“The great object of life is sensation — to feel that we exist, even though in pain. It is this ‘craving void’ which drives us to gaming — to battle, to travel — to intemperate, but keenly felt, pursuits of any description, whose principal attraction is the agitation inseparable from their accomplishment.” [Lord Byron]
Ακολουθώντας πιστά τα μεγάλα λόγια του Βύρωνα για την σημασιολογία του stimulation το electronik^aki του net βαφτίζει την στήλη της, περί πολυδιάστατων σπιναρισμάτων σε ψηφιακές σελίδες πολλαπλών ηχητικών διαστάσεων, καθότι οι κριτικές, της προκαλούσαν το αβάσταχτο βάρος βαθμολογίας και κρίσης…σε σημείο παράκρουσης. Γενικότερα εδώ θα μας δίνετε η ευκαιρία να διευρύνουμε τους ορίζοντες μας με ότι μας τραβάει την προσοχή κατά την υποκειμενική μας ταπεινή άποψη και δεν πρέπει να το χάνετε. Παρελθόν, παρόν και μέλλον συνδράμουν μαζί και προσκαλούν τους συνταξιδιώτες με κοινό παρανομαστή τις νότες του πενταγράμμου και ερμηνευτικές δεξιοτεχνίες ακουστικής απόλαυσης.

Electronik^stimulation λοιπόν και το πρώτο ξέφρενο επεισόδιο αφιερωμένο εξαιρετικά σε δισκάκια various μουσικών τεχνοτροπιών και επίδοξων στωικών εμβατηρίων, συλλογές και περισυλλογές που πλαισιώνουν περίτρανα την δημιουργικότητα των μουσικάντηδων τους.

• Peter Kruder-Private Collection-G-Stone Master Series #1 [G stone recordings]

Peter Kruder ο ένας εκ των δύο του θρυλικού ζεύγους παραγωγής Kruder and Dorfmeister και η υπεύθυνη υποχθόνια κινητήρια δύναμη  του Peace Orchestra, είναι ένα από τα καλύτερα παιδιά που έχουν μεγαλώσει και καρδαμώνουν πια από την Αυστρία ,με αγάπη. Αποφάσισε να μας χαρίσει απλόχερα ένα private session μουσικής απόλαυσης για τα αυτιά μας και όχι μόνο, όπως κάνει στους φίλους του στα ενδότερα κόκκινα σαλόνια των μουσικών του μονοπατιών. Ανάμεσα από τα 35.000 βινύλια προσωπικής του συλλογής κατάφερε να μετριάσει τις αδυναμίες του σε 17 κομμάτια .Αναμνήσεις, σιωπές, στιγμές, ήχο χρώματα.

Αποφασίζει ότι θέλει να ξεκινήσει αυτό το ανεξερεύνητο ταξίδι στα βάθη του μουσικού του είναι, με τους πειραματιστές του 80’ τους,Talk Talk.Αυτή η τρελαμένη blues φωτιά που σιγοκαίει με τρομπέτα καταλήγει σε αγνή βρωμιά ηλεκτρονικού λικνίσματος παρέα με την φυσαρμόνικα. Αληθινό ανεξερεύνητο διαμάντι και προσπαθω ξανά να ανακαλύψω την δισκογραφία τους.“The rainbow”,και τα χρώματα αστράφτουν με στόμφο και ορμή. Δεύτερη στάση Tortoise και “on the chin”,απαλές ,βασανιστικά αργές ατμοσφαιρικές κιθάρες καθοδηγούν τον άγνωστο επιβάτη. Η γεφύρωση dj-επισκέπτη με σύντομο κομμάτι σκουπίζω τα πόδια μου στο χαλί και ρωτάω τι παίζει ο παίκτης τώρα για 00¨43 είναι το Οbservatory-waste your live,και μετά είσοδος στο jazzy tune Εnchanted Lady του βιρτουόζου Milt Jackson. Είμαστε ήδη κάτω από την επήρεια του μουσικού αλκοόλ που κερνά σε κρασοπότηρα ο  οικοδεσπότης. Κοίτα να δεις μετά τι ανακαλύπτεις με τα mix tapes που σου πασάρει ο Gilles Peterson αρχές 90’.Pierre Moerten’s Gong και Adrien ένα jazz fusion με ξυλόφωνο και δεν το ξεχνας με τίποτα το σφηνάκι ούτε το ηχοσύστημα.

Το παραπάνω sound check έχει γίνει και home check.Έχουμε ακόμα παραλήρημα. Ο Charles Webster σε down tempo beat συνεισφέρει μαγικά στον κατακλυσμό που έρχεται, αυτό του Tom Waits και χειροκροτώ και επικροτώ.Jan Hammer, αλλαγή με synthesizers και ξεφυτρώνουν μανιτάρια, ξωτικά και λουλούδια μπροστά στο τζάκι. Έτσι να ανάψουν τα αίματα με ένα track από Peace Orchestra το οποίο θα εκδοθεί στο επόμενο album αυτών για όποτε και προσγειωνόμαστε με ένα παλιό κομμάτι των K&D “sleezy rider”.Α, όλα και όλα όταν είσαι ο compiler-ας μπορείς να βάλεις και την προσωπική σου πινελιά!

Ο Stargard προδιαθέτει πέταγμα αστερόσκονης και υποδέχεται ένα κλασσικό πιανιστικό instrumental κομμάτι του αγαπητού Armstrong.Περνάμε στο warp zone με τους Japan στο Ghost και εδώ νομίζω ότι πεθαίνω και γω με την μαεστρία του Kruder να φτιάχνει compilations. Γνωστός για τις συνεργασίες του με τον Hitchcock o Bernard Herman θα κάνει παρέα με το “here we go” του Jon Brion,και οι Chateau Flight θα μας προσγειώσουν ανάλαφρα με Αφρικάνικο τρόπο στην αγκαλιά της Rokia Traore στο “Mariama”.

Σας το είπα ότι οι περιγραφές είναι ελλειπτικές τροχιές? Το σκοτάδι θα σας καλύψει σε αυτά τα 1¨19¨44 στιγμιότυπα,αν αποφασίσετε να κλείσετε κουρτίνες και αράξετε στο μαγικό χαλί. Αυτός ο δίσκος είναι η προσωποποίηση του ερευνώ για να μαθαίνω και να μοιράζω μουσικές εμπειρίες. Αυτά τα ξεχασμένα εκθέματα μπαίνουν στην γυάλα και ανασαίνουν στο κενό της ολάκερης ύπαρξης. Εκέι όπου θέλουμε η φαντασία να ταξιδέψει και το μυαλό να ρουφήξει το νόημα της μουσικής ζωής για το καθένα. Να λύσουμε όλοι τα αφηρημένα μας προβλήματα. όπως πολύ σωστά ανέφερε και ο Peter,και μας καθησυχάζει: θα υπάρξουν και άλλες G-Stone “master series” compilations.Γιούπι!

Και μην ξεχνάτε…

Απολαύστε υπεύθυνα.

Repeat-Repeat-Retreat

Lend an ear to : Talk Talk –The rainbow

• The Village- a celebration of the music of Greenwich village [429 records]

Πληθώρα ονομάτων βροντοχτυπούν στην πόρτα της συλλογής αυτής. Το μουσικό ταμπέλωμα από την 429 records επικεντρώνεται σε μάζωξη για το τιμής ένεκεν. Εμείς δεν έχουμε παρά μόνο να τους καλωσορίσουμε με την παραδοχή, back to the future.

