Many bands or record labels write little messages that get pressed into the matrix (or run off groove) close to the center label of their vinyl records. This phenomena, which can sometimes be very hard to see without a bright light, is specific to records and sometimes only certain pressings of a title. Many bands use this as a playful creative space - sometimes for little inside jokes - and a lot of listeners have no idea that these messages are hiding on records they may listen to hundreds of times. I started this collection by asking people on two internet music discussion forums to go through their records and look for these messages (only some records have them). I also noted messages from some records in my own collection. There is a marked emphasis on underground and independent music including punk and metal, but some more mainstream artists appear as well. Only the sides of records with messages are listed.
Artist / Album Title / Label
A CERTAIN RATIO – All Night Party LP FAC 5
Side A: FAC 5 Lenny-1
Side B: FAC 5 Anthony-2
Accüsed – "More Fun Than An Open Casket" Funeral (Combat)
Side A: FULL SCALE OR NO SCALE
Side B: intercourse SATANDUDEDIE
Acrid – “Sea Of poop”
Side A: I Wish Neil's Vocals Were Good
Side B: Jeff Is Far Too Fat And Ugly
AGAINST ME! – "Reinventing Axl Rose" (No Idea Records)
Side A: "you can make The Border smaller, But you cannot Take my NIPPLE."
Side B: "IF you CAN READ THIS, TAKE A BATH."
Akimbo – "Elephantine" (Seventh Rule)
Side A: Kick Out The Jams Or Get Off The Mother intercourse Stage
Aldebaran – "Dwellers in Twilight" (Blind Date)
Side A: It's better to laugh at man outside the universe than to cry for him within
Side B: doom 'til death
Ancestors – “Of Sound Mind” (TeePee)
Side 1: Star
Side 2: Hot
Side 3: Wars
Side 4: Wheels
Annihilation Time – “Cosmic Unconsciousness”
Side A: Whipcream...
Side B: Put it all over your bod-ay
Artimus Pyle –The Absence of Life 7" (Prank)
Side B: "DEATH BEACON"
The Bags – “S/T”
Side A: One if by land.....
Side B: Two if by Rock!
Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 12" (Phonogram)
Side A: MERRY CHRISTMAS, TOWNHOUSE
The Bastard Noise – "A Culture of Monsters" (Deep Six)
Side A: A SPACE CULTURE...
Side B:... OF MONSTERS...
Beat Happening / Screaming Trees – EP (Homestead)
Side A: “from russia, with love”
The Beat Poets – "Glasgow, Howard, Missouri" (53rd & 3rd, AGARR 9)
Side A: "The Only Band In Glasgow..."
Side B: ".. With Nothing To Say!"
The Beat Poets – "Rebel Surf" (53rd & 3rd, AGARR 19)
Side A: "No Nurse..."
Side B: "...I Said Slip Off His Spectacles!"
Beck - "Western Harvest Field by Moonlight" 10"
'Bic' side: Sexydeathsoda
'Beek' side: Cherrycupcake
Beck - "Steve Threw Up" 7"
'Side 2': Time to Rock
'Side 3': Smash the Clock
Behind Enemy Lines – "Know Your Enemy" (Profane Existence)
Side A: "Who Controls The Past Controls The Future"
Side B: "Who Controls The Present Controls The Past"
Big Boys - "Fun, Fun, Fun..." 12" EP, (Moment)
Side A: America, empty your swimming pools or else!
Side B: Gimme the heep deep fish where the jets come down in jazz (or ditch)
The Bitter Tears - Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse
Side A. You said it was a bad idea
Side B. But I wondered
Black Flag – “Damaged” (SST)
Side A: COMIN' AT YA - THE NEOLITHIC GELATINOUS THINK
Side B: SIZZLED THAT NEO-ORTHODOXY RIGHT INTO MY UH, AAAH... WHAT THE HELL!
Black Flag – “My War” (SST)
Side A: Exploring the inside of empty guns
Side B: Lookin for the markings of rifled thoughts. Is that it then?
Black Flag – “Family Man” (SST)
Side A: LOOKING OUT FROM A TIGHT CORNER
Side B: MIRRORS ONLY CREATE THE ILLUSION OF LESS SPACE
Bl’ast – “Power of Expression” (SST)
Side A: I DIE LAUGHING AT YOU WHEN YOU LAUGH AT ME
Side B: SCREAM FOR TOMORROW
Blue Sabbath Black Cheer / Wicked King Wicker – split (Noiseville)
Side A: "DEDICATED TO THE LIFE OF SLEAZY"
Bolt Thrower – “For Victory”
Side A: No Guts No Glory
Side B: Battleships go down with their guns still firing.
