The Joy of the folk law bubble bursting

Well, I am the first to admit I can be wrong... during a very interseting discussion in the Angel with Oz last night, the conversation led to the previous posting about album covers; specifically Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division, contrary to common folk law (and maybe teenage rumours), the design by Peter Saville was not as previously thought (particulary by us) as being the heart rate of a man during an orgasm; it was, as Oz mentioned (saw an interview with said Peter Saville previous week) an image taken of a pulsar. Well, after years of thinking we knew what it represented we were to say a little taken aback, who wouldn't be? Thinking you knew a secret that only a few knew, like a cone of silence was fantastic - well that bubble has been burst.

Here's the real definition of the album design by Peter Saville:

The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and was originally drawn with black lines on a white background. [1] It presents exactly 100 successive pulses from the first pulsar discovered, PSR 1919+21 (often referred to in the context of this album by its older name, CP 1919). PSR B1919+21 is a pulsar with a period of 1.337 seconds and a pulse width of 0.04 second. It is notable for being the first radio pulsar ever discovered (in July 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell). Its original designation was CP 1919 and it is also known as PSR J1921+2153. It is located in the constellation of Vulpecula.

Oh well, it was always gonna happen!!!!

album art

In the news at the moment is the sale of the painting - Kerze (candle) by German artist Gerhard Richter used on the album cover by Sonic Youth - 'Daydream Nation' (1988), not an album, which at the time was a major chart success! Its said that the popularity of the image is worldwide - symbol of peace, its probably going to sell for at least £2.5m, maybe more

This got me thinking about my own record collection - most of it in boxes, some lost in time (parties, friends borrowing them etc, currently updating on CD - I know its the day of the i-pod, I do own one and use it all the time!) and which ones stick in my mind as cherished album covers.

I have included a few here for various reasons, some more obvious than others - the immediate shock value of the Pistols; as a very young teenager smuggling it into my bedroom so the parents wouldn't see it!

Ian Dury, just loved the image of him standing there outside the shop with slightly flared trousers (not hip at the time!!), constantly looking in the shop window and setting to memory what was there whilst sat in the lounge with headphones on (so my parents couldn't hear some of the lyrics!!!

Then there is Joy Division, a discovery thanks to Oz, the cover looks at first like a mountain range in contour map formation, but, when you found out what it really represented you felt like you were the holder of a secret and only a few knew, especially not parents!

Another one I have posted is that of Klaus Nomi - I just loved the theatrical element to the black and white image, a strange mix of b/w classics and slightly comical approach (at the time I saw Metropolis for the first time and felt a link between the two - well I was young and impressionable at the time!)

Over time I might droop a few more in, of course, there's nothing like thumbing your way through old albums, which of course does lead you to sitting down and playing them... which can't be bad.