It's Only Rock and Roll

Had an interesting discussion with my brother about the packaging and personality of music -- the lost art of album covers and lyric inserts.

My brother is in the music biz. Along with partner, Chuck Leavell -- The Rolling Stone's legendary keyboardist -- he's created irocku, a website that provides online rock music lessons.

We talked about how we've wholeheartedly embraced digital music, but cannot remember the words to current songs. Could it be nostalgia, or that we don't watch music videos? We agreed that it was most likely because we read album covers and inserts.

We looked at music differently.

The covers of The Beatles White Album and James Taylor's Sweet Baby James, are indelibly linked in my music memory. The late 1960s and early '70s were chaotic, full of friction and heady introspection. All the coming of age stuff -- that moment in time when life changes forever.

This excellent video critiques the intersection of culture, music, art -- and its changes:

What's your most memorable album cover?