January 2011 Archives

Brooklyn Rundfunk Orkestrata (BRO) - The Hills Are Alive (2011)

One of my favorite albums in my parents' LP collection was the soundtrack for the James Bond film Goldfinger. My twin brother and I used to put the record on the turntable and run around the house playing 007.

Sadly, the composer and conductor of that classic soundtrack, John Barry, passed away yesterday. Barry was a five-time Oscar winning composer who wrote the scores for dozens of major motion pictures, including 12 James Bond films. Barry was 77.

There are 80 images of John Barry albums in the AAX gallery, including the one for Goldfinger (below). Barry's work ranged from the score for Born Free, for which he won two Academy Awards, to what is considered by many to be one of the worst films of all time, Howard the Duck.

Last year, an album cover for a forthcoming debut album by former American Idol contestant Kimberly Caldwell was revealed online. The cover for Without Regret (right) featured the singer in a very unflattering pose and with a very severe look.

After being pushed back several times, the album has a new release date and a new cover. It is now scheduled to be released on April 19, 2011, a year after the original date.

The cover has been changed to a much more flattering image by photogragher Ari Michelson. Michelson has photographed artists such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga.

The new cover has a much softer look. Caldwell appears to be wearing nothing but an oversized sweater. Her makeup has a natural look that works with her hair and skintone.

I am not wild about the font that was chosen for this cover. I wish that had been changed to something a bit more contemporary. However, I have to write that this redo is a major improvement. Caldwell no loner looks like a club-footed she-devil.

I found this cool video on YouTube of artist Christopher Konecki creating the cover for the debut album by San Diego reggae band Subliminal Trip. I do not have a release date for the album. You can check out Konecki's website for a look at his portfolio.

Yelle - Safari Disco Club (2011)

Posted by: zeefritz

The cover for the forthcoming remix album by Justin Bieber has been revealed. Never Say Never: The Remixes is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2011.

There are some things that I like about this album cover. However, I think that Bieber's face has been Photoshopped too much. It makes him look a bit too feminine. The hoody adds to the feminization. It almost looks like a portrait of the Virgin Mary. One good thing about the cover is that Bieber isn't scowling. In fact, he's managing a slight Mona Lisa smile.

Bieber is a very handsome young man. Most of the publicity photos and candid shots of him look great. There is simply no need to erase the character from his face with all of that touch up.

Blessed, the forthcoming album by three-time Grammy winning singer-songwriter Lucinda Williams, will be released in three different packages. Each of the three configurations will feature a different cover based on a common theme. The album is scheduled to be released on March 1, 2011.

The album packages will include a standard CD and digital album, a deluxe CD set and digital album that will include a disc of bonus material titled The Kitchen Tapes, and a deluxe LP/CD combo.

Each of the covers features a photograph of people holding a sign with the word "blessed" written on it. My favorite cover has to be the one for the LP/CD combo package. Those long fingernails that the woman is sporting make the cover quite a bit more interesting than the other two.

The cover for Music for a Distance, the forthcoming album by the late German sound and visual artist Rolf Julius, is very similar to that of U2's 2009 release, No Line on the Horizon. Music for a Distance is scheduled to be reelased on March 8, 2011.

Rolf Julius - Music for a Distance (2011)

U2 - No Line on the Horizon (2009)

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

Amos Lee - Mission Bell		Cold War Kids - Mine Is Yours
Get Up Kids - There Are Rules		Iron & Wine - Kiss Each Other Clean
Various Artists - 2011 Grammy Nominees		Vinicius Catuária & Bill Frisell

The 2011 Academy Awards nominations were announced this morning. Here are the nominations that will be of interest to AlbumArtExchange Blog readers.

Music (Original Score)

How to Train Your Dragon
John Powell

Posted by: zeefritz

Inception
Hans Zimmer

Posted by: zeefritz The King's Speech
Alexandre Desplat

Posted by: zeefritz

127 Hours
A.R. Rahman

Posted by: zeefritz

The Social Network
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Posted by: silentgear

Music (Original Song)

Country Strong
"Coming Home"
Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey

Posted by: zeefritz

Tangled
"I See the Light"
Music by Alan Menken; Lyric by Glenn Slater

Posted by: zeefritz

127 Hours
"If I Rise"
Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong

Posted by: zeefritz

Toy Story 3
"We Belong Together"
Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

Posted by: zeefritz

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll the best album cover for the week of January 18, 2011 is Ritual by White Lies. The cover received 29% of the vote. The King Is Dead by The Decemberists was a close second with 21%. Social Distortion's Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes was third with 18%.

