Modular People

Sydney-based Independent curator Joseph Allen Shea (Izrock/Monster Children) took the time to chat to us about a different kind of eye candy - his favourite record sleeves - from worn and torn hand me downs to striking contemporary releases.

The Crystals - Then He Kissed Me (1963)

"I just love this really simple 'non-cover'. It looks like it's a very generic cover that all of the label releases came through, just one single colour. I like the 'genericness' of it and the simple one-colour sleeve with a hole in the middle."

Bryan Ferry - Extended Play (1976)

"This one's pretty epic, it's just Bryan Ferry looking very playboy with that tiny little moustache and awesome beige colour suit and tie. it's a good moustache."

Jack Charles - 7" (2009)

"This is Jack Charles, who I only found out about recently. There was a film about him called 'Bastardy', I went to the launch of the film and record which was actually designed by a friend of mine, Tristan Ceddia of NeverNow. The byline of the documentary was 'Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Aboriginal' and a few other very marginalised terms used for this man, who was an amazing performer."

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros / Moonrats - The LA Collection: Number One (2010)

"This is by two sisters, Ingrid Allen and Elisa Saether, they're doing a series called the 'L.A. Series'. All of the 7"s will stack together and make a massive street scene."

The Sads - Pas Deux (2007)

"This is designed by Mike Mills and he's always doing these really beautiful, simple typographic treatments. This is an artwork to me; he's incorporating the artist but he's also getting his own message across about commercialism and pop culture."

The Sads - Rough Stabs (2006)

"Another Sads' record, this time by the artist Matt Leines. It came with a poster on newsprint which is pretty awesome. Teenage Teardrops is a really interesting label out of Los Angeles, they're really artwork driven and always do really interesting sleeves. I bought that in Berlin when I was saw The Sads play live in gallery there."

Ian Drury - New Boots And Panties!! (1977)

"This is my father's record and I've always had some kind of kinship with it. When I lived in London I thought I'd worked out where this was taken - I don't know if I was right or not - but I used to travel on the bus pas this shop front that I believed, even if only in my mind ,that was the shop he was standing at."

Big Brother & The Holding Company - Cheap Thrills (1968)

"Robert Crumb artwork, super famous. This little logo down the bottom is pretty great: approved by Hell's Angels Frisco."

The Beach Boys - Barbara Ann (1965)

"I just love the facial expressions. It's pretty bizarre. they don't even look cool, they just look bizarre. Who knows how this artwork came about - if it was the label, who designed it - there's no design to it really. A stock photo of the band and some fucked up type."

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (1977)

"I just brought this because it's a classic, awesome album. It's such a theatrical pose that has been ripped off or re-appropriated so many times, with those two little balls hanging down."