The Album Cover is Dying. Here's How to Fix It
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- Опубліковано 3 чер 2024
- Artists out there, only you can prevent bad album covers!
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00:00 - Intro
00:45 - I Heart Album Covers
01:01 - The Billboard List
02:40 - NYC Street Interviews
05:00 - How to Make Your Cover "Perfect"
06:16 - Design Basics
07:02 - The WAW Factor TM
08:11 - Capturing the Sound
09:15 - Exceptions to the Rule
10:15 - My Favorite Album Covers
12:38 - Wrap It Up
a l l m i s t a k e s a r e i n t e n s i o n a l
ask artists to make art for it
that would taint the album imo. Like, chances are the design guy did not work on the actual music so the cover would prob end up being his own interpretation of the album.
What I'm trying to say is that it would feel like you getting an already chewed up take on the album along with it. Y'know, the album tainted by someone else's interpretation of it rather than the raw intentions of the musicians who worked on it.
@@marte9346do you think kanye made the 'graduation' album cover? queen the 'news of the world' album cover? MF DOOM the 'mm..food' album cover? these are some of the best album covers ever made, from several different decades. i get what you're trying to say, but with all due respect, it's completely wrong.
@marte9346 In my opinion, I think you're undermining artists a little man. Artists know when an album goes or doesn't, hence Jamie Hewlett and Gorrilaz, Hewlett worked with Damon and I can fully say even though Hewlett isn't exactly a musician he nailed the vibe of each album with Damon accordingly.
@@marte9346most of the best album covers of all time were made by artists who were asked to make art for it
drake did this for certified lover boy..... Cost him a million usd...............................
The cover for Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising is a masterpiece. The fact that they built an entire bedroom set underwater and managed to get the lighting to look the way it does is incredible. Perfect cover imo. Matches the music flawlessly
yeah the bts video was so cool
I just want to say thank you for introducing me to Weyes Blood. I listened to Titanic Rising right after this video and wow! She's amazing.
I like your editing style but for a video centered around album cover designs, it feels weird to put a filter over the covers. When you're talking about a design, I want to see what you precisely mean so i'ts slightly annoying that nearly every example given is obscured in some way.. just my opinion.
I completely agree
I thought it was for copyright reasons
it makes me so incredibly sad that things like single covers are dying out. there are some amazing old single covers, better than MANY modern album covers. i just want more art >:)
Yeah it's annoying seeing the singles just having the same cover as the album. It's kinda helpful to tell if it's just from an album or an original song but it's a shame that we don't get original covers
i couldnt agree more, the first single cover that comes to mind for me is one by metallica. its so fucking good
My copy of "wish you were here" is still in the original blue plastic cover.
Fr, the bag's design is lowkey fire
Masayoshi Takanaka's 'On Guitar', 'An Insatiable High', 'All of Me', among others are some of my favorites covers of all time. They are the definition of VIBES.
Takanaka is the GOAT
this guy knows what's up
All of me is an absolute vibe. I want live like that album cover
His self titled album cover is so good, probably my favorite he’s done next to “Brasilian Skies”
the aesthetic you achieve in your editing is top notch and makes this a visual treat. but i wish you didn’t put that vhs filter over the album covers because blurring it and blowing out the colors kinda defeats the purpose of trying to show it to us lol
I still can't believe the transition of JMJs album covers from "skull earth getting its fleshy surface peeled off" and "crowd staring into the abyss" to "Hey, look at this handsome young man! He makes music! Just like Franky, only... you know what, we gonna pretend he's one of them now. Buy it! He's handsome!"
With how music is released now, I think less and less people paying attention (and less artists caring) about album artwork is almost inevitable. That being said, I think this can be taken advantage of by people willing to push what is considered “album art”.
I’m honestly surprised that interactive websites and visual albums haven’t become the industry standard (or at least much more common), because when you consider the possibilities offered by digital art programs and web design, it’s really a no brainer. Instead of being limited to a few squares and maybe some music videos, imagine if every song some sort of visual identity that tied it to the larger work yet also gave it its own presentation. Or, if we’re still thinking about physical releases, imagine if more bands did what Jockstrap did and allowed you to design the album’s visuals based on your interpretation of the music.
