Beck Modern Guilt

Wow another Beck album so soon. I’ve been so busy lately a street poster had to alert me to the fact this was released.

Initially I thought they had forgotten to commission a cover for the album and just used what was lying around for the cover of Modern Guilt. It’s boring, uninspired and so generic. If I knew the emoticon for yawn I’d insert it here.

But then I stumbled upon an artist’s site who was commissioned to develop multiple visual concepts for the cover all of which went unused! Why spend the money (I hope Mario was paid) and then not use it?

Below are four distinct visual directions for the album that no one, well maybe not now, will ever see. Two “verbal” and two “non-verbal”. This begs the question, were other artists asked to waste their time too? If you were please contact us we love to share.

The artist behind these designs is Mario Hugo, a freelance illustrator/art director in NY. The little info I could find on him was from this outdated portfolio page.

So check out what could have been Beck’s latest album cover, and if you are just as uninspired by the official cover as I am, grab these and change the cover on your via iTunes.

Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 2

Wooden type gives me wood. This direction is my fav.

Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Meteor 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Meteor 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Triangle 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Triangle 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Ink 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Ink 2

What does everyone else think?

P.S. I will note that the final two china ink stained examples bares a resemblance to Hanne Hukkelberg’s “Rykestrasse 68″ a cover Mario illustrated for Non-format back in 2006. This could have been a request from the label or Beck as most of the time designers get work based off previous projects.

Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg

The artist behind these designs is Mario Hugo, a freelance illustrator/art director in NY. The little info I could find on him was from this outdated portfolio page.

MAJOR UPDATE: KAFONT in the comments points out, what I should have, this article from NYmag. NYmag extracts this quote from the Vanity Fair article from 2001 on Beck’s 50 favorite album covers which is probably Beck’s single minded proposition for the album’s cover.

“Highway 61 Revisited is one of the first great anti-covers. Dylan looks burnt, shirt wrinkled — like he’s waiting for catering at the gig or something. And somebody’s just randomly walked in behind him. In an era of Patti Page-style, perfectly lit and posed covers, this cover was a defecation. And these days you’d rarely see such a throwaway picture on such an ‘important’ album.”

Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

So the cover is a pastiche (my new fav word) of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. And here I thought it was a “Right Price” bargain bin design. Beck’s been waiting 7 years to use the cover too. What a patient guy.

Imagine if this style of cover was used by other bands in the past? Think of what we would have missed. (Insert subtle argument as to why this cover is lame here)

Nirvana Nevermind Hiway Style
The Beatles Hiway Style

I could go on but you get the idea. And to proove you can just chuck any image in with some text. Here’s one I whipped up for Sleevage.

Sleevage: Cheese Sandwich album

It’s almost like the cover meme we posted about here.

After reading the comments below I have come to dislike the cover less. I’ve also got the album now and giving it solid rotation. As witnessed by my Last.fm page. Oh shit Beck’s my fav music artist by a long shot. I will say I mainly listen to music while working or blogging so my love of heavy metal isn’t very SFW if you know what I mean. Plus it’s hard to blog while head banging.

Last thought: I think back in 1965 Bob Dylan’s cover would have had more impact than the Modern Guilt cover does today. But I do love that the cover now has a back story and can stand alone on this blog even without the alternate covers.

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Beck: Modern Guilt

Beck Modern Guilt

Wow another Beck album so soon. I’ve been so busy lately a street poster had to alert me to the fact this was released.

Initially I thought they had forgotten to commission a cover for the album and just used what was lying around for the cover of Modern Guilt. It’s boring, uninspired and so generic. If I knew the emoticon for yawn I’d insert it here.

But then I stumbled upon an artist’s site who was commissioned to develop multiple visual concepts for the cover all of which went unused! Why spend the money (I hope Mario was paid) and then not use it?

Below are four distinct visual directions for the album that no one, well maybe not now, will ever see. Two “verbal” and two “non-verbal”. This begs the question, were other artists asked to waste their time too? If you were please contact us we love to share.

The artist behind these designs is Mario Hugo, a freelance illustrator/art director in NY. The little info I could find on him was from this outdated portfolio page.

So check out what could have been Beck’s latest album cover, and if you are just as uninspired by the official cover as I am, grab these and change the cover on your via iTunes.

Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 2

Wooden type gives me wood. This direction is my fav.

Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Verbal 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Meteor 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Meteor 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Triangle 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Triangle 2
Beck: Modern Guilt Ink 1
Beck: Modern Guilt Ink 2

What does everyone else think?

P.S. I will note that the final two china ink stained examples bares a resemblance to Hanne Hukkelberg’s “Rykestrasse 68″ a cover Mario illustrated for Non-format back in 2006. This could have been a request from the label or Beck as most of the time designers get work based off previous projects.

Hanne Hukkelberg
Hanne Hukkelberg

The artist behind these designs is Mario Hugo, a freelance illustrator/art director in NY. The little info I could find on him was from this outdated portfolio page.

MAJOR UPDATE: KAFONT in the comments points out, what I should have, this article from NYmag. NYmag extracts this quote from the Vanity Fair article from 2001 on Beck’s 50 favorite album covers which is probably Beck’s single minded proposition for the album’s cover.

“Highway 61 Revisited is one of the first great anti-covers. Dylan looks burnt, shirt wrinkled — like he’s waiting for catering at the gig or something. And somebody’s just randomly walked in behind him. In an era of Patti Page-style, perfectly lit and posed covers, this cover was a defecation. And these days you’d rarely see such a throwaway picture on such an ‘important’ album.”

Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

So the cover is a pastiche (my new fav word) of Bob Dylan’s “Highway 61 Revisited”. And here I thought it was a “Right Price” bargain bin design. Beck’s been waiting 7 years to use the cover too. What a patient guy.

Imagine if this style of cover was used by other bands in the past? Think of what we would have missed. (Insert subtle argument as to why this cover is lame here)

Nirvana Nevermind Hiway Style
The Beatles Hiway Style

I could go on but you get the idea. And to proove you can just chuck any image in with some text. Here’s one I whipped up for Sleevage.

Sleevage: Cheese Sandwich album

It’s almost like the cover meme we posted about here.

After reading the comments below I have come to dislike the cover less. I’ve also got the album now and giving it solid rotation. As witnessed by my Last.fm page. Oh shit Beck’s my fav music artist by a long shot. I will say I mainly listen to music while working or blogging so my love of heavy metal isn’t very SFW if you know what I mean. Plus it’s hard to blog while head banging.

Last thought: I think back in 1965 Bob Dylan’s cover would have had more impact than the Modern Guilt cover does today. But I do love that the cover now has a back story and can stand alone on this blog even without the alternate covers.

Posted by Ash on 17 July, 2008
Album: Modern Guilt
Artist: Beck
Cover Artist: Mario Hugo, Unknown
Record Label: Geffen
Year: 2008
00s, Album Art, Art-based, Photography, Rock, Typography

  • XLCowBoy
    These are excellent.

    Just goes to show: if you leave the final say regarding art direction to a committee, it will always, always, look like shite.
  • stunning work! i wonder why nothing of it was used for the final cover. hmm.
  • I'm a fan of random photos with giant sans-serif type, but the unused covers are absolutely beautiful.
    The cover of Hukkelburg's album caught my attention a while ago as well.
  • When i first saw the new cover, I thought it was a lame bootleg version because I had seen the woodblocks before. No idea why they switched it?
  • Sam
    Yeah mario hugo's work is amazing as soon as this new Beck album came out i actually replaced the artwork with the first one :P
  • I'm kinda feelin these covers more than the official one, cause the official one when compared to all of Beck's other covers is really simple and quiet so it stands out somewhat, but if you put it a shelf with some other random artist covers is just going to die. Less can be more, but just not in this case I think.
  • "Why spend the money ... and then not use it?"

    Maybe because cover art shouldn't just be whatever looks pretty but what best represents the music according to criteria set by the artist.

    I'm all for great design but every choice has a reason.
  • Very true. But the music industry complains about losing money yet they are willing to waste it or make other people waste their time pithcing for work that's never going to be seen.
  • T-bone
    concepts are sick, look like classics in the making. and really "beck" too. the cover they went is ok but, hmmm…
  • Take a look at this: http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/06/ne...
    At least that offers some explanation. I love the cover; I think it's stark and the type treatment is beautiful (love the bronze.)
  • Ahh awesome fine. I'll update the post. The statement back then about an anti cover is good. It's a little lost right now. But this explains a lot.
  • The unused pieces are all excellent, but the chosen cover is an absolute classic.
  • Ash, this is one of the first times I've completely disagreed with you. The simplicity of the chosen cover, combined with the cool-jazz era text and the warm b&w tones, is superb yet understated. The difference between this and the zillion shite covers that tried to rip off the classic simplicity that Blue Note (and a few other labels at the same time) mastered is that this one actually pulls it off while most others fail.

