More paperbacks

If you've never read 'sirens of Titan' by Kurt Vonnegut then i heartily recommend it. Has perhaps one of the saddest endings i've ever read in a science-fiction book. I read this and Lem's 'Solaris' in quick succession- boy, did i feel low after that.

The Slime Beast

The Groundhogs

This flyer for a Groundhogs/Egg/Quicksand gig was found glued to the inner sleeve of an LP. One of these days i'm going to make it into a t-shirt...'cos it looks boss.

Paperbacks

I'm a bit obsessed with old sci-fi paperbacks and their covers. I buy loads from charity shops- here are a couple of recent favourites.

Found sound.

On a recent charity shop foray in Wolverhampton I found this collection of hand drawn 45 sleeves. Ok, they may not be high art but there’s something about them that really reminds me of my teenage years.

I picked up a Faust LP on the same jaunt and was made up until I got home and discovered the actual vinyl was a white label copy of some charity shop high priest like Des O’ Connor. I guess you can’t win them all.

Peter Gabriel- games without frontiers/the start/ I don’t remember

There’s a definite gangster theme going on here. Blood spattered bullet holes and a scarfaced, stogie smoking tough In the corner.



Maybe if I listen to the record then this concept might become a little clearer…maybe.



Buzzcocks- everybody’s happy nowadays/why can’t I touch it?

I’d have to say this is my favourite of the bunch. There’s so much going on and you can see the definite influence of school stationary such as a compass and set square.



There’s fingerprints incorporated here so in theory I could track the artist down and present him/her with his masterpieces but I’m not going to…I’m gonna keep them.




Dire Straits- where do you think you're going?/lady writer

One of the lesser efforts in this particular oeuvre i feel.





Jon and Vangelis- thunder/I hear you now
I really love the armless ghost and lightning/fire/thunder combo. Reminds me a little of Deerhoof’s ‘Milkman’ LP cover.



I have no idea what’s happening here, fiery asteroids orbiting a sinister black mountain? The singing cloud (with teeth) is a great touch as is the lightning keyboard.



Roxy Music- to turn you on/jealous guy 7"

The original 7” had been replaced with Showaddywaddy which I didn’t fancy much so I replaced it in turn with Joan Jett. I like the futuristic ‘space’ vibes of this sleeve (the spaceship and meteors) and the ‘jealous guy’ himself seems to be dissolving into abstract fumes of pure jealousy.

Elvis Costello & The Attractions- Olivers army