Night

Above the moon hides

behind his curtain

his face never changing, it's always surprised,

amused, as though behind the veil neptune's naked

and only the moon knows

stop hiding

stop the machines

stop progress

pause

on concrete

let us see

dark potential lies

behind reality, whilst it fades

in the dark hides the moon

watching you make the night dance 

don't stop

Flight of fancy

The Autumn/Winter '11 collection from Nadinoo  is very tasty. Just in case Santa's reading this, I really like the Pixie's a Bird shirt and dress, and the Lula Night Bird dress.I've been very good this year. Just sayin...

Musicians...

David Bowie, George Harrison, Jarvis Cocker, Keith Richards, Nicolas Godin, Erlund Oye, Eugene Hutz, Jo Strummer


This collage is completely based on talent and was obviously a total chore to make...

This week's viewing...

Watching/re-watching the following...

Pictures of Paris

” An artist has no home in Europe except in Paris" Nietzsche

Christmas can make the most cynical human beings feel sentimental and in my case the holiday season always makes me want to go back and visit Paris. Paris is the first city I ever got to know properly. Having spent my early childhood in France I continued to visit family in Paris regularly growing up spending countless days and weeks witnessing and experiencing all manner of beautiful and dreadful things in this city. From a late night stabbing to a romantic picnic on the Seine, I have gotten to know Paris warts and all, and I still love it.

Sadly this Christmas I won’t have time to visit so will resort to listening to Reinhardt and Gainsbourg, re-watching french New Wave Films-especially Truffaut's Jules et Jim-and pawing through stunning street photography books containing images by the likes of Robert Doisneau and Henri Cartier-Bresson. These photographs capture – or perhaps help create – the romantic image of Paris. Not a Disneyland romance, after all this is France and needless to say ‘reality’ is a big deal in this city (check out Baudrillard’s critique of the reality of America) but I won’t divulge into philosophy today. There is so much to divulge into when talking about Paris-art,literature, food, film, wine, apothecary - but I will stick to the pictures for now.

These photojournalists captured Paris in all its states; a mixture of social classes, emotions and characters. From a passionate kiss, to a passionate protest: a prostitute taking a break to a child playing in the street. The real beauty is in Paris’ ability to really test a person’s emotions. People either love or hate this city as around every corner is a new experience, a whole heap of contrasts to take in. Paris is unapologetically raw and as a result exciting.  It’s being swept up in a moment. This is what inspired artists, lovers and all kinds of romantics. Is the feeling you get in Paris love? Well, Paris may well make me sentimental but I’m still too much of a cynic to say so. To quote Beckett (promise will stop with quote heavy posts after this);'Do we mean love, when we say love?'.
Let’s call it beauty or better still let’s not define it in a word. This is Paris after all…

Bresson was a prolific photojournalist capturing many world events. His 1968 photographs of the student rebellion in Paris seem particularly poignant right now. Doisneau’s talent lay in capturing human fragility and what these photographers both had in common was their ability to capture ‘the defining moment’. That moment that brings meaning and makes all those hours wasted standing in queues or sat on the bus feel like they were worth it. Or perhaps within these hours are the moment that's defining? 

Doisneau and Bresson also created portraits of great artists which seem to act as punctuation to the series of street shots. To quote Guillemets; ‘Grammar stops at love, and at art’. These portraits are a reminder that everyday Paris inspired and continues to inspire great art. Check out Doisneau’s portrait of Beckett. It captures the man behind the eyes, no? 

Everybody’s experience is different (again working hard not to divulge into philosophy) and everybody’s Paris is different but what transpires is that going to Paris is definitely an experience, good or bad. When asked if he did outdoor sports Oscar Wilde responded; ‘I once played open air dominoes in Paris’. Totally recommend doing this and boules! When discovering Paris you happen upon your own defining moments, like those captured in these photographs. For me it was deciding not to go to law school whilst lying under the Eiffel Tower. What’s yours?

Sight and Sound

After watching Submarine the other day (finally) and hearing the quite pleasant soundtrack by Alex Turner I started thinking about film soundtracks and how soundtracks can really make a film, sometimes even eclipsing the film they were created for. Think Curtis Mayfield's soundtrack for Superfly - yes, there was a film. 

There are so many soundtracks out there that I love but I'll stay on track and limit myself to individual/original soundtracks so that the list isn't too enormous. Who knows, I might eventually get around to creating a bigger list...you've been warned...


Let's begin with Radiohead guitarist Paul Thompson's orchestral score for Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood is as creepy and haunting as to be expected from this chap. Another film, also set in the Southern U.S, but possessing an arguably more iconic score is Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billie the Kid. Bob Dylan wrote a handful of songs for this film including Knocking on Heaven's Door, which is not a personal favourite and this is not really my favourite Dylan phase, but it must be noted how massive this song became. Simon and Garfunkel's soundtrack for The Graduate is another example of a soundtrack that's equally as legendary and recognisable.