Lucinda Williams -Positively 4th Street (Dylan)

Rachael Yamagata -Both Sides Now (Mitchell)

Mary Chapin Carpenter- Violets of Dawn (Andersen)

Shelby Lynne -Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (Dylan)

Marshall Crenshaw- Didn’t Want to Have to Do It (Sebastian)

Amos Lee- Little Bit of Rain (Neil)

Cary Brothers- Something on Your Mind (McNeely)

Rocco DeLuca -Ballad of Hollis Brown (Dylan)

Cowboy Junkies- Once I Was (Buckley)

Sixpence None the Richer- Wayfaring Stranger (Traditional)

Rickie Lee Jones -Subterranean Homesick Blues (Dylan)

John Oates- He Was a Friend of Mine (Traditional)

Mikey Powell- Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall (Dylan)

The Duhks -It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding (Dylan)

Los Lobos -Guantanamera (Diaz)

Bruce Hornsby- Darlin’ Be Home Soon (Sebastian)

Jesse Malin -I Am a Rock (Simon)

Αν δούμε λίγο την αντιστοιχία καλλιτεχνών και original versions στο πέρασμα του χρόνου, η σύγκριση λοιπόν θα είναι  προμελετημένη και εξυπακούεται. Μπαίνουμε στην χρονομηχανή, και επιστρέφουμε σε μία δεδομένη ιστορική στιγμή όπου οι παρεμβολές της παρτιτούρας επηρεάζουν την ιστορία της ροκ σκηνής. Δεν είναι όλα “beats to hippies”.

Οι 429 records τυμπανίζουν τρανταχτά την μουσική του «Greenwich village».Η γειτονιά του πράσινου αυτού χωριού της Νέας Υόρκης το 1960 υπήρξε το σημείο αναφοράς της μουσικής, πολιτικής και κοινωνικής εξελειξης, ένα σημαντικό ground zero. Με την εποχή του McCαrthy να μπαίνει στο χρονοντούλαπο και το τελείωμα του Red Scare era,ο πόλεμος του Βιετνάμ να συνεχίζει να σκοτώνει ψυχές και συνειδήσεις, το κίνημα των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων τσουρούφλιζε στα μουσικά χέρια του Peter Seeger,Bob Dylan και της Odetta. Τα ονειροπλασμένα  του ενορχηστρωμένου καθεστώτος κάνανε συμπυκνωμένη παρέα και σχεδίαζαν τα πιο αιμοβόρα κομμάτια εσωτερικής απελευθέρωσης, όπου και κρίθηκε ο καθρέφτης της κοινωνικής συνείδησης τους, να διασπείρει φως στη παγωμένη γενιά τους. Η γειτονιά του χλοοτάπητα αυτού κατέστη ως σύμβολο δυναμικής δικαιοσύνης και χάριζε την  έμπνευση σε καλλιτέχνες απλόχερα παγκοσμίως σείοντας δρόμους και μπαράκια μέσω των ηχείων για αλλαγή της ρότας του υπαρξισμού παράλληλα με τα αναγκαίο δρώμενα. Η κουλτούρα της ιστορίας. Η ιστορία της τέχνης του απελευθερωτικού στοιχείου. Τώρα να μου πεις, τι να καταλάβω εγώ για επανάσταση και ιδανικά το 2009,με ένα ζήτω το πολυτεχνείο?..φυσικά και υπάρχει χάσμα γενεών στην μετάβαση 50 τουλάχιστον χρόνων. Αλλά λύνεται,αν  αφουγκραστούμε όλοι  τις συνέπειες του τότε και την αλυσιδωτή αντίδραση της στο πυρήνα του παγκοσμίου σήμερα, κατα κόρον και σε επανάληψη. Μερικές φορές τα μαθήματα ιστορίας δεν είναι διόλου βαρετά. Οι νεωτεριστές συμμετέχοντες ,κολεκτίβα επανίδρυσης ψηφίζουν πράσινο, τιμούν παλιούς συνθέτες-ερμηνευτές και κομμάτια που δοξάζουν το άρωμα μιας άλλης νοσταλγικής φυλής. Ένα κόκκινο να χτυπά την φλέβα και να ρέει δικαιοσύνη ,ο απλός ανθρωπισμός της μουσικής.

Lend an ear to Sixpence None the Richer- Wayfaring Stranger

Η kinder έκπληξη της υπομονής σας, μας πάει πίσω σε ένα σινγκλάκι του 1994.”Love and hate”, από τον Sakamoto στα μουσικά ηνία και τον Holly Johnson στα φωνητικά (vocalist from Frankie goes to Hollywood). Αν και ποτέ δεν κατάφερε να συγκινήσει τα Uk charts, έτσι ανάμεσα στους 4 τοίχους και τις στροφές της βελόνας συγκίνησε εμένα, κουλουριάζοντας και πετώντας με, στον καναπέ κάνοντας χρουτσου χρουτσου την καρδιά μου…κοιτώντας οριζοντίως τα αστέρια στο ταβάνι για μια μέρα ολόκληρη. Να τι ανακαλύπτεις όταν πάνε ταξίδια και συ προσέχεις ψαράκια με συλλογική μνήμη, λουλούδια και βινύλια…baby sitting on music shift.(εκ του προσωπικού ημερολογίου-on the records).

Love and hate | sweet revenge tour

….

Minorities fight between themselves
Perpetuating living hells
Why play into the hands of the elite?
Stop it now before it’s too late

Love will survive us
Hate will divide us
But something inside us unites us with love

Take you apart
Deep in the heart
Whose left to pray to?
The hole in the sky which angels can find

Even though this new video is only half as sexy as the original(s), its good to see Holly Johnson up and running (even if its sans band) and this straighforward remix is pretty hot.

The 1980s pop group, Frankie goes to Hollywood, are back in the public eye with a remix of their classic track, Relax, and a new Best of collection called Frankie Say Greatest.

The marketing for this has been interesting. It has come on the back of the Virgin TV advert and commemorates the 25th anniversary of the bands debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Singer Holly Johnson’s solo albums are now all available to download online for the first time with physical CD reissues planned for next year I understand.

A few weeks ago there was a teaser campaign with Frankie Say Coming posters across London and last month the Frankie Say T-Shirt was the focus of 25 years of British fashion design. Not only that, CD promos of 11 remixes of Relax have been circulating and unsurprisingly these tracks can now be found on the net. This was always likely but is it all a ploy by generate interest? If that was the case it has certainly worked.

Social networking has also played a part in the success of this campaign with a multitude of postings on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook with Holly himself even getting in on the act. The producers of the new video – which hints at the Virgin ad that sparked all this new interest – invited people to appear by publicising auditions on a variety of media.

Frankie fans, this is your golden opportunity to be in Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s brand new video.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankie-Say-Greatest/128373872491?ref=nf

The new ‘Relax’ video shoot is taking place next Monday afternoon in London, and we’re offering one of you (plus friend) the chance to be in it.

It’s a very high profile music video for Universal Records and is going to be shown on all major music television networks, so it’s a great opportunity to be a star!

We are looking for 100 extras to party on the magnificent Kensington Roof Gardens , the music video will be fun, bright and sexy dance based video incorporating a great choreographed routine, a hot pilot dj, and some scorching air hottest podium dancers! A giant martini glass takes centre stage and the rocking club reaches fever pitch as the extras will be having fun, dancing at Kensington High street!

So if you want to have some fun and get a really good exposure please apply now!

*Please note!*

Entrants must be aged 18 and over
Entrants must be able to attend on the stated date; October 5th from mid afternoon through to the evening
Travel expenses will not be reimbursed for winners travel to and from Central London
There is no guarantee that the footage filmed will be used in the final cut
The competition closes at 12pm Friday 2nd October

Will all this lead to a big hit? Probably, especially as Holly himself has appeared in the new video for the song.

The 1980s pop group, Frankie goes to Hollywood, are back in the public eye with a remix of their classic track, Relax, and a new Best of collection called Frankie Say Greatest.

The marketing for this has been interesting. It has come on the back of the Virgin TV advert and commemorates the 25th anniversary of the bands debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome. Singer Holly Johnson’s solo albums are now all available to download online for the first time with physical CD reissues planned for next month I understand.

