Truckasauras - Tea Parties, Guns, and Valor

In the past century, the technology employed in the production and distribution of recorded sound has placed limits upon both the physical manifestation and the composition of a recording. In spite of recent innovations, many of these precedents remain painfully intact. In the past decade, the means of producing and distributing music have changed dramatically, in turn affecting the entire world of music. Clinging to the methods of the twentieth century has resulted in the near collapse of the record industry. It is the position of the Journal of Popular Noise that we reassess the relevance of all aspects of the record business. As with previous generations of creative radicals, it is now our charge to leave behind the impediments of the status quo to make room for an unfettered artistic industry.

Since Thomas Edison first etched sound into wax, we have seen various distribution methods for recorded sound come and go. Although vinyl records still are widely produced, new technology has been created in an attempt to replace it, yet it fails every time. From the reel to reel hi-fi, to 8-tracks, to mini-discs; the Compact Disc is only the latest piece of trash in a long line of planned obsolescence. These inefficient vehicles have given way to the value and ease of online file sharing and the ubiquitous iPod. Though this new digital technology has made music more accessible, we miss something when we download songs. Our music has become disembodied. Without an artifact associated with the sounds, the experience of listening is diminished. The devaluation of records is not just a result of file sharing, it is due to a loss of experiential preciousness. Record art creates a connection between the viewer and the artist beyond what can be expressed in sound alone, thus making the emotional experience more valuable.

Vinyl may have survived among audiophiles but what it lacks is the mobility and convenience of digital media. Among forward- thinking record labels it has become the standard in vinyl publishing to include a url and code so that one may download a digital version of the recording when you purchase the LP. This solves the problem for those who buy vinyl, but it doesn’t yet address the majority of listeners. So how do we reconcile the necessity of record art with the convenience of digital files? The answer is simple.

Remove the wasteful and near-obsolete vehicle and replace it with an artifact worth keeping. Now record art is free to be anything imaginable, no longer shackled by the need to contain something round and fragile. We have the means to retain both the visceral experience of creating and interacting with an artifact inspired by music while distributing the sounds in an efficient and convenient manner. B. Kalet May 10, 2008

Truckasauras is Tyler Swan, Adam Swan, Ryan Trudell, and Daniel Bordon
Executive Producers Zach Huntting and Byron Kalet
Engineering Grippo at Sauco
Production Truckasauras
Mastering Twerk at Audible Oddities
Art Direction / Design Byron Kalet
Design Assistant Jordan Robin
Photography Martin Collette, Kyle Johnson, Yuta Nakajima
Special thanks Girliepress
Dj Collage appears courtesy of Masse-One Publishing/BMI