(CD spine 1, spine 2, front, back, opened, inside of booklet, CD itself top, inner groove, play-side info)
(LP spine, cover front, back, LP inner label A, B)
(LP in shrink wrap, front, back, spine, UPC sticker)
The Microphones "Don't Wake Me Up" CD/LP
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-Recorded between April 25, 1998 and March 1, 1999 at Dub Narcotic (Olympia) and The Business (Anacortes) By Phil Elrum. Also involved in the recording, Mirah Yom Tov Zietlyn, Khaela Maricich, Calvin Johnson ("all sang").
-Released in 1999 by K Records (kpunk.com) (KLP 99)
-IFPI Number: 6000*
*Actually just learned about this number. In my forever striving to chronicle down to the tiniest details for this page I recently decided I ought to be including the branding and coding on the play-side (silver side) of the disc. The inner grooves on CDs come with all manner of info, weird bar codes, label catalog info, strange symbols, info on the country where it was manufactured or the specific company that made it. (And seriously, if anyone out there knows how to decipher all that stuff please, PLEASE let me know, I'd love to be able to go through and list it all) For the most part, for this blog, I am going to suffice with just putting up pics of this info on the CD as best I can (it's hard as hell to take pictures of because it's generally very small and on a reflective surface), and not listing it in the album details. However, where I can, I am going to make one exception and that is for the IFPI number. This is the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. It's sort of like the ISSN number on a book. It's basically a weird anti-piracy league of some kind with, apparently, a very colorful history. Not too up on much of it but if you'd like to learn more I'd start here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Federation_of_the_Phonographic_Industry
for the sake of this blog I'm going to suffice with just listing the number as a relevant piece of information and not dwell on the politics of the organization.
-Barcode number: 789856109913
-Apparently the CDs were "Made in Canada"
-Cover art by J. Pogue, who we've seen several times before on the first couple Microphones 7"s.* I guess he was one of the people that was in and out of the "band" around this era.
*Original vinyl releases also included a special edition of the "Litne" art zine created especially for this LP by Justyn Pogue as seen here:
(Front/back covers and all pages)**It is worth nothing that most of the images seem to be themed around the idea of "sleep" as per the title of the LP. Also, we see the image that the graphics from the actual CD were taken from as well as, what seems to be one of Phil's favorites, the drawing of the billowing clouds (which we will see/have seen on many other releases).
-It's on LP and CD and on K so no clue how many of these there might have been, thousands of the CD I'm guessing and at least a thousand of the LP.
-Other details of note:
The CD features different cover art (though represented in the same fashion) from the LP. The CD features a new, unique black and white image, whereas the LP features the same picture that was on the "Moon, Moon" 7". The back cover on the CD seems to be another in the same series of pics, whereas the back cover of the LP seems to be another J. Pogue collage (including the "clouds" drawing).
The CD foldout art features a large "in color" photo collage (much like he one that accompanies the reissues of "The Glow Pt. 2") which is not featured on the LP. The pics are of all kinds of random things and people (Bronwyn Holm, Kyle Field, Phil, and Khaela seem to be recognizable as well as the source pictures used for the CD cover art).
The inside of the CD cover also features the famous "cloud drawing"
As is usual with the early Phil CDs there is a picture "hidden" under the plastic tray, viewable in my pics because there is a transparent tray rather than the standard opaque black (though, it is worth noting, that I am sure this CD originally came with a black tray and someone along the line replaced the one I have with a transparent tray). The pic underneath is an overexposed pic of Phil's face with his eyes closed, next to him, half off-cell, there appears to be someone else's face as well. I wonder who that is.
On the back of the LP, again, label addresses are listed for both K Records (P.O. Box 7154 Olympia, Wash. 98507) and KNW-YR-OWN (1717 Commercial, Anacortes, Wash. 98221) .
