They talk of an ancient past before computers, when craftsmen laid out album covers using paper, glue, scissors, and the light of the moon.
Here’s a layout for Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song OST by Melvin Van Peebles, released on Stax in 1971. The paper & board with notes in pencil somehow ended up at my place.
There’s no cover credits in the LP but I bet MVP, the composer, performer, actor, director, playwright, cable car driver, Wall Street Trader, Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur, etc, could have designed it himself.
@originalbaadasssss #MelvinVanPeebles
The album Madvillainy by Doom & Madlib came out 20 years ago today. The record began about two years earlier, and the final master had wrapped up in Nov. 2003. Doom’s first pass at everything was great, and it was fascinating to hear him re-record everything two, three, or four times, refining the overall approach as he built a new character for the album. Even some of the lyrics changed. During the SARS outbreak in ’03 one of the new versions of “Accordion” had an updated line, “Don’t touch the mic like there’s SARS and AIDS on it.” He later dropped that.
Eric Coleman took these photos early in the timeline – there’s a rare photo of me in slide 2, and probably my only photo w/ Doom. Throughout the album process, from the first quick draft that Madlib put together for his own listening on a flight, to the final on 11/18/2003, I kept copies of the versions of the mix for myself.
🟧
Found in a pile of CDs I was tossing out (I guess I’ll keep this one) … CD-R copy of the Food album Villain Man gave me, which inspired the retail release.
About this time last year @lambolambo informed me that his son was really feeling what he called “blue pig” and would probably be into a drawing or print of some kind. Due to advanced procrastination this took 12 months but I hope jr is still down with blue pig. Thanks to @hnrcrew for printing these.
Melvin Van Peebles, photographed by @ecoleye when MVP was in Los Angeles talking about Madlib about doing something. That something never happened, but I had a hell of a time driving the man around town for a week listening to every story I could.
MF DOOM & the musical accompaniment (a CD-R), Coachella, 2004. I am a fan who is grateful for a chance to work with the man. The past few days have been lot of memories. Some great, some bad, many weird. Along with his “Villain, The Worst Guy”-persona there was also a charismatic storyteller and self described family man. (That was the phrase he used when he asked me n Jagel to take the joint out of his mouth on the MM Food cover.) The first story I can remember him telling me was at the house when he was working on Madvillainy, talking about his newborn son and watching an all-new person move and discover things for the first time. Everyone has heard parents gush about their kids, but hearing someone do it with MF DOOM’s voice, vocabulary, and sense of timing, well that’s something else.
About the photo: Doom was booked to headline the second stage at Coachella right after Madvillain dropped, easily the biggest show he’d done to date. After eating all the snacks in his trailer while he failed to show up, I figured out that he & Big Benn were in a hotel somewhere with no plans on getting to the show. I left, drove across town finding them at the crappiest motel I have ever seen in Palm Springs, and somehow fit these two big dudes in my little car and made it back, walking them through general parking and the ticket gate (“Can you let us through? This guy is performing”). When they carted us to the show area, he saw the size of the stage and said, “Oh my god!” He pulled his machine and CD out of a backpack and rocked the show. This was the moment he stepped off stage.
