It’s true that even the most eclectic artists like to revisit successful formulas. Some do so more than others, but everyone has a comfort zone. And usually fans are most happy with comfort zone material as well. That’s why I cherish moments when my favorite artists go all off the wall and do something really eccentric. Out-of-left-field cover songs, totally uncharecteristic moves and sometimes misbeggoten attempts to stay ‘edgy’; those may be honorable fails and always exciting. So of course I’m thrilled and tickled when David Bowie decides to sign off his latest album with a seven minute plonky jazz oddity.

Para ler esta postagem,  primeiro preste atenção nesta bela canção:

Se ao menos dinheiro sobrando eu tivesse, investiria em vários carnês do Baú da felicidade para ver se eu conseguiria ganhar uma casa no programa do Sílvio Santos. Atualmente o ápice da minha ambição é possuir um puxadinho em que eu possa me espalhar em poucos metros quadrados sem precisar pensar que no começo da temporada de verão é mudança na certa.

Aprendi a ser mais desapegada com coisas materiais, afinal são duas mudanças por ano. Isso que ano passado foi bem mais, em questão de um dia eu organizava tudo. E tudo para mim são livros, revistas, papeladas, roupas, um jogo de panelas, um jogo de pratos, um ventilador que papai me deu, uma batedeira que roubei de mamãe e a televisão que Gustavo ama mais que eu. Mas dá trabalho. Agora, toda vez que você sentar no seu confortável sofá, olhar para a sua mesa de centro enfeitada, a sua estante cheia de mimimis, você vai ter aquele insight a meu respeito. Porque, de tanto me mudar, eu nem consigo mais ter badulaques espalhados pela casa. Não tenho mais saco.

No final de semana estou de endereço novo – temporariamente. Saudades dos tempos de carnê da Casa Feliz.

Não! Ufa! Foi só um lápis merrrmo…

Brinks, é tudo fake viu…para uma “sena” de Heroes, que por incrível que pareça ainda não foi cancelada. Comofaz pra cancelar?

Me lembrou aquela ver que acertaram um pirulito nos olhos do Bowie em uma de suas apresentaçáns…vcs lembram? Bom, para quem não lembra, Google it pq eu jamais vou postar aquela foto que me dá a maior aflição só de lembrar, ainda mais do meu deeevoh!

ps: vcs sabiam que ele é meu pai? Sério! Depois que eu perdi meu popys de verdade, eu meio que decidi que a partir desse dia eu seria adotado por Bowie! E eu acredito nisso pra sempre viu? E ai de quem não concordar, euri!  LOVE Popys!

Here is a perfect example of David Bowie shock factor back in the 70’s. Here is a video of David Bowie performing with Marriane Faithful on a cover of the Cher and Sonny Bono song, “I Got You Babe”.

Look what David’s wearing. He’s wearing a woman’s dress and plenty of makeup. There are also male dancers with their shirts wide open. Very close to a homosexual themed performance.

If Adam Lambert is trying bring these gay themed performances back on the stage like David, Queen, Kiss, Prince and Alice Cooper did…Adam is not doing a very good job at it and trying too hard.

Kev

It’s almost Thanksgiving. I leave in the morning for Big Flat. I have done laundry but am I packed? Can you beleive it, I’m NOT! This is a woman who is always packed at least a week in advance of heading for her favorite place on the planet.

I’ve completed writing Hunting Mickey and am struggling to get it polished so that I can send it to my editor as soon as I get back from my trip.

Between computer sessions, I’ve done a few loads of wash and have had the kidlet schlep the clothes baskets upstairs for me but thats as far as I’ve gotten. DH is packed, DD has been working and trying to pack when she can…

We’re taking our guns and our ATVs for the trip. Target shooting, riding, it’s going to be a blast so long as the weather holds. DD is going to ride down with my mom. We’re taking the dog and he freaks out if he isn’t with me…plus I won’t have to beg for a smoke stop in my own truck! (LOL)

I guess I should crank up some David Bowie, grab the suitcases and get cracking!

I’ll be back sometime Sunday night and back in my office Monday morning.

…Perfect timing! The song that just popped up is Pressure by David Bowie and Queen…

Hopefully I’ll have some more good news when I get back! (Maybe a release date for Cry Wolf…more reviews on Noella’s Gift…a new idea or three for writing in 2010…maybe another contract….hehehehe)

See y’all in a week!
Hugz
Donica

Loser que é loser já foi preso e teve a sua foto de detento espalhada por todos os tablóides possíveis.
Vamos então dissecar essas jóias da fotografia recente?
Lembrando que esse blog ignora celebridades do hip hop e afins, nada contra acho ótimo, é apenas uma questão de integridade.

