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Independent Project: The Importance of the Album Cover

Imagine you're looking for a new piece of music, whether you're shopping for a vinyl record or a CD, or even scrolling on Spotify. What's often the first thing that gets you interested before you hear even a single note? The album cover.

Other than the band's name, the album cover is the only thing outside of the music itself that draws you in to a piece of music. It's meant to give the listener an idea of what the album or band is like, before they even listen to it. The way I imagine it, an album cover is like a movie in a single frame, and the album is the soundtrack.

A great album cover is what you picture to go alongside it's album. When you look at a good album cover, you should immediately get a sense of what it's music is like. It should also work in reverse: when you listen to a song, you should be able to picture the corresponding cover for it.

This is the cover for Pink Floyd's album "Dark Side Of The Moon". Pink Floyd's album covers often feature surreal imagery and photos, giving the listener the sense that the music they're about to listen to sounds surreal and almost otherworldly. I would describe a lot of Pink Floyd's music to be surreal, or at the very least experimental, as they experimented a lot with different ideas and sounds.

This is the cover for the album "Reign In Blood" by Slayer. As a metal band, this album cover doesn't come as a surprise. It depicts demons, blood, and decapitated heads. Of course what you'd imagine this album sounds like is some pretty heavy, hardcore stuff, it only fits with the imagery. In fact, here's an example:

Pretty heavy stuff I'd say.

In an article by Metal Hammer, Kerry King from Slayer states this about the "Reign In Blood" cover:

"We’ve always tried to make sure that what you saw on the sleeve reflected the music. It had to be extreme."

The band's frontman Tom Araya also says this:

"For me, an album is a whole concept. When I pick up a record, it’s obviously the cover that I see first and it should tell you something about the music. There are too many bands who concentrate solely on the songs and don’t pay enough attention to the packaging."

To add on to Araya's point, I don't see many artists putting much effort into album art anymore. I believe that as we move more into promoting music through streaming and social media, the importance of the album cover is becoming more and more obsolete.

As platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become the dominant place for an artist to promote their music, they do so through short videos or by using one of their songs in one of their videos. When a song of theirs blows up, it usually does so on one of these platforms, and it's where we often hear it most, without associating it with the cover and rather with videos used by creators and users on the platform.

This song "Karma" by Jojo Siwa recently blew up on the internet, through sites like TikTok. You may have heard it before, but try to remember if you've seen a cover for it anywhere online.

While yes this is technically a single, you'd think that a song that has 43 million views on YouTube, 18 million streams on Spotify, and 200k posts on TikTok would have a cover that you could remember.

But this isn’t always the case with artists today. Plenty of artists and bands view the album cover as an essential part of the music, and they use some very effective album covers for their music.

To me the album cover represents an artist’s mind, or at least a small part of it. The album cover is what the artist wants to say about themselves or their music, or the message they want to promote in the specific piece of art they make. The album cover traditionally is what we’re meant to see before anything else, and it gets us interested into the artist we’re about to listen to. I hope album covers stay a staple of music forever, and that we don’t lose them along the way as we become more connected to social media and streaming. Some of the greatest pieces of art out there are album covers, and connected to them some of the greatest pieces of music ever made.

[jujumedia]

Mini Review: Shut Up and Dance

Shut Up and Dance is the third episode of the third season of Black Mirror. It covers the topic of modern "hacktivism", exposing the secret wrongdoings of seemingly innocent people. Kenny, the episode's protagonist, is wrapped up in this blackmail scheme and must perform a series of increasingly odd and specific, even criminal tasks in order to keep his secret safe.

What I love about this episode is that it leads you to believe that Kenny is seemingly an innocent kid, caught up in a mistake. As the protagonist you're meant to root for him, and you feel bad for him as the episode goes on and he has to perform even more dangerous tasks. As the episode continues, we wonder if what he's protecting is worth all this effort. Then we learn about his true nature when the hackers release all the information anyway, and our view of Kenny is changed when we learn that he's a pedophile.

An extra layer of this is added on early in the episode, that we don't key in on until the end. Kenny never smiles throughout the episode, not truly that is, except in one scene: when he is giving the toy back to the girl in the restaraunt.

At first when we see this scene, we assume Kenny is just a friendly guy wanting to help out this kid who left her toy behind. It isn't until we learn more about him that this scene is given a second, more sinister meaning, as it is the only time in the episode when he genuinely smiles. Given the realization about him, it makes this scene more terrifying.

