WTF Album Covers: Lil’ Wayne Tha Carter IV

Seriously?

Oh, the prison tats on the little kid…I’m sure SOMEBODY thought that was CUTE. How cute is it? Well, let’s see what that bastion of accuracy Wikipedia has to say:

“The teardrop tattoo or tear tattoo is a symbolic tattoo that is placed underneath the eye. It has no fixed meaning but almost all meanings have some connection to prison. In the United States, it can mean the wearer has killed someone and the number of teardrops may indicate the number of killings. It can also indicate the number of years served in prison or the loss of a loved one or fellow gang member.

In at least one prison, (Oaxaca State) it indicates that the wearer was raped in prison.”

Ohhhhhh dear.

WTF Album Covers: Mew And The Glass Handed Kites

The WTF factor on this album art by Mew is so high that you might get a nosebleed while contemplating its awfulness. Fortunately for this band, the music itself does not choke the way the cover does.

And The Glass Handed Kits features music that sounds a bit like a more pop-oriented (and less uber-trippy) Gang Gang Dance. There’s an epic quality to many of the tracks on this record that are totally misrepresented by this violently awful cover. Though it has to be said, they manage to veer excruciatingly off into Neil Young “Harvest” territory at times…and do we really need anybody besides Neil Young warbling away like that? Er, not realllllly.

Ignore the cover and try to head toward the experimental pop portions of this Mew record. You can preview bits of all tracks at the Mew And The Glass Handed Kites Amazon page.

WTF Album Covers: Fortran 5 Avocado Suite

Maybe it’s just me having some kind of visual allergy to looking at people squatting on the toilet? Or is this a pretty lousy way to sell an electronica record?

I have to say though, I enjoy tracks on Avocado Suite. It’s blippy, noisy, abrasive, yet listenable and fun. Sort of Aphex Twin-y, but on operating on different substances…

Fortran 5 fans have a contingent of haters for this particular release, but in spite of the crap cover (sorry) I dig tracks like She Knows The Lot, and Radmen. Listen and decide for yo’self:

–Joe Wallace

WTF Album Covers: Space Age Bachelor Pad Sexism

I’m sure Elliot Lawrence didn’t think he was a sexist pig when he saw the cover for his own album, Music For Trapping, sitting there in the shrink wrap. But it’s hard to imagine the era where this sort of nyuk-nyuk lunkhead imagery didn’t even raise an eyebrow even a LITTLE.

The trophy heads are SO Norman Bates…this guy definitely seems like a serial killer in the making. He’s one step away from an episode of Dexter, to be sure. If Dexter had a time machine and a martini shaker, that is.

By the way, if you like the Turntabling WTF album cover collection, why not join us on Facebook for regular updates of atrocious album covers, bad album art, and etc? We’d love to have you in this growing little community of bad album cover lovers.

WTF Album Covers: AA Allen The Road Of No Return

Remember, kids–when you see the severed head of some goofball evangelist preaching the gospel to you, it’s probably time to LAY OFF THE ACID.

WTF Records: Country Moog by Gil Trythall

I was prepared to laugh Country Moog: Switched-On Nashville out of court as the most wrong-headed silly concept I’ve encountered in ages. But then I heard the Moog-i-fied cover of Folsom Prison Blues Johnny Cash. This could be the most brilliant piece of musical Dada EVER.

On some of these tracks, Trythall manages to make them sound nearly authentic in terms of having a C&W vibe–Foggy Mountain Breakdown nearly fools you into thinking there’s a real violin (sorry, fiddle) playing. Almost. The version of Floyd Cramer’s Last Date wouldn’t be that hard to translate–it sounds almost out of place here because it’s so…normal.

The version of Gentle On My Mind wouldn’t sound odd at all on an Italian Star Wars rip-off movie soundtrack…but I can’t help going back to that cover of Folsom Prison Blues–worth the price of the entire record.

This is a WTF album of the highest caliber. Country Moog — Switched On Nashville can’t be dismissed, it demands to be heard in all it’s effing bizarre glory. VCP is an awesomely mutated accomplishment!

WTF Records: Cerrone 3 Supernature

No, I haven’t got a damn CLUE what’s going on with this album cover. But isn’t that the best part? Trying to guess what was going through the minds of the people responsible for this is half the fun! See if you can guess what kind of record this is by looking at the album cover–no fair researching it on Google you cheaters! Is this 70s-era hard rock? Experimental farm animal acapella? Brian Eno-inspired ambient drones with an emphasis on medical jargon?

Nope. Wrong on all fronts. Take a listen to this via the clip below and marvel at how totally disconnected that cover is when viewed  while listening to the actual music. Whaaaaaaat?

WTF Records: ELP Go Gibb

This album cover would make a LOT MORE SENSE if it had the words BEE GEES on it somewhere.