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Post by B.A.Kerl on Aug 2, 2009 16:02:07 GMT -5
oh, god! i knew this was inevitable...
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Post by helodarqness on Aug 3, 2009 9:08:53 GMT -5
jesus. fucking. christ.
you guys are basically saying 'your interpretation is incorrect.' to put it another way, 'your opinion is wrong.'
regardless of phils intended meaning, based on what i was going through, it formed its own interpretation. ive had the idea percolating for some time, though the idea evolved and took on a life of its own, becoming its own thing, thus drifting away from the original idea.
i reached a point, where i was ready willing and able to kill myself, and i said to myself, 'before i do this, do this one thing, so i can go knowing i did it.' getting it sort of put it off, at least for now, though it is still an option.
even if i live to be 80, 90, 120, i will be able to know what it meant, at least then.
i would never get a literal tattoo, and aside from a log thrashing in the waves, its not really literal.
if i got 2 dogs fucking each other, i could say its inspired by...oh, 'headless horseman'...what the tattoo means is to accept things for what they are and though i walk around feeling heavy and burdened, like a log in the waves, i keep on living relentlessly.
in college, i was desperately unhappy, and The Glow Pt 2 helped me get through it. awkward or not, but phils music has a profound and deep impact on me.
some people (from the old board) got the words NO FLASHLIGHT tattooed. someone got the elephant from TGP2 cover, and thats not even phils design!
but it meant something to them....
i didnt think it was possible that a tattoo would create such epic contention.
its a tattoo for me, not a homage to phil. its just convenient there is an overlap.
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Post by rhinest0nec0wboy on Aug 3, 2009 9:31:42 GMT -5
Helodargness, don't worry about what a few people have to say, most people on the board either A) think it's a cool tattoo, or B) think it's cool because it means something significant to you. I don't have any tattoos but I do have symbols that I either wear or have on a wall in my house that have meaning to me and act as reminders. If a few people want to try to tear you down I think that's their issue, not yours. Thanks for sharing.
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Post by helodarqness on Aug 3, 2009 9:46:53 GMT -5
Helodargness, don't worry about what a few people have to say, most people on the board either A) think it's a cool tattoo, or B) think it's cool because it means something significant to you. I don't have any tattoos but I do have symbols that I either wear or have on a wall in my house that have meaning to me and act as reminders. If a few people want to try to tear you down I think that's their issue, not yours. Thanks for sharing. thanks man. i knew most of you guys would dig it. most people reacted positively to it, though it doesnt really matter. i really miss the old board, because it was my favorite forum, but its cool that we can share shit like this with each other because most of us get it. i was at a concert last night (deerhunter, no age & dan deacon, but the show was postponed for 6 hrs so by the time it was ready to start i left because i was supposed to be at a friends house at that point...i was having fun mingling with the williamsburg hipsters) and one of the guys was a massive MtE fan. so, im not going to let a few people get me down, i just am sort of defensive over mundane bullshit that i am passionate about...
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Post by ashowofhands on Aug 3, 2009 12:23:32 GMT -5
Helodargness, don't worry about what a few people have to say, most people on the board either A) think it's a cool tattoo, or B) think it's cool because it means something significant to you. I don't have any tattoos but I do have symbols that I either wear or have on a wall in my house that have meaning to me and act as reminders. If a few people want to try to tear you down I think that's their issue, not yours. Thanks for sharing. thanks man. i knew most of you guys would dig it. most people reacted positively to it, though it doesnt really matter. i really miss the old board, because it was my favorite forum, but its cool that we can share shit like this with each other because most of us get it. i was at a concert last night (deerhunter, no age & dan deacon, but the show was postponed for 6 hrs so by the time it was ready to start i left because i was supposed to be at a friends house at that point...i was having fun mingling with the williamsburg hipsters) and one of the guys was a massive MtE fan. so, im not going to let a few people get me down, i just am sort of defensive over mundane bullshit that i am passionate about... I'm kind of disappointed by the arrival of the drama llama in this thread but it was definitely inevitable. No one disagreed with your interpretation of the songs. in fact, I don't think you even explained what it was (though I think I remember you mentioning it in the tattoos thread on the old forum). I'm always interested in other people's interpretation of songs (especially songs as open ended as Two Moons) and how they apply that to their lives. my only real argument here is that the artistry of the tattoo doesn't really do justice to Phil's music. that you're happy with it is all that matter though.
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Post by ohitsbrandon on Aug 3, 2009 14:05:57 GMT -5
my only real argument here is that the artistry of the tattoo doesn't really do justice to Phil's music. However, I doubt this was his intention in getting a tattoo. He got the tattoo for different reasons. If every musical cover of someone else's song was meant to do justice to the original, it would be pointless. An observer/a listener of a piece of art gets a tattoo or covers a song because it means something to them and they enjoy it. It is absolutely irrelevant that the "artistry" of his tattoo "doesn't really do justice." What is important here (in my opinion) is that he has a Mount Eerie-inspired tattoo which means a fucking lot to him. That is killer...and that should be it. A discussion of whether or not the tattoo is an accurate depiction of the songs is awful and unnecessary. Who cares? His tattoo isn't an "ode to Phil Elverum." And with that being known, is there really any need for discussion? In another light, remember that we are talking about someone's tattoo! There is a level of sensitivity with such a subject. Thanks for sharing your tattoo here, man. I'm glad it isn't a dragon tattoo...or barbed wire, haha.
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Post by Yshinozuka on Aug 3, 2009 14:29:23 GMT -5
Barbed wire tattoo...now that is intense.