The art direction for the winning cover is credited to Tom Hingston. Tom Hingston Studio has designed covers for The Chemical Brothers, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Grace Jones, Robbie Williams and many other popular recording artists.

Being an identical twin myself, I am probably a little more interested in the concept behind this cover than most people. So, I will just leave the mystery alone and let the cover speak for itself.

Don't forget to check back later this evening to vote for the best album cover from among this week's new music releases. There will be album covers from Iron & Wine, Cold War Kids, the Grammy Awards and a couple of surprises.

Butthole Surfers - Locust Abortion Technician (1987)

According to an article on Gothamist, the storefront location featured on the cover of the 1989 album Paul's Boutique by Beastie Boys burned two nights ago.

Even though the Beastie Boys album will tell you Paul's Boutique is in Brooklyn, the cover image is all Lower East Side. As we noted in our NYC Album Art series, the shot was taken at 99 Rivington Street, where Rivington and Ludlow intersect. The storefront has had many incarnations, including a restaurant a few years ago called Paul's Boutique--an homage to the album. Well, currently it's a joint called Three Monkeys, and according to EV Grieve, last night eyewitness reports came in declaring, "it just burned down."

Source: Gothamist 

The photograph was taken by New York City photographer Ricky Powell, who is known for his photographs of Beastie Boys and accompanied the group on tour in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Today is the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that ruled that the right to privacy provided by the U.S. Constitution protects the right of a woman to terminate a pregnancy. News reports about the anniversary reminded me of the controversial album cover for the seventh volume of the popular Just Say Yes music sampler series from Sire Records.

Released in 1994, Just Say Roe was created by Sire after receiving a letter from a fan who suggested the title and praised the record label for using their brand to bring attention for political and social issues of the time. Although the album has a pro-choice message, the album cover features a morbid painting called "Victims of Our Games" by Chawky Frenn that features doll heads and dead bodies. Of course, this resulted in a mixed message.

The album featured tracks by Madonna, David Byrne, Belly and 13 other artists on the Sire label. It is my least favorite of the Just Say Yes series, in part because of the disturbing cover art.

British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi was recently selected as one of the top 15 most promising new artists for the upcoming year by the BBC's Sound of 2011. She has been compared to both PJ Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux. Her self-titled debut album is scheduled to be released on January 25, 2011.

I really like the designs of both her album cover (below) and the cover for her single Jezebel (right). They definitely look like something Siouxsie would have used back in the 1980s. I listened to several tracks from the album that are posted on YouTube and I think the comparison to Siouxsie is more accurate. You can listen to the song Desire below.

The cover for the single has more of a Vampira goth look to it. The album cover uses a gold chain to spell out Calvi's name. It has a very cool, romantic feel. Thanks to AAX user Aequi for recommending Calvi for the blog.

The romantic comedy No Strings Attached opens in theaters today. Directed by Ivan Reitman and starring Natalie Portman and Aston Kutcher, the film is about a couple who make a pact to have casual sex without developing a romantic relationship. A film with an identical called Friends with Benefits and starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis is scheduled to be released later this year.

The soundtrack for No Strings Attached will not be released until February 15. It includes tracks by Mark Ronson & The Business Intl., Color Me Badd, Elvis, and several other popular recording artists. None of the songs are particularly unique or interesting.

The artwork for the album is a square version of the movie poster. There is something odd about it that I just can't put my finger on. It seems a bit contrived. It looks as if Kutcher could be making that Scooby Doo sound, "HUHHHHHH!?" 

The music video for P!nk's single Fuckin' Perfect was released today. I know that I just wrote a couple of days ago that I am effin' sick of songs with the f-word in them. However, I am going to make an exception for this song.

The music video deals specifically with bullying and suicide. The somber message certainly does not go with the cover ar for the single, which shows a happy, smiling
P!nk.

Singer-songwriter Tino Coury has posted a YouTube video asking fans to submit their designs for the cover of his forthcoming album to his official Facebook page. Titled Page One, the album is scheduled to be released sometime next month.

Swedish pop duo Roxette will be releasing their first studio album of new material in ten years on February 11, 2011. The music video for the first single from the album, She's Got Nothing On (But the Radio) was posted on YouTube last week.

