Mmmmm. Nice. Like a slightly battered Jakob Dylan.
Uh-oh. Is this this actor in trailer below as sexy as the original? Gainsbourg is renowned for being an ugly rogue (and musician of course) who bedded many beautiful women and became a French national icon before, eventually, drinking himself to death. But!- he had charisma and an arrogant, rough but fun allure to him. This actor looks, well, a tad weedy. Still he may pull it off.
Eight strapping brothers from Chicago, looking suspiciously the same age, took to the stage in the unbearably hot and packed-past-capacity Purty Kitchen on Friday night. The sons of respected Jazz musician Phil Cohran, along with a 'drummer from a different mother' (sitting hidden at the back) have collaborated with the likes of Mos Def, Erykah Badu and of course Papa Phil who trained them from a young age.
Their hyper brand of hip hop infused jazz, dancing and crowd surfing really kicked off the festival and got the crowd going. I should know as I have a nice little clip on my Nokia of the people behind me when I accidentally filmed in the wrong direction when the audience were asked to take out their phones. They seemed to be having a really good time anyway. I'm glad.
In the end the Irish indoor heat proved too much for the sweaty American lads and even though all shirts were removed quite early into the gig soon they could play no more stating they wouldn't make it through another song. Poor little buggers had to scoot off stage but not before singing Ole Ole to the crowd, eliciting an estatic response (are we really still that easy?Yes, embarrasingly so) and inviting us to join them at the bar afterwards.
A gaggle of girls in front seemed suitably impressed with what they saw. One of them stating matter of factly, 'I want one'.
Mercury nominations were announced today and I am very excited about these four in particular:
Laura Marling - I Speak Because I Can
Mumford and Sons - Sigh No More
The xx - xx
Villagers - Becoming A Jackal
I am excited for different reasons. Mumford and Sons are fun and talented although I am not crazy about their album. Marcus Mumford supported Laura Marling when I first saw her in Whelans and he was personable and skillful, hopping between instruments with ease. As part of the anti-folk movement it is great to see them recognised though I doubt their album is strong enough to win. With the Villagers being Irish and Conor being a soulful little munchkin it would be amazing if they won. Especially with such new material. I saw him play on Saturday in the Iveagh gardens supporting Josh Ritter and he sounded just as hauntingly moving as he did on Later with Jools Holland recently.
My bet though is on either Laura Marling or The xx. If you have read a little of my blog you will know that I have a bit of a crush on her. 'I Speak because I can' is such an accomplished album and is my most listened to album ever. I have started to feel sheepish when I pop on my headphones each morning on the walk to work and Laura starts singing. As if people can somehow tell how many times I have played the album, I half expect to hear a shout of 'there is other music you know!?'.
The difficulty for the judges could be choosing between those two. The xx album is excellent. Their sound is so unique, underground but with a summery vibe. Crystalised is easily one of the best new songs to emerge recently and is on my most played list, right after Laura of course. (Am I making you sick of her yet?...)
Of course, knowing the Mercury Prize's penchant for surprising, I could be completely wrong and Dizzee Rascal could swoop in and steal it. (Please god no!) . Lets just compare some lyrics shall we?
Laura-
beaten, battered, and cold
my children will live just to grow old
but if i sit here and weep
i'll be blown over by the slightest of breeze
and the weak need to be lead
and the tender i'll carry to their bed
and its a pale and cold affair
i'll be damned if i'll be found there
Dizzee - I know you're really busy and I know you've got plans
But are you really too busy for a sun tan?
I ain't talking about walking down the high street
I'm talking about laying on a bright white beach
This makes me wanna don a vest top, durrty jeans, trucker cap and dangle a smoke from my lip while hanging around weather beaten men. Real men. The alpha male kind who drink whiskey straight up and say things like 'dont make me come over there, Darlene' (did I mention my name would be Darlene?) and 'pop the hood on that there truck and lets see if we cant get her good as gold'.
You know, that sort of thing. I want to learn it on my gee-tar.
Probably the best and most evocative opening credits I've ever seen. Captures the spirit of the South and in particular the South depicted in the show. Sordid, creepy, humid, crazy, angry, naive, superstitious, sexy and dangerous. Brilliant.
It got me thinking about other opening credits I love, could only think of two that are worthy.... Twin Peaks and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The other day I was in town with my lovely younger sister. The plan was to visit a few exhibitions to see what was new for something to review. The first was rather dull and to quote my sister, 'like something you would see in a history museum' and as it was a Monday, and we met late in the afternoon, we also ended up missing the closing time of second one.
'Where next?' she asked me.
But that was all I had researched. I knew not where to go.
'Do you know of any photography ones?' I asked? (She is a photography graduate). She sighed and a very slight tension prevailed in the air around us. As so often with families, the mood can change quickly and dramatically and it can sometimes be hard to define why. However, co-incidence has taught me that perhaps it was my fault for something to do lack of planning and assertiveness. I am nothing if not suggestible and questioning at the best of times.
We ended up going home. Later then after dinner I was procrastinating on the lap top.
'What should I write about in my blog?! Someone tell me'. I whined loudly.
'Hayley! You have no original thought!' shot back my sister. Did I mention she is a fair bit younger than me?
I must say this stung a little. She mentioned the incident in town too, then the subject moved on. I was left staring at the blank screen in front of me, the cursor flashing, taunting me to write.There was no blog post that night.
The following day at work I was talking to a colleague who is a bit of a history buff. I was telling him about the exhibition but had very quickly exhausted my knowledge on the subject. It was clear he knew alot more than me so I ended my verbal review with the sentence ' it was like something you might see in a history museum'... I cringed a little inside. My sister's smug little face in the forefront of my mind.
We somehow then went on to discuss the book 'Hitler's Library', he explained what a prolific reader Hitler was and how influenced he was by so many authors, taking ideas and quotes from everywhere when it suited him. From religion and theology to architecture and cuisine, he was one impressionable little reader.
'God!' I said, 'He had no original thought, did he?'.
