Sunday Link Collection

A collection of some of my favorite links this week...

Rolling Stone: Best Albums of 2012 So Far

The New Yorker: What We Can Learn From the Reporting of the Health-Care Decision

Flavorwire: Brutally Honest Posters for Summer Blockbusters

Nylon: Fully Functional Mermaid Tail

The New Yorker: Five Key TED Talks

Rolling Stone: Fleetwood Mac to Reunite in 2013

The New Yorker: Inappropriate Literary Products

Flavorwire: Survey of Awkward Couples in Art History

Vanity Fair: Hollywood's Embrace of Off-Beat Heroines

Rolling Stone: Vampire Weekend Debut New Song

Photojojo: Creative Ways to Use a Disposable Camera

Rolling Stone: Women Who Rock

Nylon: Arrested Development Art

Flavorwire: The Rudest Letters from Celebrities to their Fans

Chicago Sun-Times: 88 Books that Shaped America

LA Weekly: Old Records are Outselling New Ones

Flavorwire: The Favorite Films of 10 Famous Actors

Dangerous Minds: Behind the Scenes of 'A Clockwork Orange'

Fifty Years of Stones

Known as “the world’s greatest rock and roll band,” the Rolling Stones have been the bad boys of rock ‘n’ roll for five decades.  The Beatles on Ed Sullivan started the British Invasion, but the Stones elevated it.  They were the antithesis of The Beatles.  While The Beatles were cute and beloved by teenagers and their mothers, the Stones were wild, edgy and somewhat threatening.  Where The Beatles tried to avoid controversy, the Rolling Stones seemed to revel in it.  When the Rolling Stones arrived for their first tour in the US, headlines read, “Would You Let Your Daughter Marry a Rolling Stone?”  The Stones brooding blues-rock music and aggressive lyrics, paired with lead singer Mick Jagger’s charisma and sexually charged onstage act pushed cultural boundaries and forever changed popular music.

Legendary rock band the Rolling Stones recently celebrated their 50th anniversary.  Currently composed of Ronnie Wood, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts, the band played their first concert 50 years ago at London's Marquee Club on July 12, 1962.  In honor of this momentous occasion, I decided to put together a little post detailing the bands most infamous, controversial and memorable moments.

The perfect example of the bands iconic style

Pop Stars and Drugs
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and former guitarist Brain Jones began to be hounded by authorities over their recreational drug use in early 1967, after News of the World ran a three-part feature entitled "Pop Stars and Drugs: Facts That Will Shock You."  The series described alleged LSD parties hosted by The Moody Blues and attended by top stars including The Who's Pete Townshend and Cream's Ginger Baker, and alleged admissions of drug use by leading pop musicians.  The first article targeted Donovan (who was raided and charged soon after;) the second installment (published on February 5) targeted the Rolling Stones.  A reporter who contributed to the story spent an evening at the exclusive London club Blaise's, where a member of the Rolling Stones allegedly took several Benzedrine tablets, displayed a piece of hashish and invited his companions back to his flat for a "smoke."  The article claimed that this was Mick Jagger.  However, it turned out to be a case of mistaken identity—the reporter had in fact been eavesdropping on Brian Jones.  On the night the article was published Jagger appeared on the Eamonn Andrews chat show and announced that he was filing a writ for libel against the paper.

Keith Richards and Marianne Faithful

Marianne Mars Bar
In their few million years on Earth, the Rolling Stones have inspired a bottomless pit of myths and legends.  However, nothing quite matches the infamous case of the pornographic Mars Bar.  Marianne Faithfull was a folk singer with aristocratic roots in the Habsburg family dynasty when she met the members of England's newest hitmakers through their manager, Andrew Loog Oldham.  Her first pop hit was a version of the Stones' 'As Tears Go By,' and she was soon a key figure on the Swinging London scene. Though she married in 1965, she was determined to call one of the Stones her own.  On a getaway weekend with friends at Keith Richards' estate in Sussex, England, Richards and Mick Jagger were arrested in a police raid.  During the bust, Faithfull, who had just emerged from a bath, was wrapped in an orange fur bedspread.  She later acknowledged briefly flashing the police for her own amusement.  Sometime before the trial, a rumor began to spread that the police had barged in and caught Jagger with his head between Faithfull's legs, munching on a curiously placed Mars Bar.  Its genesis most likely stemmed from the police report, which apparently featured details of Richards' secret stash of sweets.  Faithfull dismissed the story of the abused chocolate bar in her 1994 autobiography. "The Mars Bar was a very effective piece of demonizing," she wrote. "It was far too jaded for any of us even to have conceived of.  It's a dirty old man's fantasy -- some old fart who goes to a dominatrix every Thursday afternoon to get spanked.  A cop's idea of what people do on acid!"  Still, the rumor persists.  Meanwhile, Mars Bars are now marketed in Europe with the slogan "Pleasure you can't measure" (yes, I'm being serious.)

