some recent films l've seen - frankenstein (1931)

By jove, it looks like all l do is watch old black and white films, but l assure you this is not the case. However, as an addition to my earlier posts, l have also just watched Frankenstein again, starring Boris Karloff as the ultimate Frankenstein's monster (in my eyes). The (rather brilliant) flat head and bolt through the neck look was created by Universal make up artist Jack Pierce, although James Whale states he created sketches for it. To think it was originally going to star Bela Lugosi, it does not bear thinking about. I prefer the Mary Shelley novel, which has a lot more detail, and helps you understand the monster and his viewpoint, but this is based on the 1927 Peggy Webling play (where the creature was first called Frankenstein), so there are loads of differences from the original text. However, it is always great seeing Boris wandering around with all the slap on. Not a great film, but a classic non the less. It reminds me of making plastic models of Frankenstein and Dracula when l was a kid (which glowed in the dark). You all know the routine..... Professor Henry (Victor in the novel) Frankenstein (Colin Clive) creates a monster, and it all goes pear shaped afterwards. And Maria (Marilyn Harris), the farmers young daughter gets thrown into the lake (restored in the version I saw). Hurrah!

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some recent films l've seen - dracula (1931)

Obviously as l am a a sad old git, l have a soft spot for the 1922 Nosferatu film starring Max Schreck, but l also like this version. Bela Lugosi is excellent as Dracula, as his mad accent actually suits the role of the Transylvanian count. Saying that, I also love the 1979 remake of Nosferatu starring Klaus Kinski, so l have no idea what l am on about. Maybe not as good as the CBBC series Young Dracula, as l used to love that on a Saturday morning, but it passes the time. l won't bother with the story, as let's face it, everyone knows it, although this film is based on the stage play by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston, (which is of course, based on the 1897 book by Bram Stoker). I wouldn't really recommend this film too much to other people, but l grew up watching this stuff, so Bela Lugosi, Max Schreck and Klaus Kinski are the authentic Draculas in my eyes.

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some recent films l've seen - all quiet on the western front (1930)

Based on the Erich Maria Remarque novel, l prefer this adaptation to the later (1979) film with John Boy ( Richard Thomas) from the Waltons, even if this one is very dated. A German schoolteacher encourages his class to do their duty for The Fatherland in World War I, but they soon get to experience the horrors of war. Lew Ayres stars as Paul Baumer, the lads unofficial leader, (as they all look up to him), but when he gets injured and returns home, he is disgusted that people are still glorifying the war. He even contradicts his old schoolteacher in front of his class, much to their displeasure. The film also rams the point home about how men should just get along and help each other, how we are all the same, and how futile the conflicts are, but cracks along, and is finished in no time (to me anyway). Superb.

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some recent films l've seen - beau geste (1939)

This is the film l relate to about when l think about adaptations of the book (by P. C. Wren). It stars Gary Cooper, Ray Milland and Robert Preston, and is obviously in black and white. It's slightly stilted, and pretty upper class, but that is the point of the film, ie 'doing what is right'. It is confusing at first, when the French Foreign Legion reach the fort to find everyone dead, but it has a good twist at the end, both with the fort (and what happened there) and the missing jewel. A fine way to spend a couple of hours on a miserable day.

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my highlights of glastonbury - jessie j (price tag) - chase and status (blind faith) - janelle monae (come alive, war of the roses)

My favourite songs from what l have seen on TV from this years festival (and l have seen a lot).

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michael kalish - muhammad ali punchbag sculpture

This was made by suspending punch bags in such a way that they looked random, until you go to the front, where you suddenly realise that it is Ali. Very clever, but l don't think it will fit in the spare room.

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patti smith and robert maplethorpe

This is when they were living in New York before fame beckoned, and when they were still poor.

Just check out how skinny they were. They would not have been able to afford the rents that are charged nowadays, that's for sure, as it's all turning mightily upmarket (unfortunately). Saying that, they could have been squatting when this photo was taken, l don't have a lot of information about it (and, as usual, l am too lazy to find out).

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eric burdon and civil war hair - what is it good for?

