Natalia/Printed Circuit/Freakenomics

Natalia Vodianova



My main memory of Natalia is from years ago when she was on the front cover of The Face Magazine, she had blonde short curly hair and was wearing a studded dog collar, the pictures inside depicted her as being about 9 ft tall from what I can recall.
She's from the same Russian town as another post on this blog, Anne V, and is one of numerous russians that have beseieged the modelling industry over the last few years.

Printed Circuit



Printed Circuit, AKA Claire Broadley of Leeds, England, makes retro electronic pop tracks that remind me of the film Electric Dreams from 1984, they feel like they have been lifted directly from the soundtrack (which featured the Human League and Giorgio Moroder) At least that’s how it is at it’s best, at it’s worst it sounds a little contrived, like Ladytron even.

Act robotic is pure synth pop though, short, sweet and unpretentious. It’s like being sung at by Edgar – the computer that takes on human characteristics in Electric Dreams - What it is definitely not though is a call to dance like Peter Crouch.

MP3: Printed Circuit - Act Robotic


Stephen Levitt May - Freakenomics



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Anne V/The Strokes/Ghostwritten

Anne V



"I've wanted to be a model ever since I was little, playing with my Barbie doll," said Anne Vyalitsyna - or Anne V as she is widely known - the Russian born supermodel. She was discovered in Saint Petersburg, whilst scouts where looking for new faces for MTV's ‘Fashionably Loud Europe’ , soon after she was leading campaigns for Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander McQueen, Fendi, Gucci and Prada to name but a few.

‘This new model army, blessed with high cheekbones, perfect skin, Bambi blue-green eyes, full lips and tall, near-perfect figures, is a refreshing alternative to the medley of grumpy, androgynous mannequins who have dominated in recent seasons' - The Age

So basically like Anne’s Barbie doll then.


The Strokes



The Strokes strange departure from post punk garage rock track of their new album - although disliked by many - is easily my favourite, I have only heard a snippet of it in its original format but this remix is wonderful. The vocals are pure Magnetic Fields baritone and I’ve been singing the chorus so much this week that my son who is two has picked up on it as well and gets odd looks from people when he’s heard warbling ‘ I’ve got nothing to say, I’ve got nothing to say’ ….at least he’s stopped singing Jim Noir’s ‘Eeany Meany’ , “If you don’t give my football back I’ll get my dad on you”


MP3: The Strokes - Ask Me Anything (Do Not Eat Remix)

Emilie/Casper

Emilie De Ravin



The envy of young mothers everywhere, just how does she do it?! A completely natural childbirth, she retains her great figure with no obvious exercise, makes nappies from twigs and leaves (probably), she takes the baby camping and it never NEVER cries.

She is however letting it be raised by a Hobbit.

Despite being possibly the most unconvincing new mother on the planet Clare is now the premier blonde on the Lost island, she’s understated but then if she got more airtime she’d be Shannon and aren’t we all glad she got shot. Harsh but true.
Emilie has something over her Lost counterparts, I can’t put my finger on it I think it’s the accent, which is strangely endearing, or the way she acts like she’d stumbled of the set of an episode of a cheap Aussie soap.


Casper and the Cookies



A silly little gem of a song in the same vain as ‘Suburban kids with biblical names – rent a wreck’, in that it goes ‘ba baba ba babababa’ quite a lot, I like songs that go ‘ba baba’ almost as much as I like songs with handclaps. They set a spark off inside me, like fireflies in my stomach, I’m not sure why.

Casper and the cookies are new to me but apparently they have been doing the rounds since the 90’s, anyway they have a new album out now called ‘The Optimist’s Club’…I had a listen to a track off it, no handclaps or ba baba’s sadly.


MP3: Casper and the Cookies - Yer Birthday

Alexa Chung/Flaming Lips/Blink

Alexa Chung



Alexa Chung a 22 year old former Model from Hampshire and now the new face of Channel 4's Popworld alongside Alex Zane. As well asmodeling Alexa can be see in numerous pop videos, from being Mike Skinner's girlfriend in The Streets video for 'Could well be in' to being Holly Valances mock lesbian pal in the 'Down boy' video and even cleaning out a swimming pool in a bikini for a Westlife shoot.

