Beastie Boys verses Beatles

[dynatech]

Paul's Boutique took 6 or 7 years to get those sales...
Check Your Head also flopped and sold more on word-of-mouth recommendations, but created a new fanbase for them away from 'mere' hip hop & a solid foundation for their second commercial breakthrough 2 years later with Ill Communication, which was now a full 7 years on from License To Ill and the attendant "Beastie Mania"

[nasty]

Yes, I can recall most Beastie Boys album covers. But when has the graphic design on an album cover signified that one band is more superior to another.

Plus, gimme the Beastie Boys over the Beatles any day of the freekin week!

[beutelwolf]

nasty wrote:

> Yes, I can recall most Beastie Boys album covers. But when has
> the graphic design on an album cover signified that one band is
> more superior to another.

A carefully designed album cover is often indicative that care has gone into the music as well. No causal connection, but still a noticeable correlation.

[Jonone]

What about The Beatles' 'White Album' ? There was evidently little thought went into the cover design and yet it's a cracking album !

[The Last Word]

Jonone wrote:

> What about The Beatles' 'White Album' ? There was evidently
> little thought went into the cover design and yet it's a
> cracking album !

Although it's become a terrible old cliche now, the blank, no artwork type of sleeve had a certain unique quality at the time, and certainly drew the attention.

It may imply something deeply mystic, or it may just be them pulling your leg.

Very Beatles, in other words.

[Deano!]

nasty wrote:
(snip)
> Plus, gimme the Beastie Boys over the Beatles any day of the
> freekin week!
>
>

It's amazing how different musical tastes can be. I think it depends on what music you heard when you were a teenager/early 20's.

For me, the White Album in particular captures that magical late 60's era that probably could never have been as optimistic as we now think. Lots of other artists wrote fabulous songs, but for me, the Beatles evoke a feeling inside that no one else can.

You must hear something in the Beastie Boys that I can't pick up. My dad would say both our musical tastes were rubbish - silly old bugger.

[Guilbert]

Well it followed on from Sgt Pepper which had a very flashy and complex cover.

So I guess they wanted a contrast.

Probably more John's idea than Paul's as I think Paul had most of a say on the Sgt pepper cover.

It certainly stood out.

And remember each cover of the white album had a unique individual number on the front.

How much is 000001 worth now (I gather the first 20 or so were kept by the Beatles and their in crowd)

[Floydoid]

Guilbert wrote:

> Well it followed on from Sgt Pepper which had a very flashy and complex cover.
>
> So I guess they wanted a contrast.
>
> Probably more John's idea than Paul's as I think Paul had most of a say on the Sgt pepper cover.

And maybe something to do with everyone analysing every last millimetre of the cover art for clues and hidden meanings.

> How much is 000001 worth now (I gather the first 20 or so were kept by the Beatles and their in crowd)

I suspect that copies 000001-000009 (in good condition) would fetch well into 4-figures if they came on the market.

[Jonone]

Memory is dynamic. Your casting your mind back to a period that has been relentlessly defined in a certain way for about the last 20 years in the interests of sustaining the livelihoods of people who were there. In this way they appear relevant well beyond the life cycle of the thing they came to prominence for - be music, design, journalism etc Optimism is easy to sustain when you're young and successful - you're talking about a very brief period in the lives of the advantaged. For the majority of ordinary people life was probably a struggle, but that's not glamourous/ aspirational so we don't hear about it much.

Whoever it was said 'Life is lived going forwards and understood going backwards' was bang-on! There's a lot of post rationalization goes on.

[Floydoid]

Jonone wrote:

> Whoever it was said 'Life is lived going forwards and understood going backwards' was bang-on!

That was Goethe.