E pra começar…

Já disse aqui que a LiLo é musa absoluta do blog junto com a Kate Moss né?! E pra honrar esse título a fofa foi pega dirigindo alcohollizada em 2007 e adivinha o que encotraram nos bolsos dela?
PADEZIN

Te amo Lindsay!

Não basta ser presa, tem que fazer carão.
Te acho escrota Paris, mas arrasou na foto!

E pra completar o tripé de musas junkies absurdas, Misha Barton que nunca se recuperou da morte da Marissa.
Já avisei pra Mischa se desapegar da personagem mil vezes, mas não tem jeito! Agora ela tá numas de MJ e viciada em Pílulas, não sei onde ela vai parar…

E chegando na ala mais “cool” temos os célebres mug-shots da Jane Fonda, ícone de moda na época, as fotos rodaram o mundo e no fim o processo que a acusava de porte ilegal de drogas foi arquivado.
E olha, se tem uma coisa que eu admiro nas pessoas é a capacidade de rir de si próprio, uma imagem vale mais que mil palavras:

Meu muso David Bowie foi preso por porte de Marijuana nos 70s.

A Janis tá com uma cara de transtornada né?!

MJ Team ou Frodo Team?

Macaulay Culkin cresceu e aprendeu a usar as propriedades da maconha. Quando a gente brincava no jardim de infância ele não era assim…

No quesito crime passional, vemos Sid Vicius e sua acusação de ter matado sua namorada/esposa Nancy. O cara morreu de overdose e nunca foi julgado.(óbvio!)
Mas mesmo assim, não existe pessoa no mundo que supere esta foto:

Ninguém pode mais que uma assassina louca. Nem a Eliana!

Para mais fotinhos constragedoras de celebridades e não celebridades, acessem aqui!

It’s another gorgeous, grey day in New England. Time for a Bowie pick-me up.

Genocide is so hot right now

So some airline did a fashion photo shoot for their in-flight magazine at the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin (Never Forget To Look Sexy At Gas Chamber After-Parties?). There are obviously a lot of things one could say about this, mostly along the lines of “This is the worst.” But can anyone say they’re genuinely surprised?

Let’s put this latest travesty by the fashion industry in perspective. Remember this?

Not even a month ago.

“What am I doing? Oh, nothing, just glamorizing a hateful practice steeped in the history of colonial dehumanization of an entire race of people. You know, hate crimefashion.”

Before that, there was the exploitation of poverty-stricken children as fetishized authenticity props, otherwise known as “the Slumdog Millionaire phenomenon.”

And not like fashion even needs all of these strikes against it to be the worst. Just look at the awful human beings it creates.

Exhibit A:

"Fashion - turn to the left"

Exhibit B:

"Fashion - turn to the right"

Exhibit C:

"We are the goon squad / And we're coming to town."

Case closed. Shut it down, people. Shut it all down.

É hilariante o que se consegue fazer com a mistura de velhas capas discos de Michael Jackson, David Bowie e outros…

Eis também algumas capas de discos dos anos 60 e 70 dos países dos Leste….

I hate declarations of love. It’s all so cheap and redundant these days. In that way that people ‘love the M&S ads’ or ‘love the X-Factor’. That’s not love, that’s being a passive, soulless pile of accumulated drivel.

Someone ghastly in PR once stated to me she ‘loved David Bowie’ prompting the withering question from me ‘Name an album?’ to which she couldn’t. She who could not write a press release retorted that ‘it wasn’t just the music, but the person’. Oh right, of course, I forgot she and The Dame have spent many an evening of beer and skittles down the Skinner’s Arms talking about handbags. Some people.

No, love, true love in it’s purest sense is seldom felt. And like the old Chet Baker renditioned ballad about falling in love too easily, falling in love too fast, one falls in love so incredibly hard for love to ever last. That’s how I feel about Buenos Aires right now. I’m smitten. I’m ready to give myself over with open arms and say ‘I do’.

Like anything you fall in love with but know you shouldn’t, this is a city with a double edge, that you probably couldn’t and shouldn’t trust. It’s marked by elegance and wealth, but sweeps away its poverty with contempt, yet there are times the latter comes straight at you. Lots of people want to be you friend, but not everyone has the same motive. Watch your back and your bag wherever you are. And yes, the steak tastes great, but that diet is going to literally break the heart of anyone who lives (or dies) on it for too long. One can’t help but think those portions are some kind of conspiracy. Yesterday was a salad and seafood day and I feel twice the man for it.