Boogie Down Productions – “Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)”
A: WE ALL HAVE THE SAME ENEMY
B: HUMANITY UNITE
Born Against – “9 Patriotic Hymns for Children” Vermiform
Side A: THE FLAG AND THE CROSS
Side B: 2 GREAT TASTES IN ONE
Burmese – "Monkeys Tear Man To Shreds..." (Enterruption)
Side B: "THANK YOU JOHN DWYER"
Butthole Surfers - "Live PCPEP" (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: "LADY KILLER"
Side B: "I LOVE BRIAN PICOLLO"
Butthole Surfers – “Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac”
Side A: 69 with your mama in a boat
Side B: Not to worry
Camper Van Beethoven - "III"
Side A: Soviet spies swim upstream
Side B: disguised as trout!
Captain Planet - "Wasser kommt Wasser geht"
Side A: ...und die Platte läuft noch... [and the record still runs]
Side B: ...und du kommst wieder unterm durchschnitt... [and you are substandard again]
Carcass – “Necroticism”
Side A: Guv'nors of gore
Side B: Jeddish Dialect
Career Suicide – "Attempted Suicide" (Deranged)
Side A: IT'S GOOD, BUT IT'S NOT HARDCORE!
Side B: ONE RULE: NO THINKING
Cast Iron Hike – “Salmon Drive” 7"
Side A: if you want to know who your friends are...
Side B: get yourself a jail sentence
Cathedral – “Forest of Equilibrium”
Side A: Mike Smail's Rollercoaster
The Clash – "London Calling" LP
Side A: Tear
Side B: Down
Side C: The
Side D: Walls
The Clash – “Sandinista!” 3LP
Side A: In space
Side B: no one
Side C: can
Side D: hear
Side E: you
Side F: clash!
Circle Jerks – “Group Sex”
Side A: Bong Lude
Circle Jerks – “Wild in the Streets”
Side A: Why are you reading this?
Cold Sweat – "Severed Ties" (Rock And Roleplay)
Side A: Morrisey must pay...
Side B: for the state of hardcore today.
Dead Kennedys – “Fresh Fruits For Rotting Vegetables (Cherry Red)
Side A: IS LIFE AS BORING AS YOU ARE?
Side B: WELL??? WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?
Dead Kennedys – “Frankenchrist” (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: The Full Rich Flavor of Stark Reality
Side B: To Cope is to Cop Out
Dead Kennedys – “Bedtime For Democracy” (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: JOHN SOOPES DIED FOR YOUR SINS
Side B: “POWER IS THE ULTIMATE APHRODISIAC” – HENRY KISSINGER
Dead Kennedys – “Give Me Convenience…”
Side A: The skull is "the smiling face" of the 80's
Side B: Dolphins make better anarchists than people do
Dead Language – S/T (Iron Lung)
Side A: Blue Shirt
Side B: Hair Down
Dead Moon - Dead Ahead
Side B : "THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS ! FRED COLE"
Despise You – "West Side Horizons" (Intercourse Yoga)
A: north of imperial
B: south of the jungles
Artist / Album Title / Label
A CERTAIN RATIO – All Night Party LP FAC 5
Side A: FAC 5 Lenny-1
Side B: FAC 5 Anthony-2
Accüsed – "More Fun Than An Open Casket" Funeral (Combat)
Side A: FULL SCALE OR NO SCALE
Side B: intercourse SATANDUDEDIE
Acrid – “Sea Of poop”
Side A: I Wish Neil's Vocals Were Good
Side B: Jeff Is Far Too Fat And Ugly
AGAINST ME! – "Reinventing Axl Rose" (No Idea Records)
Side A: "you can make The Border smaller, But you cannot Take my NIPPLE."
Side B: "IF you CAN READ THIS, TAKE A BATH."
Akimbo – "Elephantine" (Seventh Rule)
Side A: Kick Out The Jams Or Get Off The Mother intercourse Stage
Aldebaran – "Dwellers in Twilight" (Blind Date)
Side A: It's better to laugh at man outside the universe than to cry for him within
Side B: doom 'til death
Ancestors – “Of Sound Mind” (TeePee)
Side 1: Star
Side 2: Hot
Side 3: Wars
Side 4: Wheels
Annihilation Time – “Cosmic Unconsciousness”
Side A: Whipcream...
Side B: Put it all over your bod-ay
Artimus Pyle –The Absence of Life 7" (Prank)
Side B: "DEATH BEACON"
The Bags – “S/T”
Side A: One if by land.....
Side B: Two if by Rock!
Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas?" 12" (Phonogram)
Side A: MERRY CHRISTMAS, TOWNHOUSE
The Bastard Noise – "A Culture of Monsters" (Deep Six)
Side A: A SPACE CULTURE...
Side B:... OF MONSTERS...
Beat Happening / Screaming Trees – EP (Homestead)
Side A: “from russia, with love”
The Beat Poets – "Glasgow, Howard, Missouri" (53rd & 3rd, AGARR 9)
Side A: "The Only Band In Glasgow..."
Side B: ".. With Nothing To Say!"
The Beat Poets – "Rebel Surf" (53rd & 3rd, AGARR 19)
Side A: "No Nurse..."
Side B: "...I Said Slip Off His Spectacles!"