There is not an information insert with the LP, all the info is listed on the back cover (and it is worth noting that the LP version is the only one with any info other than the song titles. The CD lists none of the other info, anywhere, which is on the back cover of the LP). There is, however, the afore mentioned J. Pogue zine as well as a huge poster (which, interestingly, appears to be in-line with the rest of the LP art but, additionally, is a picture of a WINDOW). Perhaps a subconscious or intentional allusion to the "Window" CD which would follow and "accompany" this release. Poster seen here:
Inner groover info is pretty normal, though they, for some reason, actually write out the sides on this one. It is also of particular note that the inner groove info differs from all other release info. All over all the rest of the LP and CD this is clearly marked as KLP-99, however, on the vinyl inner grrove markings this is listed as KLP-101 (KLP-101 Side A, Side B).
The vinyl labels are, unlike most of the releases from this era, taken from the cover art images. Usually, as we have seen, Phil has a specific, hand-drawn, label design which he usually uses for the inner labels.
There's an interesting little review here: http://web.archive.org/web/19990101000000-20030131235959/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/m/microphones/dont-wake-me-up.shtml
from our friends at Pitchfork.
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This was another of the first Microphones CDs I bought, back in the day at Newbury. Cannot recall any of the original circumstances surrounding this one, alas. I am certain at the time I was frustrated and intrigued by the fact that the back of the CD does not feature any song titles or recording info.
I also believe this is a record I have gotten to know very slowly over a long period of time and still do not really feel "familiar" with (as evidenced by the fact that, besides the "easy song" [I Felt You] the first appearance of this album on the mixes isn't until --035, the next ones being ten mixes later, and then next after than being about twenty to thirty mixes later). This may be attributable to the "early"-ness of the music. This is sort of the first "real" Microphones album. There was a lot out before this and the "Tests" CD, for sure. But this was the first real actual LP. It feels right exactly where it is in Phil's timeline. There is plenty of the old school tape-recording flavor here and also a heavy dose of the aesthetics that would carry into "It Was Hot...".
Also, lots of Phil's ongoing, confusing, self-referential repetition of song title themes ("Wake Me Up"/"Don't Wake Me Up", "I'll Be In The Air"/"You Were In The Air"/"You'll Be In The Air", "Ocean...").
(--237, --045, --068, --072, --046, --069, --052, --035, --008* and counting [still 6/7 songs on this album not yet used on mixes, stay tuned.])
*Two notes here, first off, this mix, by all rights would be mix number 9. It was made 9th (and hence, in literal actuality, all the mixes should actually be one number higher than they are). But since mix --008 (I Can't Believe You Actually Died) was made the floating, perpetual "last mix" and given its own, special, numbering designation (FIGURE 8 PLUS) that cleared the way for this, the actual 9th mix made, to become, de facto, the 8th mix.
Secondly, the version of this track which appears herein is an edit made by me (to leave off all of the near silent space after the song ends). Thus, the actual mix name of this mix is "--008(I Felt You [Edit]). To be fair, the actual last, fifteenth, track of this release has never been used for a mix, though I am marking it off here, and have always considered it to be "used".
Tracklist (Vinyl)
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Side A:
Ocean 1,2,3
Florida Beach
Here With Summer
Where It's Hotter Pt. 3
I'm Getting Cold
I'll Be In The Air
Tonight There'll Be Clouds
Side B:
You Were In The Air
What Happened To You?
It Wouldn't
I'm In Hell
Don't Wake Me Up
Sweetheart Sleep Tight
Instrumental
I Felt You
Tracklist (CD)
--------------------
Ocean 1,2,3
Florida Beach
Here With Summer
Where It's Hotter Pt. 3
I'm Getting Cold
I'll Be In The Air
Tonight There'll Be Clouds
You Were In The Air
What Happened To You?
It Wouldn't
I'm In Hell
Don't Wake Me Up
Sweetheart Sleep Tight
Instrumental
I Felt You
xo.
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