Mondays are a long standing inside joke that needs to come to an end. But with that being said they are perhaps the one day of the week where we have become psychologically inclined to have goals and think about things differently. So on that note I would like to speak about something that has been on my mind for a while now.
It is a publicly accepted cliché that one should never judge a book by its cover, I have always felt that this was an excuse for bad design but that is an issue for another day. I must confess that I don’t judge my books by their covers. At least not the front anyway. I rather take it from the back and if the blurb is interesting enough I might just read it.
The one thing I do judge by their covers are music albums. I am constantly surprised by the streaks of meaningless cover art that I have to combat on a regular basis at music stores. Unbearably cliché, lacking in concept and ultimately engrossed in poor execution. Cover art should be an additional assert to the musical experience. It is the vessel through which the soundtrack is preserved and thus must play a vital role in being a part of the creative metamorphosis of that music.
Cover art must make you want to keep the album not only for its own sake but because it adds a creative aura to the product and ultimately rounds it all off. Bad cover art creates bad attitudes long before you even listen to the music. If you think of albums like Pink Floyd’s Dark side of the moon, they have become so synonymous with the music and the band the inter-connectivity of it all is something to envy. I think it would not be a bad contention for our musicians and creative agencies in the locality to raise the standard up a few notches. Its Monday so I don’t wanna muck about complaining about the impossibilities of local creative culture but I will say the bad Photoshop, the re-cooking of international cover art work and the bad posses must all come to an abrupt end. Additionally I would love to give praise and honour to a few bits of cover work that I really like.
Continuum-John Mayer: The metaphorical power of this cover is thick. This was a very transitional but ultimately powerful album in for Mayer. This is adequately displayed in the bridge above him. The crossover into a new and more self assured sound. But his facial positioning speaks much about his character and music at the time. He looks down almost shy and aware. This cover is very self reflective and melts perfectly into the stripped musical alchemy of songs like Waiting for the world to change.
Zabalaza-Thandiswa Mazwai: This for me is one of the most important albums in South African musical history. It introduced a genre bending dimension to the musical sphere that most of us are unaccustomed to. What I found interesting about Thandiswa’s cover work on this is how it is an affirmation of singularity. The front image unashamedly showcases that this is her solo project, that there are no side stories or Bongo Maffin narratives. In equal footing the work is a fitting preview of the music in it. Her attire is multi-layered and informed by design from the Diaspora much like her music on the album. It’s rich with cultural references that are both engaging and entertaining. But it’s not some neo-African cliché offering. The way that she is seated slightly slanting as if about to speak or ask a question is another indication of her non-conformist neo-feminist perspective.
Pick a dream-Tumi and The Volume: Conceptual cover art is hard to pull off. Often because it does not have meaning from first view. You really have to look at is several times to get it. This is why the cover work for Tumi and The Volume’s third album is such a concoction of pleasures. The image is not arbitrary or too abstract and was designed by a French artist Hippolyte. The cover is actually a reference to the opening track on the album La tete savante. This is a record about the hangover that comes with success. A song that is applicable to both the band as a creative outfit and the larger social post-democratic trauma of South Africa. The cover is about finding yourself and identity in the midst’s of all the pop cultural junk and other items that we have to deal with. Incidentally it took me a while to see the Tintin, Darth Vader and Spiderman heads in the rubble. This is how I like my cover art well executed and engaging.
Yeah, I agree, especially because music can be soo easily accessed through the internet. It seems the only thing that still has people like me buying original cds is good album artwork.
I think also Thandiswa's second offering had an outstanding design element. Granted that Zabalaza was her first solo album and therefore that holds a great significancesay I fell inlov, I must e with the Ibokwe cover more
I love Thandiswa's second album cover