{"id":1066,"date":"2013-07-23T05:36:38","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T05:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.projekt.com\/store\/product\/black-tape-for-a-blue-girl-the-rope-25-2-cd-25th-anniversary-remastered-edition\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T20:28:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T20:28:42","slug":"pro00020","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/product\/pro00020\/","title":{"rendered":"black tape for a blue girl: the rope 25 (2-CD 25th anniversary remastered edition)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe style=\"border: 0; width: 100%; height: 307px;\" src=\"https:\/\/bandcamp.com\/EmbeddedPlayer\/album=1011953860\/size=large\/bgcol=ffffff\/linkcol=584815436\/artwork=none\/transparent=true\/\" seamless> \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-rope-deluxe-25th-anniversary-edition\">The Rope (Deluxe 25th anniversary edition) by Black Tape For A Blue Girl<\/a><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"hideme\">\n<ol>Disc One<LI>memory, uncaring friend | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.01.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A> <LI>hide in yourself <LI>within these walls <LI>the holy terrors <LI>end <LI>seven days till sunrise\u000b<LI>the rope\u000b | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.07.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A> <LI>the few remaining threads\u000b<LI>the lingering flicker\u000b<LI>slow blur | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.10.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A> \u000b<LI>the floor was hard but home\u000b<LI>we return\u000b<\/OL><\/p>\n<ol>Disc Two<LI>black tape for a blue girl: memory, uncaring friend (2011) <BR> | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.13.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A> | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.thenewrecord.com\/artists\/678-black-tape-for-a-blue-girl TARGET=BLANK>Free Stream &#038; Download<\/A> <LI>All My Faith Lost&#8230;: the rope | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.14.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A> <LI>Mirabilis: the floor was hard but home <LI>Erik W\u00f8llo: within these walls | <a HREF=http:\/\/www.projekt.com\/projekt\/assets\/audio\/P020.16.mp3 TARGET=BLANK>MP3 Clip<\/A><LI>Forrest Fang: hide in yourself <LI>Dirk Serries: lingering (vintage mix) <LI>Dirk Serries: blurred (lo-fi mix) <LI>Walter Holland: seven days till sunrise <LI>Kho Hat Hasa: the holy terrors <LI>Rajna: end <LI>Attrition: memory, uncaring friend <LI>Lux Interna: we return <\/OL>\n<\/div>\n<h3>There&#8217;s a new 40th anniversary edition <A HREF=https:\/\/blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-rope-40th>At Bandcamp<\/A><\/h3>\n<p><FONT FACE=\"TIMES\" SIZE=\"+2\">On the debut . . . Sam Rosenthal&#8217;s subtle electronics and introspective lyrics establish black tape for a blue girl&#8217;s stature beyond the realm of the normal &#8220;gothic&#8221; sound. Creating a timeless blend of Oscar&#8217;s emotional vocals intertwined with warm ambient soundscapes.<\/FONT><br \/>\n<BR><br \/>\nIn 1986,\u00a0Black Tape For A Blue Girl&#8217;s\u00a0darkly mesmerizing debut\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0appeared on the underground rock scene. It kicked off a rich and diverse musical career for\u00a0Projekt founder \/ Blacktape songwriter Sam Rosenthal.\u00a0Now\u00a025 years later, Projekt celebrates this momentous anniversary with\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B> 25, a 2-CD set including\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0re-mastered\u00a0and a bonus disc of current Projekt artists&#8217; reinterpretations of the material. Eight-page lyrics booklet included while supplies last, so order now!<\/p>\n<p><BR>Rosenthal&#8217;s electronics coupled with his angst-filled, introspective lyrics established Black Tape For A Blue Girl&#8217;s position beyond the traditional &#8220;gothic&#8221; sound.\u00a0His lyrics overflow with the emptiness of a shattered soul and broken heart revealing a dark, tortured man scanning the wreckage in search of love, understanding, and connection.\u00a0The timeless blend of Oscar Herrera&#8217;s passionate vocals intertwining with warm electronic soundscapes and soothing ambient passages creates an album similiar to 80\u2019s-era releases on 4AD and Factory Records. <\/p>\n<p><BR>Opening the album is the rhythmic, hard-hitting &#8220;Memory Uncaring Friend,&#8221; along the lines of Peter Murphy or Gang of Four. Following this striking opener, the music takes a more subtle turn:\u00a0gently disorienting, autumnal, mesmerizing, mournful, full of wonder and elusive grandeur. Upon\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>&#8216;s\u00a0release,\u00a0comparisons were made to Cocteau Twins, Brian Eno, Phillip Glass and Chris &#038; Cosey.