Icons

Icons are an important part of everyday culture from the everyday classics like

Marilyn Monroe... What a babe

To perhaps the less conventional 

Jean Shrimpton

But all of them so important to creating the culture that surrounds us to day, Jean with that 4 year affair with David Bailey and Marilyn with the Kennedy's (I mean 'Happy Birthday Mr President' the woman had some balls for that one!).





This week tragedy struck us once again with the death of the fabulous Liz Taylor, who could forget that stunning performance in Cleopatra  flawless in my opinion.

What a woman in control and a woman that was wanted by most men married eight times to seven different men... jeez most of us will be lucky if we find one chump that will think marrying us is a good idea let alone seven but hell if I looked like that dressed up as an Egyptian queen....

A huge loss for the world of beauty.. Liz you will be missed








But Hitchcock produced some of the most Iconic moments in film, I don't know if anyone caught the Vanity Fair reconstructions of some of those moments but you should. I mean I cinematographic genius that man... absolute classics, my personal favorite 'the kiss' between Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly in Rear Window.

Rear Window, 1954

Beautiful moment right there, and Strangers on a Train with Farley Granger (what a dream boat) and Robert Walker. The moment where Bruno Anthony (Walker) is telling Guy Haines (Granger) about his plan for the perfect murder... chilling but amazing

Strangers on a Train, 1951

Simply sensational Hitch.

An Inarticulate Introduction

The arts are my main passion in life, I spend most of my time is spent singing, watching films and critiquing the latest shows. I do however read BA Geography.. mistake, possibly.

Today was overall uninspiring after wasting 3 hours downloading ArcView (a Geographical Information System package all very exciting...) only to then not be able to do any work because I couldn't then retrieve the files I needed from the University system as there were no bally computers available. So the rest of the day I spent trailing through various YouTube clips of live performances for a friend who is doing her first major set on the 9th April. 

As always listening to something live sets apart those who are good and those who are bloody fantastic. Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight were some of those that I was ogling over today and boy oh boy can they sing. The arrangements in their songs as well are amazing and there is nothing like a live performance with a stunning band backing the performer up.

Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke, Live 2009

Absolutely immense.

I was also listening to Bond themes. It still causes me great trouble to pick my favorite.  I am not a fan of Nancy Sinatra and possibly she is the reason that 'You Only Live Twice' does not hands down sit at number 1 but the Intro to the song epitomizes everything Bond. If you close your eyes you could be there in the Aston having just defeated the Germanic villain riding off into the sunset... Using this intro is why 'Millennium' is the best Robbie Williams song. But other Bond themes hold the drama and the sex appeal of the films, the Shirley Bassey trio 'Goldfinger,' 'Diamonds are Forever' and 'Moonraker' are Bond classics Bassey's voice is perfect for the part and her delivery, especially on Diamonds are Forever is impressive with the connotations that she elegantly conveys. 

Tom Jones with 'Thunderball' is a fantastic pastiche of the earlier classics and a highly commendable take on a Bond theme, which in my opinion should have horns and theatrics. The later themes have been weak and lack the fundamentals that make the early themes far superior. But this is nothing that hasn't been said before. 'The Man with the Golden Gun' is another classic that is a cut above the later themes. All of the themes of note have been composed by (along with others) John Barry, a musical god in my eyes for many years now (although I do have to say there have been a couple of what I consider to be flops in there such as Duran Duran's 'A View to a Kill' which is a good song in itself but not a Bond theme and possibly made worse by the 'Bon, Simon Le Bon' at the end of the music video... tragic) 

Enough rambling for one day I shall get my beauty sleep. Ciao.