From the bathroom chalkboard wall at the 37signals/Coudal Partners office (click image for larger view).
About Matt Linderman
Now: The creator of Vooza, "the Spinal Tap of startups." Previously: Employee #1 at 37signals and co-author of the books Rework and Getting Real.Read all of Matt Linderman’s posts, and follow Matt Linderman on Twitter.
Matt Linderman wrote this on Feb 21 2007 There are 41 comments.
Brian 21 Feb 07
Bad Brains, Banned in DC and The Clash’s London Calling. Two of my favorites.
Greg 21 Feb 07
The chalkboard is very telling of the age demographic at the office.
-G
Coudal 21 Feb 07
Yes Greg, that and the fact that while LP record covers made a lasting impression on our young minds, the little square art from CD’s didn’t generally have the same effect.
Des Traynor 21 Feb 07
I love the Nirvana one, it’s one of those ” I know its a baby, and its water, what else was there”
schlarb 21 Feb 07
Seeing Metal Box and a Zappa reference made my early morning. Thanks.
Doug March 21 Feb 07
Hurry someone go draw Bee Thousand, so it can be complete.
Dan Boland 21 Feb 07
So who’ll be the one to tackle Sergeant Pepper? =D
bryan 21 Feb 07
It continues around the corner… I can’t believe I forgot GBV B1K , I have to go pee…
bb.
David Low 21 Feb 07
2112! You guys just went right up in my estimation (whoever added that cover, at least!)
bryan 21 Feb 07
Hey, let’s make it a contest, email me (bryan@coudal.com) all the artists and album titles, numbered 1-35 left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
First three people to get them all right wins a prize. Yes, there are a couple that are questionable hybrids, I will take that into account.
Bryan
Andrew 21 Feb 07
Tortoise! Unknown Pleasures! Someone has good taste.
andrew 21 Feb 07
Man, I love that Van Halen scored twice on the board – that is ROCK .
hehehe
Alex 21 Feb 07
Do the two actually share an office, or do you just happen to be located in the same building?
JF 21 Feb 07
We share the same office space. It’s Coudal’s space, we just sublet a few desks (and the bathroom).
Greg 21 Feb 07
Kudos to whoever put London Calling on there.
I don’t recognize too many of the others, though.
Dave P 21 Feb 07
So, has anyone admitted to putting Def Leopard up there yet?
bryan 21 Feb 07
I did Def Leppard, and my only shame is that I got the design wrong, the building was sort of boxed off, like a photo, and the logo was smaller and to the left. Def Leppard were still vaguely part of the NWOBHM then, and there are some good tunes on there, they weren’t quite the godawful arena lame-os that crapped out “Adrenalize” and “Hysteria.” Besides, that was 1983, I was 14 and listening to the Police, Iron Maiden, and the Go-Go’s, a lot hipper than the stuff most kids liked. I remember staying up past 9pm (!) to find out if Joan Jett finally knocked “Another one Bites the Dust” off the number one spot in the Q102 top 10 Countdown. Dis Joan Jett, I dare you. : )
Mark Gallagher 21 Feb 07
chalkboard = cool
whiteboard = not cool
Simon Angling 21 Feb 07
Good to see the Modern Lovers up there.
michele 21 Feb 07
Michele from Coudal here. Now hold on there, Hysteria rocks. Can you actually tell me you can listen to “Pour Some Sugar on Me” and not do the Headbangers head flip? If you don’t, my heart breaks for you.
Leo Kennis 21 Feb 07
Har, good taste in music over there. Can’t go wrong with AC/DC, Def Leppard AND The Clash :D The old classics are very much over represented, just the way it should be!
Jemaleddin 21 Feb 07
I’m going to abstain from commenting on the quality of Hysteria, and instead make two points:
a) Hysteria means, literally, acting like a woman. “The term hysteria was coined by Hippocrates, who thought that the cause of hysteria was due to the uterus wandering around the body in search of children.”—Wikipedia
b) Why do so many tracks on Hysteria have a hand-clap sound effect? Isn’t it the drummer who usually leads the clapping at concerts? Are they just making fun of Rick Allen?
