Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[Peter Power Pop]

It had nothing to do with that particular recording; the whole series or at least one batch had these covers that screamed computer graphics, MODERN DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY at you, like the silvery "3D Classics". There was a Philips series with a comparably silly "Tech" cover and Decca Ovation had the most ugly pixelated graphics for some of their covers although these weren't even digital recordings!
Nevertheless, I have some fondness which is partly nostalgia because these were around shortly after I started buying CDs...

[asin]B00G2J0G8Y[/asin]

[asin]B008PXWON0[/asin]

[pictures appear at source after clicking on them, not sure why they are not shown in the post]

Try these direct links:





I'm very pleased to say that I have the Gershwin/Copland CD. Terrible cover, great performances.

[MusicTurner]

I think it's the text: three different fonts, one of which is sized differently each of the four times it's used.

Indeed, including a very jolly cartoon-like one.

[Madiel]

Indeed, including a very jolly cartoon-like one.

Had someone been reading Asterix books? It has that look.

[rhomboid]

When great music is in the grip of the mentally disturbed marketing executive ...

Splendid color scheme.

[MusicTurner]

A new release, also with confusing, attention-seeking lettering. Here it's very deliberate & seems to play on some Scandinavian coolness/'cøølness'. The soloist is partly Danish.

I somehow like the overall, nervous and unbalanced energy of the cover, though - suggesting more layers to Mozart, than just sweetness or toy music.

[Madiel]

A new release, also with confusing, attention-seeking lettering. Here it's very deliberate & seems to play on some Scandinavian coolness/'cøølness'. The soloist is partly Danish.

I somehow like the overall, nervous and unbalanced energy of the cover, though - suggesting more layers to Mozart, than just sweetness or toy music.

Also from the back cover it's evident that everything is in 3s as a gimmick.

Now that I know Danish, the slashed ø makes me wince.  It's a different letter, people!

[SimonNZ]

 not classical, but i was reminded of this recently:

[JBS]

Also from the back cover it's evident that everything is in 3s as a gimmick.

Now that I know Danish, the slashed ø makes me wince.  It's a different letter, people!

That's actually an "x" (as in the multiplication symbol) superimposed/underneath the "o".

So, Mozart times 3.

[Jo498]

Russian/Kyrillic (and maybe also Greek) is a long suffering victim of letter abuse.
The o in Mozart is crossed twice, so I suspect that it alludes both the the Scandinavian letter and to a checked checkbox. edit: Or as JBS says maby most to the multiplication symbol.

But it is a remarkably horrible cover, especially because most of these blunders seem quite intentional.

[Madiel]

That's actually an "x" (as in the multiplication symbol) superimposed/underneath the "o".

So, Mozart times 3.

Yes, you're probably right. But I'm also having flashbacks to a local apartment development, for example. It called itself "Køben", which actually is viable in Danish... but you can bet that 99% of the people who ever go near it will call it "Koben" and pronounce it that way. Even on the developer's website, you can see how initially they were very rigorous about using the slash until the update to say everything was sold, where suddenly the fancy Danish cool was dropped and it tells that all the apartments in "Koben" were sold.

I'm promising myself I'll get around to installing a Czech keyboard and stop talking about "Dvorak"...

[MusicTurner]

That's actually an "x" (as in the multiplication symbol) superimposed/underneath the "o".

So, Mozart times 3.

That's true, I thought one of the /s was a part of the dress (am using a mobile phone screen).

The 'Borgen' television series is sometimes referred to as 'Børgen' by foreigners, hence my association. The upcoming 'Jørd' plant drink (but with a Swedish ø) is another example of such Scandi-look international marketing, for example in the UK, via Sainsbury's.

[Jo498]

Also from the back cover it's evident that everything is in 3s as a gimmick.

This gimmick might be because the singer's last name means 30 (in German, spelled slightly differently with "ss" or another nonstandard letter that exists only in German "ß" and is a variant of s, technically a fusion of s and z but a voiceless "sharp" s in pronunciation)

[Madiel]

This gimmick might be because the singer's last name means 30 (in German, spelled slightly differently with "ss" or another nonstandard letter that exists only in German "ß" and is a variant of s, technically a fusion of s and z but a voiceless "sharp" s in pronunciation)

True, I hadn't made that connection (I've learned German). But if that's the origin of the gimmick... I hope she's not planning on making a habit of it.

[MusicTurner]

This is getting a little complicated - but it seems to be what they strived for ...   

[JBS]

Yes, you're probably right. But I'm also having flashbacks to a local apartment development, for example. It called itself "Køben", which actually is viable in Danish... but you can bet that 99% of the people who ever go near it will call it "Koben" and pronounce it that way. Even on the developer's website, you can see how initially they were very rigorous about using the slash until the update to say everything was sold, where suddenly the fancy Danish cool was dropped and it tells that all the apartments in "Koben" were sold.

I'm promising myself I'll get around to installing a Czech keyboard and stop talking about "Dvorak"...

That's true, I thought one of the /s was a part of the dress (am using a mobile phone screen).

The 'Borgen' television series is sometimes referred to as 'Børgen' by foreigners, hence my association. The upcoming 'Jørd' plant drink (but with a Swedish ø) is another example of such Scandi-look international marketing, for example in the UK, via Sainsbury's.

A shoe brand my company sells is
BØRN FOOTWEAR
Their logo includes a crown inside that ø.
They're based in California.

Ironically, the based-in-Denmark brand we carry, Ecco, uses o, not ø.

ETA
What, by the way, is the proper pronunciation and name for ø?

[MusicTurner]

That's a bit interesting, since 'børn' actually means 'children' in Danish, which is somewhat different from the English 'born'.

Am having difficulties quickly finding an English word with an 'ø' sound. Madiel probably knows ... but maybe-maybe a bit like 'u' in 'burn'.

[JBS]

That's a bit interesting, since 'børn' actually means 'children' in Danish, which is somewhat different from the English 'born'.

Am having difficulties quickly finding an English word with an 'ø' sound. Madiel probably knows ... but maybe-maybe a bit like 'u' in 'burn'.

Thanks.
Scots has the word "bairn" meaning child. I would presume a Scandinavian (probably Norse) loanword is its origin.

ETA: per Wikipedia, it a pure cognate, not a loanword

Bairn is a Northern English, Scottish English and Scots term for a child.[1] It originated in Old English as "bearn", becoming restricted to Scotland and the North of England c. 1700.[2]


The word was included in the English Dialect Dictionary with variant spellings barn, bayn, bayne that reflect varying pronunciations.[3]

Compare with the Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Danish word for child "barn" or the West-Frisian "bern". Also the Latvian "bērns".

I note Wikipedia uses a instead of ø.

[Madiel]

That's a bit interesting, since 'børn' actually means 'children' in Danish, which is somewhat different from the English 'born'.

Am having difficulties quickly finding an English word with an 'ø' sound. Madiel probably knows ... but maybe-maybe a bit like 'u' in 'burn'.

Yes that's close enough. It's the equivalent of German ö. Swedish uses ö as well, but if there's one thing I've come to realise it's that the Danish language is very keen to be non-German.

English accents vary a lot, never mind my Danish one, but I would pronounce "børn" in Danish and "burn" in English reasonably close to each other.

[Madiel]

Thanks.
Scots has the word "bairn" meaning child. I would presume a Scandinavian (probably Norse) loanword is its origin.

ETA: per Wikipedia, it a pure cognate, not a loanword

I note Wikipedia uses a instead of ø.

"barn" is child. "børn" is the plural children.

[JBS]

Thanks.
So perhaps in Danish-language texts, we would read about Arnold Schønberg?