[78-L] "Selling Sounds" reviewed

[Taylor Bowie]

Thanks for posting your friend's message,  Bill...it's an excellent look at 
the problems of marketing and the frequent disconnect between writer, 
editor,  design staff and publisher.

I liked the joke as well...poor old Nipper knocked off his feet by the many 
changes in the recording business.

Taylor B



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill McClung" <bmcclung at ix.netcom.com>
To: "78-L Mail List" <78-l at klickitat.78online.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 13, 2009 10:08 AM
Subject: Re: [78-L] "Selling Sounds" reviewed


>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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