What Do Sky Ferreira and Chumbawamba Have in Common? Nudity, Of Course.
posted in: Features • Pop • Rock
Sky Ferreira‘s debut full-length Night Time, My Time garnered a lot of attention when it debuted this October, but not all of it was due to her catchy electropop tunes. Instead, some found fault with the album’s artwork, which features a damp Ferreira looking bored and a little grouchy in the shower. Oh, and also, her boobs are out.
In a conversation with MTV News earlier this week, the songstress addressed some of the criticism she received for deciding to appear naked in the album’s cover art.
“I wasn’t like, ‘OK, I’m going to be nude on my album cover,’ it just kind of happened,” Ferreira said to MTV News. “It wasn’t to sell records, because you don’t sell records by being nude and looking crazy.”
And, of course, Ferreira isn’t the first artist to feature nudity in her album artwork. Here are four other albums on which the artists, like this pop songstress, don’t find naked imagery to be that big of a deal.
Jane’s Addiction “ Nothing’s Shocking
Many casual fans are familiar with this Jane’s Addiction record thanks to the poppy and inoffensive “Jane Says,” which is still played ad nauseam, day after day, on every single alternative rock station nationwide, but the album actually was pretty shocking when it debuted in 1988. With chants of “Sex! Is! Violent!” and a sample of an interview with serial killer Ted Bundy, Nothing’s Shocking created quite a stir. Of course, no one should have been surprised after seeing the album art: a pair of conjoined twins sitting completely naked in a rocking chair, hair ablaze.
Red Hot Chili Peppers “ Mother’s Milk
Mother’s Milk, the fourth studio album from RHCP, is notable both because it introduces John Frusciante on guitar and because of the controversy surrounding its album art. Although the woman on display had her nipples oh-so tastefully covered “ one by a rose and the other by Anthony Kiedis “ several national chains found the imagery to be too sexual and refused to carry the record until this boring, censored version was substituted. Personally, I find the fact that this looks like the slapped-together product of a kid who’s still trying to figure out Photoshop to be far, far more offensive.
Chumbawamba “ Anarchy
You probably know Chumbawamba as the band who sings that one song, but here’s a funny story: these British musicians were actually anarcho-punks who more frequently sang about fascism, feminism, homophobia, and animal rights. Anarchy, the collective’s sixth full-length, delves deeply into all of those themes, but the record is probably best remembered for its artwork, which depicts a baby’s head exiting a vagina. Though you’d never know this if you looked the album up in iTunes; weirdly enough, Apple uses a censored cover that gets rid of the baby and vag entirely and replaces them with pretty flowers.
David Bowie “ Diamond Dogs
Leave it to Bowie to stir up controversy not for featuring a naked lady “ or even a naked dude “ but dog genitalia. The album art on his 1974 record originally showed the pop icon as a half-man, half-canine creature lying in what I guess could be considered a compromising position? (I’m not really clear on the sexual cues of dog centaurs.) Either way, RCA Records only produced a few promo copies with the dong-laden artwork before balking and airbrushing out the offending puppy parts.
More like this:
Drake Reveals Dual Cover Art For ˜Nothing Was The Same’
Rihanna Releases ˜Unapologetic’ Album Art
Music Videos 101: Censorship?