#marlene dietrich of disco

[bitter69uk]

Possibly born on this day 85 years ago (18 November 1939): fashion model turned Salvador Dali muse turned Roxy Music album cover girl (For Your Pleasure (1973)) turned Dietrich-voiced disco chanteuse turned TV presenter turned Playboy centrefold turned perennial gay icon and byword for Continental hedonism and glamour - Amanda Lear! Or was she? Some sources list her birth date as 18 June. (See also: Charo, who has multiple potential birthdays). And Lear’s birth year has variously been reported as 1941, 1946 and 1950. (Unsurprisingly, Lear herself prefers the latter). Look, Lear is an international woman of mystery whose precise origins, real name and even gender at birth are shrouded in secrecy (she’s widely assumed to be transgender). Would we want her any other way? I’ve seen Lear perform just once when she did a personal appearance at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton in the early nineties. I remember her throatily warbling a hi-NRG disco interpretation of the standard “Lili Marlene” in her foghorn voice, flanked by baby-oiled bodybuilders in posing pouches. Probably the campiest thing I’d seen up until I saw Ann-Margret’s nightclub revue at The Stardust Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. Anyway, Lear (who’s romantic partners have numbered Brian Jones, David Bowie, and Bryan Ferry) was reportedly the inspiration for the character of Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous and her sleek 1978 disco single “Follow Me” soundtracked the recent Chanel Coco Mademoiselle perfume campaign. (The song still slaps hard). Pictured: portrait of Lear by Pierre et Gilles, 1979.

[thomazturbado]

Born on this day 84 years ago (November 18, 1939): model turned muse of Salvador Dali, turned cover girl for the album Roxy Music (For Your Pleasure (1973)) turned nightclub singer with the voice of Dietrich, turned host of TV, turned Playboy playmate, turned perennial gay icon and synonym for continental hedonism and glamor - Amanda Lear! Or was she? Some sources list her birth date as June 18. And Lear's birth year has been reported as 1941, 1946, and 1950. (Unsurprisingly, Lear herself prefers the latter). You see, Lear is a mysterious international woman whose precise origins, real name, and even sex at birth are shrouded in secrecy (she is widely seen as being transgender). Lear performed in a personal appearance at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton in the early nineties. She throatily sang a hi-NRG disco rendition of the standard “Lili Marlene” in her foghorn voice, flanked by baby-oiled bodybuilders in pose bags. Probably the most exaggerated thing ever seen, until Ann-Margret's nightly revue at The Stardust Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. Anyway, Lear (whose romantic partners include Brian Jones, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry), Lear was also allegedly the inspiration for the character Patsy Stone on the TV show Absolutely Fabulous, her elegant 1978 disco single “Follow Me” is the soundtrack to Chanel’s current perfume campaign. (The music still hits hard). In the photo: portrait of Lear from 1976, made by Robert Mapplethorpe.

[shakespearerants]

Song Tag

Rules: Pick a song for each letter of your URL, then tag as many people as there are letters in your URL.

Summerwunne - Estampie

Heaven - Bryan Adams

Abertausen Fragen - ASP

King of Bones - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Ein Kompliment - Sportfreunde Stiller

She kissed me first - SERA

Pocahontas - AnnenMayKantereit

Easy Love - SF9

Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band

Retaliation - The Rumor Said Fire

Every Time We Touch - Electric Callboy

Rhinestone Cowboy - Glenn Campbell

Aicha - Bayta Ag Bay

Nachts Weinen die Soldaten - Saltatio Mortis

Too Much Love Will Kill You - Queen

Superspreader und die Kosmonauten - Blond

Wow this was...harder than expected. Thank you so much for the tag @frubeto ! Tagging @birdylion @evolutionsbedingt @freizusein @perchingowl @bi-vexual @clueless-dullahan @queenofpickles @neverland-in-space @shadowvalkyrie @lachricola @schuerk @mona-liar @dancingbycandlelight @twostepsfromtemerant @almostmymoon @bookshelfdreams - have fun!

If you would like to know what I almost put - outtakes under the cut

Sag mir wo die Blumen sind - Marlene Dietrich/Salute to a switchblade - tom t hall/Schüsse in die Luft - Kraftklub/Sea or Heartbreak - Don Gibson/Sedona - Houndmouth/Seemann - Apocalyptica, Nina Hagen/Sesame Syrup - Cigarettes after sex/Severed- the decembrists/shady Grove - doc Watson/shame- Peakboy, george/she kissed me first - SERA/Sinnerman - Nina Simone/Sleeping Single in a double bed - Barbara Mandrell/Somebody to love - Queen/Song for someone - U2/SOs - Abba/Sternenhimmel - Hubert Kah/Summerwunne - Estampie/Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2/Superspreader und die Kosmonauten - Blond/Surrender the Night - My Chemical Romance

Habibi - Tamino/ Hallelujah California - Luna Shadows/Halloween - Aqua/Headfirst Slide into Cooperstown on a Bad Bet - Fall Out Boy/Heartaches by the numbers - Guy Mitchell/Heaven - Bryan Adams/Heute Hier morgen dort - Hannes Wader/Heyr Himna smidur - Schola Cantorum/Hopeless Romantic - Michelle Branch

Kaputt wie ich - Tarek K.I.Z./Katherine, Katherine - Steinwolke/Killing me softly - Roberta Flack/King of Bones - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club/Küssen kann man nicht alleine - Mad Raabe

Ein Kompliment - Sportfreunde Stiller/Easy Love - SF9/ Easy Lover - Phil Collins, Philip Bailey/Eighties Goth Suicide Note - This Cold Night/ Every Breaking Wave - U2/ Every time we touch - Electric Callboy

Please don't let me love you - Hank Williams/Paper cut - Linkin Park/Pet Sematary - The Ramones

Rain - Project Pitchfork/Randy Dandy Oh - Sean Dagher/Rat A Tat Tat - Fall Out Boy/Rasputin - Boney M./Relax Take it Easy - MIKA/Rock Your Like A Hurricane - Scorpions/Rose Tattoo - Dropkick Murphys

Nåden - Garmana/Nicotine - Panic! At the Disco/Nobody Knows You When You're Down - Nina Simone

Take me on the floor - The Veronicas

[pridepages]

eARC Review: Glitter and Concrete

A HUGE thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:  

From the lush feather boas that adorned early female impersonators to the sequined lip syncs of barroom queens to the drag kings that have us laughing in stitches, drag has played a vital role in the creative life of New York City. But the evolution of drag in the city—as an art form, a community and a mode of liberation—has never before been fully chronicled.

Now, for the first time, journalist and drag historian Elyssa Maxx Goodman unearths the dramatic, provocative untold story of drag in New York City in all its glistening glory. Goodman ducks beneath the velvet ropes of Harlem Renaissance balls, examines drag’s crucial role in the Stonewall Uprising, traces drag's influence on disco and punk rock as well as its unifying power during the AIDS crisis and 9/11, and culminates in the era of RuPaul’sDrag Race.

Informed by meticulous research and archival work, as well as original interviews with high-profile performers, Glitter and Concrete is a significant contribution to queer history and an essential read for anyone curious about the story that echoes beneath the heels.

