Grey Gardens III

Today I purchased my ticket to Grey Gardens! And at a discount too. I'm going to see it this Friday night. Yay!

And you thought I was done writing about this. :)

There is an official site (not the musical site). And a Yahoo! group. From what I've read, the Marble Faun actually posts to that group.

Fortunate

Friday night and we're still celebrating. My friend D and a couple of other ladies took me to Max Brenner again and we actually had dinner before going towards chocolate pizzas and truffles. It was fantastic. After that we headed over to Madame X. You know how you pass a place so many times wondering what it's all about but never finding the reason to be in there? Anyway, one of D's friends was also celebrating a birthday so he was having his party over at this place. We went upstairs to a private area and saw a gang of young and mature people hanging out. There seemed to be a theme going on as a lot of people came in wearing wigs. Both boys and girls. We sat there observing the scene and I'm fine doing just that these days. We sat next to a beautiful Asian girl who was wearing a roaring 20s get-up complete with feathered headband. Turns out she was the entertainment which we missed. I think she said she was doing some tap dancing or some kind of dance. Now she had stationed herself in the corner as the resident tattoo artist. She painted D a fabulous sparkling tattoo on her arm. Met the birthday boy who had just turned 30. I told him how old I had just gotten and he said that it was a remarkable age and I was wondering how he'd know that. Anyway, had some fun and left and I have D to thank for it. Nights like this often make me forget a lot of crap that I usually think of and can actually live through the rest of the weekend feeling fine.

Came home just after midnight to find my light bubs in the living room were all blown up. This is the third time since I've moved here that I had to change the bubs. How often do you have to change your light bulbs? Not such an easy task as the ceiling is high and I have to get up on the chair to do it. By the way, my apartment still pretty much looks like I have just moved in and I'm now in my 6Th month! Time does not go by so slowly.

That Other Place

I know that there were or are a couple of you who have made visits to my other blog. For a while there, even though I was posting in here, I did go back and posted a few more entries.

If you've gone there lately, I'm sure you got a message saying that the blog is private only. Please note that I did not make it private for anyone other than myself. I'm not posting there regularly and I'm not inviting only certain people to read the blog.

I just didn't want to delete it completely and I also didn't want it to be accessible to the public anymore. I want to keep it for myself because I'd like to revert to some of the posts from time to time. I mean, I did write in there for about three years. Would you throw away your journal or your diary? There were some posts there that were highly personal and emotional. And I remember writing them thinking nobody would read them. But then as shocking as it was, there were people actually responding. They were all kind-hearted and respectful responses from some very nice people. It was nice to have people on my side for once.

In the old days, those feelings were either locked-up or written down somewhere in a book for my own eyes only. I don't know whether putting myself out there for a select people made me weak or strong. Only you can answer that, hopefully truthfully.

I really do miss it though. Some of those people are now gone. I guess blogging was a thing they can either take or leave. There wasn't much attachments for them and they can move on to other things. Perhaps they grew and learned something and didn't need it anymore.

For me, it's still a forum for my thoughts which never get the audience they deserve sometimes. And honestly, I do get a kick out of people's responses. I'm happy whenever a comment is made. And I get very excited and I usually post a response to the comments.

Where else can it be all about me? The life I've lived where I always stood in the background and I was never the center of anything.

I'm a very anxious person which is why some of my posts seem to have been done in a hurry or look incomplete. Usually, when I'm writing about something outside of emotions and feelings, I get kind of anxious. But when I write about what I'm writing about now, I can actually blah blah all day long with details filled in. Though I do seem to branch out from one thing to another.

So I guess I should conclude. And in short, please don't be offended if you made way to my older blog to find that it is now private. If you really do want to access it - though I don't see why, let me know and I'll add you in. And for those that were there from 2004 and on, thanks for some memories and support and all that. It may be just "something" to you guys but for me, I think a lot of it was important for me.

Things have been emotionally crazy for me lately though. I'm getting all sorts of negative emotions flooding in yesterday, today and tomorrow. So you've been warned.

The Secret vs. What The Bleep Do We Know

You know for a long time I've been going on about the movie What The Bleep Do We Know. And now out comes The Secret. And because these guys appeared on Oprah, you know they're all gonna flock to it. I'd rather they see What The Bleep because it was enough. Deepak Chopra is enough or even Dr. Wayne Dyer. These guys are all talking about the same thing. These idiots with The Secret are talking about it as if they made up the stuff.

I'm not being fair because I haven't seen the movie they're trying to pull off to the public. Rather I just saw them on Oprah and I'm making a judgement based on that. That one guy that says "I call it intention.." Dude, you didn't call anything. And you didn't make that up so stop trying to make us believe that you're the genius behind all this. That one guy dressed up like he's some kind of guru. I couldn't watch the whole thing.

