Polish Sound Postcards

May 9, 2020 5:55 AM

Techmoan looks at a unique music format from Poland - records pressed into thin plastic, originally with a cardboard backing. They were designed/intended for mailing. More from PRX.

He also branches off into a discussion of and comparison with Russian records cut into old radiographs - 'ribs' or 'bones' music - previously 2012 / previously 2014

posted by carter (11 comments total)

Honestly, this isn't that unique. Cereal boxes in the US would have "records" on their backs you could cut out and play. I had one as a kid of Bobby Sherman singing I'm Still Looking For The Right Girl which is burned in my memory. I don't remember which cereal it came off of, but it wasn't a singular event.

And looking up that YouTube video and listening to the track is giving me feelings I can't even describe. Frission? Only with an overlay of "holy fucking shit".
posted by hippybear at 6:20 AM on May 9, 2020 [4 favorites]

I remember there being also Honey Bear records from Super Sugar Crisp, and a lot of others.

A brief google brought me to this one page, of which there are many others. Cereal Box Records
posted by hippybear at 6:22 AM on May 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

A few years ago I purchased the record collection of Daniel Richler. He's a huge Stones and Beatles fan and there was one of these record postcards of the Stones which I ended up passing on to a customer who's since passed away.

I've yet to come across a rib in my record adventures but am certain one will pop up eventually.
posted by dobbs at 7:04 AM on May 9, 2020 [2 favorites]

"Honestly, this isn't that unique."

Honestly, it is. The videos explain how these were different than flexidiscs that were found on boxes or in magazines. These weren't for advertising. These were intended to be mailed, and could also be customized with not just the song you wanted, but you could also record a greeting that would be placed before the song.
posted by jonathanhughes at 7:56 AM on May 9, 2020 [10 favorites]

I remember the cereal box promotionals and magazine sound page/flexidisc inserts. But these postcards and ribs are really nothing like those. Most obviously is the degree of personalization and dubious copyright legality, at least here in the west. They're more comparable to mix tapes than mass produced cereal box/magazine records.
posted by 2N2222 at 7:59 AM on May 9, 2020

Of course, the idea of moving air molecules in order to transmit pleasing sensory data was Mark Twain's, although he built heavily on Ben Franklin's invention of space-time.
posted by thatwhichfalls at 8:06 AM on May 9, 2020 [6 favorites]

Meanwhile in Bhutan, the postage was playable.
posted by aws17576 at 8:47 AM on May 9, 2020 [3 favorites]

Anatoly Shashkin pointed out there were some legal flexidiscs available in Russia: thread.
posted by wordless reply at 10:09 AM on May 9, 2020

This is awesome. It also sent me down a rabbit hole in re the Sound Burger/Mister Disc portable record player depicted and its later cheaper USB copy, the Crosley Revolution. What a cool little player! Yay, it was fun to get distracted by that for a little while.
posted by limeonaire at 11:03 AM on May 9, 2020

Hey, pretty cool! Thanks for posting.
posted by soundguy99 at 4:02 PM on May 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

Can anybody help me remember what was on the B side of Peter Ponsil And His Tonsil?

Edit: nvm.
posted by flabdablet at 4:40 AM on May 10, 2020