some of the best records in my collection are nothing more than a record in a plain white sleeve with the tracks labeled in marker...i guess no art makes them less good right?

quote:

Originally posted by IL Duce some of the best records in my collection are nothing more than a record in a plain white sleeve with the tracks labeled in marker...i guess no art makes them less good right?

I'm not talking about the music. I'm talking about the value in appearance.

i honestly think that you don't know what you are talking about.

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Originally posted by osterzone Not often, but a physical album is a piece of art, and I feel like the "art" aspect has fallen by the wayside. Releasing an album with no booklet or worthy insert is the same to me as giving someone a blank disc with sharpie on it.

I don't think it has "fallen by the wayside" because that implies electronic albums used to have more inlay material. I've got CD albums dating right back to the 80s and there really hasn't been much change in this respect. In the 80s/early 90s CDs were such a novelty that a CD inlay was often filled with ugly black and white text telling you how to take care of them. Back then if you valued the physical package you'd buy the LP with full-sized artwork, not the CD with its tiny 5" cover.

The idea that CD albums are physically valuable is an incredibly temporal and short-lived one, sandwiched between the vinyl era and the digital revolution.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

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The biggest "art" aspect of the album is the sound that flows into your ears.

Seriously, though, in most cases the album art is not even made by the musicians, and most people will be listening to the music while doing other stuff at their computer, walking with their iPod, or driving down the road, not sitting idly and gazing at the beautiful album booklet. Seems to me there is little reason for a producer to invest much effort in the physical look of an album.

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Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Seriously, though, in most cases the album art is not even made by the musicians, and most people will be listening to the music while doing other stuff at their computer, walking with their iPod, or driving down the road, not sitting idly and gazing at the beautiful album booklet. Seems to me there is little reason for a producer to invest much effort in the physical look of an album.

Sometimes it can add to the atmosphere of the album. The Sabres Of Paradise's album Haunted Dancehall had excerpts from a fictional book of the same name in the inlay that portrayed a wonderfully seedy London underworld, and having those images in your head when listening to the album really added another dimension to it.

But generally, I'd agree. This is dance music, after all, which is designed to be heard in a darkened room with no knowledge of who made it or what it's called, let alone lyric sheets or pretty artwork to plant ideas in your head.

___________________
Mixes:
> Maximum Elevation [Progressive House]
> DI.FM 26th Anniversary Guest Mix [Progressive House]
> Live @ Dance:Love:Hub London, 11.10.2025
> Higher Peaks [Progressive House]
> Dance:Love:Hub Afterparty (The Return) 23.11.24

Like these sets? Come see me play live at Kibosh in Manchester: https://www.instagram.com/kibosh.mcr/