    Despite the fact that Hugo is clearly talented, the other designs scream, "I'm a pretentious indie rock dude who is way more clever than you'll ever be." Which is actually remarkably fitting for Beck. The fact that both Beck and clever indie rock annoy the piss out of me probably explains why I like the original cover.
  • well put. I don't hate it as much as I firt do after hearing everyone's arguments.
  • Nicholas
    To me, the concepts say "Beck" louder than the final does, however, I have yet to hear the album. The "wood block" look ones are fantastic. I would commission this guy if I had an album that needed a cover.
  • E Baxter
    I don't like the released cover at all. Now that I know it's a "riff" on a Dylan cover, I like it even less. It's a copy, but way less interesting. It's almost like a bad "cover" of a song. Those unreleased covers are pretty incredible. Maybe they will find their way to a gallery instead of becoming the Beck album cover that gets turned into a tiny jpeg and file shared around the world?
  • The cover finally used blows the unused ones away. It's such a step away from Beck's traditional releases and the understatement of it makes it feel very fresh and cool. Quirkiness and progression can become too expexted and the simplicity of the final version feels open and free. Also... the nirvana mock-up... much better than the butt-ugly nevermind cover that everyone seems to like. Never liked it to begin with.
    btw: Love this site! You cannot update often enough. Thanks.
  • Hey Harry. The Nevermind cover is a classic. It's not the best design, the type is awful but it's iconic. I felt this cover will just be forgotten.
  • This does seem a bit of a let-down after the sticker-fest of The Information and the reduxed Odelay artwork.

    Actually, just remembered how much The Information infuriated me - after the novel make-your-own-artwork concept, some nitwit decided to put one of those meaningless silver Special Edition stickers on the case, obscuring a large chunk of the blank canvass. Grr.
  • You inspired me to post my own write-up of the Modern Guilt cover at my (vastly inferior) album covers blog.

    The Cheese Sandwich cover is brilliant, although I'm a bit disappointed you didn't convert it it B&W.
  • The cheese sandwhich album was to be like the Bob Dylan cover. Colour.
  • I really like the original cover, and I wish nirvana ha a cover just like the one you showed. I was just thinking yesterday about how many cheesy videos they had.
  • Mike Cure
    The New Beck Cover is SHIT!!!! This cover proves that Music Design is truly DEAD! The Mario Hugo Designs ROCK and clearly give the Danger Mouse Feel. Who the Hell Deisgns the new Cover??? WANKER of Design Inhouse Designer most likely looking for an award!!! Clearly another Thift of design in the mist.....Even the Web-site is Bad!!! Who Design the final Crap for Beck????Anyone Know......
  • The New Beck Cover is SHIT!!!! This cover proves that Music Design is truly DEAD! The Mario Hugo Designs ROCK and clearly give the Danger Mouse Feel. Who the Hell Deisgns the new Cover??? WANKER of Design Inhouse Designer most likely looking for an award!!! Clearly another Thift of design in the mist.....Even the Web-site is Bad!!! Who Design the final Crap for Beck????Anyone Know......
  • matt penrose
    personally i like the simpleness of the modern guilt cover. its not trying too hard and it isnt ugly either!! okay its not jaw dropping but it gets the job done nicely and there is a reason for it to be this way too so that makes sense!!
  • Adam
    I find it very interesting that there is not one reference to the artist who is responsible for this fantastic riff in any of these comments. Spend some time on David Calderly's site, and it becomes very clear, very quickly, that this Brit is no slouch, does not suck and knows FULL well what he is doing.

    http://graphictherapy.com/index2.html

    Beck's entire approach involves appropriation, admiration and sampling....it always has. Which is what makes this cover design so successful.
  • thanks Adam. We've featured a fair bit of Graphic Therapys work before. Their work is great

    http://sleevage.com/?s=Graphic+Therapy&key=Desi...

    I honestly didnt track down the designer in time to post the feature. I will update now.
  • I got a kick out of the album Beck put out with the blank grid and stickers. Do it yourself.

