We're Not Gonna Take It

Since I did the best album covers of the '60s, '70s, and "'80s" yesterday, I thought today I would do the worst album covers of the '80s and '90s.

10.  River of Dreams (1993) - Billy Joel


I don't know what's more disturbing:  the songs on the album or the cover.

9.  5150 (1986) - Van Halen


The amount of discomfort I am feeling right now from this cover...

8.  Bridges to Babylon (1997) - The Rolling Stones


If I covered "The Rolling Stones" and "Bridges to Babylon," would you ever guess this belongs to one of the greatest bands of all time?

7.  Body Wishes (1983) - Rod Stewart

So.  Many.  Rods.

6.  Get Lucky (1981) - Loverboy

I consider myself to be very unlucky after seeing this.

5.  Julie's Sixteenth Birthday (1985) - John Bult

"They forgot my f***ing birthday!"

4.  Y Kant Tori Read (1988) - Y Kant Tori Read

Y kant Tori spell

3.  I'm God's Child (1980) - The Cooper Family


Awkward Family Photos.

2.  Back to the S*** (1989) - Millie Jackson


Everyone who approved of this cover needs to be taken back to the shit.

1.  Stay Hungry (1984) - Twisted Sister

Hide yo kids, hide yo wife, and hide yo husband

Can't Get It Out of My Head

My top ten favorite album covers of the '60s, '70s, and '80s.  Well, only one is from the '80s.

10.  The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) - The Velvet Underground & Nico

I chose this as my number ten because I love the fact that they incorporated a professional artist into their cover.  The album was released in March 1967 and has since been considered one of the greatest albums of all time.

9.  London Calling (1979) - The Clash

I absolutely LOVE this cover, but I have places it so high on my list because Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, which was released in 1956, is the same thing.  I know I shouldn't punish them being as though so many other artists have paid homage to the rock star, but I have based this list on originality.  It's still an awesome cover, though.

8.  Ramones (1976) - Ramones

I think this cover picture is so cool.  The four guys against a brick, graffiti-covered wall... all while being in black and white.  And they look so cool with their leather jackets and jeans and long hair that was oh so popular in the '70s.

7.  1984 (1984) - Van Halen

Scandalous.  A baby with angel wings smoking a cigarette with several more cigs on deck.  I also love "1984" written in roman numerals in the top left and right corners.  I just think the whole cover is very creative, like the songs on the record.

6.  Sticky Fingers (1971) - The Rolling Stones

I have this vinyl and I must say that it is a little different from the vinyl cover I am used to.  The cover contains a working "zipper" and "belt" and reveals briefs underneath.  And apparently the crotch photographed is not that of Mr. Jagger.  So whose crotch is this?  The world may never know.  I think it's more scandalous than 1984.

5.  The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) - Pink Floyd

I love the whole concept of this album cover.  I am unsure why they chose this, as I don't really see any direct connection between that and the music, but I'm sure they had a reason.  This is definitely one of the most iconic album covers of all time.  Everyone has seen it and knows it.

4.  Rumours (1977) - Fleetwood Mac

Rumours is such a bizarre album cover, but I love it.  I love Stevie's outfit along with their poses.  It has the same feeling of their Fleetwood Mac cover two years earlier.

3.  Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. (1973) - Bruce Springsteen

I think I like this cover so much because it's a postcard from one of the best known towns in the state of New Jersey.  It's also the album cover of one of the best known musicians from the state of New Jersey.  Looking at this cover makes me feel like such a Jersey Girl.  I love it.

2.  The Beatles [The White Album] (1968) - The Beatles

So simple, yet such an impact.  The Beatles didn't need some over the top cover to get their points across.  They're The Beatles.  We have to remember that they are the biggest band that has ever walked the planet.  Do they really need some out of the ordinary cover?

1.  Eldorado (1974) - Electric Light Orchestra


Another album cover that is a shout-out to popular culture.  The album follows a character who dreams and travels through those dreams to different worlds and fantasies.  That's what happened to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz.  She wakes up to realize that she was in a descriptive dream.  It shows how great Jeff Lynne was at his job.

I Get A Kick Out of You

I got this book fro Christmas from my aunt, uncle, and cousins called The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time.  The book features more than 250 of the best album covers and is arranged by decade and musical genre.