Anyway, I urge you that if you're interested in that sort of stuff, skip it and see What The Bleep Do We Know instead. It's only fair since they're the first people to make a movie out of it.

Labels

I keep forgetting about the "labels" feature! I keep having to go back and put them there.

Grey Gardens II

Here's a little taste of Little Edith Beal in all her glory. To the tune of Madonna's "Hung Up" off course. Madonna would be proud.



Little Edith Beale's fashion show.

Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens - The Beales of Grey Gardens:

Aw forget it! I thought about writing a "review" of this and then remembered - I'm not a strong a reviewer. You guys can do that and what seems to me - with ease. I just can't throw all those words around and make it sound like it came out of some newspaper column or something.

By the way, when I post about a CD, DVD or anything like that, it's not really a "review" rather than just me saying "I got something and I like it." Or maybe write a few words about how I feel about the whole thing.

So here's how I feel about this DVD. It started out with a friend at work who started talking about it and I had no interest whatsoever in it. Until she lent me the Grey Gardens DVD and I was hooked. I have to credit my friend who pushed this on me somehow knowing that what's going on with Little Edith Beale is something I can relate to.

It's about a bird trapped in a cage. She longs to break out of the cage and hit the city of New York to finally make a career for herself. She likes to dance and sing. So does her mother big Edith Beale. Which is why they ended up living the way they did. A 28 room mansion in the Hamptons which is falling apart. Garbage everywhere, raccoons getting in the house, cats all over the place (imagine the smell). These two were part of the richest family in the world. The cousin and aunt of the late Jackie Onassis. They were once ordered to leave the house or fix it up. Ms. Onassis came to the rescue that one time but since then the house has deteriorated.

I feel so much for little Edith Beale when all she can think of is to leave that house and get to the city. "Any rats nest will do." Exactly how I felt all those years living in Arizona. When for some reason, I couldn't leave because of my father. Edith can't leave because of her mother who must be looked after.

Edith still dreams of becoming the dancer she always wanted to be. She often talks of never getting a chance. Missing out on everything. All on the account of her having to take care of her mom for 30 years. But I fell in love with her. Little Edith. The fashion icon. You've gotta see the makeshift outfits she puts together for herself. It's like a fashion show. And in later years, fashion designers have used little Edith's look on their runways!! As little Edith sometimes calls them "revolutionary." Her head is always covered. It's either a scarf, a towel, a sweater or something and all holding it together is this one broach which makes the entire outfit. She's got nowhere to go. They are both recluses but she takes the time to put outfits together and parades around in them just doing whatever.

Then there are the old pictures that they pass around to show to the film crew (Maysles brothers). These two were quite lookers in their young age. Breathtakingly beautiful pictures of both Ediths. Including in the room is a beautiful painted portrait of big Edith. At one time one of the cats gets behind it and does it's business. Memorable quote from big Edith: "No, I'm glad. I'm glad somebody's doing something what they want to do!"

Towards the end of the movie you see a bird taking off away from the roof of Grey Gardens. But inside you see little Edith Beale dancing around in this little room. All trapped, all wishing to spread her wings and fly away to get her life started. And she's only 56 years old.

In this DVD you are taken inside the lives of people who once had everything that they wanted. Money and all. Then all of it was stripped away and they were left to live in a home that would fall apart round them. And them along with it. You get to see a mother daughter relationship like no other.

I went out and bought the boxed set of this DVD. There's been quite an interest in the story. Now it being on Broadway and a movie about to be made starring Drew Barrymore. But this documentary was out in 1976! So it's had some kind of cult following. And usually I know about these things. Somehow, this one has passed me by until now. The boxed set included another DVD full of footage that was not seen in the first one. So much footage that it's a movie entirely on it's own. Here you can see so much more iconic fashion from little Edith. More singing and dancing and little Edith's philosophies.

Memorable quote from little Edith Beale: "You know what stays the same? Nature! The sun and the moon and everything else go on. In spite of man. He crumbles."

I do love her. After he mother died, little Edith Beale stayed at the mansion for another 4 to 5 years and then sold it. She moved to Bell Harbor in Florida and finally lived the remaining years of her life in luxury. She was given the chance to do some cabaret. But it never took off. But now, she's a star. She died in 2002.

I'm buying a Ouija board to contact her.

I know this was badly written.

Sarah Nixey - Sing, Memory

Some good songs here, namely, When I'm Here With You, Strengelove, The Collector, Endless Circles, Masquerade and... The Black Hit of Space.

