Billie Holliday declared Kay Starr “the only white woman who could sing the blues”, and there’s no doubt that while you are listening to this moody ballad of luck and love, you will know exactly what she meant.
She’s also sassy AF which you will totally get from this 1951 colour video of the singer crooning her song which became a Gold Record and made it to #1 on the charts in the U.S.
All the glitter. All the glamour. All that timeless cool.
She’s got the body electric, and the voice of Marilyn. And how can we not love a girl who is always bringing vintage inspired fashion and style to the forefront of today.
She is an embodiment of the {PAST}, {PRESENT}, and {FUTURE} and that’s why we love her.
Her latest single “West Coast” gives us the moody blues, a bit of a Lynchian edge, and a new frequency of cool malaise that shows off Lana’s knack for evolution in all rights. For an artist today, and in any era, this is often the key. I guess that’s the story of life itself.
It’s your choice really.
Kick it to this hot summer jam, and take a think, and tell us what you thought in the COMMENTS below.
Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.
-Ella Fitzgerald
It’s the eternal diva’s birthday today, and we couldn’t get away from showcasing her classic elegance, perseverance, and vivacious sense of self.
We think that she has a soul that should never be forgotten. Luckily, we will always have her music to lift us up off the ground. Words really can’t describe her talents in that area. Just listen to her cover of “For Once In My Life” in Berlin, 1968, above to see why!
Hopefully these photos help invoke the spirit of Ella Fitzgerald to make you smile throughout the day.
It’s not where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.
When I die, the scientists of the future, they’re gonna find it all. They gonna know, once there was a Hushpuppy, and she live with her daddy in the Bathtub.
-Excerpt from “Beasts of the Southern Wild“
For anyone who has seen the film, starring the young, gifted, and beautiful Quvenzhané Wallis, you must have figured out by now that “Beasts of the Southern Wild” is probably one of the best films to come out in the last decade, and will undoubtedly find a place in the timeless classics we will refer back on in the future.
It has a lot of deep, and often dark, melancholic undertones throughout, but somehow through the tireless imagination of young Hushpuppy (the revelation that is Ms. Wallis – who was only six during filming), and the unnerved determination of the residents of The Bathtub, an almost magic land cut off the from society by a flood wall in southern Louisiana; the message received by the end of the film was that of hope, community, and the ultimate joy of living.
The film’s prose weaves together very real issues with mythical, allegorical, and almost fantasy-like elements in a way not achieved since the whimsical narration of Linda Manz in Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven”. Indeed, there is a Malickian sensibility throughout the film- the camera pans effortlessly through the scenery, focusing in on the subtleties and beauties in nature, light, and human expression. There is also some Fellini-like sensibilities, with many quirky characters, and the ability to bring the most mundane and normal daily events into the most seemingly magical ones.
The film is nominated for 4 Academy Awards this year, including Best Picture, and Best Actress for Quvenzhané, who has become the youngest nominee ever for the category. However, with Awards season comes the snubs, and one of the biggest at this year’s Academy Award ceremony is most definitely the fascinating score for “Beasts of the Southern Wild“.
Co-written by Dan Romer and director Benh Zeitlin, the film’s music is as much a character to the film, as the beautiful words, and almost other-worldly imagery. So in spirit of raising awareness for this film, and awesome, inspiring music , we thought of featuring the main theme, “There Once Was A Hushpuppy” by director Benh Zeitlin as this MUSIC MINUTE.
Hope you enjoy, and definitely see the film! To learn more about the film click here.
When it all goes quiet behind my eyes, I see everything that made me lying around in invisible pieces. When I look too hard, it goes away. And when it all goes quiet, I see they are right here. I see that I’m a little piece in a big, big universe. And that makes things right.
The duo would write a string of hits which would lead them to rise to fame in the 50s teaming up with other writers and writing hits themselves. Some famous songs include “Hound Dog“, “Jailhouse Rock” “Stand By Me” “On Broadway“.
About a girl names Ivy, calling her “Poison Ivy” because of the girls reputation. In a recently published biography about Jerry Lieber & Mike Stoller, the song’s authors, it was confirmed that they also intended Ivy’s “poisonous” nature to be a code for her actually carrying a sexually-transmitted disease. She is compared to measles, mumps,chickenpox, the common cold, and whooping cough, but is deemed worse, because “Poison Ivy, lord, will make you itch.” The song also makes references to other flowers such as a rose and a daisy.
Poison Ivy grew to be covered The Rolling Stones recorded two different versions in 1963, the second version appeared on the EP The Rolling Stones, released early 1964. The Hollies recorded a version in the 1960s, The Romantics – on the 1985 album, Rhythm Romance.
We love all versions of this hit, but we’ve tracked down a version on youtube by Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs from 1964 that we really wanted to share with our readers. Maybe not the original (a hard performance to find by the Coasters) but we love a little Aztec Enchantment, and the mid 60s groove in the video above!
Well, summer’s here, and it ain’t going nowhere! So hopefully you aren’t stuck at home going through endless bouts of Summertime Sadness, and can get out into that bright sunlight! Even if it’s just for a little while, we encourage our readers to get up from their mediocrely comfortable chairs, and get that leg over a bicycle and put that peddle to the medal!
We think you’d be a fool to waste another minute indoors. Rain or shine, a bike ride would be most divine. Get the blood pumping! We wish we could be there at your side to encourage the activity, but we want to do what we can, and astound you with some inspiration in the form of an E.O.F. Photoblast!
Something learnt very young for most, and much less risky than getting on a horse. Go for a ride on your bicycle and see the world! From corner to corner and street to street, there will always be a new sight to see. We get so much of our inspiration from watching Toronto’s citizens express themselves through unique street style, so we encourage everyone to do the same, wherever you may be in the Globe! Plus you get around a lot faster on two wheels then two feet.
As Birthday Boy ‘Mick’ would say; “I see those girl’s walk by dressed in their summer clothes”. The Rolling Stones front man knows where to look, for summer is the season to check out those streets. So check out this gallery with some fun, and NSFW shots to celebrate summer!
No secret here, we love to revel in Vintage. We had the privilege to find this rare performance by the incredible Patsy Cline of her hit “She’s Got You” thanks to crazy4patsycline. This one goes out to anybody who may be stewing over a lost love, missing days of the past. We sure as heck miss Patsy Cline. She truly had a voice like no other, with a distinct sadness in her voice that was truly beyond her time.
Take notice of Patsy’s unique flair for fashion. Playing hard into the cliche’s of Nashville, Patsy wore the Cowgirl style like it were a uniform, yet somehow she stood out during her time and was a true original. We are particular intrigued by the way she wore her headband.. talk about trend setter! Imagine running into her ghost…
First recorded by country star Don Gibson in 1956, this song was met with some success on the country charts, but not until Patsy Cline recorded it early in 1963 with Owen Bradley producing did the song crossover onto the pop charts to any great extent. Unfortunately the songstress would be in a fatal plane crash in March of that year.
This song truly resinates with us. Miss Cline was taken from us too soon, but her spirit lives on through her great recordings. The Nashville star’s life would get the movie treatment come 1985’s Sweet Dreams starring Jessica Lange and Woody Harrison.
{LIFE Magazine Mathmatics in the 1950s}
No secret here, we love to revel in 
