Ave Maria

Mothers of America
let your kids go to the movies!
get them out of the house so they won’t know what you’re up to
it’s true that fresh air is good for the body
but what about the soul
that grows in darkness, embossed by silvery images
and when you grow old as grow old you must
they won’t hate you
they won’t criticize you they won’t know
they’ll be in some glamorous country
they first saw on a Saturday afternoon or playing hookey


they may even be grateful to you
for their first sexual experience
which only cost you a quarter
and didn’t upset the peaceful home
they will know where candy bars come from
and gratuitous bags of popcorn
as gratuitous as leaving the movie before it’s over
with a pleasant stranger whose apartment is in the Heaven on Earth Bldg
near the Williamsburg Bridge
oh mothers you will have made the little tykes
so happy because if nobody does pick them up in the movies
they won’t know the difference
and if somebody does it’ll be sheer gravy
and they’ll have been truly entertained either way
instead of hanging around the yard
or up in their room
hating you
prematurely since you won’t have done anything horribly mean yet
except keeping them from the darker joys
it’s unforgivable the latter
so don’t blame me if you won’t take this advice
and the family breaks up
and your children grow old and blind in front of a TV set
seeing
movies you wouldn’t let them see when they were young
- Frank O'Hara

She had to remember not to drink like that. Bill had been nice about it though.

The Gift by The Velvet Underground - sometimes you think you know a band inside and out (especially when they've broken up) and then you hear something incredible and new that you've somehow missed its one of the best kinds of revelations. As thorough as we try and be to "suck the marrow" out of life its nice to discover things or have them discovered for us (Jarvis Cocker's Sunday Service again!). I love this track so much - mainly the short story by John Cale - but the instrumental is great too.

In other Velvets news how great is this Jonathon Richman track? I've been having trouble finding it onlines - total bummer.

Love lasts about seven years. That's how long it takes for the cells of the body to totally replace themselves.

I had no idea there was a biopic on Francois Sagan made called Sagan. It was released in 2008 but obviously was never well promoted and now is getting general release in Australia on the 8th. Miracles do happen.

You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)

The best songs about love are from musicals - I think.

The photos were taken in May 1999 - a month after Ledger had his 20th birthday and six weeks after his first US film 10 Things I Hate About You premiered in America.

Ain’t got no how whatchamacallit

Kurt Cobain mugshot - Aberdeen, WA

May 25, 1986 "Vandalism: as beautiful as a rock in a cop's face" - Kurt Cobain

Taken after Cobain's arrest for spray-painting "Ain't got no how whatchamacallit" on the side of a local Seafirst Bank Building.

It's like I was born not out of legs but I was born of arms.

When I was a bit younger I was very obsessed with Cat Power to the point where I judged people on whether they were good people or not based on how they felt about Cat Power - I was 20 OK? I was also super broke back then and barely had enough money for coffee let alone music - but art is totally the food of the soul and I went without food for as long as needed to save up enough money to buy all CP's CDs (pre internet downloads oi) and a concert ticket at full price just so I could have it ALL (this is pre-lounge singer as well Chan BTW no vibe on that shiz).

I have a similar feeling about Sharon Van Etten. Only back in 2000 the term 'gotta-girl-crush' wasn't as prevalent. Not that I'm as naive or as broke as I once was but I am similarly obsessed with SVE's music and want everyone to know about it. In case you couldn't tell I wrote these three blog posts. I had a pre-release listen to Sharon Van Etten's newie Epic over at NPR - and I can confirm she just keeps getting better. Sharon's two CDs have been one of my favourite things about 2010.

Also they kinda look and sound a like right?

Get that paper get real paid

Work. Is. Killing. Me.

Need Tropical Vacay With Umbrella Drinks ASAP.

What Would John Waters Do?

What John Waters Said:

On Who To Date (or At Least Who To Sleep With)
“If you go home with someone, and they don’t have books, don’t fuck ‘em.”

On Not Having "Hobbies" but Making Your Hobbies Your Life's Work
The only insult I've ever received in my adult life was when someone asked me, 'Do you have a hobby?' A HOBBY?! DO I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING DABBLER?!"

On Capitalism and What It Can Do For You
“Being rich is not about how much money you have or how many homes you own; it’s the freedom to buy any book you want without looking at the price and wondering if you can afford it.”

On Body Image
"Fat is not enough anymore unless you were once thin and gained weight on purpose to confuse authority."

On Why Not To Date or Watch TV
"People always say to me: How can you read so much? And I say easy, you don’t have a boyfriend or girlfriend, and you don’t watch television. It’s simple. You’ll read all the time"

On Success
“True success is figuring out your life and career so that you never have to be around jerks.”

On Why Not To Waste Money On Antidepressants
“Doing the Monster Mash with Kleenex boxes on your feet will really make you feel better, trust me. More people should do that instead of popping pills all the time.”

On Procreation
"I’m for anybody getting any kid, if they can love it. And I’m for abortion. If you can’t love your kid, don’t have it because it will grow up and kill us. "

On Why Its OK to Have a One-Track Mind
"Without obsession, life is nothing."

On Growing Up
"A 20-year-old that’s angry is sexy, a 64-year-old man that’s angry is an asshole. If you haven’t gotten over some things, you can blame your parents 'til you’re 30, but after 40, forget whining about anything."

On Why Rap Music is the Best
"I always love to have rap music. It keeps away a lot of people I don’t like."

On Fashion
“You should never wear a halter top.”

