I had written my typical 2200-character mini-essay about photographing the beat of Taylor Mignon’s own drum. It was not about the struggle of photographing him per se, but a bit about my inability to evoke from the subject my, perhaps rather boring now, standard-smile-pose that spans most of Tokyo Records Style. It was about how every once in a while you encounter a creative force in front of your camera as equally unbending as your own, and about how despite having an image in your head of what you want, you sometimes just have to take what they give you and accept that this is the nature of collaboration.
Then I suddenly remembered that I actually had another B-Roll shot of Taylor from just 30 minutes before shopping in Coco-Isle Music Market, finding a record of Reggae hero and Dancehall legend, Yellowman, as well as a concert poster from his recent visit to Japan that shopkeeper Kazuki I believe gifted Taylor. I hadn’t considered those images as the “official” TRS photos that I’d use for Taylor, thinking they were only meant to be as a snapshot of that moment. But those happen to work perfectly for the continued vibe of Tokyo Records Style. However, after my initial capitulation to the somewhat “un-TRS” expression Taylor gave me in the “official” photos that I’d go on to make 30-min later, despite their somewhat provocative “je ne sais quoi”, I’ve since grown to actually like and appreciate them more than the “standard” smiles.
So now I’m conflicted on which set of images to use, these “unofficial b-roll” shots from in the shop, or the “on-the-street official TRS” shots. Should I forgo one? Should I consolidate them into one post? Or should I, in an unprecedented TRS first, post them both, back-to-back, a tribute to the “Double Album” or the even more rare, simultaneous release of TWO albums? I think I’m going for it. Taylor, you’re getting two back-to-back posts. I can’t resist. So if you’re still reading this, go back and look at the previous post see see what all this mayhem is about. I wonder if this is exactly what artists go through for double album releases.
More TRS OTW.
PS. Both this Yellowman record and the Mikami Kan from the previous post rip.
Yellowman Feat. Fathead – Divorced!
Label: Burning Sounds – BS 061
Format: Vinyl, 7″, 45 RPM, Limited Edition, Yellow
Country: UK
Released: 1983
Genre: Reggae
Style: Dancehall
https://www.discogs.com/release/3352306-Yellowman-Feat-Fathead-Divorced
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