The cartoon image on the cover immediately grabs the audience’s attention through its varied use of bright colours such as green, blue and red. The variety of colours on the cover connotes the fun-loving image of the band and creates an exciting atmosphere, attracting a young, fun-loving, carefree audience, and also connotes a feeling of anarchy which would appeal to the rebellious side of its young audience. The pink and blue colours initially connote a light-hearted mood; however the creation of movement on the cover through the use of cartoon caricatures depicting the band members playing their instruments creates a chaotic feel that connotes both the attitude and fun of the pop rock genre. There is also an intertextual reference on the cover: the cartoon nurse that became iconic of the band’s last album so would be recognisable to fans. The image is representative of a live concert, using pink, green and blue spotlights on the band members and signifying the content of the live album, thus appealing to the interests of the target demographic. The band appeals to their target audience through costume; casual clothes such as shorts, t-shirts and sideways caps mean the band members are relatable to teenage boys. The font used for the band name is in a slightly messy cursive style, connoting a carefree attitude that would appeal to a young audience. However, the image is the central focus of the cover, partly covering the album title, connoting that the band are exciting and full of energy. The comical image with cartoon caricatures and the pink underwear being thrown up onto the stage signify the self-deprecating humour of the band. Blink-182 not only engage their audience by capturing their energy and stage presence on their album cover, but also present themselves as fun-loving individuals who don’t take themselves too seriously, thus appealing to their young and carefree audience.
Missundaztood – Pink (2001) The central focus of the cover is a medium shot of the female artist looking directly at the camera, instantly engaging and making a connection with the audience.
Her facial expression is a combination of sultry and surly, combining the conventional attitude of rock with the sexualised image of female pop artists. Therefore, Pink engages her audience by challenging the conventions of both genres. Pink’s costume and make-up also help to attract her audience; her pink hair connotes rebellion and originality, appealing to teenagers, as well as linking to the artist’s name. Her costume challenges the conventions of female pop artists as it is not feminine- she wears a scruffy white t-shirt and large black wristbands, which communicates to the audience that she is different and unique so attracting interest to the album. However, she still shows some flesh and so reinforces the stereotypes of female sexuality in order to attract male members of the audience. Her body language, although seductive, is almost lazy, giving connotations of an unconcerned attitude that would relate to a teenage audience. The artist name ‘Pink’ is in large, graffiti-style font, and is slightly slanted, giving connotations of rebellion and youth, relating to the target demographic. It is also pink, relating again to the artist name and thus making the artist memorable to the audience. The colour pink conventionally has connotations of femininity and innocence, so combining this with the graffiti-style font and rebellious image of the artist, Pink challenges these conventions which would attract interest from the audience and encourage teenage girls to listen to a new, unique female pop artist. The album title, ‘m!ssundaztood’, is also in graffiti-style font and is intentionally spelled differently to the conventional ‘Misunderstood’ in order to engage a younger, modern audience who would relate to this use of internet slang. . Overall, this album cover combines the codes and conventions of both rock and pop and challenges conventions of femininity in order to create a rebellious, unique and ‘misunderstood’ image of the artist, leading the audience to want to understand.
Her facial expression is a combination of sultry and surly, combining the conventional attitude of rock with the sexualised image of female pop artists. Therefore, Pink engages her audience by challenging the conventions of both genres. Pink’s costume and make-up also help to attract her audience; her pink hair connotes rebellion and originality, appealing to teenagers, as well as linking to the artist’s name. Her costume challenges the conventions of female pop artists as it is not feminine- she wears a scruffy white t-shirt and large black wristbands, which communicates to the audience that she is different and unique so attracting interest to the album. However, she still shows some flesh and so reinforces the stereotypes of female sexuality in order to attract male members of the audience. Her body language, although seductive, is almost lazy, giving connotations of an unconcerned attitude that would relate to a teenage audience. The artist name ‘Pink’ is in large, graffiti-style font, and is slightly slanted, giving connotations of rebellion and youth, relating to the target demographic. It is also pink, relating again to the artist name and thus making the artist memorable to the audience. The colour pink conventionally has connotations of femininity and innocence, so combining this with the graffiti-style font and rebellious image of the artist, Pink challenges these conventions which would attract interest from the audience and encourage teenage girls to listen to a new, unique female pop artist. The album title, ‘m!ssundaztood’, is also in graffiti-style font and is intentionally spelled differently to the conventional ‘Misunderstood’ in order to engage a younger, modern audience who would relate to this use of internet slang. . Overall, this album cover combines the codes and conventions of both rock and pop and challenges conventions of femininity in order to create a rebellious, unique and ‘misunderstood’ image of the artist, leading the audience to want to understand.
