ACHOF Breaking News Update for February 12, 2021

 

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s Breaking News Update for Valentine’s Day weekend, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 2/12/2021 by Mike Goldstein, Album Cover Hall of Fame.com

My gift to you – a special mid-month Valentine’s Day weekend update – some things just can’t wait! Here are some timely examples that represent my efforts to show my readers just how much their happiness means to me:

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for February 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for February, 2021

Posted January 29, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

This past month, I think we’ll all agree, was one that made all the world stop and wonder what the future might hold for us in so many aspects of our lives. Will democracy survive? Will justice be served? When will I be able to get a shot of the vaccine? Why won’t some of my neighbors – for their benefit and mine – wear a f#%king mask? With so many important questions to consider, it makes me wonder why it is that I remain committed to delivering a steady stream of news about what’s happening in the world of album cover art, design and photography…Perhaps its merely a way to distract both myself and my readers from spending 100% of our time wondering whether sane and qualified people will quickly step up to deliver us all from the clutches of this now-year-old pandemic or, maybe more so, simply my way of pointing out that, with the proper attention and resources paid, the arts – and the people involved in them – can do wonders to keep us all sane and paying attention to what’s important beyond what’s being delivered to us – at 130db and in bright red 50-point type – via the many places we source our news and entertainment.

ACHOF Breaking News Update for January 22, 2021

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

With most of us finding ourselves stuck indoors while we fight off the pandemic we’re all suffering under, I found a couple of things that might occupy some of your time and one time-sensitive print sale that you might want to look at if print-giving is something you’d like to do this coming Valentine’s Day:

ACHOF Interview with Stephen Paley on Sly Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On

Interview with designer/photographer Stephen Paley about his work on the album cover for Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s A Riot Goin’ On

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted 1/15/2021 by Mike Goldstein, Album Cover Hall of Fame.com

Sly and the Family Stone’s follow-up to their hit record Stand debuted at the top of both the Pop and Soul album charts when it was released on Epic Records in November, 1971, and its lead single (“Family Affair”) soon took the crown on the Pop singles charts as well. It’s title is intended as a detailed response to a question Marvin Gaye had posed (i.e., “What’s Going On?”), with the record’s ominous (but funky) mood and red, white and black flag cover (with suns substituting for stars, and with no identifying text) both standing to illustrate Sly’s mood at that point in his (and the nation’s) life. As Stone cleverly put it – “there are too many stars already in this world”.

Album Cover Hall of Fame Breaking News Update for December 16, 2020

ACHOF Breaking News update 12/16/2020,
by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Here are several timely bits of info that just couldn’t wait until the next monthly update:

a) December 16^th of this year marks the 250^th anniversary of the birth of classical composer Ludwig von Beethoven in Bonn, Germany and, as I just read in a brief story posted by Juxtapoz Magazine on the topic (https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/collectibles/1xrun-celebrates-beethoven-s-250th-birthday-with-print-set-by-john-van-hamersveld/), another genius in his own right – designer John Van Hamersveld – has teamed up with the Detroit, Michigan-based specialty art publisher 1XRUN to release a set of very limited-edition art prints featuring JVH’s well-known depiction of LVB. Originally one of two works John created of important classical composers (the other being Mozart), the image was used as the basis of several prints and posters he’s released over the years, including one he did for the New West Symphony’s 2006 “Masterpieces” concerts.

Announcing the 2020 Inductees into the Album Cover Hall of Fame

Announcing the 2020 Inductees into the Album Cover Hall of Fame

November 20th, 2020

Here’s the latest class of honorees in the 6 major categories as voted on by a world-wide panel of music, art and marketing experts in the area of album cover art & packaging. This list represents the “who’s who” of creative and production talent, including many recognized names of craftspeople working in the worlds of fine art, graphic design and photography.

ACHOF Interview with artist Faheem Majeed

October, 2020, by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

My regular readers know that, when I find articles online titled “My 10 Favorite Album Covers” and share them with you, my typical comments are how I find these screeds rather boring and, typically, just click-bait and a general waste of time. Imagine my surprise when, on the Muse By Clio web site, I discovered one written by a prominent Chicago-based artist named Faheem Majeed – someone who had spent a number of years earlier in his career as the Director and Curator of the esteemed South Side Community Art Center. With credentials like that, I was not at all surprised to find this particular article both informative and a well-written and an interesting read overall, and in my July/August ACHOF news summary, I shared a link to that article.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Summary for October, 2020

 

 

 

 

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Summary – October, 2020

 

Posted October 1st, 2020 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Well, while I can’t say that I know how you’re all feeling these days, I’m quite certain that some of you are in the same shape I’m in – mentally exhausted, greatly disappointed by the greed, hate and hypocrisy put on display by many of our leaders (and the people that support them) and, frankly, wondering what our short-and-long-term futures might be. Try as I might to distract myself from the daily news cycle (and, how about that first Presidential debate?), it’s nearly impossible to avoid learning about the biggest stories (R.I.P. RBG) and then trying to keep myself focused on providing my readers the information they’ve (i.e., you’ve) come to rely on me for, so I must apologize for the somewhat-truncated list of things to read and enjoy that I’m presenting you today. I will reward you a bit later (either late this week or early next) with my long-promised interview with talented artist Faheem Majeed and, with any luck, I’m also going to launch the nominating/voting process for this year’s class of nominees and inductees (our 9^th!) into the Album Cover Hall of Fame. My attention span seems just sufficient enough to have been able to gather basic info on nearly 100 more possible nominees, so the voting panel will have a heaping helping of new names to consider in this year’s effort.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Summary Bonus Update for September 2, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

ACHOF BONUS NEWS CONTENT –
UPDATED September 2, 2020

By Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Just as I was hitting the “publish” button on my site – the one that sent my September 1 update out into the EtherWebs – several new alerts arrived that were timely enough that I thought it important to share them with you (as if I didn’t give you enough to read and ponder on Tuesday!). So, here ya go:

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Summary for September, 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Summary – September, 2020

Posted September 1st, 2020 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

We’re entering the final stages of Summer 2020 – a summer unlike any I can remember – and now that we’ve heard the arguments from both sides regarding either the re-election of the current administration or its replacement with a new one, I know that the next couple of months will be full of messaging, news and theater but, while you might think that there’d be little news coming from the world of album cover artists and their art, in fact, there’s been a lot to look at, read and learn about. Visual artists have always played an important part in politics and have made some quite-memorable statements about society with their works (think of album covers released over the past 5-6 decades from musical acts such as Pink Floyd, Rage Against The Machine, The Roots and many, many others), so you won’t be surprised to find examples of such work included amongst the articles included this month’s news summary.