– Self-portrait with man, 2013 –
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This post is dedicated to Ashley Lily Scarlett from Syncopated Eyeball, for kind words and encouragement. And because I love her blogs.
And to Roy Marchant, wherever you are.
– Self-portrait with man, 2013 –
* * *
This post is dedicated to Ashley Lily Scarlett from Syncopated Eyeball, for kind words and encouragement. And because I love her blogs.
And to Roy Marchant, wherever you are.
When the morning came she found herself all covered with dew. A wooden door banged. Footsteps click-clacked towards her. “Jeremy! It’s another bloody squatter,” said a woman. X could smell something sickly – an expensive perfume. The woman was close.
“She’s not a squatter, darling. She’d have to be inside the house to be a squatter. She’s a vagrant,” said a man from a little further away.
“Shoo,” said the woman.
X turned her head in the direction of the voices. The shoes approached – royal blue and gleaming. X reached for the bag, and felt the pain in her right hand, the one that told her what she’d done. Of course the bag was gone. X swore, rolled away from the shoes, got herself into a kneeling position, clambered to her feet and stood up – a giant, bedraggled, black moth.
“Oh God, Jeremy, she’s bleeding on the lawn,” said the woman.
“Come back here, darling. I’m going to call the police,” said the man.
X shrugged. It was no more than she deserved – she’d really f-ed up since the murder. Her eyes dry and gummy with sleep, but the man and the woman looked like the kind she saw in the windows of expensive restaurants in town. It was a nice house. They didn’t deserve this. She watched them retreat behind their mock-thirties front door.
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My New House is track 8 on The Fall’s 1985 album, This Nation’s Saving Grace. The album is widely regarded (in the music press) as one of the group’s best. It’s certainly more accessible than a lot of the more recent output and recommended as a way into their uniquely ugly/ beautiful music. You can listen to it here.
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Regular visitors will know I have a deep and abiding love for the group, The Fall. Hot Cake is the third track on their 2010 LP, Your Future Our Clutter (or track five if you are listening on CD). As is often the case, I have no idea what the song is about, but it’s a fun blast of noise and poetry. You can listen to a slightly messier version, Hot Cake part 2 here.
Self-portrait with office block, 2013
While I’ve been away, I’ve been experimenting with a 35mm lens. This is an early result. It’s strange using it after being so used to a 50mm. At first, there just seemed to be this irritating extra “bit” to every shot. My tendency in the past has been to see it, shoot it. But it is much more difficult to visualise a shot when using a wider angle lens…
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This post is dedicated to Ashley Lily Scarlett from Syncopated Eyeball, for kind words and encouragement. And because I love her blog.
Everything and Nothing, 2012
This was taken in Beckenham, UK.
Everything and Nothing is a sort of greatest hits album by David Sylvian.
It was released in 2000 and collects together some of his greatest songs (post Japan), along with unreleased material. Sylvian’s career has had a trajectory comparable in some ways to Scott Walker’s – in recent years his work has been willfully difficult and stunningly beautiful. Everything and Nothing is pre-difficult and if you fancy dipping a toe in the water, I would recommend this as a place to start. The songs on here are sumptuous, artful and filled with longing.
Track-listing and album details can be found here.
My favourite track on the album is the first: The Scent of Magnolia.
In our house this CD can be found: dining room, top shelf, right-hand bookshelves.
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Thanks to John and Deanne and Terry for title shenanigans and Richard at CK Ponderings for being a super-cool collaborator. Our next collaboration will be posted tomorrow – watch this space.