FEATURE:
Oldskool Rules
IN THIS PHOTO: A fantastic album cover from this year, for Arctic Monkeys’ The Car. The photo was taken by the band's drummer Matt Helders using a Leica M6 film camera, and it shows a white Toyota Corolla (E90) parked alone on the rooftop of a parking garage in Los Angeles
Are Great Album Covers and Videos Revered So Much These Days?
_________
I have always thought…
IN THIS PHOTO: The album cover for Miley Cyrus’ 2023 album, Endless Summer Vacation/PHOTO CREDIT: Brianna Capozzi
what design I would choose if I ever imagined an album cover. That would have been me in a different life. I am not an artist myself, but I like to imagine the album covers and music videos. I am very visually-minded, so I get this thrill from using photos and visuals in my blog posts. I guess, if things were different and I were a musician, the visual side of things would be so important. Maybe there would be an opportunity for me to compose a photo of myself at some point. It would be cool if I were interviewed or featured, and I get to choose the photographer I work with. I would use the photo chance as a representation of the creative mind. The foreground image of me with a bottle of alcohol in one hand. Maybe something else in the other hand. A curious and mysterious look up. In the background, there are things hanging in the air. A floor with vinyl (records), a typewriter, and various other items. The background would have some flecks of blood. The set would almost look like the inside of a brain, but in terms of the edges of the frame. The rest would be in a room with some cool and appropriate lighting. The concept would be delving inside a creative or music-minded mind and the sort of contrasts, challenges, inspirations and ideas that like within. It may sound a bit pretentious and self-indulgent, but I do think that it is striking and personal. It (somewhat long-winded) takes me to this thought about modern music. When I think about the best album covers and music videos, they are often for years and decades ago…
There are still some great album covers being produced but, considering the number of albums that come out a month, the percentage of genuinely inventive and astonishing ones is quite low. The same goes for videos. I know there are budgetary restrictions, but you can create something memorable and ambitious without too much money – definitely when it comes to an album cover. Maybe it is me, but I would get the most excitement from working on an album cover or doing music videos that stick in the mind. I know a lot of people do not watch videos so much anymore. It was the case in the past that this was the way to sell songs. So much stock was placed on the video. This was the way people heard and discover music, rather than through the Internet. Radio has always been really important. That excitement of watching a visual representation of a song. That does not happen now. I think most of the hugely-streamed videos on YouTube are from very popular artists. It is less about the quality and memorability of the video, and it is more to do with the artist. Spotify tends to be more popular than YouTube, as I don’t think people are griped by videos so much. The same goes with album covers. Vinyl sales are rising, but I think people are less concerned with buying albums that have amazing covers; it is more to do with ownership and actually paying for music. And vinyl has that sound quality and physicality that you do not get from digital music.
It is a shame that there is not more curiosity and endeavour regarding making these incredible videos and album covers. This year has been okay for album covers but, as features like this show, even many of the best are not that different or unique. There are few of those covers that stop you in your tracks or leave you intrigued. Again, this feature united some good album covers of the year. There are few that truly stand out. The same goes for videos. Look at the best of this year so far or the best of 2022. I mean, there are some really good ones, but I am trying to recall the last time I saw a video that could rank with the very best. Those that challenge the all-time greatest. Is there that desire and ambition in artists now?! Are music videos’ aims and objectives different now to what they were?! Time was when MTV featured the most striking and arresting videos. Because of that, you got these mind-blowing ones like Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer (1986). Artists still want a lot of views for the videos, but the aim is more on airplay and how many times people watch a video, and not necessarily how great the visuals are. People don’t really review videos, so it can seem like a waste if they put all of this effort in. I think one of my favourite videos of the year so far is Kylie Minogue’s Padam Padam.
