in, either. So that one is in paper sleevs now. Also bad: Switched On Vol. 2.

And those Audiosphere DVD-style jewel cases are annoying as hell -- same crappy plastic, just more of it!

And yes...methodology was briliant, I was working on a project, a 3 CD set and wanted to do that, 3 CDs in sleeves in a a cardboard box w/ a booklet. Also like the Table of the Elements Elaine Radigue box, but apparently a 3 CD, 8 panel digipack is cheaper, because there's no manual insertion fees, amongst other issues. That seemed odd to me. But yeah, it's impossible to read.

I used to have a problem storing all of those freebie promos and CD-Rs that I accumulate until I finally put two and two together and started using those AOL tins.

And when I run out, I just go down to the post office and take some more.

I still use the AOL thingys for giving out mix CDs. You can flip the card inside over and write a little message (or track listing) on it, too.

Me=ddb

And although I do love June of 44's packaging...the cds are now so fucked I cant listen to them.

thanks fellas...

Long Slim Cardboard (Similiar to the long boxes but flat)...I have now place to put it...so it ends up in my LP's...I find it every 8 months or so...then I forget to listen to it.

2. Some early Wimp Factor 14 CD that came in a 5" x 8" manila folder with screen printing on it -- where the heck am I going to file that?

3. And, any CDs that come with no info on the spine or spines so thin it's impossible to print anything on them; they might as well be invisible on the shelves.

but the absolute worst? the Technoise/Hyware 2CD on i. a stickered cardboard box (like something you'd use to ship an order of 4-7 CDs containing a pair of unsleeved discs and some cheap B&W cards sandwiched between large styrofoam blocks. what's the point? makes Aluminum Tunes seem practical.

Records that sabotage other records - C/D?
yes, yes, and Vini Reilly to thread....

Mine has the same crack (although my cdplayer bravely ignores it :). Was the first one everybody bought right? After that all those cd's went into a plastic or paper cover and then into the bloody tin.

Most of those double-cd's that open outwards, I dunno what it is but those holders never actually hold the cd. I hate that.

I love digipacks though.

Never can make up my mind if the package of Faze Action's first album is cool or irritating (you know LP style inner sleeve). Also see Endtroducing right?

My hubby got a noise CD that was packaged between two sheets of steel. He regretted this when we had our next fight, ouch

Really? I didn't mind that one (esp. compared to those Chain Reaction tins). That cd still works perfectly.

Any single-record vinyl release with a doublefold jacket, especially when there's just a crummy photo inside and nothing useful like lyrics -- did another tree have to die just to satiate your vanity?

Also, the original vinyl of Sticky Fingers could get honors in both "Worst Packaging Ever" and "Best Packaging Ever".

I'm finally going to get one of these soon for my mp3 discs. I only just got around to cataloging the damn things so I knew what exactly I had (unsurprisingly, it was quite a lot).

Worst - David Sylvian's Everything and Nothing comp. Four-panel digipak: disc 1, bonus disc 3 in very snug slide-in slipcase, artwork, disc 2. Getting bonus CD out means folding pack back on itself or digging around in slip panel with fingernails. Yes, it's ripped.

Second most ambitiously worst packaging ever was a (drum roll) Flaming Lips single... again. This time, the "This Here Giraffe" part 2 CD-single.. the CD was cut into a star-shape.. so only top loading CD players can (maybe) play it. What makes it more frustrating is that the B-sides are one of the rare B-sides for the Lips that are GOOD! (Peel session versions of "Hit To Death" era songs)

My Spectrum gel-pack is still nice and gooey. Slayer put out a nice blood-gel pack once.

Now that I've finally got at the disc I feel more like playing Hüsker Dü than I do Múm.

My current buggabear is the metal Fabriclive cases.

bottleskup flenkenkenmike sucked... like the aluminum tunes packaging but worse... which, the LP copy of AT was ace. no sweat at all.

i hate all those cheap cases were the teeth break easily and cd shakes around inside. lame.

lot's of noise bands think it's just peachy to release stuff in weird packaging... it's a real scourge to deal with. i've got a whole shelf full of over-sized and oddly shaped cd packages. new faggot cunts put theirs in a cloth sleeve with a button. it's actually kind of nice, but still unweildy.

warp's use of book-style jackets is neat, but annoying to pay for. i remember the first one being gallo's record and it fit his 50s crooner thing and the old style LP jackets, but to see broadcast and boards of canada do it sort of lost the point to me.

was it aphex twin who had that odd 1.5-2 12" LPs wide monster lp thingy? it was like 12.5 x 25 inches or something. ugh.

odd shaped cds like the chinese stars annoy me too. if you don't have center-locked cd player, you have to hope you centered it in your computer's cd tray... and in general it's just gonna bitch and send it back out.

why don't bands go cheap and spend the extra on a dinner and a movie. really! treat yourself!
m.

