Worst looking CD/LP artwork

[SimonNZ]

Haha! All right, then:

I'm after a cover for Ives' String Quartet No.2 "Manly Men" (see composers notes) which features that title prominently and shows manly men going about the business of being manly.

Possibly using images of 70s-era male models with porn 'staches splashing on Brut 33, possibly something like modern cowboy six-pack romance pulp covers (homoerotic subtext desirable but not essential). Or any other display of manliness that you see fit. I guess there should also be the incongruous suggestion that these guys are also the musicians playing the Ives.

No rush, "should you choose to accept it...".

[Peter Power Pop]

Haha! All right, then:

I'm after a cover for Ives' String Quartet No.2 "Manly Men" (see composers notes) which features that title prominently and shows manly men going about the business of being manly.

Possibly using images of 70s-era male models with porn 'staches splashing on Brut 33, possibly something like modern cowboy six-pack romance pulp covers (homoerotic subtext desirable but not essential). Or any other display of manliness that you see fit. I guess there should also be the incongruous suggestion that these guys are also the musicians playing the Ives.

No rush, "should you choose to accept it...".

Challenge accepted.

I can think of a few (possibly unsettling) things already.

There's a blog I used to visit that specialised in scans of ads from the '70s. I can't remember the name of it, so I'll go a-lookin'.

Having a quick search for "ads from the 1970s", I came across this: http://www.boredpanda.com/1970s-mens-fashion-ads/. But I don't think it's manly enough. There's a lot of men's fashion, but not a lot of men doing manly things.

I'll keep looking.

In the meantime, here's a photo of Fabio to tide you over*. He's not doing anything, he's just being Fabio. Sometimes, simply being Fabio is enough:



(*Yes, that Fabio-photo-related-pun was deliberate.)

[Peter Power Pop]

Simon NZ:

It's not quite what you were looking for, but I thought I'd warm up with this...

[Peter Power Pop]

[snip]

I'm after a cover for Ives' String Quartet No.2 "Manly Men" (see composers notes) which features that title prominently and shows manly men going about the business of being manly.

[snip]

What do you mean by "see composers notes"? Liner notes in a CD? A specific biography of Charles Ives where manliness is quoted?

I must admit that the only quote I know of Charles Ives was when he was at a concert where his music was getting booed. Apparently, he stood up and shouted, "Take your dissonances like a man!"

[SimonNZ]

What do you mean by "see composers notes"? Liner notes in a CD? A specific biography of Charles Ives where manliness is quoted?

I must admit that the only quote I know of Charles Ives was when he was at a concert where his music was getting booed. Apparently, he stood up and shouted, "Take your dissonances like a man!"

I'll try and find something more extensive, but start with this:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Ives/WK_String_Quartet_2.htm

[Peter Power Pop]

I'll try and find something more extensive, but start with this:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/Ives/WK_String_Quartet_2.htm

Now I know exactly where you're coming from:

Ives wrote the following words below the title of the score:

"S[tring] Q[uartet] for 4 men..."

[kishnevi]

Observe how prominently the composer's name is featured on the original cover image.

[Dax]

I must admit that the only quote I know of Charles Ives was when he was at a concert where his music was getting booed. Apparently, he stood up and shouted, "Take your dissonances like a man!"

That was supposed to have been in response to someone heckling Ruggles's Suntreader, not one of Charlie's pieces. The story is almost certainly untrue!

[Peter Power Pop]

That was supposed to have been in response to someone heckling Ruggles's Suntreader, not one of Charlie's pieces. The story is almost certainly untrue!

Aw. I want it to be true.

[Peter Power Pop]

Observe how prominently the composer's name is featured on the original cover image.

Golly.

I think that answers the question, "Who's the most important person on this recording?"

[Peter Power Pop]

Observe how prominently the composer's name is featured on the original cover image.

I went looking for the original cover, and found the Angel reissue. It might qualify for this thread:



I prefer it to the KARAJAN FIDELIO Beethoven cover. I don't* like it much, but I prefer it.

(*I must admit that the more I look at the Angel cover, the more I like it. It's austere.)

