VANESSA DA MATA: DRAMA MODE À LA BRÉSILIENNE

I just got back from an amazing trip to Salvador, Bahía in Brazil and I have to say I SO needed a trip like this. It was the perfect combination of friends, location and atmosphere. It had been over 10 years since I had last been to Brazil (I went to both Rio and Florianopolis at different times in the same year) and the main purpose of this trip was this New Years celebration.
Though I have many things to talk about this travelling experience (and hopefully most of them will make it to my blog), I'm going to concentrate on the New Years party we went to. I must admit, most of my friends (we were a bunch from Peru, others from Argentina and then another bunch from other cities in Brazil), were a bit uneasy regarding the musical entertainers for the actual party : Vanessa da Mata and Ivete Sangalo.






When I had originally signed up for this trip, I thought Daniela Mercury would be peforming, with whom I'm perfectly familiar (I have a couple of her cd's and have been to a concert of hers in my teens when I lived in Montevideo), but then realized she'd be peforming at the beach on January 1st.



I did some research, and concentrated on Ivete Sangalo, having heard a bit more of her than Vanessa da Mata, but I wasn't thrilled with what I found on youtube.
I have to say this changed COMPLETELY once we were at the party. We got there minutes before Vanessa da Mata appeared onstage and she totally ROCKED. It was impossible to sit still while she was there, performing like a true artist, fabulously styled hair (flower included) and flawless voice. Though Ivete was ENERGY personified,and managed to keep us dancing and jumping with a smile on our faces through the rest of the night (she appeared a bit before midnight and kept on going for an amazing THREE HOURS), I have totally fallen for da Mata.
There is one thing I've learned from this concert, and that is that when music is of a good, elaborate quality, it knows no boundaries. I had NEVER heard one of her songs before, neither did I understand 90% of the lyrics (I found out on this trip that my knowledge of portuguese was practically null), but I could not help myself from dancing and enjoying it.
I've become obsessed with one particular song, which struck me IMMEDIATELY as she performed it, it's already on my iPod (thanks to Cristian who let me download the songs from his cd). It's called Você Vai Me Destruir. It has become my new DRAMA MODE anthem. It couldn't be more dramatic, more divalicious, more 70's disco/funk inspired yet Brazilian by heart. Though the song is on repeat practically 24/7 ever since I got back (you should have seen me screaming the chorus out loud as I went for a run yesterday), I find it will be almost impossible to surpass the live performance she delivered on New Year's Eve.
I have found a video on youtube of another performance of hers (love the outfit and scenery), just so you can enjoy it as much as I did. Here it goes :



P.S: THE LYRICS! (English translation available at http://lyricstranslate.com/en/voce-vai-me-destruir-you-will-destroy-me.html)

Está acabando o amor
Você ainda não veio
Não disse, não ligou
Se vem viver comigo

Se me quer como amiga
Se não quer mais me ver
Você vai me esquecer
Você vai me fazer padecer

Está acabando o amor
Você já não me pertence
Eu vejo por aí
Você não está comigo

Nessa nossa disputa
Nesse seu jeito bom
Eu não quero saber
Você vai desdenhar
E vai sofrer

Você vai me destruir
Como uma faca cortando as etapas
Furando ao redor
Me indignando, me enchendo de tédio
Roubando o meu ar
Me deixa só e depois não consegue
Não me satisfaz

Está acabando o amor
Você já não me pertence
Eu sinto por aí
Você não está comigo

Nessa nossa disputa
Nesse seu jeito bom
Eu não quero saber
Você vai desdenhar
E vai perder

Você vai me destruir
Como uma faca cortando as etapas
Furando ao redor
Me indignando, me enchendo de tédio
Roubando o meu ar
Me deixa só e depois não consegue
Não me satisfaz

Pensando em te matar de amor ou de dor eu te espero calada

UPDATE: YAAAAY!!! I found a video from the actual New Year's Eve concert, here it goes.

HELEN SLATER

I have JUST found out it is Helen Slater's birthday today! Ring a bell? To me she's the 80's beauty and Michael J. Fox's object of desire in The Secret of My Success (1987), but I guess most people will remember her as Supergirl.



However, I think I enjoyed watching her the most in the leading role in The Legend of Billie Jean, which has that wonderful hell of a song by Pat Benatar, Invincible.
Well she's turned 46 today, and I can say she has aged pretty well, don't you think?




Here's the video for her song, which includes tiny bits from the movie and then a clip from one of my favorite scenes in The Secret of My Success. Enjoy.

