matouenpeluche

Four things I've learnt so far this weekend...

1. Pantone have decided emerald green is 2013 personified. Yes, Pantone have an "it" colour for 2013 and it's green number 17-5641.

Image from here.

2. When author Gabriel García Márquez was writing One Hundred Years of Solitude he listened to The Beatles for inspiration. In fact he says he played some of their records so much he wore them out.

Image from here.

3. Mad Men season six is really wonderful. I watched the first two eps. and they were super fine!

Image from here.

4. Steven Soderbergh’s Liberace bio pic Behind The Candelabra: The Secret Life of Liberace looks like it could be a lot of fun. See the just released trailer here. 

Images from here.

Alison Goldfrapp

I occasionally listen to Alison Goldfrapp's 2005 album Supernature. It's sort of glam era revival meets noughties electronic dance music. This song reminds me of something Marc Bolan would most definitely like to tap his toe to. She has a nice soprano voice and the production which she does herself with her partner Will Gregory is pretty lush. Apparently, when Kylie Minogue heard this song, Lovely 2 C U, she ran to her producer and demanded he make her sound just like Alison Goldfrapp! I have my upper limits for this sound, but it's nice to listen to from time to time. Anyway, I googled her and discovered people are mad about her. I can see why, she's quite a beauty.

Images from here and here.

Oz Day.

Happy Australia Day world! I am a little late as Australia Day is almost over, but my excuse is that I have been busy. Busy as in escorting enormous huntsmen spiders out the front door, eating fantastic sugary watermelon, climbing the biggest hill in Sydney (Bellevue Hill), doodling siamese pussy cats (see blog post later this week or possibly tomorrow depending on how I feel), watching cracking British retro drama and generally enjoying myself.

However, in celebration of Oz Day I have compiled a list of 10 of my favourite Australian Rock and pop songs for your listening pleasure:

1. Tantalized - The Church (Hey Day)

2. Amnesia - The Vines (Winning Days)

3. It's a Long Way to the Top if You Wanna Rock'n Roll - AC/DC (High Voltage)

4. Stay Young - Inxs (Underneath the Colours)

5. Streets of Your Town - The Go Betweens (16 Lovers Lane)

6. According to my Heart - The Reels (Five Great Gift Ideas From The Reels)

7. I want you Back - The Hoodoo Gurus (Stoneage Romeos)

8. I Hope I Never - Split Enz (True Colours)

9. Can't Say No - Beasts of Burden (Low Road)

10. Red Right Hand - Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds (Let Love In)  

P.S. If you can't manage to watch or listen to all of these beauties at least watch the clip for Acca Dacca's It's a Long way to the Top - it's a pearler!!!

 

Martin Sharp Oz Magazine cover from here.

David Stone - Martin

I think I've often admired the work of American artist David Stone-Martin, but I haven't known his name or the full extent of his influence on postwar graphic design and illustration. He is most closely associated with the illustrations he did for jazz records. As he illustrated over 400 album covers, I think that if you have any jazz records lying about you will find that the cover is more than likely to be by David Stone-Martin. Although he is most well known for his album covers, he also designed and illustrated posters, books, advertisements for film, television and the theatre and magazine covers.  There is a very nice bio of him here.

He reminds me quite a bit of one of my favourite illustrators/ cartoonists Ronald Searle and perhaps that's because they both came up in the postwar era.

I love the colours he uses! How nice it would be to have these as enormous posters in your house! 

All images from here, here, here and here.

Bits and pieces

This post is dedicated to nothing in particular - just things I have found on my travels.

This site ---> The Infinite Jukebox. As the site says: For when your favourite song isn't long enough. Now I can listen to my favourite Beatles song for like forever man! Yeah! Tragic stuff I know.

This site ---> Emergency Compliment. Hmmm... I'm strangely attracted and comforted by it. Click "I still feel crappy" at the bottom if you want to see the complete range of compliments. Here's a couple to start you off:

I scanned this ad from my mother's stash of old Life Magazines. It's from the 1960s. When I saw it I thought to myself - boy do we live in another universe today or what? What do you think it's an advertisement for? Here's a multiple choice for you:

a) cigars

b) a dating service

c) ghastly hors d'oeuvres

d) an airline

Yes, that's right. It's an advertisement for KLM Airlines - it's obvious once you know, isn't it?  

Rodney Graham is from Vancouver, Canada. He is described as an artist/ musician/ humourist...hmmm am going to explore that further. I'm intrigued.