The Rolling Stones performing at Altamont Speedway

The Long Story of Altamont Speedway and the Death of Meredith Hunter
Headlined and organized by the Rolling Stones, the Altamont Speedway Free Festival also featured Santana, Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, with the Rolling Stones taking the stage as the final act.  The Grateful Dead were also scheduled to perform, but declined to play shortly before their scheduled appearance due to the increasing violence at the venue.  Approximately 300,000 people attended the concert, and some anticipated that it would be a "Woodstock West."  The event is best known for having been marred by considerable violence, including one homicide and three accidental deaths: two caused by a hit-and-run car accident and one by drowning in an irrigation canal.  Four births were reported during the event, as well.  The Hells Angels were hired as security for the event, on the recommendation of the Grateful Dead (who had previously used the Angels for security at performances without incident), for $500 worth of beer — a story that has been denied by parties who were directly involved.  Although peaceful at first, over the course of the day the mood of both the crowd and the Angels became progressively agitated, intoxicated and violent.  The Angels had been drinking their free beer all day in front of the stage, and most were drunk.  Fueled by LSD and amphetamines, the crowd had also become antagonistic and unpredictable, attacking each other, the Angels, and the performers.  By the time the Rolling Stones took stage in the early evening, the mood had taken a decidedly ugly turn as numerous fights had erupted between Angels and crowd members and within the crowd itself.  The Angels proceeded to arm themselves with sawn-off pool cues and motorcycle chains to drive the crowd further back from the stage.  During the third song of the Stones' set, "Sympathy for the Devil," a fight erupted in the front of the crowd.  After a lengthy pause and an appeal for calm, the band restarted the song and continued their set with no incident.  That is, until the start of "Under My Thumb."  Some of the Hells Angels got into a scuffle with Meredith Hunter, age 18, when he attempted to get onstage with other fans.  One of the Hells Angels grabbed Hunter's head, punched him, and chased him back into the crowd.  At that point, Hunter returned to the stage where Hunter's girlfriend Patty Bredahoff found him and tearfully begged him to calm down and move further back in the crowd with her.  However, he was reportedly enraged, irrational and so high he could barely walk.  Video footage shows Hunter drawing a long-barreled revolver from his jacket, and Hells Angel Alan Passaro, armed with a knife, running at Hunter from the side, grabbing the gun with his left hand and stabbing him with his right.  Passaro is reported to have stabbed Hunter five times in the upper back. Witnesses also reported Hunter was stomped on by several Hells Angels while he was on the ground.  The Rolling Stones were aware of the skirmish, but not the stabbing, and felt that had they abandoned the show, the crowd may have become even more unruly.  The Altamont concert is often contrasted with the Woodstock festival that took place less than four months earlier.  While Woodstock represented "peace and love," Altamont came to be viewed as the end of the hippie era and the conclusion of late-1960s American youth culture.  "Altamont became, whether fairly or not, a symbol for the death of the Woodstock Nation."

Keith Richards

New Blood for Keith

The tale goes that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards underwent a radical blood replacement treatment in order to clean up after a particularly bad period of heroin use (not one of the many light, breezy heroin addictions you hear of.)  The treatment involved a kind premature enbalming, where the old, polluted blood was taken out of the body and replaced with new, clean blood.  Among the many rock icons, it is hard to imagine someone who embodies the spirit of sex, drugs and rock n' roll more than Keith Richards.  So when the story that he had undergone treatment before the Stones 1973 European tour first surfaced, it did not help that he himself told a journalist that the rumours were in fact true.  "I was just fooling around,” he admitted, years later. “I was fucking sick of answering that question.”  In reality, it seems it was true that he did undergo some haemodialysis, which can filter some impurities from the blood.  Richard’s tendency for toying with the media has since been realized.  However, the media learned the hard way, after much of the world press printed stories of him mixing his fathers ashes with cocaine and snorting it.  Richards came forward soon after, and it has since been regarded as a joke by the rock legend.  It seems that if the guitarist does have any vampiric tendencies, he sure as hell didn't smoke his fathers ashes.  However, the myths will continue to add up while he appears to be one of the dead, yet continues to have a fuller night life than most.

The Rolling Stones Iconic Tongue Logo

Mick Jagger's Pouty Pucker

A Rolling Stones Fan Museum in Lüchow, Germany angered many locals over the design of their urinals, which were based on the band's famous lips logo.  Apparently, some people just weren't comfortable doing their business into a giant, open mouth.  While the lips-and-tongue design was reportedly based on frontman Mick Jagger's pouty pucker, the controversy over the urinals stems from the fact that the tongue is excluded from the design.  Without it, according to opposers, the piece becomes misogynistic.  Many feminists believed that the piece discriminated against women, and that, had the fixtures sported a tongue, the connection to Jagger would have been unmistakable.  Apparently, without it, it becomes a woman's mouth, not a man's mouth.  Museum founder Ulrich Schroeder, meanwhile, denied that it was specifically a man or woman's mouth, and has no plans on altering the men's room set-up.