RELEASE DATE: 9/13/23

See my full review under the cut!

With trans, gender-nonconforming, nonbinary, and drag artists now under fire in the United States, it's never been more important to give voice to history.

Queer gender rebels are not a new phenomenon, no matter what the uneducated would have you believe. But they've been silenced for far too long.

Enter Elyssa Maxx Goodman, who delivers this dense but comprehensive primer on the history of drag in New York City from the 1920s-2023.

For any fan of Drag Race who has wondered: where did this culture come from? Here are the answers. See how known icons like Marlene Dietrich, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj connected to drag and gender non-comformity. Learn the stories behind Paris is Burning (you may be shocked to learn that not all the skeletons in the closet were rhetorical). But most importantly, come to understand how tides of time and culture shaped this community. See how public policies under a veneer of good intentions were used to challenge outsiders time and time again. Understand how much we as the LBGTQIA+ community owe our ancestors. And learn how we can honor their legacies by sharing their stories and continuing their work.

While far from light reading, Glitter and Concrete is worth the read. Be sure to pick it up when it hits shelves on 9/13/23.

[rickowenssaid]

I GET UP. I SHOWER. THERE IS A BIG TV IN FRONT OF THE BED AND I USUALLY PUT ON A BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE OR AN OLD EPISODE OF POIROT WITH THE SOUND OFF AND I PLAY SOME MARLENE DIETRICH OR OLD LIZA MINNELLI, OR SOME KIND OF JAZZ STUFF OR JULIE LONDON OR ROSEMARY CLOONEY. SOMETIMES IT'S ALL DISCO OR SOMETIMES IT'S ALL HEAVY TECHNO. THEN I JUST HAVE COFFEE AND GO TO THE FACTORY AND I COME BACK AROUND 2PM, AFTER LUNCH, AND I TAKE A NAP ON THE BIG TRAVERTINE BED AND THEN I GET UP AND GO BACK TO THE OFFICE. I WORK UNTIL AROUND 8.30, THEN I COME BACK, I DO HALF AN HOUR OR AN HOUR OF GYM, THEN DINNER IS DELIVERED, AND I EAT IN FRONT OF THE TV AND THEN I GO TO BED. IT'S ALL VERY CIVILISED, AUSTERE AND MONASTIC.

[youforgotitinpeople]

Playlist [From My Collection]:

50 of the Best Songs I Discovered this 2021

(In no particular order)

In The Stone by The Goon Sax

The First Day by Villagers

Shellstar by Deafheaven

Great Mass Of Color by Deafheaven

Shine A Light by Wolf Parade

Cause = Time by Broken Social Scene

Lover’s Spit by Broken Social Scene

Marilyn by Mount Kimbie, Micachu

Beautiful Blue Sky by Ought

Red Room by Hiatus Kaiyote

Our Way To Fall by Yo La Tengo

Love Proceedinf by BADBADNOTGOOD

All I Wanna Do by Splashh

Polar Bear or Africa by Jeff Rosenstock

Celestial Blues by King Woman

King of Misdirection by Ghost Funk Orchestra

Krusty by Papa M

“Quotations” by Water From Your Arms

To Sheila by The Smashing Pumpkins

Lazy Eye by Silversun Pickups

Poor Places by Wilco

I Am Trying To Break Your Heart by Wilco

Be The Love You Want by Southern Avenue

Westgate by Amyl and the Sniffers

Androgynous by The Replacements

Go by Daniel Johnston

L’homme qui vient by Feu! Chatterton

Prester John by Animal Collective

Get Better by alt-J

In The Sink by Plumtree

Before You Gotta Go by Courtney Barnett

Sanctuary by Welshly Arms

Hatupatu by Alien Weaponry

Starlings of the Slipstream by Pavement

Disco by Geese

ナイトクルージング by fishmans (Live ver.)

Holy Shit by Father John Misty

The Ideal Husband by Father John Misty

I Love You, Honeybear by Father John Misty

Nothing Ever Happened by Deerhunter

I Love How You Love Me (Jeff Mangum Cover)

Back To Oz by Sufjan Stevens

The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! by Sufjan Stevens

Sunglasses by Black Country, New Road

Catamaran by Allah-Las

The Beachland Ballroom by IDLES

MTT 420 RR by IDLES

Marlene Dietrich by black midi

Ascending Forth by black midi

Orange Peeler by Horse Jumper of Love

[bitter69uk]

Born on this day 84 years ago (18 November 1939): fashion model turned Salvador Dali muse turned Roxy Music album cover girl (For Your Pleasure (1973)) turned Dietrich-voiced disco chanteuse turned TV presenter turned Playboy playmate turned perennial gay icon and byword for Continental hedonism and glamour - Amanda Lear! Or was she? Some sources list her birth date as 18 June. And Lear’s birth year has variously been reported as 1941, 1946 and 1950. (Unsurprisingly, Lear herself prefers the latter). Look, Lear is an international woman of mystery whose precise origins, real name and even gender at birth are shrouded in secrecy (she’s widely perceived as being transgender). I’ve seen Lear perform just once when she did a personal appearance at The Fridge nightclub in Brixton in the early nineties. I remember her throatily warbling a hi-NRG disco interpretation of the standard “Lili Marlene” in her foghorn voice, flanked by baby-oiled bodybuilders in posing pouches. Probably the campiest thing I’d seen up until I saw Ann-Margret’s nightclub revue at The Stardust Casino in Las Vegas in 2005. Anyway, Lear (who’s romantic partners have numbered Brian Jones, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry) was reportedly the inspiration for the character of Patsy Stone on Absolutely Fabulous and her sleek 1978 disco single “Follow Me” soundtracks the current Chanel perfume campaign. (The song still slaps hard).

Robert Mapplethorpe

Amanda Lear 

1976

[sinceileftyoublog]

Pitchfork Music Festival 2021 Preview: 15 Can’t-miss Acts

black midi; Photo by YIS KID

BY JORDAN MAINZER

While yours truly won’t be attending Pitchfork Music Festival this year, SILY contributor Daniel Palella will be covering the actual fest. If I was attending, though, these would be the acts I’d make sure to see. 5 from each day, no overlaps, so you could conceivably see everyone listed.

FRIDAY

Armand Hammer, 1:00 PM, Green Stage

Earlier this year, New York hip hop duo Armand Hammer released their 5th album Haram (BackwoodzStudioz) in collaboration with on-fire producer The Alchemist. It was the duo’s (ELUCID and Billy Woods) first time working with a singular producer on a record (though Earl Sweatshirt produced a track), and likewise, The Alchemist actually tailored his beats towards the two MCs. Haram is the exact kind of hip hop that succeeds early in the day at a festival, verbose and complex rhymes over languid, cloudy, sample-heavy beats, when attendees are more likely to want to sit and listen than dance. And you’re going to want to listen to Armand Hammer, whose MCs’ experiential words frame the eerie hues of the production. “Dreams is dangerous, linger like angel dust,” Woods raps on opener “Sir Benni Miles”, never looking back as he and Elucid’s stream-of-consciousness rhymes cover everything from colonization to Black bodily autonomy and the dangers of satisfaction disguised as optimism. (“We let BLM be the new FUBU,” raps Quelle Chris on “Chicharrones”; “Iridescent blackness / Is this performative or praxis?” ponders Woods on “Black Sunlight”.)  There are moments of levity on Haram, like KAYANA’s vocal turn on “Black Sunlight” and the “what the hell sound is this?” type sampling that dominates warped, looped tracks like “Peppertree” and “Indian Summer”, built around sounds of horns and twirling flute lines. For the most part, Haram is an album of empathetic realism. “Hurt people hurt people,” raps Elucid on “Falling Out of the Sky”, a stunning encapsulation of Armand Hammer’s world where humanism exists side-by-side with traumatic death and feelings of revenge.

