Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Album Cover/Vinyl Record Lovers in your Life
As compiled by Mike Goldstein, Writer/Editor, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
Updated November 17, 2023
As I’m sure you all know, getting just the right gift for your loved ones at Holiday time can be such a puzzle – what with all of the advertising that bombards you from every direction and “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” sales that this year seemed to have started sometime in mid-late Summer – that you’re left with little time and inclination to search for just the right thing when all you want to do is “get this over with”…
We’re only a month or so away from the Holiday gift-giving season and, since you know that the ACHOF site is not ad-supported, I’m hoping that you’ll agree that the approach I take to sharing info about what you might consider buying as gifts for your album cover art-loving friends is a bit different than most sites (who tend to be promoting things they’ve been strongly-motivated to show you with the ad/promo money they receive) in that I simply let you know what it is that’s caught my eye as both a collector and someone who likes the idea that there are a number of ways to bring album art-based items into our lives.
Posted onOctober 1, 2023|Comments Off on Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for October, 2023
Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for October, 2023
Posted October 1, 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
Summer’s gone and its time to start thinking about a) what to do during the day now that kids are back in school (I personally don’t worry about this but suspect that some of you do) b) Holiday season prep and c) what we’re going to do to keep ourselves warm until Spring. With all of those priorities, how in the world should I expect you to pay close attention to what’s going on in the world of album covers, packages and the people that make them for us? I’d surmise that it’s nearly impossible unless, of course, you have a friend – someone like me – who’ll spend countless hours of his own time getting all of the details together for you, which I’ve done again in this month’s summary.
You’re happy, I’m happy.
Seems like there’s a lot to look at and learn about, so let’s get going…in just one second…
I do want to let you know that there are not one but two extended items that include discussions I had with two experts – one, a true fan of anything/everything The Beatles, who had caught an error (unintentional, but still there) in a previous article and wanted to set the record straight and the other, a renowned designer from outside the music business who created some truly impressive images of furniture sporting design influences from album cover imagery using the latest AI tools.
Posted onJuly 1, 2023|Comments Off on 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 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 January, 2023
Posted New Year’s Day, January 1, 2023 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
Greetings to you all, and a Happy New Year 2023 to you and yours!
Hope that you all enjoyed your Holidays and have much to look forward to this upcoming year. While we were all involved with our celebratory efforts, efforts continued on several fronts to help determine everyone’s favorite album cover/packaging work of the past 12 months, with voting taking place in several name-brand competitions. The results of those contests will be released in ceremonies taking place in January and February and you can be sure that they’ll be highlighted here on the ACHOF site.
2023 will also be one of change here on the ACHOF site. As you know, for the past 10+ years, we’ve involved both our readers and our anonymous panel of experts in our own nominating/voting efforts in order to select people – i.e., the designers, photographers, art directors, etc. working in the music business and creating retail album packaging – for special honors, and while those efforts have produced lists of artists who’ve all built impressive portfolios of work in their respective areas, it has been an effort that – at least to me, this site’s principal – has distracted me from the main focus of the site, that being to give my readers in-depth interviews, information and ongoing coverage of the output of these talented individuals and design teams. With that said, I am announcing that, going forward, I’ll be working on creating a new site where the general, artist-specific info (bios, interviews and news) will go, with the “hall of fame”-related materials remaining on the albumcoverhalloffame.com site. More details on that effort will be announced soon, but I thought it important to share my intentions with you now with the hope that you’ll provide me with some feedback and suggestions as to how best to move forward.
Anyway, this month’s newsletter is a simple summary of the news in all of the main topic areas, with updates and info about several museum/gallery exhibitions, new auctions and sales results from previous ones and a large number of art and artist-related articles, so I’d like to once again say “thanks” for your help, your support and your patience while I work to get this site set on its new track in the long and short-term. Let’s get started with some updates on the award shows currently in progress:
Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Album Cover/Vinyl Record Lovers in your Life
As compiled by Mike Goldstein, Writer/Editor, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
December 13, 2022
We’re now in the final couple of weeks of the Holiday gift-giving season and, since the ACHOF site is not ad-supported, I think you’ll agree that the approach I take to sharing info about what you might consider buying as gifts for your album cover art-loving friends is a bit different in that I simply let you know what it is that’s caught my eye, vs. promoting things I’ve been strongly-motivated to show you (via ad/promo money).
As I’m sure you all know, getting just the right gift for your loved ones at Holiday time can be such a puzzle – what with all of the advertising that bombards you from every direction and “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” sales that this year seemed to have started sometime in mid-late Summer – that you’re left with little time and inclination to search for just the right thing when all you want to do is “get this over with”…
And, while I’ve been told never to buy “art” for other as it’s such a personal choice, because of the link between music and art, buying a gift for lovers of album cover art has never been so simple. To help you succeed in this effort, over the years I’ve published a series of (usually) annual overviews of record cover-related “artistical” things that, in my opinion, might make nice gifts for anyone who is a fan of album cover art and packaging and so this year I’ve decided to do that again.
I believe that – as you’ll see by the list of companies that specialize in album cover-related items of all types (and fitting all budgets), with a little research on your part (“So, remind me…what’s the name of your favorite band?”) and perhaps a phone call or two, I’m feeling confident that you’ll be able to locate and purchase gifts that will be long-appreciated by their recipients. Who knows, maybe it will start a new tradition in your family!