[Peter Power Pop]

What a mess:



[https://www.discogs.com/Various-A-Treasury-Of-Concert-Favourites/release/5613788]

[Madiel]

It's not really necessary to make Beethoven's name prominent on a recording of Fidelio. Anyone who knows what "Fidelio" is most probably knows who composed it. It's not as if anyone is going to be fooled and say "Beethoven's Fidelio? Damn, I was after Strauss' Fidelio."

[Peter Power Pop]

It's not really necessary to make Beethoven's name prominent on a recording of Fidelio. Anyone who knows what "Fidelio" is most probably knows who composed it. It's not as if anyone is going to be fooled and say "Beethoven's Fidelio? Damn, I was after Strauss' Fidelio."

No, but having the name of the conductor larger than the composer's name on the cover sends a clear message as to who the record company thinks is more important.

I agree with you about the lack of need for Beethoven's name to even appear on the cover (there is only one Fidelio isn't there?), so I wouldn't be bothered if the record company didn't even put ol' Ludwig's name on the cover.

[kishnevi]

No, but having the name of the conductor larger than the composer's name on the cover sends a clear message as to who the record company thinks is more important.

I agree with you about the lack of need for Beethoven's name to even appear on the cover (there is only one Fidelio isn't there?), so I wouldn't be bothered if the record company didn't even put ol' Ludwig's name on the cover.

Actually, Beethoven's name is set in type that is smaller than everyone else except the chorus.

[Pat B]

(*I must admit that the more I look at the Angel cover, the more I like it. It's austere.)

I like it a lot! Austere, yes, but also evocative.

[André]

No, but having the name of the conductor larger than the composer's name on the cover sends a clear message as to who the record company thinks is more important.

I agree with you about the lack of need for Beethoven's name to even appear on the cover (there is only one Fidelio isn't there?), so I wouldn't be bothered if the record company didn't even put ol' Ludwig's name on the cover.

Like an afterthought, right ? The same reasoning could go for Tosca or Carmen. Why bother mentioning Puccini or Bizet after all ? 

[Peter Power Pop]

No, but having the name of the conductor larger than the composer's name on the cover sends a clear message as to who the record company thinks is more important.

I agree with you about the lack of need for Beethoven's name to even appear on the cover (there is only one Fidelio isn't there?), so I wouldn't be bothered if the record company didn't even put ol' Ludwig's name on the cover.

Like an afterthought, right ? The same reasoning could go for Tosca or Carmen. Why bother mentioning Puccini or Bizet after all ? 

I reckon for people "in the know", all that's needed is the name of the opera and the name of the conductor. They fill in the rest, as they have all the relevant information in their brains.

("Ah, the Knappertsbusch Flegelmüral. I know it well. That was recorded on February 31, 1922, on a warm winter's day in the Appalachian townhouse of wealthy French patron Bjorn Gonzalez III. The performance was recorded in front of three cats. Did you know it was also the first experimental quadraphonic recording? Of course you didn't. I knew that. The recording company abandoned the trial once they had discovered I was peering in through the window. I also know what all the soloists were wearing on that day. I naturally know these things because of my vast superiority in these matters...")

[kishnevi]

Not content with abusing the Cyrillic and Armenian alphabets, they also torture the Greek alphabet for no discernible reason.


And the conductor is...Loris Tjeknivorian?  How is that supposed to be legible?

[Peter Power Pop]

Not content with abusing the Cyrillic and Armenian alphabets, they also torture the Greek alphabet for no discernible reason.


And the conductor is...Loris Tjeknivorian?  How is that supposed to be legible?

Egad!*

That text is all sorts of bad.

I'm with you, Big J, about the pointlessness of the Greek lettering. Why all those sigmas? What's going on thƩrƩ? Why bothƩr?

I'm also with you, The Jeffster, about the "Ode In Memory Of Lenin" text. I think it looks dreadful.

And why have the "a"s in "Fantasy" without their horizontal lines? Is it meant to look Russian? Is it Russian? (I don't know the Russian alphabet.)

Oh, and the weird "A" that starts "Armenian". What is that?


(*Sorry about the swearing.)


PS: I just noticed the lowercase "a" in the orchestra's name. Why?

PPS: And the lowercase "r" in the conductor's name. Grrr.