#85 - Dookie: Green Day (1993)

Green Day are a fun, late/California punk group. I always felt, though, that they really couldn’t make it last. I like their old stuff a lot better. Though they would later go on to much public acclaim (and be inducted into the RnR Hall of Fame), I honestly think Warning was their last really good album.

Dookie was their 1st big hit, going to #2 in the charts, and winning them a Grammy. The title? Yup, it’s what you think it is. Why this is appropriate for an album, is beyond me. I did read some weird stuff about a tour in Mexico or something. The cover was something of a bastard child of Where's Waldo, Go Dog Go, and Sergeant Pepper. So, see if you can find Elvis, AC/DC, and Patti Smith. It was designed by fellow West Coast punk Richie Bucher. 

He did a couple other album covers for Green Day, and was in a number of bands, most notably the Wynona Riders (gotta love it).

The band’s had many notable album covers, including American Idiot, which was designed by Chris Bilheimer. 

I always liked the one for Nimrod, but probably just because I think they ripped it off from John Baldessari, one of my favorite artists. 

Insomniac really rocks too:

The band was, of course, Tre Cool (nee Frank Edwin Wright III), Billie Joe Armstrong (nee Billie Joe Armstrong), Mike Dirnt (nee Michael Pritchard):

Oddly enough, our brony friends were the only ones who really wanted to send this one up:

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#86 - Surf's Up: the Beach Boys (1971)

So, no. Not all of the Beach Boys albums were pix of them in bare feet and Pendletons, on the beach, perched next to a Woodie, and holding a surfboard.

That said, most of them were pretty darn boring. Surfin Safari’s a pretty representative effort:

The Surf's Up cover is quite a departure for them. In fact, here’s what the band was looking like in 1971, on tour for their new album:

The album was supposed to be a real departure as well. When the album came out, the band was bordering on irrelevancy. Their new manager, Jack Reily, attempted to make them more relevant, resulting in songs like "Student Demonstration Time," and the environmentally conscious “Don't Go Near the Water” and "A Day in the Life of a Tree.” 

Reily was also behind the cover art, supposedly finding the painting in a thrift shop. It’s actually a copy of a fairly well-know sculpture called End of the Trail. The original was in plaster, and created back in 1915, by one James Earl Fraser. Fraser’s other main claim to fame was designing the Buffalo nickel.

Somebody on Wikipedia waxed quite poetic about the meaning of it all: “This lone figure on his weary horse is one of the most recognized symbols of the American West. Here, it almost certainly also symbolizes the last great effort by an immensely talented group struggling to deliver one last testament to their greatness.  The title Surf's Up juxtaposed with what appears to be an exhausted and thirsty warrior adds an ironic quality to a title that only ten years before would have carried no hint of irony whatsoever.”

Band member Carl Wilson had a little different interpretation, claiming that the Indian was chosen because his grandfather believed there was a spiritual Indian “guide” who watched over the Wilson boys.

The only other cover these guys did that I have any feelings for whatsoever:

The same image was used in an album by Crazy Horse:

No parodies of this album, but no shortage of schlocky images:

Oh, and it's also the title of a bad movie as well:

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#87 - Monster: R.E.M. (1994)

I feel like I had to include at least one album from these guys. But which one?

They do have some wonderful ones, though they are – in my opinion – a little too obviously art school-y.

About Monster … The original image was something that graphic designer Chris Bilheimer found. He then shot it intentionally out of focus.

Bilheimer actually did a lot of stuff for R.E.M., as well as work for Green Day, and many other bands. Probably his most famous cover is Green Day’s American Idiot.

Monster debuted at #1 in the US and UK. “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” was the big hit on this one (also probably one of the best song titles ever). It represented something of a departure for the band, a dedicated attempt to be a little more rock 'n roll.

Do I really need to say anything about these guys? I feel they were the first band to really take alt/indy mainstream. Buck’s clangy guitar, Stipes’ vocals, the very intelligent lyrics, the super catchy tunes … They made the RnR HoF in 2007, then disbanded (amicably) in 2011. 

Peter Buck, Mike Mills, Michael Stipe, Bill Berry

Of course there are homages / rip-offs / parodies / simulacra:

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#88 - Californication: Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)

Not my favorite band, but they do have some cool covers (we've also got 'em at #100).

This one was designed by former Warner Records art director Lawrence Azerrad, and was based on a dream by guitarist John Frusciante where the “the water was in the sky and the sky was in the water.” Complete story right here. 

Azerrad now heads LADdesign where he creates “comprehensive visual identity systems for clients such as Sting, The Silversun Pickups, Esperanza Spalding, and Wilco.” 

He won a Grammy this year for the packaging of a 40-year anniversary re-issue of the Voyager Golden Record. Remember that? It was an LP made of gold that was sent with the Voyager space ship and contains representative Earth sounds (wind, waves, bird song) and a wide-ranging sampling of music, from Bach to Chuck Berry.

He’s got almost 100 credits on discogs. He’s done some cool stuff for Wilco and some other bands:

As for that Peppers album? Sounds like it was quite a departure from previous efforts, with a “softer, melodic side” and deeper lyrics too (and much more to my preference than their earlier stuff). A lot of that was credited to Frusciante, who was returning to the band after almost killing himself with a heroin and cocaine addiction. Full details right here.   

Hits include the title track, “Otherside,” and Grammy winner “Scar Tissue.” BTW, the video for the title track, based on video games, is one of my favorites if all time (the one for the “Otherside” is pretty cool too).

The band have plenty of other cool album covers. Honestly, I probably should have included a couple more. Here are a couple of my faves:

And here are the boys themselves (Mr. Frusciante, Mr. Flea, Mr Kiedis, Mr. Smith):

And, yes, they actually have 3 Grammys to their credit

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