I haven't watched Popworld since the new presenters took over, but she was at the wireless festival (sorry, Wireless again) this year interviewing bands around me, she says "Errr" a lot, which doesn't strike me as displaying the greatest interviewing skills but then she does very much look the part. She also has a booming voice for someone with such a small frame.

Anyway enough of that, lets all go and search the net for the 'Down boy' video!


The Flaming Lips



Watching Wayne Coyne roll around in a giant hamster ball whilst being dressed as a Santa in front of 30,000 people has to go down as one of the most surreal situations I've ever got myself into. But also one of the most fun. I recommend it; the Flaming Lips entourage are all amazingly friendly people.
However much like if I'd been a Stormtrooper in Star Wars though I can't actually pick myself out from the group of ten Santas that I was in.

I wasn't a big Lips fan, but my experience and the remix below has changed all that now.

This postal service remix is much cleaner and crisper than the original and highlights the beautiful simplicity of the lyrics, and remember 'The sun doesn't go down it's just an illusion created by the world spinning round'

p.s You better not pout you better not cry....

MP3: The Flaming Lips - Do You Realise? (Postal Service Remix)


Malcolm Gladwell - Blink



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Petra/The Blow

Petra Nemcova



The Czech model faces her biggest challenge yet, one that makes people stare more than seeing her semi naked on the cover of sports illustrated, and leaves people more shocked than when she survived the tsunami. Why oh why oh why is she going out with James Blunt?
James blunt, the modern day Chris de Burgh, is at least three feet shorter than her and registers as plankton to her whale in the good looking stakes. It’s a mystery.

I hovered around backstage at the wireless festival, where Blunt played recently, at the post performance portacabin party to see Petra and she is very very beautiful (We weren’t allowed on stage during the performance so my chance to shout ‘Play lady in red‘ were lost, alas, although he did play something off his forthcoming album which sounded remarkably similar)
I can’t help feeling sorry for her though as I watched her continually stooping for photographs with Blunt, she’s gonna ruin her spine.

Also, after some press attention before the show about the vast nature of Blunt’s rider, I was surprised to see only a few cans of seven up, some superbly naff disco lights emanating from the cabin itself and Paris Hilton having her picture taken with some children.

“Hyde park is like a homecoming for me, I used to ride my horse around here” said Blunt onstage. Yes, haven’t we all. We’ve all had Tara Palmer Tomkinson too.


The Blow



I like The Blow, can I say that these days without having a rally of photographers from the Daily Mirror at my doorstep taking grainy black and white photos of me? Unlike that kind of blow this duo record sonic electro pop nuggets. Pile of gold is a cry to all men who want to gain access to a girls ‘pile of gold’, you know, the gold they sit down on.

Ah if only it were as easy as finding the end of a rainbow.

Also worth checking out the strategy remix of ‘the love I crave’.
P.S. Having denied all drug related references this song still manages to make parts of my nose fall out.

MP3: The Blow - Pile of Gold

Z Berg/The Sounds

Z Berg



Elizabeth ‘Z’ Berg (far right) is the singer in the band ‘The Like’ and also daughter of music industry mogul Tony Berg.
I watched them perform at the 02 Wireless Festival 2006 from the side of the stage, they have to be the palest girls in LA, do they not go outside? Skinny alabaster legs stretch from their high hemmed 60’s style dresses as they knock out songs like ‘ June gloom’ and ‘ under the paving stones’ Fortunately for Z her singing voice is good enough to outweigh the sternest of critics regarding her parent’s helping hand and serves to elevate them above being yet another photogenic all girl ensemble.
They were on the same bill as the Strokes at Wireless, so as well as having Kelly Osborne in tow all manner of A listers came out of the woodwork to see the New Yorkers headline. Kate Moss, 12 years their senior, crashed into their portacabin and a menagerie of rock royalty’s daughters could be seen milling around (Jade Jagger, Kimberly Stewart, Peaches Geldof)

When I last saw Z taht night she was on another planet giggling away to herself only managing to stay upright due to the arms of Popworld’s Alex Zane, who looked like he was trying to shake her off like a wasp, “ It’s ok for you” he said “ you’ll be on a plane tomorrow, while I’ll be here working”

A friend of mine was convinced both Z and her band mates were all about nine years of age.

