Saturday, August 20, 2011

TC: Mirror Traffic


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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/97/Stephen-Malkmus-And-The-Jicks-Mirror-Traffic.jpg



Mirror Traffic: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, produced by Beck Hansen, cover art by Tom Clark, Matador Records, release date 23 August 2011

7 comments:

ACravan said...

Now I'm excited. Love the cover. Sorry I can't underscore Love. Curtis

TC said...

Thanks very much Curtis. This is one of those classic L'il Abner situations.

They came seeking that image, they used it, but so far, in the empire of the instant, it has gone uncredited (although on some rock zine sites it has actually been credited to a Matador staff person, yet)... and now it has gone viral, and has appeared on one billion sites and blogs across the net, with the impression given that its creation (should anyone be interested) was some sort of immaculate conception or miracle of photoshop. But hey, that was actual paint, once. It came out of tubes and was applied with brushes, by hand. Before the first lab pixie ever breathed the ether.

ACravan said...

I'm interested and sorry to hear this tale, but trust you'll get it worked out. Record company art departments often do strange things that I don't understand. Once when looking at a couple of (I believe) MCA reissues, including one for Irma Thomas, I discovered that Caroline, who formerly worked there, was for some reason actually credited with the cover art. Of course, that was inaccurate and we never learned why this occurred. When I used to oversee the legal aspects of packaging for a large home video company, we were scrupulous in listing credits correctly. If you require any assistance here, please let me know. Curtis

TC said...

Curtis,

I'm still looking forward to holding the actual object in my gnarled hands.

There's an interesting interview with Steve Malkmus about Mirror Traffic, by the way, here.

Anonymous said...

I got the cover for The Age of Huts (a collage by Jess)after finding it on the cover of a Nina Simone release in the UK.

Nin Andrews said...

It is beautiful. I love it. I do hope you get credit. A creepy story . . . Keep us updated!

TC said...

Ron,

Jess and Nina Simone (with Ron in the rumble seat). A dream date.


Nin,

Many thanks.

Yes, this was sorted out and credit given.

S.M. is a gracious fellow as well as a very talented artist.

By the by, this is kind of interesting:

Steve Malkmus talks about the Mirror Traffic cover.