[78-L] "Selling Sounds" reviewed

[Bill McClung]

I called a friend in the Harvard Univ Press sales department and should
have an answer for you in a bit as to the construction of the cover image.  

I'm in my 35th year in the book publishing game and to my eye it's an
illustration (probably photoshopped) instead of a straight ahead
photograph.  I should have an answer by tomorrow from the design
department.  I'm betting the machine was pieced together and did not come
in a single piece.

I'm assuming they didn't want to pay to use an RCA image so the designer
found a table top machine with a big horn or added a big horn just to
enhance things.

Book graphics, like album graphics, are tough to get right.  You hope you
get the customer's attention with a glance that turns into a look which
turns into picking the book up which turns into a reading of the 
jacket/flap copy which turns into a sale.  Who knows why that machine was
used.  I got the joke so it worked on me, even knowing that the machine (I
can't call it a record player) was improper.

My friend said that the dog has been knocked off its feet by the revolution
in the music industry which is the way I saw it.  At least that was what
they were trying to convey.


> [Original Message]
> From: Michael Biel <mbiel at mbiel.com>
> To: 78-L Mail List <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
> Date: 5/13/2009 12:41:25 PM
> Subject: Re: [78-L] "Selling Sounds" reviewed
>
> From: "Bill McClung" <bmcclung at ix.netcom.com>
> > And I'm thinking that cover was drawn and not photographed.
>
>
http://www.amazon.com/Selling-Sounds-Commercial-Revolution-American/dp/image
s/067403337X
>
> This enlargement shows pretty clearly that this is a photograph. 
> Although it might have photoshopped the dog into the picture, if it was
> a painting why would they have used an unmodified Crapophone when even
> if the artist had used a Crapophone as a model he could have modified
> that horn joint so it would look like a legit machine.  If it was a
> painting and it was left looking like a Crapophone, that is WORSE than
> using a photograph!  Plus the reproducer is on the wrong side of the
> turntable.  This is from HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS.  I expect higher
> academic standards from a university press, especially from Harvard.  
>
> > I thought it was a pretty effective visual joke.
>
> OK, what is your interpretation of the cover?  What does the visual joke
> mean? Is the dog dead, or is it rolling in ecstasy?  There seem to be
> two opinions in the matter.  
>
> Mike Biel  mbiel at mbiel.com
>
>
> lherault at bu.edu writes:
> > > > > It looks like the dog died too.  Ron L
>
> From:  Dnjchi at aol.com
> > > > What killed the dog?  dc
>
> Ron L wrote:
> > > > He ate burned horseflesh, but other than that, there is no news. 
Ron L
>
> From: David Lennick <dlennick at sympatico.ca>
> > > The dog COULD be rolling in glee while the crapophone spins
> > > "What d'ye Mean You Lost Your Dog" or "The Whistler And His Dog"
> > > or "I Want A Hot Dog For My Roll".  dl
>
>
>
>
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