Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for March, 2022

Posted March 1, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com (updated 3/4/22)

After nearly forgetting that February is a short month and that I had 3-4 fewer days to prep this monthly summary, something sparked inside my head and I realized that I had to get things together, so what you’re reading today comes as the result of a couple of self-inflicted bonks to the sides of my head. As a result, I’m hoping that everything is in order and makes sense since, after reviewing all of the materials I’d gathered, there seems to be a lot going on world-wide that should be of interest to fans of album cover art and the people that make it, so get ready for a fairly-lengthy summary article.

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

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

Posted November 1, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Entering into the second month of the Fall season, on our way to Winter, we know that we can rely on several things that take place on an annual basis to soon be upon us. The first is the launch of the Holiday shopping season, made a bit more interesting this year by the fact that there might be shortages of many popular items given as gifts (clothing, electronics, toilet paper,etc.), so it’ll be a test of our imaginations and research abilities to track down and secure some of the things we want or want to give (although I’m sure that most of our favorite galleries will have plenty of collectibles on hand that should fill the bill). The second (at least here in the U.S.) is the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, which serves as the first of many family feasts and get-togethers. With COVID still looming, it’ll be a challenge to get everyone together safely but, in many areas, things are beginning to look up and, with any luck, many of us will be able to celebrate in-person.

Last but not least-important will be the announcement – just before Thanksgiving – of this year’s class of inductees into the Album Cover Hall of Fame. The lists of qualified candidates this year is an impressive one, so I can’t wait to tally up the votes and share the exciting news with you later this month. We’re cutting down the number of inductees in each category this year so that each inductee’s inclusion is even more special and valuable, so be on the lookout for the special announcement in just a few weeks.

The efforts of the people responsible for packaging your favorite music products continues to impress with their results, so this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary includes a number of great examples of album cover artist/art news – the kind of updates you’ve come to expect in these monthly summaries.  Let’s begin our dive into this month’s summary of these articles, posts and announcements I’ve gathered recently regarding all things regarding album cover artists and the art they produce. Their work – and our interest in and excitement about their work – continues unabated:

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

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

Posted October 1, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Now that Summer has ended and we’ve “officially” entered the Fall (or is it Autumn?) season, we can all celebrate the harvest, the changing colors of Fall foliage and the fact that the nominations and voting for this year’s class of inductees will begin in earnest during the month. More bios have been added to the site in preparation for this effort, so this prep works serves two good purposes (voting prep and more content on the site) at the same time.

While my work continues unabated, so do the efforts of the people responsible for packaging your favorite music products and so, to that end, this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary is packed with more of the high-quality bits of album cover artist/art news and updates you’ve come to expect in these monthly summaries.  Read on to see this month’s summary of these articles, posts and announcements I’ve gathered recently regarding all things regarding album cover artists and the art they produce. Their work – and our interest in and excitement about their work – endures and so, without further delay, let’s dive into this month’s summary.

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

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

Posted September 1, 2021 (and updated September 6th) by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

As we approach the Labor Day weekend and the “official” end of the Summer season (our hottest on record, and I have the A/C bills to prove it!), I’m working hard on improving my overall attitude towards life these days by throwing myself into prepping for this year’s ACHOF voting efforts – adding/updating artist bios and looking around the planet for new examples of great work. After watching all six episodes of the ICON music photography series on PBS, it also brought to my attention that there are several gaping holes in this site’s bio section that must be filled immediately if I want this year’s nominating process to reflect who is left of the “best of the best” that might be nominated for inclusion in this year’s class of inductees, so I’ve put a few research projects on “hold” until this bone-headed oversight on my part can be corrected.

With that said, this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary is still rather chock-full includes the album cover artist/art news and updates you’ve come to expect in these monthly summaries.  What follows below is a summary of these articles, posts and announcements I’ve gathered recently regarding all things regarding album cover artists and the art they produce. Their work continues and so should our interest and excitement about that work and so, without further delay, let’s dive into this month’s summary.

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

Posted July 1, 2021 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Early Summer greetings to you all from Chicagoland – where it’s not 115 degrees in the shade, thank goodness – and welcome to this month’s edition of the ACHOF News Update and Summary. As we approach the Independence Day weekend break, where many of us will be experiencing our first in-person get-togethers in over a year (us with a pre-cleared group, just to be safe), I thought that I’d cobble together a quick-and-to-the-point monthly news summary for you all to read in case you get a moment or two to yourselves and want to escape a bit into the fantasy world that surrounds the lives and work of our favorite album cover artists.

I know that I’ve been promising the imminent publication of my article on box sets and limited-edition packages and my interview with Dave and Frank from Sony Music, so while I’m late with those, I can report that I’ve finished the transcription and should have the interview up for your review very soon. In prepping that interview, I also found an interview that I’d never published with the talented team (also from Sony) who had put together the Grammy-winning package for Weird Al Yankovic a couple of years back, so I’ll be able to reward you for your patience with some nice bonus content as well.

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 Art And Artist News Summary For The Month Of September, 2016

ALBUM COVER HALL OF FAME’S ALBUM COVER ART AND ARTIST NEWS RECAP FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2016

It’s the beginning of October, 2016, with the Fall season in full force here in Chicago – leaves changing colors, the humidity taking a back seat to crisp evening temps and, for those of us new (again) to the area, the famously-frigid Winter weather looming in front of us, with only the thoughts of a hot deep-dish pizza making the prospects tolerable. If you’re either a hearty soul or someone living in warmer climes, I hope that all you’re thinking about right now is a) “how will I survive this Election season?” (don’t forget to VOTE!) and b) “what the heck is going on in the album art/artist world these day, to which I’d like to propose that you now spend a few minutes catching up on your album cover art/artist-related news which, as you all know by now, you’ll find summarized in both my weekly and monthly recaps.

Featured Album Cover Artist Portfolio – Kirk Weddle

Featured Album Cover Artist Portfolio – Kirk Weddle

A few years back, I had the pleasure of interviewing British fashion photographer Vic Singh about the circumstances behind a series of photographs he’d taken of the not-quite-yet-heralded – actually, at that point, unsigned – rock band Pink Floyd in 1967, one of which would end up gracing the cover of their first record album. He’d met the band at a London “happening” and was asked to come up with a photo of the young hipster musicians that would help introduce them and their psychedelic musical stylings to music fans in the U.K.  After the cover for Piper At The Gates Of Dawn came out, Vic’s reputation as someone with a keen eye for period fashion and culture was cemented, allowing him to expand his portfolio of entertainment-industry portraiture and branch out into film and early music video production (including a short film for The Beatles song ‘A Day in the Life’ – from Sgt.Pepper – for Apple Records). It serves as a great example of how one assignment – the “right” assignment – can open the doors to a long career in the arts assuming, of course, that you have the talent and determination to keep it moving forward.

Photographer Kirk Weddle‘s best-known work is the “floating naked baby” cover photo he shot in 1993 for Nirvana’s  Nevermind album and, as fans of album cover art now know well, the cover image has been praised, dissected, spoofed and featured in many a discussion about “iconic album cover imagery”. The voters for the Album Cover Hall of Fame understood the photo’s importance and, this past year, inducted Weddle into the ACHOF with an “Individual Achievement Award” for his Nevermind work. Rather than revisit what’s already been discussed at great lengths, I thought that it’d be a great opportunity to give readers/fans a bit more background on this Austin, TX – based photographer and show you a bit more of his portfolio which, as you’ll see, shows great craftsmanship in portrait photography for clients in the advertising, corporate design and publishing worlds and, of course, some additional examples of his underwater photography specialty.