You can also catch Armand Hammer doing a live set on the Vans Channel 66 livestream at 12 PM on Saturday.

Dogleg, 1:45 PM, Red Stage

It feels like we’ve been waiting years to see this set, and actually, we have! The four-piece punk band from Michigan was supposed to play last year’s cancelled fest in support of their searing debut Melee (Triple Crown), and a year-plus of pent up energy is sure to make songs like “Bueno”, “Fox”, and “Kawasaki Backflip” all the more raging. Remember: This is a band whose reputation was solidified live before they were signed to Triple Crown and released their breakout album. Seeing them is the closest thing to a no-brainer that this year’s lineup offers.

Revisit our interview with Dogleg from last year, and catch them at an aftershow on Saturday at Subterranean with fellow Pitchfork performer Oso Oso and Retirement Party.

Hop Along, 3:20 PM, Red Stage

Though lead singer Frances Quinlan released a very good solo album last year, it’s been three years since their incredible band Hop Along dropped an album and two years since they’ve toured. 2018′s Bark Your Head Off, Dog (Saddle Creek), one of our favorite albums of that year, should comprise the majority of their setlist, but maybe they have some new songs?

Catch them at an aftershow on Saturday at Metro with Varsity and Slow Mass.

black midi, 4:15 PM, Green Stage

The band who had the finest debut of 2019 and gave the best set of that year at Pitchfork is back. Cavalcade (Rough Trade) is black midi’s sophomore album, methodical in its approach in contrast with the improvisational absurdism of Schlagenheim. Stop-start, violin-laden lead single and album opener “John L”, a song about a cult leader whose members turn on him, is as good a summary as ever of the dark, funky eclecticism of black midi, who on Cavalcade saw band members leave and new ones enter, their ever shapeshifting sound the only consistent thing about them. A song like the jazzy “Diamond Stuff” is likely impossible to replicate live--its credits list everything from 19th century instruments to household kitchen items used for percussion--but is key to experiencing their instrumental adventurousness. On two-and-a-half-minute barn burner “Hogwash and Balderdash,” they for the first time fully lean into their fried Primus influences, telling a tale of two escaped prisoners, “two chickens from the pen.” At the same time, this band is still black midi, with moments that call back to Schlagenheim, the churning, metallic power chords via jittery, slapping funk of “Chondromalacia Patella” representative of their quintessential tempo changes. And as on songs like Schlagenheim’s “Western”, black midi find room for beauty here, too, empathizing with the pains of Marlene Dietrich on a bossa nova tune named after her, Geordie Greep’s unmistakable warble cooing sorrowful lines like, “Fills the hall tight / And pulls at our hearts / And puts in her place / The girl she once was.” Expect to hear plenty from Cavalcade but also some new songs; after all, this is a band that road tests and experiments with material before recording it.

Catch them doing a 2 PM DJ set on Vans Channel 66 on Saturday and at an aftershow on Monday at Sleeping Village.

Yaeji, 7:45 PM, Blue Stage

What We Drew (XL), the debut mixtape from Brooklyn-based DJ Yaeji, was one of many dance records that came out after lockdown that we all wished we could experience in a crowd as opposed to at home alone. Now's our chance to bask in all of its glory under a setting sun. Maybe she’ll spin her masterful remix of Dua Lipa’s “Don’t Start Now” from the Club Future Nostalgia remix album, or her 2021 single “PAC-TIVE”, her and DiAN’s collaboration with Pac-Man company Namco.

Angel Olsen; Photo by Dana Trippe

SATURDAY

Bartees Strange, 1:45 PM, Red Stage

One of our favorite albums of last year was Live Forever (Memory Music), the debut from singer-songwriter and The National fanatic Bartees Strange, one that contributor Lauren Lederman called “a declaration of an artist’s arrival.” He’s certainly past arrived when you take into account his busy 2021, releasing a new song with Lorenzo Wolff and offering his remix services to a number of artists, including illuminati hotties and fellow Pitchfork performer (and tour mate) Phoebe Bridgers. Expect to hear lots of Live Forever during his Pitchfork set, one of many sets at the fest featuring exciting young guitar-based (!) bands.

Catch him at a free (!!) aftershow on Monday at Empty Bottle with Ganser.

Faye Webster, 4:00 PM, Blue Stage

Since we previewed Faye Webster’s Noonchorus livestream in October, she’s released the long-awaited follow-up to Atlanta Millionaires Club, the cheekily titled I Know I’m Funny haha (Secretly Canadian). At that time, she had dropped “Better Distractions”, “In A Good Way”, and “Both All The Time”, and the rest of the album more than follows the promise of these three dreamy country, folk rock, and R&B-inspired tunes. Webster continues to be a master of tone and mood, lovelorn on “Sometimes”, sarcastic on the title track, and head-in-the-clouds on “A Dream with a Baseball Player”. All the while, she and her backing band provide stellar, languorous instrumentation, keys and slide guitar on the bossa nova “Kind Of”, her overdriven guitar sludge on “Cheers”, cinematic strings on the melancholic “A Stranger”, stark acoustic guitar on heartbreaking closer “Half of Me”. And the ultimate irony of Webster’s whip-smart lyricism is that a line like, “And today I get upset over this song that I heard / And I guess was just upset because why didn't I think of it first,” is that I can guarantee a million songwriters feel the same way about her music, timely in context and timeless in sound and feeling.

Catch her at an aftershow on Saturday at Sleeping Village with Danger Incorporated.

Georgia Anne Muldrow, 5:15 PM, Blue Stage

The queen of beats takes the stage during the hottest part of the day, perfect for some sweaty dancing. VWETO III (FORESEEN + Epistrophik Peach Sound), the third album in Muldrow’s beats record series, was put together with “calls to action” in mind, each single leading up to the album’s release to be paired with crowdsourced submissions via Instagram from singers, visual artists, dancers, and turntablists. Moreover, many of the album’s tracks are inspired by very specific eras of Black music, from Boom Bap and G-funk to free jazz, and through it all, Muldrow provides a platform for musical education just as much as funky earworms.

Revisit our interview with Muldrow from earlier this year.