A few weeks ago there was a teaser campaign with Frankie Say Coming posters across London and last month the Frankie Say T-Shirt was the focus of 25 years of British fashion design. Not only that, CD promos of 11 remixes of Relax have been circulating and unsurprisingly these tracks can now be found on the net. This was always likely but is it all a ploy by generate interest? If that was the case it has certainly worked.

Social networking has also played a part in the success of this campaign with a multitude of postings on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook with Holly himself even getting in on the act. The producers of the new video – which hints at that Virgin ad that sparked all this new interest – invited people to appear by publicising auditions on a variety of media.

Frankie fans, this is your golden opportunity to be in Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s brand new video.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frankie-Say-Greatest/128373872491?ref=nf

The new ‘Relax’ video shoot is taking place next Monday afternoon in London, and we’re offering one of you (plus friend) the chance to be in it.

It’s a very high profile music video for Universal Records and is going to be shown on all major music television networks, so it’s a great opportunity to be a star!

We are looking for 100 extras to party on the magnificent Kensington Roof Gardens , the music video will be fun, bright and sexy dance based video incorporating a great choreographed routine, a hot pilot dj, and some scorching air hottest podium dancers! A giant martini glass takes centre stage and the rocking club reaches fever pitch as the extras will be having fun, dancing at Kensington High street!

So if you want to have some fun and get a really good exposure please apply now!

*Please note!*

Entrants must be aged 18 and over
Entrants must be able to attend on the stated date; October 5th from mid afternoon through to the evening
Travel expenses will not be reimbursed for winners travel to and from Central London
There is no guarantee that the footage filmed will be used in the final cut
The competition closes at 12pm Friday 2nd October

Will all this lead to a big hit? Probably, especially as Holly himself has appeared in the new video for the song.

Welcome to the Pleasuredome sleeve – an 80s icon?

Following my visit to the Art of ZTT exhibition at the Art Vinyl Gallery in London a while back, I got thinking about the Welcome to the Pleasuredome album cover. It always surprised me that it never gets listed as a classic sleeve when it has such strong visual imagery and identity. Personally I love it but maybe I’m just past being objective about the design.

Everything about that album was overblown and it stretches itself to the very limit. I think the very reason that it doesn’t appear as ‘a classic’ is because it was TRYING to be a classic. You simply cannot force creativity in that way.

This by no means diminishes the power of the imagery produced by the artist, Lo Cole, who was then barely out of art school. What a gig to get so early in your career. To this day this album is still in my Top Five packaged albums of all time.

Iconic images whether art, sculpture or photographs are of the moment and just capture the essence of the time they are in. This applies to other objects too such as furniture or even in changes in the language. “Loadsamoney!”

Welcome to the Pleasuredome takes references from many periods of art and sleeve design and it’s purpose was to shock and I think perhaps that this agenda and the non-specific period of imagery means it’s not rated as highly as it could be. The inside of the gatefold and the censored ‘tongue’ imagery on the reverse just played to the tabloid view of the band at that time.

I’m not saying it’s not good or it’s not of its time but that it isn’t the artistic icon it set out to be. However, the band and the label already have an icon to their name with the ‘Frankie Say…’ T-Shirt so that is achievement enough. Unlike the album I am pretty sure that ZTT were just producing a striking design, albeit ripped off from Katherine Hamnett, that would sell and not think anything of its longevity.

Back on the sleeve design here is some original artwork which is similar, but not the same, as that used on the inside of the gatefold sleeve. An image that was likely to cause some embarrassment for a teenager if seen by a parent back in 1984!

To view further images of the album including inner sleeves and label designs please visit the excellent Zang Tumb Tuum And All That fan site. “Thanks Bob!”

Holly Johnson (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) – Being photographed is kind of torture for me but yours are lovely.

Matt Chandler (Technical Director VFX, Jellyfish Pictures) – Fantastic work – Thought I’d drop you a line to show you my support. Perused your site and love your portrait work.

Adrian Tarrant – I felt I had to write to you not only to say what a truly wonderful website you have, but also to comment on the beautiful photographs that you have taken and the fact they they just reach out and speak being that they are so vivid… I used to do some modeling some time ago and I know how difficult it is sometimes to capture the right setting and get that right shot. It would seem that you have managed it on every occasion. I currently live in Zurich, Switzerland having moved from London 2 years ago. I think if you were somewhat closer I may of even considered putting my modeling boots back on and would of loved to have worked with you

Gilles M Mougin – Your photos are very beautiful. Congratulations!

Adam Membrey – Your work is incredible and to be applauded.

Graham C Taylor - As a Scot now living in America (the east coast of course and as an ex-professional photographer (If it’s in our blood then do we really ever give anything up?) I just wanted to say how much I admired your work…

I saw the bizarre publicity about you and couldn’t resist looking to see if you were subject to the same bizarre censorship I was back in the 70’s.

Yup, you do beautiful work; sometimes erotic, but always beautiful… always tasteful and, it seems, always a pleasure to view.

May I say a simple “thank you” for brightening my Saturday evening?

Jim Palfrey – I’ve recently retired from full time photography I would just like to say I am extremely impressed with your web-site and the images it contains.

Mike Reynolds – Having viewed the images on your website I would like to say that they are beautiful.

deviantART – I sat and stared at this picture for quite a while… wondering what makes it different from the thousands of other pregnant pictures out there. Was it the fact that you used natural colors instead of softening or gray-scaling the picture? (Well, yes.) Was it the angle you chose (again yes.) Was it the incredibly gorgeous model? (resounding yes.)
Most of all, though, I think it was the choice to have your model deliberately looking directly at her pregnant belly. The vast majority of pregnant pics treat the pregnant belly as if it just “happens” to be there. Sure the mother (and sometimes even the father) have their hands on the belly, but they’re usually looking somewhere else, or at each other… as if to say “We’re looking at the future, or anywhere besides this baby that’s about to wreak havoc on our lives.” To me, the focus of the picture should be the new life that’s about to be brought in to the world.
Your model has a look of contentment, nurturing comfort and possibly even a little anticipation… all focused directly on her unborn child. THAT is beautiful.
Bring all those aspects together and you have a masterpiece. I think you’ve done something here quite original.
Max.

Fleshbot - Naked lady pictures are really great and all, but when anyone with a camera and a naked lady can do it, how do you make yours a little more interesting than the norm? Well, Neolestat – who is actually photographer Andy Craddock in web disguise – does it with a variety of beautiful, but not necessarily professional models, an aversion to Photoshop filters, and a playfully kinky vibe that adds some spice to his images while still keeping it simple. Oh, and maybe an occasional octopus on the vagina. Honestly, you can never go wrong with a few extra tentacles.

deviantART – I have to say, some of your photos, and this is one of them, posses a fineness to them that more than meet the requirements of the corporal world. You’re capturing something that few people can, and a few of these gems want to be archival prints hanging before the eyes of people who really, really know what they’re talking about.
deviantART – There are some self opinionated photographers in this world, few though have the ability to back up their words.
I’m glad to say you ain’t one of them
Been a pleasure wandering through your work, and reading your “shizzle”.

deviantART – You are very talented, and I love talent. I am always happy to give praise where praise is due, and my friend, you are due a LOT.

deviantART – Dude? Are you for real? Knock your models? No way. Knock your photographs? Also, no way. These models are everyday people, and your photographs capture their beauty and playfulness. You are fortunate indeed to work with such people. It takes a special eye and attitude to get so much from a subject and bestow it in a moment’s image. Great stuff.

