Deathsentences of the Polished and Structurally Weak is an album and booklet by Negativland

Negativland

Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...

. The band describes the project as "a 6 by 12 inch 64-page full-color book which comes with a 45-minute CD soundtrack."

CD and Tracklisting

"The CD is a meticulously-layered, ever-shifting electro-acoustic soundscape created to accompany the book. No bass lines, no melody, no dialogue, no singing, no beat - the sound of Negativland's recording studio being destroyed in a car crash."

All tracks by Negativland

Negativland

Negativland is an experimental music and sound collage band which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. They took their name from a Neu! song, while their record label is named after another Neu! song...

:

1. "Only You Can Rock Me" – 2:37
2. "Pack It Up" – 3:05
3. "Arbory Hill" – 3:26
4. "Ain't No Baby" – 5:29
5. "Lookin' Out For #1" – 2:51
6. "Hot & Ready" – 1:39
7. "Cherry" – 5:40
8. "Don't Fool Me" – 5:48
9. "#1 Rep" – 2:59
10. "One More For The Rodeo" – 4:44
11. "Born To Loose" – 2:08
12. "When They Ring The Golden Bells" – 4:10

Booklet

The accompanying booklet is a 6 by 12 inch 64-page full-color book packaged inside of a large die-cut automotive courtesy envelope. The band's website describes the book as "a poignant, voyeuristic, disturbing, and occasionally funny glimpse into lives which may be very different from your own...or eerily similar."

Compiled by band member Richard Lyons

Richard Lyons (musician)

Richard "Pastor Dick Seeland" Lyons is one of the members in Negativland. His personas in the band include Dick Vaughn, 5-time Cali Award winner; auto trivia expert...

, the book comprises photos of smashed-up cars in a junkyard; next to each crumpled car is reprinted the text of a note or letter or list found in the car.

In 1997, long before the book was released, Richard Lyons

Richard Lyons (musician)

Richard "Pastor Dick Seeland" Lyons is one of the members in Negativland. His personas in the band include Dick Vaughn, 5-time Cali Award winner; auto trivia expert...

 described the project and read excerpts from selections of the found text for an episode of the Public Radio program This American Life

This American Life

This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...

.

Personnel

• Mark Hosler
  Mark Hosler
  Mark Hosler is an American musician who is a founding member of the sound art collective Negativland.- Career :Through his public speaking, lectures and extensive interviews, he serves as the primary spokesperson for the group...
  
   - tapes
  Tapes
  Tapes is a small city in Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, near to Porto Alegre. It's good for sailing, windsurfing, kitesurfing....
  
  , electronics
  Electronics
  Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
  
  , rhythms, Booper, clarinet
  Clarinet
  The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
  
  , organ
  Organ (music)
  The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
  
  , viola
  Viola
  The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
  
  , loops
  Music loop
  In electroacoustic music, a loop is a repeating section of sound material. Short sections of material can be repeated to create ostinato patterns...
  
  , guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  , etc.
• Richard Lyons
  Richard Lyons (musician)
  Richard "Pastor Dick Seeland" Lyons is one of the members in Negativland. His personas in the band include Dick Vaughn, 5-time Cali Award winner; auto trivia expert...
  
   - tapes, electronics, rhythms, Booper, clarinet, organ, viola, loops, guitar, etc.
• David Wills - synthesizer
  Synthesizer
  A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
  
  , voice, tape
• Peter Dayton - guitars, viola
• W. M. Kennedy - guitar
• Jonathan Land - processed guitars, electronics

External links

• This American Life - Episode 70: Other People's Mail (1997) - includes segment of Richard Lyon's describing the booklet project, with excerpts from the text.