The “Top of the World” album cover is a metaphor for the detrimental effect mankind’s overconsumption and greed has on the earth. The most eye catching part of the image is the huge mosquito standing on top of the earth. The mosquito is a near perfect representation of the actions of mankind. In the eyes of humans, mosquitos are hated bugs that transport diseases and suck their blood out. On a larger scale, humans are doing the exact same thing. The mosquito is drilling down into the earth, sucking it so dry that the surface is cracking and baron. This symbolizes the destruction caused by all the natural resources being sucked out of the earth to feed the wants of the industrialized world. The placement of the drill in the middle of the city is important because it highlights the fact that we, humans care so much about consumption that we are willing to destroy our home in order to have what we want. It is important to recognize that the mosquito is a robot, which is not natural. The mosquito symbolizes a problem that was created entirely by mankind and that humans are the ones that will have to deal with the problem. 

The planet that the mosquito is destroying represents Earth in the future if the problem is not addressed. When thinking of the sky and atmosphere the first thought that comes to mind is of the beauty of the blue sky when looking up, or of the pictures from space with a white, halo-like glow surrounding the earth. The halo-like glow represents purity and life, but in the image the glow is red, representing death and destruction. The planet is covered in craters which could be seen as a result of if the atmosphere was destroyed there would be no protection from space objects colliding with the planet. Personally I see the craters as welts or sores personifying the planet as a sickly person close to death. 

The visual text depicts a dying world getting the last of its life drained out of it by a huge, metal mosquito. This text is directed towards the consumers of Slightly Stoopid’s music. It is unknown who the artist of the album cover is. The only purpose the written text serves, besides stating the band name and the name of the album, is that the album name relates the picture to the album. The overall design has a science fiction feel to it. The effect the design has is eye catching and intriguing due to how abstract the piece of art is. The album cover is demanding the attention of the consumer. It is demanding that they look at it for what it means, not just what it displays. It is important to recognize that the mosquito is drilling into land that is clearly America. This is very important because it symbolizes that American consumers and the industries in America are the roots of this problems of over consumption and wastefulness that we currently face all around the world. There are many details that serve as evidence that the giant mosquito symbolizes industry. The mosquito has smoke stacks shooting flames of pollution out into the space, like how factories shoot pollution into our environment. The mosquito is also sucking liquids out of the ground. If looking at it plain and simple the liquids seems to just symbolize the natural resources that are being taking from the world for consumers, but looking at it from a different perspective one could also interpret it as the monetary resources of the general population. The industries are taking the money of the common persons and collecting it all for themselves.The album cover may not appeal to the average person but if they take the time to really look at the album cover it does trigger emotions because it is sad when we realize the reality of what we are doing to the planet that we live on. The understated assumption would be that the viewer has a basic understanding of what humans are doing to the earth. However, the album implies that the viewers do not truly understand how the world is being affected by the human race and that we are slowly destroying the world we live on. The smaller, detailed cities imply that the mass amount of industrialization that our generation has put the world through is slowly killing it as we drain the earth of all the resources that it provides to us. 