Laura Billing Photography – The photograph of me and MJ where you’ve made my tattoo all bright is the most beautiful pic I’ve seen in a very long time. <33

Rome Romanne – This is PURE CONTRAST! This is POP ART, and has the potential to be iconographic!!!
Simon Barnes – Easily one of the best shots I’ve ever seen. Kudos.
Matthew Harrison – Reminds me of the works of Eric Kroll. This is good… not what I would expect for a high key portrait. Nice irony.
Chuck Burns – Fantastic photo! You are the master of your art… I admire your portfolio and style.

Amy (Stockholm) – Awesome, beautiful and extremely funny. I simply love this picture. It is one of the most incredible pics I’ve seen in… a while!

Victoria via deviantART – I love your gallery. Your photos are beautiful. They say a lot without being overbearing. I guess I’m lost for words after that. Awesome work!

Hello once again dear readers, like I’ve said before it is my aim to get back to more regular posting so here comes the second one for the Jumping month of June. I thought doing this post after a serious spillage incident on the train last week. There I was crammed into my tiny space (otherwise known as a seat) on the 7pm Kings Cross to York train with my nose in a good book (1983 by David Peace for those of you who asked!) Then lo and behold the coffee angel arrived in the aisle with the drinks trolley, now obviously I can’t resist a good coffee so obviously (a repeat word…… obviously) I had to order one, which I did, along with a Kit Kat. At the moment the Coffee Angel was about to place my drink on the pathetic excuse for a fold down table the train rocked (and not in a heavy musical way either) and faster than you can say Caffe Americano with a double shot I was the subject of a minor caffeine downpour. I thought it was rather amusing, my suit needed a dry clean anyway, but coffee angel was worried I was going to complain, but I didn’t and my reward was…….. a free Kit Kat and a fresh cup of coffee. Actually now Ive read that back it sounds dull enough to be condensed to 140 characters and posted on Twitter. But enough of that drivel during the rest of the journey I was moved to come up with a list of coffee related songs for this post. So without further adieu here they are and each one contains a frothy topping and a sprinkle of trivia.

The coffee was better in those days but clearly the coffee angels weren't!

First cup, er sorry first up is “Starfish And Coffee” which is obviously a favourite breakfast menu of ‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, Then Known As Roger Or Symbol And Now Known As Prince Again’ or TAFKAPTKAROSANKAPA for short. Prince’s sister is called Tyka, I wonder if her nickname was Chicken at school? Staying with Prince and a loosely related coffee theme, the diminutive one once wrote a song for Sheena Easton called “Sugar Walls” probably not the type of sugar you’d put in your coffee though. But there’s a prize to the first person to tell me what that song is about without the use of explicit language!

Prince had clearly overdone the froth on his Cappucino

Second dose of caffeine is “Black Coffee In Bed” by Squeeze and written by the Lennon-McCartney of their generation; Difford-Tilbrook. They were joined by the rather talented Paul Carrack who in addition to Squeeze and as a solo artist has also had hits with Ace and Mike & The Mechanics. He has also played on sessions by many other bands including Roxy Music, The Smiths and the Pretenders. In a strange coincidence he also sang vocals and played keyboards on a relatively minor Mike & The Mechanics hit called “Another Cup Of Coffee”

You won't like him when he gets angry and Mr Carrack gets very angry if he has no caffeine

The next one of our Barista favourites is “One More Cup Of Coffee” from the wonderful Mr Zimmerman or Bob Dylan to his friends. The song is taken from Dylan’s ‘Desire’ album and is a duet with Emmylou Harris. The song was covered extremely well by Jack and Meg on the first White Stripes album and is occasionally covered live by Calexico. Also none other than Robert ‘Percy’ Plant off of Led Zep recorded the song for his ‘Dreamland’ album in 2002. The song was written at a corner table in the ‘Other End’ nightclub in Greenwich Village New York. I was kind of hoping it had been written in a coffee bar!

Bob tries to find inspiration over a coffee..... come on Bob, Noel Gallagher sat at the same table and wrote "Roll With It"

The next one of our old beans in this post is the excellent Canadian band the Crash Test Dummies. Their biggest hit in the UK was “Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm” but they also released a song called “Afternoons And Coffee Spoons” Both songs were taken from their excellent album ‘God Shuffled His Feet’ In 1995 they recorded a splendid cover of XTC’s “The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead” for the Jim Carrey movie ‘Dumb And Dumber’

In the early days the band even dressed as Crash test Dummies and it certainly didn't harm their pulling power judging from this picture

The next act to bring us a cuppa is Holly Johnson off of Frankie Goes To Hollywood with his solo single “Americanos” It was Holly’s second solo hit and reached number 4 in the UK charts. It also features on the soundtrack to the 1989 movie ‘Cookie’ which starred Emily Lloyd, Peter Falk and Jerry Lewis. I know that strictly speaking the song is not about coffee, well not even strictly speaking, it’s actually got nothing to do with coffee. But Caffe Americano is undoubtedly my favourite coffee so I had to include it here. I always drink it black (often with an extra shot) with no sugar and many coffee houses (in this case Costa Coffee) give this an acronym of BAM (as in Black Americano). This lead to me gaining the nickname BAM BAM Bill for a while. Maybe not a great nickname but at least it wasn’t Pebbles! Over the years I have also noticed that black coffee seems to be the drink of choice for the majority of Project and Programme Managers. Does anyone agree?

"Relax" said Holly as he ordered coffees for him and his 'flat' mate Ronnie

I like a cup of coffee when I am deeply engrossed in a good book but Blur clearly prefer theirs in front of the telly! Well judging from their song “Coffee And TV” Vocals on the verses were from Graham Coxon and  Damon Albarn sang the chorus. the lyrics were all Graham’s and apparently deal with his attempt to give up alcohol. The video for the song features a milk carton called Milky which was created by ‘Jim Henson’s Creature Shop’ Blur were originally called Seymour, I’m not sure that works as well as Blur though. I have seen them live twice at festivals, once with Graham and once without. I certainly prefer them with Graham in the band. So it’s great news that they are reunited for a few gigs this year and possibly some new recording too.

Now either he's really excited or they're both seriously injured

The final coffee song in this post is one of my favourites, it’s by the minimally named ‘A’ from Leeds and it’s called “Starbucks“. The original members of the band included three brothers; Jason, Giles and Adam Perry. Since the band took a hiatus (is that code for breaking up?) Jason has worked with Matt Willis off of Busted and has also produced for McFly! Jason do us all a favour and get ‘A’ back together and stop working with these pop muppets! But to be fair Charlie off of Busted’s current band Fightstar are quite good! (Did I really just say that?)

With the proceeds of the single the band bought the worlds first Starbucks Jet Pack

So do you have any favourite coffee songs or indeed favourite coffees? Let me know by adding your choices in the comments

No it was just the earth moving for Milky in the Blur video

I will end this post by saying a big thank you to those wonderful people at ‘Dusk’ in York where I did many of my early posts in this blog. Excellent coffee, good food, free wifi (are you reading this Starbucks?) and great company. Check them out and if you know their web address please let me know

Dusk in York

Friday, April 10, 2009.  Today was Good Friday.  Today was also Holly Johnson’s (a.k.a., Holly Faith Walker) memorial service.  What a beautiful tribute to such a beautiful person.  As Holly mentioned in her letter to those who attended her service, the good that people saw in Holly was her Lord.  Oh indeed, she was precious, but the good, the tender, the sweet, the loving, the patient, the kind, was remarkably Jesus.  It was the Lord finding expression in a yielded life.  Holly wasn’t being modest or religiously sanctimonious in this confession. She knew who had changed her life and she gave Him all the glory.  What an amazing testimony!

What if, like Holly, we lived a surrendered life to Jesus?  She wasn’t perfect, but she learned a miraculous truth through all her struggle and hardship…  She learned, by leaps and bounds, what it meant to let Christ live His life through her.  I witnessed it first hand!  No one in her set of circumstances (facing death at 33 and leaving a precious husband behind), and in that much pain, is able to demonstrate what Holly demonstrated without it being a miraculous outpouring of God’s grace and love.  I am one of many who witnessed in Holly the sweet expression of Jesus.