Roxette has had four #1 singles in the U.S., The Look, Listen to Your Heart, It Must Have Been Love and Joyride. Dangerous and Fading Like a Flower both reached #2 and Dressed for Success peaked at #14.

The duo continues to have a large group of dedicated fans. It will be interesting to see if the new album is a hit with them.

The cover art for the single (right) and the album both feature a newspaper collage look. I was not able to find credits for the art direction.

The cover art reminds me of the style used by Duran Duran a few years ago. I suspect that this is a clever way to avoid using a full-sized portrait that reveals the age of the artists. However, the duo is shown clearly in the music video (along with several fresh-faced models).

Below are six album covers that were preselected from this week's new music releases. They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The winner will be announced next Tuesday.

The Decemberists - The King Is Dead		James Blunt - Some Kind Of Trouble
The Script - Science & Faith		Social Distortion - Hard Times and Nursery...
Stratovarius - Elysium		White Lies - Ritual

As he promised yesterday, Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has revealed the cover art for his forthcoming solo album Give the Drummer Some via Twitter. The cover was posted less that an hour ago.

The illustration is by Pushead (a.k.a. Brian Schroeder), an artist and record label owner who specializes in the hardcore punk and heavy metal genres. In the past, he has created artwork for Metallica and The Misfits. He has also designed t-shirt graphics and a line of rock music trading cards.

Pushead is known for his detailed illustrations of skulls. Unfortunately, skulls are the most cliché subject when it comes to artwork for rock albums. An illustration of a skull has to be quite special to get my thumbs up. This album cover falls short of the mark. It is a good illustration. However, it is not particularly memorable.

According to our AlbumArtExchange Blog poll, the best album cover for the week of January 11, 2011 is Edie Brickell's self-titled album. The cover received 39% of the vote. City of Refuge by Abigail Washburn was second with 28%. Cake's Showroom of Compassion and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Skynyrd Nation tied for third with 11% each.

This album cover coming in first is a surprise. It features a rather simple cartoon drawing of a dachshund. The package design is credited to Amy Beth McNeely. I was not able to find out any additional information.

Check back later this evening to vote on the best album cover from among this week's new music releases. Covers from James Blunt, Social Distortion, The Script and three other artists will be featured.

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker just sent out an announcement via Twitter that he will be revealing the cover art for his forthcoming album tomorrow. Give the Drummer Some is Barker's first solo album. It is scheduled for release on February 15, 2011.

I just got home and discovered a message in my inbox from a reader who wanted to know something about the "U2 song about Martin Luther King" and if the cover art is available. MLK Day is almost over, but I decided to write something about U2's Pride (In the Name of Love) anyway.

Pride (In the Name of Love) is the second track on U2's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. It was the album's lead single andwas the band's first top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at #33 on the Billboard chart.

The song was written as a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr. has become one of U2's most popular songs. It was ranked at #378 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The front cover of the single features a photograph of U2 by Dutch photographer and film director Anton Corbijn. Corbijn is best known for his work as the creative director for both Depeche Mode and U2.

The back of the single features a photograph of Dr. King with a quotation from The Strength to Love (1963):

Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illumines it.

There were three music videos produced for the song. The first was shot by director Donald Cammell. Thesecond was directed by Corbijn. The third video is a compilation of footage shot during The Unforgettable Fire recording sessions at Slane Castle.

According to a current news story, pop singer Boy George recently returned a signed Culture Club album cover to a fan after finding it in his home ten years after he recieved it.

The flamboyant singer, whose real name is George O'Dowd, found the "Colour By Numbers" cover while cleaning out his London home and mailed it back to fan Peter Anderson with an autographed photo and an apologetic letter.

Anderson, 66, from Tyne and Wear, northern England, said, "This has taken me on such a nostalgia trip. I'd forgotten all about it ... it must have been 10 or even 12 years ago that I sent it to him."

Source: News.com.au

Released in 1983, Colour by Numbers was Culture Club's second studio album. It featured several hits, including Church of the Poison Mind and Karma Chameleon. The album featured the vocals of both Boy George and Helen Terry. The album has been ranked #96 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.

The album cover has a very typical look for the 1980s New Wave era, featuring bright colors and simple geometric shapes. The photography for the cover is credited to Jamie J. Morgan. Morgan worked as a stylist and photographer before a brief recording career of his own. In 1986, he released the single Look Good Diving as part of the duo Morgan & McVey. His debut solo album, Shotgun, was released in 1990. 

