What do Russell Simmons, Shepard Fairey, and Jay-Z, have in common, besides being some of the most respected influential people in the world? They felt the need to come together to represent their art for the sake of this book. The objective of the project is to showcase the art behind the lyrics of hip-hop in juxtaposition of similar themes in contemporary art, to encourage readers to consider the meaning and value behind these works and themes at large. It celebrates the long-standing relationship between the visual arts and hip-hop music, and is the result of a collaboration between two giants of the American music scene. Each chapter of the book will has a theme: for example, the chapter about New York, titled "Empire State of Mind" after Jay-Z's epic single, which peaked within the top ten in ten countries in 2009. Lyrics from the song are presented beside contemporary art inspired by New York, an exclusive commentary from Russell and Danny Simmons, and a contextualizing text from legendary writer and activist Nikki Giovanni, as well as other academics. This concept of presenting songs, art, and interviews alongside each other offers an incomparable insight into the influence that hip-hop has on contemporary culture, and the unrivaled significance that this subculture has risen to. This collaboration between so many big names in music, art, and academia is a unique project.

This book traces right back to the 1940s and even before (including some great single sleeves from the 1930s). It covers over seven decades of music packaging and features stories and the work of many key designers, photographers, and artists who made it all happen.

Like a well-made playlist, the album covers in this volume combine to create a portrait of cool and culture desired by art, music, and record lovers alike. Art Sleeves is a time capsule of visual art and music culture as shown through the most important record covers designed by visual artists and graphic designers in the past forty years. This tightly curated collection of covers chosen includes works with significant cultural impact as well as collaborations that themselves created cultural fascination. The eclectic roster of visual artist-musician collaborations presented spans art and musical genres as well as generations, including Ryan McGinley for Sigur Rós, Kara Walker for Arto Lindsay, Peter Saville for Joy Division, Barbara Kruger for Growing Up Skipper, Jeff Koons for Lady Gaga, Tauba Auerbach for Glasser, and Stanley Donwood for Radiohead, to name a few. From postmodernist paintings and minimalism to collage and photography, as well as New Wave, emo, pop, and punk, the albums chosen present a bright and rich visual and cultural history. This inspiring volume celebrates this long creative tradition of visual artist-musician collaborations and, just like a perfect album, it will be treasured by art, music, and record lovers alike.

Sexy, provocative, playful, beautiful: from their earliest days, LP covers have been objects of art and fascination. This celebration of album artistry presents more than 350 of the best covers, and departs from the usual approach by organizing the images by visual theme. Many of us remember the iconic album-cover images that defined our collective and individual histories—such as the smoldering pinup girl on the Cars’Candy-O, the plaintive baby following a dollar bill through water on Nirvana’sNevermind, and Andy Warhol’s controversial zippered pants on the Rolling Stones’Sticky Fingers. From perennial classics to lesser-known gems, here is the LP art that shook, rattled, and rolled us through music’s early formative years. The thematic chapters include: Art:Ornette Coleman,Empty Foxhole; The Sex Pistols,Never Mind the Bollocks; Santana,Abraxas Death:Otis Redding,History of Otis Redding; Frank Zappa,Hot Rats; Ice Cube,Kill At Will; Metallica,Master of Puppets Drugs:The Beatles,Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; The Monkees,Head; Thelonious Monk,Underground; Peter Tosh,Bush Doctor Ego:Frank Sinatra,No One Cares; Astrud Gilberto,Nothing Better To Do; Joni Mitchell,Clouds; LL Cool J,Mama Said Knock You Out; Bjork,Debut Escape:Johnny Cash,Orange Blossom Special; Bob Dylan,Freewheelin’; Peter Gabriel,1 (car) Identity:The Jackson 5,ABC; Pink Floyd,Dark Side of the Moon; Blondie,Parallel Lines Politics:Funkadelic,America Eats Its Young; Bruce Springsteen,Born in the USA Rock & Roll:Jerry Lee Lewis,Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano; Clash,London Calling Sex:The Ohio Players,Honey; Robert Palmer,Double Fun; Pulp,This Is Hardcore Real World:The Allman Brothers,Brothers & Sisters; Bob Marley,Catch A Fire; Lucinda Williams,Car Wheels on a Gravel Road