Will you please stop and consider what all this means?  Could it be true?  Jesus Christ living in us, in such a way that He manifests His life through a yielded human life (2 Corinthians 4:7).  His life is the worth and substance of Christianity lived out in this life through all those who call upon His name and receive Him.  Knowing that… How could we possibly want to fiddle around with some variation of spirituality on our own?  How could we be puffed up with our own religious achievement?  Why would we want to strive after some level of spiritual competence apart from the Indwelling Life of Christ?  It’s not about us.  It never was about us.  As a matter of fact, those who crucified Jesus are just representative of what we would have done if we had been there.  So dear one, go and be gut honest with God about your life.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them”  Ephesians 2:4-7

Do you see?  “…so that in the ages to come (right now) He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us IN Christ Jesus.”  In Christ Jesus, through Christ Jesus…  Check it out…it’s all over the place in your Bible.  You’ll find it in the Gospels, in Acts, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians…  It’s all there!  He’s alive.  He’s nearer than near.  And all He wants from us is surrender (to abide in Him), for when we abide, everything else falls into place.  When we abide, we cease from our striving to be holy in our own effort…  And any good that comes from us is truly and profoundly Him.  Then, as it should be, He gets all the glory.  That’s what and Who we witnessed in Holly!  Amazing!  As Holly would say, “He’ll blow your mind away!”  A very good thing.

O Lord, thank You for giving me the privilege of walking alongside Holly…or was it she walking alongside me?  I think so.  I am forever changed by Your beauty in her.  Comfort her family, I pray.  Will You increase their vision during this time? In Jesus name, I pray. All the glory is yours, Lord.  All of it.

Further up and further in.

sh(OUT): Contemporary art and human rights

Orange Deb, 2000, Silkscreen on canvas, Deborah Kass © Deborah Kass, Courtesy of Paul Kasmin Gallery

I am  participating in the exhibition “sh(OUT): Contemporary art and human rights” at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Glasgow, Scotland.

Start Date : Thursday 09 April 2009
End Date : Sunday 01 November 2009

GoMA has a social justice exhibition every other year. This year the topic is lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender life.

The exhibition will both celebrate and raise awareness of LGBTI people, their rights and history.

Artists represented: Patricia Cronin, Nan Goldin, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Sunil Gupta, David Hockney, Holly Johnson, Deborah Kass, Ins A Kromminga, Sadie Lee, Chad McCail, Robert Mapplethorpe, Catherine Opie, Grayson Perry, Pierre et Gilles, Jack Pierson, Lizzie Rowe, Diane Torr, Del LaGrace Volcano.

Here some images of my installation

sh(OUT)

Klicka på bilden så blir den större!

Del två av Mick Jones Pop Investigator publicerades i Pop #2 1993 på samma sida som Marcus Törncrantz skriver om Louis Philippe.

Här tar Mick Jones sig an fallet om vem som är efter Julian Cope.

Holly Johnson, British singer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood)

One of Britain’s best loved guitar pop acts The Lightning Seeds are on the comeback trail with their first new album in a decade due for release.

Formed by acclaimed Liverpool musician and producer Ian Broudie, the band first enjoyed success with the lilting psychedelic anthem ‘Pure’ in 1989. One time Specials singer Terry Hall helped with the song writing as the band produced a number of well received albums, before being dropped due to poor sales.

Broudie played in Liverpool’s fledgling punk scene in the 1970s (he was a member of the band Big in Japan, which also featured Holly Johnson Bill Drummond) but made his name in the industry as a producer. He was also a founder member of John Peel favourites the Original Mirrors in the early ’80s. and

Broudie worked with bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, The Colourfield, The Pale Fountains, Shack, The Icicle Works, Ellery Bop and The Fallhit with the song “Pure”. under the name ‘Kingbird’ before putting together the Lightning Seeds at the end of the 1980s, scoring a debut

The act produced a selection of well-received singles and albums in the 1990s and twice took football anthem “Three Lions” (with comediansFrank Skinner and David Baddiel) to number one, with different lyrics for the Euro ‘96 and France ‘98 tournaments. (For his own part, Broudie is a supporter of Liverpool.)

Broudie subsequently concentrated on production for other bands working with the likes of The Coral, The Subways, The Zutons, French rock band Noir Desir for their first long album Veuillez rendre l’âme (à qui elle appartient), The Rifles and on a handful of I Am Kloot songs, before announcing a solo album under his own name at the end of 2004.

A band discussion led to a new direction, becoming less production based and more like a functioning, touring group. Resigning to Epic Records the Lightning Seeds scored hit after hit in the Britpop era, culminating in the song ‘Three Lions’ – a song that seemed to capture the mood of the English nation in the long hot summer of 1996.

The band last released an album in 1999, before Ian Broudie split the band to become a full time producer. His neat pop touch can be clearly heard in band’s such as The Coral, whose debut album he produced.

“There’s very few producers who I have any respect for whatsoever,” says Ian Broudie. In his view, studio recording and technology have reached a stage where the tail is wagging the dog. “You used to have a band who went into a studio and got a performance, and then you got all these things to try to make the performance easier — but it’s almost gone full circle now, like those things have taken over. When you get a band, often the first thing people do is put it into Pro Tools, and it’s almost like you’re not giving the band a chance to not need that. If you’re the producer, that makes your life much easier, because you can do the things that you do on any band. Therefore, the individuality of all those bands is just taken away a little bit, and you get this culture of things sounding like everything else, which is a lot of what goes on at the minute. That can be a good thing, depending on your aims, because then it gets played on the radio ’cause it sounds like all the other stuff on the radio and it fits in. But I think I’ve always wanted to do stuff that doesn’t fit in.”

Most of Ian Broudie’s recent projects, including his own album and those by the Coral and the Zutons, have been recorded at Liverpool’s Elevator Studios. ( Also home to Dolphin Music! )  “I always used to work in my own places, out of not really liking many other places, but this has become home from home,” explains Broudie. “It’s a place that’s just comfortable to be in. I always find, equipment-wise, you tend to bring the things you want to use with you, so the best thing for me in a studio is somewhere you want to be where you feel bands are going to be comfortable, and has speakers that sound something like they’re going to sound when you go home. They’re the two key things with me.”

With an open-plan control room on a separate floor from the main live area, Elevator Studios has been designed to fit into an existing warehouse space rather than built to order, and part of the reason Broudie likes it is that it’s not a typical recording environment. “I love the fact that really you can’t design studios, because there are too many variables. There’s all these rules about the way you’re supposed to build studios, but then you go in them and they never sound very good. All the ones they design seem to sound different, and they’re always tweaking them and they’re never quite happy with them. I always think you may as well start with a room, and if you’re lucky, you might get one that sounds good. Most control rooms are dead and this is pretty live, with wood floors and brick walls.

It’s probably a bit of a fluke, but I always seem to know where I am in here. Partly, again, it’s just being used to somewhere. A lot of the time, studios are dealing with people coming in who’ve never been there before, so you want somewhere where you can go from studio to studio and it be the same, but it never is. Everyone’s got NS10s, but every set of NS10s sounds different depending on the shape of the desk that they’re sitting on. Really, having the same set of speakers goes some way towards it, but there’s so many variables that even in the same building, where they’ve got two rooms, usually there’s one room that sounds very different to the other, and people like mixing in studio two but not in studio one.”

The Lightning Seeds will release their new album in June.

This is a really touching and important story for me. If I had more money in the bank, I’d give them a lot more. Maybe I should get The Horseman’s Card and charge a huge donation.