Beck - "Western Harvest Field by Moonlight" 10"
'Bic' side: Sexydeathsoda
'Beek' side: Cherrycupcake
Beck - "Steve Threw Up" 7"
'Side 2': Time to Rock
'Side 3': Smash the Clock
Behind Enemy Lines – "Know Your Enemy" (Profane Existence)
Side A: "Who Controls The Past Controls The Future"
Side B: "Who Controls The Present Controls The Past"
Big Boys - "Fun, Fun, Fun..." 12" EP, (Moment)
Side A: America, empty your swimming pools or else!
Side B: Gimme the heep deep fish where the jets come down in jazz (or ditch)
The Bitter Tears - Jam Tarts in the Jakehouse
Side A. You said it was a bad idea
Side B. But I wondered
Black Flag – “Damaged” (SST)
Side A: COMIN' AT YA - THE NEOLITHIC GELATINOUS THINK
Side B: SIZZLED THAT NEO-ORTHODOXY RIGHT INTO MY UH, AAAH... WHAT THE HELL!
Black Flag – “My War” (SST)
Side A: Exploring the inside of empty guns
Side B: Lookin for the markings of rifled thoughts. Is that it then?
Black Flag – “Family Man” (SST)
Side A: LOOKING OUT FROM A TIGHT CORNER
Side B: MIRRORS ONLY CREATE THE ILLUSION OF LESS SPACE
Bl’ast – “Power of Expression” (SST)
Side A: I DIE LAUGHING AT YOU WHEN YOU LAUGH AT ME
Side B: SCREAM FOR TOMORROW
Blue Sabbath Black Cheer / Wicked King Wicker – split (Noiseville)
Side A: "DEDICATED TO THE LIFE OF SLEAZY"
Bolt Thrower – “For Victory”
Side A: No Guts No Glory
Side B: Battleships go down with their guns still firing.
Boogie Down Productions – “Love's Gonna Get'cha (Material Love)”
A: WE ALL HAVE THE SAME ENEMY
B: HUMANITY UNITE
Born Against – “9 Patriotic Hymns for Children” Vermiform
Side A: THE FLAG AND THE CROSS
Side B: 2 GREAT TASTES IN ONE
Burmese – "Monkeys Tear Man To Shreds..." (Enterruption)
Side B: "THANK YOU JOHN DWYER"
Butthole Surfers - "Live PCPEP" (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: "LADY KILLER"
Side B: "I LOVE BRIAN PICOLLO"
Butthole Surfers – “Psychic... Powerless... Another Man's Sac”
Side A: 69 with your mama in a boat
Side B: Not to worry
Camper Van Beethoven - "III"
Side A: Soviet spies swim upstream
Side B: disguised as trout!
Captain Planet - "Wasser kommt Wasser geht"
Side A: ...und die Platte läuft noch... [and the record still runs]
Side B: ...und du kommst wieder unterm durchschnitt... [and you are substandard again]
Carcass – “Necroticism”
Side A: Guv'nors of gore
Side B: Jeddish Dialect
Career Suicide – "Attempted Suicide" (Deranged)
Side A: IT'S GOOD, BUT IT'S NOT HARDCORE!
Side B: ONE RULE: NO THINKING
Cast Iron Hike – “Salmon Drive” 7"
Side A: if you want to know who your friends are...
Side B: get yourself a jail sentence
Cathedral – “Forest of Equilibrium”
Side A: Mike Smail's Rollercoaster
The Clash – "London Calling" LP
Side A: Tear
Side B: Down
Side C: The
Side D: Walls
The Clash – “Sandinista!” 3LP
Side A: In space
Side B: no one
Side C: can
Side D: hear
Side E: you
Side F: clash!
Circle Jerks – “Group Sex”
Side A: Bong Lude
Circle Jerks – “Wild in the Streets”
Side A: Why are you reading this?
Cold Sweat – "Severed Ties" (Rock And Roleplay)
Side A: Morrisey must pay...
Side B: for the state of hardcore today.
Dead Kennedys – “Fresh Fruits For Rotting Vegetables (Cherry Red)
Side A: IS LIFE AS BORING AS YOU ARE?
Side B: WELL??? WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?
Dead Kennedys – “Frankenchrist” (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: The Full Rich Flavor of Stark Reality
Side B: To Cope is to Cop Out
Dead Kennedys – “Bedtime For Democracy” (Alternative Tentacles)
Side A: JOHN SOOPES DIED FOR YOUR SINS
Side B: “POWER IS THE ULTIMATE APHRODISIAC” – HENRY KISSINGER
Dead Kennedys – “Give Me Convenience…”
Side A: The skull is "the smiling face" of the 80's
Side B: Dolphins make better anarchists than people do
Dead Language – S/T (Iron Lung)
Side A: Blue Shirt
Side B: Hair Down
Dead Moon - Dead Ahead
Side B : "THANK YOU ALL FOR THE SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS ! FRED COLE"
Despise You – "West Side Horizons" (Intercourse Yoga)
A: north of imperial
B: south of the jungles
