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Who is Westing-Mouse, and why is he here?
Klaatu were the unltimate expression of music as an art form. Their artistic flare went beyond the sonic or poetic content of the songs. It was also evident on their album covers. Ted Jones was the artist behind the cover's of several Klaatu albums.
There are two things that appear on all Klaatu album cover's. The Sun, which was Klaatu's symbol, but there was also a tiny Mouse. Sometimes you had to look pretty close to find him, but he was always there. During the Q & A at Klaatu Kon 2005, I asked Ted Jones about the mouse.
"It was so long ago and I really didn't expect such a reaction to the
character of the mouse from the first album." He told me, "As I recall after submitting the first pencil sketch for 3:47, John suggested we add some animal to the cover. At one point I recall having a beaver on the cover which was
vetoed immediately and John had lent me a copy of a Beatrice Potter Book with a nice assortment of small animal characters. I needed to find a character that would fit proportionally on the already designed artwork, so I realized a animal about the size of a mouse would do the trick, so why not a mouse like Mrs. Tittlemouse from the Potter book I had for reference."
For those of you into the tiny details, if you listen to the album 3:47 EST, at the very end of the album, after the final fading notes of Little Neutino, you will hear a tiny Mouse Squeek! Similarly, at the very start of Hope, there is a little rodent report. Are there Mouse Squeek's elsewhere in the music? Pick up your favorite Klaatu CD, and listen carefully!
"I never thought the response to the mouse would be so favorable," Ted continued, "so the band had requested the mouse and sun should appear on every cover, and so it was. Over the years I never had the opportunity to name the now famous mouse, and as we were scrambling to get the Sun Set CD ready for the convention Jaimie and myself were working late and tired at 4:00 am and I named the mouse Westingmouse as we were assembling the rear tray card."
Ted also said, "I always held a comparison of the mouse to the human race on this planet and now the more I think about our high tech evolution I find Westingmouse fitting."
There was, in Klaatu, a desire to create. Not just music for music's sake, but as an art form. This art extended beyond the music, but to the packaging as well. The little mouse was just a part of that attitude and has transended generations.
The mouse was just a tiny thing, an image linked to a greater purpose, designed to represent something precious, beautiful and delicate.
Well done Ted... I think it worked perfectly!
**Squeek!**