Through the years, it has been my honor to support therapeutic riding facilities in three states. My daughter’s first and most beloved therapy pony, Winnie, meant so much to all of us that she uses his stirrup leather as a belt 14 years after his death. I have a chunk of his mane in my special box. An added benefit of this type of program is that elderly horses who might otherwise be put out to pasture get to have really interesting and fulfilling jobs, well into their old age. The impact of therapeutic riding and of the individual horses themselves cannot be underestimated.

Pilot

14-year-old Quarter Horse Pilot has been at Hearts and Horses Therapeutic Riding Center near Loveland, CO for only about six months. He’s become a well-loved therapist for the mentally and physically challenged riders at the non-profit center, begun in 1997. A NARHA Premier Accredited Center, Hearts and Horses serves children and adults in need. They also work with wounded military personnel and war veterans. Their mission is to promote the physical, cognitive, emotional and social well-being of people with special needs through equine-assisted therapy and hippotherapy. Pilot is a star. His large size, unflappable temperament and willing demeanor make him ideal for work with the disabled. Standing somewhere over 16 hands, Pilot is one of the largest horses at the ranch, one of the few able to carry the heavier adult riders.

“I’m confident to put any rider on him. A lot of horses aren’t as finely trained as him,” says Holly Johnson, equine manager of the therapeutic riding center.
“He’s got a very kind personality. You can just look in his eyes and you can tell he’s willing to try and do whatever I ask,” says Cliff Uber, who has cerebral palsy.

Now this star needs help. On Dec. 27, 2008, Pilot suffered a bout of colic and had to be taken to Colorado State University’s veterinary clinic. There the vets discovered that his colon was displaced. To survive, he needed immediate and costly surgery. As a non-profit, Hearts and Horses runs on a narrow financial margin. Though they didn’t have the money on hand, they chose the surgery to save Pilot. “We didn’t want the reason to be money as to why this horse couldn’t survive,” Johnson said.

The surgery was successful and Pilot is recovering back at Hearts and Horses.

Hearts and Horses needs help in paying the $8,000 hospital bill. It’s extraordinarily had to get funding for programs like this. The families of the people served by this kind of non-profit often do not have the resources to help out. For those not in a position to need the services, it doesn’t seem all that urgent. But the money has to come from somewhere.

That’s where horse people with hearts come in. Please. Hearts and Horses are asking the horse community to to help pay back Colorado State University’s veterinary clinic.

“I think he’s going to help many people,” Uber said of the horse. “And I think with having horses like him, many people will benefit from it. I know I have.”
Johnson agreed.

If you would like to help Pilot, please contact HeartsandHorses.org and make a secure donation online or call 970/663-4200. You can also email info@heartsandhorse.org, or write to Hearts and Horses, 163 N. County Rd. 29, P.O. Box 2675, Loveland, CO 80539.

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In looking around my blog I discovered that there are a couple of music articles that I’d written that never made it on to this site. First up is a review of the semi-reformation of Frankie goes to Hollywood in 2004 which was first published in April 2006.

Frankie Say It Again!

I can honestly say that I’ve embraced the popular culture of the ‘noughties’ with all the affection and warmth of that emitted from a 40 watt bulb. This is why a frightening chunk of my record collection – as opposed to those new fangled compact disc thingies – is from an era of big hair, highlights and shoulder pads i.e. the 1980’s.

Back then I never imagined that I’d end up being an old fart but as one who barely recognised a single performer on the recent Band Aid 20 press photo, I just have to face facts and admit it: I’m getting old and my pop idols are beginning to look scarily like my parents. Sigh…

Let’s look back for a moment (the screen goes hazy and we find ourselves back in the lazy days of the summer of ‘84). For those of you that were alive back then (!), you could not move without bumping into the phenomenon that was Frankie goes to Hollywood. Their infamous ‘Frankie say’ T-Shirts featured slogans like: ‘War (Hide yourself) and ‘Arm the unemployed’ while rip off merchants cashed in with alternatives like ‘Who gives a f*** what Frankie says’.

For a fan it was amazing. All those remixes, picture discs, cassette singles, banned videos made 1984 the last true pop happening from a single act. There have been movements like Acid House and Britpop since but no one band has dominated a year in the way they did. The possible exception would be the Spice Girls in ‘96 but we don’t talk about them if we can possible avoid it.

Up until the end of 2003, Frankie goes to Hollywood hadn’t been in the same room since the bands 1987 tour when bassist Mark O’Toole kicked lead singer Holly Johnson ‘up the arse’ backstage at Wembley Arena. Despite everyone appearing to be pals again on that Bands Reunited show on VH1, Holly did not want to perform, especially with just a couple of days rehearsal. ‘We have our reputations to think of’ was his way out of an awkward situation.

According to drummer Peter ‘Ped’ Gill, the singer just didn’t fancy it which though disappointing is perhaps understandable. Maybe he now considers that stage of his life to be over and let’s face it, how many of us would want to be constantly reminded of something we’d done 2 decades before while totally disregarding everything we’d done since. Holly is a talented artist and has exhibited widely to great acclaim. Why should he feel that he has to sing songs that he’s probably heartily sick of by now.

Frankie say: We’re history… or are we?

Murmurings of a reunion at a Prince’s Trust concert celebrating the work of legendary producer Trevor Horn began to surface in the summer of 2004. Now that the band members had had time to get used to the idea that they were still wanted, would they put aside their past differences between themselves AND with Trevor Horn, and join forces once again to blow the pants off the pop world?

Frankie say: Possibly…

Singer Paul Rutherford, Ped Gill and Mark O’Toole plus Mark’s brother Ged, who was in the original line up, agreed to appear but what about guitarist Brian Nash and Holly? On the official FGTH website forum there was furious debate about whether they should appear at all unless it was all five band mates.

The game appeared to be up once Nasher, a FGTH forum member himself, declared that he definitely would not be performing. As he put it: ‘There are no snowballs in hell’. He was having none of it. The public reaction from Holly was equally emphatic – deafening silence – which actually said more about his feelings of a reunion than an international press conference ever could. He did respond to a couple of enquiries from fans to the negative but it was clear there was no going back.

So that was that. Paul, Ped, Mark and Ged couldn’t bill themselves as Frankie goes to Hollywood without Nasher and Holly surely. If Holly appeared the band still had their voice but without it, it just couldn’t work. But no, they carried on regardless and even went to the trouble of trying to recruit a new singer to perform one of the songs on the night.

The audition held in Leicester Square just 10 days before the concert was scarily reminiscent of the X-factor and actually featured some minor celebrities trying to fill Holly’s shoes. They included mullet haired singer Shea Walsh who sang ‘How much is that doggy in the window’ on the last Pop Idol series, Daniel Bryan from Big Brother 5 and eventual winner Ryan Molloy a member of the cast of Jerry Springer – the opera.

Molloy was not just some bloke off the street though. He’s worked with Boy George, Eurythmic Dave Stewart, Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and former Baywatch babe Carmen Electra. In fact, Paul, Mark, Ped and Ged liked Ryan so much they requested that he performed all their set as opposed to having a guest vocalist on the two remaining songs.

For the fans of ‘Frankie goes to Hollywood’, it was clear that the Prince’s Trust concert could be an almighty anti-climax or a triumph and with some trepidation I headed for London on November 11th 2004 to see what the result would be.

On a personal level, this day was to be an experience unlike any other. First of all I met up with some fellow concert goers and FGTH forumites at a fairly non-descript public house near Wembley Park station called ‘the Crock of Gold’. Why here? Well, apart from being very convenient for Wembley Arena it was also the venue for a special low-key gig by Nasher as bonus to the fans who’d supported the band over the years.

What’s particularly interesting is that Nasher also had tickets for the Prince’s Trust event and would be in the surreal situation of watching his former band-mates appearing on stage without him. However, before either of these events took place I was privileged to meet the reformed Frankie at Wembley Arena while the sound check was taking place.