OUR DAUGHTERS' DAUGHTERS WILL ADORE US...RIGHT?

As a result of my search for pictures for my last post, I naturally arrived at many that included Julie Andrews. Though I had downloaded quite a few songs from Mary Poppins I realized there were some I was missing. Among them was one that was sung not by Julie Andrews but by Glynnis Johns, the actress who plays Mrs. Banks. The song is called Sister Suffragette, and as the title suggests, it deals with women's votes, something that was forbidden during the period of time the movie was set in, early 20th century.
Though her character is portrayed as somewhat ridiculous, what comes across as ridiculous is the fact that women were not allowed to vote, especially when we come to think that this movie was made during the 1960's. The simple thought of women not being able to exercise their individual rights and have a say in political matters must have felt absolutely insane and unthinkable for the new generations at the time, yet interracial marriage was THEN a topic of social debate.



Well now, nearing 2010, about a hundred years after this fictional nanny changed the lives of the Banks family, some minorities continue to fight for their individual rights. Gay marriage is illegal in many countries, not to mention the fact that BEING gay is considered a crime in some countries too. Though some progress has been made, it is up to our generation to continue the strive for equal rights. Hopefully this WILL change in much less than a hundred years.




Anyway,back to my song-of-the-moment, I searched for the video and then had a little fun playing with the lyrics in the first verse, so as to update it:

ORIGINAL:
We're crearly soldiers in petticoats
And dauntless crusaders for womens'votes
Though we adore men individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

MY VERSION:
We're clearly soldiers in PRADA coats
And dauntless crusaders for GAY MEN'S votes
Though we adore STRAIGHTS individually
We agree that as a group they're rather stupid!

It's just a stereotypical joke! Here's the video, enjoy:

SEVENTY-NINE GOING ON EIGHTY

This is a VERY short post, a virtual toast to Christopher Plummer on his birthday. One of my first crushes. I bet there are more people who found him attractive in The Sound of Music.
I mean, who else was there to like, right? OK. OK. I know we probably all related to Liesl (though I particularly liked Brigitta the BEST), but regarding the male characters? Friedrich? Kurt? That mailman-turned-Nazi just didn't cut it for me no matter how many times I watched the Sixteen Going On Seventeen scene.




I then watched him in The Fall of the Roman Empire, and I remember my seven year-old self having a hard time dealing with him as the bad guy....
I just found out he has published an autobiography last year, In Spite of Myself. It must be quite an interesting one, coming from a man whose acting career began in theater and who has been in movies since the 1950's. His latest production, Beginners, is in filming, yet to be released in 2011.




Well, that's it, Happy 80th Birthday Captain Von Trapp.

Edelweiss - Sound of Music - Christopher Plummer's own voice from Mark on Vimeo.

DÈJA VU

I've been thinking about how the 80's haven't ceased to make their comeback just yet. It started in the late 90's with the Adidas trademark stripes on everything and then kept slowly creeping up on us until there was no more denying it and then suddenly we were all wearing leggings once again. OK, maybe not all of us, but all our girl friends. Believe me, I have nothing against men's leggings but you've got to have a killer physique to pull them off AND then of course, I DO live in Lima, Peru, where I get "Barney" yelled at for wearing purple jeans...Ah! The Third World!
Back to our main subject, regarding the 80's and stuff (yes, I said "stuff"), it is common knowledge music and fashion go hand in hand most of the time. From disco to rock to rap to the next thing, we've seen and heard it all happen. Gianni Versace was one of the first designers to take advantage of this by signing Madonna, Prince and Elton John among others to star in his ad campaigns and by having all of them front row at his shows. This also reminds me Gianni would have turned 63 this year had he miraculously avoided that fatal encounter twelve years ago.


MADONNA IN A 1995 VERSACE AD SHOT BY STEVEN MEISEL


OK, now seriously, back to what brought me to my blog once again. I was paying close attention at how Lady GaGa and, on a very different level (at least up to now), Adam Lambert were adding so much NEEDED glam to the musical scene. It had been a long while since we had seen such attention grabbing theatrics from pop newcomers, the trend had been quite the contrary lately, just remember when Britney came out, then Christina (though she was quick to break from her initial image), Mandy Moore, etc. They all pretty much filled the same pattern.
I think it's refreshing to see people who are willing to challenge an audience that had become numbed by a flatlined scene. Now, this only applies to mainstream pop, I'm in no way trying to ignore the fascinating and amazing talents of the likes of Roisin Murphy and others who HAVE been doing their own "thing", pushing musical and fashion boundaries for QUITE A WHILE but have gone unnoticed by the masses. I mean, Roisin has been wearing avant garde wardrobe (including shoulder pads) for a loooooooong time.



