The document discusses the album artwork and packaging of various indie bands and how they convey themes related to the indie genre such as working class roots, queer theory, and rebelling against social norms. Key aspects highlighted include ambiguous sexuality, unconventional fonts and designs, isolation/outsider themes, and incorporation of black and white with splashes of color.

1. Digipaks
A digipak is a patented style of CD
and DVD packaging

2. Joy Division – Love Will Tear Us Apart
Unclean and
raw

3. Working-Class Roots
• The unclean look of the front cover portrays
their music as raw , but also slightly
disturbing.
• It also conveys the working-class roots of the
band. A lot of Indie bands , more so in the
1970s and 80s, played in small and dingy
venues to begin with.

4. The Smiths – The Smiths
The image conveys a subverted male gaze.
This ties in with Queer Theory, as Morrissey
Rourke and often expressed varying sexual preferences,
Joyce - not wanting to be thrown into a collective
Morrissey and Marr -
classical basket.
grotesque
This conforms to Indie as a genre
because it is challenging social
norms and is quite a rebellious
image

5. Pictures of Band Members
• Morrissey and Marr are deemed more important
to the band (being the frontman and lead
guitarist), and perhaps the band members who
are more appealing to the audience.
• Therefore, in their photos, the poses are
grotesque. This is because the audience is likely
to have more interest in them as people
• Contrary to this, the photos of Rourke and Joyce
are natural.

6. Sleeve Design
• As a band signed to an independent label, they had more creative control (Morrissey
designed the sleeve).
• The image on the front cover is one of Joe Dallessandro from the film ‘Flesh’. He was seen as a
sex symbol in the 1960s. It would have been deemed slightly odd for an all male band to have
a male sex symbol on the cover of their album. However, female sex symbol Diana Dors and
transsexual model/actor Candy Darling have also appeared on their artwork. This shows how
The Smiths embodied queer theory and post-modern feminism, as they didn’t want to be part
of a collective because of their sex.
• The Smiths often featured images of celebrity figures from the 1950s and 60s on their album
artwork, conveying the idea of their music being influenced by culture, and therefore of more
artistic worth than typical popular music. This is a common notion of Indie as a genre, and
means that it is often seen as elitist and slightly pretentious.
• Morrissey saw himself as belonging to the “fourth sex,” he believed strictly definable sexual
preference was too restricting to him. As an adolescent, he was somewhat of an outsider,
something which led to him feeling isolated and depressed as a youth. The album cover
therefore reflects the songs on the album which look back on his bleak and depressing
childhood, as well as his ambiguous sexuality.
• Being an outsider and not adhering to social norms are often associated with Indie music

7. Morrissey’s posture and pose
suggests a femininity. This again
ties in with queer theory, as he is
challenging the idea of men
being constantly ‘masculine’.
Black and white image creates a
melancholic feel; this is associated
with The Smiths’ music and Indie
music in general

8. Lyrics
• Lyrics to all of the songs are featured in a booklet
inside the digipak.
• Morrissey was aggravated by the meaningless songs in
the charts, as he expresses in The Smiths’ song ‘Panic’
– “Because the music that they constantly play / It says
nothing to me about my life.”
• The choice to include the image of the band beside the
lyrics of arguably the most depressing song on the
album (‘Suffer Little Children’, which is about the
Moors Murders) and also to have the image in black
and white illustrates the generally bleak outlook of the
lyrics on the album.

9. Generally
dark, but for
lighting
Suede
surrounding
the people
kissing and the
gold font
Sex of the people on the cover
is very ambiguous

10. Main image
• The sexuality of the two people kissing on the front
cover is very ambiguous because of their hidden faces
and androgynous haircuts.
• This supports the idea of gender being something that
is socially constructed, ever-changing, and that is
influenced by our environment, which stems from
Judith Butler’s theory in ‘Gender Trouble’.
• In not conforming to the typical separate depictions of
men and women with regards to gender and sex, they
are being quite rebellious as a band with this album
cover, and therefore embody the characteristic of Indie
music to “stick it to the man”.

11. Colours
• The use of the dark background with golden
coloured text and an aureole-like outline
conveys the overall feel of their music –
generally bleak and dark songs illuminated by
sparks of hope and joy.

12. Morrissey – Southpaw Grammar
Traditional pose
and neatness of
hair and dress
however
suggests that
he is being
portrayed as a
more
traditional
musical icon
The flashes of vivid
and is less
red amongst the dull
rebellious
black, white, and grey
characterises
Morrissey as
rebellious

13. Solo
• Never appeared on any of The Smiths’ artwork, but
always appears on the front of his own albums.
Suggests the focus moved away from the actual music
when he started recording without the rest of The
Smiths, and was placed more upon himself as an icon.
• However, the artwork still has similarities with The
Smiths’ artwork and conforms to conventions of Indie
as a genre. Black and white are the only colours used,
apart from the red for the text of his name and the
record label. Red is a colour associated with passion,
and therefore reflects Morrissey’s strong views and
rebellious nature.

