 If only the music were as flawless as the cover art.  
Here's little curio from the former Yugoslavia—a record sleeve from Serb pop-rock artist Boris Bizetić with a Marilyn Monroe cover motif. We've seen her image rather poorly used on album covers, but this one is nice, we think, if almost certainly unlicensed. And the music? Hah hah. We dare you.
 Sleeve from seminal gloom band gives fans plenty to be happy about. 
This is the last of our rare bootleg record sleeves with art by Aslan, aka Alain Gourdon. The previous two were for records by The Cure, and we showed you those here and here. This one was made for Joy Division, and though undated—the blue vinyl and inner sleeve have no text at all—probably appeared in late 1980 as a rush release after lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. As far as we know, no other bootleg records with Aslan art were ever made, though Fontana released a series of very nice licensed Aslan covers during the 1960s. All three Aslan bootlegs are somewhat racy, this one perhaps most so, but it’s a brilliant piece of art. Update, 2020: We found the original Aslan painting that became the unlicensed cover above, plus the reference photos that were the basis for the painting. They're all below. Model unknown. We could have shared this discovery a new, separate post, but we put it here because it was easier. Plus, it'll keep you on your toes—you never what we'll dump deep into the website. Also, doing it this way leaves us more time for fine glasses of white wine.
 Musically talented but not particularly handsome? No worries. Put your hot wife on your album covers. Spanish bandleader Xavier Cugat and his wife, singer Abbe Lane, were one of the most famous musical couples in the world during the 1950s and early 1960s, performing live together and releasing albums. These four Cugat album sleeves featuring Lane as the cover model evoke pulp fiction and film noir rather nicely, we think. Also, they kinda make us want to dance.
 Always wash delicates gently or by hand.  
Think accidental upskirts are a modern day phenomenon? Seemingly not, as Vikki Dougan shows by getting a little too frisky in a mid-1950s promo shoot, leading her to accidentally reveal just a bit more than she intended. Or we assume so. Considering the shoot showcased both her rear and breasts (below), maybe the trifecta was intentional. She was the queen of wardrobe publicity stunts, after all, and proof that skin always generates ink. Her antics even inspired a song from cheeseball rockers the Limeliters. It went a little somethin’ like this:
Vikki turn your back on me Come on darlin' just for me 'Cause there is something so appealing that your eyes are not revealing!
Oh, Miss Dougan, you're for me! Other girls who approach me, Are beautiful, gorgeous and gay! But you're so gosh darn more inviting Going the other way!
Vikki baby, you move me, Without you I'm bereft! I'm hypnotized by those crazy eyes, And that callipygian cleft!
Vikki baby you rock me, In those far-out clothes! But don't it get chilly flyin' home at night When that cold cold tail-wind blows? You can hear the tune at this link, and if you don’t want to deal with the comedic preamble the actual music starts at 2:37. 
Edit: Want to see more of this photo shoot? Look here.
 She’s a slippery little devil. 
Oiling up like this under a hot sun is terrible for the skin but great for the camera. If you shield your eyes from the glare you’ll see model and actress Mayumi Horikawa seeming to show so much but really showing very little. Horikawa has also released numerous albums and singles, one of which, ironically, was called, “Sunny Side.” Indeed. We’re thinking around 1980 on the photo.
 It must be jelly ’cuz jam don’t shake like that.  
We got curious about Nai Bonet, who we’d never heard of until last week, and after taking a stroll around the internet discovered she was pretty famous in her day and even released a 1966 single for which you see the sleeve above. The song is called “Jelly Belly,” with “The Seventh Veil” on the flipside. Bonet teaches fans to do her trademark Jelly Belly dance, which we can only imagine led to many sprained backs in mid-century America. But maybe you want to try. The instructions are in like Danish, but here’s the gist: 1: Clap your hands together and gently bow… 2: Put your hands over your head and I’ll show you how… 3: First you inhale (pull your tummy in) 4: Then you exhale (push your tummy out) 5: Hips go up… 6: …and down 7: Tummy round and round… 8: Shoulders shivering… 9: Everything a-quivering.
And presumably it's rinse and repeat at that point. For extra inspiration you can hear "Jelly Belly" here. Just remember—if you pull something, rest it, apply ice, and dream up a much better story about your injury than you were trying to get everything a-quivering. 
