Your Similar Album Covers of the Week - Soft Hues

Ah, the golden age of vinyl. It was only during this time -- approx. from 1969-1983 -- that the packaging of records became a real art form, resulting in a product in which the record sleeve's design and art was given as much attention as the music inside (an art form that is all but lost in today's digital industry).

Many record covers in the 70s omitted the traditional glossy shine, opting for a softer, natural cardboard texture, which the grainy, saturated, shadowy-cheekbone photos in these examples compliment nicely. Of course, these .jpegs don't give any sense of the album's texture, which can only be experienced by lovingly holding, cradling and caressing the record in your hands. So head to your local vinyl shop and rub your hands over some classic records, as these are examples of timeless album art for the ages.

Your Similar Album Covers of the Week - Electric Hands

This week starts a new reoccurring segment, in which two existing album covers are picked from time and space and presented as coincidentally similar.

Today's pair both seem to be freaked out that their hands have morphed into unwieldy electronic equipment. The main difference here being that one is a landmark album in the history of hard rock, and the other is a ridiculous, awful joke of a record. Guess which is which?

High Sierra Music Festival Review - Jambase.com

I hope everyone out there in the land of the internets had a grand 4th of July weekend, preferably spent far, far away from any computers or wi-fi connections. I had one for the record books: four days of camping and music up at the High Sierra Music Festival in Plumas County, high in the mountains. There was non-stop music from 10am to 4am, four days in a row, and I did my darndest to catch as much as I could. It is truly the most well-put together festie I've ever attended, and I would recommend it to any music lover. Here's my writeup of the long, exhausting, exhilarating weekend over at Jambase, supplemented with tons of awesome pics:

High Sierra Music Festival :: 06.30.11-07.03.11 :: Plumas County Fairgrounds :: Quincy, CA

The Travelin' McCourys pickin' up a storm among the pines:

Brokedown in Bakersfield was a one-gig-only country band put together to play High Sierra, and they certainly didn't disappoint:

Reggae guitar legend Ernest Ranglin got us all skanking with an epic sunset set. Here Audio Angel helps him out on a cover of The Abyssinians' "Satta Massagana":



Later that night, Ween got us all brown with Skerik on sax for "Your Party":



Gillian Welch closed out her set on the first night with a huge take on "White Rabbit":



Overall, a truly epic weekend.