PHOTO CREDIT: Zachary Gray (2023)
This is a stylish and bold video that perfectly matches the song. Directed by Sophie Muller, it is a rare case of making a video as a piece of art! A separate entity that has its own brilliance and life. So many music videos, even from major artists, lack the same sort of punch and impression. I know there are some magnificent music video directors around but, considering the number of videos we get each year, so few actually resonate and linger in the imagination! Is it a case of over-saturation and it being far too easy to slip by some really good videos?! Maybe so. I just feel the ones I have seen, regardless of budget, are not that amazing. The visual is simply there because it needs to be, rather than an artist wanting to put something out there that will stand the test of time. I will drop a few music videos in here. I know that we do not really have music television. People can easily stream a song, so what is the attraction and allure of a video? I feel that a wave of wonderful videos would make the case that visual and that sense of cinema is still valuable. I think it is! We do need an alternative music show where incredible videos feature alongside live performances. Even if many artists feel like videos are less relevant now, I think that it is important to look at legacy. Years from now, do we want people still talking about the older videos?! Our minds will drift back to the '80s, '90s and '00s. It is important that there are some examples from the 2020s. These new and awe-inspiring videos that generations future can marvel at!
I think that the same goes for album covers. When we think of the classics and very best, we always think of the likes of Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Nirvana’s Nevermind, The Beatles’ Abbey Road, and so on. I am trying to think of the newer ones that really stunned me. I like the cover for Harry Styles’ Harry’s House (2022). That is a simple-yet-impressive visual. Again, I will drop in a few recent album covers. Many that I see are so basic and lack that ambition. Especially as vinyl is a precious and loved format, one would think that the importance of a brilliant album cover would be front and centre of the mind! So that people in years to come will come across these albums and fall in love with that cover. Maybe buy the album because of the cover. I don’t think there is the same problem when it comes to music television and the relevance of videos. When it comes to albums, maybe the decline of C.D. sales means there is less need to make a great cover. Cassette sales are rising, but I think few people can listen to them – and the cover art is not a big reason why they are being bought. Vinyl is booming because it is a physical format that ensures and will never die. It would be interesting to hear other people’s thoughts on this one. Whilst features like this and this one rank some brilliant covers from last year, there is little of that wow factor when you look beyond them. Even the ten best of last year have a couple of somewhat ordinary and easy to replicate covers. I think that the visual side of things is important. Being able to grab attention because of a cover of video. So many of my musical memories are tied to visuals and artwork. The more digitised and consumable music becomes, the less human and tangible it becomes! Vinyl’s popularity gives us hope - but I hate to think that the album cover’s important is null or somewhat obsolete. Same with videos. If it is costly to make them and people do not really value the visual and concept merit, then why bother?!
IN THIS PHOTO: The cover for Harry Styles’ 2022 album, Harry’s House/PHOTO CREDIT: Hanna Moon
We do need to emphasis that the art and visuals are vital. Songs and albums will endure and be discovered generations now if these aspects are considered and conquered. People might come back at me and say there have been some awesome videos this year. Maybe give reasons as to why music videos do not matter. Same with album covers. There have been amazing ones in 2023, although streaming means people can listen to an entire album without needing to buy it or consider the true value of imagery. I think an album cover that catches your eye is as important as the music within! You see a boring or too weird cover and it can be off-putting. If people do not look at reviews and there is that opportunity to capture someone browsing or undecided, then the cover art needs to be as mesmeric as possible. Ditto regarding videos. They can be someone’s first exposure to an artist or album. I know many artists have a smaller budget. But, if they put out an original and impressive video, that can lead to big things. People can share the video online. That creates this new wave of focus and fandom that can boost album sales or get that artists talked about. I still seek out wonderful music videos and album covers. I like to imagine that we can leave some of the greatest videos and album covers from this year and the recent past. Challengers against the vintage ones! I cannot dismiss modern videos and album, covers, but there are fewer examples of these classics and next level ones. When I think of past decades, there was this higher ambition and quality. Sure, the best videos and album covers from this year and last are worthy and spectacular, yet I think that there are not that many truly moving and memorable examples. When it comes to music videos that are innovative and groundbreaking, and album covers that stagger and leave impressions in the mind, there are fewer being produced now…
AS there were in the past.