I’m out of here tomorrow and it’s probably the best for both parties that we split on good terms. Yet I’m conscious that it’s only 48 hours before I return to the sedentary existence of wintering in West Byfleet.

There was no sticking to plan yesterday, despite a promising start and best intentions. After a bloody mary at the hotel bar I readied myself to explore and headed for the upmarket Recoleta district, the much of it like the Mayfair of Buenos Aires with high-end boutiques, galleries and antique emporiums all with heavy security.

Beyond there I decamped by the famous cemetery where Eva Peron and many of Argentina’s great and good or simply plain bad but extremely wealthy were buried in opulent, ostentatious mausoleoms, crammed together, jockeying for status and prestige, some climbing into the skies to be noticed. The dead playing at peacocks in the park.

I ‘read’ P.G Wodehouse basking beneath a hot sun in a cafe for an hour, though spent most of the time merely skimming pages as there was far too much else to take in as people came and went. The guy next to me was sketching on a pad and genteel old ladies smoked and drank coffee, possibly talking wistfully about their own loves lost as a young couple between us, he in a Led Zeppellin t-shirt, canoodled. This also seems to be a city where people still wear Crocs. If I have to mark the place down for anything, it’s that.

Dinner was taken at a restaurant called Cluny in the vibrant, hip district of Palermo Soho. The concierge informed me it was the best of the bunch so a taxi was ordered and the concierge proved to be correct. Always a reassuring sign to see a crowd of affluent French dining there and airily gesticulating with their Gitanes. They know where the good stuff is and don’t take second best when it comes to forfeiting their precious time to dine and deigning to make an appearance.

There was a brassy New Jersey fashion type braying in the corner talking about McQueen; obligatory suits; a very beautiful woman in her twenties also dining alone puffing away with contempt. This was definitely something of a hangout.

A tip for the single traveller: when dining alone in a good restaurant you will be the object of some curiousity and glances. Dress down. Don’t look like you’ve made an effort. In my case a sequined Sex Pistols t-shirt and jeans. More importantly, jot notes on any available piece of paper. For me this was a couple of bits of composition and idle musings intended for this blog, but to the management this immediately rings alarm bells.

Anyone dining alone and scribbling notes as they do so could well be making notes on their establishment. The result is you get the best service in town and nothing is too much trouble. I’d run out of cigarettes, not a problem, a packet of Lucky Strikes was presented on a plate. On the house. The same for the liquers.
As it is, none of the non-sequiturs I jotted made it onto this blog, but a few garbled sentences did get me the a-list treatment whilst all around me diners were waving for soup.

From there into a bar…

I had decided not to start this dispatch on a negative. I didn’t want to give people the satisfaction following yesterday’s comments. So I’ll end it on this. My face has been bitten to shreds overnight by insects.

I have one on the centre of my forehead that makes me look like a Hindu bride. Another beside my eye that has swollen up as to have given the impression that I’d said something offensive about Mrs Robinson, while her husband Sugar Ray was stood beside her. Plus three on the left hand. As I’ve come learn in Buenos Aires, you have to watch out for things that bite because there’s one on my shoulder that almost certainly isn’t mosquito. Joe Bull was right, they really do go for ‘Los Ingles’.

Para tudo!

Em 2003 Madonna e Britney Spears trocaram um beijo no MTV Video Music Awards.

No programa ao vivo de domingo o  American Music Awards o cantor americano Adam Lambert que foi descoberto por  um “reality show” de música CAUSOU em sua apresentação, beijou na boca do tecladista , simulou sexo oral com um dançarino, e com o dedo médio levantado durante apresentação do single “For your entertainment” no programa mandou todo mundo pra aquele “lugar”, como era ao vivo não teve nem como editar.

E qual foi a reação das pessoas?

Aborrecimento pela ousadia do rapaz. PASMEM!

Duas mulheres trocando beijos é moderno, dois homens é ofensivo?

Como assim? Não entendi.

Com todo furor pós apresentação Adam Lambert defendeu sua performance em entrevista à revista Rolling Stone –

“Artistas mulheres vêm fazendo isso há anos, mas no minuto em que um homem faz isso, todo mundo enlouquece”.

 ”Estamos em 2009; é hora de correr riscos, ser um pouco mais corajoso, é hora de abrir os olhos das pessoas, e se isso as ofender, então talvez eu não seja para elas”.

