Sold Date: December 6, 2015
Start Date: December 4, 2015
Final Price: $19.99 (USD)
Seller Feedback: 2232
Buyer Feedback: 2

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The Music Tapes/Dennis Koster- Split Pictue Disc 7" Record + Stop Smiling # 8: The Consumer Reports Issue (Cosmic Debris Ltd 1003/Cosmic Singles Club)

PLEASE NOTE:
If this item is not sold by MID-DAY US Pacific Standard Time on
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 14th, this listing will end at that time
and the item may never be relisted.
This BUY IT NOW item will not be available for purchase after that time. Numbered split picture disc 7" from Elephant 6/Elephant Six band The Music Tapes, who are Julian Koster from Neutral Milk Hotel with B side by Koster's dad, Dennis Koster, who is fairly well known as a classical and flamenco guitarist. This is a hand numbered 7" picture disc with the original Stop Smiling magazine.

7" is NEW AND UNPLAYED/MAGAZINE is MINT-/Cover sticker has some peeling and the zip lock bag has moderate shop wear.

A quick note about changes to the US Postal Services international postage rates for packages: I'm sorry to say that as of 2013 the US Postal Service has significantly raised the cost of shipping packages (even to Canada). Unfortunately this is affecting all US sellers and international buyers. My shipping prices reflect the new shipping costs and the eBay fees for the shipping you pay as well as packaging material (I do try to recycle when I can but that's not too often). If the US Postal Service reduces rates, I will adjust them to reflect fair postage for international buyers.

Tracks are:
Side A: Why Is The President Crying? - The Music Tapes
Side B: Untitled - Dennis Koster (Julian Koster's father)

Wi ki ped ia says of The Music Tapes:
The Music Tapes is an indie pop project of Elephant Six member Julian Koster, also of Neutral Milk Hotel, and the earlier Chocolate U.S.A.. Music Tapes releases are characterised by their unusual orchestration (the singing saw and banjo are matched with sounds recorded in Julian's environment, for example the sound of a bouncing ball as percussion), which produces an effect which is part musique concrete, part 1960s pop. The band also includes such musical inventions as the 7-foot-tall metronome, Static the television, the Clapping Hands Machine, and many other creations.

The Music Tapes started life as a creative outlet for the 16 year old Koster, who would create tapes of songs and stories, as means of escapism, which he would share with his friends, culminating in 'The American Phoam Rubber Co. Symphony Orchestra Proudly Presents the 2nd Silly Putty Symphony for Edison Wax Cylinder', which was essentially tape collage. In 1989, Koster formed the band Chocolate U.S.A., a more conventional indie pop band, which also included Bill Doss and Eric Harris, later (along with Koster, though somewhat unofficially) members of the The Olivia Tremor Control. The band released two full albums, All Jets Are Gonna Fall Today and Smoke Machine, before splitting in 1994, after which Koster chose to focus his creative efforts on the Music Tapes once more..

To date, the Music Tapes have released two full albums. The first, 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad, a partial concept record, among its themes the power of television, and the death of 1950's actor George Reeves, who played the hero Superman, who Koster was entranced with as a child. The album took many years to assemble, being recorded in closets and cupboards, and mixing straightforward pop songs with collage and storytelling. Its release was followed by the "House Capsule Tour" in which Julian was joined by fellow Music Tapes Robbie Cucchiaro and Eric Harris..

The Music Tapes have also released three 7" records - Please Hear Mr. Flight Control, The Television Tells Us and a split 7" entitled The Music Tapes and Dad, with Dennis Koster, Julian's father and renowned flamenco guitarist.

Coming soon is the 2nd Imaginary Symphony For Cloudmaking, a story album, consisting of the story of a boy named Nigh, who lives with his blind grandmother. The album also features instrumentation by Koster to back the spoken word recording by Brian Dewan. It is yet to be mass released [1] but has actually been finished and put through two CD circulations and played on WNYC's Spinning on Air. Julian States: "An official release shall be arranged for, but it's not yet as, in truth, I've been too wrapped up in making new things." Another record is the as yet untitled 'singing saw symphony', complete with Julian's father, again on flamenco guitar, though this has yet to see the light of day, and is under slow progress. Lastly, though certainly not least, is a film project, for which Julian is working with director John Cameron Mitchell, known for his film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. The film is set to be an animation, with music by Koster, which is also about the boy named Nigh, although not many other details are known.

A M G says of The Music Tapes :
Though the Music Tapes are seen primarily as a spinoff from the Elephant 6 music collective, which includes bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, the Olivia Tremor Control and the Apples in Stereo, they began as the brainchild of Julian Koster. As a 16 year-old, Koster conceived of his early recordings, like the "Silly Putty Symphony" as a surreal sound-world to escape into and share with friends. This motivation also fueled Koster's band at the time, Chocolate USA, which eventually evolved into the Elephant 6 projects, including Neutral Milk Hotel, in which Koster performed as a multi-instrumentalist. When he decided to resurrect the Music Tapes in 1995, Koster enlisted the help of Jeremy Barnes, another member of Neutral Milk Hotel. Their first single Please Hear Mr. Flight Control was released three years later, and featured a variety of antique instruments, sounds and instruments, as well as pop-up artwork. The 1999 debut alblum 1st Imaginary Symphony For Nomad had a similar aesthetic: a wax cylinder recorder and a wire recorder were used to record it, and a supplemental comic book was also included.

A quick note about international postage rates: In 2013 the US Postal Service significantly raised the cost of shipping packages (to everywhere outside the US). My shipping prices do their best to reflect accurate shipping costs & packaging material (I do try to be responsible recycle when I can). I know that international buyers have seen these greater costs in buying from the states and I want to apologize and simply state that the US Postal Service is struggling to break even in the wake of evaporating traditional mail traffic and that costs those who still mail packages.