There have been some interesting and often pretty experimental collaborations between film makers and musicians. A particularly interesting one is Mick Jagger's work on Kenneth Anger's Invocation of my Demon Brother. 

Sometimes a film's soundtrack is good because it fits so well with the film's ethos that it works to cement the film's style and place in time. Simple Minds' soundtrack to A Breakfast Club couldn't possible have made it more quintessentially 80's, John Entwistles' soundtrack for Quadrophenia is  just epic, and Air's score for Virgin Suicides supports the films parred back and slightly uneasy aesthetic narrative and style. Probably the greatest example of a soundtrack making a film synonymous to it's era is The Beegee's soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Everybody know this one.

It would be a crime not to mention some of the great film composers some of whom where able to provoke astounding levels of tension and fear such as Bernard Herman who worked with Hitchcock and created the infamous screeching pre-murder sound for Psycho and John Williams' fear inducing soundtrack for Jaws ensured a pretty unrealistic fake shark was able to scare people out of cinemas. Angelo Badamenti's scores for Lynch's films are epic. Most notably his work on Blue Velvet where he took on the role as singing coach to Isabella Rossellini. Please excuse me but I will also again mention Neil Young's soundtrack for Jarmusch's film Deadman because I fear there may be people out there who have yet to hear it!Please watch this film and listen to this soundtrack!

Perhaps my favourite music and film amalgamation is when musicians venture into film. The 80's were a very good time for this. Talking Heads' film Stop Making Sense is perfection and who doesn't love Prince's Purple Rain and *cough* Madonna's badly acted but memorably soundtracked Desparately Seeking Susan. Then there's David Bowie's trippy kids film Labyrinth and his promotional film, Love You Till Tuesday, originally released in 1969 and including Space Oddity.Haven't forgotten The Beatles' Hard Days Night just have nothing to add on the subject as it's pretty much been talked to death. All awesome!


I have probably forgotten a load of soundtracks but these were the first to spring to my hungover Sunday mind. Feel free to tell me off and remind me of what I've missed. Oh, and in case you're wondering what I thought of Submarine, I thought it was ok and a possible grower. Stand out line,"you know what? It's going to matter when i'm 38".

Christmas viewing

I’m not really feeling Christmas yet this year and it may take a lot of mulled wine before I pull out the Christmas albums (apart from Spector and She & Him perhaps). Anyhow, Christmas is a good time to settle down to a few films and there’s a certainly lot to choose from, but I’m not ready for Gremlins or Elf just yet so let’s take a little look at the less cheery selection available…

Will it Snow for Christmas – Sandrine Veysett, 1966

This is a pretty depressing film that is about as romantic and sentimental as Jeremy Clarkson with a headache. This film’s about a woman with seven children living on a farm in rural France who considers committing suicide. What more you could possibly want this Christmas? But let’s remember that good ol’ Dickens’ approach to Christmas wasn’t always candy cane sweet. It was honest and gritty and grim, just like this film. All else failing it might conjure a sense of gratitude and relief that your Christmas is (hopefully) not as bad as this!

Un Conte de Noel - Arnaud Desplechin, 2008

Trust the French to pour misery on the jolliest of holiday seasons. Don’t write this one off just yet,it’s a really significant film about family members who gather to decide whose bone-marrow’s compatible with Cancer stricken Catherine Deneuve. Probably won’t leave you in party spirits though.

Christmas Holiday -  Robert Siodmark, 1944

Adapted by Herman Mankiewicz from a Somerset Maughan novel this little gem’s about an officer who meets a stunning demimondaine. Said beauty proceeds to break down during mass as she recalls her troubled marriage to a nasty man (Gene Kelly) who is serving life for murder. Worth watching because Gene Kelly is on form.

Scrooge – Brian Desmond Hurst, 1951

This is the grittiest version of scrooge out there. Written by Noel Langley (Wizard of Oz) this British film has a dark menacing quality - a little like boxing day.

Miracle on 34^th Street – 1947, James Seaton

A mourning child, Santa put on trial…this one’s a good all rounder.

It’s a Wonderful Life – Frank Cappra, 1946

Again we have a big dose of Christmas suicidal despair and another opportunity to appreciate Gene Kelly, master of the Christmas movie sleazebag role. Fear not this film has an angel, the loveable James Stuart and a happy ending so no need to hit the sherry just yet…

Right better stop there, after all you don’t want to end up glugging Bailey’s and phoning Samaritan’s this Christmas. In conclusion, the British and French approach to Christmas film making is a little...well... depressing but from depressing comes some beautiful and poignant films. If this little lot doesn’t depress you enough this Christmas season may I recommend you grab the Baileys and look up Sophie’s Choice…oh, and don’t forget ‘tis the season to be jolly!