“Meu objetivo não era enfurecer as pessoas, era promover a liberdade de expressão e a liberdade artística”.

O cantor de 27 anos declarou ser gay em Maio quando o programa “American Idol” terminou.

A performance de “For your entertainment” foi considerada a mais provocante em show de premiação da indústria musical desde MAD e Brity em 2003.

Quero baixar todas as músicas dele. “For your entertainment” eu indico. Gostei! : )

Já sou fã dele. Adoro tudo que é ousado, desde que seja feito com respeito e personalidade, não é a toa que sou FANÁTICO em Lady GaGa.

Vou fazer as mesmas observações que fiz sobre GaGa a um tempo atrás em um outro Blog.

Percebam nas fotos que ele utiliza o que é tendência. Levando a risca que “nada se cria tudo se copia”, só que melhor com o toque de ousadia.

Eu consegui enxergar – Michael Jackson – Bey; Single Ladies – David Bowie – Lady GaGa – Marilyn Manson – Madonna, Elvis…. iiIiiIiIi OMG! Até a ostra da Brity esta na parada. Um monte de coisas boas.

Aguardem! Este rapaz promete.

Esley Zambel * Para o seu divertimento

The tickets have already sold out for the 40th Anniversary of Glastonbury Festival, and no sooner have the organisers finished counting the millions they’ve made they thrust this on us: U2 will headline next years festival. Now I had every intention of going, but unfortunately missed out on tickets. Thank god. Despite their rather overblown success U2. to me, are one of the most over rater bands of all time, and certainly not a good choice for a celebration of all that is Glastonbury!

Taking place in June next year, it will be the Irish acts first appearance at the festival over their 36 year careers. Of course they are delighted, no doubt part of Bono’s ever increasing plan to take over the world. Acts rumoured to be accompanying them include Muse, Coldplay and Sir David Bowie, so it can only get better really.

But then again, The Rolling Stones have been rumoured as well, so it could get worse as well…

Pra começar bem a manhã.Quem se lembra quando tudo era brincadeira?Nada era levado tão a sério e podíamos rir como nunca,até nossa mãe pedir pra calar a boca.Um dia as mud-mud-anças vêm.

Lentamente muore
chi diventa schiavo dell’abitudine,
ripetendo ogni giorno gli stessi percorsi,
chi non cambia la marcia,
chi non rischia e cambia colore dei vestiti,
chi non parla a chi non conosce.

Muore lentamente chi evita una passione,
chi preferisce il nero su bianco
e i puntini sulle “i”
piuttosto che un insieme di emozioni,
proprio quelle che fanno brillare gli occhi,
quelle che fanno
di uno sbadiglio un sorriso,
quelle che fanno battere il cuore
davanti all’errore e ai sentimenti.

Lentamente muore
chi non capovolge il tavolo,
chi e’ infelice sul lavoro,
chi non rischia la certezza
per l’incertezza per inseguire un sogno,
chi non si permette almeno una volta nella vita
di fuggire ai consigli sensati.

Lentamente muore chi non viaggia,
chi non legge, chi non ascolta musica,
chi non trova grazia in se stesso.

Muore lentamente
chi distrugge l’amor proprio,
chi non si lascia aiutare;
chi passa i giorni a lamentarsi
della propria sfortuna o della pioggia incessante.

Lentamente muore
chi abbandona un progetto prima di iniziarlo,
chi non fa domande
sugli argomenti che non conosce,
chi non risponde
quando gli chiedono qualcosa che conosce.

Evitiamo la morte a piccole dosi,
ricordando sempre che essere vivo
richiede uno sforzo di gran lunga maggiore
del semplice fatto di respirare.
Soltanto l’ardente pazienza porterà
al raggiungimento
di una
splendida felicita’.

Martha Medeiros (giornalista e scrittrice brasiliana)

In sottofondo: ” This is not America ” – David Bowie

I stopped working on this about a year ago. It’s based on a combination of the suits from Alien, and Armageddon. Click through to see how detailed I got.

On this day in 1975, David Bowie performed the now classic song “Fame” on the Cher Show.

“Fame” came about through Bowie’s friendship with John Lennon was inspired by Lennon’s complaints about the celebrity life.  Bowie even gave Lennon a writing credit, acknowledging that the seed of the song came from Lennon’s chants of the word “Fame” over guitar bit that Bowie guitarist Carlos Alomar was riffing on.