\u00a0 <\/p>\n<p><BR>In 1986,\u00a0<B>Star Hits<\/B>\u00a0magazine wrote, &#8220;Black Tape For A Blue Girl&#8217;s\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0is like the musical equivalent of a nervous breakdown. Complete with dark, scary lyrics that make The Smiths sound like Alvin and\u000b the Chipmunks, this might give you an idea of what mental anguish sounds like. It is an experiment worth hearing.&#8221;\u00a0<B>Option Magazine<\/B>\u00a0speculated, &#8220;The lyrics are of a masochistic nature, which reflects a probable suicide in the writer&#8217;s future. Sung by and for those in love with self-misery.&#8221; Many of the lyrics (and accompanying stories with the instrumentals) on\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0dwell upon suicide as a response to a lack of love; an attempt to derive affirmation after the writer had left. &#8220;I cared for you more than you ever knew, I do this to show you now.&#8221; Oscar sings on the title track. &#8220;I see my answer on the end of a rope, the world turned cold for me.&#8221; While\u00a0the final song &#8211; &#8220;We Return&#8221; &#8211; looks to others in a similar situation as a solace for the pain and emptiness. \u00a0&#8220;From the black house, we return. Clutching secrets, we must learn.&#8221; A glimmer of hope. <\/p>\n<p><BR>On Disc 2, the current\u00a0Black Tape For A Blue Girl\u00a0line-up performs &#8220;Memory, Uncaring Friend&#8221; as a driving rock song, equal parts Bauhaus, Gary Numan and\u00a0a darkly-caffeinated\u00a0Sinatra. &#8220;Working with Brian of the Dresden Dolls on drums and guitar,&#8221; Rosenthal says, &#8220;we captured the song as I would have performed it if live in &#8217;86. It&#8217;s aggressive, brash, tense and loud! All elements that a song about betrayal and self-destruction require. Athan Maroulis&#8217; vocals reflect back to Oscar&#8217;s performance while giving the song new drama and immediacy.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p><BR>Other equally innovative reinterpretations include All My Faith Lost&#8217;s neo-classical &#8220;<B>The Rope<\/B>,&#8221; Mirabilis&#8217;\u00a0haunting a capella &#8220;The Floor Was Hard But Home,&#8221;\u00a0Lux Interna&#8217;s neo-folk &#8220;We Return,&#8221; Attrition&#8217;s\u00a0dark, electronic\u00a0&#8220;Memory, Uncaring Friend,&#8221;\u00a0and Erik Wollo&#8217;s electronic\/soundtracky &#8220;Within These Walls.&#8221; \u00a0A poignant moment is when\u00a0Walter Holland re-works the original multi-track recording of &#8220;Seven Days til Sunrise,&#8221; as this track features the clarinet of his late musical partner\u00a0Richard Watson\u00a0from the band Amber Route.\u00a0Hand-picked and sequenced by Rosenthal, this second disc looks back at\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0while projecting the songs into modern times.<\/p>\n<p><BR>Allmusic.com:\u00a0&#8220;The debut Black Tape album, especially in light of the band&#8217;s later efforts, makes for an interesting listen in retrospect. On the one hand, much of what would make Black Tape so distinct is already in place: vocalist Oscar Herrera&#8217;s passionate interpretation of Rosenthal&#8217;s romantically obsessed lyrics, Rosenthal&#8217;s own moody, haunting contributions on keyboards, atmospheric instrumental pieces, and more. (However)\u00a0the sheer depth of later Black Tape music makes the comparatively less full arrangements here sound more like demos. By no means is this criticism, it&#8217;s just that those expecting the Black Tape aesthetic to have been fully formed from the start will be initially surprised with\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>, but will find its charms to be plentiful in the end.&#8221; \u00a0 <\/p>\n<p><BR><BR>TECHNICAL DETAILS, SAM WRITES:\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0was recorded on a borrowed Fostex cassette porta-studio when I was a college student in Southern California. All the electronics were performed on my Korg Poly61. A Moog Realistic Concertmate MG-1 was used for the leads on &#8220;Memory, Uncaring Friend&#8221; and &#8220;The Few Remaining Threads.&#8221; The reason I did not use the Moog on more songs was that it was in Florida at my parent&#8217;s house. Those Moog parts were added near the end, when I was back home in Florida for the summer to record Oscar&#8217;s vocals.