With the band...because I couldn't be in it.

I think it would be quite reasonable to say that I am fascinated by groupie culture. Earlier in the year, my world was rocked when I read Pamela Des Barres' tell-all memoir 'I'm With the Band', and since then I have devoured all things old-school-groupie; books, documentaries, you name it. Currently, I'm hooked on music autobiographies for a similar reason, to absorb myself in the scene that was classic rock'n'roll, something that is harder to come by in our squeaky-clean-Disney-revering-indifference-to-talent times. There is a real sense of grit, raw-ness and authenticity that leaps off the page and right into the life you're living. Sure, in the groupie stories there's a strong undercurrent of bitterness, nostalgia and sometimes their desperation to cling to their whirlwind days basking in the glory of their famous lovers is a little bit off-putting, but it all somehow seems so much more attractive than the current scene. So postmodern, I know.

Pamela Des Barres.

Recently, I've been wondering why it is that I am so fascinated by this particular kind of reading. It wasn't until I read Chrissy Amphlett's 'Pleasure and Pain' that I figured it out. When I was younger, I was an avid performer. I took singing and dancing lessons for several years until I got fed up with the politics at the school that I attended (even as an 11 year old I was politically apathetic, it seemed). As Miss Amphlett described the pure rush she would get from belting out a tune in front of an audience and the constant adrenaline that accompanied performing, I realised just how much I miss singing. When I was taking those classes, I knew all I wanted to do was sing and dance. I gave up on that dream for a decade and I feel it may be descending upon me once again.
I was always a good singer, but having been out of practice for so long I would never be up to scratch to do it professionally. And dance is such a competitive industry, that the weight of such an ambition seems to crush any possible desire to take that professionally. Perhaps I am simply frustrated at myself for not taking performing further when I was at a riper age (most performers are well on their way by 20 years old), and wanting to soak up others' experiences is that frustration and desire manifesting in a safe, rejection-free way.

Marianne Faithfull.

Is it time to pull the dream out of the closet, give it a shake and try again? I live in an extraordinarily music-focused city which is beautiful. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so much music. So much good music. People are always looking for additions to their music projects. Could my life be taking a fortuitous turn thanks to this realisation? Failing that, I could always try my best to insert my name into the groupie Hall of Fame. Judging by the few chapters I've read of 'Faithfull' by Marianne Faithfull, some seem to master the art of combining the two, like Miss Faithfull, herself. But then again, those were different days. The Swinging Sixties when anything and everything was possible. Sure, it's easy looking at eras passed through rose coloured glasses, but hey, it's beats reality sometimes, doesn't it? So, so postmodern.

And so I pose a question, on which side of the stage would you prefer to be? The performer or the groupie? The music or the muse? Tough question, indeed...



Romany

[photos courtesy of ipgbook.com, villainouslyvintage.wordpress.com]

Spotlight...Alison Scarpulla

Oh, the whimsy...

Between you and me, fairytales aren’t really true. Yet, we found one that may very well be real, beautifully illustrated in any case. Alison Scarpulla has a very distinct photography style and post production technique.

She tells of mystical stories and the magic. And if anything ever warranted the usage of the word magic, this is it, here and now.

Her MySpace page profiles a female, 100 years old, living in Brooklyn, France. Her interests are nothing but pictures of a Medusa, a reversed Medusa that is, a snake with a female head.

Not much is know about her real life. Not yet. She is the talk of the town and popping up in blogs all over the net. We are certainly looking forward to hearing more from Alison Scarpulla. Let's hope she doesn’t do an Alice in Wonderland on us and vanish down some rabbit hole...

Romany

[photos courtesy of gosee.us]

You spin me right round, baby...

I have decided to make music a bigger part of my life. As with most people, music has always meant quite a lot to me, but I feel that I'd like to be more involved. As for how I plan to go about that, well that remains to be seen, so for now I'm just overworking my CD player.
On that note (pun intended), recently I've been spinning...

Ramblin' (Wo)man by Cat Power.