Kenny is equally the most evil out of the batch in this episode. While the other characters only do things like have an affair, and make racist remarks, Kenny's initial sin is a crime, and it isn't the only one he commits in the episode. While we don't see the perspectives of the other characters, we can assume they're clear of criminal activity as they aren't arrested by the police at the end of the episode. Meanwhile Kenny commits armed robbery, as well as murder. He's the prime example of the main question this episode asks:

How far would you go to keep a secret safe? Would you kill for it?

While this episode goes less into the ideas of technology and fantasy that Black Mirror tends to do, it still touches on a very real thing in our modern world in hackers and online security. Something like this could very well happen in real life, which is what makes it all the more terrifying, as it could happen to us. Though of course I would assume most of us don't have any criminal secrets to cover up.

[jujumedia]

Mini Review: Fifteen Million Merits

Fifteen Million Merits is the second episode of season one of Black Mirror. It follows Bing, living in a strange controlled environment, where everyone works on bikes to earn a currency called 'merits'. Bing is played by Daniel Kaluuya, who made his breakout performance in this episode.

Fifteen Million Merits is a commentary on our society, and how unrewarding it is. It says that the general population is exploited and worked for their lives for almost nothing in return. They are given motivation to work by giving them a chance at their dream, and a way out of their dull, tedious lives. It shows that the people at the top don't really care about the people at the bottom, and they only want to use them for their own profit or enjoyment.

In this episode, the people work for years on end for merits, to save up for a shot out of their lives by getting approval of the judges on "Hot Shot". However the judges don't care about the people, and only want to use them for entertainment. Bing finally is fed up about this, and he confronts the judges in a compelling and fiery speech.

Bing's speech is an incredible display of the anger and frustration many people feel in the modern day, where things are seemingly less and less real, with consumerism shoved down our throats, as we become more and more isolated while working for little in return.

Of course, often when people are faced with a way out, they take it.

When Bing takes his opportunity to escape, it adds on another layer to the commentary in this episode: even when we make it, what would we have left? Was any of it even worth it? The final scene tells us that our idea of success might not be all that it's cracked up to be. In Bing's "success", he is seemingly free, but he is alone. Even the reality of his freedom is questioned, because throughout the episode we see screens upon screens, so it begs us to ask if he's looking out a window, or at another screen, acting as just one more falsehood.

Time and time again Black Mirror hinges on the fine line between our current reality, and the future, and this episode is no exception. Fifteen Million Merits taps into more of the fantasy side of Black Mirror in the way the themes are presented, but the commentary talks about very real and relatable topics, ones that many people can understand and empathize with. Because of this, Fifteen Million Merits, to me, has solidified itself as one of the best Black Mirror episodes ever.

[jujumedia]

Mini Review: Almost Famous

Almost Famous (2000) is the story of William Miller, a 15 year old journalist and music enthusiast, as he travels on tour with one of his favourite bands: Stillwater. It is based off an experience the writer/director Cameron Crowe had, when he got to tour with one of his own favourite bands at 16. The movie teaches us that meeting our heroes might not be all that it's cracked up to be, and how the people we idolize may actually not be the greatest people on earth.

This movie is so much fun to me. As someone who loves rock and music in general, I love movies that have anything to do with rock as a concept. But this movie is so much more than that that I almost can't even call it a "rock movie". To me it's more in the lines of movies like Stand By Me or The Breakfast Club. It's a story of a group of people, as they navigate challenges in their relationships and test the strength in their bonds. It's a story where the characters learn and grow together, ultimately becoming better people in the end, like Russell owning up to his mistakes with Penny, and reuniting with William to finally do his interview.

But back to the rock n' roll.

This movie displays a genuine love for rock, and pays nods and homage to some of the greatest rock artists in history. The band the movie follows, Stillwater, sounds straight out of the 70s hard rock genre, taking inspiration from bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. The intro to the song "Fever Dog" off of the movie's soundtrack even sounds similar to Led Zeppelin's "When The Levee Breaks". Almost Famous also does a good job at depicting the struggles that a lot of bands go through, often getting into arguments and discourse that challenge their commitment to the band and each other. The story is not just about William's experience with the band, it is about the band's growth as they navigate the change from being a small underground rock band, to gaining notoriety, ending up on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.

This movie has easily become one of my favourite movies. It's fun, it's heartwarming, and the soundtrack hits. I could rewatch it over and over again.

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Greatest Hits: "Figaro" by MF DOOM

One of my favourites by Doom. This entire album is incredible, I think it’s his best album personally. He’s definitely one of the greatest rappers of all time, and it shows on this song.