Return Of Saturn – No Doubt (2000)
The conventional eye-catching colours of a pop rock album cover, specifically pink and blue, adorn the cover, giving connotations of catchy, light-hearted music and grabbing the attention of the audience. The use of blue and pink means that the cover is gender neutral and not specifically targeted at one gender. The cover is made to look as though the band is in some kind of space age world, with the use of the blue background and a swirl of oranges and greens, representing a galaxy. This other-worldly feel is continued with the use of strange props such as giant lipsticks, a birthday cake, a doll’s head and a telescope. This space-like, confusing atmosphere engages and grabs the audience’s attention, connoting that they are unique and perhaps even epic to listen to. This also links to the album title, ‘Return of Saturn’, which is in a sci-fi style font conventional to sci-fi films such as Star Wars. The band name, too, is surrounded by a white glow, creating a space-like effect and also giving connotations of sunlight, signifying the light-hearted mood of pop rock music. Although No Doubt separate themselves from other pop rock artists by creating this space-age effect, they also stick to many pop rock album cover conventions, such as the facial expressions and body language of the band. In the background one member of the band is completely naked and jumping in the air, grinning straight at the camera. This connotes a sense of fun, energy and rebellion conventional to the pop rock genre and appealing to youth. The central focus of the cover is on the female main singer, although she is positioned to the left hand side of the cover. This challenges conventions of pop artists who typically like to take centre stage, connoting that this is a credible band who take their music seriously rather than being concerned with a ‘pop star’ image. The long shot of the female singer frames her bright pink hair and quirky outfit, connoting the fun and originality of the music. She also is looking straight at the camera, establishing a connection with the audience and enticing them to look at the album. This album cover uses bright colours and images of the band to convey the conventional attitude and energy of pop rock music and to engage their audience.
The Blue Album – Weezer (1994)In comparison to other pop rock album covers, this cover is a lot less cluttered, signifying the musical credibility of the band as the lack of detail on the cover connotes they are unconcerned with image. This challenges typical conventions of pop rock album covers, however the bright turquoise background immediately grabs the audience’s attention and bright colours like this are conventional to pop rock album covers and immediately connote the fun, energy and light-hearted mood of the music. There is a medium long shot of the band members standing in a straight line, connoting that they are ‘at the same level’ as their audience. The costume of the band members are everyday, casual clothes, and the medium long shot means they are not glamorised in any way, framing their laid-back body language, connoting that the band members are your typical ‘average Joe’. As the band look young, this means they are easily identifiable by their audience, particularly teenage boys, and thus they build a relationship with their audience. The band name is in lower case, black, easy to read font that stands out against the blue background, emphasising the laid-back and down to earth impression the band communicate to their audience. The lack of album title emphasises this laid-back tone and means fans would recognise the album by its striking colour. By identifying with their target audience, Weezer build an established fan base. Through audience identification, colour and simplicity, this album cover has a light-hearted and laid-back mood which is conventional of the pop rock genre.
Riot! – Paramore (2007) 
Due to the lack of colour, this album cover is not as light-hearted as the previous pop rock album covers. The only two colours included are black and red, connoting a much darker music style, and also giving the band a mysterious, dangerous image in order to entice the audience. However, the album title ‘Riot!’ is in a scratchy font and is repeated in various sizes in the background of the image, connoting a sense of anarchy to the audience and linking to the album title itself. The main title is in large red capital letters, grabbing the attention of the audience, and the word ‘riot!’ connotes the energy and attitude conventional to the pop rock genre and so appeals to a youthful target audience. The messy style of the font is attractive to a rebellious, fun-seeking target audience. The central focus of the cover is a medium shot of the band, which has been edited to blend in with the black and white scratchy background, emphasising the chaotic theme of the cover. The band members look directly at the camera, almost as though they are inviting the audience to join their ‘riot’. They identify with their teenage target audience through costume and hairstyle, such as hoodies and graphic t-shirts which is conventional costume of youth.
Due to the lack of colour, this album cover is not as light-hearted as the previous pop rock album covers. The only two colours included are black and red, connoting a much darker music style, and also giving the band a mysterious, dangerous image in order to entice the audience. However, the album title ‘Riot!’ is in a scratchy font and is repeated in various sizes in the background of the image, connoting a sense of anarchy to the audience and linking to the album title itself. The main title is in large red capital letters, grabbing the attention of the audience, and the word ‘riot!’ connotes the energy and attitude conventional to the pop rock genre and so appeals to a youthful target audience. The messy style of the font is attractive to a rebellious, fun-seeking target audience. The central focus of the cover is a medium shot of the band, which has been edited to blend in with the black and white scratchy background, emphasising the chaotic theme of the cover. The band members look directly at the camera, almost as though they are inviting the audience to join their ‘riot’. They identify with their teenage target audience through costume and hairstyle, such as hoodies and graphic t-shirts which is conventional costume of youth.
