Monday, September 22, 2008

New format alert: Seed Paper editions

Not, I'm imagining, the sort of format we'd be expecting to be picked up by too many artists, but The Pretenders have announced their new album Break Up The Concrete is going to be the first ever Seed Paper edition album.

Oh, you do so know what a seed paper edition is, surely?

The Pretenders ninth studio album, Break Up The Concrete, will have a limited run of ecologically-friendly packaging with handmade seed paper starting on the album's release date of October 7. This paper can be planted and, with care, may sprout in 1 to 4 weeks. The paper used on this plantable run, and the paper for subsequent non-plantable runs of the CD and vinyl configuration, has all been certified by the FSC, an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world's forests.

You'll note that there's no actual explanation of what the seeds might be when they sprout - it could be Japanese knotweed. Or possibly the sort of plants which get the local constabulary interested. I'm hoping they'll be beets. Nice to have some beets late in the season.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

They were going to try this with Dannii Minogue's last single, until they realised the problems it'd cause when the UK's landfill sites disappeared under lush green forest within weeks :(

Olive said...

Beets should have gone in a month ago at the latest, Simon.
Nice of Chrissi to be thinking of the environment with the seed paper packaging. Lucky that the actual media itself doesn't involve any petrochemicals or anything like that. Seriously, though, great move. Whenever I buy an album I've often searched for an environmentally aware way of disposing of the sleeve.

Jimbo said...

Didn't Robert Plant do this? And Guns n' Roses?

Olive said...

The Pretenders ninth studio album, Break Up The Concrete, will have a limited run of ecologically-friendly packaging with handmade seed paper starting on the album's release date of October 7

I'm going to be charitable and assume that Hynde is doing this as a satirical dig at those artists that feign an interest in the environment to sell records to gullible flower children. Yes, that's what it must be.

Simon Hayes Budgen said...

@jimbo
Guns N Roses released an album in seed-covered packaging?

@olive
You've got to be fair to Hynde, though - it's not like seeds just grown on... oh, hang on

@james
I don't think they were going to cover the Dannii sleeve in seeds; the original plan was crushed nuts, I think.

Jimbo said...

Well, it was more a tortured, laborious pun on seeds and plants/roses than anything factually based.

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