Packaging for F# A# ∞

F# A# ∞, released on August 14, 1997, is the debut studio album for Godspeed You! Black Emperor. After looking online for the packaging which comes along with the vinyl record, I haven't been able to find anything. Thus, this page will act as a reference for anyone who wants to find the packaging contents without having to buy the vinyl record. After all, not everyone has a record player ;)

Transcriptions are included.

Please support Godspeed You! Black Emperor by buying their content. All images on this page are property of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.

"FOR THE REVEREND GARY DAVIS"

"WHICH MOVE AT TERRIFIC SPEED"

"'REPENT'"

"one nighT only; VENDREDI 10th SEPTEMBRE 1999...
godspEEd you black emperor, labradford, LOW
THEATRE Olympia, 1oo4 sainte-catherine est. 8 p.m.
1O dollars+ tx.+ frais. Billets disponible at—
L'oblique+ Cheap Thrills (6 aou t) et admission (aug. 9)"

Side A:

"THe stoRY tHus FaR:
...hungover it's awful, the sound of trains collapsing back behind
of here...outside there are distant birds cycling in front of 7 miles
of heavy cloud falling down, and from where you're lying one of those
clouds looks like a hanged man leading a blind, indifferent horse...
THIS IS MILE END MY FRIEND, the hollowed out ruins here and a train
runs straight through them... we made a record here in mile End, at
the mighty HOTEL2TANGO, where the lonesome trains ramble thru the
backyard while the wind plays in the trees where nervous birds hide
from a kat named lu,a dog named wanda... 16 rented tracks moving 15 7.5
inches per second onto ampex456 WITHOUT ANY KEYBOARDS, while don & ian
rode the faders tired-eyed and stoic...the whole thing ~~happened~~
recorded under threat of great threat on a 1933 stahltonbahnd maschine
and mixed in one awful night by black helicopter...IT ALL HAPPENED
IN MAY; winter was just starting to fade then and the money hadn't
run out yet... we've been plowing our little field up here for a
couple of years now, but the yard is still filled with rocks and dust
and sick trees... SO we bide our time, waiting for a purer kick to
bloom... & the future is still bleak, uncertain and beautiful... and
the van is gassed but the pistons are cracked, and when we close our
eyes alls we can see is: open road, telephone poles, a sun that is
always setting &a tangled up melody falling down slowly O.K. GOODBYE
xoxoxoxoLOVE GODSPEED YOU BLACK EMPEROR! mILE eND MONTREALQUEBECCANADA"

Side B:

"kramer metal neck gtr., music man stingray bass, telecaster,
cello, screwdriver, fender jaguar, fender jazzman, violin,
aluminum rod, french horn, '73 dodge family wagon with glow-
in-dark virgin mary statuette, drum kit, bagpipes, ampeg v22/
v-4/svt, full-ton dodge ram with retrofitted holley carburetor,
banjo, garnet head/orange marshall hi-rise cabinet, earth sound
research bass head, space echo, hagstrom III gtr., '76 ford
econoline with airbrushed flame job, gauloises blondes, deMaurier,
boreale rousse, glockenspiel..."

"HOPE" [written on image of hammer]

"locomotive etching rendered by john arthur tinholt."

"godspeed you black emperor! (1995-1997):
moya, thea, aiden, dave, mauro, thierry,
christophe, norsola, efrim, bruce, colin,
amanda, jesse, sylvian, dan o., peter,
shnaiberg..."

"silkscreening executed by leila
pennies flattened by passing trains"

Unfortunately, my record didn't come with a flattened penny. :<

"godspeed:
15 rue ontario est
montreal, quebec
h2x lg8
CANADA"

"constellation:
p.o. bpx 42002
montreal, quebec
h2w 2t3
CANADA
514.499.1771
constell@total.net"

"FIg. 3a = FAULTY SCHEMATICS OF RUINED MACHINE [TO SCALE]"

The diagram itself is difficult to transcribe, so I'll use this space to describe it.

The diagram is split into X and Y axes. Negative X (-X) is "HI MID" while Positive X (+X) is "LO MID;" Positive Y (+Y) is "HI" while Negative Y (-Y) is "LO." The furthest position of -X is "F# [RegRet]" while the furthest position of +X is "A# [DesIRe];" The furthest of +Y is "[FeaR] ∞" while the furthest of -Y is "∞ [Hope]."
In the left margin of the diagram, +Y is described as "TAPE HISS" and -Y is described as "TAPE RUMBLE."

The ends of each axis are connected to a circle with a triangle whose edges meet with the circumference of the circle. This triangle is referred to in the notes as the "BABYLONiAN TRiANGLE OF CAPTiViTY." The peak of the triangle, meeting with "[FeaR] ∞," is labelled as "1. continuous self-doubt." The lower-left edge is labelled as "2. lack of money, resources... (helplessness)," while the lower-right edge is labelled as "3. inescapable police car/anxiety continuum..."

The bottom left corner of the image says, "CST-ØØ3.../"

The following is a transcription of the notes on the right of the diagram.

"...Page 1 OF 1"

[Referring to "FeaR ∞:"]
"...infinity sweeping and falling away
from you in all directions a dream
you keep having where you are
falling slowly or fast and there is no
bottom never has been or will be and
you will never ever land..."

[Referring to the diagram's axes:]
"...all radial sound waves emanate from
machine's busted heart like thin, infinite
pink lasers or else sometimes like mile
high cloud of bees buried ton sinking..."

[Referring to the...]
"BABYLONiAN TRiANGLE OF CAPTiViTY
(are lights, triggered motion detectors activate nine-grid
sweep by roboticized surveillance cameras and rapid deployment
of cranky armed response team, fluorescent lights buzzing you
are really hungover and the buzzing puts this pain in your
skull like geothermic plates scraping against each other, you
are having bad day you cannot see what he is typing into his
computer but the thing beeps twice when he enters your name...)"

[Referring to the swirl in the meeting point of the axes:]
"...Signal source = heart of rusted machine, blown
tubes ruined, torn gears, jury rigged wiring is
faulty; shoots sparks (blue), smoke (black),
flames (white) and buzzes uncontrollably..."

[Referring to "∞ [Hope]:"]
"the things we endure, soon they are just distant bad memories: we spent the
last of our pennies on taxicabs+beer, stayed up all night hatching plans..."

[Referring to the circle's circumference:]
"a tape loop so long it was rocketed thru atmosphere by
wigged-out soviet cosmonaut - one edge wrapped around distant
japanese weather satellite, other edge mounted on junked
1/4-inch tape machine with misaligned heads; spinning
satellite acts as capoten[?], tape loop moved over heads of
tape machine at speed of satellites orbit x speed of
earth's orbit; playback is sporatic, tape loop so long
it will take three lifetimes to hear in its entirety..."