• Artist: Cellophane Ceiling
• Album: The Beauty of it All (1987)
• Purchased at: Hastings (St. Joseph, MO) for $1.49

Cellophane Ceiling is an Omaha band from the 1980s I had never heard of. Their LP cover strongly resembled the Dead Kennedy’s debut album “Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables” so I thought I would give it a shot. While it was a shot in the dark, the obvious homage gave me an idea what I was getting. Some song titles like “All F….. Up” and “Don’t Play God” where also indicators.

After it finally found its way on my turntable it was some solid 80s punk. Nothing too thrashy and even a little more melodic than I expected. The three piece band apparently had a killer bass player as he dominates many of the songs here like “Broken Spoken Word” and “I Suspect.” There are times when Cellophane Ceiling even sounds like early Red Hot Chili Peppers. “Don’t Play God” isn’t the all-out rager you might expect. It starts with some acoustic strums and builds. You can hear the angst spilling out of the vocals however making it as punk as any acoustic song you will hear.

While this record is obviously from a band that never had a ton of success it is still an interesting find. It is likely far forgotten about by the world and probably even the vast majority of Omaha, a few of these records still remain. You can see why the band didn’t become “famous” I guess but there is no reason their music couldn’t have caught on either. They have made their mark in a small way, by helping fill anonymous record piles throughout the Midwest.

Rating: B-