The forthcoming album from singer-songwriter Amanda Palmer is called Amanda Palmer Goes Down Under (right). It is scheduled to be released on February 1, 2011. The album is a collection of both live and studio recordings.

The first single from the album is currently available as a free download. The music video was recently posted on YouTube and it is causing a bit of controversy. That is because the song is about Palmer's vagina. I am not joking. Apparently, the map of Tasmania is shaped like the female pubic region.

I suppose the title of Palmer's album is a double entendre. The cover features a photograph of a woman with a passport shoved down her crotch.

The cover art for the single is far less subtle. However, you have to watch the video to get the full impact. I have to give Palmer points for sticking to a theme.

The comedy The Dilemma starring Vince Vaughn and Kevin James was released by Universal Pictures today. The film was directed by Ron Howard and has caused some controversy because it uses the word "gay" as a slur. It looks like a real stinker of a film and if The Green Hornet had a soundtrack, I wouldn't even bother writing about this film.

The Dilemma does have a soundtrack. It was released as a digital album on Tuesday. It is one of those soundtracks that only has a couple of songs available for download. In order to get any of the others, the consumer has to purchase the entire album. Unfortunately, there are probably only a couple of tracks worth buying.

The cover art is a square version of the movie poster. It features what could be a photograph of Vaughn and James. It is difficult to tell because the image has been Photoshopped to the point where they both look like wax dolls. The cover makes the photo on Whitney Houston's last album look natural. I'm really not sure what's up with Vaughn's "come hither" pose either. The entire cover projects a "creepy old dude trying to look sexy" vibe.

While searching for something to write about on a very slow album art news day, I found an article on a blog called Super Punch about a forthcoming CD package that has been designed to look like a Little Golden Book. A Cautionary Tale is the debut album by the electronic/indie band The Pauses. It is scheduled to be released on March 8, 2011 by New Granada Records.

According to the article, the cover and package design was created by graphic artist and illustrator Travis Lampe. The concept reminds me of the cover for Daisies of the Galaxy, the 2000 album by Eels, which features a similar illustration. The Eels album did not include the entire Little Golden Book concept, just the illustration that resembled those used on these types of books.

The entire package is delightful and very interesting. It is great to see a concept taken to the extreme. Lampe is a very talented illustrator. I am certain that I have seen his work before. The band's official website is a must see.

Currently, a track from the album called Go North is available as a free download from the New Granada website. The MP3 does not include album art, so you will need to snag it from the AAX gallery.

In doing a Google search, I discovered that this CD package is getting quite a bit of coverage from blogs and news websites. That should serve as an example of what an innovative and creative design can do for a new artist. As far as I'm concerned, this design is far superior to the recent Kanye West album art that was created by artist George Condo. In additon, the band did not have to create a fake censorship controversy in order to get noticed.

I hope that any singles that may be released from this album continue the "Little Golden Book" theme. I doubt that the artist would have any difficulty coming up with additonal illustrations that are equal to the album cover.

Earlier today, Green Day revealed the cover art and tracklist for their forthcoming live album Awesome as Fuck. The album is scheduled to be released by Reprise Records on March 22, 2011. The album will include a CD and a bonus DVD of performances recorded during the band's 2009-2010 World Tour in support of their album 21st Century Breakdown.

I don't know about everyone else, but I am getting effin' tired of song and album titles that use the f-word. Lily Allen made it seem kind of cute. Cee Lo Green made up for it with a cool retro sound. Enrique Iglesias dragged it down a few notches by being kind of crude and creepy. Now, here's Green Day trying to be "awesome" in their golden years.

The cover for Awesome as Fuck features a grainy black and white photograph of the band with faux stencil street art and a censored title. It is definitely not awesome. Perhaps one of the other words in the title is more descriptive.

The iTunes Free Single of the Week is My Body by California alternative rock band Young the Giant. The single is from their debut self-titled album (right), which is scheduled to be released on CD by Roadrunner on January 25, 2011. The album is currently available as a digital download on iTunes and Amazon.com. The band was formerly known as The Jakes.

The cover art for both the single and the album employ a bright, collage-style illustration. I was not able to find a credit for the artist or art director for the project.

As regular readers know, I like to see artwork for an album and the associated singles that look as if they are part of the same project. I think it makes it easier for consumers to identify an item when they are shopping.

