This stellar episode is as good an introduction as any to the brilliant way Roman Mars and the 99% Invisible team tell stories that demonstrate the often unseen but very intimate and reciprocal relationship architecture and design have with almost every part of our lives.
The fascinating life story of the short-lived merchandising solution known as the “longbox” (a response to music retailers’ concerns about the switch from vinyl records to compact discs) includes the origins of the “Rock The Vote” campaign (a response to Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center) and the very real impact REM’s Out of Time had on not just the burgeoning college-rock landscape but on American civil liberties. As a bonus, we see that the Music Industry’s capacity to be both ingeniously progressive and frustratingly regressive – sometimes simultaneously – long predates the MP3.