Almost There

So, at last I'm aurally satiated (and not just thanks to McAlmont and Nyman).

There's more - and here's a thing - David McAlmont has a hand in it as well. He has also been writing for Shirley Bassey.

The Performance is an album of songs written for the Dame from Tiger Bay by Richard Hawley, KT Tunstall, Rufus Wainwright, Gary Barlow, Tenant and Lowe, Barry and Black and Barry and Arnold.

The Manic Street Preachers contribution is The Girl From Tiger Bay: "There's a crack in every pavement, underneath it is the beach/ It's been a long time longing as history repeats".

Well this may be history repeating, but the Manic's contribution certainly isn't.

Listen to I Love You Now - and within a second you hear Diamonds Are Forever. This must be a John Barry track. It's not, but it could be.

There is much in the style of Bond re-imagined a la Shaken And Stirred - including Arnold and McAlmont's As God Is My Witness which has something of the Moonraker about it...

Apartment by Rufus Wainwright at first seems out of place, almost pantomime (the lyrics, rather than La Bassey's delivery). Until you listen to it. It's almost heartbreaking - feeling like it should be, but without being so. Though, strangely it has moments of Madonna (La Isla Bonita). So too does the Hanky Panky Dick Tracy-ish Nice Men.

But it has another undercurrent running through it I haven't quite put my finger on.

Gary Barlow gets her. Not in a Bondesque way, which is refreshing. (On a second listen it reminds me of Sondheim). However Arnold and Black manage to snap us right back to Bond: "No solace in a kiss/ No comfort in a sigh/ No good about goodbye".



This is another super-listen. And although I've not mentioned it, Almost There by Tom Baxter is thrilling and definitely heartbreaking, eventually delivering hope in what turns out to be the most climatic of the 11 tracks.

Rest In Peace (No More)

Recently I stopped off at Idea Generation Gallery where from October 28th to November 15th they are showcasing the best of Hammer, including:

•Original posters and prints from classic Hammer films
•An exclusive look at previously unseen photos, prints and artwork, including upcoming Hammer films

Of course, being a gallery they have art for sale, and I just couldn't resist this piece by east London based graffiti artist Pure Evil.

The perfect spot for it is on our bedroom wall. Which means that every night when I go to bed, one of the last things I'm going to see before I turn the light off is Christopher Lee's Dracula.

I'll never sleep in peace again...

Something Beautiful

Following my last round of CD purchases, I've found something rather amazing.

I'm a big fan of Michael Nyman's music; in this collaboration David McAlmont has turned Nyman's music to song.

The result is extraordinary - The Glare in which McAlmont explores subjects as varied as 21st century piracy (‘Going to America’), trafficked prostitution in Europe (‘City of Turin’), sexually-charged world leaders (‘In Rai Don Giovanni’), Joanna Lumley's triumph on behalf of the Gurkhas and her subsequent visit to Nepal (‘A Great Day In Kathmandu’), reality television (‘The Glare’ inspired by Susan Boyle's story), African orphan migration (‘Fever Sticks and Bones’), banking errors (‘Take the Money and Run’) and drug mules (‘In Laos’).

Here's a blog about the album's aspirations, giving insight into the stories behind the songs.

Inspired by The Michael Clark Company at last week's Barbican show I've decided to have a Velvet Underground retrospective.

However the Nyman/McAlmont album has been so good I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet.

Also waiting to be listened to:



and waiting to arrive:



But, in the meantime, I am more than happy listening to the Glare:



1
Take The Money And Run –
Inspired by the the adventures of Leo Gao and Cara Young

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10573570



2
Secrets Accusations and Charges -
Inspired by the trial of Dorothy Fasola.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/latestnews/Who-is-the-real-Dorothy.3358045.jp

5 On The Fifth - Colour

Meanwhile, London Blogger The State Of The Nation UK continues with his just for fun monthly photo posting 5 on the fifth.

The idea is that you take 5 photographs on the fifth of the month and post them somewhere on the net - then post a comment on his blog with your name, location and link to the blog/picasa/flickr site containing the photos and he will update the blog entry with your information.

I took my camera with me this morning and snapped my way to the office. Unfortunately I left my camera there.

So, this month, mine is a very tenuous link, in that all I did was look through my iPhoto archive to see what else I had that would fit in with November's "colour" theme.

I didn't take them today, but they do represent something that I neverthless did today. Hope that still counts!

I'll add today's pics later.

First up is a picture taken in Tel Aviv's Carmel Market from summer 2008.



The Carmel Market is Tel Aviv's largest food and vegetable market. The photo was taken using my Sony Alpha 350 DSLR.

In contrast the next photo, of the Bloomberg Offices on Finsbury Square in the City of London, EC2,was taken using my phone camera, while I was sitting on the bus driving by.

It was taken on 27 December 2006.



I love the out of focus and the glare of the bright lights inside the bus reflecting off the inside of the window, all as the bus raced by to make the traffic lights.

