words, pictures, faces, places the Blancs: Sauvignon, Fume' and, most especially, Mel, talent (the most potent aphrodisiac I know), badinage, people who are at ease with themselves (with or w/o the blanc?), listening...and watching, time, space, light, shadows, reflections, thunderstorms, architecture, synchronicity, physics, the neurochemistry of memory, applied adrenalin (sky-diving, rollercoasters), kindred spirits, six degrees of me.
and i'd call it a passion: http://www.joebwphoto.com/
I'd like to meet:
"The trouble with complex women is that there's always a minotaur in the labyrinth." --Michael O'Donoghue
And for those who'd like to meet me...
I am a great fan of new music. And I'm acutely aware of the difficulties artists encounter in their battles to garner attention for a new project.
That said, if you want to be MyFriends, request away. I do listen to at least two trx per request, but, past that, I make no guarantees. Not incidentally, I tend to be a bit slow at this as I get dozens of requests a week (sometimes, a day).
Now--and I can't say this loudly enough: MY PAGE IS NOT YOUR BILLBOARD. I have disabled HTML comments on my page, and I am a firm believer in the "Deny" and "Delete" buttons. On the other hand, I happily--and loudly and enthusiastically--promote friends and acquaintances (and they know who they are).
Music:
It's about the music, stupid!
15 years at a major label or two did very little to ameliorate my ardor. I still love music, and I still think the business sucks. That said, away with the soapbox and on with the tunes...where my taste is eclectic enough to garner a diagnosis of multiple personality disorder. Most recent listening pleasures: Toby Goodshank--who, I'm convinced, is the lovechild of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen. AToM--whose talents as a composer and arranger leave me speechless and who has only begun to tap the wellspring of his gift as a producer. Alannah Myles (the one and only--she is a goddess!). Alex Cuber, songwriter/vocalist extraordinaire, aided and abetted by his brother and producer, Chris Cuber. The polybandrous Tim van de Ven--in collaboration with AToM in The Nixon Tapes or in Beg To Differ mode with Paul Casey OR behind the kit for Amanda Mabro (call it "cabaret" or call it "jazz"--but give her a listen!), NLX, Cozmos Quazar, Andrea Revel or Lobelia. TWO WORDS: Mike Errico. TWO MORE WORDS: Rob Szabo. Don and Jeff--The Breithaupt Brothers--because they *do* write 'em the way they used to...but with a modern sensibility. Steve Messina/Blow Up Hollywood. Luis Bettencourt (a classic in all the best ways). Eliane (solo, accompanied by Dan Lipton and, in "Swiss Miss" mode with Andra Boro...who has one of the most amazing voices going). Mink (Neal is a stupendous lead singer--and drummer Stella is a goddess in her own pantheon). Paolo Bettercourt, Daniel Lanois, Spoonbill, Yo-Yo Ma, Robyn Hitchcock (a perennial favourite), Jude Cole ("View From Third Street" is a perfect album), Burt Bacharach, Sam Roberts, Span, Lesley Gore (her latest is gorgeous!) Jake. The Assault On Rock. Seal. The Modern Jazz Quartet ("Blues On Bach"). Rasputina. Supertramp. Bill Evans, Abba (as played by the Berlin Philharmonic...the cellists of which got together and recorded and album of Beatles tunes called "Cello Submarine." Just listen to "Here, There And Everywhere" before you say a word; it's exquisite.) Barenaked Ladies. Neil Diamond (now and forever), Bill Mays. Don Francks. The Who (my very first rock concert--what a way to start!) U2. A3. kd lang. Joni Mitchell. Steely Dan. Julia Fordham, Leahy, Andrew Cash/The Cash Brothers/The Skydiggers, The Black Velet Band, Dan Fogelberg. Don Henley/The Eagles. Emm Gryner. Steely Dan. Genesis/Mike & The Mechanics/Bankstatement. CSN(Y). Heidi Berry. Loreena McKennitt. The Association. Meatloaf & Jim Steinman (without whom....). Maureen McGovern (catch her Marilyn & Alan Bergman album for an hour in music heaven). Dead Can Dance. Three Dog Night. The Artist Formerly Known As The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. (C'mon..."Little Red Corvette" is a perfect tune and you know it!) Okoume. Leonard Cohen. Any/everything Sondheim.
