Strobe light, you say. Y'know, I had a nagging suspicion that there was something fundamental to this whole "zoetrope" idea that I was overlooking.

Let me get back to you on that.

Update, no strobe is needed. Full disclosure, I had viewed the kind of melty swirl that was created viewing the record as a whole as the zoetrope effect, and thought it was just a cute detail that it was made up of individual tiny images. Even though I separately know exactly what a zoetrope is and how it works. I just mentally whooshed on it. So thank you for prompting me to knock the mental cobwebs out.

Anyway, the best way to see the effect is just to hold a smart phone video camera over it zoomed in pretty far - with the flash on. The bright light is key. Even if you aren't recording, maybe because of the rolling shutter? Not sure, but it's really satisfying to watch. I'll post video if I can.

Now I need to re-listen to/re-watch The Soft Bulletin with this new info.