DAMN YOU EDDIE VEDDER!!!!!! DAMN YOOOOOOU!!!

But it's the Fall! What are you expecting?

What pisses me off (while not a bad design) is Rykodisc's re-issues of the Mission of Burma back catalogue. It has a section saying 'The green tinted jewel case is trademarked' or something. How can you trademark colouring something green!?

Aesthetically, it's digipaks all the way. They're simply more gorgeous, almost every time. I have more problems with jewel cases breaking (those horrible tabs that hold the cover onto the bottom) than I do with any cardboard cases.

-- cutty (holler@thegod.com ), March 5th, 2004. (2 trackbacks)

cd or vinyl? i quite like the cd packaging... refried ectoplasm is pretty similar

This is one of the rarer times I got the Japanese version of a release by a band that's not Japanese. No unglued holes. No complaints! And I got "Freestyle Dumpling", the best damn cover of The Fall's "Slates, Slags, etc" ever! (though minus "Seeperbold")

I thought the point of those was that they did break the CDs. Was it not BC/CR being all precious about vinyl?

Still a fun lil album, though.

-- bill stevens (bscrubbin...), March 5th, 2004.

Ha ha. I actually went to school with the son of the guy who designed the hot side hot/cool side cool packaging and became a millionaire off of it. Son was an alcoholic, of course.

the same thing seems to have happened to most copies of john dowie's factory 45

Fucking shower caps stuck to the vinyl, leaving weird marks and making the record play shittily (that is, in a shit-like fashion).

But, you know, really excellent for keeping your weave together while bathing...

I have a new winner. Amarkord is some Italian publisher that's recently put out a bunch of "cosmic" compilations put together by Daniele Baldelli. The two volumes covering the Baia Degli Angeli club have been top-notch packaging-wise- hardback book with a DVD-style hub for the CD inside the back cover- but the Cosmic 2xCD/book compilation is fucking WRETCHED. The discs are in paper sleeves in pockets in the front and back covers. The sleeve for CD1 was stuck in its pocket and had to be forced out, ripping the paper and making part of the tracklisting illegible, but that's not the real problem- these are the tightest sleeves in the history of sleeves, or paper, or tightness. I had to reach in with my thumb and forefinger wrapped in one of those disc-cleaning wipes to keep from getting thumbprints all over and YANK, and after a good couple of minutes finally got them out (scratching them to fuck in the process). I'm left wondering how they got inside the sleeves in the first place- they're so flimsy that putting them back in wasn't even within the realm of physical possibility, let alone an option, so they're sitting in a couple of spare jewel cases next to the book on my shelf.

The music's nice and the book is gorgeous, but they make you fucking work for it.

My two most hated packages of the year thus far are Bjork's Volta (whose packaging woes are much storied) and Fulanito's Vacaneria! (In something like a mini-DVD case, with the liner notes on cardboard sheets glued to the case and the cd tends to come loose and float around the case).

i haven't had any problems with the volta packaging.

i've had more probs with the volta record...

Nah it's Volta. Just stupid. great if noone ever opens the fucking thing tho

The "Volta" sleeve/design is actually great. Which makes it even worse that you have to move the sticker to be able to open the CD box at all.

That... is... why... it... sucks.

I suspect that Geir doesn't consider physical materials to be 'design', only 2D images.

that primal scream dub thing in the cardboard packaging with the magnetic catch on the back, specifically for the bit of foam that was meant to keep the cd attached.

i never figured out the fabric live packaging. is the cd meant to be rattling around loose like that?

I got that dub thing in a normal CD case! What a rip off!

Latest bummer packaging is WAR STORIES by UNKLE because 1) IT IS DIFFICULT TO OPEN and 2) IT SCRATCHES THE DICS THEMSELVES.

Well, don't have bought it then, you div, I hear you cry.

i realise i'm alone in this one, but i got the new limited UNKLE album that came in a box.
the whole thing was vacuum sealed meaning that you couldn't extract the inner box from the outer box, due to the seal.
many of the people who plumped up the extra ££ broke the thing to get into it, including me. however, the folks i ordered it from sorted me out, and i was a lot more careful second time around.
there is even a notice about the fun on the UNKLE website now with advise on how to get into the bloody thing. absolutely ridiculous.

xpost .. (never read the extra post before hiting submit ..