As the bloody weather is back to it's usual performance (cloudy skies, although it is warm), l have been indoors amusing myself, which does not take a lot. I am currently listening to Eric Burdon and his 'Declares War' album, which got me to thinking about the whiskers/facial hair in the American Civil War (as you do), and the photos above, which l have had stashed away for a while. They knew how to cut a jib back in those days l can tell you. Amazingly enough, l bet they probably had women as well, but that, l cannot confirm. I do know that their first names are Ambrose, Alpheus, Alexander, Abram and Adelbert. Which one is which, l can't be bothered posting, but l do know. Why their names all start with the letter 'A', l don't know, as the surnames are not in order. Maybe it was all the rage for some reason. It requires some vigorous investigation, but l am not the man to do it, as life is too short, and l am still worn out from yesterdays exertions.

Eric has just finished, so it's off for another record and more amusement.

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the bastard garden and the brother in law

Lighting a bonfire the Dazzer way (with petrol)

Still looking good - sadly it went out

The branches and leaves from the front garden

Another view

Yet more

The grass in the back garden before l cut it

I was at work this morning, but as it was a sunny day, l thought l would crack on when l got home and cut the grass in the back garden, so l could relax in the hammock afterwards. I was doing this (cutting the grass) when Louise and Dazzer (and her that shall not be named) called in. When l was cutting the grass, Dazzer disappeared out the front and started cutting down our bushes (which luckily, we wanted doing). All well and good, but when l finished my energy sapping chores, l got roped into hours of extra work helping him. AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!

I am not used to manual work, and am not afraid to admit it, so l was cursing all afternoon. Then the FPO suggested they stay for tea! And they had the cheek to accept! I am going to have words with the FPO, and she shall experience my wrath. So, not only did Dazzer wear me out, but they ate us out of house and home as well. Then we couldn't get the bonfire/rubbish to ignite, even with petrol, so the garden looks worse than when l started. The front of the house looks like Hiroshima after the bomb, and l have cuts all over my legs. Bastards! The door will be bolted the next time they show their faces.

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coldplay tonight

let's see if they can live up to this

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glastonbury again

Pictures are from The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/

It's the worlds first middle class refugee camp. I'm glad l am working tomorrow night.

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u2 at glastonbury

So there is meant to be some kind of action tonight by 'Art Uncut, the offshoot of the anti-tax avoidance protest franchise UK Uncut which has succeeded in closing down dozens of banks and high-street stores in recent months' to protest at U2 and their tax avoidance. Obviously l may look very foolish tomorrow, but l predict nothing will happen, it's just a lot of hype and publicity, which will turn out to be nonsense.

Amazingly enough, l have been known to be wrong about stuff in the past, but not this time.

I also predict Bono will get soaked like in the photo above. It is summer time, after all, what more do you expect?

Trust me on this, l'm a doctor.

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paul weller at pretty green

Paul Weller has designed some stuff for Liam Gallagher's Pretty Green label, which probably worked out well for both of them (more here http://www.prettygreen.com/paulweller/?dm_i=GQR,GK1A,3VTB5K,1CJRX,1&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-Oyj8yRri8BhBD3mHJ28xtg). Liam worships Weller, and being involved with this, Weller can still think of himself as a style icon.

Well l have news for Mr Weller, the clothes are overpriced and look crap. If he is taking the piss, good luck to him, but l can't believe he thinks lads are going to shell out and wear this stuff.

On second thoughts, what am l thinking? Of course lads will shell out for it, because it will be 'trendy'. Weller could have put anything on the shelves with his and Liam's name on and it would still sell.

But for how long l wonder.....The emperors new clothes and all of that malarky. Still, if there's money to be made from sycophantic sheep, crack on.

I actually do like the Pretty Green t-shirts, but l don't think they are worth the money. Then again, what do l know, l'm only an old stinking hippie.

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lord buckley the hipster

Amongst the stuff I have been listening to during the last few days is Lord Buckley's album Hipsters, Flipsters and Finger Poppin' Daddies Knock Me Your Lobes which contains an updated and hip (at the time) version of Mark Antony's speech after the death of Julius Caesar. It's really dated but still very clever. Here's the original Shakespeare version

ANTONY
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears;
I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.
The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones;
So let it be with Caesar. The noble Brutus
Hath told you Caesar was ambitious:
If it were so, it was a grievous fault,
And grievously hath Caesar answer'd it.
Here, under leave of Brutus and the rest--
For Brutus is an honourable man;
So are they all, all honourable men--
Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful and just to me:
But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
He hath brought many captives home to Rome
Whose ransoms did the general coffers fill:
Did this in Caesar seem ambitious?
When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept:
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff:
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man.
You all did see that on the Lupercal
I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: was this ambition?
Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man.
I speak not to disprove what Brutus spoke,
But here I am to speak what I do know.
You all did love him once, not without cause:
What cause withholds you then, to mourn for him?
O judgment! thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me;
My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And I must pause till it come back to me.

