#flexidisc

Edison Voicewriter VPD-3 // dictaphone (US, 1953)

Plus a standout feature on Wendy O. Williams & The Plasmatics during their wild prime.

The Birthday Party flexi disc “Dead Joe”

I don't even know where to start. What a trip down memory lane.

The first 2 issues of Flexipop and their Flexidiscs

Today’s record stop in San Francisco: Amoeba Music. Always a toss-up. Haven’t been here in a decade and it was fun, but I guess I own a lot more records than I used to, so there were fewer finds and no truly OMG moments. I found a few goodies but spent almost as much on the Uber to get there as I spent on vinyl (which I guess ultimately is a good thing; money staying in your pocket is always a plus). Basically I found a few cheap Flexidiscs and some stray 45s. On the other hand, I got to spend an hour digging at a legendary shop, and it’s hard to complain about that.

WE FOUND DUANE!! Just kidding, we didn’t find Duane – and we never will! – but we found the song and we pressed it up on this strange, see-through, floppy blue material that you can play on a record player! Annnnnnd we added a remix by Sich Mang called “Duane The Lizard!” AND HERE IT IS!!! LINK IN BIOOOOOO! While it LOOKS like a record (kind of) – and it SOUNDS like a record (kind of) – it’s actually a FLEXI-DISC!! Flexi-discs were invented by a somebody or other, a really really really long time ago, and they’ve been popular and well-played ever since! In short, it’s a phonograph record made of a thin, flexible vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral stylus groove, designed to be playable on a normal phonograph turntable! You can buy the mp3 of “Duane’s Theme” but that’ll cost you $69.00 – not kidding! So why not grab the flexible “sound sheet” for much, much less – free download included! The covers are a two-color risograph print – another product of an anachronistic invention! Crush that link! https://everythingisterrible.bandcamp.com/album/duanes-theme

Discos copiados sobre radiografías. La piratería siempre será inevitable, igual que la censura nunca podrá censurarlo todo. Durante la guerra fría los rusos conseguían copiar vinilos de occidente prensando radiografías sobre el original. El resultado es además creativo. Más tarde la industria publicitaria los adoptaría como flexidiscs.