Angel Olsen, 7:25 PM, Red Stage

It’s been a busy past two years for Angel Olsen. She revealed Whole New Mess (Jagjaguwar) in August 2020, stripped down arrangements of many of the songs on 2019′s amazing All Mirrors. In May, she came out with a box set called Song of the Lark and Other Far Memories (Jagjaguwar), which contained both All Mirrors and Whole New Mess and a bonus LP of remixes, covers, alternate takes, and bonus tracks. She shortly and out of nowhere dropped a song of the year candidate in old school country rock high and lonesome Sharon Van Etten duet “Like I Used To”. And just last month, she released Aisles, an 80′s covers EP out on her Jagjaguwar imprint somethingscosmic. She turns Laura Branigan’s disco jam “Gloria” and Men Without Hats’ “Safety Dance” into woozy, echoing, slowed-down beds of synth haze and echoing drum machine. On Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s “If You Leave”, her voice occupies different registers between the soft high notes of the bridge and autotuned solemnity of the chorus. Sure, other covers are more recognizable in their tempo and arrangement, like Billy Idol’s Rebel Yell ballad “Eyes Without a Face” and Alphaville’s “Forever Young”, but Aisles is exemplary of Olsen’s ability to not just reinvent herself but classics.

At Pitchfork, I’d bet on a set heavy on All Mirrors and Whole New Mess, but as with the unexpectedness of Aisles, you never know!

St. Vincent, 8:30 PM, Green Stage

Annie Clark again consciously shifts personas and eras with her new St. Vincent album Daddy’s Home (Loma Vista), inspired by 70′s funk rock and guitar-driven psychedelia. While much of the album’s rollout centered around its backstory--Clark’s father’s time in prison for white collar crimes--the album is a thoughtful treatise on honesty and identity, the first St. Vincent album to really stare Clark’s life in the face. 

Many of its songs saw their live debut during a Moment House stream, which we previewed last month.

The Weather Station; Photo by Jeff Bierk

SUNDAY

Tomberlin, 1:00 PM, Green Stage

While the LA-via-Louisville singer-songwriter hasn’t yet offered a proper follow-up LP to her 2018 debut At Weddings, she did last year release an EP called Projections (Saddle Creek), which expands upon At Weddings’ shadowy palate. Songs like “Hours” and “Wasted” are comparatively clattering and up-tempo. Yet, all four of the original tracks are increasingly self-reflexive, Tomberlin exploring and redefining herself on her terms, whether singing about love or queerness, all while maintaining her sense of humor. (“When you go you take the sun and all my flowers die / So I wait by the window and write some shit / And hope that you'll reply,” she shrugs over acoustic strums and wincing electric guitars.) The album ends with a stark grey cover of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone’s “Natural Light”; Tomberlin finds a kindred spirit in the maudlin musings of Owen Ashworth.

Get there early on Sunday to hear select tracks from At Weddings and Projections but also likely some new songs.

oso oso, 2:45 PM, Blue Stage

Basking in the Glow (Triple Crown), the third album from Long Beach singer-songwriter Jade Lilitri as Oso Oso, was one of our favorite records of 2019, and we’d relish the opportunity to see them performed to a crowd in the sun. Expect to hear lots of it; hopefully we’re treated to new oso oso material some time soon.

Catch them at an aftershow on Saturday at Subterranean with fellow Pitchfork performer Dogleg and Retirement Party.

The Weather Station, 4:00 PM, Blue Stage

The Toronto band led by singer-songwriter Tamara Lindeman released one of the best albums of the year back in February with Ignorance (Fat Possum), songs inspired by climate change-addled anxiety. While the record is filled with affecting, reflective lines about loss and trying to find happiness in the face of dread, in a live setting, I imagine the instrumentation will be a highlight, from the fluttering tension of “Robber” to the glistening disco of “Parking Lot”.

Revisit our preview of their Pitchfork Instagram performance from earlier this year. Catch them at an aftershow on Friday at Schubas with Ulna.

Danny Brown, 6:15 PM, Green Stage

The Detroit rapper’s last full-length record was the Q-Tip executive produced uknowhatimsayin¿ (Warp), though he’s popped up a few times since then, on remixes, a Brockhampton album, and TV62, a Bruiser Brigade Records compilation from earlier this year. (He’s also claimed in Twitch streams that his new album Quaranta is almost done.) His sets--especially Pitchfork sets--are always high-energy, as he’s got so many classic albums and tracks under his belt at this point, so expect to hear a mix of those.

Erykah Badu, 8:30 PM, Green Stage

What more can I say? This is the headliner Pitchfork has been trying to get for years, responsible for some of the greatest neo soul albums of all time. There’s not much else to say about Erykah Badu other than she’s the number one must-see at the festival.

[cristopha-jam]

Black Midi: Rock de vanguardia para actualizar nuestro playlist

Los ingleses de Black Midi aun supone un reto para aquellos que se aproximan a su música, ya sea para contemplarla, compartirla, reseñarla y/o apreciarla. Black Midi desarma y juega con nuestras expectativas como oyentes. Vanguardistas, experimentales, osados, desvergonzados, virtuosos, y mucho más. Faltan y cuesta encontrar adjetivos idóneos para retratar más allá de la música la experiencia de escuchar a estos muchachos.

Músicos londinenses que se conocieron en la escuela de artes escénicas BRIT School hacia el año 2016. El vocalista y guitarrista Geordie Greep junto a Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin (voz y guitarras secundarias) supieron apreciar el virtuosismo y carisma del exiguo baterista Morgan Simpson. Un talentoso muchacho que a su corta edad ha dado mucho que hablar en su natal Inglaterra. A ellos se les suma también el consistente Cameron Picton en el bajo, sintetizadores y voces.

La sorpresa o desconcierto que supone escucharlos se debe quizás a la estandarización en la música, sobre todo en géneros, artistas y bandas más populares o “mainstream” a los cuales estamos acostumbrados con estructuras y armonías repetitivas entre ciertos artistas y la homogeneización rítmica en algunos estilos musicales.

Black Midi desarma la idea anterior y se burla desvergonzadamente de las reacciones que podamos tener como oyentes o, mejor aún, les da lo mismo. Como verdaderos artistas, esta banda londinense ha experimentado y llevado su música a terrenos poco explorados hasta el momento. Y a pesar de que su base musical es rock, ésta etiqueta queda corta ante la explosiva y carismática propuesta de esta banda.

Rock progresivo, experimental, fusión y post-punk son los subgéneros que de alguna forma permiten localizar la música de Black Midi. Sin ser pretensiosos y con canciones que a ratos pueden llegar a incomodar, Black Midi es una bocanada de aire fresco. La extravagancia de sus integrantes no llega a ser absurda, sino todo lo contrario. Lo vanguardista y experimental de su música son atributos que se conjugan armónicamente con la consistencia y carisma de sus integrantes, lo cual transforma a esta banda en una propuesta desconcertante, atrapante y atractiva.

A mediados de 2019 publicaron su disco debut Schlagenheim cuya duración bordea los cincuenta minutos gracias a sus nueve canciones y un bonus track casi escondido hacia el final del álbum.