And here's Lord Buckleys version.

Hipsters, flipsters, and finger-poppin' daddies,
Knock me your lobes,
I came to lay Ceasar out,
Not to hip you to him.
The bad jazz that a cat blows,
Wails long after he's cut out.
The groovey is often stashed with their frames,
So don't put Caesar down.
The swinging Brutus hath laid a story on you
That Caesar was hungry for power.
If it were so, it was a sad drag,
And sadly hath the Caesar cat answered it.
Here with a pass from Brutus and the other brass,
For Brutus is a worthy stud,
Yea, so are they all worthy studs,
Though their stallions never sleep.
I came to wail at Ceasar's wake.
He was my buddy, and he leveled with me.
Yet Brutus digs that he has eyes for power,
And Brutus is a solid cat.
It is true he hath returned with many freaks in chains
And brought them home to Rome.
Yea, the looty was booty
And hip the trays we weld(?)
Dost thou dig that this was Caesar's groove
For the putsch?
When the cats with the empty kicks hath copped out,
Yea, Caesar hath copped out, too,
And cried up a storm.
To be a world grabber a stiffer riff must be blown.
Without bread a stud can't even rule an anthill.
Yet Brutus was swinging for the moon.
And, yea, Brutus is a worthy stud.
And all you cats were gassed on the Lupercal
When he came on like a king freak.
Three times I lay the kingly wig on him,
And thrice did he put it down.
Was this the move of a greedy hipster?
Yet, Brutus said he dug the lick,
And, yes, a hipper cat has never blown.
Some claim that Brutus' story was a gag.
But I dug the story was solid.
I came here to blow.
Now, stay cool while I blow.
You all dug him once
Because you were hipped that he was solid
How can you now come on so square
Now that he's tapped out of this world.
City Hall is flipped
And swung to a drunken zoo
And all of you cats are goofed to wig city.
Dig me hard.
My ticker is in the coffin there with Caesar,
And, yea, I must stay cool til it flippeth back to me.

I should have been a jazz cat.

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stars playing records - marc bolan - marilyn monroe - john lennon

Here's some snaps of stars playing records at home. I am such a sad bastard that it annoys me the way Marilyn and John are holding their vinyl, as there will be fingerprints and smudges all over them. Hasn't John learnt about putting them back into their sleeves? That's how they end up being stood on and scratched. Why doesn't Marilyn put down her record while the other one is playing? Pah! Stars and their debauched ways. Marc looks like he has a fine collection, with Dylan and the Stones on display, although from what l know about him, that would probably have been deliberate to show off his tastes. Anyway, much as l love Marc and John, and despite the way she treats her vinyl, looking at those photos, l know who l would rather have round to 'spin some discs', 'stick the needle into the groove', 'hear some sounds' etc etc.

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bob harris and his cd shelves

There is a feature in this months Word magazine about collecting records, and storing them if you have loads. It featured (amongst others) Bob Harris, who stores his CDs in a portakabin in his garden. It may well be a mightily secure and alarmed portakabin, but it is a portakabin non the less. It is also full of shelves and CDs. To say l was envious looking at the pictures is an understatement, l was so outrageously jealous it was unbelievable. It is not even the amount of CDs he has, as l have the same amount, if not more. It's the shelves. Those beautiful wooden shelves. I think l am becoming addicted to them (and very, very sad). Time for a lie down methinks, it's getting late and l am going giddy.

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led zeppelin's peter grant gets the decorators in - paul reeves and jon wealleans

Back in the day (late 60's/early 70's), Peter Grant, the huge ex wrestler who managed Led Zeppelin, got Paul Reeves and Jon Wealleans in to do up his house while the mighty Zeppelin were away on tour. He also left most of it up to them as to what was to be done. When he returned, they said they were crapping themselves in case his reaction was not favourable, as he was known to be 'quite' aggressive on the 'odd occasion'. Luckily for them, he loved his new décor, and their heads stayed at the top of their necks, not up their arses (unlike most interior designers). Looking at some of the decoration, l would have been mighty worried showing it to him. Luckily everyone was on acid in them days, as he wouldn't commission it now (probably because he is now dead).

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