Here’s a video of a some dude giving us a fantasy performance of Bowie and Lennon.  Not a cover; more of a lip-sync.

“Fame” was included on the Young Americans album and was released as the second single from that album.  It quickly shot to number one on the U.S. charts and has been covered many times.

’80s glam pop superstars, Duran Duran

Funk metal band, Infectious Grooves (a side project of Suicidal Tendencies’ Mike Muir and Metallica’s Robert Trujillo.)  [Hi, Eric :>]

’90s industrial band, God Lives Underwater (from the “15 Minutes” soundtrack)

Motley Crue’s (please forgive those darn missing umlats) Tommy Lee

Finally,  uber-has-been Vanilla Ice sampled it for his Mindblowing album.  (Yeah, I know.  It’s not a cover.  But still, could you ignore the Ice Man?!)

And none of them have the same cool detachment of the original.

Shock is fun, shock rock is like something that existed, for example, like in the 70’s, Alice Cooper…David Bowie, you had artists that liked to push the envelope and that’s what made them so fresh … Prince for example, wore a**less chaps one year…I think that surprise is part of entertainment. I think that it keeps people watching its fun, it makes you laugh and it should be that way. And if it made you uncomfortable, maybe I’m not for you. Access Hollywood on Adam Lambert’s AMA Performance

Well, I feel the need to write two posts today, in light of the controversy over Adam Lambert’s shock rock performance at the AMA’s.  I’m sitting here reading comments on MTV where some woman says that he has no right to do that where her 4 and 6 year old can see it.  What self-respecting mother lets her 4 and 6 year up be awake at that hour, much less watch the AMA awards?   This was the last performance of the evening, waaaaaay past most 4 and 6 year old’s bed times.  I believe that’s why they put it last, so it would not be viewed by young children.  As for him kissing a man, get over it.  Don’t you know that there are still a lot of gay sports figures out there, and quite a few on the “down low”?  Do you care?  No, not as long as they are busting heads on Sunday afternoons.

Well, we all expected the conservative right to blast him, and true to form, they did.  What shocks me is the boomers.  I’m a boomer, and I grew up with Alice Cooper, David Bowie, Prince and The Village People.  Talk about controversial…take six gay guys dressed up in costume and prance them around the stage singing about how much fun it is to stay at the Y.M.C.A!

Now, Alice Cooper was one of the nicest men that has ever walked this earth, and he answered his critics by saying that it was entertainment, nothing more.  If you can get anymore shocking than a man cutting baby dolls heads off on stage, please let me know what it is.

Why on earth is my generation, the “free love”, Woodstock, acid dropping, communal living, hippie generation now so damned judgmental?  I actually loved Adam’s performance.  It was raw, animalistic, and real.  You can pretend all day that S&M doesn’t exist, but that won’t make it go away.  He’s not the first person to do bondage on stage, not even the first male.  David Bowie did bondage before Adam Lambert was born.  He even pranced around the stage in a very feminine shirt that barely covered his crotch, which was good, because he had no pants on!

Who can forget Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” video?  Burning crosses, stigmata, rape, interrracial sex with a priest.  I thought the controversy would never stop!

Then there was Cher, barely dressed straddling the cannon in the “If I Could Turn Back Time” video.

So Adam Lambert reminded us all of the seamier side of sex.  He’s not the first, and he won’t be the last.  All the people mentioned above were superstars, and a couple of them still are.  Adam is following in the footsteps of the greats…those who weren’t afraid to push the limits, to express themselves in their own way, and change the music world in the process.

So to all my fellow boomers…get the collective sticks out of your asses and remember when you used to know how to have fun.  Or go buy some Susan Boyle music.  No sexual content there.

To Adam, Bravo!  Can’t wait to see what you do next!

]]> http://xtotaldominationx.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/episode-51-muppetcast/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:29:44 +0000 Total Domination http://xtotaldominationx.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/episode-51-muppetcast/ http://bizmusician.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/top-25-holiday-songs-of-all-time-craigs-list/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 22:21:39 +0000 bizmusician http://bizmusician.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/top-25-holiday-songs-of-all-time-craigs-list/

OK, so I know there are songs missing that are considered classics. These are MY favorites:

1. The Christmas Song (Nat King Cole)
Plain & Simple – The Gold Standard of Holiday songs by the Gold Standard of vocalists.
2. White Christmas (Bing Crosby)
Bing’s Merry Christmas album with the Andrews Sisters is the best.
3. Merry Christmas Darling (The Carpenters)
A contemporary standard, of which there are few.
4. Christmastime is Here (Vince Guaraldi)
The music from Charlie Brown’s Christmas is classic and not just for kids. Scores of jazz musicians were influenced by Guaraldi, and this tune captures the mood and spirit perfectly.
5. Do You Hear What I Hear (Whitney Houston)
Despite the turmoil in her personal life, Whitney has perhaps the most incredible pipes of any pop singer of her era. Her version of the Star Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl with the Marine Band backing her brings chills down the spine (and like these other pop start wannabees, she did it live.
6. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Andy Williams)
Not a huge fan of Williams in general, but I love his Holiday music. This is the most quintessential of his many Yuletide tunes.
7. You’re a Mean On Mr. Grinch (Thurl Ravenscroft)
I learned something researching this one. I thought it was sung by Boris Karloff who narrated the cartoon. Turns out he was given credit by mistake.
8. Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy (Bing Crosby & David Bowie)
I remember watching this live on Bing’s Christmas special back in the 70’s as I recall. Seemed like an odd pairing at the time, but it turned out to be a wonderful collaboration.
9. Silent Night (Barbara Streisand)
Many versions to choose from, but I like this one. Barbara’s A Christmas Album ranks among the best.
10. Let it Snow (Steve Lawrence & Edie Gorme)
OK, so Saturday Night Live and others have taken their shots at Steve & Edie, but I’m telling you this version really swings.
11. O Tannenbaum (Oh Christmas Tree) (Vince Guaraldi)
Charlie Brown part 2.
12. Winter Wonderland (Dean Martin)
Dean does the fun holiday with that twinkle in his eye and playful vocal quality that we love. There are a few arrangements of this one, but there’s one I listened to as a kid that’s really great. Believe it or not, it came from a compilation album that Texaco gas stations used to give away will a fill-up back in the dark ages, as I tell my son.
13. Away in a Manger (Mahalia Jackson)
Really brings you back to the spirit of Christmas
14. Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) (Elvis Pressley)
This one rocks and it just makes me chuckle. It almost sounds like someone doing a bad Pressley impersonation. Like someone said recently, if life was fair, Elvis would still be alive and all of the Elvis impersonators would be dead.
15. Mele Kelikimaka (Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters)
Fun tune and a nice departure from snow and fireplaces
16. The 12 Yats of Christmas (Benny Grunch & the Bunch)
This one is essentially for New Orleanians by the king of colloquial musical references, Benny Grunch.
17. Feliz Navidad (Jose Feliciano)
Adds a nice international flavor to the list. This one also has stood the test of time.
18. Frosty the Snowman (Jimmy Durante)
From the television special – with Durante, like Louis Armstrong, Louis Prima, and Dean Martin, there’s an audible smile in every note he sings.
19. Sleigh Bells (Johnny Mathis)
Again, many versions, but I like the way Mathis interpreted this one.
20. Oh Holy Night (Nat King Cole)
Another one that just sounds better by Nat.
21. Silver Bells (Bing Crosby & Carol Richards)
From the Bing Crosby album previously referenced.
22. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm (Dean Martin)
Great tune not as widely known or recognized as a holiday tune until Rod Stewart butchered it on his standards album.
23. Baby It’s Cold Outside (Blossom Dearie & Bob Dorough)
This song is a classic that has been recorded by hundreds of artists. This version is somewhat obscure – by two eclectic pianists/songwriters and jazz club performers also known for their work in the Schoolhouse Rock series.
24. ???
25. ???

Yesterday I had no energy for musings; hence, no “Sunday Morning Musings”.  The move to my new house is ongoing, although I definitely am living there.  Last week at this time, I couldn’t say where I lived;  I was just too tired from lifting and toting and pushing.  Then too, I was sleeping on the sofa in the new place.  It all felt like camping or the numb feeling after Hurricane Ike.

Now I feel like I’m living again even though much of the house is in total disarray (todo un desmadre).  I still have several loads of possessions to collect at my old apartment, which I have to be out of by a week from today. 

Satellite was hooked up on Saturday; this means that now all of the communication devices are working.  So with a shiny, new TV, I was set for Sunday football, but most of the day, I spent on the necessary weekend chores, plus settling in some more, making one more trip to the apartment, and even painting a bit.

So by 8:30 PM, exhausted as I was, the Bears vs. the Eagles held even less interest for me than the Bears vs. the Eagles normally would.  I switched over to the American Music Awards, then went into the kitchen to do some more sorting and putting away, only to hear Janet Jackson singing Michael Jackson, sounding like Michael Jackson:  maybe they really were/are they same person.

