Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for April, 2024

Posted April 1, 2024 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

I’m always a bit concerned about publishing a newsletter on April Fool’s Day, as I want folks to feel confident that the news items you’ll read in all of my summaries are in fact real and not something I’ve put up in some mischievous fashion, as is customary in many press outlets around the world on this day (or, in some media outlets, almost every day). While I’m certain that many creative types do in fact use their imaginations and talents to prank their friends and co-workers – I’m of the mind that some of the art exhibitions I’ve seen over the years are, in fact, nothing but elaborate pranks on an unsuspecting public – I haven’t come across any that I can share with you, but if you’re aware of any examples, I would ask you to send them my way so I can feature them at some point in the future. I won’t go completely out on a limb to say that the BBC’s famous “Spaghetti Tree” hoax in the late 1950s or Pornhub’s 2016 one-day switch to “Cornhub”, displaying suggestive videos of corn cobs instead of their regular fare that day, are two examples of “the best” of the category, but I’d like to think it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for the folks who brought us records with zippers, in film cans and/or wrapped in sandpaper to give us something to stare-and/or-laugh at from time to time (props to the many people who’ve done that very thing unintentionally, as we’ve seen in the recent book/touring show The Art of the Bizarre Vinyl Sleeve).  

With that all being said, let’s begin this month’s summary of all that’s good and interesting in the world of album cover artists and art.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for March, 2024

Posted March 1, 2024 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

In the 60s one day, then snowing overnight, then in the 30s and then back to the upper 60s. That’s how the weather in my part of the world is fluctuating, making it nearly impossible to concentrate on my research and writing when I’m just waiting for the chance to take the cover off of my scooter and ride to the beach (a habit started while living in Southern California, where this is possible much of the year). I’ve done my best, but if you detect gaps in the coverage, I hope you’ll forgive me, now that you understand why. Readers of this newsletter live all over the world, in many different climates, with seasons that differ 180-degrees from where I live, but since it’s best to listen to your vinyl collections sitting comfortably in your living rooms, I’m comforted by the thoughts of you all safe and warm indoors and enjoying the experience as best you can, regardless of the conditions outside.

On that note, let’s start this month’s summary, which I’ve had two days less to prepare, but don’t think for a moment that there’s been less going on in the world of album cover art and the people that make it. I’ve started this month’s missive by sharing some updated news on some of the recent award shows that have either taken place – the Grammy Awards having been announced in early February – or, in the case of the Juno Awards in Canada and the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards, both set for a little later on this year, and then continued on with an overview of the categories featured in our regular updates – album art/artist-related exhibitions, interviews, sales/auctions and other interesting miscellaneous items. To round it all off, in this month’s Lastly But Not Leastly item, I’ll share a brief paragraph on a related topic that I found quite interesting and, therefore, was motivated to share with you all. Let us now join arms and begin our trek through this month’s news.

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for July, 2023

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s Latest News Update and Link Summary, posted July 1, 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

The Summer season is now upon us and, if you’re like me, you’re looking for something interesting to do to occupy your free time. If you’re also like me in that you sit in a stupor while trying to figure out just what you really want to take the time to do from the seemingly-limitless list of possibilities – walk into town for a coffee, take a trip to the grocery store, catch the train for a trip into the city, tend to the herb garden, make a spreadsheet of all of the concert tix you’ve saved since the mid-1970s, etc. – maybe it’d simply make more sense to spend a little time reading through your favorite monthly newsletter to see what your favorite album cover artists might be doing to make the world a bit more interesting and beautiful…that’s it!

I’ve done almost nothing in my efforts to launch a newer, cleaner album cover artist-focused web site, as that would take time away from my research and writing (and the aforementioned leisure-time activities), but I have made some headway in adding more bios to the site, so it’s not been a total under-application of my resources (and, I got to see the new Van Gogh exhibit at the Art Institute ON THE SAME DAY that I attended the annual Chicago Blues Fest – see photos, below).

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for April, 2023

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for April, 2023

Posted April 1 (yes, really), 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

Is it March or April that goes in like a lion…? In any case, I am beginning to see daffodils outside my window, so I’m in a pretty decent mood. How about you?

Before we dive into this month’s newsletter’s details, let me pontificate for a minute or two…

Every other morning, I ride an exercise bike for 48 minutes (45 minute program plus a 3-minute “cool down”) and, as a habit, listen to either podcasts or music (or both, time permitting) to distract me from the general pain/shortness of breath that I experience being an old man trying to stay ahead of my genetics. One of the shows I listen to fairly regularly is Alec Baldwin’s “Here’s The Thing”, as he often has  guests talking about subjects related to art and journalism and, in late March, he hosted two investigative journalists and writers – Chris Jones and Michael Mooney – who were there to talk about a book they’d written about the team of Siegfried and Roy, whose careers as magicians/entertainers came to a dramatic end after Roy was mauled by one of the white tigers featured in their act.

Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for March, 2023

Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for March, 2023

Posted March 1, 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

February might be a bit shorter than other months, but that doesn’t mean that we album art/artist fans were short-changed in the news department. Starting off with the Grammy Awards and continuing with new exhibitions, art and book releases and a lot of ancillary items, there’s plenty for us fans of album cover art/artistry to dig into, so let’s cut the chit-chat and take a look at what I’ve put together for you.

Preliminary judging has begun on the entries vying for another noted industry award – the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards – and, as one of the judges on the panel tasked to review the hundreds of submissions received, I’m curious and eager to see what always turns out to me a fascinating cross-section of examples of album covers/packages coming in from all over the world.

This month’s newsletter contains a human-curated (as opposed to an AI-generated – we’re old school here at the ACHOF) summary of the news in all of the main topic areas, with updates and info about several new museum and gallery exhibitions, new auctions and sales and a goodly number of art and artist-related articles. As always, I’d like to once again say “thanks” for your help and support, so  let’s get started with some updates on the award shows recently ended and currently in progress:

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

Posted April 1, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

It’s been a busy month of March here in the sprawling ACHOF editorial offices, with your editorial team (me, myself and Mike G.) working hard to deliver the best and most up-to-date info and research/writing available on the subject of album cover artists and their work. I’m happy to report that Part 2 of the 2-part series on box sets/limited-edition packages has been posted – https://albumcoverhalloffame.wordpress.com/2022/03/27/achof-resources-box-sets-and-special-limited-edition-packages-an-overview-contd/ – and so now you can spend even more time boning up on the latest information, presented along with the opinions and experiences expressed by some of the best-equipped people in the business to offer these priceless items.

Album Cover Hall of Fame Breaking News for March 15, 2022 – Award Show Update

The winners of the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards have been announced, and they are…

Posted March 15, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com

After a several-month-long organizing, reviewing and voting process, the folks behind the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards have just announced the winners of the most-recent competition and, as both a participant in the process and as a fan of great work in the field of record packaging, I have to say that this year’s list (in the 15 categories represented) is an impressive and inspirational one. What’s all the more enjoyable to see is that musical acts and record labels both large and small have been included in the ”Best X” selections and that art producers both famed and up-and-coming will have their works admired by fans all over the world.

I’m going to highlight just a few of the winners here and then invite you all to click on over to a page on the Making Vinyl Packaging Awards site where you’ll find the complete list and all of the details on the winning designs – https://pro.evalato.com/3875/submissions?round_id=5257