14. Refuses to conform
to the glamorous
celebrity culture by
using his CD as a
marketing tool.
Instead chooses a
very classical and
plain design.
Imitation of an LP
record, perhaps
suggesting he is still
making ‘real’ music
and doesn’t conform
to trends

15. The Libertines – The Libertines
Natural
poses?
Signifiers of
Rock & Roll
lifestyle

16. ‘Rock and Roll’
• Although the photo is clearly posed, the way
in which Carl Barat and Peter Doherty are
stood suggests a naturalness. Additionally,
Peter Doherty’s glance is far from towards the
camera, suggesting a disorderliness associated
with the ‘Rock & Roll’ lifestyle.
• Furthermore, their tattoos and the cigarette
that Peter is holding are also signifiers of a
‘Rock & Roll’ lifestyle.

17. CD Design

18. CD Design
• The font used resembles that on some
promotional posters for gigs. This links to the
origins of Indie music, where gigs contributed
a significant amount to a band’s income
because of them having a loyal fan base.
• The Libertines often used to offer small,
intimate gigs to dedicated fans; sometimes in
their own house.

19. Arctic Monkeys - Working-class roots
• Arctic Monkeys convey the working-class roots
of the genre through their CD design.

20. Whatever People Say I Am, That’s
What I’m Not
The working-class roots are conveyed through
the design of this album through it appearing
as almost a massive ash tray. Furthermore,
cigarettes are a signifier of a ‘Rock & Roll’
lifestyle.

21. Humbug
Their working-class roots are illustrated by
the CD design here, as it is made to resemble
a pie, and pies are a food which is associated
with the working-class.

22. The Maccabees – Wall of Arms
Resembles
setlist for a gig

23. Back Cover Display
• The thin vertical strip used for the tracklist, as
well as the font, shares similarities to the
visual structure used for displaying setlists for
a gig.
• This again conforms to the idea of gigs and a
loyal fanbase being important to Indie bands.

24. Lightspeed Champion – Falling off the
Lavender Bridge
Playful but also
slightly irregular
font used
Smart clothing
associated with
white people of
middle and upper-
class suggests he
is subverting the
Bright colours stereotype of
conform to the young black males
Indie Pop
genre

25. Queer theory
• This theory states that identity is not fixed, and therefore cannot be
categorised and labelled. It argues that people should not be
thrown into a collective basket because of their sexuality.
• Although this isn’t directly applicable to Devonte Hynes (Lightspeed
Champion) through sexuality, it is applicable through the stereotype
in Britain of young black males. The completely contrasting typical
white middle to upper-class attire that he is sporting establishes
himself as challenging the general image of young black British
males. It ties in with the conventions of the Indie genre, as it is
characterised as rebellious and challenges social norms.
• He often voices how he feels he doesn’t fit in with the expectations
society in general might have of himself because of his race through
his lyrics; “I’ve turned my back on my race,” “I feel the n**ger eyes,
they’re staring / makes me want to rip off my skin.”

26. Colours and fonts
• The colours and fonts used on the album cover
lend Lightspeed Champion to the Indie Pop
genre.
• Generally bright colours are used, with him
wearing a red cardigan and an almost gold bow-
tie.
• The font used for the text ‘Lightspeed Champion’
is fun and playful, but also almost irregular. This
signifies the Pop element of his music whilst the
irregular font also establishes him as ‘the
outsider’.

27. Back cover

28. Back Cover
• The fact that only a small part of his skin is
shown displays how little he regards it as a
contributor to his identity, and also relates
back to queer theory, as it shows his want to
not be ‘put in a basket’ and stereotyped.
• This is a typical aspect of Indie music – to ‘go
against the grain’.

29. Lightspeed Champion – Life is Sweet!
Nice to Meet You
Clothing Isolated in
defies the setting
the
stereoty
pical
image of
young
black
males

30. Front Cover
• He is isolated in the image, suggesting he is
somewhat of an outsider.
• His dress again defies the stereotypical image
of young black males; he is wearing a tweed
blazer and thick-rimmed glasses. This suggests
he is rebelling against social norms
• His thick-rimmed glasses and the classical font
used makes him seem intellectual. Not your
typical male pin-up.

31. Back cover
Mainly black
and white,
Split into four
but with
sections – quite
flashes of
an irregular
colour
structure

32. Back cover
• The album is split into four sections, which is
quite unconventional, and adheres to the
aspect of Indie music of ‘going against the
grain’.
• Wholly black and white, besides the yellow
colour of some text, conveying the general
feel of Indie music: melancholy, but with
sparks of joy and hope.

33. Bombay Bicycle Club - Flaws
Heavy shadow Made-up, however not a
suggests a darkness typical depiction of beauty.
to their acoustic
music, amongst the
earthy colours

34. • Being a wholly acoustic album, the colours are different;
generally being more earthy and natural.
• However, the image on the front cover still carries
conventions of the genre. The person is clearly made-up,
however does not conform to the traditional depiction of
beauty. The image ties in with the idea of the “iron
maiden” from ‘The Beauty Myth’ because she is clearly
trying to reach an unattainable standard of beauty, but is
being punished psychologically – the heavy shadow
suggests depression.
• The presentation of an alternative form of beauty conforms
to the ides of Indie music challenging social norms, whilst
also tying in with the title of the album: ‘Flaws’.