The real Backspacer cover?

kiljoythemerciful

over bends wrote:

Anyone think there is any symbolism between the images and the songs? Like number 9 immediately jumped out to me as "Amongst the Waves."

And number 8 definitely looks like he'd call himself Johnny Guitar.

That came to me as well. The "Amongst the Waves" one is quite clear. There was a funny debate going on about how "Amongst the Waves" should be "Among the Waves". This drawing shows why "Amongst the Waves" is appropriate.

aNiMaL

I still wonder why only the LP description states: "Original art by Tom Tomorrow (This Modern World)." I am not convinced that this will be the CD artwork. I wonder if they would use separate artwork for the LP versus the CD...hmm?

Veddernarian

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/i ... iece-here/

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Pearl Jam’s “Backspacer” Art Goes Viral: Grab a Piece Here
7/29/09, 10:14 am EST



If you’re seeing an awesome illustration up top, it means you’ve found one of the nine pieces of Backspacer album art that Pearl Jam are hiding all over the Internet today. Click it to head to Pearl Jam’s official site and add the image to your set of nine snapshots — once you find them all, there is a reward (keep reading …)

For Backspacer’s artwork, the band enlisted their friend and political cartoonist Tom Tomorrow. “The artwork collaboration between Tom Tomorrow and the band for this album is so compelling, we felt like it deserved its own online gallery showcase,” said Tim Bierman, the manager of Pearl Jam’s Ten Club, who as Rock Daily previously reported, is already taking pre-orders for Backspacer. The band’s ninth LP is due out September 20th.

There is some extra incentive for fans to scour the ‘Net looking for the remaining Backspacer art: Once fans find the other eight images, they’ll nab a “free download.” Also, the Backspacer art gallery (click the image to go there) is currently streaming the album’s first single “The Fixer.” “The Fixer” debuted on radio last week.

Pearl Jam have a long history of collaborating with artists — check out some of their coolest poster art here: Pearl Jam in Posters: A Gallery of Illustrated Tour Art.

Backspacer was produced by Brendan O’Brien, who’s back working with the band for the first time since 1998’s Yield. After a one-off show in Calgary, Alberta, and a brief European trek, Pearl Jam officially begin touring North America on August 21st with a performance at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre. Fans can expect to get a preview of some Backspacer tracks like “Got Some” — which the band played on The Tonight Show — and “The Fixer,” plus possibly songs like “The End” and “Speed of Sound” that Eddie Vedder recently debuted during his solo tour.

Ledbetterman10

Great cover!

And I'm trademarking the "pimp on the tricycle between the skank's legs" as my avatar! you saw it here first!

aNiMaL

aNiMaL wrote:

I still wonder why only the LP description states: "Original art by Tom Tomorrow (This Modern World)." I am not convinced that this will be the CD artwork. I wonder if they would use separate artwork for the LP versus the CD...hmm?

Not to mention this kick ass of artwork is supposed to be on a large 12x12 LP cover, not a little CD cover.

Anyhow, glad I got both the CD and LP.

elevation622

There's Drums in Space in there! Like the Dead! That brings me back! I can still practically taste the colors again! hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....acid.

Stephen Flow

wonder if these pictures each represent a song... the bottom right one could be Amongst the Waves...

I also love the addition of the turtle on the cover as an homage to Backspacer from the turtle race.

benjs

elevation622 wrote:

There's Drums in Space in there! Like the Dead! That brings me back! I can still practically taste the colors again! hhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....acid.

I don't know if you've read (or heard of) a book called This is Your Brain On Music, but it's a physics/psychology/sociology book on what's going on when we hear music, but it brings up a fact that babies, at birth, still have certain links in their brains associating different senses with each other, describing baby-hood as one huge psychedelic trip where something can taste like red, or smell like warm.

tcaporale

Stephen Flow wrote:

wonder if these pictures each represent a song... the bottom right one could be Amongst the Waves...

I also love the addition of the turtle on the cover as an homage to Backspacer from the turtle race.

Yeah, I think the imagery comes from lyrics from the album.

benjs

over bends wrote:

Anyone think there is any symbolism between the images and the songs? Like number 9 immediately jumped out to me as "Amongst the Waves."

And number 8 definitely looks like he'd call himself Johnny Guitar.

Hm. Well, I suppose we've all seen the Fixer's artwork, so I'd just like to point out the obvious for fun. The Fixer art really does a good job of conveying what's going on in the song. There's a person who's missing most of his skin, appears to have no arms, and may or may not have an intact bottom half... along with the shadow suggesting there may be a hammer heading his way.

bone

tcaporale wrote:

Stephen Flow wrote:

wonder if these pictures each represent a song... the bottom right one could be Amongst the Waves...