On Opinions
"I don’t read opinion pieces. I have faith in my own opinion. I know I’m right. I don’t want to read what someone else has to say."

On Tolerance
“If someone is racist and really cute, could you still have sex with him? I have to admit the answer is yes. I have. You just change the subject or shout, ‘La la la la la la la,’ covering your ears when he speaks nonsense. If all else fails, stick something in his mouth to shut him up.”

On Taste
“You have to have good taste to have bad taste. You have to know which rules to break.”

On Love, Destiny and Relationships
“Everybody has his or her ‘love map,’ as the late, great, sadly discredited Baltimore sexologist John Money once called our predetermined sexual types. And we can never really change our love maps, but we can learn to see them coming. A healthy neurotic knows his type can and probably will bring emotional trouble combined with a powerful sexual wallop. But we can see, through effective therapy, that we have a choice. Yes, our love maps may be bad for us, but WOW! I won’t find this kind of sex in a healthy relationship. So is it worth it? If it is, yes, you are fucked-up, but as long as you choose it, you are also neurotically happy.”"

On Planning Ahead
“I’m a fascist about my work habits and I expect you to be, too. Never have a spontaneous moment in your life again. If you’re going to have a hangover, it should be scheduled on your calendar months in advance. Rigid enjoyment of planning can get you high. Militant time-management will enable you to ignore how maladjusted you would be if you had the time to notice it in the first place. Discipline is not anal compulsion; it’s a lifestyle that breeds power.”

On Feeling Blue
"Cheer up. You never know — maybe something awful will happen tomorrow."

Perfection as a Hipster

Bad table manners, my dear Gigi, have broken up more housholds than infidelity.

Its such a shame that people always bang on about 'Thank Heaven For Little Girls' when there are soooo many other great songs in Gigi (in my opinion) - I love these two above so much more than the former.

I seem to be on a musical kick at the moment. I really enjoyed this post from The Playlist outlining Edgar Wright's Top Ten Favourite Musicals a lot too! Such great choices - and a few I haven't seen yet too which is always nice.

You know, you keep on refusing me, and one of these days I'm going to start thinking you're stubborn

Todd Hayne's does Mildred Pierce with Kate Winslet - yes pls. Missed you Todd!



Versus the original? Theres always room for one more when it comes to Haynes x Winslet taking on classic Crawford and in colour - too much!

I don't know about the Evan Rachel Wood choice for Veda though, but I do love hating her - so maybe its all good.

I don't love anything. Not even christmas

In case your ears are not tuned to Indie FM you may not have heard the new Belle and Sebastian jam - Write About Love featuring Michelle Williams semi-op-shop dopple Carey Mulligan.

Now they have their own TV show - see above. B&S fans rejoice - because we know you are an obsessive bunch who will eat this stuff up - hey I'm one too!

TiMER

If you are fascinated by the concept of 'one true love' vs many true loves, pre-determined fate vs choose your own destiny and all that jazz (god knows I am) you'll probably like this film. Its a pretty interesting idea and done pretty well. Its essentially about whether it is better to know your future or not know. I don't think I could resist knowing if I had the option but its actually a little depressing narrowing all your choices down to one sure thing - isn't it?

I love my bitches all my bitches, we all ambitious

The Craft
Dazed and Confused
Beverley Hills 90210
Now and Then

Some of my favourite girl gangs.

Its my blog and I'll post what I want to

(via HitRecord)

I have no idea what Joseph Gordon Levitt's HitRecord does - some sort've online creative collabo collective gone viral I think? - but I like that he does it because then I can gawk at him singing and doing covers and stuff at parties he holds for this crew.

Because I'm way too old, I can't have TV Hits posters of him on my wall or anything (such a fangirl really) plus I don't buy magazines that have posters of celebrities which is such a shame really. Plus y'know it would be a bit weird and creepy. Like if I invited friends over and they were like 'why do you have a lifesize poster of some good looking celebrity on your wall?' and I was all 'because he's hot like duh' - I don't need anymore obvious signposts of this weird teenage regression slip I'm having at the moment.

However here on the internet where weird and creepy is what its all about, I can do what. Like link to this.

Please Apreesh

I have problems with people who don't like Louis CK's new show 'Louie'.

I start thinking bad thoughts like 'why are we friends?' and 'are you actually a bit dumb?'

PS we are NSFW

PPS remember everything is amazing and no one is happy?

Read my Fist; or Taste My Knuckle Dust?

Words can hurt - when they're coming 'atcha face.

What would you say?

P.A.G.A.N. (People Against Goodness And Normalcy)

I'm about to watch Dragnet (1987) based on this video alone (how GOOD is Tom Hanks rapping?) can't believe I haven't seen this yet. This is going to be a good weekend - I can tell.

(via NOGOODFORME)

make mine a musical; or why life goes better in song

Marilyn Monroe & Jane Russell - When love goes wrong



Judy Garland & Barbra Streisand - Hooray for Love

So its not like I wish life was a musical all the time but musicals do have their pluses. For example they are excellent venting vehicles - when you have an awful thing happen or a wonderful thing happen they are excellent way to express extreme emotions - see above. Love and Heartbreak both just sound a bit sweeter in song don't they?

Also how about chucking a one off song and dance sequence into some modern films without going balls-out musical huh? It works and its great and I totally want it to come back. There is a reason that this scene was the best part of 500 Days of Summer (aka 500 Days of Being a Whiny Pussy as my friend Will so eloquently put it).