Lyrics

The video above analyzes the rhyming scheme of “Figaro”. Each colour represents an individual rhyming pattern.

What makes Doom an incredible rapper and lyricist is his ability to write rhymes in the middle of lyrics. I’ve seen other rappers like Eminem do the same, but nobody does it as good as Doom. This way he effortlessly flows from one rhyming scheme to the next, like in the lyric:

“For fake, if he was, Anita Baker’s man / He’d take her for her masters, hit it once and shake her hand / On some ol’ thank ya ma’am an’ ghost her / She could mind the toaster if she sign the poster / A whole host of roller coaster riders”

He writes lyrics like this all throughout his discography, it’s become a signature of his style and makes him recognizable from one lyric.

Rhythm

Another thing that makes Doom stand out from the rest is his flow. He has his own rhythm in the way he rhymes, and I think it especially stands out in this song. The best way I can describe it in this song is ‘bouncy’. He’s constantly bouncing between words and rhymes that it can be hard to keep up with him, even when you’re only listening. Combined with the beat for this song made by Madvillain, Doom’s rhymes perfectly complement the beat, and vice versa. The beat provides a tempo for him to follow, and he delivers. They work in tandem and it’s awesome to listen to.

Timbre

This song just sounds good to listen to. Madvillain’s beat sounds smooth. The main melody kept by the bass provides something to follow underneath Doom’s rhymes. The bass itself has a bit of tremolo, making it sound wavy, kind of like an old electric organ. The percussion, being the main piece of the beat, sounds thick and crisp. The tambourine overtop the drum track makes it sound bigger overall, and adds more texture to the sound. Finally, the single piano key that comes in every now and then adds a great accent to the rest of the beat, and gives it that final boost. This song, and the album as a whole, proves Madvillain as a master sampler and beat-maker.

This song is probably Doom’s best lyrical and rap performance, and one of the best rap performances ever in my opinion. A lot of people think speed makes a good rapper, where as Doom never goes fast and takes his time on the song. It’s one more thing that makes him my favourite rapper.

[jujumedia]

Greatest Hits: "Lose Yourself to Dance" by Daft Punk

As one of my favourite music groups ever, I just had to talk about a Daft Punk song. It was hard to pick one because their songs all have a lot to talk about. I landed on this one as it's one of my favourites off of "Random Access Memories".

Texture

There's a lot of great stuff in this song. The guitar, bass, drums, and vocals all work together perfectly. Nile Rodger's guitar is crystal clear and drives the song, while the bass fills in the rest of the space, and the drums tie it all together. Pharrell Williams' vocals make up the main melody, and just to remind us that this is Daft Punk, they throw in some robot-like vocals as added flavour. When they all come together they fit perfectly. The result is an incredibly catchy, groovy, and memorable disco/r&b song that you can't help but "lose yourself to dance".

Harmony

This song is a masterpiece of polyphonic harmony. While the guitar is the lead instrument, it is playing rhythmic chords, while the bass keeps a rhythm while playing it's own unique melody, and they fit like glue. While this is happening, the vocals have their own melody at the same time, which also fits in with the guitar and bass. When the robot vocals come in, they layer on multiple tracks of vocals, all having their own melody but working together in harmony, and not drowning the rest of the song out. Every instrumental line in this song does it's own thing, but they all come together so beautifully to create this song.

Rhythm

This is a song that you just can't help but groove to, all thanks to the rhythm. The drums are simple but so effective, and the bass keeps a consistent groove with a catchy melody to keep your ears listening. If you weren't convinced enough, people even clap along to the beat in the song itself, encouraging anyone listening to join in. What I love about this song is that it's so inviting, it wants you to fall into the beat and have fun with it. It's so catchy that you can't help it, but you wouldn't want to anyway because it's a great song.

This song at it's core is just plain fun. It's simple but interesting. As I've said before you just can't help but groove to it, which is what I love about it.

[jujumedia]

Greatest Hits: "Rumble" by Link Wray

How ahead of it's time this song was. "Rumble" by Link Wray is one of the earliest songs in rock and roll to use a distorted guitar tone. At the time of it's release in 1958, nobody had heard anything like it before. Because of it's entirely unique sound, it inspired many, many guitarists, including myself as it was the very first song I learned on guitar. Despite it's simplicity, there's a lot of things that make it a great song.