"Hipgnosis was the design firm of choice for the biggest and best bands of the classic rock era. Formed by Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell in 1968, Hipgnosis was a graphic design studio specializing in creative photography and working mainly in the music business designing album covers for many rock 'n' roll bands including Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, 10cc, Yes, Peter Gabriel, Black Sabbath, Paul McCartney, Syd Barrett and Styx, amongst others. For a dozen years Hipgnosis created timeless rock iconography. This is the first book to document their output in detail, focusing on over 60 package designs - from cover to label - written about in entertaining detail by the men who created them. Also included are short essays by musicians (such as Pink Floyd's Nick Mason), artists (Peter Blake) and fellow designers (Paula Scher) on their favorite covers, plus a contextual commentary by Adrian Shaughnessy, as well as unseen photographs and ephemera."--BOOK JACKET.

Art Pepper (1925-1982) was called the greatest alto saxophonist of the post-Charlie Parker generation. But his autobiography, Straight Life, is much more than a jazz book--it is one of the most explosive, yet one of the most lyrical, of all autobiographies. This edition is updated with an extensive afterword by Laurie Pepper covering Art Pepper's last years, and a complete and up-to-date discography by Todd Selbert.

Take a giddy guided tour through the greatest moments of 1950s and 1960s spage-age pop and exotica. From newly rediscovered musicians like Esquivel and Yma Sumac to lesser-knowns like Markko Polo Adventurers, this collection of bizarre and fascinating vintage musical ephemera with enthrall both the serious collector and the neo-Swinger weekend enthusiast. Exotiquarium supplies information about the artists (both musical and visual), the (mood) music they created, definitions of the odd instruments they used to create these strage and beautiful sounds (like the theremin), and much more. Complete with a foreward by Lenny Dee-Decca recording artist and "Organ Lounge Master"--Exotiquarium offers a vibrant portrait of this surreal time in American music history. A must-have for lounge lizards young and old.

The Art of Ethnography is a fully illustrated translation of a "Miao album" -- a Chinese genre originating in the eighteenth century that used prose, poetry, and detailed illustrations to represent minority ethnic groups living in frontier regions under imperial Chinese control. These bound collections of hand-painted illustrations and handwritten text reveal how imperial China viewed culturally "other" frontier populations. They also contain valuable information for anthropologists, geographers, and historians, and are coveted by art collectors for their beautiful imagery. "Miao" in this context refers not just to groups that called themselves Miao (Hmong) or were classified as such by the majority Han culture, but generally to the many minority peoples in China's southwest. This lovely volume reproduces each of the eighty-two illustrations from the original album and the corresponding Chinese calligraphic text, along with an annotated English translation. Each entry depicts a different ethnic group residing in Guizhou. The album is anonymous and dates from sometime after 1797. Laura Hostetler's Introduction discusses the genesis and evolution of the Miao album genre and the sociopolitical context in which the albums were first made, the ethnographic content of the texts, the composition of the illustrations, and the albums' authorship and production. She situates the albums within the context of early modern imperial expansion internationally by introducing comparative examples of Japanese and Ottoman ethnography. Color illustrations from other Miao albums and comparable works from other cultures give the reader a sense of the chromatic richness of Miao album illustrations and of their place in world ethnography.

Album covers are recognized as a testing ground for creative visual expression, inspired by and amplifying our enjoyment of the music itself. The book features the best graphics from cutting-edge covers around the world. It includes the work of leading graphic designers such as Non-Format, Trevor Jackson (Play Group), Rudy VanderLans, Alorenz, Fehler, and Designers Republic, as well as showcasing some of the most groundbreaking designs for small underground labels. In addition, the book includes the favorite album covers of key figures from the worlds of design and music.

The second book by the esteemed journal Wax Poetics is a vivid exploration of an element of music culture that has withered with the advent of MP3s and digital downloading. Records possess a visual as well as an aural capacity for storytelling. The record cover - eye candy for the music lover - speaks a language rooted in the environment and era of the music itself.