1978: The Year In Music – The Cover Art

Here’s the cover art for my mix 1978: The Year In Music. Originally, this mix was going to have a serial killer theme, as some of the most notorious mass murderers of the 20th century were either in court, on the rampage, or gearing up for business in ‘78 (including Ted Bundy, David “Son Of Sam” Berkowitz, and John Wayne Gacy). But that seemed kinda creepy, so I ended up on the much happier theme of Atari and Space Invaders.

Once I got started on this theme, it seemed like a no-brainer: my brother and I were seriously addicted to Atari when we were kids, and Space Invaders was among our favorite games. As luck would have it, both the 2600 and the stand-up arcade version of Space Invaders were introduced in ‘78 (the Atari version of the game wouldn’t be released until 1980).

Space Invaders was the first runaway hit arcade game, and the Atari 2600 popularized home electronic gaming. It’s no stretch to say that these developments changed the face of entertainment. Likewise, the music of ‘78 was quite forward-looking, and anticipated the sounds of the 80’s and beyond. Here’s my compilation of the 20 best albums from that year…

[here's the front cover]

[here's the front gatefold]

[here's the inside gatefold]

[here's the inside back]

[copy reads: "Both the Atari 2600 and Space Invaders made their debut in 1978. And like much of the music created that year, these gaming innovations were glimpses into the future of entertainment. If they seem dated now, it's only in the best possible way. Because the games and songs of 1978 pointed the way forward, they're always fun to look back on..."]

[here's the back]

[here's the track listing]

1) Atomic Punk – Van Halen (from the album: Van Halen)
2) Shattered – The Rolling Stones (from the album: Some Girls)
3) Who Says A Funk Band Can’t Play RocK?! – Funkadelic (from the album: One Nation Under A Groove)
4) Aloha Steve & Danno – Radio Birdman (from the album: Radios Appear)
5) Southbound Again – Dire Straits (from the album: Dire Straits)
6) Don’t Get Around Much Anymore – Willie Nelson (from the album: Stardust)
7) Next To The Moon – AC/DC (from the album: Powerage)
8) Heart Of The City – Nick Lowe (from the album: Jesus Of Cool)
9) Good Times Roll – The Cars (from the album: The Cars)
10) Spanish Moon – Little Feat (from the album: Waiting For Columbus)
11) I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones (from the album: Road To Ruin)
12) Thank You For Sending Me An Angel – Talking Heads (from the album: More Songs About Buildings And Food)
13) “A” Bomb In Wardour Street – The Jam (from the album: All Mod Cons)
14) Street Hassle – Lou Reed (from the album: Street Hassle)
15) New Pony – Bob Dylan (from the album: Street Legal)
16) Mihalis – David Gilmour (from the album: David Gilmour)
17) Jailbreak – Thin Lizzy (from the album: Live And Dangerous)
18) Comes A Time – Neil Young (from the album: Comes A Time)
19) Mister Garvey – Burning Spear (from the album: Social Living)
20) Roxanne – The Police (from the album: Outlandos d’Amour)

[and here's the logo I used...]

Tags: 1978: The Year In Music, Atari, Space Invaders