Check out my friends list to catch some more of my latest listening pleasures.
In general--one woman's opinion here--the 70s and 80s were particularly entertaining musically, but, come the 90s...I couldn't have cared less about grunge rock, and the whole notion of "alternative " music is rather amusing--except, not in a funny way.
If you take my meaning.
I also listen to world music--tunes from Scotland (me great-grandmum's home), Ireland, Argentina, Cuba, Bulgaria...even Voodoo chants.
Movies:
Colonel Redl, Mephisto (in a word: Brandauer), Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead (in another word: Stoppard). A Fish Called Wanda (two words: John Cleese), The Life Of Brian, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, Singin' In The Rain, SOB (actually, most anything by Blake Edwards, including Victor/Victoria), Galaxy Quest, Soldier Of Orange, The Fourth Man (so I like Verhoeven--so sue me!), Die Hard, West Side Story, Jesus Of Montreal (pretty much anything by Denys Arcand, actually), Men With Brooms (because where else can you hear someone shout "Hurry hard! Hurry hard!" without even a soupcon of irony?) Happy, Texas (William H. Macy is exquiste), When Night Is Falling (for Henry Czerny's performance--and while we're on the subject: The Boys Of St. Vincent's--proof positive that Czerny is one of the most skilled--and bravest--actors of his generation), Palm Beach Story, The Thin Man series, Her Man Friday, (William Powell, anyone?--and the goddess known as Carole Lombard), Sullivan's Travels--actually, anything by Preston Sturges, anything with Harold Lloyd, anything scripted by Richard Curtis ("Love, Actually", "The Tall Guy"), Paddy Chayevsky (especially "Network", "Hospital", "The Americanization Of Emily"), or Larry Gelbart. And anything by/with friends.
Television:
Monty Python. Blackadder. LFN. Slings & Arrows. Waking The Dead. Press Gang. Coupling. Fawlty Towers. Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Firefly. House (I'm none too keen on the show, but Hugh Laurie is too wonderful for words. Oh, wait. I have a word for him: "FEARLESS") Anything with friends.
Books:
I love words. Words were my first, best, toys, and I thank my parents for giving them to me early, early on, and never ever even once telling me I couldn't go to the library or buy a(nother!) book.
Plays: Stoppard, Rabe, the Peters: Nichols (especially "Passion Play") and Barnes ("The Ruling Class"). Fiction: Angela Carter, Jeanette Winterson ("Art & Lies" and "Passion: and "Lighthousekeeping"), George S. Kaufman, Tom Sharpe ("The Great Pursuit"), Tom Robbins, "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy", "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency". "Mantissa", "The Beastly Beatitudes Of Balthazar B", "The Story Of Harold", "The Dancing Wu Li Master"...after which, it's non-fiction: Dilbert, Calvin & Hobbes, Pogo, Rumi (Coleman Barks translations, please), Richard Feynman, Alice Miller, David McCullough; "Exploding" (Stan Cornyn) is a great read.
Heroes:
My father, who was an editorial cartoonist and a decent, kind, principled man. For him, the personal and the political were not separate issues, and he lived his mother's credo: "You are what you tolerate." (Go, Gran!) My Gran, for teaching me some Really Important Things--like "Actions speak louder than words." My sister—for being in my corner when it wasn't always a safe place to be, and for raising my amazing nephew and niece, and for sharing them with me so generously. Friends who've survived, muddled through, borne up, and given when there was nothing left to give and then given some more, and who've done the right thing when it brought them nothing but grief. And teachers...who impact our futures every day, and rarely get the credit (or the compensation) they deserve.
Then there are a couple of better-knowns:
MOLLY IVINS
http://www.creators.com/opinion_show.cfm?columnsName=miv
FRANK RICH
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped
/columnists/frankrich/index.html?8qa