I'm not the only one who has been praising the genius of the old Human League (coincidence? - And thanks XO!). It's a pretty good version of it in my opinion. This is not a U.S. release. I bought it on import. More of an impatient buy on my part. Not wanting to wait for a domestic release and thus getting burned by spending way too much for a CD. I might want to stop doing that and just head straight for the iTunes downloads rather than handing over my hard earned cash for a glossy CD packaging. But it's a choice you make.

Visage - DVD video collection (edited)

Coincidences never cease to amaze me. Just after posting about the whole Blitz scene I found this Visage collection of videos at Virgin yesterday while out doing some browsing. Well, I did intend to get the one thing, but then you know how it goes. I could not resit buying this.

I just like the scene in which Steve walks out of the Limousine to enter his Blitz night club. The quality of the videos are surprisingly well done.

The videos are presented in a seamless fashion. One video leading to the next.

Beat Boy was not such a great album. It was their last release in 1984. Love Glove possibly being the only listenable track in that album. Visage ended there. I guess it was interesting that the later videos were filmed in Egypt and other parts of Africa and some excellent scenery and shots were taken there. Steve is seen interacting with the locals engaging the kids of Egypt to style their hair and whatnot. I guess if I was in Egypt and had all those amazing scenes to film, I'd incorporate them into the videos even if the song had nothing to do with it. What does Love Glove have to do with the pyramids of Egypt? But still interesting to see a flamboyant Steve Strange amidst the locals and villagers of the land.

Still, it's a good buy for any fan of early masters of the VISual AGE.

It's just a day like any other day

I forgot my pod today. And I really needed some of those songs on the way to work. Today, of all days.

This has nothing to do with Valentines Day.

The weather decided to be extra crappy (I'm not surprised). Just that the thing is, I can no longer say I'm a thirty-something anymore. And I don't lie. Maybe the face could if I keep moisturising regularly.

This Friday I'm going to try and get discount ticket for Grey Gardens. Something I'm falling in love with and I'll write more about it soon. I despise most Broadway musicals, but I'm obsessed with these women and must see it. But, I can't really afford the $110.00 they're asking for orchestra seats. I guess I could go balcony. I don't know. I'll have to see tomorrow or Friday how I want to go about it.

I just felt a sudden jolt of joy and pleasure in thinking about all this. I hope it lasts the rest of the day.

Beautiful Darling

I got an e-mail today notifying me that there is in fact a movie in production on the life of Candy Darling. The e-mail came from a member of the production team and a friend of Candy Darling, Jeremiah Newton.

"Hello: You mentioned in your FACTORY GIRL review that someone should do something about Candy Darling. Well, we are. The documentary is called BEAUTIFUL DARLING/The Life and Times of Andy Warhol Superstar Candy Darling. We have been in production for 6 months now, and along with me, the producer is Gill Holland and the exec prod is Paul Morrissey."

More info can be found here and here.

Photo by Laura Rubin.

Factory Girl

Well, both of you know that I love the whole Warhol scene. I was all set to see this last night until I read the reviews. Every one of them bad. I know we can't always go by the critics but for this one, I really wanted it to work. Kind of like Capote did. So if any of you have seen it, kindly report and maybe I'll spend the $11.00 they want to watch this 1 1/2 hour movie.

You know besides Edie, there were many other superstars worthy of the spotlight. Candy Darling, Holly Woodlawn. These were the people in which Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" was about. Perhaps a movie with a focus on these "superstars" would be good idea. Throw in some Nico and Divine and you've got a great cast. But you'd have to get a really good Warhol. Bring back Bowie!!

Blitzed!!

Question: You have opened up a nightclub of your own. You make your own rules. You play your own music. So what would be your DJ list of songs for your night club?

So I was thinking of putting together the ultimate Blitz play list.

Back in the late 70s Rusty Egan and Steve Strange got together to open up a nightclub called Blitz. This is where you went to if you wanted to party to the sounds of all the newcomers at the time such as The Human League, Soft Cell, Japan and Simple Minds as well the more established greats like David Bowie, Iggy Pop and The Velvet Underground.

I taught I needed a little help with my play list so I searched around the net to see what I can find and I bumped into this DJ website that had a Rusty Egan play list that reflects those times at Blitz. I was pretty happy to know the those tracks that I had already thought of appeared on this play list. I won't be able to complete the list because I don't have all these songs so I would probably add a few more that are not on the list such as Duran Duran's "The Sound of Thunder" and Simple Mind's "I Travel.". But I have enough to make a good sized list to last me the commute to and from work.

You can check out Rusty's website where there is even a more complete play list of Blitz songs. I'm not quite sure how long Blitz ran but it sure sounded like a fun place to be at the time.

