Album Artwork Clues

[BH]

Here's a little sumpin' sumpin' to tide you over until we find out what Jim ate for breakfast this morning.

[size=24]Shooting 'organic' rocker photos [/size]
Friday, December 28, 2007
JEFF BAKER
The Oregonian

Autumn de Wilde is in New York, staying at the Chelsea Hotel and eating lunch. She takes a bite and laughs as car horns blare up from the street below.

"There's some authentic New York street noise," she says. "I piped it in just for you."

De Wilde has been busy. She's a photographer best known for her work with musicians, particularly Beck, Elliott Smith and the White Stripes. On this trip she took some pictures of They Might Be Giants, and also worked with My Morning Jacket, which is recording a new album.

Her approach is to "work organically," she says. "Everything comes out of conversations with the band, whether we're going to do something in the studio or do something more literal or more conceptual. I adjust the shape of what I might be doing to what they're into.

"With someone like Beck, who I've worked with for so long, it's more like, 'What haven't we done?' He's always willing to try something new, and it's always straight from the heart. With someone else, it might be more literal, although this time Jim James (of My Morning Jacket) said, 'We always look like auto mechanics.' They were ready to try something different."

De Wilde's portfolio is a Who's Who of independent rock: Pavement, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Spoon, Death Cab for Cutie, Fiona Apple, Built to Spill and Rilo Kiley. Her album covers include the White Stripes' "Icky Thump," the Raconteurs' "Broken Boy Soldiers" and Beck's "Sea Change."

"I'm a fan," she says. "I spent so many years barely making rent, just documenting the music and hanging out."

Her first break came when Beck encouraged her to hang out and photograph him, in different settings and not necessarily for a specific assignment. Her life changed again when she became friends with Smith. She eventually shot the cover for his album "Figure 8" and the video for "Son of Sam."

"I'm drawn to fragile artists," de Wilde says. "When certain people who were known to be uncomfortable being photographed, like Elliott, put their trust in me, that opened everything up."

De Wilde's first book, "Elliott Smith" (Chronicle Books, $29.95, 224 pages), includes interviews with many of Smith's friends and musicians who admired him. The process was "exciting and terrifying" for de Wilde, who won't release a photograph her subject doesn't like and allowed the people she interviewed to edit out any comments they didn't like.

"I'm not one to tiptoe around emotion, but I didn't want anyone to feel like they said something they might regret later. A lot of these people had been betrayed by journalists in the past, and trust was really important."



Check out her other work with Built To Spill, White Stripes, Spoon, Beck and more!

www.autumndewilde.com

[BH]

That's right, it's a slow day at work, sue me.

From the ArabTimesOnline.com - Kuwait (I'm not making that shit up, seriously, look for yourself.)

Part of an article entitled "5 artistes set for '08 splash"

Creative booking has helped build My Morning Jacket's reputation as one of the premier live rock bands on the touring scene. Last year was supposed to be a light year for the band (with only a handful of dates reported to Boxscore), but the gigs the group did play were high-profile.
"We were lucky enough to be invited to play three shows with Bob Dylan at Red Rocks and Telluride, as well as Lollapalooza with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Austin City Limits Festival,'' says the band's manager, Mike Martinovich, who says the live year came to a "euphoric'' end when MMJ played Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit near San Francisco.
MMJ just finished recording its next studio album in New York with frontman Jim James and Joe Chiccarelli (the White Stripes, the Shins) co-producing. The band hopes for a June release, then will tour in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Europe.

[kyjed48]

That's the best news I've heard yet in this two-day old year!  Just in time for Jacketfest!

[bridget]

Thanks, BH!

I think the Figure 8 cover is inconic. She sounds like a perfect fit:)

[red]

YES YES YES!!!

The Figure 8 cover is one of my absolute favourites and that Elliott Smith picture book she just put out is so good.

I'm still waiting for the requisite Anton Corbijn photo.

[ycartrob]

...and also worked with My Morning Jacket, which is recording a new album.

What? Me thought they were hanging out in Louisville at Outlook, drinking Coors Light.

hhhmmmmmmm

[Big Nasty]

Thanks for posting this stuff BH.  Who would have thought the latest MMJ news would come straight out of Kuwait?  

Can't wait until June.  I really hope that I can find a way to road trip and follow them around for at least a few of next summer's tour dates!

[JacketGal]

I'm not familiar with this person but it sounds like you all dig her work - and that's cool! I'm going to google her.

I just love randomness of the Jacket - on all fronts. :)

[NHaywood]

The article from ArabTimesOnline was taking from Reuters/Billboard and here is the part about MMJ in it's entirety. Apparently, we should all be planning to be in Austin in March.

Creative booking has helped build My Morning Jacket's reputation as one of the premier live rock bands on the touring scene. Last year was supposed to be a light year for the band (with only a handful of dates reported to Boxscore), but the gigs the group did play were high-profile.

"We were lucky enough to be invited to play three shows with Bob Dylan at Red Rocks and Telluride, as well as Lollapalooza with the Chicago Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Austin City Limits Festival," says the band's manager, Mike Martinovich, who says the live year came to a "euphoric" end when MMJ played Neil Young's annual Bridge School Benefit near San Francisco.

MMJ just finished recording its next studio album in New York with frontman Jim James and Joe Chiccarelli (the White Stripes, the Shins) co-producing. The band hopes for a June release, then will tour in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom and Europe.

The band will perform at this year's South by Southwest event in Austin for the first time since 2002, and James will do an acoustic show in addition to the full-band set. Other U.S. dates are being booked.