Kew Gardens - Statue

Kew Gardens - Statue, originally uploaded by Arnty M.

Love the Dali....

'Just A Little Bit Of Lovin'

Shelby Lynne's album of Dusty Springfield covers is both inspired and so very sexy. Well done, Ms. Moorer.

Retro-fabrication is a term you won't often hear outside of dentistry or the garment industry, but it's a concept becoming prevalent in music nowadays, as more and more artists seek inspiration in the past, a little too literally at times. It certainly looms large over most of this week's releases: for Shelby Lynne with Just a Little Lovin', it's a case of paying tribute to the greatest of all female pop singers, Dusty Springfield, by re-casting several of Dusty's signature songs in the style of Dusty In Memphis.

Phil Ramone's spare, reflective production drains away the melodramatic orchestrations of the originals to leave songs such as "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart" stripped bare of any emotional cover, leaving Lynne's subtle, measured vocals inhabiting a vast landscape of pain.

Some of the arrangements pull off audacious strategies – the natural exuberance of "I Only Want to be With You" is abandoned for a much torchier tone, more akin to Julie London than Dusty, while her version of the Southern soul classic "Breakfast In Bed" is surely definitive.

Random ten

1. Caravan- Van Morrison
2. Ready For The Floor- Hot Chip
3. B.U.R.M.A.- Dirty Pretty Things
4. Breakfast In Bed- Shelby Lynne
5. Olive Oil- Happy Mondays
6. Bitch- The Rolling Stones
7. Sex Type Thing- Stone Temple Pilots
8. Liza Avec Z- Liza Minelli
9. Every Sperm Is Sacred- Monty Python
10. Sleazy Hughes- Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong

Bonus-
11. Little Baby Nothing- Manic Street Preachers
12. Revolution- Robbie Williams

You know,

some people really need to shut the fuck up. Well, jeez, Lar, at least they didn't use birth control effectively. They'd be ultra-sluts then.....

...Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, called unmarried teen parents "sluts" at a Republican caucus.

...Liston used the derogatory term during a Republican caucus lunch on health care to express his view that unmarried teen parents are sexually promiscuous and to complain that society condones premarital sex.

"In my parents' day and age, (unmarried teen parents) were sent away, they were shunned, they were called what they are," Liston said at the lunch. "There was at least a sense of shame."There's no sense of shame today. Society condones it ... I think it's wrong. They're sluts."

via

This makes me happy.*

Oh so very happy.

PAUL WELLER’s new album is already shaping up to be a belter-featuring collaborations with Britpop heavyweights NOEL GALLAGHER and GRAHAM COXON.

The modfather has called in support from the OASIS legend and the BLUR star on his forthcoming double album. And word is filtering back that some of the material is a return to his best.

A source said: “Noel and Oasis’s GEM ARCHER have spent time at Weller’s studio. Most sessions end in serious alcohol fuelled tear-ups. But the music has been brilliant.

“Weller slapped his name on the writing credits first with Noel and Gem - even though he spent most of the session getting the beers in. That’s the bonus of being 50 - and the guv’nor.”

*if it's true- 'tis The Sun, after all

Marc by Marc Jacobs@ Fashion Week

I can't decide if this dress would look adorable on either Lily Allen or Kate Nash, or if I've already seen them wear something similar. Possibly both.

"Young, beautiful scum pissed off at the world."

In this week's NME, a huge interview about Richey Edwards with my beloved Nicky Wire. Absolutely heartbreaking.

My, they were so very pretty.

Interesting

Fascinating article on why Northern Soul is, er, Northern Soul, and why Country and Western is so popular in Scotland...

In more recent times, Sheffield has shown itself to be home to music with a strong storytelling sense, with acts such as Pulp, the Arctic Monkeys and Richard Hawley. "The narrative thing I find interesting," says Frith, "because I always associated Sheffield with electronic music. It was the home of Warp and the Human League - though their songs did have a sense of narrative." Russell notes the strong love of amateur operatics in the area in the late 19th and early 20th century, "which created a love of humorous lyrics". Then, of course, came the music hall tradition. "And in some way the music hall spawned the very literate songwriting with wit and humour." It is precisely this we can see in the lyrics of Jarvis Cocker and Alex Turner.

But why does Scotland favour country and western music? "I came to Scotland in 1987 and was struck by how significant country music is," says Frith, who notes that radio station playlists in Scotland are tangibly different to those across the border, playing a considerable amount of country music. But the Scottish love of American country and western is little more than a reclamation; country and western music was largely born of the music of the Appalachian Mountains, which itself was rooted in the music brought to American shores by immigrants from Europe, especially the British Isles. So country and western has much in common with traditional British folk music, Celtic music, and Scottish and Irish fiddle styles in particular.

Aragorn a no-no

What Jessica said.

We have SEEN YOU, Viggo. We know that you are HOT. And when you are THAT HOT, it is really a crime to show up places looking like you just walked off the set of Not Without My Confederacy: The Jefferson Davis Story, now filming for Lifetime.

Valentine's warm up

Next Thursday is Valentine's Day, arguably one of the biggest holidays at Iowa's Coolest Flower Shop. We start getting the fresh in tomorrow, and have already unpacked the vases. The cards are stamped, the help lined up- we're ready to go.

Something that (deeply) annoys me about my job- our local papers basically have us come up with the copy for our ads. Mom pays out the wazoo for the damn things, and I do the copy. Bastards.

Anyway, on Monday, we were trying to figure out wording for our big V-day ad campaign. My suggestions?

-"Let ______ help you buy a one-way ticket to nookie town."
-"At ___________, let us help you break off a piece of that."
-"______________. We'll make it possible for you to tap that ass."

For some reason, these were rejected. Mom's no fun.

Am currently preoccupied with making mixes for the week. Do you think 'Every Sperm Is Sacred' would be appropriate? How about 'Fuck Forever'? No?

Es Vedrà, Ibiza

Es Vedrà, Ibiza, originally uploaded by Yulete.

'Rockferry'- Duffy

Lovely, just lovely.

Well done, honey!

Adele has gone straight to the top of the UK albums charts tonight
(February 3) with ’19’.The singer’s debut album has gone in at Number One. Meanwhile in the singles countdown the London singer has remained second with 'Chasing Pavements', just behind Basshunter who holds on to the Number One spot again with ‘Now You're Gone’.