furious five_cover art

i must admit, i don't often stop to think about cover art. even though we live in an increasingly visual culture, i'm ruled by fonts for books and my ears for music.if anything, i recognise books and ceedees by their spines... i could make a great list of "best spines" (you'd be right in thinking that this revolves around fonts!)

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in no particular order*
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Ocean Songs - Dirty Three

for a cover that represents the all-at-once rollicking..calming..turbulent temperament within

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it's a tie: Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series / Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher seriesi love these detective series. greenwood's harks back to an elegant, feminine 1920s style and i just dig that b-grade font of fforde's

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Plastic Fang - Jon Spencer Blues Explosion

before they stole his thunder, jon spencer and his blues explosion were pioneering dirty blues/garage way before white stripes and black keys. and he's got tons more charisma in his little finger than jack, meg and those akron ohio dudes combined!

werewolves /wide-eyed horror /comic styled gasps /kool font...the BLUES IS #1!

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Nightmare Before Christmas - Tim Burton

i used to love going to cinema bookshops to check out old movie posters - they have so much character and represent an energy that slick modern posters don't seem to possess. i have many a soft spot for the posters of 50s sci-fi monster movies or old school Italian filmmakers Fellini /Bertolucci /Leone or the wide spectrum of Japanese anime or those crazy screwball comedies from the Depression era.

and then there's hitchcock too.

i love poring over a new Astor calendar!

having said all that, Tim Burton is a director with a true, unique vision and the fractured fairytale Nightmare Before Christmas poster embodies the tone and style of the film (with a bonus great font).

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Cammers You Am I Dress Me Slowly
does this count? my dear friend cammers once made me a copy of You Am I's Dress Me Slowly. the makeshift cover featured red card with a photograph of Rose Porteous -in all her faux glamour- posing for the cameras at the Logies unaware of Lano and Woodley creeping up behind, fingers curled, ready to Attack! absolute hands down favourite

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* nick hornby type declaration: if you were to ask me in another moment, this list would resemble another beast...