Logo #196: Dead Can Dance

Designed by Vaughan Oliver in 1984 for the band's self-titled 4AD LP. A brilliant and simple logo loved by sticker bootleggers the world over, this and about fifty other decals like it were the tiles in the mosaic of alternative culture in the '80s that, like party lines created by telephone wires rubbing together, brought people together through serendipitous chance and giddy recognition. I know some people out there are just nuts for the firm of partners Brendan and Perry, but I just keep moving my shoulders. The records sure look nice, though. I'm more of a Renate Knaup / Popol Vuh fan, I guess. They did get some quality shots of the inside of the Mayfair Theatre in Santa Monica when the played there in 1994; these appeared on the "Toward the Within" DVD of a few years ago, so there's that.

Logo #153: Xymox

Designed by Vaughan Oliver in 1989. Xymox founder Ronny Moorings: "Vaughan designed the logo for us when Xymox was signed to the now defunct label Wing-PolyGram. Since then the logo has always been used, also after the re-naming of the band Clan Of Xymox. The logo is used as a backdrop when the band plays live."

It's a lovely and comforting circle, in which the letters act as an endless loop of identity and confidence - a concept that reminds one of the wise words of President Calvin Coolidge: "Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."