I’m really interested in how visual art can interact with music, and I gotta be honest, limiting that interaction to one 12 inch square can get a little boring imo.
I don’t want stuff like this to replace physical releases and artwork, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt to have a bit more variety when it comes to how visuals interact with audio. Plus it’s not like movies killed books, so I know standard album art isn’t going anywhere
Album covers have always been a bonus to the music for me but when a cover really strikes me it can add a whole extra layer to the whole experience.
i think maybe an interesting reframing of one of the rules that could maybe explain a few of your exceptions is to reword "capture the sound" as "interact with the sound". i think an album cover that contrasts with its content in an interesting way, or chooses to represent some elements of the music but not others in order to evoke or point to something important, is just as effective and iconic as one that "makes sense" in a more traditional sense. it is far more frustrating to me for an album cover to seem to be completely unaware or unconcerned with what its representing than for it to choose not to represent it literally for some specific reason
a good example of this is deafheaven’s sunbather. the cover looks like a synth pop record but it’s death metal. cool asf
@@jerishouseisonfire1732 was literally going to mention sunbather! such a perfect cover that does NOT "capture the sound"
@@flying_ace_ i actually find the album art quite fitting. imo, the music does sound very colorful, the only thing misleading is the font for the text, but i guess it also does fit the somber atmosphere so idk
Great list and good take on album covers. But I think that Mac Demarco's "Salad Days" album cover is perfect, even though it is him just standing there, it captures the feeling on the music perfectly in my opinion. It's simple but the writing of "Salad Days" in the top left corner makes it just a bit more perfect. Idk though, I just listen to music sometimes, maybe this comments dumb, but great video as always, keep it up Bucket Jake man, peace, stay safe.
yeah I love all his album covers even if they’re so simple
I like burial untrue's album art. The pencil drawing describes the vibe
i think king gizzard and the lizard wizard have the best lineup of album covers out there. Albeit some their earlier work being partially stolen artwork (mind fuzz, eyes like the sky) every single cover of their 25 studio albums is perfect. Each and every single one of them is so well-crafted and perfectly reflects the sound and synesthesiac color palette of it; it's truly incredible, and of course, the sound of the albums varies as much as the covers, and I love it.
The colors and editing on this video are sick
This color grading is lovely
your video quality and editing is so good, bravo
Your editing style and general video layout really matches your sentiment towards the album covers. I dont know anyone who uses an aspect ratio thats not 16:9 and makes it look good. And the color grading looks really unique (and not in a bad way, its very pleasing).
Fantastic video, and subscribed.
My man you are a legend for including the Ground-Zero album cover at 8:49 (the 3rd album cover from where he starts naming them off)
I think I’d put Abbey Road as my personal favorite. It’s a simple photo, taken somewhat spontaneously, yet the image is just so immediately striking and well balanced. Really represents organic magic of The Beatles’ music. As for an album cover capturing the sound of the record, idk that any example is as perfect at Talking Heads’ Fear Of Music. The minimalist cold, black diamond plated background really encapsulates the tension and paranoia of the music inside.
XTC’s Go 2 will always be my favorite album cover.
This is a RECORD COVER. This writing is the DESIGN upon the
record cover. The DESIGN is to help SELL the record. We hope
to draw your attention to it and encourage you to pick it up.