Oh, and nice Ghost in the Machine.
Jamie 21 Feb 07
Where is Journey?
Rob Weychert 21 Feb 07
Awesome! The Bad Brains and Tortoise renderings are especially impressive. Oh, and if I may add to the Def Leppard discussion, Pyromania is truly a landmark album (their last really good one), but their finest hour was still unquestionably High ‘n Dry.
Kimberley Grey 21 Feb 07
Thrilled to see Unknown Pleasures on there! Favourite album cover ever.
Paul 21 Feb 07
XTC – English Settlement! Nicely done.
Gareth 21 Feb 07
Is it bad that I’m 22 and recognise (and own) just over half of those albums?
Sadly I don’t think I could say the same for the majority of my friends.
Chriztian Steinmeier 21 Feb 07
Back in the days, few things could beat the feeling of bringing a new LP home, and just gawk at the colours and shapes or whatever on that huge cover. (Topped by any double-album of course :-)
- and Derek Riggs always delivered on those Iron Maiden albums…
Dan Sage 21 Feb 07
What might be most amazing is that you have a chalkboard wall in the bathroom.
Steve 22 Feb 07
Good to see the Smell The Glove cover made blacker than the surrounding blackboard. How much more black could this be? None. None more black.
Seth Aldridge 22 Feb 07
This looks like the early 80’s prototype of CoverFlow!
Gordon Brander 22 Feb 07
Whoever drew “Spinal Tap’s Smell the Glove”, my props to you.
Don Schenck 22 Feb 07
As the oldest guy here and the resident Rolling Stones fanatic, I love the “Sticky Fingers” almost-cover. Great.
Doh! 22 Feb 07
Rush and XTC. Nice!
kyle 22 Feb 07
The Spinal Tap reference was brilliant.
bryan 22 Feb 07
Travis A. Jackson is the grand prize winner of our Chalk Album Cover Contest. Travis wins two of our PixiesDiscs live concert CDs, a Field-Tested Books poster, and a few other goodies. Three runners-up will get PixiesDiscs CDs. Thanks for your entries, here are the answers. Some of us really can’t draw very well.
bryan 22 Feb 07
(We redid the front page of coudal.com to celebrate.)
Jens Alfke 22 Feb 07
@bryan: “I remember staying up past 9pm (!) to find out if Joan Jett finally knocked “Another one Bites the Dust” off the number one spot”
Heh! I remember my sister and I breathlessly listening to Casey Kasem week after week to witness “Another One Bites The Dust’s” ascent to #1. (Is it true Tina from Talking Heads gave them the bassline?) Not that Joan Jett didn’t rock, too.
If I were using that bathroom I might try my hand at XTC ’s “Drums and Wires”, or at least “Go 2”. Or I might sneak in some silver spraypaint and do the Cocteau Twins’ “Head Over Heels”.
dave mckay 23 Feb 07
Does anyone else get misty-eyed fondness recalling the smell of a freshly opened LP. Paper, ink, vinyl (and then 10 minutes later the slight smell of hemp seeds. I was a pioneer in the research of, um, well never mind…) Somebody needs to develop a way to emit that smell from itunes when you purchase an album. maybe just the smell of vinyl when you buy just one song. OK I ’m all nostalgic now and will go rock in my chair while I long for a better time. Go go poly-grip gadget.
Chris 25 Feb 07
I’m a music junkie, and classic rock is by far my favorite – I cannot stand any of the music that’s really popular for my age group (teenagers) today. I have every record in our house and the house’s only turntable in my room, and I utilize it regularly. I feel that the small album art that comes with CDs these days cannot hold a candle to the nice, big, colorful, and beautiful art that comes in an LP album. I have Pink Floyd posters from our vinyl copy of Dark Side of the Moon on my wall – something you won’t find in CD cases. The loss of the wonderful LP album art seems an awful thing – it’s the only downside I can find to digital music. I’m glad to see some great albums up on that board.
Tom Michlig 25 Feb 07
Let’s hear it for the Minutemen. Double Nickels on the Dime.
This discussion is closed.