She's wearing a deer-shaped jacket for Christ's sake... (and I love it).



Anyway, this glam thing going on in music is once again VERY 80's. I was just humming "When You Were Mine", thinking it was a Cyndi Lauper original only to find out it was actually performed first (and written) by Prince. However, her version stood out, I think. I youtubed it immediately and found a live performance from the American Music Awards I was happy to recognize as one I had seen many times as a child. Now THAT was a true GENUINE performance. And to think it was over 20 years ago. I think that was probably more shocking back in the day than what our discussed boundary-pushers have done at the last award ceremony held two weeks ago.
It'll be interesting to see how this new wave of pop artists that are embracing louder images shall influence people around the world. Maybe they will let more people bring out their flashy side and enjoy fashion as the role-playing game it can be.
Cyndi Lauper SURE was an influence back in the day, we've seen that hair and make-up on the street, don't you remember?
Here's her UH-mazing performance at the 1985 AMA's for "When You Were Mine". Enjoy.

LOVE IS LIKE A STUBBORN YOUTH

La Roux is FINALLY getting some airplay on cable tv in Lima, her Bulletproof video, mainly, and I've been happy to realize she has become quite popular with friends whose comments on Facebook have made their appreciation of her work pretty clear (it used to be only a couple of us who were aware of her). I even danced to a remix of this song las weekend at a party that had announced to have a setlist including the likes of her, Dragonette, Crystal Castles, Little Boots, etc. It was fabulous to be able to dance to this kind of music here in Lima. It hardly ever...scratch that...it NEVER gets played anywhere. Hope there's more of it soon.
Regarding La Roux, I just heard a remix of I'm Not Your Toy and I'm LOVING it. Loving it so much it might be taking over Lady Gaga's Bad Romance forever-on-repeat-during-gym-time spot on my iPod.
What I've loved the most about this song are her lyrics and how well they fit her voice and delivery. It's just pure VISUAL poetry. So descriptive, so right, so easy to relate to. Unfortunately, I haven't found a video featuring this remix, so all I have to post here is the original version which is still QUITE AMAZING, just like the video. I'm loving the fact that this is such an exciting time for female performers.
Here's the link to the video, followed by the lyrics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7IGE58IPgo&feature=fvst


UPDATE: HERE'S THE VIDEO!


Love, love is like a stubborn youth
That you'd rather just deny
I'm walking on a broken roof
While I'm looking at the sky

It's all false love and affection
You don't want me
You just like the attention
Yes it's all false love and affection
You don't like me
You just want the attention

I'm not your toy
This isn't another girl meets boy
I'm not your toy
This isn't another girl meets boy

Love, love hides in a smoky light
And I can never find the truth
Boy, your touches leave me mystified
And I wish I could believe in you

Yes it's all false love and affection
You don't want me
You just like the attention
Yes it's all false love and affection
You don't like me
You just want the attention

I'm not your toy
This isn't another girl meets boy
I'm not your toy
This isn't another girl meets boy

C'EST PAS MA FAUTE

The search for a soundtrack for my upcoming show has accidentally brought me back to my francophile self. Not that I plan on using any of them for the actual show (well, I really don't know that yet), but as I discovered Guesch Patti and other songs performed by Desireless besides their major hit "Voyage, Voyage" (which has the ability to transport me back to communist Moscow, back when the first music channel came out over there, Telecanal 2x2...never understood that name), I started humming a song in my head I remember hearing all over the place on a trip to Paris in 2000.
Anyway, thank goodness for google, I only remembered part of the chorus and that the girl singing it was called Alizée, whom I've heard of more recently but haven't been able to really get into her at all. In fact, I haven't even made the effort to like her. Anyway, I typed in "c'est pas ma faute" and there it came : "Moi Lolita" by Alizée.
It's downloaded and, again, on repeat. I love it. It's a catchy, poppy song, nothing extraordinary, but what kind of got to me, is that this song was making me nostalgic for the year 2000. TWO THOUSAND. Not 80's or 90's like my constant status updates on Facebook, but TWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THOUSAND. GOD. Funny thing is, I was already complaining about aging back then, and no longer being a "teen"...I guess that'll be a constant in my life.
Then again Daft Punk's "One More Time" is also a song that brings back memories from this trip and I'm sure most people are unaware it's a nine-(soon-to-be-ten)year old song.
Here's "Moi Lolita". Enjoy.