<\/p>\n<p> \u00a0I have the recollection that &#8220;Memory&#8221; came together in about three hours; music, lyrics and everything;\u00a0 Allan&#8217;s drums and guitar were recorded in his garage in an afternoon, each with a single microphone.\u00a0Oscar&#8217;s vocals were recorded in his living room, while his baby daughter slept (and occasionally cried) upstairs.\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0was mixed\u00a0in three hours. Yeah, three hours! Now I spend 20 &#8211; 40 hours mixing just one song. I had no idea that I was rushing things! The song &#8220;Within These Walls&#8221; begins with a sample of drums from the Attrition song &#8220;Mind Drop,&#8221; so it&#8217;s interesting to have Attrition returning the favor with their cover of &#8220;Memory&#8221; on Disc 2.\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0was originally released on vinyl, later on cassette and then CD. The\u00a0original 2-track 1\/4&#8243; masters were sent to Canada to get baked and transferred to digital. &#8220;Memory, Uncaring Friend&#8221; was re-mastered by Al Ursini at Studio Chicago. The rest of the album was mastered here at my studio. Of course there are limitations because the album was recorded on 4-track; often all the music was mashed down to one track, to make room for the vocals and instruments. Re-mastering is a chance to make the album sound a bit more modern as far as the levels go. Yet, as many fans tell me\u00a0<B>The Rope<\/B>\u00a0is their favorite album, I did not do anything to drastically alter the sound. I stayed faithful to the original and cleaned things up, eqed some of the sounds to make them more present, and &#8211; just like the listener &#8211; re-experienced Black Tape For A Blue Girl of 25 years ago.<\/p>\n<p><BR><a href=\"mailto:sr.projekt@gmail.com?subject=Add%20me%20to%20the%20BlackTape,%20Projekt%20AlbumPage!\"><IMG SRC=https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/Box-Blacktapejoinus2.jpg WIDTH=400><br \/>\nClick to Join, hit send, and I&#8217;ll add you to the list. &#8211; Sam <\/p>\n<div class=\"socials\"><h2>love it, share it<\/h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00020%2F&t=black+tape+for+a+blue+girl%3A+the+rope+25+%282-CD+25th+anniversary+remastered+edition%29\" class=\"socials-small facebook-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Facebook\" >facebook<\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00020%2F&text=black+tape+for+a+blue+girl%3A+the+rope+25+%282-CD+25th+anniversary+remastered+edition%29\" class=\"socials-small twitter-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Twitter\" >twitter<\/a>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00020%2F&media=https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/PRO00020a1.jpg&description=++%0D%0A\" class=\"socials-small pinterest-small\"  onclick=\"window.open(this.href); return false;\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Pinterest\" >pinterest<\/a>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.projekt.com%2Fstore%2Fproduct%2Fpro00020%2F&title=black+tape+for+a+blue+girl%3A+the+rope+25+%282-CD+25th+anniversary+remastered+edition%29\" class=\"socials-small google-small\"  target=\"_blank\" title=\"Google\" >google<\/a>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/album\/rope-25th-anniversary-remastered\/id616309300?uo=4&#038;at=10laZf\" TARGET=BLANK><IMG SRC=\/store\/assets\/images\/Button-iTunes.png width=106><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/blacktapeforabluegirl.bandcamp.com\/album\/the-rope-deluxe-25th-anniversary-edition\" TARGET=BLANK><IMG SRC=\/store\/assets\/images\/Button-Bandcamp.png width=129><\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":15508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[54,50,74,25,49,30,98],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-1066","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-all","product_cat-ambient","product_cat-black-tape-for-a-blue-girl","product_cat-darkwave","product_cat-electronic","product_cat-ethereal","product_cat-goth","first","instock","taxable","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-simple","border"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/1066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1066"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=1066"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projekt.com\/store\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=1066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}