The New York punks pick their favourite album artwork.
TextSarah Fakray
The emotive noise-punk of Brooklyn-dwellers Parts & Labor conjures up plenty of its own imagery, from American highways to apocalyptic matrimony, but which album artwork does the band rate most highly? The four members reveal their multifarious affections for assembled Polaroids and water wearing wellies...
Talking Heads
More Songs About Buildings and Food
(Sire, 1978)
Chosen by BJ Warshaw (bass/vocals):
"I'm always drawn to simple ideas that are painstakingly difficult to execute. David Byrne's cover for More Songs About Buildings And Food is comprised of (according to Wikipedia) 529 individual Polaroid photos of Talking Heads, taken in close-up, and then reassembled to form a skewed band portrait. The overall effect is 'something's not right' but at first glance it's hard to tell exactly how the effect was achieved."
Sonic Youth
Bad Moon Rising
(Blast First, 1985)
Chosen by Dan Friel (electronics/vocals):
"Nothing says 'Spooky America' like a sunset jack o'lantern scarecrow looming over the housing projects. This gets my favorite album cover vote just for hammering home the mood of the album so hard. Not scary, just very, very spooky."
Gastr del Sol
Upgrade & Afterlife
(Drag City, 1996)
Chosen by Sarah Lipstate (guitar/electronics):
"I bought the LP when I was a freshman in college and it adorned the wall of my dorm room above my bunk bed until I received a fire code violation and had to take it down. I've always been smitten with the photo on the cover. I love the way that it captures a moment of beauty between two simple, ordinary elements."
Erkin Koray
Elektronik Türküler
(Dogan Plakcilik, 1974; reissued by World Psychedelia Ltd in 1999)
Chosen by Joe Wong (drums):
"My favorite album cover as of late is Elektronik Türküler, the second full-length by Erkin Koray, the father of Turkish rock music. I love the great psychedelic artwork and messiah-like photo depictions of Erkin himself. He's a legend!"
Talking Heads
More Songs About Buildings and Food
(Sire, 1978)
Chosen by BJ Warshaw (bass/vocals):
"I'm always drawn to simple ideas that are painstakingly difficult to execute. David Byrne's cover for More Songs About Buildings And Food is comprised of (according to Wikipedia) 529 individual Polaroid photos of Talking Heads, taken in close-up, and then reassembled to form a skewed band portrait. The overall effect is 'something's not right' but at first glance it's hard to tell exactly how the effect was achieved."
Sonic Youth
Bad Moon Rising
(Blast First, 1985)
Chosen by Dan Friel (electronics/vocals):
"Nothing says 'Spooky America' like a sunset jack o'lantern scarecrow looming over the housing projects. This gets my favorite album cover vote just for hammering home the mood of the album so hard. Not scary, just very, very spooky."
Gastr del Sol
Upgrade & Afterlife
(Drag City, 1996)
Chosen by Sarah Lipstate (guitar/electronics):
"I bought the LP when I was a freshman in college and it adorned the wall of my dorm room above my bunk bed until I received a fire code violation and had to take it down. I've always been smitten with the photo on the cover. I love the way that it captures a moment of beauty between two simple, ordinary elements."
Erkin Koray
Elektronik Türküler
(Dogan Plakcilik, 1974; reissued by World Psychedelia Ltd in 1999)
Chosen by Joe Wong (drums):
"My favorite album cover as of late is Elektronik Türküler, the second full-length by Erkin Koray, the father of Turkish rock music. I love the great psychedelic artwork and messiah-like photo depictions of Erkin himself. He's a legend!"
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Nowheres Nigh
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Fractured Skies
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A Great Divide
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