scratchings on the inside

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This seems like the kind of question you rockist cockfarmers would have asked already but I can't remember. Have you noticed any peculiar scratchings on the [insert nomenclature here: part of your records where the side ends]?

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

For instance, the guitar-god Aphex Twin has a remix thing that's got "squid god out at the bank by AFX" in there

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

This thread could go on for years. There are thousands upon thousands. I can't remember any that particularly jump out, excepting maybe Nirvana's "why don't you trade those guitars for shovels" on the run-out groove of "love buzz"

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Are you talking about stuff that's literally scratched onto the vinyl?

― Manny Parsons, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

correct

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There are hundreds of them. they turn up on indie singles more I think. i just grabbed a random handful and this is what I got: 'kathy acker bilk' - her jazz(Huggy Bear)

"try and put this 7-incher in your mouth ..." and on the B-side "...so did it fit?" from "the girl in the sweater" by The Hard-Ons

"grow up son act your age" and "no girl is safe with ferdie's whopper" - Hard-Ons 'all set to go/ferdies song'

'off the cuff' - 'return of the king/bugle call' by The Widdershins

'a porky prime cut' - "don't open the window/the heavy foot of the lark" by The Shadow Ring

Honestly, it goes on and on and on.

― Andrew, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'a porky prime cut' refers to George 'Porky' Peckham, vinyl (and other media) mastering legend. The overwhelming majority of vinyl cut by 'Porky' has this message.

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Are you talking about stuff that's literally scratched onto the vinyl?

Like that Deerhoof 2x7" that has designs scratched on the surface itself, is that what you mean?

― Mark, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

There's stacks of those too, like the Badly Drawn Boy "donna & blitzen" 7" and a Nightblooms double 7" from a while ago. But no I think the little messages in the run-out grooves is what's being referred to in the original question

― electric sound of jim, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

So, do you read these things (like, are they visible) or hear them? I've never heard of these before...

― Dan I., Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

You read 'em. Angle a vinyl record to the light, and read what it says between where the music ends and the label begins. All records have something there (a catalogue or matrix number) but only some have special messages just for you.

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

funny, andrew i was recently playing that huggy bear single and for some reason read the scratchings on it! so that's what popped into my head when i saw this thread.

― Ron, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

[insert nomenclature here: part of your records where the side ends] - it's caled the "dead wax".

― unknown or illegal user, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

"mike-the exchange" ends up on a lot of records

― Michael Bourke, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i put my own on a bunch of records. after i die you will find unique copies of things like some record that says "i blew phil collins on the 1978 genesis tour" & stuff like that & maybe you'll think it's some weird rare pressing & pay lots of money for it.

― unknown or illegal user, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

on the flipsdie to the free seven inch that came with the spoonfed hybrid record there was a message in runes, my friend andrew and i translated it and wrote ian and he told us to get a life, forget what it said actually.

― keith, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I always suspected Ian Masters was a humourless bastard.

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The dead wax of the Clash's London Calling double album has "Tear Down The Walls," a word per side.

― felicity, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

on a side note, there's a way you can record onto the wax - it was in a sonic youth fanzine and it worked - I used to borrow records from people and leave satanic messages on their records...

I still like huggy bear.

― Andrew, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Huggy Bear's first three singles are bloody ace

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I may be wrong, but I think this blew up in the early days of Stiff - that was certainly the time it seemed to become a frequent thing that people noticed. I can't be bothered looking through the early Costello/Dury/Wreckless singles right now, but the Porky Prime Cuts were prominent.

― Martin Skidmore, Friday, 5 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

two months pass...

we're going to playing a bunch of porky prime cuts on our show Saturday 7 september 2002 noon - 1 bst 104.4fm (central london) or resonancefm.com

check it out!!!

― dexter, Thursday, 5 September 2002 20:31 (twenty-three years ago)

George would be proud

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Thursday, 5 September 2002 21:02 (twenty-three years ago)

six months pass...

i had "hail to the flatwoods" and "i love carrot cake" scratched in the runout groove of the one vinyl LP i put out.

― j fail (cenotaph), Tuesday, 18 March 2003 14:53 (twenty-two years ago)

three years pass...

on a side note, there's a way you can record onto the wax - it was in a sonic youth fanzine and it worked - I used to borrow records from people and leave satanic messages on their records...

I wanna know how to record onto the runoff vinyl!

― sleeve version 2.0 (sleeve testing), Friday, 22 September 2006 05:55 (eighteen years ago)

The article in question is in Sonic Death, available from:

http://www.sonicyouth.com/zines/main.html

It's in issue 3, page 25.

― Rombald (rombald), Friday, 22 September 2006 12:48 (eighteen years ago)

four years pass...

legend : http://www.discogs.com/artist/Porky+(5)#p=1&t=Credits_Technical

i used to buy Madness 7" singles on day of release and excitedly scan the inner groove to see the messages (ie the porky declaration, and the Madness extra)

is there a digital equivalent to this nerdy treat ?

have any bands dropped 'hidden' messages in the properties of an mp3 ?

― mark e, Wednesday, 19 January 2011 09:05 (fourteen years ago)

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