I also love the addition of the turtle on the cover as an homage to Backspacer from the turtle race.

Yeah, I think the imagery comes from lyrics from the album.

Perhaps the imagery may be related to their career thus far 9 albums.... 9 pictures.

Picture 1 - Ten - Basically like a train on fire running down everything in its way.
Picture 2 - Vs. - Band exposing themselves showing their vulnerability
Picture 3 - Vitalogy - Probably their most obscure/psychedelic release
Picture 4 - No Code - Band becomes at ease with their stature, peaceful
Picture 5 - Yield - One of their more cerebral/introspective albums
Picture 6 - Binaural - Cover was a space photo, so it fits
Picture 7 - Riot Act - Kind of a Armegeddon moment for the band as they waged the war against the war (Black out weaves it way through the city)
Picture 8 - Avacado - I don't know, maybe thought they were pimps on that album or something
Picture 9 - Backspacer - Amongst the waves the band has fully grown into who they want to be.

Maybe it's far fetched, but what the heck.

Ledbetterman10

Stephen Flow wrote:

wonder if these pictures each represent a song... the bottom right one could be Amongst the Waves...

I also love the addition of the turtle on the cover as an homage to Backspacer from the turtle race.

The pimp in my avatar may represent "Got some if ya need it"

tcaporale

bone wrote:

Picture 8 - Avacado - I don't know, maybe thought they were pimps on that album or something

JonnyPistachio

Kilgore_Trout wrote:

awesome! cant wait to see everything inside

definitely the weirdest art ive ever seen from them

I kinda thought that avocado artwork was waaay outside their usual taste. it looke like Tool artwork.

benjs

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Kilgore_Trout wrote:

awesome! cant wait to see everything inside

definitely the weirdest art ive ever seen from them

I kinda thought that avocado artwork was waaay outside their usual taste. it looke like Tool artwork.

I loathe avocados, so I hated that artwork. Anyone else not a fan of the flavour or texture?

slightofjeff

cippociappo wrote:

Reeeeeeeeally cool!!!

Much better than the avocado...
This artwork is so cool that it could be the first "all pj fans agree that is cool" thing in months!!!

I fucking hate it.

kiljoythemerciful

bone wrote:

Perhaps the imagery may be related to their career thus far 9 albums.... 9 pictures.

Picture 1 - Ten - Basically like a train on fire running down everything in its way.
Picture 2 - Vs. - Band exposing themselves showing their vulnerability
Picture 3 - Vitalogy - Probably their most obscure/psychedelic release
Picture 4 - No Code - Band becomes at ease with their stature, peaceful
Picture 5 - Yield - One of their more cerebral/introspective albums
Picture 6 - Binaural - Cover was a space photo, so it fits
Picture 7 - Riot Act - Kind of a Armegeddon moment for the band as they waged the war against the war (Black out weaves it way through the city)
Picture 8 - Avacado - I don't know, maybe thought they were pimps on that album or something
Picture 9 - Backspacer - Amongst the waves the band has fully grown into who they want to be.

Maybe it's far fetched, but what the heck.

A bit of a stretch, but a fun one at that. If I can find myself a participant in the music and the artwork on this album, I'll be a happy man.

Plankton

bone wrote:

tcaporale wrote:

Stephen Flow wrote:

wonder if these pictures each represent a song... the bottom right one could be Amongst the Waves...

I also love the addition of the turtle on the cover as an homage to Backspacer from the turtle race.

Yeah, I think the imagery comes from lyrics from the album.

Perhaps the imagery may be related to their career thus far 9 albums.... 9 pictures.

Picture 1 - Ten - Basically like a train on fire running down everything in its way.
Picture 2 - Vs. - Band exposing themselves showing their vulnerability
Picture 3 - Vitalogy - Probably their most obscure/psychedelic release
Picture 4 - No Code - Band becomes at ease with their stature, peaceful
Picture 5 - Yield - One of their more cerebral/introspective albums
Picture 6 - Binaural - Cover was a space photo, so it fits
Picture 7 - Riot Act - Kind of a Armegeddon moment for the band as they waged the war against the war (Black out weaves it way through the city)
Picture 8 - Avacado - I don't know, maybe thought they were pimps on that album or something
Picture 9 - Backspacer - Amongst the waves the band has fully grown into who they want to be.

Maybe it's far fetched, but what the heck.

hah, I actually like that comparison even if it does fall apart for the last two!

tragibigzanda

Isn't that Gilligan in #7? Who's the girl on the TV?

tcaporale

I wonder if the booklet's going to have Eddie typing out all of the lyrics like he normally does.