When you have done that maybe you'll be persuaded to listen to
the music - in this case XTC's Go 2 album. Then we want you
to BUY it. The idea being that the more of you that buy this
record the more money Virgin Records, the manager Ian Reid and
XTC themselves will make. To the aforementioned this is known
as PLEASURE. A good cover DESIGN is one that attracts more
buyers and gives more pleasure. This writing is trying to pull
you in much like an eye-catching picture. It is designed to get
you to READ IT. This is called luring the VICTIM, and you are
the VICTIM. But if you have a free mind you should STOP READING
NOW! because all we are attempting to do is to get you to read
on. Yet this is a DOUBLE BIND because if you indeed stop you'll
be doing what we tell you, and if you read on you'll be doing what
we've wanted all along. And the more you read on the more you're
falling for this simple device of telling you exactly how a good
commercial design works. They're TRICKS and this is the worst
TRICK of all since it's describing the TRICK whilst trying to
TRICK you, and if you've read this far then you're TRICKED but
you wouldn't have known this unless you'd read this far. At
least we're telling you directly instead of seducing you with
a beautiful or haunting visual that may never tell you. We're
letting you know that you ought to buy this record because in
essence it's a PRODUCT and PRODUCTS are to be consumed and you
are a consumer and this is a good PRODUCT. We could have
written the band's name in special lettering so that it stood
out and you'd see it before you'd read any of this writing and
possibly have bought it anyway. What we are really suggesting
is that you are FOOLISH to buy or not buy an album merely as a
consequence of the design on its cover. This is a con because
if you agree then you'll probably like this writing - which is
the cover design - and hence the album inside. But we've just
warned you against that. The con is a con. A good cover design
could be considered as one that gets you to buy the record, but
that never actually happens to YOU because YOU know it's just a
design for the cover. And this is the RECORD COVER.
@@aulandino it literally does not get any harder
Iconic
I love your videos so damn much, hoping for your channel to hit 100k
I hope this vid blows up. You seem actually passionate about what you do. It's awesome
Why do you hope it blows? That’s bad
@@JohnCena-fp4qgI think he meant blows up lol
@@JohnCena-fp4qg oh. i realize my typo lol
the visuals of this video are just so pleasing to me, its fitting, given the subject matter
I think Coil have amazing album covers, that perfectly fit the strange and haunting tone of the music. Ape of Naples, Horse Rotorvator, Musick to Play in the Dark, Love’s Secret Domain… I’m so in love with these artworks that I want to buy all the vinyls.
Horse Rotorvator goes hard tho
Beautiful album covers just add to the beauty of an album. For example, Kids See Ghosts' cover just makes you able to visualize the journey of Cudi. Man on the Moon 3 as well
great vid man
This may be overlooking it, but i like how the screen is in a square format, like an album cover!
omg that’s me i totally forgot about this ! so much fun to share and see everyone else’s thoughts, you guys were so friendly
I love In The Aeroplane Over The Sea album cover. It fits so well with the music
Props for including Ground Zero on there
I don't really get the cover but that is an awesome album
10cc's *Deceptive Bends* Album Art sold the album for me. It's also how I discovered the band. Fantastic stuff!
Awesome video. Most underrated album cover, and my favorite, created by Storm Thorgerson is The Cranberries' "Bury the Hatchet." Also Rush's "Moving Pictures" with the triple meaning on the front and back. Something I'm interested in is the impact on the inside album cover art and the back cover art on an album. Since we stream mostly now we only see the front cover. Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" wouldn't mean as much without the back cover. Yes' "Close to the Edge" doesn't mean much without the inner artwork. I wish streaming services gave the option of clicking the cover to see the inner sleeve and back cover for these older physical albums to give the art designers the credit they deserve
Haven't seen a vid of yours since the EATEOT video, and might I say, this video looks SLICK! I almost didn't even recognize you given how much your visual style has changed. Incredible video and incredible work man.
Another banger from Jake, awsome work brother the upped production walue for the past little bit has made everything so memereble
Ive found an entire band through 1 album cover. I thought 'ooh that looks cool' and listened to the album which ended up being brilliant. The effort that artists like storm thorgerson put in with covers such as a momentary lapse of reason is so cool
Storm thorgerson also looked at the lyrics of the album and used key bits to create a picture that described the music
what band was it
thank you for talking about this
Wow this video does not nearly get the recognition it deserves. I was introduced to your channel after watching the Everywhere at the End of Time video but I haven’t seen much more of your stuff since, but after watching this video, it’s clear you’re putting in the effort to make good content. I’m again amazed it only has ~6k views after 2 days of being released for how quality the editing, pacing, and even the subject matter itself is. One day you’ll make it assuming you keep this up
I knew something was up when I saw the cover for Damage and Joy by Jesus and Mary Chain - love that band, but after that cover I started noticing the kind of covers you described here 👍
to this day i do not understand how you’re channel in so underrated
Heavy Heavy is literally my favorite album cover of all time, good pick jake!!