Below is Rusty's play list. Make one yourself, spike your hair, put on some makeup and dance like it's 1979. I'll be in the corner drinking along with George, Siouxsie and Marc.


RUSTY EGAN'S BLITZ PLAYLIST

David Bowie - Heroes
Cabaret Voltaire - Nag Nag Nag
Brian Eno - No One Receiving
Eno/Moebius/Roedelius - Broken Head
Gina X - No GDM
Nina Hagen - TV Glotzer
Human League - Being Boiled
Japan - I Second That Emotion
Japan - Life In Tokyo
Grace Jones - La Vie En Rose
Kraftwerk - The Model
Kraftwerk - Radioactivity
Kraftwerk - Showroom Dummies
La Dusseldorf - Viva
Landscape - Einstein A Go Go
Thomas Leer - Day Breaks Night Heals
M - M Factor
Magazine - Permafrost
Giorgio Moroder - The Chase
The Normal - Warm Leatherette
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Electricity
Iggy Pop - Nightclubbing
Iggy Pop - The Passenger
Wolfgang Reichman - Wunderbar
Rinder & Lewis - Willie And The Hand Jive
Roxy Music - Trash
Shock - R.E.R.B.
Simple Minds - Changeling
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Hong Kong Garden
Soft Cell - Memorabillia
Sparks - Number One Song In Heaven
Telex - Cafe De La Jungle
Telex - Moscow Diskow
Throbbing Gristle - Hot On The Heels Of Love
Ultravox - Hiroshima Mon Amour
Ultravox - All Stood Still
Visage - Visage
Yello - Bostich
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Computer Game
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Firecracker

Noodles, Chocolate and Sketch Comedy

Last night a few of us got together to celebrate a friend's birthday. We'd been planning for months! So yesterday was the day to do it. We had dinner at a place called Republic. Pan-Asian, mostly noodle dishes. I'm afraid mine was a little bland at best. I had ordered the tofu udon and I usually like the udon soups especially with vegetable tempura. But this one, not so great. I did also try the tofu appetizer which was pretty good. It had a nice spicy peanut sauce that came with it. I will still go there another time to try out some of their other menu items. The place itself was nice so I recommend to anyone visiting.


Next we went over to Max Brenner Chocolate by the Bald Man which was quite an experiance. Who doesn't love chocolate? This restaurant offers all things chocolate and chocolate drinks. Hot, cold, frozen, any way you like. They do have other food items, but you want to come here for their chocolate "dishes." You have to know that I've never made smores before. So we ordered smores and some other stuff. The smores was for two but they give you plenty for at least four people. We had a blast here and stayed for quite a while. Nice atmosphere and a must for anyone visiting New York City.


Next we went across the street over to Virgin Megastore and I bought this.

I remember Kids In The Hall when they first started showing it on HBO. Funny stuff. Canada's version of Saturday Night Live and created by SNL'S Lorne Michaels. Lots of drag and all the funny characters like the "I'm crushing your head" guy, Cabbagehead and my favorite, Buddy Coles. I don't find every single sketches to be all that funny. But for the most part, there are some pretty good ones enough for this to be of a worthy purchase. They way they do drag alone is worth it. Sketch comedy these days are not so funny so I'm glad these are around for us to go back to when sketch was really funny. I would also like to get some of SCTV stuff as well. Remember that one? What about FRIDAYS? Where we first saw Michael Richards of Seinfeld fame.

"I love Jesus but...."

A little funny for you. I don't usually watch Ellen, but I saw this one on youtube and thought I'd share.

88 year old Gladys kills on the Ellen show. Really, watch this through. You'll laugh! Listen to her as she takes on the local weather news and so on...

I love Gladys!

NIN

New 15 track Nine Inch Nails to come out soon. According to Side Line, the ablum was recorded mostly with laptops in various hotel rooms around the world. Guest vocalists and such.

I'm interested but not holding my breath. Can't remember the last time I bought into any of his stuff. For me "Pretty Hate Machine" was the only great NIN album ever made considering who was involved with the making of that album.

I'm Your Karma

I'm the voices in your head
I'm in everyone you've said
In every step you tread
I'm the news you'll always dread

I'm your karma
I'm' your karma
I'm your karma

I'm the terror in your eyes
A demon you despise
I'm the rain on your parade
I'm all the mistakes you made

I'm the door that always slams
The window when it jams
I'm the heaven in your head
The hell you choose instead

I'm your karma
I'm your karma

For what goes around
It comes around
My love you've been around
Now it's time to bring you down

I'm the motorcycle wreck
The death card in your deck
I'm the loss of a close friend
The grief that never ends

I'll be your heart attack
The sense you'll always lack
The phone that never rings
A clip upon your wings

Your world that falls apart
Your heaviness of heart
The judgement from above
A final lack of love

The only tear you shed
The last thought in your head
I'll be the one beside your grave
who cries
When you are dead

I'm your Karma
I'm your Karma

But who will be
my karma?

