I just got The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records Vol 2 in the mail, and it might be the most beautiful thing I own.
Really looking forward to the first volume showing up.
It comes with these two giant books, one is a history book and the other is a guide to the artists on the label. It also comes with a flash drive, more on that in a minute.
It's designed to look like an
RCA Victor Special Model K, Portable Electric Phonograph, which is about the most beautiful record player ever made.
Here's a picture I stole of the thing all opened up with all the bits on display.
And then there's this flash drive.
I have to drive home, but I'll talk about the flash drive when I get there.
It's this beautiful brushed aluminum statue, which houses a flash drive.
The flash drive hold 800 tracks, various pieces of ephemera, and all of it is presented through this on drive webapp that is absolutely Perfect for it's function. Stylish, easy to navigate, full of little touches that provide context and make the music come alive.
This is what I would expect out of a museum piece, frankly.
The folks who put this together knocked it *Way* out of the park.
I'll grab some screenshots in a minute and share those.
Vol 1 should be here in a few days, it's housed in a wooden box, and is equally decadent.
This volume covers 1927 - 1932. Vol 1 will cover 1917 - 1927.
Paramount Records was a sham. It was fake. It was the loss leader for the Wisconsin Chair Company, so that they could sell more record players.
And this sham record label produced the most interesting music of the 1920s, just stellar stuff.
The first 6 years of volume one are now in the public domain, and I'll be sharing that stuff widely when it comes in.
I'm currently making an image of the v2 disk. When that's done I'll share some screenshots.
Screenshots from the flash drive web page.
It's nothing flashy. It's frankly super simple, but it's also exactly what the digital copy of every album should be going forward.
@ajroach42 They kind of spoil the ending with the title.
@gedvondur Okay, but shitposts aside, it is absolutely beautiful.
@ajroach42 It is! I looked it up after you posted.
@gedvondur The little statue/USB drive that houses the digital copy of the music might be the most perfectly designed objet d'art I've ever encountered.
@ajroach42 Whoa, cool! Also, first time I've seen a storage device with a hood ornament! 
@ajroach42 now I'm picturing a pen drive shaped like Flash Gordon.
@FiXato oh I have plans
Alright. I gotta talk about this collection, because it's really something.
It's a 6 record set, with two books, some ephemera, and a USB drive.
It's absurdly expensive, but the detail and quality of the finished package are obviously worth it.
I stole this photo, showing volume one and two side by side, closed.