The idea of turning album covers into animated GIFs is not exactly novel these days. Nevertheless, with the long-playing record itself on the endangered species list in our “quick-fix, one-hour photo, instant oatmeal society” (thank you, Lisa Simpson), perhaps it’s best to take any available opportunity to savor this particular art form. Is the album cover truly the scrimshaw of our time? Internet denizens are invited to ponder this issue while perusing the Tumblr of an artist named JB, who has been sharing his animated LP covers with the public since October 2013 and is still going strong, even taking reader requests. “I started animated these album covers for fun,” he explains, “and ended up with a lot of them so I decided to post them.” Fair enough. A glance at the Tumblr’s archive suggests that the artist’s personal musical tastes lean toward metal (Iron Maiden, Helloween) and punk (NOFX, No Use for a Name). But you’ll find covers by everyone from the Smashing Pumpkins to Pink Floyd on the site, too. Those looking to stare fixedly at something for the entire running time of Judas Priest’s Ram It Down could certainly do worse.
Join the discussion...