George Benson & Nuyorican Soul – ‘You can do it baby’
September 28, 2008
Sunday morning, the sun was shining and on my walk to indulge in a bit of every girls favourite pass time (shopping, unoriginally) my shuffle did me proud. George Benson & Nuyorican Soul’s ‘You can do it baby’ couldn’t have been a better choice to accompany what was more than likely the last of the summer sun.
I’ve loved this track for a very long time and it’s up there in my soundtrack to the perfect Sunday. Never released as a single, this track is truly special. Enjoy.
Minty dribbles, opposite elbows & finger popping.
September 25, 2008
In anticipation to turning twenty-nine, a lovely lady in the office gave me a very thoughtful birthday gift in advance to the actual day. Not only was it a kind thought and very useful but it had been careful considered after listening to my weird and wonderful witterings in the office – which I’m sure only serve to make me appear even more ‘eclectic’…or just; super weird.
Probably more regularly than realised, I’ve shared my rather odd idiosyracies with more than one person in the office. You know, the ones that everyone has like being adverse to toast crumbs in the bed, finger nails on blackboards and similar stuff.
The gift in question was bought to counter act one of my most hated encounters – tooth brush holders. Pots, glasses or cups, each toothbrush holder not only holds the aforementioned brush, but a collection of all of those ‘minty’ dribbles that congeal to its base. Wash it or not – lets be honest, they’re pretty gross.
So, before I go on to reveal any more weird and wonderfully bizarre facts about the oddities of me (I’ll leave out the opposite elbows for your sanity), I would like to thank my friend Elisabeth for allowing me not to have to encounter the shivers each time I brush my teeth by buying me this cleverly designed little toothbrush holder, designed by Live Different and purchased from none other than my favourite place, the Design Museum.
Here’s to no more minty dribbles.
The little man in action
Olympic Airways – Foals; How to make your heat skip a four minute & twenty-three second beat.
September 21, 2008
We’ve been talking in the office about going to see Foals for a while now yet never quite got round to getting tickets as that thing called ‘work’ kept getting in the way.
I first saw Foals at Radio One’s big weekender this summer and was instantly transfixed by the catchy off beat drumming and lead guitarists ability to play such an intense rhythm quite literally from the pit of his arm. I think I caught the last twenty minutes of their set, which was incredible and I’ve been meaning to see them again ever since.
Amidst a very lazy Sunday afternoon, something reminded me about checking out if I’d missed the chance to see them at their upcoming gig at Brixton Academy. On logging onto www.wearefoals.com, I forgot all about the tickets and knotted myself up in thread.
The culprit; the video to Olympic Airways.
Let me clear something up. Not only am I huge fan of their music, I have a horrendously bad schoolgirl crush for just about all of the members of the band. Yes, I’m aware of the fact that front man Yannis Philippakis is really rather short (and maturely blocking it out)…just watch him perform and you’ll be too busy drooling to notice either. And then there’s guitarist Jimmy Smith…
The fact that they a) have beards and b) are messing around in mud, half naked serves only to fulfill what my friends know will make me a very happy lady.
Brilliant track, great video & talented hot boys.
My Sunday just got a whole lot better.
What does my homepage look like? #2
September 18, 2008
Thanks to a very lovely (and rather web savy) friend, I found out about wordle. It’s a very simple but kooky little site with not much purpose other than to take your blog or website, whisk it into a virtual blender and deliver what your homepage would look like displayed solely in words.
I’d been dying to see what wordle had in store for me – and I rather like it.
Dimitri from Paris – Talkin’ All That Jazz (Stetsasonic mix)
September 18, 2008
This time next week, I will be dancing my not so huge ass off in none other than Space, Ibiza (post warm up at the amazing Bora Bora).
With good friends in tow, one of whom will be celebrating her big 30, we’ll be lucky enough to be busting our moves to Dimitri from Paris as part of the line up. Needless to say, I’m already pretty excited and with quite literally ants in my pants, I have everything crossed that he’s going to play his amazing mix of Stetsasonic’s ‘Talkin All That Jazz’.
I can quite literally feel the sunshine. Enjoy.
Samin – ‘Heater’ and THAT accordion.
September 18, 2008
I can’t help but smile as I write this as it reminds me of a time filled with lots of laughs, free drinks and a friendly argument.
Pounding the treadmill this evening (I wish), a particular music video grabbed my attention with cuts of people dancing crazily in various shapes akin to my own peculiar hand dancing and on what appears to be streets around the world.
I couldn’t hear it as I was religiously, as usual plugged into my iPod stacked full of scary house tracks in the hope of making me run faster. Famously quoted as despising this track and hopelessly attempting to make my friends boycott it, I have to admit; I’ve discovered a new warped love for it. On Googling the crazy dancing when I got home, I discovered it was no less than Samin and Heater and it now reminds me of various friends particularly bizarre dance moves, my jazz hands and the notorious ‘One Dance’*
Check it out for yourself, I guarantee one of three things – a) you’ll hate it b) you’ll love it and be up dancing c) you’ll at least smile!