The guys were all friendly and down to earth, happy sign autographs and pose for photos and appeared to get as much of a buzz from the situation as the fans did. It’s obviously been a while since they were the centre of attention so who can blame them.

The most curious thing for me was to find myself with my back to the stage half the time while some of my musical heroes – Trevor Horn, Art of Noise, ABC etc – performed their sound checks. It was easy to be blasé as I’d be seeing them later. After some concerted ushering from nervous security guards we were eventually persuaded to leave.

Back at ‘The Crock of Gold’ we were treated to a superb performance from Nasher and his band. I felt I was witnessing something special that night by being just a few feet from a musical idol but Brian is so laid back he seemed like a mate anyway. The intimacy of the occasion made me feel that this the way that music ought to be played and not in some great aircraft hanger sized building.

Unlike the concerts he played at Wembley in 1987, Nasher had shift his own gear. He looked really contented and it seemed to me that his life now is exactly how it wants it. If he’s happy why would he want to make waves by putting himself in the public eye again? I have a lot of respect for someone who would do that.

Backstage at this venue was the pub toilets which in itself is worthy of a mention because the ‘stage’ was so small that the bassist had to lift the neck of his guitar so that patrons could get by to relieve themselves. I thought that was great.

I was unfamiliar with Nasher’s solo-work but just loved the rendition of ‘Eleanor Rigby’ which was given a special intro using ‘The Power of Love’. Great stuff indeed and I eagerly bought his two CD albums, ‘Ripe’ and ‘Le Grande Fromage’ at the end of the evening.

So, to Wembley…

‘Produced by Trevor Horn’ in aid of the Prince’s Trust is the stuff of dreams for fans of record label Zang Tuum Tumb. In the 80’s, Trevor and his team of musical geniuses, techno wizards and marketing mayhem makers provided the music industry with an almighty reality check back then. ZTT saw before everyone else the true possibilities that music had and milked them for all they were worth.

On the crowded stage tonight were many of those backroom people from those heady days such as Oscar winning Anne Dudley, percussionist Luis Jardim and engineer/producer Steve Lipson but the question on everyone’s lips tonight was ‘When are Frankie playing?’. Would they top the bill in their reformed state?

The line up for event would have many a student of the 80’s salivate. In addition to Frankie, we were going to be entertained by sets from Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, ABC, Art of Noise, Dollar, Grace Jones and prog-rockers Yes who Trevor had given their first US number one with ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’.

Trevor Horn’s band, Buggles, were also reformed to play live the huge hit, ‘Video killed the radio star’ for the very first time. If that wasn’t enough, we were treated to the contemporary sounds of Belle & Sebastian, Lisa Stansfield, TaTu and the awesome Seal whose performance tonight was absolutely stunning.

The clock ticked on and at 10:30 the Frankies still hadn’t hit the stage but suddenly there they were. The opening rain forest sound effects of ‘Welcome to the Pleasuredome’ sounded and we were suddenly back 20 years. The music crashed in like an atom bomb and suddenly everyone was on their feet again.

My thoughts were with Ryan Molloy at this point – the weight of expectation on his shoulders must’ve been enormous and as if to ease him gently, Paul Rutherford sang the opening couple of lines for him. We needn’t have worried because Ryan gave a terrific performance and looked ever inch the rock star in his black eye make-up and spangly top that bared his chest. It wasn’t Holly but I could live with it because this was a moment I thought I’d never see again.

Next up was ‘Two Tribes’. Paul was having the time of his life and was bopping away as if his life depended on it and what else could we end the show on than with ‘Relax’. With the esteemed guests of Prince Charles himself and his soon to be wife, Camilla, partying away, this was truly a night to remember.

I owe Trevor Horn a lot for bringing me the music of my childhood and for another chance to wallow in nostalgia. I’d also have to thank those good people at VH-1 who, despite not quite pulling off a full reform, helped bring together. If they hadn’t made the ‘Bands Reunited’ show, I seriously doubt that we’d have had this one last hooray.

Frankie say: ‘Are you sure?’

Since Wembley, Frankie goes to Hollywood have remained together of sorts and have performed a number of other gigs around Europe. Unfortunately a UK tour in the autumn 2005 was cancelled but it is being rescheduled to coincide with a new album which we believe is being written as we speak.

It could be argued that they are playing a dangerous game and risk tainting a glorious back catalogue but I don’t buy that. Many of those songs pre-date any of Trevor’s involvement thus proving their creative abilities. What’s important now is that they are coming back together fresh with new ideas and I can’t wait to hear the results.

We’ll never get another summer like ‘84 but how could we? No-one else has managed it since then and Frankie, who cares?

the 100 Greatest, Gayest Albums of All Time es el título de la lista que la revista Out ha sacado a la luz. La lista consta de los 100 mejores álbums gays de toda la historia. Artistas Homosexuales en su gran mayoría forman la lista, que si mas no, es curiosa. Para los chicos de Stereogum no tiene mucho sentido y la verdad es que yo tampoco entiendo mucho su orden.

La revista Out ha tenido la ayuda de artistas, escritores, famosos, de la comunidad gay como Boy George, Rufus Wainwright, Cyndi Lauper, the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray, Candis Cayne, Perez Hilton, Nate Berkus, Jake Shears, John Cameron Mitchell, Wilson Cruz, Justin Bond, Darren Hayes, Junior Vasquez, Bruce Vilanch, Janis Ian, the Cliks, Ari Gold, Holly Johnson y más para confeccionar la lista que os dejo a continuación.

100 The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
99 Joni Mitchell – For The Roses
98 Ferron – Testimony
97 Janis Ian – Between The Lines
96 Nick Drake – Bryter Layter
95 Culture Club – Kissing To Be Clever
94 Hair Original Broadway Cast – Hair
93 Sade – Lovers Rock
92 Morrissey – Viva Hate
91 Grace Jones – Nightclubbing
90 Kate Bush – The Kick Inside
89 Fifth Column – To Sir With Hate
88 Hüsker Dü – Zen Arcade
87 Madonna – Confessions On A Dance Floor
86 Madonna – Madonna
85 Nina Simone – Anthology
84 Cyndi Lauper – True Colors
83 Bette Midler – The Divine Miss M
82 Cher – Believe
81 Scissor Sisters – Ta-Dah
80 Rufus Wainwright – Want One
79 T. Rex – Electric Warrior
78 Various – The Rocky Horror Picture Show Soundtrack
77 New Order – Substance
76 Ani DiFranco – Imperfectly
75 Carole King – Tapestry
74 Michael Jackson – Off the Wall
73 Various – Fame Soundtrack
72 Donna Summer – Once Upon a Time
71 Elton John – Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy
70 Rent Original Broadway Cast – Rent
69 Frances Faye – Caught In The Act
68 Nirvana – Nevermind
67 Hüsker Dü – Candy Apple Grey
66 Soft Cell – Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
65 Le Tigre – Le Tigre
64 Patti Smith – Easter
63 Björk – Debut
62 Jeff Buckley – Grace
61 Sleater-Kinney – Dig Me Out
60 R.E.M. – Automatic For The People
59 Bronski Beat – The Age of Consent
58 Liz Phair – Exile in Guyville
57 Prince – Dirty Mind
56 Team Dresch – Personal Best
55 David Bowie – Diamond Dogs
54 Tori Amos – Little Earthquakes
53 Culture Club – Colour By Numbers
52 Kate Bush – Hounds of Love
51 Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome to the Pleasuredome
50 Rufus Wainwright – Poses
49 Patti Smith – Horses
48 Cris Williamson – The Changer and the Changed
47 The Magnetic Fields – 69 Love Songs
46 Madonna – Ray of Light
45 Bikini Kill – Pussy Whipped
44 Pet Shop Boys – Very
43 Prince – Purple Rain
42 ABBA – Gold
41 Melissa Etheridge – Yes I Am
40 Pet Shop Boys – Behavior
39 Laura Nyro And Labelle – Gonna Take A Miracle
38 Dusty Springfield – Dusty In Memphis
37 Blondie – Parallel Lines
36 Madonna – Erotica
35 Yaz – Upstairs At Eric’s
34 Donna Summer – Bad Girls
33 The Smiths – Hatful Of Hollow
32 The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
31 Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstacy
30 Diana Ross – Diana
29 Pet Shop Boys – Actually
28 Queen – The Game
27 Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
26 Scissor Sisters – Scissor Sisters
25 k.d. lang – Ingénue
24 Sylvester – Living Proof
23 Deee-Lite – World Clique
22 The Gossip – Standing In The Way Of Control
21 David Bowie – Hunky Dory
20 Queen – A Day at the Races
19 The B-52s – The B-52’s
18 George Michael – Listen Without Prejudice, Vol. I
17 Lou Reed – Transformer
16 Queen – A Night at the Opera
15 George Michael – Faith
14 Erasure – The Innocents
13 Ani DiFranco – Dilate
12 The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico
11 Various – Hedwig And The Angry Inch Soundtrack
10 Antony And The Johnsons – I Am A Bird Now
09 Cyndi Lauper – She’s So Unusual
08 Madonna – The Immaculate Collection
07 Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
06 The Smiths – The Queen is Dead
05 Judy Garland – Judy at Carnegie Hall
04 Indigo Girls – Indigo Girls
03 Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
02 The Smiths – The Smiths
01 David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

