The Saturday Symbol: Babies

What is it with babies gracing album covers such as this one?

In the last few days, the baby that graced Ready to Die has come out and revealed himself. He's 18 years-old and a senior in high school. The significance? Well, this isn't just a baby on any album cover. This is a baby on one of the greatest rap albums of all-time.

If you've ever noticed, a lot of classic popular and critically lauded albums have had babies on their album covers. The most notable ones that I could find are:

Nirvana's Nevermind
Van Halen's 1984
Radiohead's Pablo Honey
Lil' Wayne's Tha Carter III
The Cure's Galore
The Goo Goo Dolls's A Boy Named Goo
Sebadoh's Bakesale

What's the connection, you ask? That's what I'm trying to figure out. Each one of these albums are smashing successes that either changed the musical landscape or presented these artists in a new light, but even if the music is great, have babies in pools chasing dollars or smoking a cigarette have anything to do with their notoriety?

Does it seem as though they've become a marketing gimmick to sell an artist's records? I can't really make that claim, considering that these stand-outs have done so well on their own, but it is interesting to note their symbolic nature in the state of music. Honestly, I think people just generally love babies, but these albums do refer to a type of youth or innocence that's in a much darker sense than what might be topically implied. Sure, babies may be an easy sell, but their skin's soft complexion and unexpected facial expressions emit this concept of past, present, and future, and an unknowingness of their world that many of these bands have employed as part of the undertones of their music and lyrical content. They're a type of symbol that not only makes us see the outside or the cover and think it's fondly, but they also make us look closer within ourselves and our reflections.

-DJ

The Saturday Symbol: Vic Rattlehead

Good ole' Vic. He's the mascot that has appeared on almost every piece of album art and insignia of the thrash metal band Megadeth, and for good reason. The skeletal body known as "Vic Rattlehead" may be one of many popular skeletal images in metal (such as Iron Maiden's "Eddie"), but I believe Vic illustrates a message that speaks volumes to a community known for wanting to be loud and heard.

Frontman Dave Mustaine first described Vic in the song "Skull Beneath the Skin" from their first album, Killing is My Business...and Business is Good. He states:

Prepare the patients scalp
To peel away
Metal caps his ears
He'll hear not what we say
Solid steel visor
Riveted across his eyes
Iron staples close his jaws
So no one hears his cries

Looking at the lyrics and the picture above, Vic's mouth is wired shut and his eyes and ears both locked away. Basically, he represents the three evils: Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil.

This is interesting because Megadeth uses Vic to symbolize a message that they themselves masterfully present in their musical offerings: The idea of being oppressed and unable to free oneself from the confines the world often presents to them. That's a lot of what metal stands for, isn't it? Here's a band that plays loud and delivers powerful guitar solos and lyrical content to the masses that are just as fed up with the world's problems as they are. Their speedy and loud music matches the vibe of the message, and that's an incredibly identifiable asset.

Megadeth not only makes politcal statements through their music, but also through Vic Rattlehead and what he embodies, and he's probably the reason why Megadeth gets up in the morning.