...summer.

Here's the thing, if you're selling a CD, you want your cover art to stand out and describe the sound you're going to get. Ideally, you want to sell to people who would have never even considered buying your album before seeing that totally kickass image on the cover. Which explains why game soundtracks often go in directions entirely independent of what you're going to get. They go arty, they go strange, they get alternate titles and often unconventional artwork. They seem to be pitching music which may or may not be related to what the disc actually contains. Since I'm fascinated by cover art in all of its forms, and game soundtracks in particular have a cult following and easy to find samples, I'm going to tell you exactly what I expect to hear when I see any given album. Sound like fun? Hope so!

(All cover art stolen from Chudah's Corner, but hosted elsewhere.)

I would also like to say that while I am familiar with some of this stuff, I'm really not that familiar with most of it, and I think going in blind helps a bit.

...summer


What I see: A quick look makes it look relatively harmless, just being anime girlies groovin' to music of some kind. But just look at the two girls in the background and their dead, dead eyes. They're both on freaking drugs! The girl on the left is clearly on methamphetamine of some sort, and the one on the right? Probably heroin. And given how empty and stunned the girl in the headphones is, the red-eyed girl isn't letting her listen to the newest track off some kickass album, but is giving her a hit of something. I bet she's feeding all of these girls drugs in order to keep her under her command, before she's got a harem of bitches, farming them out on the street to sell crack or themselves, and rolling in the money. That bitch.

What I expect to hear: Extremely, and I mean extremely, cloying and happy bubblegum pop, probably in Japanese. Also, probably subliminally encouraging drug use in little girls.

Would I buy this album based on this cover? Hells no.