This bad album cover is brain-meltingly perverse in all the right ways. There’s no real commentary on this one, simply because…well, just LOOK at this! It’s a masterpiece of surrealism, OR it’s the dumbest piece of art designed to sell products ever.
The longer I stare at this, the funnier and more incomprehensible it gets. This is the El Topo of album covers. Continue reading WTF: Batman For Mature Audiences Only
Bad album covers rule. Especially THIS one. We already know what’s going on here, but it’s the MESSAGE here that is the real head-scratcher. The artist seems to be saying, “Why yes, I AM a wanker. I’ve proved it with this here album cover.”
Now here’s the real mystery. Guess how much this album is selling for on Amazon. Just you TRY to guess. I don’t care if the guy DID do the vocals on Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar”, there’s no reason for the compact disc of this album to sell for $50. Is there? This album is standard folkie finger twiddling and caterwauling. It’s not Johnny Rotten’s secret outtakes from an unreleased collaboration with Joe Strummer we never knew about or anything.
And to hear this music while staring at this album cover makes the entire affair seem kinda sad. “Here’s me with no clothes on. And my music sounds about the same. Please like this record!”
Ahh well.
–Joe Wallace
United Record Pressing has an interesting section on mastering for vinyl. There is plenty of advice there about the physical limitations of vinyl as a medium and what bands can do to make sure they get good fidelity from the finished product.
My only question about this section–having been written in 1997, is what has changed and updated since that time? Surely not the laws of physics with regard to how hot your master tracks can be before they overload and distort, or when too much treble becomes, er, troublesome. (Treblesome is not a word. But I almost used it here. Heh.)
Fortunately there are more recent discussions on the mastering to vinyl issue. Gearslutz.com has a thread from 2008 and another one here. CustomRecords.com throws its two cents worth in here, so you’ll have plenty to chew on. Continue reading Making Great Vinyl Records–United Record Pressing on Mastering For Vinyl
If you’re an indie musician looking to release that first-ever title on vinyl, there’s a whole new world of learning you’ll need to explore before you can get your masterpiece on that lovely spinning platter.
Turntabling Records has been plotting its own vinyl album–my previous releases were all on CD–and I can tell you there is much to take in. How do you get an album mastered for vinyl as opposed to compact disc? What are the audio tolerances? How long should each side be for good, middle of the road audio fidelity?
If you’re a newcomer to this (like me) you should definitely have a look at this primer on vinyl record manufacturing. If you don’t know what plating is, or how much lead time to give your record at the pressing plant, consider this a Vinyl 101 lesson that can help you start your journey.
Oh, and once you get your album pressed, be sure to get in touch with me here at Turntabling–I’d love to hear it.
–Joe Wallace
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