Since everyone is already decorating

Phil Spector's A Christmas Gift For you is my favorite Christmas album. It's perfect. 

Not only chock full of Ronettes, the Crystals and sonic enlightenment, but in a beautiful package! I'm familiar with the christmas gift album art but I absolutely love the minimal double album.

Sometimes I struggle with the idea of Graphic Design and being a Graphic Designer.

But as I discovered over thanksgiving break, album art always brings me back to understanding why I love design.

There is just something really great about it. It's such an undertaking to make a physical representation of something so intangible as song, it's fascinating. I love the minimal repetition and clean shapes of albums from the 50s and 60s, mostly the instrumental ones as the shapes often mimic the rhythm and syncopation of the music. I've been collecting records/album art for as long as I can remember, it's awesome to be able to appreciate them now with a new understanding of design. 

Wave of Sound

My iTunes got wiped over the summer due to a super lame laptop malfunction. I've been restoring my library since mid-July and have just recently acquired some old favorites.

Something I'm really excited about, Beach Boys: Endless Summer.


I've got it on vinyl but having it on the iPod rules.
It's just one of those albums you know is excellent, so you're not always compelled to listen, especially when you've grown up listening to it and you know it's good. Listening to this is like getting an unexpected visit from a friend, who has brought you a box of salt water taffy that you proceed to eat for hours while sitting around just talking and laughing about everything.
Na'mean?!

Last year I was obsessed with Pet Sounds and all things Brian Wilson. Particularly The Wave of Sound . Phil Spector's influence on Brian Wilson is so evident on both albums. I vaguely remember reading an interview where Wilson proclaims "Be My Baby" to be his favorite song, of all time. Endless Summer's "Don't Worry Baby" --> DIRECT CONNECT!
So good.

Wilson's Wave of Sound, Spector's Wall of Sound. I'm perpetually fascinated with both of these ideas.