If you’ve ever wanted to know the story behind the Elephant 6 Recording Company—the mysterious indie rock collective that gave us such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, the Olivia Tremor Control, and the Apples in Stereo—there’s finally a documentary chronicling their story!
The only catch: it’s available exclusively on VHS.
Ten years in the making, Future History Of: The Elephant 6 Recording Co. is is the passion project of filmmaker Chad Stockfleth, and it’s currently being promoted by just a handful of paper flyers in New York, Atlanta, Portland, Athens, Los Angeles and Denver.
As Pitchfork reports: “The flyers promote an organization called the Elephant 6 Video ‘Rental’ Club, and feature pull tabs at the bottom with a phone number. When the number is dialed, a pre-recorded voice message reportedly prompts the caller with different instructions. Eventually, the caller will receive a VHS tape in the mail, as well as a ‘library card’ to sign when the tape is mailed back. The VHS case also includes a fresh flyer for the renter to hang in their own neighborhood.”
You gotta love the E6 approach, but for all of us who actually want to see the film, let’s hope it gets a digital release soon.
Ryan is a writer, editor and vinyl collector currently based in Los Angeles. He started Mini Music Critic in 2017.