ASMR Album Art - Kansas (pointing, tracing, counting)

I’m embarrassed to admit that very recently (in the last couple of weeks) I discovered that there is a very small record store in my town, tucked away in one of the downtown storefronts. Even worse: It’s been there about a year, and I had no idea. This is on me, of course, not them, because I don’t work in the town in which I live, so sometimes I feel that I’m out of town more often than I’m in town. And I haven’t been on Facebook much in the last three years, which is likely where I would have heard about this store.
But when I heard, I stopped by after work and checked the place out. I had a very nice conversation with the proprietor, and of course, I flipped through the racks. From the time I got my first album at age 11, though my college years, THIS is the way I (and many other music fans) browsed music - flipping through racks of albums, looking at those album covers.
The artwork on the cover of an album, in its large one-foot-square size, was an interesting intersection of art and commerce. For the musician or band, the album cover was an opportunity (if they were so inclined) to represent their songwriting visually, to give their fans something beyond the songs to tie everything together. For the record company, a dramatic or eye-catching album cover might make the difference between a shopper stopping at that album in the racks and pulling it out, or simply flipping past it in search of something else (KZbin thumbnails, anyone?).
In this video, I bring out four albums from the classic rock band Kansas, so that we can consider the artwork on the covers and the inner sleeves while pointing and tracing along the way. I also do a bit of counting in a few places, as well as soft-speaking, of course. This idea lends itself well to a recurring series, so if you enjoy what I’ve done here, please let me know.
Have YOU ever bought an album solely because you liked the album cover? If so, tell us about it in the comments below, and let’s talk about it! Oh, and I hope you like the new nighttime/crickets intro. A new vibe for a new year on the channel!
Please check out my “The Junk Drawer" playlist periodically for new casual videos of behind-the-scenes stuff or extra content. Follow me on Twitter (@gaslampasmr) for additional content as well. Also, check out my interview on The Dirty Nerdy Show: • Gaslamp ASMR Interview
New to ASMR? Learn more here: en.wikipedia.o...

[@GaslampASMR]

Have you ever bought an album based solely on the artwork? Tell us about it in the comments!

[@Sammeep02]

Atom Heart Mother, because I love cows and there's cows all over the outer sleeve ;D also quite a few Genesis albums particularly Trespass and Trick of the Tail :)

[@zackargentine911]

As someone born in ‘96, by the time I was old enough to really appreciate music, things were shifting from CDs to primarily digital. I’m fascinated by album art, but most of my life has just been seeing it as a picture on an iPod or iPhone screen. I was in an antique shop earlier this year and found myself flipping through albums and was definitely drawn to stuff I’ve never heard of just because of the artwork on the cover. Its such a different experience getting to hold a piece of art like that in your hands, rather than just seeing it on a small cd case or an icon on a screen. I considered buying a record player so that I could have an excuse to buy cool looking records haha. This video inspired me and I think I’ll check out my local record store soon. Great stuff!

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Zack, this is a great comment. If you consider vinyl/cassettes/CD’s/streaming, it seems that each generation has had its own characteristic way to consume music. I try to stay out of “grumpy old man” territory when talking about this stuff, but I don’t think it is debatable that the experience has gotten less and less tactile over the years. One tradeoff, I suppose, is the music video. Every song release seems to have a music video these days, and I’m sure many of us come to YT first when we’re trying to check out a new song for the first time. Different times, for sure! Hey, if you think of it, come back here after you visit your local record store, and tell us your thoughts. We’d love to hear about it. Thanks again Zack!

[@nickhayworth6200]

This album art series is very relaxing and informative for music enthusiasts. I vote for more of these types of videos.

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Nick!

[@StarfishSavvy]

Welcome back! 😊 missed your last Live broadcast- excited for your next!

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Starfish!

[@DecafMathASMR]

😍

[@andrewcryan1]

Love the relaxingASMR mention.

[@GaslampASMR]

lol, yep. He’s the first person I thought of when I saw that spilled ink!

[@TheloniusMage]

This was a wonderful journey and will make a great series!

[@GaslampASMR]

I’m glad you think so, Thelonius. Thanks for the feedback!