For me, one of my favourite album covers would be In Sides by Orbital. It’s such a abstractly wacky yet breathtaking piece of art, yet capturing the sound of the album perfectly
This vid gonna blow up
Best album art: Alison Schulniks painting for Deafheavens New Bermuda.
Insane cover.
Insane cover
Insane album
the cover art for tim hecker’s “dropped pianos” is an absolute masterpiece
Trench is an amazing album. its cover is one of my favorite parts of it. not only does it show a vulture with yellow eyes (and yellow is a big color in the album itself). it means something. it also looks how the album FEELS. it’s vintage and spray paint feel fits so well!!
That guy talking about the headhunters album was the cute one 😅
merriweather post pavilion has a really good album cover and fits the vibe of their at the time ancos style of music
I like the fact this album is basically an optical illusion with the way the placement of the neon green leaves with the purple blue background makes the album look like waves in the ocean and i love it.and the
honorable mention to spirit(also an anco album) with 2 angelic fairies? in the darck night sky with greenish bluish trail of magical looking stardust witch fits really well
I like your editing style, aesthetics, and personality a lot! In my opinion though, I think you should have talked more about the thematic components of a cover and what they "say" to the listening audience. This is just my take on the conversation, no hate at all.
Perfect album covers:
F# A# Infinity [Expanded version] - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Kid A - Radiohead
Animals - Pink Floyd
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven - Godspeed You! Black Emperor
OK Computer - Radiohead
CITIES AVIV MENTIONED🗣️🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Dude Green Day got a spot in the video W. Great work man.
not necessarily my fav but an album cover I really like and feel fits this criteria is time 'n' place by kkb. the multiple colors and different textures with the blank face of the lead singer right in the middle makes a cover that perfectly represents the music imo
An excellent album cover that covers your three points would be God Says I Can't Dance by Tipographica. It's unique, distinctive, and perfectly captures the wackiness of the album. I've tried to find other work from the artist that made it, Seigo Nanana, but I haven't found much.
In future vids could you not put the tv filter over the album covers 😭 other than that keep up the good work!
I disagree
ngl, when im searching for new music I mostly look at the album art. if it looks sick I click.
Here are my personal fav covers:
#1 X-Multiples by Yellow magic Orchestra
#2 in the wake of doshin the giant by Tatsuhiko asano
#3 Fun by Daniel Johnston
#4 For you, and pocket music by Tatsuro Yamashita
#5 Contact by silver apples
And #6 Contra by vampire weekend.
This is the stuff I like as of today, of course I will probably see more amazing covers in the future ;)
I'm the number 100 like... i feel so honored hahahaha
Also how didn't anyone remembered the Dark Side Of The Moon album cover, so simple yet effective
Emergency On Planet Earth by Jamiroquai has really great artwork IMO. The cover itself is just solid white with their buffalo man logo in the center with the name of the artist and album at the top, but what makes it special is the inside of the cd case and gatefold LP it was initially released on. When you open it up theres artwork of the members of the band in a jungle surrounded in animals and plants that helps to sell the messages of environmental conservation and social commentary.
Loved the video and editing style, but i would chill down on the filter when showing the albums, if thats what the video is about I'd like to see the album the way it is
The last album I heard and had a great album cover is "When Facing The Things We Turn Away From" by Luke Hemmings, the grey/blackish art, a visible Luke looking at a blurry vision of himself, the text that's mildly blurry reflects the album, who he thought he was, knowing who he really is, the ones he love, his fears, I think the album cover represents the entire narrative of the album, the visuals and the sonic pallet are so well together
I think TV Girl album covers haves beautiful motif to their album covers, I also enjoy Smashing Pumpkins album covers and my all time favorite album cover is Pacific Daydream by Weezer.