 Reiko Oshida delights the senses.  
Above are the front and rear cover for pinky violence icon Reiko Oshida’s album Nani ga doshite kounatta, which translates to something roughly along the lines of “Why does this happen?” It’s available with a couple of different covers, but we like the above version with its array of playful Oshidas. The rear is also nice, and some enterprising Tumblr.com user dug up an enlargement, which, since Oshida is a Pulp Intl. fave, we thought we’d share with you, just below. But what of the music, you ask? It falls, we suppose, into the kayokyoku category, which is to say it’s Western-inspired. We like it, but maybe you should judge its merits for yourself. Check out the album’s title song. 
 Spread-eagled Aslan art helped cure the guilt of buying pirated music. 
We said we were done with France for the moment, but we’re veering back there briefly today to show you this Cure album sleeve featuring art from the French painter Aslan. Live at Paradiso is a bootleg, same as the other Aslan-fronted Cure record we showed you back in January. The people who pressed this weren’t messing around, either—they opted for one of the artist’s more explicit paintings. No complaints here, but we bet Aslan was a bit annoyed when he saw his work appropriated yet again. It wouldn’t be the last time. We’ll get to more bootleg sleeves a bit later.
 She'll make you feel like singing.  
Above is a beautiful Japanese album cover featuring 1950s/1960s glamour model Virginia Gordon, who's fronting a collection of latin jazz piano pieces by various artists. The image is taken from a session she did for the men's magazine Rogue that appeared in its June 1961 issue. We've also provided a close-up and a third image showing a fuller frame from that sitting. Just because. And If you want to see another spectacular image of Miss Gordon we posted a couple of years ago click here.
 And now, ladies and gentlemen, my next feat will be to make several career-killing mistakes. 
Above is a 1957 promo photo of American dancer/singer Rose Hardaway, who came from nowheresville Arkansas and achieved international stardom that saw her perform on the glittering stages of New York, London, and Paris. Unfortunately, she also spent a lot of time in tabloids, district courts, and eventually federal prison, but perhaps we’ll get to that later. Instead, as a bonus, below is the sleeve of the 1960 album she made with The Sammy Lowe Orchestra It’s Time for Rose Hardaway, which has one of the great covers of the period. 
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
1974—Police Raid SLA Headquarters
In the U.S., Los Angeles police raid the headquarters of the revolutionary group the Symbionese Liberation Army, resulting in the deaths of six members. The SLA had gained international notoriety by kidnapping nineteen-year old media heiress Patty Hearst from her Berkeley, California apartment, an act which precipitated her participation in an armed bank robbery. 1978—Charlie Chaplin's Missing Body Is Found
Eleven weeks after it was disinterred and stolen from a grave in Corsier near Lausanne, Switzerland, Charlie Chaplin's corpse is found by police. Two men—Roman Wardas, a 24-year-old Pole, and Gantscho Ganev, a 38-year-old Bulgarian—are convicted in December of stealing the coffin and trying to extort £400,000 from the Chaplin family. 1918—U.S. Congress Passes the Sedition Act
In the U.S., Congress passes a set of amendments to the Espionage Act called the Sedition Act, which makes "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces, as well as language that causes foreigners to view the American government or its institutions with contempt, an imprisonable offense. The Act specifically applies only during times of war, but later is pushed by politicians as a possible peacetime law, specifically to prevent political uprisings in African-American communities. But the Act is never extended and is repealed entirely in 1920. 1905—Las Vegas Is Founded
Las Vegas, Nevada is founded when 110 acres of barren desert land in what had once been part of Mexico are auctioned off to various buyers. The area sold is located in what later would become the downtown section of the city. From these humble beginnings Vegas becomes the most populous city in Nevada, an internationally renowned resort for gambling, shopping, fine dining and sporting events, as well as a symbol of American excess. Today Las Vegas remains one of the fastest growing municipalities in the United States. 1928—Mickey Mouse Premieres
The animated character Mickey Mouse, along with the female mouse Minnie, premiere in the cartoon Plane Crazy, a short co-directed by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. This first cartoon was poorly received, however Mickey would eventually go on to become a smash success, as well as the most recognized symbol of the Disney empire.
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