Timbre

Timbre is a must to talk about when it comes to this song. As I mentioned before, "Rumble" is one of the earliest songs to use distortion. Link's guitar on this song sounds raw and dirty, nothing like anyone had heard at the time. It's a sound that to me still holds up today, even though there's been a major advancement in guitar tone and distortion. The way Link strums the guitar gives it attitude, and combined with the distortion it sounds big and loud. At the end of the song, Link starts laying a tremolo effect on the sound, adding more as the song fades. The guitar sound on this song inspired generations of guitarists, and laid a groundwork for what rock would build itself off of.

Form

The form of this song is interesting. Because it has no lyrics, there's not really a traditional verse or chorus, the song is carried by the guitar. I would say the main melody of this song, the one that starts it off, is the verse. It repeats the most and carries into the 'chorus', which is the lick of descending notes that leads back into the verse. After the second 'chorus' is the guitar solo, which in the case of this song, could also be the bridge as the melody changes. While the song's form is simple at it's core, I think it lays another groundwork for rock. The simple verse-chorus-verse-chorus-bridge pattern is something we see all the time in music, and though it might not have been the first, "Rumble" is a great example of how it is used. When I think about it enough, the song's form is an early example of punk music. When imagine this song sped up, I imagine a Ramones song for example. Though the song is simple, it proved itself and left an impact.

Rhythm

When people talk about this song, they don't talk about the rhythm enough. Both the lead and rhythm sections have their own rhythm. The main riff is made up of three loud strums of the guitar, which hit you in your face every time. Then when it gets to the 'chorus', it's a descending sequence of notes with a swagger almost. While all this is happening, the drums and bass are filling the gap with a bouncy rhythm, again with what I can only describe as swagger. It almost sounds like a 'ramble' (another Link Wray song) of drums, bass, and guitar that doesn't end, and why would you want it to? They all fit perfectly together to create an attitude in this song. As I said: swagger.

This song, while seemingly simple, has a lot going on. The loud guitar, the simple but impactful form, and the steady rhythm, all make up an incredible rock song, one that solidified itself in history and inspired generations.

[jujumedia]

"No Shelter" by Rage Against The Machine

“No Shelter” by Rage Against The Machine is a song written for the 1998 Godzilla movie soundtrack. The song is a criticism of the media and says that mass media culture distracts the public from more pressing issues happening in the world. Ironically, Rage Against The Machine even openly criticizes Godzilla in the song, saying the movie is another piece of the problem.

The song starts with the lyric:

“The main attraction, distraction / Got ya number than number than numb / Empty ya pockets, son, they got you thinkin’ that / What ya need is what they selling / Make you think that buying is rebelling”.

This lyric adds on to the idea that the media is used to distract, by saying it is made to put an idea in people’s minds that media is what they want, for them to buy into consumerism and take their eyes off the rest of the world’s issues. What Rage Against The Machine is saying in this lyric is that mass media and consumerism “numbs” our minds, distracting us from bigger world issues like war and poverty.

As I mentioned before, Rage Against The Machine blatantly takes a jab at the Godzilla movie on it’s own soundtrack, in the lyric:

“Coca-Cola is back in the veins of Saigon / And Rambo too, he’s got a dope pair of Nikes on / Godzilla, pure mothaf***in’ filler / To keep ya eyes off the real killer”.

The song’s message continues with this lyric, saying that movies feed us tons of product placement to get us to buy, such as Coca-Cola in Saigon and Nike in Rambo. The idea is that because of product placement in movies, we are tricked into buying these products more by seeing them in our favourite movies, getting us to fuel consumerism. The lyric also critiques Godzilla, as mentioned before, by saying the movie is just another part of the problem, “filler” to keep our eyes off of bigger world issues – “the real killer”. It’s a bold and ironic move for Rage Against The Machine to make this criticism of Godzilla on the movie’s own soundtrack, but perfectly fitting for the band’s ideals.

In my opinion, I agree with Rage Against The Machine’s statement of the media. I believe that Hollywood has become a machine to mass produce media for people to see, to get them to give them as much money as possible and buy into their products. It does distract us from the outside world too. Every summer multiple big blockbuster movies are released that generate a lot of talk and discussion, it’s hard not to get sucked in. I do think a large portion of our media is important, and that the people behind the movies we see are generally not trying to fuel a capitalist machine. However, media culture in my eyes does generate a lot of toxic habits that distract us from real issues affecting humanity. Rage Against The Machine always makes important critiques of ‘The Machine’, so this song comes as no surprise, and definitely fits their attitude to put this song on a big Hollywood movie, actively poking at it.