another week of squeezing this one out in the nick of time…but it’s all good. it’s here.
i’m actually working on a “special entry” in the background, it’s got to do with massively reoccurring visual themes and motifs in album covers, past and present. should be out soon! lot of graphic supplements to make for it :)
Phoebe Bridgers
Sidelines
for a new series, “Conversations With Friends”, phoebe bridgers released a new track, “Sidelines.” the cover art is a B+W photo of her grandpa riding a bull.
lyrically, the track seems to be about letting go of fear.
“I’m not afraid of anything at all…”
phoebe seems to be living with more intention due to this new person in her life granting her new perspective.
“Watch the world from the sidelines, had nothing to prove, ‘till you came into my life, gave me something to lose…”
the choice of photo might seem random, and knowing phoebe, it totally could be. we have to imagine though, that she chose it to match the lyrics of the track. meeting this new person (romantically, platonically, or however else), has opened her eyes in new ways. she’s more fearless. she’s willing to take on new challenges, kind of like if you were to ride a bull ?? i’ve never done it myself but the shit don’t look easy. in this sense, i like the photo for this track, it’s very fitting with this perspective. maybe i’m reaching? don’t care. i’ll aimlessly cape for art + design til the day i die 😎.
formally, the photo reveals a triangle, similarly to jack harlow’s cover we looked at last week. the bull in this shot creates such a strong figure. it stands right out, even at tiny scales, like on an apple watch or something. the bull is so prominent that even phoebe’s cowboy grandpa falls into the washed out background.
there even appears to be some kind of digital multi-layering of the photo, making this glow effect you can see around the outline of the bull, and more of the darker areas in the photo. it could just be how the image was captured, as it’s obviously quite old, but could also be a little bit of textural pizazz added in post.
god this song is good tho isn’t it. jesus. lmk if you’re digging the track and its cover!!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY
no clue man some old person prolly
i’m tryna make a template for these weekly listening/watching graphics, but i’m back n forth on em constantly. so bear w me and it’ll prolly keep changing til something sticks!!
i’m loving writing this damn newsletter so far, it’s really nice to have something to work on that doesn’t feel too much like work. i seriously implore anyone interested to write their own about anything!! i’d love to read along. thanks again and always for engaging in anyway at all :)
EDIT: KENDRICK LAMAR IS DROPPING MAY 13. WE ARE EATING. EXPECT THE MOST IN-DEPTH AND REACHING ALBUM COVER REVIEW OF ALL TIME.