The Douglass Gardens Sessions - take 2

[robkelk]

Since the original thread is locked up in the attic, here's a new thread with a slightly different focus.

Considering that OnNaGumi's look leads me to think they're a punk or punk-rock band, I can imagine them playing a cover of "Tainted Love" that sounds a lot like this one by The Town Cryers:



Non-embedded link to the entire album on YouTube. (Note that the credits on YouTube are misleading - while the album was released on CD in 2017, it's copyright 1992.)

---

Speaking of that album (and, no, it isn't all covers)... "Yui, why are we playing a song about a children's board game?"



Non-embedded

[Bob Schroeck]

We should probably retrieve the original thread from the Attic. As far as I recall, it had nothing really that was pre-retcon-exclusive in it.

That said, I like the idea of OnNaGumi doing "Tainted Love" punk style, especially since the version everyone remembers and covers was a genderflip of the original.

[robkelk]

Just realized that Jake and Elwood Blues aren't on the Douglass Gardens Sessions list... yet.

[Bob Schroeck]

Oh. Of course. Yes.

[robkelk]

Just realized - move Ui from guitar to keyboard, and Wakaba Girls could play "Green Onions".

Or get Wakaba Girls, Hokago Tea Time, OnNaGumi, and Madoka Ayukawa together and play this double-length cover of "Green Onions". (Er... does it count as a cover of "Green Onions" when Booker T is playing?)

[Norgarth]

not so much a cover as a remix

[robkelk]

The following is a transcript of an Easter Egg track found on Celestial Serenades, Belldandy's contribution to The Douglass Gardens Sessions.

---

Yui: "Come on, be a pal! You sister recorded an entire EP for us!"

Skuld: "Yui-san, I don't have time to record an entire album! And what makes you think I can sing well enough to be recorded?"

Ritsu: "You're a Valkyrie, right? And all Valkyries are opera singers. I've heard of the Ring Cycle."

Skuld: "That's a stereotype!"

Akira: "But is it true?"

Skuld: <sigh> "Yes."

Yui: "Come on, just one song? Please?"

Skuld: "I'm not supposed to grant wishes just like that. You have to call the Goddess Help Line and get through before we can grant a wish."

Yui: "Oh. Could you do it as a favor?

Skuld: "I suppose. But only a cappella." <clears throat>

Nao: "We're rolling. Skuld's bonus track, take one."

Skuld:
"Return, my love,
a longing burns deep inside me.
Return my love!
I want you always beside me.
Love like ours must be
Made for you and for me.
Return, won't you return my love
For my looooove is yours!"

<applause>

Nao: "That's great, Skuld! I think the first take is good. Who do we credit it to?"

Bob: "According to the source, it was written by Michael Maltese."

[Bob Schroeck]

Yeah, I'd do that.

[robkelk]

I'm adding to Makoto's set list. She's going to end up doing a full-length album at this rate...





"Waiting for the Thunder", by Blackberry Smoke, written by Charlie Starr, from the album Like an Arrow, copyright © 2016 by 3 Legged Records. This rendition by Daryl Hall and Charlie Starr copyright © 2023.


EDIT: Speaking of Makoto's album, it's the only one without her name on the dust jacket... just in case it's still a secret in 2018. (Original artwork of Sailor Jupiter by "hai (pixiv26156235)", downloaded from Danbooru.) The font is Agbalumo.

   


RE-EDIT: Usagi and Chibiusa have never listened to this album. They're (canonically) afraid of thunder...

[robkelk]

I'd suggest this for a Douglass Gardens Sessions cover, but (a) Pink Floyd would want royalties, and (b) there's somebody in the image who we don't -- yet -- have in Refuge.



larger version here

[robkelk]

"Azusa Nakano! What a wonderful girl!
"Azusa Nakano! She ain't no sad churl!"

Nao held up her arms crossed, rejecting the submission. "Denied! Disney would want royalties."