    Beck is as he should be, a pretentious, slightly-off, indie, outsider genius who really shouldn't be mainstream. I think the music industry and our pop culture is wrong to group him with, well, anything else. He's Beck.

    As all conceptual artists' work does, his work requires explanation. His work requires work on the part of the audience to "get it". Mainstream hates that, hates when a backstory actually is helpful and not just fluff. And yes, all arguments that an artist should be able to communicate everything they mean in the actual piece do apply.

    But so do the arguments that art is art, with no judgement/criticism/categorization/synopsisizing valid or particularly useful.

    Peace.
  • renkas
    These covers are the most beautiful and powerfull things Ive seen in years.
    So classic yet very modern. Those inkt effects are mindblowing.
    Inspiring stuff.
  • unimportantbob
    I like it. I've got a vinyl record of it that I picked up at Square Records in Akron (visiting my Dad). It works a lot better on a full-size record sleeve than it does on a CD jacket. But, then again, I say that about pretty much every album.
  • JET
    Man, I wish I could get over my inherent need to boycott brainwashing, soul-destroying cults like Scientology, because Beck really is great. But...I just can't do it.
  • Even reading the back story to the cover I still think it's shit. At least the Bob Dylan picture was interesting! I also love the variations – that wood type design is superb!
  • this is a little late, but i just came across this post and thought i'd share mario hugo's current portfolio site that i found when i blogged about this same thing in july! http://www.loveworn.com/
  • pedro freenandes
    you see? mario hugo got really strong and dedicated to input a gorgeous and intricate cover for beck. point is, beck does not need that. it is hard for beck to stay on the popular road, and we wants to stay in for long time. he's getting old. to write music on these days is hard. it would be disastrous to use a mario hugo cover. it ain't pop enough and audience could see it as a too damn snob way to show off. more than that, could be difficult to read (on every aspect). this minimal, simple cover he chosen is not great, but is sufficient for his purposes. he's being patient and getting wiser as years go by. he is a musical genius, and he will make more records and covers. maybe with mario hugo... i love the album. cover is ok. mario hugo works are great.
  • kasper
    i actually can imagine why nothing is getting out of hugos work.
    Beck & co. humping on the right train.

    have you reconise,d that millions of these space nonsense is arround.a big eye on top, a triangle (other geometric figures) in the middle and some weird objects flying around...don't forget the stars.

    you'll see.
  • Alex
    Ok, so the album is called Modern Guilt. Beck is an audio artist, but as a visual artist, there's nothing more poetic than an album cover that is a direct copy of an artist's old favorite being called Modern Guilt. The cover itself is guilty of a blatant ripoff, using the font that was meant to modernize graphic design itself. The entire point of Helvetica was to create a beautiful vanilla in the design world. Good, but not great. Be clean and out of the way, and let the subject matter speak to the audience, not the typography.

    We've all seen and loved Beck covers of the past, correct? Well, we thought we knew what to expect visually, and just like the audio contained within, we were surprised. I think this cover is a perfect example that designers need not get too far up their own asses. Kudos to the designer and to Beck and his people for choosing it.
  • well put. So why did they bother to commission an artist?
  • AZ
    I'm with you. But some extra stuff from me. The picture seems to me like someone is looking down and the reaseon for that is his guilt. That's very simple and i like that. Because is a perfect human visualation of the title.
  • I never saw it that way. Thanks for that I think you are right.
  • John Foster
    Beck is heavily involved with all visual decisions on his packaging so no decision by committee. Hugo's most recent work leading up to this was the sleeve for the last Film School record which he disavowed his participation in. I don't know if a similar conflict squashed this work for Beck as strong personalities seem to be on both ends. Assuming he was paid for the designs it is also frowned upon professionally to show commissioned work that was not used in the final product...
  • I was asked by Beck's manager, to create some concepts based on
    my Homage posters, here's the link:
    http://www.this-studio.co.uk/beck.html
  • aguanteflema
    I thought the cover is great.
    It goes just fine with the vibe of the album. retro 60's soul rock
  • steven
    there must be some huge idiots at geffen
  • Those unused covers are incredible, but they don't fit the album at all. If you saw those you might think Beck was going all weird and trippy again (cool!) but this album is really straightforward and accessible. So, the one they used is "better" because it's more appropriate. Even though these are "cooler"
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