it is really hard to imagine someone wearing this awful, boring art on a t-shirt or having a poster or something
oh man, you did not know my college social circle in the early 2000s
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 15:47 (three years ago) link
the version with the "Fitter, Happier" lyrics in variously sized capital letters was hung above many an iMac and required art-history textbook
― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 15:48 (three years ago) link
fair enough, and i was in college in that era too so i probably hung in a dorm room or two that had that poster. doesn't mean it's a good aesthetic choice though! (unlike most dorm room decor)
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:16 (three years ago) link
I think R.E.M.’s classic covers (up through Monster) are really good—mysterious but friendly; iconic without trying too hard. (But I may not know what “boring” means, as this thread appears to lead off with some of the all-time great LP covers.)
― meditate in my direction (morrisp), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:24 (three years ago) link
New Adventures also great!
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:32 (three years ago) link
surely the autechre ones are supposed to be boring and ugly as some kind of statement or challenge or injoke or whatever (the new ones are nice enough). or maybe they actually think they’re beautiful, I wouldn’t put it past them
― Left, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:43 (three years ago) link
It's funny that this thread starts with, imo, one of Springsteen's better album covers, when he's had so many bad ones. To me, the album of his that really fits this thread - great album, boring cover - is The River. They didn't even bother to do a new photo shoot! They just used one of the outtakes from the Darkness on the Edge of Town photo shoot, and you can tell.
― Lily Dale, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:49 (three years ago) link
if you go to the tdr site - https://www.thedesignersrepublic.com/autechre - there's a bit of info (not much) on some of the projects: repeatable elements, infinite variation, blah. suggests more thought was given to the 'meaning' than the actual look. xp.
― ledge, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:51 (three years ago) link
xp I was having the same exact thought, Lily Dale. Was thinking that the poster who cited that one didn't know what was coming in the next decade!
― Lavator Shemmelpennick, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:53 (three years ago) link
across the board for me all album covers that are:
[singer songwriter's name][image of singer songwriter]
are the most boring. I want the music to transport me. A plain reminder of the mundane way the music is being delivered undermines the transportive effect of music. Especially if the ingredients themselves are cliche.
― Evan, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:53 (three years ago) link
Bruce album covers peaked with Nebraska and Born in the USA and immediately plummeted back down from there to various levels between "fine, I guess" (Western Stars) and "offensively terrible" (Tom Joad).
― soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 16:57 (three years ago) link
Definitely a line between covers that are good while doing boring/plain as an aesthetic choice and covers that are bad because they are boring (or were going for something else but the results are boring.) Faust IV and REM I would put in the former category, Radiohead I would put in the latter.
― turn the jawhatthefuckever on (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:08 (three years ago) link
haha, i had an OK Computer t-shirt but it did NOT do me any favours.
I'm not really into 'ugly' album art. Amnesiac, In Rainbows and Kid A all look very ugly to me. The fonts and colours on these albums actively distress me. Kid A looks like what used to happen if you download a bad pirated preview of a Marvel film that hadn't come out yet. Amnesiac too, just no.
As Lavator Shemmelpennick says , the best album art should be recognisable from far away, and look good on a badge, a poster, or a t-shirt: Screamadelica, Dark Side Of The Moon. Always been a fan of Green Day's 'Dookie' cover too. But vague, diffuse, collagey artwork does little for me.
I don't mind deliberately crap album art like Tortoise's TNT; even What's The Story (Morning Glory), which I always admired for its brazenness more than the music.
Agree that Syro album 'art' or anti-art underwhelmed me. It was supposed to be some sort of pranksterish coup, but I just found myself shrugging and hoping I wouldn't spill coffee on the sleeve.
Got to say, Autechre have made some of my favourite album art, but as has been said above a lot of it is conceptual. Chiastic Slide's deconstructed, minimalist interpretations of modern architecture. Oversteps' attempts by human beings to create a perfect circle. The awesome 'knot' on Draft7.30. Even Untilted, with its multi-coloured paint spill is eye-catching to me.
The only one I really dislike is Confield though. Why is the main picture squeezed into a little oddly-shaped box?
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:22 (three years ago) link
i just picture confield in my head when i think of any of their late 90s / 00s albums tbh
― Left, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:33 (three years ago) link
blue note is celebrated for its design. what they did with the unique opportunity they were given here remains inexplicable, maybe offensive
https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.behance.net/project_modules/disp/687f0a39329929.5606aec910e5a.jpg
― Left, Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:35 (three years ago) link
Quaristice and Exai have pretty cruddy artwork too. i didn't realise TDR didn't do a whole bunch of their covers
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:35 (three years ago) link
that monk/coltrane cover looks straight out of 1998 downtempo hip hop
― Specific Ocean Blue (dog latin), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:36 (three years ago) link
untilted is my fave autechre art easy, it's beautiful
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 1 December 2020 17:36 (three years ago) link
not so much 'boring' as 'WTF'
https://i.ibb.co/z6Mtkdh/51-FPOu-C5j-HL.jpg
― Lover of Nixon (or LON for short) (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 2 December 2020 05:21 (three years ago) link
I like the new Autechre sleeve designs, fits their aesthetic well
the Eno/Cale record Wrong Way Up definitely fits here. big "graphic design is my passion" vibe there
Godbluff by Van Der Graaf Generator is another one, it's not bad its just...black
― frogbs, Saturday, 5 December 2020 00:13 (three years ago) link
I have an actual answer for this:
"Here's our hot major-label debut, full of eclectic jams and incredible songwriting... how do we make sure it looks like something even your grandmother would find too stodgy?"
https://img.discogs.com/PnwfsYlxtsub2Opn70Nl5z6gjoo=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-13077425-1547652074-1334.jpeg.jpg
― good karma, my aesthetic (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 December 2020 18:06 (three years ago) link
They really jazzed it up for the promo poster!
https://images.eil.com/large_image/10%2C000%5FMANIACS_THE%2BWISHING%2BCHAIR-590277.jpg
― good karma, my aesthetic (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 December 2020 18:09 (three years ago) link
how about Close to the Edge by Yes? what exactly happened there?