After the ho-hum of more unpacking was interrupted by a phone call, I decided to give up the ghost for the night at just before 10 o’clock. I checked out  the NFL game, then started flipping through the channels.  At the moment I got to the local ABC station, up popped the AMA once again, announcing Adam Lambert.

Truly, I don’t know much about Adam Lambert, only that he was the runner-up on American Idol, that he’s got this 80s glam look goin’ on, and that he hasn’t been shy about his being gay.  Actually, I admire him for having that “I’m gay, take-it-or-leave-it” attitude so early in his career.  I admire that same attitude in a lot of young people these days, that they just can be who they are without stodgy conservatism trying to make them hide themselves.

That’s why while watching Lambert’s performance, I was amazed to see him dancing and prancing on stage in front of a national audience, the likes of which I don’t remember having seen since the days of David Bowie.  Oh, we’ve seen similar dancing and hip-thrusting, but with female stars like Madonna and Janet Jackson.  Then when he pulled one of the male dancer’s head to his crotch and soon after kissed a keyboard player, I said to myself, “You go, Adam.”

To be honest, I didn’t care for the song at all, and I’m not really sure whether he’s got a voice or not, but when it comes to chutzpah (and I definitely mean the good chutzpah), Adam Lambert has it going on.  Lambert will find someone to write some decent music and he’ll get some voice training, but his gutsy performance last night on the American Music Awards is going to go along way for him . . . and for other gay people.

You see, Adam Lambert is not afraid to be himself . . . like a lot of gay people are.  Unless gay people act like themselves in public, straight people are forever going to keep their blinders on and deny that we exist.  They can’t deny that mixed-race couples exist when they see them or they see their children.  But they still can deny gay people exist when they see two guys together or two women together even when they know they are together.  They can deny it because gay people help them deny it by not holding hands or hugging or giving a smooch in public, the same physical acknowledgement that straight couples give to each other.   How do we ever expect straight deniers from seeing that we really are just like them, unless we show them that we are?

Yeah, there have been those screaming their negative comments about Lambert’s performance today in response to articles about the AMA, but these are the same people that would have been screaming if it had been Madonna or Lady Gaga.  Let them scream; artists that want to make it big take it to the edge, and this is just what Adam Lambert was doing.  However, in doing so, he’s saying, “Hey, I’m gay and this is who I am.”

You go, Adam.

Bono y compañía por fin harán su debut en el festival de Glastonbury en su 40 aniversario así lo confirmo Michael Eavis  el organizador del evento.

Al parecer el 2010 será un año muy importante y movido para U2, lo bueno es que no estaremos exentos de ello ya que tendremos a la banda por nuestros territorios el próximo año, la banda de 32 años de carrera que por extrañas razones nunca a podido encabezar el Glastonbury o cualquier otro festival de este índole acaba de confirma su asistencia en este festival.

Eavis comento “ Hemos estado intentando por años, pero pues nunca habíamos podido realizar esto, sin dudas todas las trabas quedan aun lado para que esta versión del 40 aniversario sea de las mejores en toda la historia.”

Algunas de las otras bandas que se rumoran que estarán en esta versión del Glastonbury son: David Bowie, Coldplay, The Rolling Stones y Muse.

Thanks to everybody who commented on my last blog post! I really appreciate you sharing your playlists with everyone and introducing us to some great new music!

As I was responding to your comments, something hit me. You guys have shown us an incredible ammount of support over the last few years. You’ve called your local DJs to request our music. You’ve come to our shows and purchased our CDs. And your votes have caused us to win more contests and get onto more playlists than I could count. Each of you has helped make what we do possible.

Last week was really cool because we had twenty people contribute to our post! But, our anlaytics show that hundreds of people read it. Why is that? I’m not sure. But I feel that it is – at least in some part – due to the fact that so often the creation and delivery of art is a one way street. I want to change that; so I’d like to invite you to take a moment to do three things:

1. Visit atris.wordpress.com (This will be more fun if everyone goes to the same page.)
2. Scroll down to the comment box and introduce yourself. Write a few words about anything you’d like. How did you first hear our music? What city are you from? What are your favorite movies? Pretend we just met at a coffee shop. If you’d like share your blog address, Twitter ID or someplace where we and other people can learn more about you that would be great too!
3. Check the box that says Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

Please don’t do this for us, do this for yourself and for everyone. It takes a certain amount of bravery to put yourself out there; but it’s worth it. We love to get to know people with similar interests, ideas, and opinions. And it’s really cool when group discussions are started. If you have something in common with someone who posts, let him or her know! It makes me feel great to see people responding to my comments, and I love to chime back in to share my thoughts.

