The inimitable visual genius H.R. Giger has passed away at the age of 74 .  Being one of many who'd found his work remarkable in its complexity, abstract and often-futurist vision and, at times, terrifying realism, the loss is felt.  The man could bring truth to nightmares. While he's best-known for designing the iconic Alien creature and for creating more than a few well-known album covers , Giger became an engaging figure for me once I'd discovered Dead Kennedys and begun to question terms like "morality" and "decency."  His piece, Penis Landscape , (or Work 219: Landscape XX ), had eventually led the Kennedys into a legal battle that would ultimately destroy the band, victims of then-Senator's wife Tipper Gore 's reign of First Amendment assault with her Parents Music Resource Center, a group of "concerned" wives compelled to stigmatize artists for being less then sensitive when it came to their lyrical content. The albu...

I found an obituary at Billboard . As a graphic designer by trade, I've gravitated toward poster art for as long as I can remember.  After college, I had aspirations of becoming one of those well-known poster and flyer artists that advertises gigs locally while inadvertently informing the look and feel of a generation and its music, sort of along the lines of Art Chantry , Raymond Pettibon or Emek .  Grimshaw was such an artist, someone who managed to visually capture a place and time memorably while helping to establish its aesthetic. Music and art define points in time and identify cultural shifts in consciousness.  From album covers and gig posters and flyers, to video and t-shirt design, would music have the same weight without its visual component?  Would any era in music's still developing history, whether it be jazz or country, disco or punk, new wave or hip-hop, have as much impact without texture or color, appearance or tone?  I personally ca...