Stuck in my head: One last love song

Walking around work I starting humming, then singing this song. It was like I was back in the piano bar, with people coming up and tipping me and everything. I'm taking this show on the road. On the youtube there are some clips from the show I saw of the Beautiful South a few years back at the Park West in Chitown, but this one has far better sound. Enjoy!

Meal ticket: Last.fm edition

I've been listening to last.fm lately, and while I'm sure I'm one of the last to jump on board, it's been a lovely ride through the annals of French pop. I started the journey in typical fashion, ie not knowing what to do, so I typed in Mano Negra and starting listening to all the 'similar artists', which gave me access to some old friends I met at RFI and new groups I had never heard of.

Here's a picture of Julieta Venegas and Caetano Veloso for you, which I lifted from Julieta's myspace page. In the caption she writes: Caetano, es lo maximo!!!! She was so excited to meet him, natch. She could hardly be cuter, good people.


So here's a video of her being wicked cute. GREAT group dance happening here. Let me know if you want to get together and learn it for the upcoming talent show! This song is not her newest but it's lovely and was filmed in Argentina.


Also in the video is Anita Tijoux, from the Chilean hip hop group Makiza, who were so good back in the fin de siècle. I'm going to make it easy for you to remember:

oh wait, you haven't had enough?

Here's the other one... kirsty MacColl is the greatest. You earned it, baby.

Here's the video I was looking for. Billy Bragg sings "A New England" to adoring fans. He's wearing an ACT-UP! t-shirt in this video from 1991. The Wikipedia says he's an outspoken opponent of fascism, racism, homophobia, and sexism. He still looks good, btw.

So I went a searching on the webs for a video of "A New England" by, say, Kirsty MacColl or Billy Bragg, and I came up with P-Unit's "Tea Partay", weirdly rapping about the motherland. (Nothing like a tea party on the Cape, let me tell you.) What I learned from this video is that Cape Cod keeps it reals. Word. When I finally got to the end I realized that this is a Smirnoff commercial. Please drink responsibly.

Upside Down...

Here's Diana Ross and special friend singing and dancing! to "Upside Down". It's a live video with lots of excitement. If you avoid strobe lights, do yourself a favor and avoid this video. Diana looks unbelievable and is obvs having a wonderful time. And the special guest! How cute! I had forgotten what he was working with at the time. I like how he snatches the mike from Diana. I also like how we share the leg lift as part of our dance routine.

Tie Me Up!

Here's a picture of Rossy De Palma at Paris Fashion Week.


You may not know her from Almodovar movies such as Law of Desire, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and Kika. Kika is not included in the recent VIVA PEDRO boxed set, but it's a psychodrama like only Ally Almodovar can do. Plus, it has Victoria Abril, who's always great, especially in ATAME, which IS NOT AVAILABLE ON DVD. WTF? [Rossy de Palma gets her name from Rosa, her first name, and her hometown, Palma de Mallorca. It's also said that she has the "face of a Picasso" in Spain. She's worked for years as a model and actress, and now she lives in France.]


My favorite Almodovar movie, Atame is a great film about this guy Ricky (Antonio Banderas) who gets released from the mental institute, falls in love with a B-movie actress (Victoria Abril) and holds her hostage in her apartment. Every time he leaves her alone, he ties her up. Towards the end, as they get to know one another, she begins to ask him to tie her up when he leaves, volunteering herself. This is her:



Her sister, the seriously hilarious Loles Leon, oh wait...
this is her:


There are some really great moments in this film. One I especially like is when Victoria asks Loles what she should wear to some party (uh, it's been a minute) and Loles responds, "algo sexi, pero sin complicaciones"... you know, something sexy, but without complications. Clearly, my dear.

Another great moment is in the final scene, when [somewhat of a spoiler but I'm not tellin you much], after much drama and excitement, Banderas, Abril, and Leon drive away in their little European shitbox singing "Resistire", ["I will survive"] by the Duo Dinamico. It's a precious scene, especially for a movie about Stockholm Syndrome. [Antonino's looking fresh faced and foxy, no?]