Para apreciar esta obra en sus puntos más altos es imperdible ponerle oído y atención a lo que sucede en temas como “Speedway”, “bmbmbm”, “953”, “Of Schlagenheim” y “Years Ago”. Cada obra bastante disímil una de otra, cada una con arreglos rítmicos y melódicos interesantes; compases de batería creativos y guitarras psicodélicas que a ratos transitan hacia riffs más agresivos o frenéticos. Un disco impredecible y que sorprende gratamente.

El estilo vocal de Black Midi, más allá del protagonismo de Geordie Greep como vocalista principal, tiene que ver mucho con una impostación cortante y armonías disonantes que a ratos incluye balbuceos e incluso simplemente versos hablados o declamados como si de un discurso se tratase. Todo ello mientras las guitarras sucias, distorsionadas y tremendamente consistentes le dan color a un cuerpo rítmico vertiginoso y explosivo por parte del bajo y la batería.

Es justo destacar que en vivo la formación original de Black Midi cuenta con la colaboración esporádica de instrumentos de bronces como un par de trombones y un saxofón, así como también la presencia más destacada en comparación a los álbumes de teclados y sintetizadores.

El segundo disco de los londinenses es bastante reciente. Bautizado como Cavalcade, éste álbum fue publicado el 28 de mayo de este 2021.

Obra que de entrada sorprende con la vertiginosa “John L”, donde además de los arreglos de bronce, destacan los teclados y la voz peculiar y declamada de Geordie Greep. Otras canciones interesantes en este álbum son “Marlene Dietrich”, “Chondromalacia Patella” (tema imperdible si les gusta el progresivo), “Dethroned” y “Slow”. Esta última como una obra interesante para aquellos que quieran escuchar ritmos distintos, cambios armónicos inesperados y una forma más contemplativa y elaborada de hacer música.

Músicos con un sentido amplio y desprejuiciado de su arte. Se nota que los muchachos de Black Midi han buscado incansablemente formas y caminos para poder crear y buscar una identidad sonora que les acomode. Experimentación musical que los ha llevado a ser unos vanguardistas del rock con apenas dos discos a su haber. El tiempo, dedicación y atención mediática que puedan obtener dirá si son una de las bandas llamadas a dejar un legado o ciertas referencias que permitan un paso evolutivo interesante en el rock como expresión musical. Aun así, son una propuesta obligada para aquellos que gustan del progresivo y de bandas de menor perfil.

[bitter69uk]

“From Jamaica via the gay hangouts of Fire Island and lower Manhattan came the astonishingly beautiful Grace Jones – five and a half feet of carved ebony with the face of a jungle cat …” 

/ From the book Rock’N’Roll Confidential (1984) by Penny Stallings / 

“Grace Jones began her stylish career as what else, a freaky Black model in Paris. She has always loved Paris. So, in her high school she wore line-for-line copies of the latest Paris originals. Dresses she and her mother executed from expensive Givenchy patterns. Her career as a diseuse extraordinaire began by lifting her skirts instead of her voice on a tabletop over dinner in the infamous gay nightclub of Paris, Club Sept. As she slashed her matchstick legs across dinner plates and sent filet mignon and champagne flying, she howled and lip-synched to the disco beat of the moment. She was like a navy blue she-wolf crossed with a lush orchid …” 

/ Andre Leon Talley reflecting on Grace Jones in the book Mega-Star (1984) / 

Born on this day: incomparable post-punk freak diva / Afro-Dietrich / Black Venus / futuristic dominatrix from outer space (and one of the greatest live performers I’ve ever witnessed) the perennially fierce Grace Jones (born 19 May 1948) apparently turns 74 in human years. (This is in dispute: she argues in her autobiography that the publicly accepted age listed on Wikipedia is wrong. Jones is an ageless enigma!). I’ve had one single up-close encounter with The Jones Girl – when she was signing copies of her memoirs in London in November 2015. It was like coming face-to-face with Nefertiti!  

Grace Jones

[gwendolynlerman]

German and Italian music

Here is a list of German and Italian music artists per @lang0weilig​’s request as a prize for having answered every linguistic problem.

German artists

Adel Tawil (R&B, pop, hip hop)

Alexander Marcus (electro folklore)

Alpa Gun (hip hop, rap)

Andreas Dorau (pop)

Annemarie Eilfeld (electropop, electrorock)

Beginner (rap)

Camera (rock)

Can (rock)

Cro (pop rap)

Deichkind (hip hop, electro)

Die Ärzte (punk rock)

Die Toten Hosen (punk rock)

DJ Koze (techno, tech house, hip hop)

Element of Crime (rock)

Faust (rock)

Fehlfarben (rock)

Franz Josef Degenhardt (folk)

Herbert Grönemeyer (pop, pop rock, soft rock)

Kraftwerk (techno, electropop)

Lena Meyer-Landrut (pop)

Marteria (hip hop, pop rap)

Marlene Dietrich (blues)

Nena (rock, pop, punk rock)

Neu! (rock)

Nina Hagen (punk)

Paul van Dyk (techno)

Rammstein (industrial metal)

Robin Schulz (electro)

Sarah Connor (pop)

Tangerine Dream (electro)

Tocotronic (indie rock)

Tokio Hotel (pop rock)

Ton Steine Scherben (rock)

Wincent Weiss (pop)

Wise Guys (a cappella, pop)

Xavier Naidoo (R&B, soul)

Yvonne Catterfeld (pop, soul)

This is a playlist of German songs that I have found: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3pMZBrpsCazYBlgccudMhU.

Italian artists

Adriano Celentano (rock)

Andrea Bocelli (opera, pop)

Caterina Caselli (pop)

Costiera (pop)

Domenico Modugno (pop, folk)

Edoardo Vianello (pop)

Eros Ramazzotti (pop)

Ermal Meta (alt rock, pop, electropop)

Fabrizio Moro (pop)

Francesco Gabbani (electropop, indie pop)

Gazzelle (synthpop)

Gianni Morandi (pop)

Giorgieness (indie, grunge)

Giorgio Moroder (disco, synthpop, electro, rock)

Giorgio Poi (indie pop)

Giovane Giovane (hip hop, rap)

LA NIÑA (R&B, bellicose rap)

Laura Pausini (pop)

Luciano Pavarotti (opera)

Management del dolore post-operatorio (pop, indie)

Marco Mengoni (pop rock, pop)

Maria Antonietta (surf rock)

Mèsa (pop rock)

Mina (pop rock)

Motta (folk rock, indie)

Osaka Flue (indie punk)

Patty Pravo (pop, pop rock, beat, chanson)

Pooh (pop)

Rita Pavone (ballad, rock)

Toto Cutugno (pop)

Umberto Tozzi (pop, rock, disco)

Venerus (jazz, R&B, electro)

Voina (alt rock)

Zucchero (blues, rock, R&B, soul, gospel, funk, pop)

An Italian songs playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6gHVsQ8qLA4vWEaqasMVKN

I have tried to choose a variety of music styles, so that anyone can find an artist to their liking.

