included. In the early 1930s, they were a minor gimmick in an attempt to stimulate abysmal depression-era record sales. Most of these early picture discs were simply a very thin clear plastic laminated onto a sheet of printed cardboard before being stamped in a record press. One US series was more substantial. Some suffered from audible defects such as low-frequency noise due to a surface texture or were rapidly worn to shreds by the very heavy pickups and crude steel needles used to play records at that time. Vogue Records 78 rpm picture discs were made by Sav-Way Industries in 1946 and 1947 and were of high quality both physically and sonically. Their playing surfaces were clear vinyl and there was a sturdy aluminum core disc between the printed sheets. The imagery was usually gaudy and done in 1940s calendar art style. They sold for US$1.05 each, only about 50 percent more than ordinary shellac records, but the list of available titles was short and the recording artists were second-rank at best. The first 'modern' rock picture disc was introduced as an assortment of artists such as MC5 and The Doors. It was released in 1969 by Elektra/Metronome of Germany and entitled "Psychedelic Underground - Off 2, Hallucinations". The second release was the British progressive rock band Curved Air's first album, Air Conditioning, a UK issue (1970). Unusually shaped discs Shaped discs contain an ordinary grooved centre (typically the same as a standard 7-inch) but with a non-grooved outer rim that can be cut to any shape that does not cut into the grooves. These oddly shaped records were frequently combined with picture discs (see above); a trend that was pushed particularly hard by UK record company branches in the mid-1980s. Curiously, uncut test pressings of shaped discs in their original 12-inch form - with the clear vinyl surrounds still intact - are much more sought-after by collectors than the "regular" shapes themselves. A well known unusually shaped disc is a picture disc by Toto with the song "Africa" on side 1 and "Rosanna" on side 2. It was originally pressed in 1983 and reissued on Record Store Day in 2017. Screamo bands Jeromes Dream and Orchid released a split in the shape of a skull. The record was considered a 10-inch. It spun at 45 rpm and was one sided. Some came in glow in the dark, some in