ÉTIENNE! ÉTIENNE! ÉTIENNE! or AND THE AWARD FOR BEST ART DIRECTION GOES TO...

I should probably be reviewing some of the things I still have pending for an upcoming show at the end of the month (www.cuscoalwaysin.org), but I've taken a little break, as usual. I've been searching for music for this show, and I haven't found anything that I'd consider the perfect fit up to now. I've created a playlist on my iPod with all the possible candidates and I listen to it every single day. Hopefully I'll make up my mind on time.
While I was searching for songs, I started downloading some old French songs I liked, some classics like "Et Si Tu N'Existais Pas" and then some pop songs from the 80's-90's like "C'est La Ouate", which I had not heard since I left Montevideo. When I decided to search for the video for this last song, I came across a song I had never heard before. I can't quite recall why I decided to open this link in particular out of all the "RELATED VIDEOS" list on youtube. WAIT. I just did. It was because of the name of the song: "ÉTIENNE". I've always loved that name for some reason, and I remember always mistaking it for a girl's name when I studied French back in high school. Anyway, I am SO grateful to have found this song. Not only is it on repeat as I write, but it also has an UH-mazing video with some really fabulous art direction. The singer and co-author, Guesch Patti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guesch_Patti), manages to create a truly captivating performance. I'm stuck on it. She's great, and I'm really surprised I had not heard of her before.
Once again, I have made a video from 1987 my new obsession. I'm beginning to think there is a strange connection with that specific year.
Here it goes, enjoy.

KING & QUEEN

I love being witness to important moments in history and last night I witnessed one of the most emotional MTV Video Music Awards ceremonies ever. On TV of course, like most us who weren't lucky enough to actually score tickets to such an amazing show.

It had been a long while since I actually looked forward to the VMA's, but this year the line-up of artists who were to perform was actually one I was excited about. Then when the show actually started, most of the performances had been taken up to a new level : Lady GaGa and her bleeding self, Pink hanging from the ceiling while performing "Sober", and then Taylor Swift singing on the NYC subway (riding on the meeeetro-o-o-oooooo....) right after her speech for Best Female Video award had been sabotaged by Kanye West's uncalled for intervention onstage. I must admit, I did miss Beyoncé's performance but just caught up with in on youtube and it was also top notch.

However, the highlight for me was the opening of the ceremony : Madonna walking down the stage to talk about Michael Jackson. So touching. So special. Like I told a friend of mine yesterday, there was no other person who could have qualified for the job. The way she pieced her speech by drawing parallels between his life and her own, the way she let us in on that one time they had dinner and how she felt close to him for the first time, her condemnation of those who began what she called a "witch hunt" against him and of the press. It all came across in such a powerful manner I wasn't able to hold back a couple of tears (I managed to hold back the rest because I didn't want to look like a mess in front of my friends). It was such a strong vision to watch THE Queen of Pop honoring THE King of Pop. She, like him, is also one of a kind, and today's artists have huge shoes to fill if they ever want to reach their status. As I watched her onstage, I couldn't help but remember an image I had seen of Marlene Dietrich (so often-a-reference for M) crying at Edith Piaf's funeral, acting like any other hurt human being. It isn't often we get to see a vulnerable Madonna and this just makes me love her more.
Here's a link (embedding is disabled unfortunately) to her speech in case you missed it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htpm8hidIPc

FOR EVERY DRAMA TO BE FOUND, THERE IS AN ELEMENT OF SOUND

If the title of this post rings a bell (as I hope it will to most of you) it's because I'm trying to keep my cool by "Mary-Poppinizing" my actual state of mind. I just got back from a long night out, very diverse and very fun.
First out to watch the local mis-en-scène of La Traviata (I might comment on that later but I'd rather you check out my friend's opera blog and his critique at www.operaperu.com), then dinner at my favorite restaurant with my mother, then drinks with some friends (at this same restaurant's bar) and then to the local club : not precisely the coolest place on the planet.
Just so that you get the picture, two friends of mine told me my outfit was just too nice for that place (one actually said "classy", very cute of him) and that I didn't belong there tonight. I made an effort to stay, a whole group of friends were there, and even though I really have a hard time at ignoring things I dislike (such as the awful music on the loudspeakers) I was enjoying myself because I was surrounded by people I care for.
All of a sudden, the club got some sort of notice that it had to be shut down immediately (*). People rushed to the coat check and it was chaos. I was lucky enough to be one of the first ones at the counter and managed to get my jacket pretty quick.
As I walked past the huge line of people pushing their way towards the coat check I couldn't help but to show a smile that denoted triumph over everyone else. Unfortunately this smile would then dissolve on my way out of the club when I realized I lost my cell phone. I had kept it with me all night, been careful enough no to leave it inside my jacket, but at some point I just lost it, probably when I ordered a bottle of water at the bar (after giving the bartender a look of despise when he said he had no diet soft drinks at ALL, to which I responded " Is this a GAY BAR or NOT????!!!").
Anyway, the point of this post was that, once again, I think there is a song for every situation. I've already mentioned I have pictured my life as a musical many a time, and I guess tonight's events have lead to me singing the following song out of the blue just before going to bed, here it goes.