Azusa looked to the heavens and whispered, "thank you..."

[robkelk]

I looked at the wiki page for The Douglass Gardens Sessions, but this EP doesn't have a title yet, so I can't finish the cover...


  Madoka-Ayukawa-DGS-Cover-small.png (Size: 267.75 KB / Downloads: 106)

(Fan art by "genya67", from Danbooru, cropped to square. This copy reduced to one-quarter size; the copy I'm using is only reduced to half-size (so it's double this version's size). Pretty obvious where in the image the title text will be going...)

[robkelk]

I can't see Johnny B. singing this one, but I can see Yui singing it about Johnny B.



(Non-embedded)

[robkelk]

Be afraid.

Be very afraid.

Koyomi Mizuhara has found out about the Douglass Gardens Sessions... via Touhou fandom.





Double-sized image here

BGM here

[robkelk]

I think that this would make a better cover for Mio's EP than the picture of the self-confident woman we currently have.



Larger version here

[robkelk]

Somebody else who we've forgotten to include in the Douglass Gardens Sessions. At least this reminder comes with its own cover art.



Double-size copy here


EDIT: Good grief. They have a real life Wikipedia page.

[robkelk]

Hey, Yui, how fast can you play?

[robkelk]

I recall how small a press run a legit CD factory was willing to make back around Y2K, so I decided to ask the financial question nowadays...

Perplexity, How small a run can CDs be pressed and still break even on the costs?

Factory-pressed CDs can economically break even with a minimum run as low as 100 to 250 units, depending on the manufacturer. The break-even quantity is determined by your per-unit cost versus sale price, but industry examples indicate that even a run of 100 is feasible for pressed (not CD-R) discs at many modern plants.

Key context and details:

• Replication plants such as Duplication.com and MP Vinyl offer minimum orders of 100 factory-pressed CDs. This means you can get fully professional glass-mastered discs, not just burned CD-Rs, in small runs.
  
• For a run of 250 CDs, manufacturers report a total cost around $1,250 (about $5 per CD); breaking even could occur after selling approximately 120 units at $10 each.
  
• For a run of 100 CDs, if the cost is about $2–$4 per CD depending on packaging and artwork, your break-even point would be reached much sooner—often after selling just 20–40 units at typical indie pricing.
  
• The per-disc price drops significantly at higher runs (e.g., $3.20 at 500 units vs. $5 at 250 units), but the upfront investment is higher.
  
• Latin cuts and boutique manufacturers can produce even fewer (like 10–50), but those are typically not mass-produced glass-mastered discs, and the per-unit price is very high.
  

Practical limitations:

• If you go below 100 units, you'll typically need to use CD-R duplication rather than true CD pressing, which has different durability and perceived value.
  
• True break-even depends on sale price, total costs (including shipping, taxes, and artwork), and actual demand.
  

In summary, 100 pressed CDs is now a realistic minimum for break-even potential, provided you can sell roughly 20–40 units at $10–$15 apiece, making small batch professional releases achievable for independent artists.

Sources:
https://trickledownmusic.ca/physical-copies/
https://www.reddit.com/r/BandCamp/commen...ople_care/
https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/co..._any_tips/
https://bandzoogle.com/blog/can-you-make...yl-and-cds
https://homerecording.com/bbs/threads/cd...573/page-3
https://music.stackexchange.com/question...he-early-9
https://www.duplication.com/quotes/ca/en...ckages.php
https://mpvinyl.co.uk/short-run-cd-replication-uk/
https://chernoffmusic.com/blogs/aaba/sho...50-500-cds
https://gearspace.com/board/gear-free-zo...-even.html
https://gearspace.com/board/gear-free-zo...-even.html
https://www.entrepreneur.com/businesside...production
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-nuRGHZwRI


So... That CD-R drive at Douglass Gardens might only be used to burn a disc to send to the factory, assuming the bands have a place to store boxes of 100 or 250 CDs.