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Post by helodarqness on Aug 3, 2009 23:52:32 GMT -5
originally i was going to just have a bucket with the moon reflected in it. from the first time i heard 2 Moons, I fell in love with it. At first, i loved the empty, desperate sound, though I wasnt sure what the song meant. then I though, "shit, how bout the moon IN the bucket? that would be cool! and with the water dripping down the sides, its both basic physics and a sense of overwhelm-ment. at some point i either figured out or made up a meaning: its about accepting things for what they are. the world can be very confusing and misleading and therefore disappointing, and we have to remember that we must accept things for what they are, not what we THINK they are or what we want them to be. if we walk around, hanging our heads, we will only see reflections and miss the real world where genuine contentment is. i have a very difficult time accepting things for what they are because everything feels like shit. its like Bedazzled. I get what i ask for (or not) but when i do, i get screwed in the end or some fly gets in the ointment that makes the experience unbearable....so the bottom line on that is that i need a constant reminder that things arent as bad as they seem and the bad stuff is just a reflection.
then i hear Dawn
and of course Log In The Waves
as I said, this song spoke volumes to me. i dont like people (a dumb ape in a world of dumb apes, and i have said stuff to a similar effect), and i have been through alot of emotional wear and tear that has turned me from an outgoing, all-loving, friendly, generous sweetheart who got nothing but heartbreak into a reclusive, shy, introverted, bitter, selfish asshole who gets nothing in return but heartbreak. im not as bad as i say, but im definitely changed as my experiences have chipped away at my good side quite considerably. the song is too literal for me to reiterate, but basically, i have stayed afloat though i keep getting thrashed around.
i thought this would be a cool 2nd tattoo until i realized i could combine them via the unifying theme of water....the bucket overflow causes a turbulent wave.
phil has gotten me through some shit. so has jeff lewis, lou barlow and a ton of other musicians. jeff lewis tells fantastic and epic stories in his songs. daniel johnston just bemoans his grievances. but phil is different. he paints pictures and landscapes with his words. he could sing acapella and still be just as emotive and expressive and paint just a coherent picture.
at the time, and still, the image i have on my arm is very poetic, with or without a musical influence. i can tell people what it means without citing phil: "it basically means to accept things for what they are and remember that youve survived all the emotional and physical shit youve been through".
thats what it means to me. i told my artist to be creative and to have fun and to make it his own thing too because as a professional artist and someone who is into similar music (we listened to beirut during the second session), i wanted see if he could add or modify anything to improve or expand on my idea. plus it would take it into territory that wasnt from my own mind: the cosmic dust, the half underwater log, the bubbles were all his. the rusty bucket was a 50/50. halfway into it i told him i wanted a night sky. i emailed him a nasa image of some stars with a flare causing the diamond shaped stars...he said thats exactly what he was going to do.
in my head, the log came out completely differently but better than i imagined.
there are people who get the foo fighters, rhcp, radiohead logos tattooed. people here got NO FLASHLIGHT and other album covers tattooed. very cool, and i admire them because it meant something to them too...
...but this was an idea that began before i was even aware of what half of it existed.
the novelty and excitement of having it has worn off and now its just a thing that i have. of course, i love it still and i am happy with it and take care of it, but the thing is, though it didnt change me, it reminds me of who i am, and its an explanation of what goes on in the rollercoaster in my head.
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Post by nonature on Aug 4, 2009 0:28:29 GMT -5
Not to reiterate what all the level-headed people have been saying, but...
1. Getting a tattoo that you dig, hell yeah. 2. Being critical of how someone let's a song effect them, bullshit.
What right does anyone have to say there's a "right" version to interpret anything Phil's done, unless they've talked directly to him, which probably hasn't been the case.
Dig what you dig how you dig it. It's your choice!
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Post by helodarqness on Aug 19, 2009 0:38:37 GMT -5
this is the final update. the pics were big, this should give more perspective. they finally uploaded it to the site. i DID get some touchup work today that added depth, shading and shadowing to the log whilst he fixed blemishes. its subtle but noticeable. but not so dramatically different than what is here: sacredtattoo.com/art/moon-bucket
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Post by majororgan on Aug 19, 2009 12:32:18 GMT -5
That is one intense tattoo. I like it.
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Post by ohtheglow on Aug 21, 2009 0:33:28 GMT -5
gorgeous. lucky to not freak phil out! although, im pretty sure my microphones tattoo weirded him out he noticed it at a show, once...
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Post by VMWhelan on Aug 21, 2009 13:28:18 GMT -5
Helo, how much did you spend altogether on that?
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Post by helodarqness on Aug 21, 2009 16:58:46 GMT -5
Alot Hes $175/hr and it took a good 8-10 hrs overall, plus the tip i gave... do the math. I had the money but I didnt have it....if you know what I mean. I paid in full, and paid it off on my credit card (half cash half credit) but It was a big expense for me. It was an idea I had brewing for years, and in a fit of a mental breakdown, I said "fuck it. i may not make it through this, but at least I will have done one thing right" and I found the right studio, but I ended up using a different artist than planned, which worked out for the better. Hes a cool guy but he has a stick up his ass..hes kinda got an attitude, but ive also seen him chill as shit. and when the final touch up was done, he asked if i was going to turn it into a full sleeve, and I may. I have ideas percolating. I also have an idea for the other arm, though I am stuck...I think I want an Astronaut in full uniform inside a phone booth in the forest, but the repeated use of bark from this tattoo troubles me. I COULD go with a white birch tree, but white is a rough color to get tattooed as it fades quite fast. SO maybe it will be a half sleeve with just ferns and greens and an occasional flower. I dont know. Or maybe a phone booth in the sahara desert....who knows....
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Post by inthebranches on Aug 21, 2009 17:15:32 GMT -5
"a phone booth in the sahara desert"
are you a Doctor Who fan?
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