They aren’t.

I checked.


The Sounds



The Sounds are a band from Helsingborg, Skåne County, Sweden and are quite often compared to Blondie, and its easy to see why, they have the same blonde singer with attitude and also the same middle of the road music for the most part. However occasionally it all works, such as in the song below.
Teenage Battlefield sounds like its off the sound track of a 1980’s John Hughes movie, it has a brilliantly naff Aha like keyboard sound, drum roll and chorus, and it somehow manages to sound like ‘99 red balloons’ and Tiffany’s ‘I think we’re alone now’ at the same time.
Keyboard player Jesper Anderberg recently said in an interview “We have all the things that American people don't want, in a way. Everyone in Sweden thinks they live in America”

So to echo both The Sounds and America:

“Bombs bombs away!”


MP3: The Sounds - Teenage Battlefield

Axelle/Boris Yeltsin/His Dark Materials

Axelle Red



My favourite Belgian redhead has been around now for eleven years with her brand of French soul, a new album aptly called exactly that is out a the moment. I first discovered Axelle via the song ‘a tatons’ which was doing rather well in 1995, I was on a work placement in a textile studio in Lyon at the time and living in an old weavers apartment and it was one of the few decent songs on the radio - a sweet song about waiting.

It always reminds me of that time in my life, living in a strange city with the most eclectic of people passing through the flat, students, colleagues, and a man who was a gardener by day and then at the weekends lived his life solely within the years 63 – 65, in dress, music and lifestyle.

I also recall there was a fridge (yes, a fridge, a big original American retro one) full of records, which I had hours of fun sifting through.


Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin



Someone still loves you Boris Yeltsin claim to be the third best band on their street, not knowing who the other two are I can’t really compare, but this modesty is further apparent in their music, beautifully heartfelt songs delivered with a schoolboy yearning.

It comes as no real surprise after listening that in fact all the songs contained on the album were written for one particular girl – a former girlfriend of drummer/vocalist Philip Dickey - he says about the Band “We want to write songs that you know no one else can come up with – a song that really matters to one person” Judging by the amount of web attention the band are drumming up it appears to be working.

As for Boris Yeltsin my favourite quote is from US deputy secretary Strobe Talbot who said, during the Clinton years, that “Yeltsin was so drunk when he arrived in the airport in September 1994 that he could barely get off the plane. The same night Yeltsin was staggering around in his underpants shouting for pizza”


MP3: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Oregon Girl


The Subtle Knife - Philip Pullman



The Subtle Knife is the second book in Philip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy, which as a whole is by my reckoning the single greatest religious text of our time, the story in itself is a masterpiece of fiction but the underlying message is an uncompromising take on the nature of Christianity, from a deflated God to a reworking of the garden of Eden right through to it’s homosexual Angels. Pullmans writing is staggering; his concept of a Republic of Heaven is one that anyone seeking some sort of enlightenment regarding their earthly situation should read. A powerful work which weaves an incredible story of alternate universes, string theory, visible souls and the nature of the after life makes this far more than a children’s book - it puts Harry Potter firmly in its place as a basic reworking of the Worst Witch books

Now if only someone would have the bravery to do it justice as a film. Apparently New Line cinema have the rights but screenplay writers (Tom Stoppard was one) and directors come and go as the fear of offending bible belt America wards them off.
This aside The National Theatre staged a visually stunning production of ‘His Dark Materials’ which shows that where Cinema fails theatre can still win through.

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Anna Friel/Future Bible Heroes/Post Evangelical

Anna Friel



Anna Friel is like a freckle faced English Lindsay Lohan, although much older and wiser and without the self destructive tendencies. In fact there is little similarity at all aside from the freckles. She has been in some dubious films and TV shows, but even where these pieces fail she always shines, she has a natural animated face and an earthy character which was probably best put to use in the film ‘Land Girls’ in which she appeared alongside and out shone Rachel Weisz.

