Smashing Pumpkins: Zeitgeist
I was really surprised when I first saw the cover design (by Shepard Fairey of Obey Giant fame). It was not what I had expected and I couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it. It instantly reminded me of the Geoff Mcfetridge designed cover for Billy Corgan’s post Pumpkins band Zwan. Yet it wasn’t the design that was familiar but the fact that Billy seemed surprisingly in touch with contemporary design.
There are 4 other colour variations of the cover made exclusively for retail giants Target, HMV, iTunes and Best Buy. It’s hard to imagine why they did this. Did they think true fans would run around town picking up all of the different versions! Sounds more like a decision by the record label than the band.
Although I’m still unsure how much I like the cover art, I do really like the inside photography. Shot by Billy Corgan himself! Apparently he knows Paris Hilton personally and asked her to be in the shoot. I bet she is furious she didn’t make the cover!
Update: Todd Russell tipped us to the fact that the inside was designed by Matt Taylor who’s worked on everyone from Red Hot Chilli Peppers to Michael Bublé. He even designed the infamous Paris Hilton CD cover. This might explain the Paris photos a little more.
