Head Space Daily Words...

I went swimming yesterday, to work my muscular physique and to release a few endorphins, to break the pattern of relentless work search. There was a guy in my lane with a large tattoo on his chest but it was not obvious what it was depicting. It was just a black outline of what could have been the sun, a flower, or something else, entirely different. It appeared to be unfinished and missing colour and definition. Perhaps it was a work in progress. Who knows, but whatever it was, it looked awful. Surely if you want to show off your tats, you want people to know what they are looking at, because having to stare for too long becomes a bit weird. The viewer needs instant recognition. The male chest is also a strange part of the anatomy for a tattoo. I know if I had one on mine, it would be like looking though a brillo pad - and shaving my pecs is not an option. Seeing this tattoo reminded me of a guy I went to school with, who had a symbol representing the rave group, The Shamen tattooed on one of his arms. He didn’t have the money to add any colour to it and to say the least; it looked a bit odd and was certainly of that time. I think if you are gong to have the symbol of a band tattooed on to your person, it needs to be well established as being cool, or meaning something, such as the Rolling Stones tongue, Primal Scream’s Screamadelica sunburst, a Stone Roses Lemon could apply now, or if you want to be arty, how about Paul Simonon smashing his bass on the Clash's London Calling cover? At the time though, you wouldn’t know whether there will be a lasting legacy of musical culture behind the records and the art work, which is why it is a risk getting all tatted up in something that could end up looking a touch ridiculous.  Having said that, I really hope my mate still has his Shamen tattoo…