The cover for the My Body single is not a detail of the album cover. However, it is obvious that it is related to the album. This is particularly important for the first single from an album.

Below are six album covers that were preselected from among this week's new music releases, They were chosen based on Amazon.com sales rank and for their noteworthy album cover designs. Please vote for the album cover that you think is the best of the bunch. The results will be posted next Tuesday.

Abigail Washburn - City of Refuge		Cage The Elephant - Thank You Happy Birthday
Cake - Showroom of Compassion		Edie Brickell - S/T
Joe Lovano - Us Five Bird Songs		Lynyrd Skynyrd - Skynyrd Nation

The music video for Ricky Martin's new single The Best Thing About Me Is You has been posted on YouTube. It is currently available as a digital download from iTunes and Amazon.com. The song will appear on Martin's forthcoming album Musica+Alma+Sexo (right), which is scheduled to be released on February 1, 2011.

The English language version of the single features the vocals of Josh Stone. The Spanish language version, Lo Mejor De Mi Vida Eres Tú, features Natalia Jiménez.

The music video features children, diverse couples, and Martin with an equality symbol painted on his chest (I hope it is painted on anyway). It is a happy tune with a positive message about love and equality. It may be just what we need right now. 

According to the Pet Shop Boys official website, tickets are now on sale for the first run of performances of The Most Incredible Thing, a new ballet choreographed by Javier De Frutos to original music by Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant and Chris lowe with orchestrations by Sven Helbig. The ballet will be performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, from Thursday, March 17 to Saturday, March 26, 2011.

A double-CD of the music, produced by Pet Shop Boys and Sven Helbig, is planned for release by Parlophone on March 7, 2011. It is currently available for pre-ordered from the Amazon UK store. I am not sure whether or not the artwork posted below is final.

Vinyl framing specialist Art Vinyl recently announced that the winner of their Best Art Vinyl 2010 poll is the Klaxons album Surfing the Void. Swim by Caribou took second place and the Swiss dance label Cadenza was thrid with their four-track 12" EP of dance music Split.

This was the sixth year of the Best Art Vinyl online poll, which is designed to highlight the very best in sleeve design. Initial nominees were selected by a panel of expert sleeve designers before a public vote conducted both online and in person at six exhibitions in the UK, France, Belgium and Sweden.

The award was created by Art Vinyl, the London-based creator of the patented Play & Display frame which enables the owner to create their own updateable sleeve exhibits, using a hinged display frame.

Every now and then, I come across cover art that is so strange that I have to find out more about the artist. Recently, that was the case with a single called Redhead by Zowie Knox.

The artwork is a photograph of a butcher's case, with various cuts of meat and a saw. I tried to find out soemthing about Zowie Knox, but I was only able to find long, rambling biographies on what appeared to be the artist's Facebook and MySpace pages.

Since I didn't have a magic decoder ring or whatever is needed to decipher the information I found online, I decided to search YouTube for a music video. There are two posted for the single. You can watch the one I think is the most interesting below.

The film Country Strong was released to theaters nationwide today. It stars Gwyneth Paltrow as fictional country singer Kelly Canter. According to the movie's writer and director Shana Feste Paltrow's character is based on Britney Spears.

The film also stars op singer Leighton Meester and country star Tim McGraw. Paltrow, Meester and McGraw are featured on the soundtrack, which was released on October 25, 2010. There are also tracks by Lee Ann Womack, Hank Williams, Jr., Faith Hill and several other notable country artists.

The cover art for the soundtrack is a square version of the movie poster. It features a black and white photograph of the film's stars that can best be described as unflattering.

The final artwork for the forthcoming 2011 Grammy Nominees compilation album was revealed via news release today. The artists receiving top billing on the cover are Cee Lo Green, B.o.B featuring Bruno Mars, Katy Perry featuring Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga featuring Beyonce, and Eminem featuring Rhianna. The album will be released on January 25, 2010.

The artwork without the artists names (right) has been used for promotion and online presales. I had assumed that the names of the nominees would appear in the blank space. It looks as if they may have run out of room by listing all of the featured artists.

Shepard Fairey designed the artwork for the 2010 album. The new cover has a similar look. However, an artist credit has not been listed.

A portion of the proceeds from the album will benefit the MusiCares® Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation® - two charitable organizations established by The Recording Academy®

Contrary to what we often see reported by pop culture critics, the album cover is not a dead art form. During 2010, we saw quite a few remarkable album covers. A few represent some of the best modern works in the fields of photography, illustration, and graphic design.