Kerplunk – Green Day (1992)
Although the album cover lacks the conventional bright colours of a pop rock album cover, it connotes its genre in other ways. For example, the album title ‘Kerplunk’ is an onomatopoeic word conventional to comic strips which connotes fun, energy and entertainment in their music, appealing to a young, fun-seeking audience. This is emphasised by the comic-book style font of the album title, which is in capital letters that are not in a straight line, giving connotations of rebellion and quirkiness in order to entice their audience, and is surrounded by a word balloon representative of an explosion, conventional to comic strips. The album title creates an exciting tone to the cover, and by parodying the conventions of comic strips Green Day present themselves as a funny, light-hearted band. The image on the cover is a cartoon drawing of a girl holding a gun and winking at the camera. Cartoon-like images are conventional to pop rock album covers and appeal to a young audience through their comical nature. The gun connotes danger, however the girls’ cheeky facial expression and sexualised body language (hand on hip) gives this a much more light-hearted mood. This female character connotes a sexual identity to the audience and entices them to look at the album, particularly heterosexual teenage boys. The band name is in a bold green font, in which the letters are not in a straight line and are in both capital and non-capital letters. The bold font stands outs against the white background, communicating to the audience the impact this band has, and the unstructured style of the lettering connotes the quirkiness and fun of the music. The colour green is used in various places on the album cover in order to make the band name ‘Green Day’ memorable to the audience. Green primarily has connotations of nature and peacefulness, however by using the image of the female character with a gun, Green Day challenge this in order to create a feeling of anarchy.
Although the album cover lacks the conventional bright colours of a pop rock album cover, it connotes its genre in other ways. For example, the album title ‘Kerplunk’ is an onomatopoeic word conventional to comic strips which connotes fun, energy and entertainment in their music, appealing to a young, fun-seeking audience. This is emphasised by the comic-book style font of the album title, which is in capital letters that are not in a straight line, giving connotations of rebellion and quirkiness in order to entice their audience, and is surrounded by a word balloon representative of an explosion, conventional to comic strips. The album title creates an exciting tone to the cover, and by parodying the conventions of comic strips Green Day present themselves as a funny, light-hearted band. The image on the cover is a cartoon drawing of a girl holding a gun and winking at the camera. Cartoon-like images are conventional to pop rock album covers and appeal to a young audience through their comical nature. The gun connotes danger, however the girls’ cheeky facial expression and sexualised body language (hand on hip) gives this a much more light-hearted mood. This female character connotes a sexual identity to the audience and entices them to look at the album, particularly heterosexual teenage boys. The band name is in a bold green font, in which the letters are not in a straight line and are in both capital and non-capital letters. The bold font stands outs against the white background, communicating to the audience the impact this band has, and the unstructured style of the lettering connotes the quirkiness and fun of the music. The colour green is used in various places on the album cover in order to make the band name ‘Green Day’ memorable to the audience. Green primarily has connotations of nature and peacefulness, however by using the image of the female character with a gun, Green Day challenge this in order to create a feeling of anarchy.
Codes and conventions I have found from my pop rock album cover analysis:
· Image of the band/artist, looking directly at the camera in order to target their audience; often smiling, laid back; female artists tend to have sultry facial expression
· Costume and make-up of artists is youthful and casual, used to relate to audience and connote laid back nature of bands, e.g. t-shirts, shorts, sideways caps. Female artists (Pink, No Doubt) challenge convention with bright hair colours etc
· Movement and gesture of artists/characters on cover is fun and energetic, e.g. jumping in midair, or laid back
· Use of comic strip codes, e.g. cartoon images, bright colours, motion lines and word balloons create a quirky, fun mood
· Layout of album cover- the band names are always at the top of the cover, the background is either very bright or detailed, and artists images are central focus of cover
· Scribbled, bold, cursive-style font and unstructured lettering for titles to connote anarchy and relate to teenage audience. Often font is thematic with album title/band name e.g. No Doubt’s ‘Return of Saturn’ in conventional sci-fi font
· Colour codes; bright, bold primary colours such as red, blue and green make the covers gender neutral, connote fun and energy and grab the attention of a fun-seeking young audience
· Language of album titles: often one word that packs a punch, e.g. Riot!, Kerplunk, M!ssundaztood. Grabs attention of fun-seeking teens, connotes spark and energy in music.
· Image of the band/artist, looking directly at the camera in order to target their audience; often smiling, laid back; female artists tend to have sultry facial expression
· Costume and make-up of artists is youthful and casual, used to relate to audience and connote laid back nature of bands, e.g. t-shirts, shorts, sideways caps. Female artists (Pink, No Doubt) challenge convention with bright hair colours etc
· Movement and gesture of artists/characters on cover is fun and energetic, e.g. jumping in midair, or laid back
· Use of comic strip codes, e.g. cartoon images, bright colours, motion lines and word balloons create a quirky, fun mood
· Layout of album cover- the band names are always at the top of the cover, the background is either very bright or detailed, and artists images are central focus of cover
· Scribbled, bold, cursive-style font and unstructured lettering for titles to connote anarchy and relate to teenage audience. Often font is thematic with album title/band name e.g. No Doubt’s ‘Return of Saturn’ in conventional sci-fi font
· Colour codes; bright, bold primary colours such as red, blue and green make the covers gender neutral, connote fun and energy and grab the attention of a fun-seeking young audience
· Language of album titles: often one word that packs a punch, e.g. Riot!, Kerplunk, M!ssundaztood. Grabs attention of fun-seeking teens, connotes spark and energy in music.
No comments:
Post a Comment