Separated at Birth
A record company art director, in a tall building, with a deadline rapidly approaching.
AD: "Okay, we need to get this J-Lo campaign out fast. Here's what we're going to do for the album cover. Let's put her in a clingy white outfit, with a hip hat, and sit her down in an all white room. Then we take some handwritten typeface and run it across her midrif, to give it a personal touch - because you know Miss Lopez doesn't want her fans to pay attention to the rocks she's got, but to the fact that she's still Jenny, Jenny from the block. She used to have a little, but now she's got a shit load of cash and Ben Affleck - but we can't turn off her fans! Got it? We have to keep it real. Here's a composite."
Intern: "But this looks like the new Shania Twain album."
AD: "Bah! She's country. Nobody will notice."
Comments
No fan of these people - but I think you're reaching. Fish in a barrel my friend. :)
Posted by: jca2112 at December 9, 2002 3:40 PM
You're so right. Its sick. But so true.
Posted by: noel at December 9, 2002 5:07 PM
The difference is you can't show that much skin on a Shania Twain album.
Posted by: Si at December 9, 2002 7:25 PM
Hollywood Template #456. The records are undoubtedly both ultra -watered -down interchangable pop-schlock that only get bought because radio stations get paid tons of loot to play this drivel all day. The real reason pop music is the worst is has ever been» see Salon's expose on Clear Channel
Posted by: peter at December 9, 2002 8:06 PM
The real horror for me was stumbling into Borders and seeing Shania wearing an artfully shredded Ramones shirt.
That hurt.
Posted by: douglas at December 10, 2002 6:04 AM
If they died tomorrow, would any of us care?
Posted by: grubi at December 10, 2002 8:52 AM
This is like a new version of the Kevin Bacon game. I'm connecting Shania to Christina based on white background, arms up AND bare middrift. (Or to REM and Peter Gabriel for album title).
Posted by: Boz at December 10, 2002 10:23 AM
It's about as likely that the "designers" of these album covers have ever had an original thought as Shania ever having heard a Ramones song.
I agree with grubi.
Posted by: jonathan at December 10, 2002 11:44 AM
Whoa, hold on there Jonathan. You think it's all "the designers" fault? That's not how things work. If you want to blame someone, blame the record execs, artists, producers, etc. that control/direct the marketing campaign (including the album cover).
Do you really think some lone designer submitted the aforementioned design(s) and it was simply rubber-stamped by everyone and immediately printed?
Every designer out there has a portfolio of countless comps of rejected "1st round" ideas that never see the light of day - far better than anything that gets printed/produced.
Posted by: jca2112 at December 10, 2002 2:27 PM
jca2112,
Point well taken.This is why I put the word in quotations though. I'm sure that, in this situation, there is little actual control that a designer has over the end product in the face of mindless record and marketing exec's et. al. I'm sure that the decision to "make it look more like so-and-so's cover" regardless of the quality or originality of a 1st round design doesn't come from a designer but from those above - those that think in the depressingly unoriginal manner that Todd is pointing out.
Posted by: jonathan at December 10, 2002 2:53 PM
Here's an interesting question.. if you HAD to pick one as a favourite, which would it be... Shania or J-LO
Posted by: Paul at December 11, 2002 6:39 AM
Does it really matter? They both sell albums like mad...and they're both sexy...to different audiences. Not a fan of either, but Shania....grrrrr baby!
Posted by: hartmurmur at December 15, 2002 6:25 PM