Also, my favorite concept for a single cover is Awkward by FIDLAR. They use a collage of yearbook photos and I think it perfectly encapsulates the song being called “Awkward”
I love all those bands
I know it’s not anything amazing but my fav album cover is Korns self titled album it’s just so cool and the album is great too :))
3:14 this made me giggle
NEW JAKE
locked in
The album art for the albums Anhilla and Mercy by Flesh Of The Stars are some of my favorites. Monoliths & Dimensions and Domkirke by SunnO))), Gathered Blood by Sons of Perdition, Surfer Rosa by Pixies, Come My Fanatics by Electric Wizard, Gods of The Earth and Warp Riders by The Sword, Sky Valley and Circus by Kyuss, all S-Tier imo.
2:18 Ha I actually loved Saviors lol
I have no opinion until I hear your thoughts on the Pet Sounds cover, pretentiously love it? Hate it for its blandness on such a huge album? Or some other mysterious option? I GOTTA KNOWWWw
Also, The Beach Boys don't have very many good covers but Wild Honey, Smiley Smile, SMiLE, and Surf's Up are top tier for me. All of them represent each albums sound perfectly and are fun to look at. (Bonus points to Surf's Up for having a cover you'd never expect on a BB album)
Glad BTTIGTP got a mention here. A few others I really like:
Death Grips - Money Store: I love the illustration on this. It's vulgar, edgy, confusing yet somehow understandable and a lot more simple compared to their other albums - same can be said about the music.
Enter Shikari - A flash flood of colour. Similar to the contents of the album, its a flood of bright lights and sound on a dying planet.
MBV - Loveless. The quintessential 'it looks like how the music sounds.'
Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition. Just look at it
i think that omar chappier by Mairo has one of the best albums cover oat ! He is a french rapper and he has the best covers, also they always match the lyrics so much
Abby's road, my favorite beetles album
The Mollusk is my favourite cover
All these shit album covers coming up to match the music itself😭
Check out the album covers to the first two Blue Oyster Cult albums (and maybe some of the others)
I legitimately spent like 15 minutes just staring at Agalloch's Ashes Against the Grain album cover (the black and white version one with a "raven?" hanging I think? not the original cover but that one's still great) when I first discovered the album without even looking for the band or album name. Probably my all time favorite cover.
Desert Sand Feels Warm At Night's Dream Desert is also up there, I fell in love with it so much it used to be my PC wallpaper for some time (I still put it on as a wallpaper but usually during summer).
100% agree with Court of the Crimson King, By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Wish You Were Here, Dark Side of the Moon and In Rainbows.
I don't like Weezer in general and I especially dislike Pinkerton but its album cover is great.
I'd also add: Can's Tago Mago, Cornelius' Fantasma, GY!BE's F# A# Infinity, Daughter's You Wont Get What You Want, Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising, Oneothrix Point Never's Replica and R Plus Seven, Gustavo Cerati's Bocanada, BoC's Music has the Right to Children, Aphex Twin's SAW 85-92, Frank Zappa's & The Mothers of Invention's One Size Fits All, Coil's Ape of Naples.
Album artwork has always been one of my favorite things about music. To me, when both the album and cover work in harmony, it stands out more to me. I listen to a lot of metal, and some of my favorite albums have my favorite covers. When I'm looking for new music, I definitely base my choices on album covers. There's so much new music, bands with shit covers get canned unless I hear that it slaps. I can't think of many classic albums with terrible covers. I looked at my Hall of Fame playlist and they've all got banging covers. Freedom Call's Master of Light is a pretty good album with an absolute wretched album cover. It is a ripped shirtless dude with long hair and a beard. It looks like the dude came staggering out of trailer, dropping a Busch Lite and yelling about how the "ethnics are playing their mariachi music too loud." I've never like Eminem's Slim Shady LP or Marshall Mathers LP covers either. I feel like they definitely don't capture the sound. Though Relapse is a divisive album, I think the cover fits the musical themes perfectly.
