So many people say things like "It's all about the music" when it comes to the presentation of a cd. If someone comments on how nice the guys are in the band are, a person is bound to reply, "Well, I don't care how nice the guys are. It's all about the music." Same with the artwork of a cd. It could be the flashiest, nicest cover ever, but "It's all about the music."
Interestingly, few stop to consider that music is a work of art in itself. Shouldn't the rest of the presentation be taken into consideration, too? People bust on Slipknot for their use of masks, yet that is a part of the art. Granted, most people will not enjoy Slipknot's art, but it is art.
A huge part of Alice Cooper's music is the live show. His stage antics and theatrical embelishment is what seperates him from everyone else. He has an image and people respond to the image. The image and the live show is what makes Alice Cooper himself.
Often the artwork of a cd goes hand in hand with the music. For instance, the Saviour Machine "Legend Trilogy" has pictures in the book. Alice Cooper's cd "The Last Temptation" has an accompanying comic. And there are others.
My mind has been exceedingly scattered when writing the above. So I'm going to outline the basic point here in case it was lost in the long version. Bottom line, that music is art and the entire package is a part of the art of music: the live show, the cd artwork, and the cd itself.
peace.
Article comments
1 - uglyamerican
The sad thing is that so many bands seem to forget this. Some recent releases I can think of that I bought that have some cool artwork are from Converge, Tool, and Pedro the Lion. My biggest gripe about CD artwork is that the writing is sometimes so small, I disregard the lyrics and credits because my 34 year old eyes get a headache trying to read them!
2 - The Theory
yeah, pedro the lion excells in making art...
peace.
3 - The Theory
Though, Ironically, most artists don't have control over what the cd packaging... the label has some studio do it. The artists don't know what it'll look like until the cd is in thier hand.
O cruel world.
peace.