I’ve been cocking an ear to this BBC radio documentary about Eric’s Club and the Liverpool Music scene in the late 70’s and Early 80’s. It’s one of those oft-overlooked scenes, responsible for introducing the world to the likes of Teardrop Explodes, Echo & The Bunnymen, OMD, Pete Wylie and his various Wah! incarnations, Holly Johnson, Ian Broudie, Pete Burns, Bill Drummond amongst others. Apparently, there was a recent TV documentary about Eric’s Club on BBC Four (I think) which I unfortunately missed – though there was a Rock Family Tree episode about it in the late nineties. Also, Julian Cope’s ‘Head On’ book goes into great detail about that period which seemed to mainly consist of a load of gobby fuckers, pretty much all of whom hate Julian Cope. His book is a wonderful read, by the way, which along with the sequel ‘Repossessed’ are a fascinating insight into something – probably just the mad world of Julian Cope’s head rather than any musical insight-type shit. And if you ever geta chance to read Bill Drummond of The KLF’s book, 45, it’s another damn good read and he also tells some amusing stories about those times.

The Teardrops and The Bunnymen are my favourites of all those Liverpudlian groups (though OMD’s ‘Dazzle Ships’ is a terriffic record). Click here to listen to the BBC radio documentary and I’ve included three videos below – one of The Teardrop Explodes doing ‘Ha, Ha I’m Drowning’, a Tube-version of ‘The Bunnymen doing The Killing Moon’ featuring Ian McCullough with an extremely dodgy haircut and one of OMD reminiscing about Eric’s.

 As American Presidential Election heats up, one cannot wonder how much of money, time and effort needed to campaign. This is the article which i’ve read from the Bloomberg News.

Here’s a song by Holly Johnson (from the fame group Frankie Goes To Hollyword) in which it said the Americans in their country, the land of the free (democratic) where dreams can come true, if you work and try it is possible to achieve…… listen to the song… Wonder Malaysia Boleh ke? The starting of the song started like below: (video & Lyrics included)

“there’s a place where a kid without a cent, he can grow up to be President”

Hey-hey-hey-hey-yeah
Hey-hey-hey-hey-yeah oh
There’s a place where a kid without a cent
He can grow up to be president
A magic kingdom filled with Barbie-Dolls
If you’ve got the time we can make it a good time
Ooh-ooh-ah-yeah yeah-ea-ea-eah

Americanos Blue Jeans and Chinos
Coke Pepsi and Oreos
Americano-ooh-ohs movies and heroes
In the land of the free
You can be what you wanna be
Ah yeah yea-ea-ea-eah
They know how to advertise
Sell you anything at every price
Need it or not that’s what you got yeah
Take no bull from anyone
We just wanna have some fun
We got the queen of Soul
Created rock’n'roll yeah
(queen of soul oh-oh oh-oh)
Ah yeah yea-ea-ea-eah (oh yeah yeah)

Americanos Blue Jeans and Chinos
Coke Pepsi and Oreos
Americano-ooh-ohs
Low riding chicanos
In the land of the free
You can be what you wanna be
(Be what you want yeah)
(Totally spectacular)
(An educated consumer is our best concern)

Yeah-ea-ea-ea-ea-ea-ea-ea-ea-eah
Take it to the bridge one time yeah
Satellite stations across the nation
That’s cable TV for you and me
uh-huh-uh
I’m cleaning kitchens washing pots and pans
Everything’s organised
From crime to leisure time
High schools and swimming pools
King sharks’n'fools ooh-ooh
Uh-huh-uh-huh

As we climbed into the hoisted-up car at the brightly colored Donnie Mac’s, it was the closest thing I’d felt to an acid experience since my drug experimentation days. It may have had something to do with Holly’s transformation from the 80’s disguise she’d been wearing the night before. In the morning, with the teased-up black-haired wig removed, her plastic dangling earrings remained as evidence of her previous identity. Holly shifts her appearance between decades from one day to the next for self-entertainment, and Donnie Mac’s shifts its identity between middle class eatery and low-income cuisine for the entertainment of its patrons.

According to Donnie Mac’s website, this is what Trailer Park Cuisine means: “It is really what America is all about… Motorcycles, palm trees, cowboys, pickup trucks, bright colors, blue jeans, chrome, rust, barbwire, freedom, nostalgia, recycling; all wrapped up to present the finest comfort food your lips have been tasting since childhood… only better!!”

When I hear Trailer Park Cuisine I don’t think of good times not like hearing the word Jamica. Say—Jamaica—to a young or old-blooded American, and the first thing they think—sun, beaches, and resort. Try the word Mexico and you’ll probably get the same answers. When I went to Cabo San Lucas, I paid middle class prices for an American-style bean burrito in the 3rd world. I think Donnie Mac’s is onto something with the trailer park theme. The food is reasonably middle class priced. The omelet had fresh, not canned, mushrooms and was lacking that American processed cheese flavor. The omelet was defiantly a step above the average trailer park styled omelet such as you might find at Tom’s Cabin Cafe. Furthermore, Donnie Mac’s is neither located next to a trailer park nor within walking distance of a Money Tree, Dollar Store, or Smoke Shop.

Donnie Mac’s should use a Club Med model for good business. With some stepped-up marketing by the people at Donnie Mac’s, when people hear trailer park, instead of thinking low income, meth, and pit bulls—their first thoughts could be hot waitresses with all their teeth, pepper jack cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and Harley Davidson motorcycle parking. No one imagines a Mexico vacation with the realities of Juarez women murdered along the US border, unrest in Chiapas, and a corrupt political system. I believe Donnie Mac’s can rake in even more money by moving their location to the American version of the 3rd world. With a little marketing, soon people will say, “Hey, after church let’s eat at the trailer park.”

I can’t wait to say on Sunday morning, “Hey Amy, let’s call Holly and visit the trailer park. I’m hungry for a middle class omelet at a middle class price. Ooh, I haven’t lived this middle class since I went to Cabo Wabo (Van Halen’s Club) in Cabo San Lucus, Mexico. I love 3rd world middle class livin’.”

More food for thought: Middle class livin’ in the classless wilderness. I hear the best way to experience the great outdoors is in an RV.

Donnie Mac’s
1515 W. Grove St.
Bosie, ID 83702
(208) 384-9008