Speaking of Canada, I found this strange Pierre Trudeau paper dress on Etsy. Trudeau was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. Apparently it was made for attendees to the Liberal convention in 1968. Bizarre.

And while we've on the subject of Canada (*ahem*), I saw the most brilliant crime/ thriller/ biographical film the other day about French gangster Jacques Mesrine. It is in two parts: Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1. Jacques Mesrine was a totally unhinged, violent French criminal who rampaged about France and then Canada in the '50s,'60s and '70s. He had a penchant for disguises and was known as "The Man of a Hundred Faces". He was also incredibly charismatic and always had a glamorous gal on his arm. Anyway, it is very well done and stars my favourite *cough cough* French actor Vincent Cassel. Here's the trailer.

How mean does Cassel look in that last poster! As they say in France: zut alors!

Images from here.

Well, that's my post. I trust everyone is having a grand weekend!

Pussy cats x 7

Non-cat people look away now.

Steinberg - cat stools

Cat + pineapple

Dreamcats Calendar

John Lennon and his cat

Russian folk art

Vivian Leigh and her cat

Lillian plays with an abstract thought

O.K. that's enough. I feel better now that I've got that out of my system...

Candid Music Photos X 2

These photos of The Rolling Stones were found at a flea market recently. I think that discovery would have felt like you'd just won the lottery. They are now being exhibited at a gallery in Los Angeles called The Dilettante. 

...and this is The Beatles during their 10 minute photo shoot (only 10 minutes!) for the cover of Abbey Road. 

Photos of The Rolling Stones from The Stool Pigeon and photos of The Beatles from Norweigan Wood.

BB

Brigitte Bardot is without a doubt one of my favourite French actresses from the 60s. My top three favourite movies with her in them are: 1) Contempt (Le Mépris) 2) And God Created Woman (Et Dieu… créa la femme) 3) Masculin Féminin (She only had a teeny wee cameo appearance as herself in this Godard film. It's a top movie, though, and well worth a look!). 

Things you may or may not know about Brigitte Bardot:

a) Like Jane Fonda, she was married to film director Roger Vadim.

b) She recorded almost 60 songs from 1962 - 1982. Quite a few of those songs were written for her by that specialist in attractive women Serge Gainsbourg. The most famous song they recorded together was Bonnie and Clyde.

c) In 1983 she made a movie about her life which was in three parts.

d) She is mentioned in many songs including Warlocks by Red Hot Chilli Peppers and It's Not Enough by The Who.

e) She retired from acting just before her 40th birthday.

f) She is a vegetarian and animal rights activist.

g) She once said of herself: "I am really a cat transformed into a woman... I purr. I scratch. And sometimes I bite". 

Images from here, here and here.

Moog Monday

The Moog synthesizer (Moog rhymes with vogue), as you may or may not know, is the "It" synthesizer when it comes to synthesizers. Incredibly versatile, they can either sound kitsch or pulverising.

The Beatles recording Abbey Road. Paul meets a Moog. 

Designed by Dr. Robert Moog, the Moog Synthesizer can refer to a number of analogue synthesizers first manufactured by Moog Music in the early 1950s. However, it was not until The Monterey International Pop Festival in 1967, where it was demonstrated, that it started to become more commercially successful. After Monterey, acts such as The Byrds and Simon and Garfunkel started to incorporate the Moog into their work. The Beatles used the Moog Synthesizer extensively on their Abbey Road album. Shortly after recording Abbey Road, George Harrison even produced an entire album using the Moog called Electronic Sound.

For your listening pleasure, I have compiled a list of ten songs that featured the iconic Moog Synthesizer:

1. Strange Days - The Doors, Strange Days (1967)

2. Maxwell's Silver Hammer, Because, Here Comes the Sun and I Want You (She's so Heavy) - The Beatles, Abbey Road (1969)

3. Wish you Were Here - Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

4. I Feel Love - Donna Summer, I Remember Yesterday (1977)

5. Whip It - Devo, Freedom of Choice (1980)

6. Rio - Duran Duran, Rio (1982)

7. Blue Monday - New Order, Power, Corruption and Lies (1983)

The Guardian has a great potted history of The Moog. Also here is a pretty definitive list of albums and songs that feature the Moog.

Images from here and here.

Archival Life

Life Magazine has a super collection of photo essays from their back issues. After trawling through most of them, I have decided these are my four faves.

Life on set of 2001: a Space Odyssey.

Magnificent Seven: America's Mercury Astronauts.

Rock Stars with Their Parents.

Steve McQueen: Rare Photos of the King of Cool.

All images from here.