Things I Miss About The 20th Century, Album Covers

Things I miss about the 20th Century… album covers.  I’m talking the nice big twelve inch or so square pieces of art that were the graphic embodiment of the music contained inside.  Granted most album covers were utilitarian and just helped to identify the enclosed record from the hundreds of other records on the shelf.   But some covers had style and were actual art.  If we didn’t know the music, the album cover was a way to judge the contents.

The more interesting album cover art became a unique part of your music collection.  Now all we have are shrunken versions on CD  jewel cases that are a little less than five inches square.  They don’t really stand out… they’re more like drink coasters.  And those are disappearing with the transition to digital music files and not having any physical media at all.  The “cover art” is now practically a postage stamp on your iPod or iPhone.  You can’t really appreciate it or hang it up on the wall.

The album cover let you know what you were in for; since there weren’t 500 channels of cable television, no Internet, and boatloads of self-help books at the ready.  If you wanted comedy, music, or sex education– and weren’t willing to leave the house you put on an LP and hoped the needle was in good shape.

All of the covers seen here can be seen over at lpcoverlover.com, with thousands of others.