― frogbs, Tuesday, 15 December 2020 18:10 (three years ago) link
Roger Dean wanted to show off his new airbrush I think.
― accordion no (Matt #2), Tuesday, 15 December 2020 18:14 (three years ago) link
Love love love this album, but could never figure out why they let the graphic design intern into the cache of rejected promo photos.https://img.discogs.com/u6F_qHf1fotTK7SLjapHhBtms14=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-1575508-1503244025-9512.jpeg.jpg
― enochroot, Tuesday, 15 December 2020 20:18 (three years ago) link
i actually love the wishing chair art, it makes me want to get into 10,000 maniacs
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Tuesday, 15 December 2020 20:24 (three years ago) link
Drift Series 1 by Underworld
I liked the cover with the smiling dog, felt bold and unlike anything they've done
https://underworldlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Drift-Series-1-Artwork.jpg
however it was quickly noticed that there was a pretty glaring photoshop mistake (look at the "R" in DRIFT) and I think that maybe in response to that they released the boxset with this cover:
https://d1rgjmn2wmqeif.cloudfront.net/extra/2000/ReleaseFormat-418501-95991.jpg
which looks like a temporary cover, I can't believe a band with such a focus on graphic design let something like that through
― frogbs, Tuesday, 15 December 2020 20:26 (three years ago) link
oh and I guess LCD Soundsystem's American Dream deserves to be here, I was 100% convinced that was a placeholder up until the album actually came out
― frogbs, Tuesday, 15 December 2020 20:27 (three years ago) link
brad - you should get into them if you haven't! Start w/that album and "Hope Chest" (their early stuff); it's terrific, no one else has songs like that.
― good karma, my aesthetic (morrisp), Tuesday, 15 December 2020 20:35 (three years ago) link
Something like 8 out of 10 Go-Betweens LPs deserved better covers. (Seems like the sort of thing I might have posted before, but it doesn't look like it.)
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Wednesday, 16 December 2020 00:22 (three years ago) link
I mean, goofy cover pics can work perfectly fine for certain artists and albums, but if Pet Sounds is supposed to be a serious album, then the combination of the album title and the cover pic really don't convey that.― Tuomas, Friday, July 31, 2009 3:56 AM
― Tuomas, Friday, July 31, 2009 3:56 AM
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb272/TeN523/PetSoundsCover.jpg
Also, goats aren't pets.
Did this album actually have a photo session, or did they just reuse a promo shot from the Beach Boys appearance at the state fair?
― enochroot, Thursday, 15 April 2021 17:46 (three years ago) link
I assume that mike love was being so annoying that they all decided to wrap it up and just go home early
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 15 April 2021 17:48 (three years ago) link
It is funny that there's a prominent goat's ass on the cover of one of The Greatest Albums of All Time.
(...and aside from Mike Love, it also features the posterior of a member of the Bovidae animal family)
― Yawnsomely Literal Cover Band (morrisp), Thursday, 15 April 2021 17:50 (three years ago) link
(v proud of that joke, my Venmo user name is ____)
― Yawnsomely Literal Cover Band (morrisp), Thursday, 15 April 2021 17:51 (three years ago) link
become one of the weirdos who has been hacked by mike love
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 15 April 2021 17:57 (three years ago) link
Steve Harley - Timeless Flight
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/3b/Timeless_Flight.jpg/220px-Timeless_Flight.jpg
― Three Rings for the Elven Bishop (Dan Peterson), Thursday, 15 April 2021 18:25 (three years ago) link
https://www.markknopfler.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/BrothersInArms-400x400.jpg
― Indexed, Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:06 (three years ago) link
my folks has the VHS of the brothers in arms videos and l thought that dobro looked so fucking cool and mysterious as a 5 year old or whatever
― brimstead, Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:10 (three years ago) link
Yeah I think that’s a cool album cover, I liked it as a kid
― Yawnsomely Literal Cover Band (morrisp), Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:11 (three years ago) link
Pet Sounds did *not* deserve better.
― pomenitul, Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:13 (three years ago) link
xp Even boring covers can be iconic and very memorable!
Also:- Always thought Grouper's covers were meh ... Dead Deer is at least vaguely creepy but otherwise they don't do much for me - The two 2019 Big Thief album covers could have been promo shots
― Indexed, Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:14 (three years ago) link
Brothers in Arms is peak mid-80s "elegant, restrained" aesthetic, sorta Vaughn Oliver for the mall record store, to stand out next to the Crü and Fat Boys album also on the endcap rack. Graceland, True Blue would be other examples.
― Citole Country (bendy), Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:21 (three years ago) link
just shooting the shit here, but: what if the digital age has destroyed certain possibilities in album covers? like, small text. things that are hard to read or need to be examined closely. you can include that on an album cover, now, but no one's going to be able to read that in the corner of the corner of a streaming platform
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:25 (three years ago) link
maybe this is what autechre is getting at with their recent covers. cover art converging toward machine-readable icons
― Zach_TBD (Karl Malone), Thursday, 15 April 2021 19:26 (three years ago) link