She has currently joined the ‘Brit Import’ club and can be seen in US TV show ‘The Jury’ and was described by the Daily News, New York as ‘More sultry than your average lawyer’


Future Bible Heroes



Future Bible Heroes are one of the many guises of Stephan Merritt, a collaboration between himself (lyrics) Claudia Gonson (vocals ) and Chris Ewen (bleeps) The song below is from a forthcoming compilation album celebrating the works and writings of Neil Gaiman, and is based on a character from one of his short stories. Short but packed with Merritt’s unique lyrics this sees FBH at their best and feels simultaneously like a children’s theme tune and something from a musical version of Silent Hill.
I’ve always been slightly terrified of puppets and have a natural aversion to Punch and Judy, in much the same way I have with Clowns - Inherently evil things clowns – but this song is so good I had to over come my phobia in order to post it.

For more FBH check out the brilliant ‘I’m lonely and I love it’ EP


MP3: Future Bible Heroes - Mr Punch


The Post Evangelical – Dave Tomlinson



The Post Evangelical was one of those life changing books for me, it looks incredibly dated now in some respects but it was the first book about Christianity that sought to be introspective to the point of viscous self criticism, something always lacking in modern church circles. It sought to address the imbalance whereby the crux of the modern Christian’s beliefs lay mainly in middle class assumptions of good behaviour and social etiquette and also how the ‘post modern’ world cannot sustain a vehemently ‘modern’ ideal of church culture.

Dave Tomlinson sparked the post-evangelical debate, which enraged some and inspired others, either way it was an argument that needed to be addressed, and he at least had the insight to get the ball rolling. For me he lost it slightly in his notion that the only way to overcome the tide of McChristianity was to hark back to some pseudo Catholic/Anglican almost pagan rituals, the good old days weren’t that good if history is anything to go by.

It felt like the manifesto for a revolution back in 1996 to me.

I’m still waiting for the call to arms.

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Paris Hilton/Cansei De Ser Sexy/Mumbo Jumbo

Paris Hilton



No, I’m not going to heap praise upon Paris Hilton or her stupid dog, but I will say that there is something strangely alluring about rich stupid girls – even ones like this who only look good from the neck down – having said that they are the kind of thing you’d like to appreciate from a distance, like a sunset, as getting too close will undoubtedly be a painful experience leaving you burnt.

There are some currently who believe they are being cultural ironic in lawding praise upon Paris Hilton’s venture into pop music - citing it as a feel good song of the summer - however it is a dismal UB40 pastiche and is about as summery as being stung on the tongue by a wasp.

Uncannily Paris tends to look a bit like she has been stung on the tongue by a wasp.

Maybe there is a lesson to be learnt here somewhere.


Cansei De Ser Sexy



Cansei De Ser Sexy are like the anti Pussycat Dolls, five Brazilian girls and a drummer venting their pop culture epitaph lyrics upon us in a Peaches style. Tracks like ‘Meeting Paris Hilton’ – which just says ‘Bitch’ a lot - and ‘I wanna be your Jlo’ are overtly under accomplished but raw enough, like Peaches, to get your attention and with just enough beat and electroclash to make you move.

MP3: Cansei Der Ser Sexy - Music is my Hot Hot Sex


How Mumbo Jumbo Conquereed the World - Francis Wheen



Somewhere along the way society lost the ability to reason and put its trust in buzz words and badly concealed lies wrapped up as facts. Francis Wheen seeks to illustrate how, as the world opted for financial gain above all, the cost was to lose the ability to rationalise our surroundings and environment.

Jeremy Paxman is quoted as calling the book ‘Hilarious’, which is odd as I wouldn’t really utilise Paxman as the benchmark for anything’s comedy status, but having said that it is amusing in a slightly Guardian journo way – think of the book as like Michael Moore but with less of the self satisfied propaganda and beer gags – and it has some interesting insights into a world stuck in the revolving door of Mumbo Jumbo at the lobby of progress, a building it knew only to well up until the mid seventies.