I only just discovered this song this morning, and I have already played it an indecent amount of times...

Robot Rock by Daft Punk (cool video, too).

Considering that my dad not only works in the music industry, but is also a huge Daft Punk fan, suffice to say I have been listening to this band for a very long time. I don't think I could ever become tired with their music. I was at a bar a few weeks ago, and this song began playing, which re-ignited my love affair all over again.

I Got Mine by the Black Keys.

Such a raw, classic sound. I dare you not to worship this band.

Roadhouse Blues by The Doors (with added John Lee Hooker).
I found it difficult choosing which Doors song to post, but I decided on this because I've really been loving the blues-rock sound recently.



Baptism by Crystal Castles.
A friend of mine bought Crystal Castles tickets last night, and managed to score me one. Is that sweet or what! I imagine that is going to be one sick show.



Heart of Glass by Blondie.
Don't ask me why, but this song reminds me of Christmas. Perhaps it's because of the summery weather. Either way, Blondie make me so happy it's sickening.

So tell me, what has everybody been listening to?


Romany

[photos courtesy of flickr.com]

United Hearts...

I recently had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Leonard Cohen in concert. Ordinarily I can't afford concert tickets even the half of the price of these babies, but luckily I scored them for free (my luck is never usually this good, so believe me, I took advantage). At first I was worried that I'd have to go solo - worried only because such an experience should be shared - because a lot of my friends are in Europe (my Leonard-Cohen-fanatic-friends, that is), or at least, they were at the time. But I managed to rope someone in, and we ended up having a lovely time together.

Leonard Cohen

It's difficult to describe a live Leonard Cohen show...his voice is so deep, and so powerful, that even though it was held in a gigantic stadium, it felt like an intimate venue. The loudest applause came, of course, when the audience realised Mr. Cohen was about to play his most well-known number, the ever-covered Hallelujah. But my personal favourite moment of the evening was when the music died right down to a very low hum, and the stadium was silent, as Mr. Cohen played a very special and personal track, 1000 Kisses Deep. I can't describe the chills that went up my spine...
Mr. Cohen and the band came back for two encores, much to the crowd's enjoyment. I absolutely loved how every time he exited the stage, he would skip and raise his hands to the music. I laughed and cooed at the same time. After 2 hours or thereabouts, the show ended, and my friend and I were getting ready to put our VIP passes to good (backstage) use. On our way to the backstage area, who did we run into? Only little miss Alannah Hill, fashion designer extraordinaire. We had a little chat to her about the show, and boy is she a sweetheart. And incredibly funny. I've always thought she didn't need to get as dolled up as she does, but man does she work it!

Eventually we got to the greenroom, where we chatted to Debra Conway and husband Willy Zygier, who were the support act for the night, and might I add very entertaining. We worked our way around the room, mingling with various members of the band and crew, and at one point Leonard Cohen, himself, popped his head in as he was heading off for the night. We took this opportunity to tell him that the show was great, which he appreciated. Such a sweet man...
After a little while, all of the Cohen Camp had to leave, and we managed to get a ride in their van. We were taken to their hotel (at which point I found out that the Webb sisters, Leonard Cohen's backup singers, are also big fans of the Cocteau Twins, a favourite band of mine), at which point we said our thank you's and goodbyes, and headed off on our way to a bar where we got smashed and danced for hours on end.

All in all, a very good night...

Tell me, what has been a memorable live music experience?


Romany


[photos courtesy last.fm and leonardcohen.tumblr.com]

Scent of a woman...

It's that time of month again...a fragrance post! I realise I am unhealthily obsessed, but the entire fragrance industry is just far too classy not to devote so much attention to. We all have our "fool proof" perfumes - not feeling so crash-hot? Spritz on your favourite perfume and it can make all the difference in the world. So now let us discuss...

J'Adore by Dior.
I wore this all through winter, it's definitely a favourite of mine for colder weather. It is supposed to be spring at the moment, but the chill just isn't letting up so far. But hey, I don't mind keeping my beautiful bottle of J'Adore out for another few weeks.

Daisy, by Marc Jacobs.

I heard that Marc Jacobs named this fragrance after the character Daisy from F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. I won't lie, that is a little off-putting. I hated Daisy after finishing the book, and didn't want to believe that such a beautiful perfume could be named after her. But it's easy to block out the negatives, and focus on the positives, in which case the scent itself is perfectly fitting of the setting, if nothing else. Summer on the water. It can't be denied that Daisy is, after all, sunshine in a bottle.

What is your favourite scent(s) this season?

Romany

[photos courtesy of breathy.tumblr.com and harpersbazaar.com]

This Month I'm Loving...

It's almost Christmas time, can you believe it? But don't worry, we still have over a month to get ourselves organised for that wonderful time of year. But for now, let us start this month with some love...

(500) Days of Summer.
I just saw this for the first time last night...I was not expecting it to be so truly wonderful.

Platform Heels.
Would you believe I don't have a pair? Every opportunity I get to go shopping, is an opportunity I take to look for the perfect pair...

Red Nails.

I think we can ascertain that red is my current favourite colour...

Blue.
...but this evocative colour still holds a special place in my heart.

Chilly Mornings.

It's difficult to let go of the cold (especially considering we're two months into spring and it still feels like winter sometimes).

Anna Pihl

A Danish cop show that is currently my guilty pleasure. European TV is mind-blowingly different to that of the Western World.


Rain.
"rain, rain, rain pour here and clean my soul..."

What are you loving this month?

Romany

[photos courtesy of imdb.com, jakandjil.com, naomi-samara.deviantart.com, annha.com, lolitas.se 1 and 2 and michaelrene.com]

Spotlight...Viktor Vauthier

Photographer. Genius.

Peek-a-boo.

Anything to feed my stripes obsession...

Readers, meet my new boyfriend. Viktor Vauthier.


Romany


[photos courtesy of viktorvautier.blogspot.com/]

somehow...

...I had 10, 648 hits yesterday. Where did that come from??

Like a rolling stone...

The Rolling Stones
photographed by Dominique Tarlé

Dominique Tarlé spent the spring and summer of 1971 in the South of France with the Rolling Stones. The photographer was accepted in a small, constantly changing circle of musicians, friends and family. It was the time when the band left the country for tax reasons and recorded the ‘Exile on Main Street’ record.

Tarlé was let into the inner circle for a brief period and the resulting images document private moments and the creative process like no other.

The Villa Nellcôte on the French Riveria was home to Mick Jagger and his then girlfriend Bianca, Keith Richards und Anita, Wyman, Watts, Marlon, Western legend Gram Parsons and Eric Clapton.

The images capture various experience: a rock ‘n’ roll circus and all its groupies, girlfriends, dogs and kids; an unstructured life made up of hanging out and jamming, which escalated in drug-fuelled escapades in the sun, followed by the nursing hangovers in the distant morning.

Dominique Tarlé was born in Paris, 1948 and discovered photography and music at a young age. Since the French press didn’t show much interest for the music scene at the time, he was drawn to London, where he photographed English bands such as the Stones, The Who, Led Zeppelin and Hendrix. Following his photographic documentation of the Rock and Roll Circus and Hyde Park Free Concert, he began to frequently hang out with the Rolling Stones in 1968.

Mick and Keith

Keith

Mick and Keith

Mick and Keith

Keith playing guitar for family and friends

Keith and Gram Parsons

Mick

I so envy those who get to hung out with rock stars. I need to get myself into the music scene...



Romany

[photos courtesy of gosee.us]

Beauty Icon...Debbie Harry

Debbie Harry

photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe

"Everybody knows that I've had plastic surgery. I did it for business reasons. You photograph better, and looks are a key part of being an entertainer, so I felt it was something I had to do. All sorts of horrific things happen in life. Why make it worse by worrying about getting older?"

(item credits)

Rapture...


Romany

[photos courtesy of rebelqueen-.tumblr.com and polyvore.com]