(*) It was impossible not to make a cinematic reference when we were forced out of the club. I couldn't help but remember the post-Marseillese scene in Casablanca when Rick's café gets shut down.

FABULOSITY

I am absolutely OBSESSED with this video. I can't stop watching it over and over again. I love the lighting, the wardrobe, the choreography, and OF COURSE I love the song. Even though it's probably one of the most popular and signature songs of the 1970's, I had NEVER seen the video before. I can't get enough of it. I'm just overwhelmed by the visually amusing result of a mix of simple elements and by how utterly cool it can still look up until today, thirty-one years later.
I was listening to Paul Oakenfold's mix of Madonna's new single, Celebration, and there's a tiny bit that sounds just like the "your body, my body..." part. Couldn't help but google it, youtube-it I mean, and there it was.
I think hedonism is probably one the first words that comes to my mind when I think of the disco era, and this video is the perfect example. As usual when I get super excited over something, I can't quite express everything I'm feeling as clearly as I would want to (*insert flashback to that paper on Madonna for my English Media course in high school here*), so that's it. I need to dance to this SOON. Enjoy.

I VOGUED UP FROM BED TODAY

It's been a while since I've been experimenting a new phase in...narcissism (?), I guess that's what I should call it. Most of these "exercises" have come out of boredom, a designer's-block in the middle of work, or something of the sort, but today's came out of my love of all things Madonna. Yes, I am one of those people that actually have August 16th marked on their calendar as a special date, not because I actually need a reminder, but just because I like to have it written down, I guess it keeps the fantasy alive, the fantasy that I actually know her. It also manages to ease the pain of having about 5 friends who share the same birth date as her...1,2,3,4,5...breathe....
Anyway, this is the first series of self-portraits I've decided to publish on my blog. I know that "self-portraits" may sound a bit pretentious, but I do need to stress the fact that all these pictures have been taken by none other than yours-truly. Either with the help of my laptop or my camera on self-timer, all done in private.
Since I already declared this an exercise in narcissism, I'll go all the way. I'm particularly proud (yes, proud) of this one because I think I managed to compose something visually pretty with the few elements my unshaven-self had around at 9am this morning. I will admit I changed into that t-shirt (the one I wore to my famous hand-grabbing moment at the Confessions Tour in 2006), but that was it. As I took the first three pictures I thought I should have done this in a sleep-walking version, but then I realized the first one looked sort of like a Tamara de Lempicka painting (again, in my very own private fantasy)that I like, so then I couldn't help but link that to the opening of the Vogue video where Madonna's own paintings by this artist mix with some of the dancers posing as sculptures.
Even though the whole set of pics is almost like a Vogue tutorial, I actually think my look came out to be very à la Jean Seberg, I guess it must be my short hair, the striped t-shirt and sunglasses. NOUVELLE VAGUE meets VOGUE. Or maybe it's just me. Voilà :




DREAMING OF: A LEMPICKA PAINTING...



...A FEATHERED FAN...



...AN ART-DECO SCULPTURE...



...GRACE KELLY, HARLOW JEAN, PICTURE OF A BEAUTY QUEEN... GENE KELLY, FRED ASTAIRE, GINGER ROGERS DANCE ON AIR...



...THEY HAD STYLE, THEY HAD GRACE, RITA HAYWORTH GAVE GOOD FACE, LAUREN, KATHARINE, LANA TOO, BETTE DAVIS WE LOVE YOU...



LADIES, LADIES, LADIES, LADIES...



LADIES WITH AN ATTITUDE...



...FELLAS THAT WERE IN THE MOOD...



...DON'T JUST STAND THERE...



...LET'S GET TO IT...



...STRIKE A POSE...



...THERE'S NOTHING TO IT...



...VOGUE!




HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!