Music enthusiast and local author Matthew Chojnacki began collecting vinyl at the young age of seven. Growing up, he frequented Record Theatre in Cleveland, one of the first stores that had a promotional punch card, and Record Exchange, which he felt rocked the industry allowing the youth of the time to afford music by purchasing used albums. Thirty years later, Chojnacki boasts an impressive collection of more than five thousand albums.
Drawn to cover art, Chojnacki sought out a book that could represent the best of his collection on his coffee table, so that he could finally store the collection. Not finding anything of this nature, he embarked on a journey to create such a book.
In his book, Put the Needle on the Record, Chojnacki explores the stories behind some of the most interesting covers of the ’80s spanning various genres—from the mainstream to one-hit wonders and the obscure. Taking seven years to write—four of which were utilized for band and cover artist interviews—what was brought to fruition was an eclectic collection of stories that vinyl enthusiasts everywhere should truly explore.
Why’d he choose to cover the ’80s? “The ’80s was the the last era where you brought your own image to a label and they shot it out of a cannon,” Chojnacki offered. “It was about finding unique artists and exploring their abilities to push boundaries.”
I had the opportunity to chat with Chojnacki and discuss some of the covers he thought were most interesting. Here’s the cream of the crop:
Rockwell, “Somebody’s Watching Me” | This cover features strips of eyes. Chojnacki thought this may have just been a slick design, but after speaking to someone about it he learned that the record label wanted to disguise the artist’s race because he was African American, and they were worried about record and radio play if the public knew.
Of this, Chojnacki said, “Even though the ’80s are thought of as sort of free, they were really closeted about different personalities and sexualities.”
Kate Bush, “Army Dreamers” | The cover art for this single is accredited to Bush’s brother, John Carder Bush. The goal of the cover was to recreate the pin-up style present during the ’40s, as an attempt to put a pretty spin on the ugly topic of war.
The The, “Infected” | Andrew Johnson, brother of a The The bandmate, created all the band’s cover art. One of his objectives was to make the covers seem like a punch in the mouth. He pushed boundaries as much as he could—a cover with a demon masturbating—to see what he could get through the record label.
Somehow, it got approved, production was started, and the factory workers actually refused to package it because of the image. The single was eventually banned because of this.
Plasmatics, “Monkey Suit” | The Plasmatics did things on stage that weren’t being done before. Wendy Williams would show up for performances wearing provocative outfits, such at tape over her nipples, they’d fire shotguns into the crowd, blew up cars on stage… they got really aggressive and pushed boundaries.
Grace Jones, “Pull Up To The Bumper” | Grace Jones’ music wasn’t Chojnacki’s favorite of the ’80s, but he felt that she was visually stunning as an artist. She pushed boundaries with the body and her visuals—juxtaposing beauty with power.
Chojnacki said he’d like to do an indie book down the road. Artists he’d like to include are Milk Carton Kids, Mynabirds, Peter Bjorn & John (specifically their new LP), Ra Ra Riot, Love is All, and Yuck.
You can grab a copy of the book over at Amazon, In Sound, or Atomic Books. Locally, it’s available at Visible Boys and Barnes and Noble. Or, you can try your luck at winning the prize package Matthew Chojnacki’s provided.
We’re giving a copy away over here at The Vinyl District. With an afterword written by Nick Rhodes of Duran Duran, Chojnacki thought the following giveaway would be most fitting:
- one signed book
- one copy of Duran Duran’s latest LP, All You Need is Now (just released on vinyl and produced by Mark Ronson)
- one copy of Duran Duran’s current 7″ single, “Girl Panic!” (a Record Store Day exclusive of 2,500 copies)
To enter the giveaway, leave us a comment with your suggestion for an indie artist to be included in the next album art book from Matthew Chojnacki. We’ll pick one winner to win this fabulous giveaway package one week from today, Wednesday, October 26th!
