I completely epically missed the deadline for the OSS update I’m so sorry.

This OSS update won’t have any updates on the project or WIP outtakes (I’ll do a separate one after the critique coming Thursday) but more of mulling over how I’m going to show my compositions.

The problem about graphics in music is that album covers are usually SQUARE (unless we’re talking about those fancy KPOP or Chinese albums that comes in all sorts of funny shapes, sizes and materials it’s hard to even store them) and my problem is that the project specifications require the final to be in A5 size.

I brought this up during the group consults last.. last(?) Thursday and some suggestions included:

  • Doing it in the format of a CD mockup
  • Designing the CD insert/booklet
  • just placing the album art and cropping off the borders

I mulled over this idea over the weekend: I was leaning towards the CD mockup idea but it just didn’t feel quite right. In the midst of cleaning my room, I ended up revisiting my course notes from when I was doing Mass Communication in polytechnic (because if I could get distracted from getting distracted, I would).

One of the notes was on a phrase by Marshall McLuhan: “The medium is the message” from his book The Medium is The Massage.  The book itself is very visually interesting (10.1/10 would recommend) but the phrase really helped me figure out how I wanted to present my compositions.

If I were to just do up my typography on A5 paper, chances are the reference to music would just fly over everyone’s heads (unless you have been looking at these particular album covers almost daily for the past month like me) but slapping them on a CD seemed too boring and flat. I figured I could play around with the “medium” I see and hear music in my life.

Below I’ve listed out a few ideas to associate with my respective songs:

  1. My name is Lewin and I keep you away from the Down Side of Me. (CHRVCHES – Every Open Eye)
    • You got to listen to electronic music on an electronic device. I’ve only recently started listening to music on my phone (mainly because I’ve only just switched over to an iPhone) but I WILL insist that I am team Walkman.
  2. My name is Lewin and this time baby I’ll be Bulletproof. (La Roux – La Roux)
    • On the TV mimicking the karaoke? This is (one of my many) go to karaoke songs. Also nothing screams confident like singing a song out loud.
  3. My name is Lewin and girl you and I will die Unbelievers bound to the tracks of the train. (Vampire Weekend – Modern Vampires of the City)
    • Vinyl is too mainstream nowadays (also I don’t own any) but my Walkman: everyone keeps asking me why I don’t just listen to music off my phone. Because I believe it sounds way better from my Walkman that’s why.
  4. My name is Lewin and I’ll make you a Mixtape that’s a blueprint of my soul.(Jamie Cullum – The Pursuit)
    • Sadly, I don’t own any actual tapes but I do still have CDs I burned playlists into. I did debate between CDs and online platforms like 8tracks but using the format of a webpage seemed kind of boring.
  5. My name is Lewin and baby love me ’cause I’m playing on the Radio. (Lana Del Rey – Born to Die)
    • Posters on your bedroom wall ties in well enough with the idea of putting yourself out there and adoration.
  6. My name is Lewin and if I could begin to be, half of what you think of me, I could do about anything, I could even Love Like You. (Rebecca Sugar/Aivi & Surasshu – Steven Universe)
    • At this point of writing, the complete full song has just been revealed on Youtube so there we go.

I’ll be adding on the final touches and printing it by tomorrow so hopefully it goes well.