Spit to See the Shine

Babes in Toyland always had fantastic artwork for their albums and singles - photographs and paintings that were raw, disturbing, and occasionally tongue-in-cheek. They were never a blatantly horror-inspired band, but singer/guitarist Kat Bjelland's piercing yowls, coupled with her tattered babydoll appearance, gave their music an aura of menace that was repeatedly reinforced by their cover art.

(It is also worth noting that Kat - not Geddy Lee - is the reason I play a Rickenbacker myself.)

Artwork by Cindy Sherman

Artwork by Cindy Sherman

Robert Williams' "The Thing in the Hope Chest" was used by Babes for the cover of their 1994 compilation album Dystopia. If you're down with toddler jerky, you can buy a signed poster from the artist here!

Dark Entries

I love Bauhaus. "She's in Parties" is one of my favorite songs of all time.

And, truly, the cover art for many of their singles is - for lack of a better word - the best. I would be thrilled to possess physical copies of any or all of the following:


Actually, I do have a 12" vinyl single of "Bela Lugosi's Dead," and it's absolutely glorious. It was purchased at Amoeba in Hollywood for something like $1.99, and it's probably my favorite record out of my entire collection.

Here's my band covering the aforementioned goth classic at a Halloween show a couple years back: