The Special Goodness (album): Difference between revisions

The album was originally set to be released by [[Geffen Records]], and at least two different promo CD-rs for the album were printed and released by the label in late [[1996]].<ref>[[Karl Koch|Koch, Karl]]. appendix B: Solo, Side and Other band releases + related. ''Collectors Discography''. Archived from the original on Weezerpedia at [[Collectors Discography - Appendix B]].</ref> However, for unknown reasons, the label decided against signing the band, and the album was not released through DGC. The album would ultimately be released exclusively in Japan in [[1998]], by the indie label Rock Records.

Numerous other attempts to have the album released in America were made by the band, though none were successful. In late [[1999]], Wilson was in talks with label Loosegroove Records, who would print a handful of prototype CD-r singles containing the song "[[I'm with You Sister]]" (alongside two other ''Bunny Album'' tracks). Similarly to Geffen, however, this deal fell through. Again in [[1999]], the label Vast Records (who previously released the tribute compilation ''[[Hear You Me! A Tribute To Mykel And Carli]]'', featuring [[Weezer]] and related bands) attempted to have the album released in the US through Universal.<ref>Vast Records. (October 11, 2000). News. vastrecords.com. Archived from the original at https://web.archive.org/web/20020207181330/http://www.vastrecords.com/indexnew.shtml.</ref> However, by late [[2000]], it became clear this, too, would not be possible. With a new Special Goodness album on the horizon (''[[At Some Point, Birds and Flowers Became Interesting]]'') and after multiple failed attempts, a US release of the album was abandoned.

While the album was released officially in Japan utilizing the standard bunny artwork, there were also numerous (possibly one-of-a-kind) handmade versions sold while the band toured throughout [[1999]] and [[2000]]. These handmade CD-rss are mostly parodies of popular artwork or other album covers, usually with cut-and-paste images of the members of the hip-hop group [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handsome_Boy_Modeling_School Handsome Boy Modeling School] placed over faces. The artwork for most, if not all, of these cover variants were done by [[Karl Koch]], working with inspiration from [[Mikey Welsh]], who loved the idea and was an avid collage artist in his spare time on the road. Koch found a large stack of Handsome Boy Modeling School promotional stickers and some discarded promotional CDs at one of the clubs on the Special Goodness 1999 tour, and decided that these elements would be the basis for all CDs sold for the rest of the tour. The very first versions were sold, and then color photocopies were made of some of the favored designs to keep up with the demand as the tour went on. Koch saved a few examples of each, but several were one-of-a-kind and their survival rate is unknown. Some of these alternate releases have been cataloged online. However, as a result of the band's lack of popularity in addition to the album's lack of official release, they are generally sparsely known and rare.