The next photo was also taken using my phone (a Sony Ericsson), looking out onto the Thames and the Tate from the quietest bridge over the Thames, Southwark bridge.



The photo captures the colours of the sky and the river exactly as they were on that October 2007 evening.

Southwark bridge provides access to Upper Thames Street on the north bank and, due to the Ring of steel, there is no further access to the City and the north. This has led to a reputation of it being the least used bridge in central London and it is sometimes known as the "car park bridge" as coach drivers use it to park their vehicles.



That pic was taken on my Sony DSCT100, in February 2008, showing the neon colours of another iconic London landmark, which sadly has itself gone to the dogs.

The DSCT is my day-to-day pocket-sized camera that I usually forget to carry with me.

Finally for this month, it's another vegetable, this time our home grown aubergine plant, with actual aubergines.

This picture was taken towards the end of August this year. I love the shine of the aubergines growing, as well as their colour and that of the flowers and foliage.

We never did get round to eating them though...

Colours Turn

When I was in Paris with mon C a couple of weekends ago, I thought the change of season was spectacularly marked against the history of the buildings in the Marais.





I know it looks like a Tim Burton film set, but it's not. It's real.

The following weekend, back in London, looking out through my window, I can see the leaves fall and the colours change.

I, Vampire?

So, for dinner I'll be having some reconstituted blood. That's red blood cells - 8%, blood albumen and mixed with water.

It may not be the blood that gave Ryan K's True Blood alter ego (pictured below) his priapism.



But it is the kind you have probably tried for a weekend breakfast sometime...



Of course, you already knew that black pudding was congealed blood, and stuff.

Sweet November Melancholy

Saturday's Guardian newspaper had the first part of their ongoing guide series, this one dedicated to the night.

Let there be night

This is a horrible time of year. The days are so short it's barely worth switching off the lights. The nights stretch out like oceans of tedium. Once the sun goes down, there's nothing to do but draw the curtains and drink....

There's something sweet about the melancholy the dark nights bring. There is the promise of Christmas and the sparkle it brings. The weekend papers were full of advertising supplements for gifts, food and wine ideas for Christmas.

I may have been alone on Saturday evening, though it was my choice. I had an invite to a Hallowe'en party. But I chose to stay at home with a bottle of red wine and the DVD of Drag Me to Hell.

But as the nights draw in it's hard not to feel isolated on your own.

I might fear the dark unknown spooks that are given free reign on Hallowe'en. But equally I know that at 1 minute after 11.59pm on the 31st, it's the holiest day of the year - All Saints Day. So if I really do fear things hidden in the creeping darkness, all is well come the other side of midnight. (And I really do sleep well knowing that if there is ying then there is yang, no matter how many scary movies I watch on Hallowe'en).

What scares me more, however, is the thought of being on my own.

I've blogged about my Aberdeen/London Dichotomy Dream before. Another recurring dream is the Boyfriend Loss dream.

In it I dream either about S. or Ben before him. In total 12.5 years of relationship, each of whom I considered, at the time, to be my other rest-of-my-life person.

In my dream, I am with them, but I know that we are no longer together. My dream sometimes suggests the false security of a second chance. But I know that they have left me and I am alone (strangely, perhaps, I never dream about Xfe leaving me).

I wake up with the dread and regret I feel recognising that I have lost love and I am alone. It takes me that fraction between sleep and consciousness to remember that isn't how it is. I remember that I'm actually with Xfe. If he's in bed with me, I reach out and wrap my arms around him. If he is away, I move over into his space and sleep in it.

The fear, the very real fear, I experience in the waking moment quickly dissipates as I realise I am not alone. I love and I am loved. My dream has been a false friend. It may have teased me with the comfort of a love now lost, leaving me in that waking moment confused with the fear and regret of being alone.

I took this picture on Saturday night at 8.45pm. Miss Hugo had showered, was in her bath robe and slippers and was eating dinner on her lap in her small downstairs bedroom, all alone.

Patient Stable

As you already know. I'm a big fan of musical theatre.

Recently I'm moved by a musical about mental illness.



Next to Normal tells the story of Diana, sexy, sharp and trying to hold onto her family as she struggles with worsening bipolar disorder.

In the words of the late Ronnie Middleton, "powerful stuff"!

Happy Hallowe'en

Pumpkins

and fancy dress

The epitome of our Hallowe'en today.



Happy All Hallow's Evening.

Hallowe'en Coming

Don't look out the window, because Halloween's Coming.

I've been invited to a party, but it's fancy dress and without Xfe I prefer to stay in at night, or at least avoid venturing too far.



So, instead I'm going to watch some creepy-scary DVDs. All on my own.

Tonight I'm going to watch Zombie film Colin.


And tomorrow, Drag me to Hell...



I'll end up being too frightened for my own good, I'm sure. I'll certainly not be looking out the window. Neither should you.....