{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Middle of Culture","title":"The Worst Covers in History","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3589,"description":"Peter and Eden kick off with a leisurely check-in — outdoor Godzilla screenings, Eden's miniature laundry room diorama with a 1/12-scale mahjong set, Peter's Amon Amarth/Dethklok concert recap, and new releases from Periphery and LE SSERAFIM. Then, with an assist from ChatGPT's Codex, Peter has assembled roughly 45 of the internet's most-agreed-upon worst album covers for a tier list ranking — S being the most catastrophically bad. The resulting hour-ish is essentially an appreciation of outsider art, deeply cursed Photoshop, and the specific chaos that was '90s rap cover design. Key revelation: the Rednecks, who made Sex and Violins, are Swedish, and that is the Cotton Eye Joe.SHOW NOTESOutdoor Movie Night Gone Right: Eden's projector plan collapsed due to daylight, so they wheeled the TV outside and screened the 1998 Godzilla with Matthew Broderick — which Eden argues holds up better than its reputation suggests. Friend L contributed an observation about American Godzilla's gender presentation that Peter and Eden both find compelling.Daikon 3 & 4 / Studio Gainax Origin Story: Eden showed friends the legendary fan animations made for the early-'80s Daikon convention circuit — blatant copyright-violating anime crossovers that nonetheless launched the careers of the people who would go on to found Gainax (Neon Genesis Evangelion) and later Trigger (Delicious in Dungeon, Season 2).Roombox 3 Progress: Eden's current miniature diorama project is a laundry room featuring a vending machine, an arcade cabinet, and a complete 1/112-scale Chinese mahjong set (all 144 tiles). Models are being dressed in fabric soft clothing rather than left as bare plastic.LE SSERAFIM New Album: Eden's favorite K-pop act has a new record out. The second track samples La Macarena, which prompted a mild generational crisis at the comic shop when the younger staff noted it predates them.Dungeon Crawler Carl / Discworld Detour: Peter is finishing Book 8 of Dungeon Crawler Carl (narrated by...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/3-7NX9uIL8RD1xA_7xTb80V-108Lf3xuEMQhLzvEbRA/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9lZGY0/NzA4M2FmM2Q3Yjg4/NDczMzkzMTA2NTJk/NmQ1ZS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}