What is the meaning behind the artwork of A Thousand Suns ? It always strikes me when I play a song from that album.
"It means what ever you want it to mean." That is what they told us during the LPU Summit. Anyway, I suppose this may be a heat map of an exploding sun in black and white. Or a nuclear bomb, looking from above. Or anything.
I think it's supposed to be symbolic of an explosion. Which makes sense, given the theme of the album (Nuclear war/life after it/political unrest, etc). It also looks like a mushroom. Yummy mushroom clouds of DEATH.
I always thought it was an inverted-color picture of the sun with something(s) racing toward it really quickly.
That's the point. You should think: "What the fuck is this?" Anyway, I think it's a really good cover to represent the record.
I remember the shock and disappointment when this was released as the album cover. The artwork is just another example of how polarizing this album really is while still adding to the journey. To me, the cover shows a distorted dove among bright lights, meaning how difficult peace is to reach in the time of nuclear power and war.
That was a really sad moment for all of us. ...and I call it "the teddy bear" cover. it's a teddy bear.
Ahah, exactly! Since the Teddy bear photoshop was done, I can't help but seeing it each time I look at that cover. It's obviously a teddy bear.
Everyone keeps mentioning a dove in front of a bright light. Never saw it that way, but I like it a lot.