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Arcade Fire releases album on USB fidget spinner for £79/$105
Prank prompts 'vinyl sounds so much better than toys' debate
Canadian indie outfit Arcade Fire has released an album on a USB-flash-drive-packing fidget spinner.
The limited edition of the band's fifth album, Everything Now, costs a considerable £79 (~US$105). That's a whopping £72 premium over the cassette edition, £69 more than the CD, £61 more than the basic vinyl edition and infinitely more than the free stream on Spotify.
The band's online store fails to specify how much storage capacity the device possesses, a factoid that could help us to understand if it represents value for money. Nor does the store explain how the 13-track album was encoded or if the spinner includes a flammable bluetooth speaker.
The device nonetheless sold out.
Arcade Fire has a history of pranks. This release is almost certainly an addition to that oeuvre.
It is also one that deserves to be taken just a little seriously, because fidget spinners are generally considered a harmless toy destined for landfill. Yet anything with removable storage represents a data exfiltration threat.
The Register can't assign the same status to Everything Now – a brief listen suggests bland and possibly danceable pop with even less edge than a fidget spinner. ®