FAQ
Q: What are these things?
A: They’re fake album covers, designed by me, usually for albums that don’t exist or haven’t been released. In a couple of instances, I’m designing album covers for albums where I’m not overly fond of the cover (but honestly, just in a couple instances — I’m sorry if you love those albums a lot). In some cases, it’s a sleeve for a popular bootleg. It’s really all over the place.
Q: Is this really “design?” Isn’t this just pastiche?
A: Absolutely it’s pastiche. I’m doing these things in little ten minute gaps in my real job, which is designing things that are far less fun. When I’m doing these, I’m normally designing “in the style of,” which “everybody” “knows” is a far less valid art form than 100% original design. Of course, what the hell is 100% original design? And aren’t some of the greatest works of art ever either satire or pastiche? Questions, questions.
Q: Your musical taste is really narrow.
A: No. It’s honestly not. It’s very, very, very wide. However, by the very nature of this beast, the majority of famous “lost albums” come from the 60s and 70s. And just by dint of having a lot of 60s and 70s albums, I’m pretty familiar with some of the famous and not-so-famous designers. That doesn’t mean I only listen to music from these decades. Not by any means.
Q: But what about that awesome lost Nickelback album?
A: That’s just an example, but my point is that it’s way more fun to design stuff in “period” style than some kind of cod-modern style. I do enough of that in my day job. I’d be more than happy to show you some of my “modern” “web” “site” “design.” But aren’t *you*, as a lover of design, fascinated by period style?
Q: Are you saying you’re better than the designers in question?
A: ABSOLUTELY NOT. That’s not the point. I’m usually a huge fan of the designers of this stuff (even of the sort of nameless “house designers” at various labels), and you can view this stuff more as a tribute than a “me better than” thing. The couple of instances of me trying to “better” an album cover are purely done as an exercise, a “what if” kind of thing, or as an excuse to design in a particular style.
Q: But this isn’t a marketable skill. You can’t get a job doing this fake period design.
A: There are plenty of excellent reissue labels — Sundazed, Rhino, etc — who do this kind of thing all the time. Witness the recent issuance of the long-lost “Smile” album, or Rhino’s excellent packaging of Jan and Dean’s “Carnival of Sound.” Honestly? I’m hoping this particular skill — and I argue vociferously that it is a skill — is uniquely suited to that particular job, and I’m hoping I get a chance to try it out sometime!
Q: Are you saying that modern design is rubbish?
A: No. Not at all.
Q: Why are you putting this stuff out there?
A: Why the heck not?
