The Discussion I Don't Know Why I Have To Post, M3

I don’t at all understand why these covers should go in my blog instead of just right here. Seems like needless wasted effort to go to the trouble to post there if I’m just going to post them right here, as I am doing now. Here’s the link I guess (unless you're reading this on my blog).

 

This album cover is for rock band Rise Against’s hardcore melodic punk album Revolutions Per Minute, an album filled with rebellious lyrics and slamming instrumentals. These works encourage people to really take a look at how twisted our system is, and to question our place in it. The album cover succeeds as a cover by creating interesting visuals that incorporate the tone of the album. With the title Revolutions Per Minute we also see some word play at work with the image--revolutions are associated with the violent overturning of a civilization, but it’s also another word for going in a circle or ellipse, and in that vein is associated with the laps such things as wheels, or more pertinently, records/CDs. Bridging these two definitions, we see headphones plugged into a grenade like it’s a phone. The exposure and graininess of the image give off a punk vibe to attract punk fans.    

This is a fantastic album cover for Jonathan Coulton (JoCo)’s Best. Concert. Ever. album. The static in the background implies white noise nonsense--which is kind of the tone of the album. Some of the songs, like “Ikea” or “Shop Vac” or “Creepy Doll,” feel like white noise even though they sound nothing like it--the silliness, repetition, and low stakes of such works are probably largely responsible for that. The static also manages to give off an impression of human presence, like when you look out over a crowd of people, so numerous and far away that you’ve ceased seeing faces. It really looks like JoCo is standing on stage, looking out at the audience at the top of this live recording. He doesn’t have to be anything more than a silhouette to make this work.

This is the album cover for English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, and it’s unlikely you’ve never seen it. It’s one of the most famous pieces of iconography in the 21st century, and it’s scattered across endless shirts, mugs, underwear, plates, etc. It’s a super simple design that’s captured endless imaginations. The triangle acts as a prism--white light goes in, a rainbow comes out, meant to be something of a visual metaphor for what’s supposed to happen when people listen to the album. They come in a blank white slate and leave a rainbow, now fuller, more whole, for having heard it. The music makes you feel and think in ways you hadn’t before.