<< Try picking up a re-release of some jazzer or pop star from years past,
you
have more liner notes than you can read in the span of an album listening,
from artist thoughts to reviews, tour notes, what was played, why it was
revolutionary, lyrics, etc etc etc...>>
Yes, go back to most any record sleeve from the fifties or sixties, and you
will find a distinct little write-up about the artist, often written by a
journalist or music commentator. Of course, if one were to use this approach
on the sleeve of an idm album, the best candidate for writing the piece would
be a malfunctioning communications robot, and the piece would appear in the
form of garbled machine code.
<< I don't even care what they put in them anymore, just put something.
shout outs, equipment lists, lyric sheet (i know i'm reaching there),
pictures of the people contributing, real artwork, the bands favorite
cheesecake recipe, a manifesto, i just want a little something to look at
while the music plays. >>
To express a different viewpoint...I appreciate a clean, uncluttered
packaging approach. What could be more tedious and distracting than an
interminable list of shout-outs? Do we really need to know that the artist
thanks god, his mom, his cousin Jerry in Akron, Ohio, and all the gals in the
typing pool? Similarly, the equipment list takes some of the mystery out of
the sound, and seems best suited for wanky prog releases (tho we do have some
of those in idm-land, too).
Just me, but...while I love fine artwork and graphics, sometimes too many
words in the packaging just clutters up the mental environment (see Moby's
political commentary). A website is a good clearinghouse for this kind of
information.
If you still need stuff to look at while listening, might I suggest: the sky,
teletubbies with the sound turned down, a small patch of bubbly liquid,
cereal boxes.
- fred church
http://nofuncharlie.com/kumquat
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