Front Cover:
This copy comes courtesy of Dan Leftoffthedial – check out his record label at Left Off The Dial Records. Triangle of piss in the corner will be something we see later on a couple of covers – well at least the triangle thing. Apparently cartoon skinheads only have one nostril. Excellent, that explains their dimwittedness clearly they can’t get enough oxygen to their brains.
Front Cover:
So, trolling for pictures I looked for this in 2007 on Flickr. Obviously KZSU’s copy with a lengthy description that follows:
I suppose this is somehow related to “Fear of Pop Music: – but this is mch more thematic – I hate America. Perhaps ” Fear of America: might be a better name? This entire album deserves a listen, but playable standouts are: 1/2 ambient jazz noise w/spooky whispering. 1/3 High speed industrive-noise-dance Very cool ends wi/ orabj ogibe cakk, 1/4 actually starts w/ end of 1/3 after phone call. Driving screaming hardcore. 1/6 (actually 1/5) Sugarshock – ver cool, pounding, thrashy, screamy. 1/7 (actually 1/6) spoken word about “post-everything. Unamused, annoyed voice. Very cool. 1/8 (latter 1/2 of 1/7) Harcore, thrashy.
Side 2: 2/2 Cookie monster on speed. Perfect grind/hardcore. 2/4 Kiss tribute spoken word. Ha! 2/6 (Merel) Screaming, thrashing fades into Moss Icon spoken word. 2/8 Sam & Joe dorky circus music accompanies tandem rantings about life in this great country of ours. Play! Most of these tracks are great. Play all!
Then in blue pen: This fucking rules!
Looks like Mike Bell is presenting the Fear of Smell… hope he didn’t eat bad clams. That could be pungent. Here’s the original link for those curious to track down more info. Thanks to smurf415 for uploading it to Flickr and keeping it there.
Front Cover
Well, uhhh, what to say? Looks like folks ran out of inspiration for this one. Drab? Check. Can’t say much more about it. Well I guess I could tell you the back cover looks like Variation #1, or that the picture and owner is Daniel Malin. Or that he posted it on Viva La Vinyl.
So I sent off a letter via ye olde post office, because at the time I couldn’t find a way to e-mail Sam McPheeters, and I thought if I sent something through the mail it might actually grab some attention. Everyone gets e-mail requests for you to do stuff. I did include my e-mail in the letter, although I realize now a scan of a letter would’ve been more appropriate. Taped to a blank cover would’ve been even better… ah the benefit of two years. So a week or so after the birth of the first version of the blog this popped up in my e-mail.
Jon –Thanks for the letter. Interesting blog. The second, normal pressing of “Fear Of Smell” was 1,441. I’ve estimated 1,000 for the first pressing, since I didn’t keep very good records in the early 90’s. The idea for the covers was ripped off from the Teenbeat band Sexual Milkshake – I’d seen one of their handmade album covers at Wharton Tiers‘ studio – and I think my original intention was to have the entire first pressing packaged with the FOS stencil framed by a loop of xmas tinsel. One afternoon in my basement cured me of this idea. If I remember right, the covers were glossy, not the inverted matte stock Ross Ellis offered, and the spray paint beaded up and ran. The staples holding the tinsel came loose and gouged up the vinyl. The Israeli gas mask I’d bought for indoor painting fogged up and caused panic. I made 30 or 40 of these covers and gave up. So I had to fall back on individual packaging.
Not having the mental wherewithal to do the simple math (one thousand covers divided by six weeks before tour divided by me and three friends equals me doing six covers a day, etc), most of the records sat around for months without artwork. I don’t remember if blank covers were decorated in the van or not – I can recall at least three other tours where my incompetence forced bandmates to do free manual labor as we drove from town to town. I do remember that at one point I simply gave up and shipped a couple hundred to Kent McClard with a magic marker. 95% of the covers were done by other people with no direction from me. As punishment, my name will be forever tied to the smutty drawings of vague acquaintances and strangers.In 1998 I thought I’d correct this blemish by making some nice art for the 2nd pressing cover. But, in another fit of incompetence, I wasn’t able to find any studios that still used 1/2″ tape decks, so we just mastered the CD off the vinyl and hoped that the pops and scratches wouldn’t be too audible. The pops and scratches are quite audible. Vermiform’s fourth release (the Rorschach LP) gained the label instant credibility; “Fear Of Smell” was all about squandering that credibility with extreme prejudice. It is far better to be typecast as a wacky weirdo than as an Angry Young Man.
I had to paint my garage today, so I fished around in one of my 40 pallets of unsold CDs and found a copy of the comp. It’s not bad a bad record to primer drywall to. But then I put on N-Star Please, which is a much better record to paint to. They should have somebody do a blog about that record.Sam
Front Cover
“Distributed by Kent Fag-Ass Poetry Boy”
Yeah, uh what’s up little guy between two gigantic, uh, tits? Maybe they’re eyes that are bulging out of their sockets? Considering Sam’s letter about all this stuff (coming up tomorrow), yeah, maybe letting other people loose without instruction to decorate your compilation wasn’t the best idea. Of course, it probably wouldn’t be as interesting if there were some instruction.
This copy exists as the copy on bandtoband.com although if you search for the connections between Born Against and Infest, it takes the long way ’round rather than using this compilation as a connector. Another snub…
Front Cover
Another ebay find, might’ve been notified to this via the thread I made about this blog on VLV. Anyways, this Fear O’ Smell is perfect for a summer day, or perhaps influencing a Brain Handle LP (pictured half way down the page) close to a decade and a half later.
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Back Cover
This one came courtesy of sunna on Viva La Vinyl, a great board to be offended if you hold anything about 80’s and 90’s hardcore sacred. He sold this copy on ebay, so if you’ve bought it, congratulations on buying one of the best compilations to come out in the 90’s. Certainly outside of Japan in the 90’s this is probably top five material. Of course, that’s either saying that there weren’t that many compilations in the 90’s or the music in the 90’s blew. You can form your own opinions. I’ve often wondered if this one came through the hands of Old Glory distro, who had a similar thing for stars and bars. Also, chalk up another hit for Rich Oliver.
Front Cover
Okie Dokie, here’s one from ebay that I snagged circa 2007. Of course, ebay being the craphounds they are keep their past hidden. Oh well. This one makes me think of the fumes coming from that black (perhaps it was brown…) marker. Talk about high times. Speaking of high times, this sort of reminds me of Zeppelin- IV. Gotta go sniff some markers now.
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Back Cover
“Aren’t animals amazing? Only an all knowing all powerful god could have created such diverse and wonderful creatures.” Bunch of smartasses or closet religious freaks? This copy features our first oddball variations – green sticker “Featuring Rich Oliver” also not on the back cover as on my copy but on the front. I’m sure we’ll see more variations of the placement of these stickers.
Front Cover
Back Cover
“I Am Foot Foot The Strong” – sizzling political commentary right there folks. Apparently the really teeny tiny text underneath the Foot Foot comment is “Fear My Power”. Nice crayons and marker work. Clearly an ebay pic, if this is yours come and get your free credit. Post up in the comments or e-mail me.