New viral trend uncovered: Sleeveface

A new craze is sweeping the internet, and it’s right up the alley of music radio stations.

Get in position, have a friend hold an old album cover across your face, snap a photo and post it on the internet… and you will have been sleevefaced.

Unlike planking and other crazy, sometimes dangerous, viral pranks, this one is harmless and links well with radio.

Why not ask your listeners to sleeveface you their versions of favourite albums from your station’s playlist, then put them on your website, facebook or twitter page.

Here at radioinfo we would like to know – have you been sleevefaced? If so, send us a photo and we will tweet it and put it in our collection below.

Even better, see if you can find the most appropriate album to sleeveface inside a radio or production studio setting and let us know about it in the comments box below.

The trend has got so popular sleevefacing has its own website and twitter page.

The precise origin of the concept is unknown, but the Wikepedia sleeveface entry says: “A collection of photographs was posted online at Waxidermy.com in early 2006, though earlier examples of ‘Sleevefacing’ include a Mad Magazine cover and a sketch on The Adam and Joe Show with Gary Numan holding a record sleeve to his face. Other cases include John Hiatt’s 1979 Slug Line album on which he is holding a sleeve (showing his face) in front of his face. and the back of the 1982 album Picture This by Huey Lewis and the News, where Huey is holding the front side of the album (showing his face) in front of his face.”

Nana Mouskouri and Barbara Streisand seem to be two very popular subjects for sleevefacing.

The big questions are: Will it work with CD Covers, or are they too small? And how will it work with electronic album art (see the John Lennon pic below to answer that one)?

Here are some of radioinfo’s favourite sleevefaces so far.






Susan Vega has even got into the act, with a sleeveface tribute to The Graduate.

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