The crew and I (sometimes) take the time to enjoy the smaller things in life. Album covers are rapidly becoming the flair to any album, and adding another item to the endless digital vs. physical copy of owning a cd. Below are the album covers that some of the crew and I thought got us going in 2009. Let’s take a look back shall we?
Dagan’s Decisions:
Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavillion
“Holy crap it’s moving! IT’S GONNA KILL US ALL”
Eminem-Relapse
“Dammit, I dropped all my pil-.. oh hey, you don’t see that every day”
Fever Ray-Fever Ray
“What’s really creepy is that this isn’t a drawing, it’s an actual portrait”
Maps-Turning the Mind
“This guy can work his glowsticks like you would not believe”
The Paper Chase-Someday This Could All Be Yours Vol.1
“Twister 2: The Breakdance of Death”
Flak’s Favorites:
Bat For Lashes-Two Suns
Her album, and its cover were one of the dreamest things I’ve ever experienced in 2009.
A Fine Frenzy-Bomb in a Birdcage
My one celebrity crush. Alison Sudol, redhead of my dreams.
Fall of Troy-In the Unlikey Event
Loved the stitchwork look on this one, coupled with the dread of the little girl.
Portugal the Man-The Satanic Satanist
I feel like this may be what acid trips are like.
The Almost-Monster Monster
Gumby:Rated R
Cheese Sandwich’s Choice:
Baroness-Blue Record
Creepy blue fish with big eyes being held by naked mermaids/nymphs? There was no way this wouldn’t make my list of album art of the year.
Brand New-Daisy
A little fox in the woods. Simple, elegant, random (is the fox Daisy? Is there a Daisy?) Fitting artwork for Brand New’s most eclectic and varied album thus far in their career.
RX Bandits-Mandala
Continuing the trend of RXB using cool artsy images at album covers (look at 2006′s …And the Battle Begun), Mandala features another bizarro painting, this time created by visual artist Sonny Kay. I don’t really understand what’s going on in the picture, but I dig it.
The Flaming Lips-Embryonic
Looks like a gorilla giving birth to a human child or a hand pushing a child into some kind of hairy beast’s face. Either way, whatever the hell this Flaming Lips cover is supposed to be, it looks like straight-up drugs.
Them Crooked Vultures-Them Crooked Vultures
Simple, cryptic, badass. The booklet has no photos of Grohl, Homme, or Jones either, so why should the cover? Most supergroup albums have the faces of the participants everywhere, but TCV isn’t about that. Instead, you get a drawing of a vulture wearing a jacket of some sort. Rock on.
Ge Oh’s Gold:
Kid Cudi-Man on the Moon:The End of Day
I loved both this and the Deluxe version of the Cover. Yet another HipHop (of sorts) cover that refuses to fall into the bling, drugs, and women Stereotype.
Jay Z-The Blueprint 3
More interesting, perhaps, than the cover itself, was the fact that everything in is was real, and unPhotoshopped, making this more an artpiece than CD Cover.
Drake-So Far Gone
Dinosaur Jr.-Farm
Although I hardly know what to make of it (Looks like reject creatures from Lord of the Rings AND Neverending Story had a Babies), the smooth texture of the Illustration leaves me rather impressed.
Animal Collective-Merriweather Post Pavillion
Very trippy Cover, presumably MUCH more interesting on LSD.
But that’s not all folks, join us next time as we reflect on the best singles of 2009, followed by 2009′s albums of the year.
Until next time my friends,
~Flak