[stylesnews]

Earlier this month, Harry Styles unveiled the details of his hotly anticipated new album, Fine Line – out, incidentally, on 13th December. The cover offers a lot to unpack. It’s shot by Tim Walker, fashion’s most whimsical imagemaker, through a fisheye lens (a Walker trademark) and features a sumptuous, pastel-hued set designed by Shona Heath. At its centre stands Styles, resplendent in a fuschia silk blouse and matching suspenders, his hair quaffed, hips popped, with one hand pointing to the ground. But for all the cover’s beauty, and Styles’ directive hand gesture, all we can focus on are his wildly wide-legged, sailor-style trousers, replete with high waist and gold buttons.

The singer’s eye-catching ensemble, no one will be surprised to learn, is bespoke Gucci – Alessandro Michele is a close friend of Styles’, who is an ambassador for the Italian fashion house – and was styled by Styles’ recurring collaborator, Harry Lambert. It’s typical of Styles’ gender-fluid aesthetic – as he told The Face earlier this year,​“What’s feminine and what’s masculine, what men are wearing and what women are wearing – it’s like there are no lines any more.” And indeed, in his bold choice of baggy trouser – a trend that has made a notable comeback in menswear this year, as evidenced on the runways of Marni, Versace, Off-White, Jacquemus and more – he follows in a long line of men and women who have championed the look.

Perhaps the first example of wide-legged trousers in Western history is the bell-bottom, adopted as standard uniform by sailors in the 19th century because they were easy to roll up in high water. They next emerged at Oxford University in the 1920s, in the form of Oxford bags: billowing trousers, with an ankle width of up to 25 inches, worn by student rowers, who liked to slip them over their rowing shorts on cold mornings, sparking a widespread craze thereafter.

An article published in The Guardian in May 1925 proclaimed, ​“The great majority of undergraduates have succumbed to the prevailing fashion. Some have done so in greater and some in lesser degree, for the law of the baggy trousers is a very flexible one and admits of many interpretations.” In their dissection of the look, the writer touches upon a point that has remained relevant of the baggy trouser throughout its history: it is a bold, unapologetic style, intended to make a statement.

This was certainly the case when it entered the realm of women’s fashion – also in the 1920s – offering a casual alternative to skirts and corsets. Coco Chanel, who is said to have dressed in her boyfriend’s suits in her youth, was an early pioneer of the trend, creating elegant, relaxed-style trousers for women to wear while playing sports. By the 1930s, wide-legged trousers were being worn for the everyday, a fashion led by the likes of Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich, who were stylishly indifferent to the controversy they caused.

The Second World War and its attendant financial and practical concerns saw the baggy trouser trend lie dormant for a while, but their comeback in the 1960s was a whole new chapter. Enter, the flare: expansive descendent of the bell-bottom, a style first adopted by the peace-loving, convention-rejecting hippie movement in the mid-60s. By the end of the decade, flares were everywhere, their mainstream appeal largely propagated by musicians of the era – everyone from rock ​’n’ roll gender-benders Mick Jagger and David Bowie to pop stars like Sonny and Cher and ABBA, and R&B legends Earth, Wind and Fire, flaunted the flamboyant trouser.

The ​’70s provided an abundance of landmark moments for the free-flowing trouser in other cultural spheres too: the re-emergence of Oxford bags, courtesy of the British Northern Soul community, whose famously frenetic dance moves were facilitated by their capacious attire; Yves Saint Laurent’s lauded (and loose-legged) women’s pantsuit, Le Smoking, as captured by Helmut Newton in 1975; Diane Keaton’s baggy beige numbers in Annie Hall (1977) and John Travolta’s striking slacks in 1977’s cult disco drama, Saturday Night Fever, aptly described by The Guardian as the flare’s swansong.

Karl Kani

During the ​’80s, wide-legged trousers saw a dip in popularity, side-lined by leggings and slim-fit jeans. Once again, it was music that sparked a baggy pant revival – by the mid-90s, they’d become a mainstay of grunge (think: Kurt Cobain’s loose-fit, ripped Levi’s), acid house (whether in dungaree or sweatpant form) and, of course, ​’90s hip hop, from Tupac and Marky Mark to MC Hammer, whose singular take on harem trousers became a fixture in the sartorial lexicon. In all three instances, the adoption of a wide-leg trouser makes sense – not only in terms of the physical liberation they offered as a form of dancewear (in the case of the latter two movements), but also because these subcultures were defined by their rejection of mainstream values, of the commerciality and conservatism of the decade and the distinct inequality this spawned.

As before, the baggy trouser could be seen as an act of rebellion, while neatly aligning with 1920s economist George Taylor’s Hemline Index, the theory that, to quote Ronald Chan writing for Reuters, ​“when hemlines go up – think mini-skirts – the economy looks rosy and everyone is optimistic. When hemlines go down – think long dresses [or in our case, commodious trousers] – the economy looks uncertain and gloominess prevails.” Of course, wide-leg pants soon entered the world of mainstream ​’90s fashion too, with American designer Karl Kani emerging as the reigning king of baggy denim, sported by every reputable hip-hop and R&B star of the decade, regardless of gender; and brands like Kikwear, UFO and JNCO creating perhaps the most excessively loose (“phat”) pants to date, a look embraced by ravers and skaters alike.

Since the dawn of the 21st century wide-legged trousers have made regular reappearances – from their frequent gracing of the Gucci runway during the ​’00s to Phoebe Philo’s memorable revival of the style during her esteemed tenure at Céline, from their prominent role in the ongoing street and workwear revival, right up to their current favour among menswear designers. Which brings us back to where we began: Styles’ new, wonderfully ostentatious addition to the baggy trouser timeline. These brazen bloomers feel like a powerful sign of our times – as their storied history attests, they’re so much more than a nostalgic fashion throwback, they’re a subversive, gender-bending sartorial statement that continues to crop up (or billow out) right when we need it most.

[carlosssmh]

(1) Este poema odioso y cursi es, sin duda, el que más me ha emocionado nunca...

¡Oh, ama mientras te sea posible amar!

¡Oh, ama mientras puedas amar!

La hora llegará, la hora llegará

en que te hallarás gimiente al borde de la tumba.

Y vela por que tu corazón arda

y encierre y alimente el amor,

mientra a él otro corazón responda

en el amor y cálido palpite.

Y al ser que te abra su pecho,

¡dale, por amor, todo cuanto seas capaz!

Hazle felices todas sus horas,

ninguna se la hagas triste.

¡Y cuida bien lo que dices!

Una palabra hiriente se dice en un instante.

Oh, Dios, no había en ella mala intención,

pero el otro se aleja lamentándose.

(Ferdinand Freiligrath)

Insisto que no me gusta un pelo... y llevo unos días recordando este pringue a cuenta de una película de Tarantino, "Malditos Bastardos", con su fulminante escena de la taberna... ¿Puedo explicarlo?

(2) Sigo con el poema rijoso, ese espanto que sin embargo me conmueve tanto.. ¡Venga!

Otro motivo por el que la coplita resta en lugar de sumar en la escala de J. Evans Pritchard, doctor en filosofía, para entender la poesía, es que inspiro la más popular obra de Liszt, el Nocturno nº 3, basado en una canción del mismo compositor, con el texto como letra e igual de remilgado.

