All Summer Long: Superconductor Announces Festival Special

Presenting Our Summer Advertising Sale!

Here at Superconductor we have a need to report on everything that is going on in the tents, theaters and lawns of the Summer Festival Season, as we will be doing on our upcoming guide.

However, we also have another need: advertising dollars.

Prevent Empty Seats with Advertising!

Announcing our LOW Holiday Rates!

The holidays are here and what better way to show that you love your arts organization than by buying a reasonably priced banner or tile on Superconductor. We are once more offering reduced rates on our banner and tile advertising for the two weeks leading up to Christmas: with a special Messiah discount that' too hot to Handel!

Superconductor by Paul J. Pelkonen is a bespoke classical music and opera publication offering concert reviews, opera reviews, opinion, music commentary, news items and the occasional April Fool's post. Written and published by New York-based music journalist and critic Paul J. Pelkonen, Superconductor has drawn recognition for its coverage of major arts organizations in New York City and elsewhere.

The Gallery of Bad Album Art

Another irreverent look at classical music and how it's packaged.
by Paul Pelkonen

We've gone from this....

...to this. Granted, this is cheaper.

The art of the classical music album cover has enjoyed a steep downward spiral in the past decade. Faced with the prospect of compressing their catalogues into boxed sets that have very low sales numbers to begin with, the major labels have resorted to cheap-o artwork that is designed to look good on the touch-screen of an iPhone. 

In the quest to create these "iconic" images for their back catalogues, the few record companies that survive have come up with some covers that look like they were done by a kindergarten student. Others are awesomely tasteless, and a few are just plain dull. We offer ten examples below, and we save the best for last.

The Egyptian slave would be rolling in her grave if he saw this kiddie-style design
for Aida. The whole Opera! series from Universal suffers from similar art.