Joe and Jane in Serge Gainsbourg's 70's Drama

In Serge Gainsbourg's 1976 controversial drama 'Je taime moi non plus' Jane Birkin

plays the part of Johnny, a lonely and bored waitress in a truck driver's cafe.

Then suddenly things pick up when Joe Dallesandro walks in believing that the

androgynous Jane is a boy working behind the bar. But the two hit it off straight away,

to the displeasure of Joe's truck driving partner.

The film's song title by Serge Gainsbourg became a huge hit in the U.K in 1969

when it was banned by the BBC. And as always, once the BBC bans something,

it's success is assured.

In 2019 the film got a well deserved digital upgrade and was transferred to 4K with

improved sound quality.

Above video kindly uploaded to Youtube

by Yena Audio.

For Some, Age is Just a Number

Here's a promotional commercial that recently caught my eye. And it features the

ever ageless 67 year old pop icon Madonna. Originally released in 2024, it was 

to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Brazil's longest established Bank ITAU as 

well as being a thank you from Madonna to her fans in Brazil.

And it's in the commercial that Madonna gives her thought's on ageism and her

longevity in the pop world.

Although not filmed in Brazil but in Paris France at the spectacular Palais Garnier

in which I recently featured in a blog post here.

ABOVE VIDEO KINDLY UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE VIA ROYAL MADONNA POLAND

BELOW: MADONNA'S GRAND ENTRANCE

AT THE 2012 SUPERBOWL HALFTIME SHOW

 

The Stage Antics of James Brown....Re-post

Here's a video clip that was begging to be giffed. I hadn't seen this clip until recently.
It features the Godfather of Soul, or as the MC says, Soul Brother number one.
It is of course James Brown.
Naturally I had to giggle as he comes on stage in what must seem like out of date attire,
but then this performance happened back in the 1970's. But what was very noticeable 
was that as soon as he took up his place at the mic, he suddenly burst into one of his stage
antics where it looked like he might have done some serious damage to himself.
One can only imagine that in the early 1970's James Brown was at the top of his game
and selling more records than any other time in his career. Perhaps at the then age of
41 it was his way of saying I'm back and still on top of the world. But one thing was for
sure, and that is that he was a real showman.

This performance in Zaire in 1974 was set up to tie in with a very famous boxing match
known as The Rumble in the Jungle which pitted Muhammad Ali against George
Foreman. A match in which Ali won in the 8th round and regained the World
Championship title.

Interestingly James Brown does feature quite a lot in my music collection as I quite
like the music soundtracks from those 1970 blaxploitation movies.

Below is a video clip of that Zaire Concert in which James Brown performs
'The Payback.'

VIDEO UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE BY CAROLINA DELL VALLE FRIAS  

The Rain it Raineth

Above:  Porthmeor Beach Cornwall on a blustery day.

When will this never ending rain end here in the U.K. Apparently a small village in Cornwall

called Cardinham has just endured fifty solid days of rain. And the last time they had a dry day

was on the 30th of December last year.

And just recently Aberdeen up in Scotland endured no sunshine for 21 days. I wonder if anyone

enjoys the January and February Winter months. I certainly don't. Oh sure it might be warming

up in the next few days, but still more rain is expected. Hurry up Spring and come to our rescue.

Above is a well known Cornish painting by Norman Garstin and painted in 1889

and titled 'The Rain it Raineth Every Day.'

It shows a rain soaked Promenade in Penzance. And strangely enough I tend to associate

Penzance with rain as I often take the bus trip out there when the bad weather hits St Ives,

really just to look around the town and shops, being the main town in West Cornwall.

 

ELVIS....Back On The Big Screen

About to explode onto worldwide cinema screens next week is the new Baz Luhrmaan

film project Epic...Elvis Presley in Concert.

The film includes many rare 1970's film concert scenes and clips not seen before, as much

of the original footage was concealed and hidden away in sixty nine boxes.

But as soon as Baz Luhrmaan had access to them he brought in technical wizard Peter

Jackson to edit the unseen footage, and a new Elvis project was born. And fans can't wait

to see the end product.

Oddly enough I've seen several trailers for the movie but the one's I've seen don't actually

show or reveal any of those unseen clips. So perhaps Baz Luhrmaan is being shrewd here.

In the video above is a highlight clip from 'Elvis On Tour' (1972) in which Elvis pulls out

all the stops in the climax of  'Polk Salad Annie.' And it's from this film that we're soon to

see more unseen footage.

ELVIS VIDEO KINDLY UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE

BY  THE ELVIS FACTORY

BELOW ARE A FEW GIF CLIPS SHOWING SOME 

YOUTUBE REACTORS, REACTING TO ELVIS PERFORMANCES.

He Rocks Just Like Jerry Lee

I wonder when the culture of tribute artists first began, that is artists that dedicate their

whole musical careers on past or living Pop and Rock icons.

One such performer is Denis Mazhukov who I've been watching for some time now. Here

he is along with his Band at the time performing Jerry Lee Lewis's

most remembered hit 'Whole Lotta Shakin Going On.'

I particularly like the way he closes out the song going into full Jerry Lee mode as he

thrashes away on the piano keys staring upwards as if to declare 'Look at me Ma, top of 

the world,' a signature moment in Jerry Lee's original stage act.

But you do wonder how many electric pianos Denis Mazhukov must go through for

each tour, when you see the way he treats them.

But I think he, along with his band capture that genuine authentic sound of late 1950's

Rock n' Roll.

VIDEO VIA ROADHOUSE CHANNEL

Above: Jerry Lee Lewis performing at Toronto's Varsity Stadium in 1969 during a rare

moment where he actually plays the guitar. Something I've not seen before.

UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE VIA onepapa2