Ferdinand Freiligrath era un intelectual muy popular en su época, en la Alemania del romanticismo. Fue fiel amigo de Carlos Marx, que apreciaba sinceramente su obra. Aunque finalmente, el poeta hizo ese extraño viaje desde el socialismo al nacionalismo... Suyo es un belicoso verso sobre de la bandera del país: "¡Negra es la pólvora, Roja es la sangre, y Dorada palpita nuestra llama!"... Bueno, el caso es que en la avenida de Hamburgo que lleva su nombre nació otro poeta, Hans Leip, autor de la letra de otra canción muy popular, "LILI MARLEEN"

La cosa va tomando forma, ya tenemos a Diane Krujer haciendo de una famosa actriz alemana de los 30 y a Lili Marleen... Id sumando (¡!)

(2,5) Como hemos juntado ya a las actrices alemanas de entre-guerras y al novelista alemán Hans Leip, ya tenemos solucionado parte del enigma, pues de la canción Lili Marlene, repudiada por los Nazis por melancólica y derrotista, cuya letra fue compuesta por Leip a partir de su incapacidad para decidirse por su novia charcutera (Lili) o la hermosa enfermera que curaba sus heridas de guerra (Marleen), fue también muy popular en la voz de cierta actriz exiliada, una tal Dietrich...

Yo desarrolle un gusto por Marlene Dietrich muy jovencito, a partir de esa canción; pero, sin duda, es esta que comparto una de mis canciones favoritas de todos los tiempos... se titula Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt (!!!), algo así como "Enamorado de pies a cabeza"...

(3) Ignoro que pensará el expresionista cantante after-punk Peter Murphy, hoy por hoy, que ya va para viejo el hombre, cuando interpreta en sus conciertos esta canción... Al fin y al cabo habla del ocaso de los dioses y de un último momento de debilidad y su generación ya tiene los dos píes en ese periodo de la vida de un artista que ha sido hermoso en el que es fácil dejarse caer en la melancolía por el paraíso perdido.

En 1989, en un muy popular disco del cantante (bueno, popular en según que círculos, de acuerdo), Peter Murphy escribía unas herméticas estrofas sobre Marlene Dietrich, en las que pone en voz de la actriz los versos de Freiligrath:

"Derrama cálidas lágrimas mientras recuerda sus lineas favoritas: -Perdona el daño que te he hecho, no te marches con el corazón roto".

https://youtu.be/n9y4AHemqKA

Aunque solo sea por esta canción, el poema, penoso poema, de marras, se hizo con un pedazo de mi alma; pero esta es solo la guinda del pastel.

(4) Finalicemos. Este es el verdadero motivo de que considere que el poema "¡Oh, ama, ama tanto como puedas!" del poeta aleman Ferdinand Freiligrat, un vergonzoso texto lleno de sentimentalismo, sea el que más me conmueve:

Quienes estuvimos atentos a estos temas, pudimos disfrutar a mediados de la década de los años 80, de un documental perfecto sobre la actriz y cantante Marlene Dietrich, realizado por el también actor, el austriaco Maximiliam Schell. El compromiso de la diva era dejarse entrevistar a condición de no aparecer en ningún plano realizado para el film, que solo dispondría de material de archivo. Así las imágenes de sus éxitos eran comentadas con dureza y sarcasmo por una amarga Dietrich, anciana pero, genio y figura, muy, muy borde. Schell estaba desesperado con ella; pero finalmente, de forma casual, el recuerdo de la madre recitando "El poema favorito de Marlene Dietrch", quebró la voz y arranco sollozos a la entrevistada. Quedó como epilogo de la película y de su vida, un poso de derrota y tristeza. (Es obvio que a Peter Murphy también le llegó el mensaje).

No lo he encontrado subtitulado, pero aquí está el plano y el audio; así se hace pedazos una estatua de mármol:

https://youtu.be/fqJiNaXoq1Q

[meddows-taylor]

Just a couple of Bohemian Rhapsody things I caught on my third and fourth viewing….

When showing the Live Aid backstage in the first sequence of the movie, the Red Special is introduced with a panning shot that has such reverence you don’t even need Brian’s name as one of the producers because that alone is a testament of his involvement.

When performing with the band for the first time, Freddie wears the same black and yellow/gold shirt his Mum wears in the first scene when Freddie goes out to see Smile. I loved that

Brian being a little shit pestering John when he is fixing the van’s tire and John’s annoyed response. “Oh IS IT???”. You can tell he began writing Back Chat in that very same moment.

Roger. dumbass. Taylor. Has the nerve to get up, walk over Freddie’s sister and flirt with her when he already brought a date to dinner. I got the thot energy when I saw the movie for the first time and the rascal had the nerve to go all “what are you doing after this?” in front of her family but somehow I didn’t notice he is basically there with another girl. I tell you,   t h o t  dumbass

Marlene Dietrich photo: We know Freddie loved her and took inspiration from a photo of hers on the set of Shangai Express for the pose for the Queen II album cover and Bohemian Rhapsody video. We see the photo when the movie first starts, at Garden lodge. We see it again when Freddie shows the house to Roger for the first time. But a smaller one is also seen in his apartment when he comes out to Mary

In one of Queen’s first big performances we see the empty stage and the lights match the color scheme for the movie - black, purple and yellow

When pitching A Night at the Opera to Ray Foster, Freddie shares the most knowing looks with John, a really nice non-verbal touch that speaks plenty about their relationship. They are both holding back laughter when Freddie plays the opera record in a way that feels so close and personal. Kudos to Rami and Joe for taking something that’s supposed to be comedic relief and turning it into a nice reference to Freddie’s and John’s camaraderie. I also love that John is the one to say “no one knows what Queen is because it doesn’t mean one thing”.

Does Roger know how to button his shirt??? This is a business meeting, for crying out loud. Bless him for that. Please never learn what buttons are.

Also the Mum Energy™ of Brian standing there with his arms crossed is so strong a woman from Belgium complained.

At the sound of the last gong, Brian pats Roger proudly on the back when they are listening to Bohemian Rhapsody for the first time. Cuteness overload. (I will also refuse to discuss the amount of times Brian and Roger engage in unnecessary touching throughout the whole movie. Brian, you have to separate Roger and Freddie from fighting in the studio, no need to leave your hand on Rog’s chest for that long, pal)

We don’t talk enough about Lucy Boynton performance. She is so expressive, so restrained yet commands a scene with such ferocity, has the ability to break my heart with her monologue about being told “I love you, but….” And saying “You are loved. By me, Brian, Roger, Deaky. That’s enough”. Thanks, I love sobbing in a movie theatre four weekends in a row. 50/10 give her the praise she deserves. Also she is so beautiful I had to take a deep breath when she walked in.