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Veronica Varekova/Jim Noir/Lemony Snicket

Veronica Varekova



If you can draw yourself away from the above picture for a moment – come on, you can do it! - you might just learn something about the way a model’s mind works. The Super, and I do mean ‘Super’, model above is Veronika Vařeková and that is an image from her Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot in 2004. The czech born model has appeared in the swimsuit edition of the magazine on six separate occasions, she’s also been the face of Nivea and had contracts with Victorias Secret, Chanel, Guess? and Pantene – to name a few.
In may of 2006 Vařeková threatened to sue Maxim magazine for unauthorised use of photos from a shoot she did for Victoria’s secret - where she was naked from the waist up and clad in stockings – Maxim used this for the cover. "They put me on the cover without my permission," the model told reporters, "They have no right to do it." Vařeková went on to say that the photos were fitting for a feature on Victoria's Secret, but "for Maxim, it looks -- to my eyes -- super, super vulgar."

Look again at the photo above, seems Veronika may be a little quick to judge Men’s magazines like Maxim or is that just an average day at the beach for her? Having said that she’s no dumb blonde, she is fluent in three languages and has degrees in Psychology and Education.

I guess the lawyers will sort it out and save her modesty.



Jim Noir



Jim Noir, or Alan Roberts to give him his real name is a genius in waiting. The term ‘Brian Wilson’ is been happily banded about in the media and it doesn’t take a beach full of boys to see why. His music is joyous, childlike, effortless and estute, the songs, he claims, come to him in flashes of enlightnment and are put together speedily and are mostly improvised. He’s keen to retain the chracteristics of his youthful efforts at music by holding on to the spontinaeity and by not over anaylzing the processs of recording.

I love the music and I’m happy to give him the ‘genius’ monicker, I also love the fact that Jim won a Batman water pistol at a holiday camp in Newquay for a rendition of ‘You're the One That I Want’ when he was nine.


MP3: Jim Noir - In the key of C


Lemony Snicket - A Series of Unfortunate Events



The series of unfortunate events unfold themselevs over twelve volumes so far – the thirteeneth and final one is in production – and tell the sorry tale of three abandoned orphans who move from relative to relative after their parents perish in a mysterious fire, constantly on the run from their sinster Uncle, Count Olaf, who has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle and plans to kill them and inherit the family fortune.

The story is retold via lemony snicket and as well as being viscerally grisly in it’s gothic undertones, mostly borrowing and expanded from the works of Edward Gorey, it uses lanaguage far beyond its intended childrens audience and is an education and a pleasure to read for languages sake alone.

Lemony Snicket is actaully the accordian player for the Magnetic Fields and one of Stephin Merritt’s other bands ‘The Gothic Archies’ are currently putting together a compilation album of all the music used so far in the Audio books of the series.

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Paradis/Wolfgang/Cloud Atlas

Vanessa Paradis



Jo la Taxi got everyone’s attention but Vanessa was really at her peak around the time of ‘Be My Baby’ – penned by her beau of the moment, the one trick pony, Lenny Kravitz – she looked stunning, like Bardot in 1954, no longer was she a cute teenager singing about lame taxi rides she had become a femme fatale almost overnight (well in England anyway, she’d been banging out albums in France for ages previously)
I was living in Lyon for three months when her second film, Jean Becker’s ‘Elisa’, was released and I think this marked a turning point for Vanessa, you could already see a slight gauntness to her face and she seemed to age dramatically over the next few years, then by the time she was doing Chanel adverts she was barely recognisable as the girl from the mid 90’s.
She’s with Johnny Depp now and they have two kids, Lily-Rose and Jack – apparently the kids are the reason Depp is doing lighter films these days (Pirates of the Caribbean, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)


Wolfgang



This song is composed by Wolfgang, an abandoned supposed 1980’s musical royalties generating machine, and reflects his realization that a human can never truly love a robot. - ‘Wolfgang's songs illustrate the experience of love and heartache, of the initial joy and eventual hopelessness that accompanies unrequited love’ - Yes, I thought it sounded pretentious too. Then I actually listened to it……the beat sounds like Hey Mickey at the beginning but don’t let that put you off, pure vocoder emotion follows.

