Who needs to buy an album these days? All it takes is a few clicks on your phone or computer and you can download all of your music via iTunes, and a number of other platforms, and it only takes seconds.
Downloading might be easier, and friendlier to the environment, but as a result CDs are becoming less and less popular. Just like tape decks went extinct in newer model vehicles, one day so too will CD players. The biggest issue with this revelation is that the cover art associated with album covers is taking a back seat. This is what inspired web design company Aptitude to create a fun series involving old album covers.
Aptitude has actually expanded popular album covers, using their creativity to show what these pictures might look like if they were not cropped at all. Of course it’s all just for fun, but in some cases the real album artwork isn’t as fitting as the recreated version!
Enjoy these ‘un-cropped’ famous album covers generated by Aptitude. as an attempt to bring back the love for album art, and simply make you laugh!
Michael Jackson “Off The Wall” 1979
While Aptitude wanted to show off their fun side with these album cover recreations, they also tried to keep them somewhat related to the actual time period the album was produced during. Take this Michael Jackson cover for instance, with talk about the future, a smoking monkey and Jackson actually sporting “dress” shorts.
In an interview with Bored Panda Aptitude says, “We brain storm content ideas regularly and wanted to come up with something a vast majority of people could enjoy/relate to.”
Bruce Springsteen “Born in the U.S.A.” 1984
You can’t be born in the USA without loving Fat Boy Burgers, but Americans know good and well what happens when you eat too many of those…
Fatboy Slim “Why Try Harder” 2006
Blur “Parklife” 1994
Aptitude explains that people buy the digital copy out of convenience. Short cuts are applied to anything that is ‘convenient,’ thus eliminating the popularity of album covers. Musicians use these covers to convey a deeper message about themselves and their music, something no one wants to lose all together.
The Beatles “Abbey Road” 1969
I especially love the road sign that reads “CAUTION Beetles Crossing.”
Justin Bieber “My World” 2010
When Justin Bieber first hit the scene with Usher at his side, he was a fresh-faced adorable boy without any serious crime record. His strawberry lips and infamous hair rocked the cover of his 2010 album, but what was really going on behind the scenes in Justin’s world? I think this edited album cover nails it!
Adele “19” 2008
Adele’s incredible voice might not spark thoughts of zombies, but it was just around 2008 when the whole zombie scene took off, causing many to lose their minds due to zombie fever.
Remember how much fun it was to purchase a new CD? To hold the physical copy in your hands, check out the photos included in the multi-page cover spread and read the lyrics straight off the paper. The album art itself is something like a book cover, either drawing people in or turning them off. Plus, album art tells you more about the artist behind the music, in fact there are certain CD’s just as easily identified by their cover art as the music tucked away inside.
Take the “Nevermind” CD by Nirvana, who doesn’t remember seeing this naked baby in a Target or Circuit City (RIP) store!?
Nirvana “Nevermind” 1991
The album covers have become so popular the team at Aptitude is already thinking of adding more to the collection. They may even expand into movie and video game covers, other genres that are slowly being taken hostage by download.
Photo Credits: aptitude.co.uk, Bored Panda
[Image: The International Space Station at night, photographed by astronaut 
[Image: Photo by 
[Image: Photo by 
[Image: Photo by 
[Image: Photo by 
[Images: Photos by astronaut 
[Image: Photo by 