[@asmrportal9031]

I have watched this several times already and I cant get past the second album without falling asleep!💜💚💙

[@GaslampASMR]

Well, you’re not supposed to start from the beginning every time, silly! 😉 But thanks for continuing to try!

[@asmrportal9031]

@@GaslampASMR I know...I know, but it's so relaxing!

[@LouiePlaysDrums]

Excellent video. I'm a big Kansas fan. Watching this brought back a lot of memories. I definitely hope you will continue the album cover exploration in future videos. This was really cool. Just a quick little correction here - When pointing out the order of the albums on The Best Of cover, you pointed to Audio Visions before Monolith. Monolith was actually released before Audio Visions. Speaking of Monolith, I saw the reference on the back of the Best Of album. It's the picture of the moon. Again, great video. Much appreciated. Looking forward to more. Keep up the great work.

[@GaslampASMR]

Yep, I know that release order like the back of my hand. Too bad I can’t prove it when the camera is rolling! LOL. In my defense, I got it right two weeks ago when I shot this video the first time, but I had to scrap that one due to audio issues. Thanks Louie.

[@kieron7087]

Another great video from you

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Chief!

[@WhoaNellyJake]

Request for this type of video for the album art from: Pink Floyd, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Beatles etc

[@GaslampASMR]

lol, I’ll put those on the list!

[@cakerape]

this was super relaxing!

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Rdizzle!

[@HunchbackJack]

This is a fun and relaxing video. Thanks very much for producing and uploading it. I would love to see more of these kinds of videos. But rather than suggest a band for a future video, I would rather leave it to you to choose a band that you particularly like, for you to wax lyrical (ha ha) about.

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks very much, HBJ, so glad you liked it. I think I'll eventually do one of these vids for each of the bands that I was heavily into when I first started buying albums, as those would be the covers that I knew the most about back in the day.

[@HunchbackJack]

@@GaslampASMR That sounds perfect. Your enthusiasm for Kansas - and these albums in particular - certainly comes through in this video.

[@GaslampASMR]

Appreciate that, Jack.

[@LouiePlaysDrums]

How about a Rush ASMR Album Art video as a tribute to the late great Neil Peart? That would be awesome.

[@GaslampASMR]

I actually started pulling Rush albums out last weekend, thinking about that exact thing.

[@LouiePlaysDrums]

@@GaslampASMR Awesome!!!

[@trevorpatten8370]

O M G!! you play breath of the wild?! haha thats fantastic, next stream i feel some breath of the wild discussions coming on!:)

[@GaslampASMR]

Wellllllll, no, I don’t play BotW, but I’ve seen it played many times, and I pay attention. Just trying to keep up with what “the kids these days” are into, ya know. 😎

[@Lexi_Zone]

Ooo, this was a really fun one! I'd love to see more album art videos like this~ ♡

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks very much, Lexi!

[@caseyjchance]

Have bought a vinyl _despite_ its album cover before. Encountered an original (nice red translucent vinyl) pressing of U.K. Squeeze depicting a flexing bodybuilder. The story behind the cover is that the producer for their first album ditched most of their ready-made material and challenged the band to write about topics like "musclemen". They, being newbies to the studio, took his advice and did just that. Lyrically, it's a weird album. Good tunes though.

[@GaslampASMR]

OF COURSE I had to look this up to learn more about this interesting situation. I noticed that the producer in question was none other than John Cale, previously from The Velvet Underground. I had never heard this story before, and I feel a bit bad for Squeeze. What an odd situation to go in to the studio for your first album, and to be asked to essentially scrap your whole band identity and do something different. I'm glad it worked out for them. I've played both "Pulling Mussels" and "Tempted" in bands before, and I always appreciated their interesting arrangements. Thanks for sharing this story! (And I agree, not a strong album cover!)

[@DecafMathASMR]

What happened after "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..." ? My brain turned to mush... I reaaaaallly love the pace of this. Amazing one, Gaslamp! Btw I think this is one of my new favs (and I thought the simple paper cutting and also pencil ones were hard to beat!)

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Decaf! I appreciate your affection for the simpler videos. I get caught in a trap of second-guessing those vids as I’m doing them, thinking that they’re not “enough” in some way. Feedback like yours reminds me that simplicity is never something to second-guess.