The remaining Rolling Stones (from left to right,) Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Charlie Watts

Regardless of the controversy they faced, the Rolling Stones continue to create fantastic music and have opened doors for generations of rock and pop musicians.  They are truly rock legends, and I have no doubt they will continue to create and perform.  

Congrats, Stones.  Here's to many more years of disturbing sex acts, blood transfusions, and fantastic music.

Saturday Jamz

FEELINGS from taylor03p on 8tracks.

Just a mix to get you through your Saturday.

Nine Things You Probably Didn't Know About Singin' in the Rain

This summer, the film Singin' in the Rain celebrates its 60th anniversary.  Not only am I going to see the film at my local movie theater tonight to celebrate the event, but I also thought it was fitting to make a little "fun facts" post.

The film stars Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds.  Kelly also co-directed and provided choreography for the film.  Though it was only a modest hit when first released, it is now frequently given legendary status by movie critics and is often described as one of the best musicals ever made.

If you haven't seen it, than you are seriously SERIOUSLY missing out.  That's all I'm going to say on the matter.  

So here we go, nine things you probably didn't know about Singin' in the Rain:

1.) Stars Judy Garland and June Allyson were just a few of the many actresses considered for the role of Kathy Selden.  However, Gene Kelly was determined the land starlet Debbie Reynolds.  Reynolds was a gymnast who had been discovered in a beauty pageant and had since landed only a few small movie roles.  Though she was still a teenager (Reynolds when 19 when she began filming,) Kelly was certain she had the athleticism and vocal chops the part required.

2.) However, Reynolds was not as confident in her ability to handle the part.  She had no dance training, and found Gene Kelly to be an intense perfectionist.  One day, she became so discouraged with the difficult choreography that she curled up beneath a piano and started to cry.  Eventually, she was found by Fred Astaire, who gave her some dance coaching.  By the time she filmed the "Good Morning" number, she was able to keep up with Kelly and O'Connor, but after the 14-hour shoot was done, she had to be carried to her dressing room because of her bleeding feet.  Years later, Kelly referred to Reynolds as "strong as an ox" and complimented her on her ability to learn complicated routines quickly.  Still, she said, "The two hardest things I ever did in my life are childbirth and “Singin' in the Rain."

3.) O'Connor also worked himself to exhaustion performing the "Make 'Em Laugh" number, which had him recreating bits of acrobatic comedy he'd done in the early stages of his career (including running up a wall and flipping into a somersault).  O'Connor was a four-pack-a-day smoker, and after filming the number, took to bed for several days.  However, he soon learned that all of the footage from the shoot had been accidentally destroyed.  So, in true broadway fashion, he offered to do the entire thing again.

4.) Even Kelly worked himself sick.  The title number, filmed on a street set two blocks long on the MGM backlot, took seven days to film, with six hours of fake rain each day.  The water was mixed with milk to make it show better on camera.  However, the mixture made Kelly's wool suit shrink.  On tope of his shrunken suit, a drenched Gene Kelly had a bad cold and fever the entire shoot.  With all this, Kelly still managed to complete the scene in just one take.  This is the take seen in the movie.

5.) The title song became a highlight on the soundtrack, but also became the soundtrack to another infamous film moment.  In Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, actor Malcolm McDowell sang the tune while his character raped a woman.  The song was McDowell's suggestion on the set, and director Stanley Kubrick immediately called for a break.  Within an hour, he had received permission to use the song.  Co-director of Singin' in the Rain Stanley Donen happened to be in London near the set, so Kubrick hunted him down and told him his idea for the use of the song.  Donen raised no objections at the time, but I wonder if he regretted it after seeing the film.  After all, it is a far cry from the happy-go-lucky tone set in Singin' in the Rain.

6.) Debbie Reynolds had to rub her eyes with onions to make herself cry for the penultimate scene in the movie, when Gene Kelly tells the audience that she, and not Lina, is the real star of The Dancing Cavalier.

7.) Filming of the Cyd Charisse dance number had to be stopped for several hours after it was discovered that her pubic hair was visible through her costume.  When the problem was finally fixed, the film's costume designer Walter Plunkett said, "It's OK, guys, we've finally got Cyd's crotch licked."

8.) Donald O'Connor admitted that he did not enjoy working with Gene Kelly, since Kelly was considered somewhat of a tyrant.  O'Connor said that for the first several weeks of shooting he was terrified of making a mistake and being yelled at by Kelly.

9.) The screenwriters bought a house in Hollywood from a former silent film star who lost his wealth when the innovation of sound film killed his career.  This was part of the inspiration for the film. 

Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain

So there you have it, nine things you probably didn't know about Singin' in the Rain.

Now go pop some popcorn, sit down with a group of friends, and watch the iconic film in its entirety.  I'm begging you.  

And if you still haven't seen Singin' in the Rain yet, I don't know what more I can say to make you watch it, so I'm just going to hang my head in shame and walk away...

Maybe Gene will be able to convince you... 

Tiny Furniture: Netflix Edition

Netflix, though great for watching Dawson's Creek and catching up on Gossip Girl (both of which I have done,) is also home to a lot of wonderful movies that are often overlooked.  

Until now, that is.

Here with yet another installment, I have come to rescue you from your Netflix rut.

This week, add Tiny Furniture to your Instant Queue.  Directed by and starring Girls creator Lena Dunham, Tiny Furniture follows the post-graduate life of Aura.  After returning home from her Ohio liberal arts college to her artist family's TriBeCa loft with nothing but a film studies degree and a failed relationship, Aura begins a hostess job at restaurant and falls in love with two incredibly self-centered men.  All while struggling to define herself.

After moving back in with her mother and sister, Aura immediately reverts back to childhood.  This is only further emphasized by Dunham's casting.  Dunham's own mother, artist Laurie Simmons, plays Aura's photo-artist mother in the film, while Dunham's own sister, Grace, plays Aura's poetry prodigy on-screen sibling.

The story itself unfolds slowly, with Aura wondering around the loft in her pajamas, and standing in awe and confusion at its pristine white cabinets and endless walls of books.  She reunites with childhood friend Charlotte, played by the hilarious Jemima Kirke, and gets a job at a restaurant.  Aura also flirts with two perfectly indifferent men, Keith, a pill popping cook at the restaurant where she works, and Jed, a rising YouTube star crashing at her loft famous for portraying "The Nietzschean Cowboy" (yes, you heard me right.)  However, she excruciatingly refuses to acknowledge their indifference.

Though it does start slow, do not dismay!  The plot picks up, I promise.

While searching through the many white cabinets in her family's loft, she comes across her mother's old diaries.  Aura sees these diaries as a form of guidance, and notices a strong connection between her mother's entries and her post-graduate life.  

I'm going to end the "summary" section her, as not to ruin the movie for you.  However, I highly suggest you sit down and watch it.  It's a great movie to watch in the company of friends, and Dunham definitely pushes the film beyond the typical "coming of age" comedy.

SPOILER ALERT: The Film also contains a super awesome/super weird sex scene in a super random location.

Though Tiny Furniture is not a perfect film, it is certainly the work of a filmmaker with a bright future ahead of her.

You can also watch the trailer for the film here:

Stay Kool

Stay Cool from taylor03p on 8tracks.

Ohio has been experiencing some record breaking heat lately, so in an attempt to keep the U.S. population at a cool, healthy temperature, I'm providing a chillaxing mix of summer tunes.

Though we don't all have Ken dolls to drive us around in pink convertibles, try to follow the wonderful example Barbie is setting and stay cool in the summer heat.

Arcadia

I recently finished the novel Arcadia, by Lauren Groff.  Set mostly in the 1960's and 70's, the story is told through the eyes of Bit - a five year old inhabitant of a commune known as Arcadia.  Groff fully immerses the novel in the life of an American hippie commune.  So much so, that the smell of marijuana practically wafts off the book as you flip its pages.

Acid is dropped, health food is consumed in abundance, a cult leader is worshipped, and someone literally hugs a tree.  At first glance, this doesn't sound like everyone's cup of herbal tea.  

However, Groff expands the novel beyond a period piece.  Spanning from 1965 to 2018, the reader is able to observe the changes that take place within Arcadia.  Big dreams of living with the land (not on it) quickly crash into economic realities, and relationships are complicated by sex and drugs.  Though the plot seems predictable at first, Groff's novel manages to draw me in from its opening.

As Bit matures, he begins to piece together his complicated surroundings.  He slowly discovers that his parents, Abe and Hannah, are two very different people.  Bit desperately wants his parents to stay together.  However, in a world where men have multiple wives and the concept of family is foreign, he fears they will not.

When Bit hits adolescence, everything changes.  Arcadia is open to the world around it, and is quickly filled to the brim with teen runaways and drug burnouts.  The once young and innocent children of Arcadia have grown into troubled and rebellious teenagers.  By the time he is 14, the commune has collapsed.

Decades later, Bit has become a photography teacher in New York.  He is married with a daughter, and in 2018 returns to Arcadia with his dying mother.  Bit believes that he was once a happy as a child, and that his parents were once happy in their relationship.  However, after further contemplation he concludes that it is "best to distrust this retrospective radiance: gold dust settles over memory and makes it shine."

Though not a plot-driven page-turner in the traditional sense, I found it hard to tear myself away.