MP3: Wolfgang - Not in love (Not True)


David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas



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Cheryl/Suburban kids with Biblical Names/Red Dust

Cheryl Tweedy

So what’s the deal with Cheryl then aside from the unashamedly obvious as I’m sure the photograph above illustrates. Well now you see I didn’t actually see any of Pop Idol so I didn’t chart her rise from ordinary to er..well.. famous ordinary, and I barely noticed her around the time of the first Girls Aloud single release and subsequent album, in fact I didn’t even register her amid the furore of the notorious bar fight she was in. I think I first picked up on Tweedy in the video for ‘Love Machine’, one of the singles off their second album, there she was in the background so animated and theatrical, she winks and shrugs like she in some sort of slightly sultry mime act. There’s an actress in there somewhere – not a great one mind you - but there is something going on that says she’ll outlive GA.
She’s cheeky cabaret of the lowest common denominator, but for some reason that works for me.


Surburban Kids with Biblical Names



Suburban Kids with Biblical Names wants to “turn all the dance floors into a burning inferno of Ba-ba-ba” Apparently.
SKWBN is Johan Hedberg and Peter Gunnarsson and they make the songs in Peter’s parents hallway…sounds like it too. A wonderfully stupid and catchy chorus and equally strange verses, “Did you see me eating Frosties from your fridge?”
What’s not to like, Ba-ba-ba-ba….

MP3: Surburban kids with Biblical Names - Rent a Wreck

Red Dust -Ma Jian



I read this book while on holiday in Corfu, the holiday company had made some ‘internal error’ and had only accounted for one weeks accommodation for our two week holiday, so at the end of week one we were virtually thrust onto the street. After some lengthy discussion they realised they couldn’t really get away with that – especially as one of us was under two – and they ceased the hostilities and duly housed us in our own private villa. It had a vast panoramic veranda and this is where I read Red Dust, looking out over miles of sea, beach and the busy streets below.
Red dust tells the semi autobiographical tale of a photographer turning thirty who, due to growing disillusionment with the state, sets off on a three year voyage of self discovery across China. It’s set in 1983 and shows China on the cusp of a cultural revolution, Ma Jian’s journey takes him to the remotest rural areas and also the most desolate and squalid cities and then, finally, comes full circle. The destination isn’t important but the journey is a revelation, if you only have limited knowledge of China then this book captivates from the offset and will have you reaching for your atlas and passport simultaneously.

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Sinead/Get Him Eat Him/Looking Glass Wars

Sinead Moynihan



Sinead was the runner up in Evian’s natural beauty awards 2004 and is soon to be seen on British screens as ‘Ashley Webb‘ in the BBC drama/sitcom ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ The series is penned by the writer of The Royle Family and follows the rise of a teenage model (Sinead is 24?! How very american) and the affects this has on her working class family.
This is Sinead’s acting debut, she is a model with the nemesis agency in Manchester, and from the brief look at the press release for DDG she looks like she’s set for bigger things. Think Keira Knightley in dodge TV drama ‘Princess of thieves’


Get Him Eat Him



The band that were once called ‘Grumble Grumble’ and whose members include a Pitchfork journo see fit to cover my favourite band, and not just any song either, one of the first that turned me on to the Magnetic Fields. Having said that 'Luckiest guy' has never been one of my favourites but Get Him Eat Him have put a new spin on it by hamming up the keyboard sound to a pitch that makes you glad to be alive.
Magnetic fields covers generally suck - Arcade Fire doing no favours to ‘Born on a Train’ for instance – this is usually because no one can match Stephin Merrit’s unique vocal style, but here for once someone has actually pulled it off.

