Progressively muted album covers

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Blur's new album reminded me of a trend I noticed a while back: Some bands/artists seem to strive to outdo the drabness of their covers with each release.

Why? Who are the worst culprits?

― Judge Mentalist (Judge Mentalist), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 21:21 (twenty-two years ago)

Radiohead's have certain gotten progressively duller (though I don't know what the new one looks like, I must confess).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 21:31 (twenty-two years ago)

http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~tisue/jandek-scans/covers/thumb-0755.jpg http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~tisue/jandek-scans/covers/thumb-0766.jpg http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~tisue/jandek-scans/covers/thumb-0767.jpg http://www.cs.northwestern.edu/~tisue/jandek-scans/covers/thumb-0758.jpg

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 22:32 (twenty-two years ago)

I was going to post that esoj

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 21 May 2003 22:37 (twenty-two years ago)

Early Fugazi.....
http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf100/f131/f13174qro6c.jpg

Excitement. Bold letters. Gritty rock abandon. blah blah blah....

Later Fugazi.....

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf000/f004/f00463zh2ls.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd100/d122/d12255jm2j1.jpg

Cryptic. Arty. Mysterious. BORING......

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 21 May 2003 22:49 (twenty-two years ago)

Man! I just realised how crap Radiohead album covers are! I couldn't even remember what "Amnesiac" looked like till i looked at it again!

Others -

Squarepusher
Pavement (although early covers weren't THAT exciting)

err... no more i'm afraid!

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 22 May 2003 00:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Stereolab! kind of 0WNZ this thread

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf100/f164/f16419tlfau.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd000/d048/d048198oqxd.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre100/e157/e15766k8oly.jpg

Yellow! Guns! Needles! Whirls! Glamour!

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd600/d683/d68383c74nr.jpg

Urgh.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/dre900/e906/e906867q0c9.jpg

I mean, what IS that?

― Alex in Rotherham (Alex in Doncaster), Thursday, 22 May 2003 08:39 (twenty-two years ago)

'Think Tank' does have a deadly dull sleeve - bad lettering, too.

Top of the 'Consistently Appalling Artwork' category are REM, though..... each and every single one of their sleeves has been a travesty, single and album. They hit rock bottom with New Adventures in Hi Fi and the hideous 'Reveal' sleeves, but they're all pretty shoddy, cheap and nasty looking.

― russ t, Thursday, 22 May 2003 08:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Autechre own this thread!

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc300/c354/c35424xftr0.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf300/f312/f31212aded3.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd500/d556/d55664f5n78.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf000/f042/f04277edi0x.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd800/d844/d84428ear9t.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd200/d240/d24004cn2jj.jpg

Actually, I think Autechre covers are quite informative, because they reveal how abstract and boring their music is.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 22 May 2003 09:27 (twenty-two years ago)

look rather dandy to me, them Autechre covers,
except for the plain brown one

...and r.e.m.'s murmur 's , well, covered just fine

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Thursday, 22 May 2003 21:27 (twenty-two years ago)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc500/c529/c529398u89k.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc500/c529/c5293648k41.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c471/c471437v4ev.jpg http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drc400/c461/c46141rq3et.jpg

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:06 (twenty-two years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002LPW.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

then....

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002N0B.01._PE_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg

..and then.....::::yawn:::....

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B00000JG41.01.LZZZZZZZ.gif

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Thursday, 22 May 2003 22:14 (twenty-two years ago)

That plain brown one I always put to the back and replace with some of the yummy robot postcards that are on the back of Tri Repetae. Autechre have got some fab album covers, except Confield and Incunabula - didn't like those at all. Chiastic Slide's cover is amazing as is Draft7.30's.

― dog latin (dog latin), Thursday, 22 May 2003 23:15 (twenty-two years ago)

Amen dog. Seeing the orig. cover of AeG makes me want to actually own a copy now.

I'd have to nominate Sleater Kinney. All hands + One Beat = the girls aren't on the cover!

― Leee (Leee), Friday, 23 May 2003 00:16 (twenty-two years ago)

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