unpopular

Closer

I think this is the first post of 2017 which is not simply a listing for one of the outstandingly wonderful Unpopular mixes. No real reasons why I have not posted anything else until now, apart of course from A Whole Host Of Reasons, but I thought a reflection on this short piece by Bruce Davidson was possibly valuable. Anyone who was reading here in 2016 may have spotted something I wrote about Davidson as part of my 50/50 project and so will not be surprised that he is (at risk of coming over all Gushing Adolescent) one of my favourite photographers of all time. In this piece for the Magnum site Davidson gives a very brief insight into one of the most famous of his shots from maybe his most famous body of work. Any initial disappointment at the brevity of his text is more than compensated for by the conclusion that his brevity is the point. The mystery remains caged, as it were. As for what ‘advice’ other budding photographers may take away? It’s there in the final lines where Davidson reveals his ‘one secret’ about the image: "I felt close to Cathy.” It’s Davidson echoing Magnum co-founder Robert Capa’s infamous line about how "If your pictures aren't good enough, you're not close enough” and I think it’s just perfect.

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I like to think there's a little bit of Waylon in us all

Jon Brooks - Se Reveiller (from 'Autres Directions' LP. Claypipe)
Michael Tanner & Alison Cotton - Black Vaughan (from 'Weirdshire 2 - Burning the Bush' compilation. Bandcamp)
Hinds - Caribbean Moon (digital single. Bandcamp)
Legends Of Country - Anything But Country (digital single. Bandcamp)
The Shifters - A Believer (from 7" single. Bandcamp)
Girl Ray - Cutting Shapes (from 'Early Grey' LP. Bandcamp)
Nick Heyward - Perfect Sunday Sun (from 'Woodland Echoes' LP)
The Bitter Springs - Love Rat (from 7" single. Bandcamp)
Baker Island - Write Home (from 'Restless Legs' LP. Bandcamp)
A Giant Dog - Photograph (from 'Toy' LP)
Dream Wife - Fire (from 'Fire' EP. Bandcamp)
Patience - White Of An Eye (from 7" single. Bandcamp)
The KLF - Wichita Lineman Was A Song I Once Heard (from 'Chill Out')
Butterfly Child - Young Virgins Call For Mutiny (from 'Onomatopoeia' LP reissue on Dell'Orso)
BMX Bandits - Razorblades & Honey (feat. Anton Newcombe) (from 'BMX Bandits Forever' LP. Bandcamp)
Real Numbers - Leave It Behind (from 7" single. Bandcamp)
El Goodo - Five In The Morning (from 'By Order Of The Moose' LP)
Electric Light Orchestra - It's Over (from 'Out Of The Blue' LP)
Scrabbel - Summer's End (from 7" single. Bandcamp)
Peter Perrett - Take Me Home (from 'How The West Was Won' LP)

Matter of fact, I'm a bit of a twat