MP3: Get Him Eat Him - The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side


The Looking Glass Wars



Don’t go to the website that accompanies this book - the first in a trilogy – it’s awful. Really awful. The author Frank Beddor was a ski champion, stunt double, actor, producer - he produced the hit movie ‘There's Something About Mary’ - and is currently CEO of Automatic Pictures, a film, television and interactive game production company. So you’d think he’d have a better website really, wouldn’t you.
Anyway, regardless of this the book, or at least the concept within, is quite an interesting one. The premise goes like this: Alice in wonderland wasn’t a story by Lewis Carroll, it was in fact a series of real events that happened to a real Alice (Alyss) that Carroll rehashed into his own work of fiction. Wonderland is at war and Alyss the future queen is cast out into the real world by Red (the red Queen) and her sinister sidekick The Cat (Cheshire cat) who kill her parents. The rest of the story is constructed around Alyss’ attempts to get back home and the various battles that ensue. Beddor creates a violent and imaginative, if at times slightly contrived, world with characters we all know from Carroll’s work re-imagined as tangible yet otherworldly people waging an epic battle.

Maybe the website will improve as the trilogy continues…knowing Beddor’s leanings there has to be a film in the off eventually.

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Avril/Kanda/Le Grand Meaulnes

Avril Lavigne

I have to walk past a 12ft picture of Avril’s face every morning at the moment, it’s in the window of Aldo promoting AIDS awareness, part of that see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil campaign. The pouty mock angst ridden teenager is looking a lot sleeker these days, maybe this is just part of growing up; maybe this is because Hollywood has beckoned her, who knows. Either way she does have the most amazing face, and if Aldo want to share a massive b/w David Bailey portrait of that face with me then so be it.

I still won’t buy their shoes.


Kanda


"It's just you and me and the radiator" Ubeat bleakness courtesy of Kanda, the Portland based electro pop duo. Kanda weave a blend of outdated 80's keyboard pop and witty surburban fairytales, gritty enough to be sincere but with enough laptop tackiness to make it danceable. Also worth checking out is the repetative beauty of the song 'They'll need cocaine'. Both tracks taken from the album ' All the good meetings are taken'

kandapop.com

"Imagine The Pizzicato Five covering Hefner's 'The Fidelity Wars' armed only with a $5 keyboard and a lot of imagination and you'll still be nowhere near how good this sounds."

MP3:Kanda - Artic


Le Grand Meaulnes - Alain Fournier

Le Grand Meaulnes is oft cited as the French Catcher in the Rye, but in actuality it’s a much earlier softer work, the teenage disassociation is still there of sorts but it is less aggressive and more romanticised, having said that it is none the less beguiling for it. It tells the story of Augustin Meaulnes and his impulsive search for a love he accidentally stumbles across whilst on the run one night from his school. The cynicism of Holden isn’t present but there is a recklessness to Augustin that far surpasses that of the modern shoegazing teenager.
This book, like Catcher in the Rye is one of the few books I have read in one sitting, it’s that kind of book though, it draws you in and refuses to let go of you until it has finished with you.
Le Grand Meaulnes was published in 1912, Alban Fournier was killed in battle in September 1914, he was 27, this was his only novel.
A new film of the book (there was one in 1967) is in post production at the moment.

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Connelly/Tribeca/Mortal Engines

Jennifer Connelly


Worm: ‘Ello
Sarah: Did you say hello?
Worm: No, I said ‘ello, but that’s close enough.

I let my five year old watch Labyrinth for the first time a few weeks ago and now she is obsessed, she watches it all the time. Despite being over 20 years old the film still works and is as captivating now as it was then, this however isn’t down to Jim Henson’s puppetry or, most definitely, the presence of Bowie, it’s because of Jennifer Connelly’s ‘Sarah’. Henson had tried a feature length film before with The Dark Crystal however this lacked any human element and hasn’t really dated as well as Labyrinth. The character of Sarah is what holds this film together, my daughter wants to be like Sarah, for her toys to come to life in some other world where it’s ok to throw babies up in the air. And I love that it has that affect on her.
When I first saw it I must have been 10, and Connelly at 14 looked stunning. Now at 36 she has two kids much like me and as well as still being stunning I wonder if her two children sing ‘Dance Magic’ at the breakfast table like mine do.