Maybe you will be
My karma

For what goes around
It comes around
My love you've been around

Is it time to bring me down?
It's time to bring me down
It's time to bring me down
like I brought you down

You're my karma
You're my karma

like I was your karma

And the clock ticks on
And the clock ticks on

I'm your karma

Marc Almond

I was felling awfully low this Saturday. I decided to check out Marc Almond's MySpace and he had up four songs. All of them good. This one especially. I had to make up the lyrics as there weren't any available on the net. So I hope I got it right. It's just him and Martin Watkins on piano.

Addition: Looks like the songs have been taken down except for one. I guess I got there just in time. Just when I needed it. And then, poof. Sorry if you wanted to hear it.

Listen

Junior Boys - so this is goodbye

I finally got my hands on this. It is an electro treat to the ears full of clean beats and single sounds. Lots of great tracks here. "When No One Cares" is so Morrissey. Fantastic bass lines as in "The Equalizer." This I think is the second release from the Canadian duo. I imagine more great things coming from these new artists.

Simple Minds - Early Gold

Handpicked by the artists themselves. This is a collection of some pretty good Simple Minds songs covering their first five releases. Some great tracks like "I Travel" and "Love Song" are among my favorites. But their last four is among the best Simple Minds songs ever: "Promised You a Miracle," "Glittering Prize," "Someone Somewhere in Summertime," and "New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)."

Everything But The Girl - like the deserts miss the rain

Another collection of songs (I think) chosen by the artists. I have to say I've only owned a couple of their albums. One was their self titled album which included the great track "Native Land" which is the reason I bought it. I bought it for a $1 from some guy selling used records on the street downtown New York. Sadly, this song is not included in this collection but does include "Each and Every One." Another great track from that first album. Off course, every one remembers the over played "Missing" definitely included here.


Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here

I grew up in a household where this is the music my older brothers were playing all the time. Among other artists like The Doors, The Police, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Van Halen and some southern rock bands as well as heavy metal bands like Judas Priest. These two Pink Floyd albums were released over 30 years ago. While growing up, there was in the back of my head a certain liking for these songs but at the time I was probably thinking something like "How could I like the same things THEY do. It's not possible." Though one of my brothers was also a Clash fan and I had found some Ramones in their collection as well. I was strictly a Blondie fan at the time. Also, I was talking to a close friend of mine recently who said I would really appreciate their recordings and that I should take a closer listen.

It's when you get nearer the cash register - as there are a couple of people left in front of you as you begin counting up the damage in your wallet. And you just know you have to let go a couple of them. But which ones? You want all of them but you also have to be sensible. I hate making that last minute decision. I had to put away Christian Death's "The Decomposition of Violets" which was originally only released on tape and a collection of songs from The Chameleons. I have most of the Chameleons albums on CD but thing with them is that they recorded so many versions of the same song. So I was just curious as to which ones they were and if there was a version I hadn't heard. I know that the one CD I can't find from them is "Here Today ... Gone Tomorrow" which includes better versions of songs that I already have and some songs not found on their other recordings. I shouldn't say their better, rather than different. Depends on the mood I guess.

R.I.P. Lily

Yvonne De Carlo also known as "Lily" has passed away.

Girl, You were the Munster in that family. You played that harp and sang that really cool dark song that I dug at such a young age. I thought you were cool. You wore a hooded cape made out of coffin linings. You always went to bed placing a lily on your chest as if you were dead.

Their phone booth was a coffin. They had a pet dinasour named "Spike" that would breathe fire. Always funny seeing people running away (in fast motion) at the sight of Herman Munster. And what kind of car was that anyway?

Anyway, Yvonne (Margaret Midleton) was 84 and died of natural causes on Monday, January 8.

Playlist by way of YouTube.

Echo & The Bunnynmen - The Cutter



The Eurythmics - Sex Crime 1984 (with scenes from the move of same)




The Jesus & Mary Chain - Just Like Honey



The Smiths - The Boy With The Thorn In His Side



The Chameleons - Don't Fall



The Chameleons - In Shreds (wish more people knew this great 80s band)



Killing Joke - A New Day (never available on any of their compilations)



Laurie Anderson - Sharkey's Day



This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren



Propaganda - P Machinery



Some songs seem out of place with the rest. They clash. But so am I and so do I.