Friday, June 02, 2006

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...

2 comments:

M? said...

I wish I had me a copy of YAI's Dress Me Slowly like yours, though Timmy & the boys look nice on the one I've got too!

hehehe... Great list and love the Nick Hornby quote!

All the best for the trip! :)

kaluds said...

aah, this is a top list. and gosh i'd love to see the "real life" version of your Dress Me Slowly cd some day .... kudos to cammers too for going that extra mile during her burning escapades.