The cover always finds the album, problem is artists rush to put it out and settle with something half-baked that doesn't work like the equvilent of jamming a jigsaw piece knowing it's not the one
Soft Cell's "Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret" has a perfect cover that fits the music beautifully. The duo are wearing these super futuristic outfits, washed in these bright... swashes of red and blue, with the entire color theme revolving around blue and red. "Soft Cell" and the album's name are both plastered on as these beautiful, bright neon bulbs, again in red and blue. The music... fits it so perfectly, being cold, droning, and very experimental... don't forget about Tainted Love, because it fits the album cover the best.
punk2 brakence cover is lit and fits the music
How can this guy have
great vid !! maybe just a bit of a shame that you also applied the color correction and gradient texture to the cover you show because it distorts them a lot and undermines the point… apart from that 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
as a music artist, i want nothing more than perfect artwork. but in fact it is thee hardest part, making the music? easy, artwork? i blank, sometimes i have the vision but have no skill or idea how to make it exist
its not dying you just look at everything that is popular
The cover of "desert sand feels warm at night - 夢の砂漠" match pretty well how the album sounds
One of my favorite albums covers is your dead by flying lotus
Me when I can’t get someone to make me album cover art for my albums:
“Fine, I’ll do it myself” *Picks up a pencil*
1 of the best albums this year or so I've been told is blue lips. However, I haven't gotten into it as I can't get past the album cover as its just not to my taste
will you ever make a video about Dean Blunt?
Yeezus, imo fits the perfect cover criteria
Whenever the discussion of 'best' album covers comes up, It's sad to see many people ignore the metal scene. Seriously, hundreds of classic heavy metal, death metal, even black metal covers easily put to shame a majority of other genres cover arts. Even more modern metal albums stand amongst the greats of the classics. "Mirror Reaper" by Bell Witch is one of my all time favorites. I'll always raise an eyebrow to any 'best covers' list that doesn't include at least a couple metal albums.
2:16 im not taking that green day slander
Hey really cool video but I don't think you should put effects on the album covers I can't even see it lol but awesome video indeed
Music, is INDEED JUST SICK!
and great album art makes it better
Demon Days and Plastic Beach from Gorillaz are really great examples.
So … time for some more unapologetic subjectivity 😉
I make music myself and I can tell you that the album cover is very important to me. For starters, all music makers start out as music listeners and the cover art is part of that experience. And the best ones are very much hand in hand.
Funny enough, there have a few times where there is a mismatch of sorts. Mew’s And the Glass Hand Kites is an example of good music with a terrible cover. Metric’s Synthetica would be the reverse except the music is more mediocre.
So when it comes to my own music, I do consider the art as well. Sometimes I do it myself because I have a strong idea for what it is and it is within my means to do so. Other times, I commission an artist whose style I like and work with the artist to make something that satisfies both of us. When working with an artist, always provide references for what interests you, any necessary notes about the music and, of course, the music itself. Definitely provide feedback and insight, but always leave room for your artist to do his thing.
And finally, I find that being aware of various art styles is just as useful as knowing various music styles. It helps fuel the overall imagination when making your own art, both the music and its accompanying cover art.
Nas’ Kings Disease has an amazing album made all the better by the way it fits the title of the album and the music.
and it's not even the front cover only, there are albums that i love but never seen the full cover, back and inserts, we're getting detached from the visual arts experience that we had all the way from the 70s to the 90s bands full of visual art like sonic youth, black flag, talking heads... now it's just a small square in a mobile app that most of the time won't even be fullscreen and will never let you zoom in to see details or (is it dreaming too high?) see the back cover and inserts of vinyls and maybe even have extra content to see in the app like zine PDFs and bonus wallpapers or some shit, and at the same time this happens we get detached from the very concept of "album", a lot of stuff is released as a lot of unrelated singles and the main "music media organization" being consumed is playlists
NO BC ALBUM COVERS LITERALLY DO MAKE THE SONGS SOUND BETTER I SWEAR
My perfect album covers:
i,i - Bon iver
Deleted Scenes Forgotten Dreams - The Caretaker
DrukQs - Aphex twin
I really like Velocity:Design:Comfort, how do you guys feel about that cover
Bad moon rising by sonic youth has one of the best covers ever made imo