Bunuel was everything

When MJ calls

Ciara Graham

Oum Kalthoum - Enta Omri

From Pasolini's Medea

Tribute to Sun Ra

this is part 5 of a 6 part, 14 hour magnificent tribute to the insanely fierce Sun Ra, hosted and commented by Michael D. Anderson, "The Good Doctor":



whole thing is here. it is the shit

Rupaul's last mini challenge was a drag version of Samuel Beckett's seminal "Not I"

yes

best movie ever made

Independence park day - invite

and another Nina Simone post

I'm writing a little paper about the queen so there'll probably be a few of these now. Every time I come across some footage of her live I feel I've found a new meaning to the word "performance" This one is in the Netherlands 1965. 40 minutes of a genius at work

Yves Saint Laurent by Jeanloup Sieff, 1971 (history of cool 3.5)

this is just gorgeous

Fire in my belly by David Wojnarowicz

Another unexpected turn the day took. The Video consists of two films: Wojnarowicz's piece titled "Fire in my belly" (1986-7) and another excerpt that didn't make it to the tim, which he defined as a work in progress. I recommend the first one, it's much more interesting and evocative, in a very simple, direct way but still somehow with a very nice touch to it.

History of cool #1: Josephine Baker

Starting a new in-blog series exploring the history of cool.
Kicking off with this master of performance

RIP Evelyn Mchale

23 year old Evelyn Mchale committed suicide jumping off the Empire State Building in May 1st, 1947. This unusual image was taken by a photography student the happens to be around a few minutes after her death. It haunts me since James showed it to me earlier today. A lot was written about it already, for example here in Jason Kottke's blog, where there's also a link to a caption from the original life publication of this amazing, eerie image. She looks like a hollywood star laying in her soft bed after a hard day on the set of some stupid comedy. The fact her suicide note was so desperately sad, writing about her fiancee "He is much better off without me … I wouldn’t make a good wife for anybody", only adds to the depressive glamour of this moment. A beautiful demonstration of the archaic, basic relation between death and aesthetics. 

Leigh Bowery in d'Offay Gallery, 1988

This is one of Bowery's projects I didn't know before seeing this documentary about the gorgeous genius, made by his friend and collaborator Charles Atlas. He spent a week in the Anthony d'Offay gallery space, locked up behind a two-way mirror and dressed in some of his magnificant, iconic looks. The result is something like Marina Abramovic meets Grace Jones on the set of a Jodorowski film.

 

"You will see and agree everybody should be free 'cause if we ain't we're murderous"

Maybe it's the Palestinian drama starting today in the UN, or maybe just because every now and again I have to pay tribute to high priestess, who is still one of the most courageous, far-out, brilliant, provocative artists ever. This Montreux concert from 1976 is better than most "MA-in-performance" programs out there. Just watch and learn.
With only a drummer and a grand piano on stage, Nina's playing some of her classics ("little girl blue", "feelings", "Mr. Backlash"), showing off her new expensive necklace, looking for her dear friend David Bowie in the audience, exhibiting some dance moves she learned in Africa, screaming at some poor white person to sit down, and announcing she won't play any more jazz festivals, because after this gig she will ascend to a higher level. This is the shit. It is.







And while I'm at it I have to also put this one here. This is Maya beautifully homaging the queen in my last IntimaDance (2010):

Heartbreaking

Tony Bennett

Another Classic

Oum Kalthoum performing her legendary "Inta Omri" (you are my life) in 6 parts starts here:

lesson in coolness by Miriam Makeba