All about the Rolex
September 18, 2008
Bizarre that it is, I’ve hopped on the Rolex bandwagon. A bit of a virginal genre to me, I’ve branched out musically and have to admit, that I’m a huge fan of the recent collaborations between Dizee Rascal, Calvin Harris & grimester Skepta. The aforementioned resulting in some pretty catchy floor fillers and a few wrist blinging dance crazes to rival the Macarena of the 90s.
The dancing foxes (quite literally) with their hip-popping moves and bin raiding skills only serve to make me love this track even more.
Rolex Sweep – Skepta
‘C, c, c, count with me..’ – Clearly poking fun at themselves (and having the fun poked straight back at them) ‘Rolex Sweep’ is another catchy little number that’s not only got my attention but got me practising the four steps to the perfect ‘Sweep’ (potentially more so than the advised dose). Granted; these moments of impromptu dancing were mostly in the office explaining the latest, coolest moves to the rest of cats in the creative team.
Enlisting Michael Jackson junior (from the lesser known Beatfreakz – complete with his red leather jacket), Soldier Boy and non other than Timmy Mallett; this video really is pretty silly. However, I’m up for a bit of Rolex sweeping in a grimy old pub with bikini clad ladies, geriatrics, the odd dwarf and a couple of glasses of champagne…who’s with me?
Calvin Harris & Dizee Rascal – Dance Wiv Me
Slightly more budget, the ‘Dance Wiv Me’ video (a hideously catchy track which I have to admit to really loving) really is that – budget. Not quite as slickly directed as Skepta’s ‘Rolex Sweep’, it fails to ensure we get the fact they are being ironic. This video just comes off as being really; pretty naff. Worth a watch at least for more exposure to a brilliant track, Dizee’s cheeky, yet oddly charming grin and Calvin Harris’ questionable haircut.
Should I really admit to loving a track with such bad grammar?
Just for fun (and a bit of a jolt back to ‘95), check our Los Del Rio for a refresher course in the essential dance steps from those in the know.
Crocs and socks; anyone got fashion police on speed dial?
September 18, 2008
It’s 8.17am and I’m on my usual walk to the station en route to the office. Happily plugged in listening to Tom Middleton in a world of my own, I’m rudely snapped back to the fact I was running a bit late (worth it after shunning the heels for my new amazing, favourite boots) by the offending footwear of a Chiswick neighbour. One; Crocs. Two; socks. Am I missing something? Not to mention said socks, were in-fact, the instantly arrest worthy fashion faux pas of tea coloured, Nora Batty-esque ‘pop-socks’ worn by ladies of a certain ‘age’, collection of fungal nail infections and other cringe worthy hoof related obscenities.
In 2003, three Colorado based founders braced the world with their hideous footwear ‘universally accepted as an all purpose shoe for comfort and fashion’. The 80s neon rave inspired ‘Crocs’ that you can clip, stick and loop things to have been self described as ‘colourful and comfy’. Most Laboutin lovers and sartorially educated ladies should be fully aware of the golden rule never to sacrifice comfort for fabulous footwear. Anyone caught flouting this un-written, Stone Age, rule (especially with monstrous clog like Crocs) surely should be hung, drawn, quartered and nailed to a cross at any nearest opportunity. Hold on, does that mean I’m next as a lover of the flat?
Back to the lady with the offending pop-socks: maybe it was the fact she was accompanying her teenage daughter to school and wanted to be hip with the ‘in-crowd’. Realistically, she was actually teetering on the edge of embarrassing her daughter to such an end; she’d never gain an ounce of playground Qdos. Factor in age, sex and the possibility of public humiliation (whether you care to acknowledge or not what other people think) and it won’t take long to realise It’s a sad fact that there are certain trends not all of us can carry off.
Prior to the croc crime of Chiswick, (which merely illustrates the need for the following), I decided to create the Facebook group ‘Shoes that Suck’. Being a regular to spotting trends, tricks and teenagers for their style on the street, I’d like to fully vocalise how much I regret not having my neck chain camera ready to snap this morning.
Moral of the story? Moccasin, mule or sneaker…..no unabashed female with the slightest fashion forward thought (whether aged 14 or 42) should ever unleash a pair of Croc, smurf style plastic platforms on top of her toes. However, anyone wearing such incriminating shoes should at the very least deserve to have their five minutes of fame in a pointless, just for fun group for Shoes that Suck.
The offending article.
Zebras, cracked eggs & Simon…A day with the RAA
September 18, 2008
Michael Craig-Martin’s 2005 ‘eyetest’
After catching glimpses of reviews online and in the papers, I decided a trip to The Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition should be on my to do list – much in the usual fashion of my skimming over something and then doing it without reading or knowing much about it. So, it could have obviously gone either way. And I wasn’t disappointed.
