Your Cover's Blown

Tully Rohrer

November 10^th, 2006

So it’s been a while since I have been really excited about an image, but finally the time has come again as I present this California Two-Spotted Octopus hiding among the rocks. Octopuses (octopi is grammatically incorrect) are hands down the coolest animal in existence. The smartest invertebrate on Earth despite a lifespan of a year or less for this species, these animals can squeeze through holes about the size of their eye, have the capacity to store short-term and long-term memories, and are extremely dexterous and capable of opening jars and their own aquarium tanks with their eight arms (octopuses do not have tentacles, only arms). They are masters of camouflage, changing colors instantaneously to match whatever background they cross. Unfortunately, the poor lighting in which I snapped this washed out her colors, but the black and white remained quite striking, so I can’t complain. Since I was able to catch a nice shot of such an elusive animal, I felt the title was appropriate as it is also my song of the day.

Arguably one of the most influential bands in the independent music scene, Belle & Sebastian has enjoyed a lot of critical acclaim for 2006’s The Life Pursuit. I find the new album pleasant enough, but far from their best work (in my opinion, If You’re Feeling Sinister). Your Cover’s Blown is from 2004’s Books, an EP that went largely unnoticed despite containing one of the band’s best tracks. Labeled in the film High Fidelity as “sad bastard music”, Belle & Sebastian is underrated in their ability to craft interesting, varied songs. Your Cover’s Blown goes all over the place in its six minutes, and if you can get past the mildly pornographic synth intro, you’ll be rewarded with walking bass lines, minor 7th chords, beautiful harmonies, great lyrics (”take her to dinner, use her boyfriend’s money”), and some of catchiest verses and choruses B&S has ever produced. Somehow six minutes goes by far too quickly. (Mp3s are for sampling purposes only. If you like the song, support the artist and buy the album. Mp3s will be available for a week or so, and if you represent the artist and would like the link removed, let me know and I will gladly do so.)

Also, Let me take this opportunity to wish my father a happy birthday. His birthday is tomorrow and he’s moving his whole life to just outside Telluride, Colorado. Happy Birthday and best of luck, dad!

What an amazing shot Tulls! Also, I’m loving the music component. Keep it up! PS. Happy Birthday Mr. Rohrer!

Annie — November 10^th, 2006

Wow, I really like this shot. I know a lot more about octopuses now. That kind of reminds me of the time when we saw the octopus. Remember? That was one of the best experiences of my life.

Alex M — November 10^th, 2006

i’m a student and was busy conducting a very panicked google image search looking for images to use in my thesis presentation, and then stumbled across your images and have just discovered i have spent over an hour lost in your images! Thank you, I feel like i’v been looking at the world with blinkers for the last few months and for just a brief while this morning I managed to remember how even the small things can be beautiful if you look at them the right way, and you certainly can look at them in the right way! Thanks again X

Sinead — November 18^th, 2006