It was published in 2005 by Collins & Barnes and was written by Barry Miles, Grant Scott, and Johnny Morgan.  There are six different chapters:  1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.  I'll go over just a few of those.

In the 1950s chapter, there are four subchapters:

1. Pop - Frank Sinatra's Come Fly with Me and Peggy Lee's Black Coffee are two of the albums included.
2. Exotica - Robert Frost's Robert Frost Reads His Poetry is one of the records in this subchapter.
3. Jazz - Ella Fitzgerald's Ella Fitzgerald Sings Gershwin Vol 2 and Quincy Jones's This Is How I Feel About Jazz are just two of the several albums.
4. Rock 'n' Roll - Elvis Presley's Elvis Presley, Little Richard's Here's Little Richard, and Gene Vincent and the Blue Caps' Gene Vincent Rocks!  And the Blue Caps Roll.

In the 1980s chapter, there are seven subchapters:

1. Factory - New Order's Low-Life, Power Corruption and Lies, and Movement.
2. Pop - Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A., Adam and the Ants' Kings of the Wild Frontier, Madonna's True Blue, and R.E.M.'s Murmur are just a few.
3. Rock - Tom Waits's Rain Dogs, Talking Heads' The Name of this Band Is Talking Heads and Remain in Light
4. Agit Rock - Killing Joke's Killing Joke and The Fall's Hex Enduction Hour.
5. Metal - AC/DC's Back in Black, Van Halen's MCMLXXXIV, Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast, and ZZ Top's Eliminator.
6. Rap - Beastie Boys' Licensed of Ill and L.L. Cool J's Radio.
7. Soul - George Benson's Give Me the Night and Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel.

I don't want to give the whole book away, so if you would like to know the other chapters, you will have to buy it for yourself!!

Springsteen & Van Halen

I went to the mall today with my friend and whenever I go to the mall, I always have to look for cool band tees.

I only go to Hot Topic when I want a band tee.  They have everything from classic Led Zeppelin to modern Avenged Sevenfold.  I always tend to gravitate towards the classic bands sine I am a pretty classic girl. They had sooo many that I wanted, but I eventually decided on a really cool Van Halen one.  I think Van Halen is so cool and the moment I saw that shirt I knew I had to have it.

Bruce Springsteen is a commonly used name in my household.  I went into H&M looking for yet another band tee and first stumbled upon a really cool Mick Jagger shirt.  Mick Jagger has so much swagger so I really thought that shirt was going to be the winner.  I held it in my hand, planning to get it, when I came across a shirt with the cover to Bruce Springsteen's The River.  I adore both singers, but Bruce Springsteen just fits me because of where he's from and where I'm from.

I saw so many cool shirts today but had a little amount of money, so unfortunately I could not purchase all of them.  Maybe I just shouldn't like so many bands.....Ha!  There is absolutely no way that will happen.

My personal faves

I absolutely love music videos, especially those from the 1980s.  There's something about videos from the '80s that make you want to laugh, and I don't know what it is.

For example, Love Stinks by the J.Geils Band is hysterical.  The video starts off with a man jumping on a pogo stick while playing two trumpets and continues with many other odd occurrences like  someone cutting a tomato (which they show multiple times) and finishing off the song with a chimpanzee crawling away from a television.

Peter Wolf is probably just a funny guy, considering his song Come As You Are has a music video that is also pretty funny.  The whole video is him hopping through town.  Yes, hopping.

Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is another one.  From her parents yelling at her, to the pizza boxes, this is another video that a lot of people find goofy.

We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister is probably one of the corniest videos I have ever seen.  The father in the beginning is priceless and when the son starts playing guitar, the father flies out the window onto the ground.  And that's only one example.

Van Halen is a great band.  And Hot For Teacher is another video I have added to my list.  Dorky Waldo and the rest of the boys in his class have the hots for their new teacher that year.

Whip It by Devo...I almost have no words for this video.  The band is on a cheesy set holding whips and wearing the pot hats and then there's a cross-eyed woman.  Now tell me that's not odd.

Chevy Chase is a tall guy.  Paul Simon is a short guy.  And in the You Can Call Me Al video for Paul Simon's song, Chevy Chase is "singing" Paul's part and Paul is singing the parts with the low voice.  It's quite funny.

I apologize to The Flying Lizards, but Money is probably the worst video I have ever seen.  At one part she's dancing horribly and at another she's flying in mid-air.  I just don't understand.