Running from 9th June to 17th August at Burlington house Piccadilly, I can strongly vouch for an afternoon spent at the RAA. On first glance of what appears to be an eclectic collection of paintings hung from ceiling to floor, it really is a spectacle not to be missed. Throughout twelve rooms, you’ll discover everything from a Tokyo sunset of neon mobile phones, light bulbs and gadgets to shocking images of a woman and the photographic tale of her withdrawal bleed. Heed the warnings at this over 18’s section of the exhibition; even I wasn’t quite expecting to see a woman being rather more intimately involved than she should be with nothing less than a Zebra.
For those not quite ready for an education that evokes the words ‘Is that really art?’, there are plenty of impressive paintings and studies of everything from still life to self-portraits. Particular favourites of mine; ‘Lust’ and ‘Death’ by the The RAA Charles Wollaston Award nominated artist, Michael Craig-Martin. Craig-Martin uses an acrylic, interconnecting tramline of life in his piece simply entitled ‘Death’. You might, like me, be drawn in to inspect exactly how he has applied neon pieces of what appears to be tape, layered over and cut back into aluminum. Just make sure you step back to decipher the hidden message. Clue’s in the title.
In the same vast room, a giant canvas engulfs your attention and pulls you under water. Unfortunately, the artist of this piece escapes me but it is so vibrant in it’s portrayal of an underwater clearing, you really feel right in there with the six foot fish. On such an enormous scale and painted with such attention to detail, this painting of oversized aquatic life deserves a special commendation – I can only wish I had a lounge big enough (and a wallet to match) to own it.
Next door, ‘Red road arteries’ hit a home note as artist Susan Stockwell pieces together Tooting Bec road and other parts of south London in the deceptive form of living arteries. A reminder to me that home really is where the heart is and mine being fixed in the south west (despite being a traitor on the west side).
Worth a mention simply for its entertainment of a good friend is ‘Happy Biscuits’ by Robin Lee-Hall. Anything that displays jammy dodgers and smiley face biscuits stacked on an ever so English gingham tablecloth gets my vote if it makes a friend, foe or enemy chuckle like a child.
Keep walking…you’ll discover Jeff Koons ‘Cracking egg’ – there’s no way you can miss it; it’s 4ft high and a subtle electric blue. Koons obsession with all things splitting continues with this stainless steel egg and its slick metallic inside (you can still see his split floor – now sealed – at the Tate Modern). Impressively installed, ‘Cracking egg’ reflects the decadent ceiling of Burlington house on its shiny coating and jagged edges to offer a squewed reflection in distorted proportions.
Last but not least, it would be unfair of me not to mention the plentitude of naked men in the exhibition. No, sadly not real, but artists impressions that were quickly nicknamed ‘Simon’. I can’t take the credit for this one; this is the work one ‘artist’ accompanying me on a cultural afternoon, paying more attention to how many orange dots a picture had…as opposed to the thought process and manual labour asserted by members of the RAA.
If you’re not aware of the RAA, even if you wouldn’t describe yourself as fond of anything creative, I would definitely recommend investing some quality time at Burlington House – possibly the best collection of contemporary art and a bit of nudity thrown in for free.
'Death' by Micheal Craig-Martin
‘South London Arteries’ by Susan Stockwell
Robin Lee-Hall’s ‘Happy Biscuits’
Mark Knight & Funkagenda – Man With A Red Face
September 18, 2008
Having just spend the last four days in Ibiza, the first things I did when I got home were; a) crawl into bed and attempt to sleep b) search for flights back c) begin the ritual internet trawl to track down the theme tune to my trip.
Three years ago, I flew to Ibiza for the first time. This August, my flying visit was a very different experience in more ways than one; with some of the details it feels only decent to spare you. But most impressively, I managed to trace the two tracks that sum up Ibiza ‘08 to me in one afternoon as opposed to almost two years!
We Love Sundays at Space exceeded every expectation I had (well worth the three year wait after missing it the first time round). Sunday night, complete with almost twelve hours of solid dancing, sealed my love for Mark Knight & Funkagenda’s version of Laurent Garnier’s ‘Man With A Red Face’.
I’d heard this track before and liked it but had no idea who it was or how truly amazing it could sound pumping out of ridiculously large speakers on the Space terrace. The sound of aeroplanes ripping over the sky above only added to the unforgettable experience. Download it, crank it up and give it a chance to warm up. I’m pretty sure you don’t need to be anywhere near as much of a dance fan as me to love this sun-drenched track.
I was surprised that finding the second soundtrack to my Ibiza wasn’t more difficult. With Ibiza being notorious for debuting outstanding dance tracks months in advance of their release, I wasn’t sure I’d manage to find either of these tracks. What on earth did we do before the days of You Tube? I appreciate this one’s not for everyone – infact my friend said it reminded her of one of those cymbal bashing monkeys (which incidentally it really does) but Be by Steve Angello featuring Laidback Luke takes second place on my soundtrack to Ibiza 08. Granted, it sounds better at an obscene volume in a packed club with a glittering light show but it’s still got my vote.
Try it out for yourself, if you don’t like it, at least the picture of the monkey and his cymbals might bring a smile to your face.
Man With A Red Face can be downloaded at MOS here.