Those Volume compilations from the 90s... great idea, big thick book full of interviews with CD stuck in the back, but the cd was held in place with a disc button glued into the back cover and most of mine are broken/have come unglued and the cds keep falling out and going missing gah.

(xxpost)

11 July 07
War Stories LIMITED EDITION
Apologies to those who have been experiencing difficulties opening the limited edition War Stories. The vacuum packing technique looks great but does require some patience when opening. The secret is to give it time and not use any sharp implements that may damage the pack. Here is the process for picking the lock on this treasure chest of new UNKLE tunes:
Step 1: Pull the sides apart for about a minute to loosen up the outside package and let air in.
Step 2: Grab the box with the sliding end facing away from you and shake it hard for a couple of minutes.
Step 3: Once the inner case slides out a bit, grab it and pull.
Step 4: Smile because you've opened the new UNKLE treasure chest.
Step 5: Put the CD in, turn up the volume, check out the artwork in the booklet and enjoy!

www.unkle.com

lol

Dear Plaid and Bob Jaroc,

Not only is your "Greedy Baby" DVD+CD double pack possibly the most half-arsed thing I have ever decided to spend money on, but as soon as I opened the shrinkwrapping the discs launched themselves out of the packaging and scratched themselves on my desk, meaning I can't even sell them. I put them away as carefully as I could and they fell out again. I had to give up and put them in CD sleeves inside the packaging, except the packaging is so narrow the sleeves don't even fit.

I haven't even PLAYED the audio-only disc (those tracks were lame enough with visuals) and it's scratched to hell. It's almost like you want all your potential fanbase to have to buy the thing new because there aren't any used copies out there even though nobody wants it. Hmm... ok, well planned.

i have this as well. i has a little lever which is great for ejecting the cd. getting the cd BACK IN is, however, less easy.

http://www.discogs.com/release/958456

prolapse - backsaturday

what's wrong with this? i mean, sure, the spine's on the top instead of on the side, but it fits in your rack just fine and my CD's never fallen out or anything.

my favorite AND least favorite packaging gimmick of all time was the pre-stained cardboard box that Alice Cooper's 'Muscle Of Love' came in...it was very cool, but unfortunately not made to last...my copy of the record ultimately had to take residence inside the 'Love It To Death' gatefold...

prolapse - backsaturday
what's wrong with this? i mean, sure, the spine's on the top instead of on the side, but it fits in your rack just fine and my CD's never fallen out or anything.

Yeah but you can't see what it is! Which is annoying. And even if you put the unlabelled side out it's a bit oversize. It fits in my current shelving but not in my last set.

(I have the US Jetset pressing, I don't know what the Lissy's one is like.)

I hate anything where the size is based on the LP...

These are great, if you also play LPs, as they make for great category dividers - Mosaic sets are like this, my original Nick Drake box is like this, so is one of Ella's. Actually i prefer the LP-size to the long-box, which make it clumsier to stack a bunch of them together.

I don't have the Talking Heads box, but it sure looks unwieldy.

My vote:
The boxset "The Man from Impanema" for Antonio Carlos Jobim is a three disc set, contains 60 pages with each disc nestled within a different section, is too tall AND wide to fit on any standard shelf, and to top it all off, it's friggin' spiral-bound. This package won the Grammy for best packaging in 1997 --ack-- yet another reason to disregard any conclusions those idiots come to.

quickly checked the thread and realise no-one has mentioned the brilliant, but short life span of the Sudden Sway package - Space Mate.
The contents are well known and rather extravagent, but how on earth anyone could have a prime copy of the box it all came in is beyond me. way to flimsy - just getting it home made the fragger fall apart.

Regarding sleeves: Does the new Prince album contain any info on the contents anywhere at all?

I mean, nothing wrong about the hologram cover. It's great and brilliant, as opposed to the primitive hologram on the original "Diamonds And Pearls". But I would have preferred a sleeve giving someindication on what's inside.

what hologram cover ?
the freebie MOS version was just a skinny cardboard cover with no detail on it at all.

Re: Prolapse - Backsaturday, I think I have the UK version and that's the same. My shelves are too big for normal CDs so things like that fit OK.

The boxset "The Man from Impanema" for Antonio Carlos Jobim is a three disc set, contains 60 pages with each disc nestled within a different section, is too tall AND wide to fit on any standard shelf, and to top it all off, it's friggin' spiral-bound.

It's lovely - I bought it for my wife in '99 or so. We just keep it on display, propped up on top of the shelves with the boxsets. It's still in good nick.