what, in the last few years, has had a "classic" record cover?

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from a point made by jess on the lowdown thread. I can't think of anything either.

are the material manifestations of books and music becoming less important?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:08 (twenty-three years ago)

hope you don't mind, jess

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:10 (twenty-three years ago)

there is good artwork around I'm sure. You can always rip the music and then download the cover from a fan website.

the point is surely if I love the rec I would buy it because I would like the ppl who made it to get paid.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Guess it's all in how you define classic. For me that ranges from the cover of Missy's first album to the Piano Magic singles comp.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:18 (twenty-three years ago)

nah, i don't mind.

i really do think this has something to do with not only the rise in use of photoshop and the like (and the decrease in cost or the - irony of ironies - increasing ease in finding a friend or school with a copy or a crack), but also that more and more people are becoming conversant and even technically proficient with them. now you too can knock out an "ironic" blue note riff in yr bedroom in an hour!

especially in ind*e, there's been this huge lump of gray mush, hovering between desktop design and "naieve" anti-design ala the fall (or more likely pavement.) i have no problem with cut & paste and i have no problem with slick (i can't be the only person to like those bling-blinged no limit/cash money record covers)...but blah.

(of course i might be saying this because myself ive had to divorce myself from the physical object over the last six-eight months because all of my sleeves and cases are 2800 miles away in penn.)

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:20 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm also wondering how much of this has to do with that recieved cultural wisdom i was talking about on the downloads thread: i don't own - nor have i ever owned - a copy of sgt. peppers. but when i think of the title, i flash on that cover. the same reason i flash on the covers of, oh, the first v.u. album, never mind the bollocks, or even "blue note" as a concept.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:22 (twenty-three years ago)

but ned is right: piano magic's packaging adds to the overall effect of the records themselves, and when i think of the records i think of the covers (but not before the music.)

the packaging to disco (not disco) is great too, if not "classic", and certainly enhances the "atmosphere" of the record.

― jess (dubplatestyle), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I'll probably get railed for this, but the first time I saw the cover to Trail of Dead's "Source Tags & Codes" I thought it looked like a "classic."

― Yancey (ystrickler), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:29 (twenty-three years ago)

That cover actually reminds me of a Fields of the Nephilim cover.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drd000/d077/d07765m7fhf.jpg

vs.

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf100/f134/f13446pupb6.jpg

Something for the cover connections thread, I guess.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:32 (twenty-three years ago)

cds have to figure into this - it's taking a long time to get away from the miniaturized lp treatment (labels like raster-noton are making the new classics in this dept.)

― The Actual Mr. Jones (actual), Friday, 23 August 2002 16:35 (twenty-three years ago)

XTCs "oranges and lemons" and esp. "apple venus 1" are just beautiful under nice clean cd plastic and fit the music while letting my imagination do it's thing seperately and quite independently with the songs

mx-80s "hard attck" ripped wrapper dodgy scene cover communicated a certain sick depth that parallels both the music/lyrics and the voyeuristic "seedy cd under my bed" so characteristic of that album

when i was 16 i bouught "weasels ripped my flesh" (which is probably one of the best mothers albums, collage style anyway) -- i took it home and showed it to my mother, and that mother to mother moment said all that needed to be said to her generation about cynicism/consumerism and most importantly punk -- that albums cover art plus act of buying the album, it was like a bonus song, an anti-concept-album

in none of these examples have the images interfered with the music, more like it's just more content, parallel package, er, pop art ?

― george gosset (gegoss), Friday, 23 August 2002 17:01 (twenty-three years ago)

spiritualized
glow in the dark electric mainline
pharmaceutical ladies and gentlemen...
etc.
do these qualify as classic or novelty?
classic for me 'cos I love the records.

― peeb!, Friday, 23 August 2002 18:14 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, to me, the obvious one is:

http://www.chedsey.com/images/eels/beautiful.jpg

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, 23 August 2002 18:19 (twenty-three years ago)

rooty!

― Josh (Josh), Friday, 23 August 2002 18:23 (twenty-three years ago)

http://home.graffiti.net/buglebear/elf2.gif

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 23 August 2002 18:44 (twenty-three years ago)