Dream Away

I listened to this song lots of times and couldn’t place it or why I like it so much. Now I know, it’s the theme from Time Bandits. I haven’t seen that movie in years, so I’d forgotten. George Harrison was always a big supporter of all things Python and he was one of the producer’s of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits. If you remember George’s Crackerbox Palace video, Gilliam’s humor was much in keeping with his own. So of course George had the good taste to support a kindred spirit, going so far as to write a song for the credits. If he didn’t deliver his profoundest material, well, how much profoundity does a movie about time traveling midgets really need?

Model of the Week: Magdalena Frackowiak

Who are these new girls I keep talking about? Well, here’s Magdalena Frackowiak, who earned the honor of a subscriber-only Bazaar cover (against the newsstand cover of a reality ‘star’ whom I won’t dignify with a mention). What I know about her…um, she’s Polish, from Gdansk…born 1984…She’s just one in an army of impeccable girls who always looks polished and has luscious pretty hair. There’s just so many girls who are so posh, I guess that’s the thing right now. She’s got bone structure like a Ferrari, and I’ve never seen her not done up all luxe. I think that whole look is a little fembot. On the other hand, Magda isn’t all polish and perfection – look closely and you’ll note she’s quite cross-eyed. Which is rather adorable!

 

Dream A Little Dream of Me

A little something more classic for you. Ella and Louis collaborated on some of the most romantic songs ever set to vinyl (or whatever they were pressing on in those days). Things considered ‘romantic’ I often find hard to grasp, but I think we can all agree this is romantic. I don’t find anything particularly romantic about exchanging chocolate. I think murder ballads are romantic. I don’t have much use for flowers. Maybe I’m cold-blooded. But we’re in agreement – Ella + Louis = romantic.

Dread Love

In our days of Autotune, it seems like nobody can handle singing even the simplest pop song unassisted. Every mindless chorus is backing-tracked. Who the hell sings live anymore? It’s depressing that being able to carry a tune is no longer a requirement for having a singing career. Compare the ‘singing’ of today’s robot pop stars to the superhuman sounds Nina Hagen can produce. Her range is commanding enough on record, but with a visual the effect crosses over into the surreal. Can she really be hitting those notes? Yes, she is a trained opera singer, she can hit any note on the scale and does. The song doesn’t even have to hold together as a song. The point of the show is one girl making a range of sounds that go beyond musical. We’re in the shady territory of performance art, where sound and vision exist for their own sakes. And it’s punk.

Draw Your Brakes

You’ve probably seen The Harder They Come, the Jamaican cautionary tale which became a cult hit in America in 1973 and helped popularize reggae music. If you haven’t (and you should) you’ve no doubt listened to the soundtrack, which is a seminal reggae album. The film’s star, Jimmy Cliff is the biggest name on the roster, so it’s often that all the songs from that movie are wrongly attributed to him. In fact, the soundtrack is a who’s who of reggae artists from that time. There are songs from The Melodians, Desmond Dekker, The Maytals and The Slickers as well as Cliff. It’s also worth noting that aside from the title track, none of the songs were meant to be movie songs, but were popular singles in Jamaica at the time the movie was made. DJ Scotty’s Draw Your Brakes  is a version of an earlier hit, Stop That Train by  Keith & Tex.

Dragonfly

There are so many great Blondie hit songs – enough to span a thirty year career. In fact, most of the best hits came from a short few years between 1976 and 1979, a period in which the band released four albums. It’s disproportionate, but Blondie peaked hard and fast. By 1982, they were making novelty songs about drag racing in space (which, see below, is still pretty awesome). Blondie’s mojo got lost sometime in the first half of the eighties and stayed lost for over fifteen years. Perhaps it’s for the best – they might have sagged artistically on their last couple of albums but they never sank far enough to really stink, and who knows what would’ve happened if they’d stayed together. Most likely they would’ve succumbed to the siren call of 80′s MOR. Better to quit while you’re ahead. Besides there was Chris Stein’s health problems, and Debbie’s solo and film projects, and the usual generalized everybody-not-getting-along to think of.

Dragon’s Ear

“Black cat sitting on my shoulder and I’m glad”

In the sixties Marc Bolan was interested in writing his own fantasy/mythology. Unlike the ones that inspired him, his never got fully baked. (Except fully baked in the other sense, heh heh heh.) But they’re floating all over the early albums in force. Dragons and Druids are in, and Dworns, whatever those are. Methinks our hero saw himself as a bit of a mage. Hence, the black cat. ‘O course, nowadays anybody with the yearning (or slight hankering) to be part of some mystical other realm can go plug into World of Warcraft and enjoy all the pre-bottled fantasy scenarios a nerdy heart desires. Not like back in olden times when you had to do the heavy lifting of reading books, and even heavier, coming up with variations of your own.

Dr Art

I suggest that, before scrolling down to song itself, you take a minute and get really dosed. It’ll help. Though I confess I’ve never dosed to Nina Hagen. Like, maybe it’s a redundant thing to do? I’ll have to try it sometime. There’s surely levels of appreciation that the sober mind can’t wrap itself around, which need to be opened. And in general, I clearly need to do more drugs. I need mind expansion.

Downpressor Man

As usual I’m not sure what exactly this refers to, but expect it’s something of a political nature. Anyhow, I’m in no shape for thinking right now. So enjoy…

Learn Your Supermodels: Natalia Vodianova

It’s hard to believe Natalia Vodianova is a 28 year old mother of three. She still looks like a dewey sweet 16. She’s always had a beguiling wide-eyed Alice appeal. And she’s always looked much younger than her years. You could even, if you wanted to, blame her for the current lolicon fad in modeling. (Though that wouldn’t be fair.) She may look very young, but she’s nothing if not self-possessed. Before she was discovered she helped support her mother and sisters by selling fruit in Nizhny Novgorod’s street markets. Now, besides still enjoying a very active modeling career, she’s involved in philanthropic causes from building playgrounds in Russia, to saving Siberia’s tigers, along with fighting AIDS and hearing loss. And raising three children with her Viscount husband.