The album covers below are listed in countdown order from #10 to #1. There is also an honorable mention at the end of the list.

#10 Retribution Gospel Choir - 2

Art Direction: Jeff Kleinsmith

#9 Peter Gabriel - Scratch My Back

Graphic Design: Marc Beesant

#8 Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two

Art Direction: Kyledidthis; Erykah Badu
Illustration: Emek

#7 Devo - Something for Everybody

Creative Direction: Mother Los Angeles
Photography: Joshua Dalsimer
Design: Danny Phelps

#6 Elvis Costello - National Ransom

Art Direction: Larissa Collins
Illustration: Tony Millionaire

#5 UNKLE - Where Did the Night Fall

Art Direction: Warren du Preez; Nick Thornton Jones

#4 Brian Wilson - Reimagines Gershwin

Art Direction: Steve Gerdes
Illustration: Steve Sterling

#3 Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Art Direction: Jo Ratcliffe
Original Painting: Will Cotton

#2 Widespread Panic - Dirty Side Down

Artwork: Marq Spusta

#1 Sade - Soldier of Love

Art Direction: Sophie Muller

Honorable Mention: Michael Jackson - Michael

Cover Art: Kadir Nelson

The AlbumArtExchange Blog has been asking readers to vote on the Best Album Covers for the Week all year. Back in July, we passed the halfway mark of 2010 and did a recap of the 26 album covers that had already been selected as the best of the year.

Now that 2010 is over, it is time to post the 26 additional album covers that were voted the best of the bunch. The Top Ten Best Covers of 2010 have been selected from the 52 covers voted best of the week during the year. Those covers will be posted here tomorrow.

The covers below are presented in no particular order. As always, you can click the image to see a larger view and for album details.

According to our last AlbumArtExchange Blog poll of 2010, the best album cover for the week of December 28, 2010 is What If... by Mr. Big. The cover won with 36% of the vote. Split Your Lip by Hardcore Superstar was a close second with 32%. Overcome by Alexandra Burke was a distant third with 12%.

A couple of people contacted me to point out that the U.S. release for What If... is scheduled for February 8, 2011. The reason it was selected for last week's poll is because the import ranked high in sales on Amazon.com.

I was not able to find credits for this album cover online. I suspect that the flying pig is a clever symbol releated to the fact that What If... is the band's first album in 10 years and incudes their original line-up, which hasn't recorded together sionce 1996.

Due to the recent holiday, there are not any new music releases to feature in a poll this week. However, I will be posting a list of the best album covers for the second part of 2010 later this evening. Come back and see which albums were voted the best from July through December. I will also be posting the Best Album Covers for 2010 tomorrow.

On New Years Eve, Lady Gaga posted a promotional photograph (right) for her forthcoming album and single to her Twitter account. Since then, several blogs and pop culture websites have claimed that the image will be the cover for either the album or the single.

However, the tweet does not state that the image is cover art. Along with the photo, the only thing else provided is the text, "THE SONG 2 13 11 THE RECORD 5 23 11". This appears to be the release dates for the album and the album's first single, both titled Born This Way.

So far, I have received a half dozen email messages from readers wanting to know what I think about "Lady Gaga's new album cover" and whether or not I think it will be banned.

First, the photograph is certainly not final artwork for the cover of a single or an album. It is more likely a promotional photograph that was taken during the shoot for the album cover. Album covers are almost always square. The image released by Lady Gaga is in portrait format, which is typical for promotional photos.

Second, the photograph is not likely to be used for cover art. A bare bottom isn't anything new for album covers. When the bottom belongs to the recording artist and not an anonymous model, it becomes a problem. Retailers don't like to put photos of naked celebrities on their shelves. If this image is used for the album cover, it is likely to be censored for sale at stores like Walmart and Target.

This was a great PR stunt. It got tongues wagging and created an interest in Lady Gaga's new project. I don't think we'll see this image on an album cover in the near future.

One of the biggest selling albums in the UK right now is by singer and musical theater star Alfie Boe. The album was released last week and is currently one of the top ten bestselling albums in the Amazon UK store.

A promotional video for the album was posted on YouTube yesterday. It features comic actor Matt Lucas, who contributed to the album. 

I am not wild about the cover for this album. Quite a bit of the photograph is nothing more than the coat Boe is wearing. It looks more like an ad for London Fog than an album cover.