The Lost Art of the Mix CD

A few days ago I found a stack of mix CD's I made back in 2006, with embarrassing Clipart covers to boot... The track listings are mostly made up of bands who have all but disappeared from air play. In the era of digital music the mix CD has also all but disappeared, along with the cassette tape before it.

Do you still buy CD's? 
Do you still have a device to play CD's on?
Do you still buy music?

I do. I still buy CD's and, more recently, vinyl too. On Saturday afternoon I found myself sat in a pile of more than 300 CDs: looking at the cover art, unfolding the booklets, reading the thank yous. Some of them had posters enclosed. Posters!

If I like a band's music I will buy their album regardless of the cover... But if the cover is a work of art, I will buy it quicker.

As a music lover, one of my goals is to one day see my artwork on the cover of an album or EP. Since that day has yet to arrive, I've created some fun papercut covers with accompanying playlists. I like to think they're a significant step up from my Clipart days...

Playlist 1: Motivational

These songs are from a longer playlist I made in my final year of uni. Sit in front of a knitting machine for 6 hours a day and you'll be listening to The Cars on repeat too...

1. The Cars - Just What I Needed
2. ZZ Top – Cheap Sunglasses
3. Wolfmother – Vagabond
4. Fruit Bats – Dolly
5. King Charles – Bam Bam
6. Placebo – Every You Every Me
7. Rock N Roll Soldiers – Funny Little Feeling
8. Ellie Goulding – You My Everything
9. ELO – Sweet Talkin' Woman
10. Mumford and Sons – I Will Wait


Playlist 2: Love Songs of the 70s

I'm a sucker for a cheesy love song from the decade of flares and facial hair. Okay, so 2 of these songs are from the late 60s... I cheated. What you gonna do?

1. Andy Kim – Rock Me Gently
2. Eric Clapton – Layla
3. Little River Band – Reminiscing
4. The Zombies  - This Will Be Our Year
5. Nolan Porter – If I Could Only Be Sure
6. Frankie Miller – Fool In Love
7. Lou Reed – Satellite of Love
8. Fleetwood Mac – You Make Loving Fun
9. Led Zeppelin – Thank You
10. Paul Simon – Still Crazy After All These Years


Playlist 3: Trains/Traveling

During my uni years I frequently traveled up and down the country on busy trains. A longer version of this playlist saved my sanity on many a long journey...

1. The Horrors – Still Life

2. Led Zeppelin – No Quarter
3. Florence + the Machine – Breath of Life

4. The Boxer Rebellion – Spitting Fire

5. Simon & Garfunkel – America
6. Tame Impala – Alter Ego

7. Florence + the Machine - Shake It Out

8. Alt J – Something Good
9. Led Zeppelin – That’s The Way
10. Lynyrd Skynyrd – Simple Man

What CD's or playlists have you been listening to lately?

Until next week...

-Karen

Finding Inspiration: Music Documentaries

Often the first place I look for inspiration for artwork is music, and so this week I thought I'd blog about some of the music documentaries I've been watching recently...

Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways
Directed by Dave Grohl

An 8 part series devoted to chronicling the histories and cultures that define a city's musical identity. In each episode the band record one song in one city, as Dave Grohl interviews the musical 'local legends'.

I loved this series! Being able to identify the reasons behind the lyrics makes the songs on the album (of the same name) much more meaningful. I also enjoyed seeing inside the 8 different recording studios and hearing the stories behind them.
 
Cobain: Montage of Heck
Directed by Brett Morgan

An honest look at the life of Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain through home footage, never before seen drawings, and journal pages. 'Montage of Heck' features in-depth interviews with Kurt's family and closest friends, including Krist Novoselic (Nirvana bassist) and Courtney Love (Kurt's wife). Revealing and very intense.

The accompanying book (of the same name) includes transcripts of hundreds of hours of interviews, and features never before seen photographs. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on it!

The Wrecking Crew
Directed by Denny Tedesco

 
My local independent cinema recently brought this documentary to my attention. 'The Wrecking Crew' were a talented group of studio musicians in LA in the 1960s who played on almost all of the hit records of the day, including songs by Nancy Sinatra, Beach Boys, and Mamas and Papas.

Unknown to the general public, the accomplished musicians were often brought in to replace entire groups on recordings. If you are at all interested in the history of rock music, I recommend this documentary!

Amy
Directed by Asif Kapadia

As with 'Cobain: Montage of Heck', 'Amy' isn't always an easy film to watch. Directed by Asif Kapadia, 'Amy' depicts the life of Amy Winehouse: her  blossoming career, her relationships, and her struggle with drink and drugs.

Kapadia's controversial choice to use paparazzi footage at times  creates the unpleasant feeling that you are hounding Amy, as the paparazzi so relentlessly did. But there are happier moments: a tattoo free Amy excited to begin her musical career. Be prepared to cry.

What documentaries have you watched recently? I'd love to hear your recommendations!

Until next week...

-Karen

Pennine Sinfonia Spring Concert

Pennine Sinfonia is a 'scratch' orchestra of professionals, students, graduates and teachers. Biannual concerts are held in aid of Jessie's Fund, a charity that helps children with complex needs through music.

"Music is a powerful way to interact, particularly for kids with communication difficulties."

Saturday's spring concert was held in St Paul's Hall in Huddersfield. As with the previous concerts, I designed and made the tickets, along with a few other decorative pieces...

For this concert I hand cut a sea of silent silhouette trumpeters. I also made a number of custom tickets, cut from purple card and embellished with gold glitter initials, for audience members who RSVP'd.

"I've never seen more attractive tickets for a concert!"

For front-of-house table decorations I hand cut purple flags in a similar design to the poster above, and stood them in glass jars beside handmade paper flowers. I finished the jars with mini tassel bunting. The colour palette throughout was black, purple and gold.

The front of the table was decorated with a handmade tassel banner. These banners are really easy to make, Pinterest has lots of tutorials! (Tip: cut the strips nice and thin.)

I was really happy with how my pieces looked (I received some lovely feedback!) but as always there are a few things I would do differently next time...

Below you can see the fully decorated table. That's my friend Fliss being all smiley and front-of-house!

The concert was a success, raising lots of money for Jessie's Fund!

Do you like my designs and colour palette? What would you have done differently?

Until next week...

Karen