Posted onSeptember 1, 2022|Comments Off on Album Cover Hall of Fame’s News Update and Link Summary for September, 2022
Album Cover Hall of Fame News Update and Link Summary for September, 2022
Posted September 1, 2022 by Mike Goldstein, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
A late-Summer greeting to you all.
For the past 10 years, the ACHOF has worked to recognize and promote the talents of the people who’ve brought music fans and art collectors (and hybrids of both activities) the best in retail and online music packaging, graphics and photography. Helped each year by asking a panel of curators, gallerists, music marketing execs and writers/researchers who cover the topic, I’ve been able to deliver these details to my readers and, once a year in November, present the top vote-getters in our annual poll as inductees into the hallowed (virtual) halls of the ACHOF. What I haven’t been able to do is ask this site’s visitors and fans about their favorite album art-makers, and so to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the launch of the ACHOF, I’m going to do just that.
Later next month, I will be posting a poll that will allow you to review the past winners in each of the active categories and then ask you to select your most-admired art directors, illustrators, designers and photographers, who’ll then be placed in special categories that will be called…well, what will we call them? We don’t want to call them “the best”, nor do we want to repurpose some of the popular names that the awards industry has used over time – “People’s Choice”, “Fan Favorites”, “Vox Populi”, “Diamond/Platinum/Gold Medal Winning”, etc. A quick trip to the thesaurus presents words and phrases like “title holder”, “prize winner” and “top dog”, among others, along with some that I think are a bit over the top, such as “conquering hero”, “vanquisher” and “numero uno”, so while I know that it must be something memorable and appropriate, I don’t think I’m quite ready to commit to anything. Now that I think about it, perhaps we should also rely on our readers to present their ideas for this project, keeping this year’s efforts all about YOUR notions for what’s good and right, so I’ll be adding a poll question for this task as well. Eager to see what you come up with – we have a LOT of creative types reading this newsletter, so I’m sure something great will show up.
Thanks in advance for your help. Now, back to the matters at hand.
Holiday Gift Suggestions for the Album Cover/Vinyl Record Lovers in your Life
As compiled by Mike Goldstein, Writer/Editor, AlbumCoverHallofFame.com
December 3rd, 2021 (updated December 7thand December 10th)
One thing that our lives under the pandemic has taught us is that shopping for gifts doesn’t have to be a chore, since most everything we might want to give or receive can be had by simply going to a site and using a credit card or Paypal or some other form of digital payment. Since closing my own gallery almost ten years ago (my, how time flies), I’ve had to approach buying collectibles (for myself and/or as gifts for others) just like everyone else (please, don’t cry for me) – scouring the Web looking for just the right things and then hoping that I can buy from a trust-worthy source. To help you in the same effort, over the years I’ve published a series of (usually) annual overviews of record cover-related “artistical” things that, in my opinion, might make nice gifts for anyone who is a fan of album cover art and packaging and so, after a couple of years of laziness, I’ve decided to do that again.
As I’m sure you all know, getting just the right gift for your loved ones at Holiday time can be such a puzzle – what with all of the advertising that bombards you from every direction and “Black Friday/Cyber Monday” sales that now seem to begin sometime in mid-late July – that you’re left with little time and inclination to search for just the right thing when all you want to do is “get this over with”…
Posted onSeptember 1, 2021|Comments Off on 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.
Posted onJune 1, 2016|Comments Off on Album Cover News Recap for May, 2016
ALBUM COVER HALL OF FAME’S ALBUM COVER NEWS RECAP FOR THE MONTH OF MAY, 2016
It’s the first day of June, 2016 and perhaps you’re just noticing and saying to yourself “you know, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a monthly summary on the Album Cover Hall of Fame site”. Well, in truth, it has been a while – yours truly was away from the office for a period of a couple of weeks in late April/early May and, unbelievably for an American, I chose NOT to work through my trip and, instead, chose to relax (“how dare you!”). At the same time, I decided to modify both the form and frequency of my album cover news summaries, the result of which you’ve seen the past few weeks and hope that you’ve enjoyed. Rather than daily missives, you’re getting a summary once a week (on Fridays, with the occasional timely updates inserted as needed), with each week’s news broken into several categories (the human mind loves to categorize, so I’m just giving you a head start in that effort). With this month’s summary, I am going to introduce a format chance that more closely follows the weekly updates, with news stories divided up into those same categories, making it easier for you to focus on the topics that might be more interesting to you than others. I am hoping that these changes increase your enjoyment of the monthly summaries – of course, if you have any concerns or suggestions, I do hope that you’ll contact me (curator@albumcoverhalloffame.com) and let me know how I might better deliver the ongoing supply of album art/artist-related content I’m dedicated to providing you on an ongoing basis.
So much has happened since we last chatted – even with the media circus that dominates our daily news feeds (#1 – “It hurts when I watch this.” #2 – “So don’t watch this!”), the people that make our favorite album imagery continue to draw interest from fans and the press, so there’s been an ongoing stream of articles, interviews and the like on a wide range of related topics:
Album Cover Hall of Fame.com 