[@robertstirling2798]

I have bought four separate albums for the very reason of enjoying the artwork and nothing else. I knew nothing about the bands before I purchased, but the albums are... Junkyard by The Birthday Party, Transcedental Youth by The Mountain Goats, Murdered Love by P.O.D., and Sounds From Nowheresville by The Ting Tings. And I'll through the Add Violence EP by Nine Inch Nails in there too because I didn't know it was by them until I listened to it

[@GaslampASMR]

Robert, thanks for your excellent comment. Of course, I had to look up all those album covers. Interesting to me that the artwork for those first four albums is very illustrative (non photographic) in nature. Are these your favorite types of album art? Agree that they're all very eye-catching. I especially like the Mountain Goats cover. But that NIN cover is just fantastic. Love the retro vibe, but also love that there is plenty of test equipment in the place I work that look EXACTLY like that cover! lol

[@robertstirling2798]

@@GaslampASMR Well, I like a mix of styles for album art. Some of my favorites are the cover for Like Clockwork by Queens Of The Stone Age for its simplicity but very distinct theme and thens same goes to the equally simple but iconic Foo Fighters self titled album with the Ray Gun. But then you add covers like Black Holes and Revelations by Muse and Frostburn by Lords Of The Trident and I can just stare at those for hours looking at all the small things.

[@robertstirling2798]

But, I will say one thing about the albums that I mentioned before. Some of them weren't quite what I was expecting. For instance, I was definitely expecting Mountain Goats to be more easy going (that album has a very strong R.E.M feel for it) and chill compared to what P.O.D. (which turned out to be Metal Rap) had goin on, but with The Ting Tings, it was a lot more indie pop than expected. Same goes for The Birthday Party. I was expecting hair metal or something along those lines but I was pleased when I heard that it was pure punk

[@LouiePlaysDrums]

I'm revisiting this video after hearing the sad news of Robby Steinhardt's passing. May he rest in peace. Hope you're doing well. I miss your videos.

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks Louie. I was sad to hear of this too. Even more so when I read a bit about his circumstances. The last two months had been rough, health-wise, and he also just finished recording his first solo album. I've always thought that Robby was Kansas' secret weapon, the single element that set the Kansas sound apart from many of their contemporaries. The rock violin is one obvious thing, of course, but Robby's voice was VERY different from Steve's, and so when they would sing together, the intersection of their voices created a unique texture that set them apart. This is a sad loss to American rock music.

[@teddybear9029]

Hi dude! Check out yes album art work by roger dean. All the best mark and liezl from England. P.s love your style buddy!

[@GaslampASMR]

Heck yes, Roger Dean’s work is iconic, of course. Thanks for the kind words!

[@elveniaasmr]

Oh i love this!!! I noticed there's no new videos lately, are you coming back? i hope you do .... in the meantime i'll check out the older stuff! =) love your content so far and your voice is sooo great for ASMR!

[@GaslampASMR]

Yep, I'm still here! I was actually working on some videos just yesterday. I know the upload schedule is kinda spotty, but Real Life gets like that sometimes. So glad you enjoy the content, Tadeja! Thanks for being here.

[@elveniaasmr]

@@GaslampASMR yaaay! And yeah I completely understand! Looking forward to new content!

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks, I am too!

[@bunglebongle9003]

Nice idea for a series of videos! One of my favourite album covers is Axis:Bold As Love. Also, I quite like the Let It Bleed cover art.

[@GaslampASMR]

Those are great suggestions, thanks very much!

[@ashleyp.4932]

Definitely would love to see more of these. I enjoyed both your previous album cover artwork videos, so more detailed like this would be wonderful.

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks RF! Are you back from your travels?

[@paustinheaton]

Wow - So happy to see another video and I love the new opening with the crickets! Just watched enough to know it's going to be great. But I'm going to save it for tonight so I can properly savor it. Thumbs up.

[@GaslampASMR]

Thanks very much, Phyllis! Hope you enjoy it tonight.

[@paustinheaton]

@@GaslampASMR Great video. Kept drifting off, but think I watched most of it before I fell off the cliff into dreamland. An album cover series looks to be a winner. Fantastic idea. PS: still hoping to see the pharmacy student video one day. Take care.

[@GaslampASMR]

Yep, you and me both! (re: pharmacy student) Someday! Thanks Phyllis.