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]

You spin me right round, baby...

Come on, put your records on....

Recently, I've been spinning (forgive the use of the word 'spinning', as I don't have a record player and instead am 'spinning' mp3s. I just thought it would make me sound cool)...

Radio by The Avalanches.
The Avalanches are a 'plunderphonics' group from Melbourne best known for their live DJ sets and debut album Since I Left You (2000), which was assembled from approximately 3,500 vinyl samples. The Avalanches are sadly yet to release a follow-up album.

Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin.

Enough said.

Crystal by New Order.
New Order were a post-punk group formed in 1980, in the wake of the demise of their previous group, Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis. New Order went on to become one of the most critically acclaimed and highly influential bands of the 1980s.

Baby, Please Don't Go by Van Morrison.
I've actually been listening to the version by Thomas Truax, but it wasn't released and therefore wasn't available on YouTube. Truax released an album titled Songs from the Films of David Lynch, doing gritty, guitar-filled covers of some of the music David Lynch has used in his films and TV show.



Silent Shout by The Knife.
The Knife are an electro pop duo from Sweden, formed in 1999, consisting of two siblings who have appeared in public wearing Venetian masks, and refuse to attend award ceremonies (despite their numerous Swedish Grammy awards). The Knife first received international attention after their song Heartbeats was covered by José González, and featured in a Sony commercial.



Morning Light by Gliss.
According to the band, themselves...Gliss is hazy experimental fucked up pop.....delightfully wrecked...Gliss is shattered sound-scapes that melt you into a Devotion Implosion (recently released album). In my opinion, they sound a bit like The Raveonettes. Noisy. I like that.

There definitely seems to be a bit of a theme to the kind of music I've been 'spinning' lately.


So tell me, what has everybody been listening to?

Romany

[photo courtesy of bluevelvetfog.tumblr.com]

A little bit blue...

Do you ever wish you could just sleep the days away...?

I hate to sound like one of those totally ungrateful teenagers...but I'm sure everyone feels a little blue at some point. The comparison is over-exaggerated, but it certainly hits close to home.


Romany

[photos courtesy of flickr.com 1 and 2]

Dress Like an Icon...Brigitte Bardot pt II

(item credits)

"Women get more unhappy the more they try to liberate themselves."
Brigitte Bardot.
I am aware that this quote has nothing to do with style. But I figure considering, a while back, I already spent a post discussing Brigitte's style in her first Dress Like an Icon feature, I might introduce a discussion on this interesting quote, this time around. What do you think? Do you agree with Bardot's thoughts on women's liberation? Or is she way off?


Romany

[photo courtesy of hollywoodcultmovies.com and polyvore.com]

House of Style...Lizzy McGrath

Another look into the interior decorative Utopia of the elite (the elite being those who their own spaces to decorate to a Utopian level).
Meet Lizzy McGrath, editor in chief of BangBangBerlin.com, one of the best sources for finding out what 'bangs' in Berlin (natch). And let us marvel in her grungy, eclectic yet effortlessly stylish abode.

photographed by Ailine Liefeld

"I also love pop culture and some of our pictures reflects in that, whether its a picture of Roxy Music or a Lost in Translation poster or a painting from an urban artist. I could also only ever live in an old house that has character to it. I like this apartment because its renovated but it still has beautiful stucco on the ceilings. Also when you live a freelance lifestyle, sometimes you have money and sometimes you don't. You have to be relaxed enough to deal with that sort of lifestyle. So some months its great and you buy a big new sofa and TV and sometimes there are months and months when you cant do any home-improvements! But I always love going to flea markets and second-hand antique shops. Like this carved wooden table I found on Brunnenstraße was a bargain and it came from India."




"BangBangBerlin.com came about because I just needed a new challenge...I have put a great new team together: Mertol, Jobot, Emer. They are people with real enthusiasm for what they do. It’s all about having the right attitude. And I’m completely converted to doing on-line now. I would never go back to print (maybe a one-off if we had a sponsor) but it means that you reach a whole international/foreign community who love Berlin, whether they are in the UK, or NY or Paris or Spain, as well as of course the people here in Berlin."




I love Lizzy's attitude toward decoration and furnishing, especially incorporated with travel. Bits and bobs from this country and that country, each with its own meaning and significance. Total decorative inspiration.
Though she does bring up a rather scary point. Are print magazines becoming obsolete? Are internet domains becoming more and more tempting, to the point that they will no longer simply be online versions of their print counterparts, but stand-alone online destinations? I certainly hope not. As much as the internet makes things easier, I love the feeling of a magazine in my hands, being able to turn the pages with my fingers instead of clicking on a mouse.
Where do you stand on the print vs. digital issue?


Romany

[photos courtesy of freundevonfreunden.com]

5 Life Lessons From High School Movies

For all those getting ready once again to brave the school halls (the system is completely different here in Australia - we start in January, and finish in December), here are some words of wisdom from a handful of the best high school movies (need to update my DVD collection to include all of these), along with the lessons that can be learned from each one...

The Breakfast Club (1985)
"We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all" - Andrew Clark.

High school tends to force people to fit into a mold. Some kids are branded "cool," most are not. But underneath the labels, everyone has their own quirks. And it took being trapped together in Saturday detention for the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, and the criminal of "The Breakfast Club" to see how much they had in common.

Heathers (1989)

"If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn't be a human being. You'd be a game show host." - Veronica Sawyer.

People always say, "High school is the greatest time of your life." But everyone who's actually in it knows better. There is the constant pressure to succeed, to fit in, and to think about the future. So it's okay if you don't feel like high school is so great. But you definitely shouldn't follow any other examples from the murderous characters in this movie.

10 Things I Hate About You (1999)

"Just because you're beautiful, doesn't mean you can treat people like they don't matter." - Cameron James.

Popularity determines the pecking order of high school, naturally. And attractiveness plays its part in deciding who sits on top of the totem pole. But being the center of attention doesn't give you the right to disrespect others. You never know what sort of person any of your classmates will grow up to be, or where you might run into them again after graduation.

Mean Girls (2004)

"Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter... All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you." - Cady Heron.

Name-calling. Whispered gossip. Betrayed trust. They're all standard features of high school discussions. But what does it really get you? Gaining one friend by turning on another usually insures you end up with none at all. There's enough naturally occurring drama in high school interactions; it's best not to manufacture more.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." - Ferris Bueller.

Yes, high school is important. Grades, exam scores, and extracurricular activities all factor in to university applications and setting the course for your life. But it's not so important that you shouldn't allow yourself to have some fun now and again. That's not to say that skipping school is a good idea (especially not nine times in a semester), just keep things in perspective and every so often watch a movie.

What are some lessons you've learned from high school?



Romany

[photos courtesy of davidsdawson.com, timeoutny.com, moviepicturedb.com, thecia.com.au and billsmovieemporium.wordpress.com]

Editorial Watch

Warning: image heavy.
This is a month old, but I'm sure we can all still appreciate it's magnificence.

L'hiver avant l'hiver
photographed by David Sims for Vogue Paris August 2010

Vogue Paris takes a look at the fall collections with a mega-sized 65 page cover shoot photographed by David Sims. Through the combined efforts of Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt, models Freja Beha Erichsen, Iselin Steiro, Joan Smalls, Dara Werbowy, Isabeli Fontana, Crystal Renn, Frida Gustavsson, Aline Weber and Monika Jagaciak don pieces from fashion’s biggest names including Marc Jacobs, Chanel and Alexander McQueen. It is truly a visit into fashion paradise with Sims’ L’hiver Avant L’hiver.

Many, many more after the jump.