Top 10 Favorite Album Covers: 3-1

I must be cursed! I say that I'll post my final three picks for my favorite covers the next day, thinking, "I'm sure I can make a promise like that, I won't be busy tomorrow!" Well, I wasn't busy at all - unfortunately, my computer crashed. So, here, almost a week late, is my final installment!

 

3. Ramones - Ramones. No other cover says "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" at the same time like this one. No other covers says "rock 'n' roll" like this one, either.

2. Public Image Ltd. - Metal Box. For those who aren't aware: After Johnny Rotten of Sex Pistols fame found himself to be unemployed, he went against everything that the Pistols stood for and created the supposed antithesis of rock. Atonal, long, electronic, and brilliant, plus a supposed status as a "communications company" and not a "band." They said they did soundtracks, movies, videos, but of course they didn't really do anything of the sort and released albums and played gigs like any other band. But what better way to sell a "corporation" than in a metal box?

1. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On. Sly says: "I wanted the flag to truly represent people of all colors. I wanted the color black because it is the absence of color. I wanted the color white because it is the combination of all colors. And I wanted the color red because it represents the one thing that all people have in common: blood. I wanted suns instead of stars because stars to me imply searching, like you search for your star. And there are already too many stars in this world. But the sun, that's something that is always there, looking right at you. Betsy Ross did the best she could with what she had. I thought I could do better." 

Sure, he might be trying a bit too hard to be profound, but I still love the image so much. Even if you don't know exactly what flag "means," it conveys a slight disturbance in patriotism, like America in a parallel universe. This isn't exactly the flag you know. There's something goin' on here... like a riot.