Looking forward to meeting you!

-Mason

Conversation Piece (1969 demo).
Conversation Piece (1970 b-side).
Conversation Piece (2000 remake).

[The poor man] feels himself out of the sight of others, groping in the dark. Mankind take no notice of him. He rambles and wanders unheeded. In the midst of a crowd, at church, in the market, at a play, at an execution, or coronation: he is in as much obscurity as he would be in a garret or cellar. He is not disapproved, censured or reproached; he is only not seen.

John Adams, Discourses on Davila.

I get lonesome right in the middle of a crowd.

Elvis Presley.

There have been few songs written about academics, whether tenured or failed. All that comes to mind are REM’s “Sad Professor” and this one, and “Conversation Piece” may not be about an academic at all. An independent scholar, let’s say—a shabby young man with an old man’s habits, who lives above an Austrian grocer: his rug is scattered with the pages of unpublished essays, and he spends his time wandering the streets begrudging life. He may throw himself off a bridge at song’s end.

“Conversation Piece” was Bowie’s most recent composition when he made a demo tape in April 1969 (John Hutchinson calls it “a new one” and Bowie has to prompt him with the opening guitar chords (“G-D-G”).) It’s unlike most of the songs written in this period, which are either love ballads or self-mythical explorations, as it hearkens back to the oddball character sketches of the first Bowie LP, like “Little Bombardier” or “She’s Got Medals.” (That said, some, like Bowie’s manager Ken Pitt, have said the song is fairly autobiographical, a sketch of the frustrated composer and failed pop singer Bowie of 1968.)

Most of all, it captures well the curse of urban anonymity—its title is a cruel joke, the “conversation” only going on in the singer’s head. Once during a hard spell while living in NYC I spent a weekend almost entirely out of doors, going from shop to cafe to library, and realized at some point during it that I had talked to absolutely no one, except maybe to mutter thanks to a ticket-taker or cashier. The sense of moving among a great mass of people and feeling utterly invisible and isolated from them is almost addicting at first, and then it can just sink your soul.

It’s a fairly simple song—three meandering verses, three tight eight-bar choruses (half lyric, half wordless). For the final verse, Bowie uses a standard trick and changes key, bumping all the chords up one step (so while the third line of the verse—for example, “he often calls me down to eat“—has been C/G, it’s now D/A (“and they walk in twos and threes or more“), and so forth). To further the sense that the singer is breaking down, the last verse extends into a faster-paced section with shorter sung phrases until collapsing into the final chorus.

The studio take, recorded during the Space Oddity sessions ca. July-September 1969, was eventually released as the B-side to “The Prettiest Star” in March 1970. It’s unclear why “Conversation Piece” was left off the Space Oddity LP, as it’s stronger than most of the other cuts, and if LP time was an issue, they could’ve shaved at least three minutes off “Memory of a Free Festival” and no one would’ve wept. Over the years, it’s become many people’s favorite Bowie obscurity (Stuart Murdoch seems to have lived in this song at some point).

Bowie revived “Conversation Piece” in 2000 for his scotched LP Toy, and eventually released it on a bonus disc for his 2002 Heathen album. He sings it in a lower register and without much emotion. The flailing scholar of the original recording at least had energy in his desperation; here, all is resigned, empty despair.

Top: Pascal Grob, “Paris, 1969.”

That’s it until after the holiday. Happy Thanksgiving. For non-U.S. readers, happy Thursday.

Yves St. Laurent received the macabre treatment when he dressed actress/muse Catherine Deneuve for the 1983 horror/suspense film The Hunger, also starring David Bowie and Susan Sarandon. Deneuve’s wardrobe showed the darkest reaches of St. Laurent’s range — acclimating to the hardness of the 80’s, notably designers Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana, he had French glamor and sexual subversion easing his way.

Perhaps it was this macabre treatment that inspired Martin Margiela’s second reiteration of the squared shoulder in his fall 2007 collection (if in fact it was him). The severity and darkness of the mood is vampire worthy, and certainly those graphic shoulders don’t shy away from Deneuve’s YSL wardrobe, complete with his signature shoulder. But the real give away is the soundtrack of Bauhaus’ Bela Lugosi’s Dead as it creeps along in the opening scene of The Hunger and on Margiela’s catwalk, connecting the two not so disparate visions of the night.