When Reid and Prenter are talking scheming backstage at Madison Square Garden, you can see Roger chatting with two girls and Deaky comes by with an 8 ball or something like that looking pissed, and they begging arguing, the girls completely forgotten by now. You gotta love that dumb energy that felt very true. Also first of many John Looks So Hot underrated outfits in the whole movie. YEs  to the leather jacket, you funky disco man

Freddie calls Good Old Miami when he is double crossed by Prenter the snake…. He just calls him and Miami knows it’s him ???? And he says “Freddie?” So soft and paternal. That whole scene?????? AND THEN FREDDIE SAYS “Thank You….JIM” and let me tell you, I didn’t think by the third viewing I would be crying over a scene of Freddie and their manager but there I was, wanting to give each of them a 45 minute hug. Protect Miami at all costs please. (also we won’t talk about Freddie saying “we are a family and families fight” because I’m gonna cry right here again)

The contrast of Roger telling Freddie “you need us” when he says he signed a contract and Freddie saying “I don’t need anyone” and then him saying “I NEED YOU” and pointing out what he lacked by not having the band by his side IS POETIC CINEMA. I don’t make the rules, sorry

I know I’m messing up the chronological order, but the Another One Bites the Dust scene would grant it’s own essay. Roger and Brian being little shits to poor Disco Deaky? Checked. Band tension with Freddie? Checked. Roger consumed by hubris thinking his noodle arms can measure up against former boxer Freddie? Checked. John shutting up everyone by playing one of the coolest riffs in the history of music? Checked. The four of them looking the hottest they’ve looked (don’t get me started on Roger drumming with a cigarette in his mouth and Freddie wearing leather)? Checked. The editing of the bar scenes and the rehearsal with that soft red light? Checked and archived as A R T.

This was pointed out by my mum, and I think I saw someone else also saying it online, but I don’t care if in reality Freddie learnt about his diagnostic much later than Live Aid, and subsequently told the band after 1985, we all cried with that beautiful scene (for me, one of the best ones in acting and composition - it stars with that beautiful pipe organ and you get a churchy, revered vibe instantly. Also the looks between Freddie and Miami before he tells the band. And Deaky’s tears when he laughs and says “Actually Wembley doesn’t have a roof”. Ugh, I can’t shut up about this scene).

What my mum pointed out was the Impact that scene had in the sense that all three of them just went up there and hugged Freddie without a second thought. In a time when people knew very little about AIDS and how it was transmitted, when there was a lot of prejudice and misinformation being passed around, the meaning of four friends, four brothers embracing is enough to turn anyone into a puddle of tears.

On a lighter note, Brian rehearsing in white shorts and socks is peak “is this Gwilym Lee or Brian May documental footage??”. Yet another John Looks So Hot underrated outfit, the tank top with the sleeves cut out so deep you can actually see his ribcage???? The shorts???? This is an emotional scene, I shouldn’t be lusting over Joe Mazzello yet here I am

[outweek30]

Charting the Gesbian

Up and down the east and west coasts, rumors have been flying about a "new kind" of lesbian — not necessarily better, but very different.

It seems that what had started as small clusters of girls getting together and behaving most incorrectly, has turned into a full-fledged trend. Not knowing what to call themselves, they clung together amid the stares and reprobation of the women's community-at-large. Then, on Pride Day, they stood on the Great Lawn and heard a voice from the podium:

"This is a day when gesbians ...uh, gay men and lesbians ..."

That was it! The "gesbian" was born.

Seeing as "gesbianism" is so young, it is a difficult sub-subculture to theorize about. In general, a gesbian is a post-modern, post-Stonewall sort of girl who's decided that she can have some of what the boys have without being "co-opted by the patriarchy." So, for the convenience of the uninitiated, bewildered and deadly curious, here is an at-a-glance guide to the gesbian in comparison to the community as it stands.

— Liz Tracey, OutWeek Magazine No. 7, August 7, 1989, p. 46.

Table transcript:

Gesbian Lesbian Dress: anything but sensible: leather, denim, lace, stockings, boots, white T-shirts, 501s (usually a dress-for-sexcess look) dresses for comfort, not style: Polo shirts, birkenstocks, back packs, hip pouches, Reeboks, haircuts that are painful to look at Idols: Butch gesbian: Jeff Stryker, Torri Wells, Rosalyn Dane, Taylor Dane, Elvis Presley, Patricia Field, Barbara Stanwyck, Alice from "The Brady Bunch," Marlene Dietrich, She-ra Princess of Power, Jim Morrison, Salt ’N Peppa

Femme gesbian: Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Edie Sedgwick, Susan Ainsworth (doorperson), Josie (from Calvin Klein), nuns, House of Field, Diana Ross, Louise Brooks, Greta Garbo, De La Soul, Mary Poppins, Marlo Thomas (circa That Girl) Martina Navratilova, Whitney Houston, Joanne Loulan, Virginia Woolf, Gertrude Stein, her spinster Aunt Martha ·who had. to be a dyke" Sex: hot and heavy, having taken lessons from her gay male friends; lots of toys, videos, unusual positions; basically kinky (and safer) sees penetration as "heterosexist"; prefers mostly mutual masturbation and oral sex (only if there is a commitment); thinks gay male porn is sleazy Music: rap, house, Prince, Madonna, old Motown, Betty, Grace Jones, 70s disco, anything in clubs played by deejays she knows women's, classical, early 80s pop when throwing a party; will venture into new wave if it's played at a women's dance Nighttime: dinner in the East Village/Chelsea; drinks at Cubby Hole, The Bar; clubbing on weeknights (Mars, Love Machine, Pyramid, Sound Factory); home on the weekends with the VCR/girlfriend(s) dinner in West Village; drinks at Cubby Hole/D.T.'s Fat Cat/Duchess; home early to get up for work or home with VCR and/or girlfriend; political meetings; weekend pot lucks Jobs: bartending, deejaying, student, retail, freelance anything, catering, waitressing (very rarely upwardly mobile) systems analyst, consultant, lawyer, political activist (paid), therapist, professor (you get the idea) Vocations: political activist (unpaid), writer, artist, actress (see Jobs) Marital Status: if there is a steady girlfriend, you know there's someone lurking close behind; otherwise she's "dating" (read "sleeping with") three or four friends probably a steady girlfriend; is still in contact with every lover she ever had; sometimes longs to get wild. If unattached, she is hanging out at the Cubby Hole on the notorious Wednesday pick-up night

[cam-rowe]

(If I ever get married) I would most definitely want to wear something similarly to what Bianca Jagger wore on her wedding day. She was ahead of her time with the suits. Reminds me of Katherine Hepburn in the 40’s wearing menswear. But if you look at Yves Saint Laurent who dressed Bianca a lot, he was ahead of his time when it came to dressing women.

I’m with you on that! Em Rata took inspiration from Bianca Jagger for her wedding day and she looked great.

Yes, I do feel like there’s a link between the way Katherine Hepburn, even more so Marlene Dietrich dressed and the way Bianca Jagger did. Bianca Jagger definitely added a more bohemian take to it, and later on took inspiration from the glitzy/sleazy 80s disco era.

Yves Saint Laurent, as a fashion house, was revolutionary up until the 2010’s. The brand has churned out so many major collections that have changed fast/ready to wear fashions. It’s a shame that it’s gone to utter shit since the direction of Anthony Vaccarello. Hedi Slimane did an amazing job at reviving the brand so it’s very upsetting to see that the brand has gone backwards after all his hard work.