Tribeca



Now defunct Swedish Pop duo on Labrador records (Sambassadeur/Surburban kids with biblical names) This song reminds me of Word Girl by Scritti Politti – a slight similarity to Green Gartside’s voice in places – but more the feeling it evokes. What feeling is this? The feeling of being eleven years old at a school disco and wanting so badly to dance with the girl in the yellow dress.

MP3: Tribeca - Solitude


Mortal Engines - Phillip Reve




In a post holocaust future London is a predatory traction city, high rise platforms on giant tank like wheels, surviving by ingesting other smaller towns. Ingenious for its use of a brutally facially disfigured girl as one of its central characters (Note to self: Hester is due a girl slot on this post) Probably overshadowed by Howl’s Moving Castle though, i'm not sure who was first with this concept.

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Kate/Mopeds/Lullaby

Kate Moss



I was working three days backstage at the Wireless Festival 2005 in Hyde Park. On the Friday bill was Babyshambles, that meant Pete Doherty, which at that time, pre those Daily Mirror photographs, meant Kate Moss.
After fifteen years of waiting to meet her I should have been there…but I had to be at an open day for my daughters new school. So instead of spending an evening with Kate Moss and a free bar I ended up sampling school dinners.

My daughter has packed lunches now.

There’s a moral here, but I don’t really want to think about it.


The Mopeds



An old song by The Mopeds, but I just love the line: "Who put the bomb in the Queen of the Prom?" these days these scandinavian guys are better known as producers and engineers for other artists: The Cardigans , Franz Ferdinand to name a few.

MP3: The Mopeds - She went Boom


Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk



Chuck Palahniuk’s tale of a nursery rhyme that kills. Carl Streator is a journalist investigating Sudden Infant Death Syndrome when he comes across a bedtime poem that when recited, even in his head, will kill people. Soon people who annoy him begin to drop dead. A weird twisted horror tale about the abuse and misuse of power, a starck reminder that hate is both fleeting and inevitable in all.

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Zooey/Sambassadeur/Hard Boiled Wonderland

Zooey Deschanel

Anyone named after a JD Salinger novel has to be cool, and with eyes that look like they have been lavishly animated on it’s no wonder her next project has her cast as Lani the penguin lifeguard in the forthcoming Sony CGI release ‘Surf’s Up’
An unconventional indie beauty, plus she was Trillan, and she plays the piano and the ukulele…

“Ukulele me-kulele/How happy we could be-kulele!” - Stephin Merritt

Sambasadeur


Sambassadeur are from Sweden and the track below is taken from their Costal Affairs Ep, they cite 60’s French pop as high on their list of influences (their name derives from a Serge Gainsbourg song) This song reminds me of early 90’s female led indie bands, Faith Over Reason/The Darling Buds and so on, it’s bouncy and wistfully summery and when the bass kicks in my soul leaps into my mouth. No lie.

MP3: Sambasadeur - Kate


Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World - Haruki Murakami



I read this on a five hour train journey to Edinburgh on my way to work at the T in the Park festival, it's with out a doubt one of my favourite books ever. If I could make a film of a book this would be the one.

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Lohan/I'm from Barcelona/Coraline

Lindsay Lohan



Cute, freckly, hugely affected and bound for better things once the Disney contract ends.


I'm from Barcelona


Liars! They are a collective from Sweden and this song is the kind you'd want to sing if they held morning assembles in your office.

MP3: I'm from Bareclona - We're from Barcelona


Coraline - Neil Gaiman



A childrens book (you'll notice a recurring theme with kids books on this blog, I can't help it, they are generally far superior to the majority of allegedly 'grown up' fiction) Coraline is a girl who finds another mother with buttons for eyes behind a walled up door, some say it's like a modern day and slightly more disturbing Alice in Wonderland, but that doesn't really give it proper credit. It's a short but incredibly complete work of modern gothic fiction, dark, creative and utterly absorbing.
Stephin Merritt (he of The Magnetic Fields) is currently working on a musical adaptation of Coraline which will be premiering in New York fall 2006.

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