Monthly Archives: April 2014

What we’re listening to today — Presidential Suite by Super Furry Animals

There’s something to be said for unabashed romanticism. And the accomplished Welsh band Super Furry Animals can certainly bring the love when they want to. It’s one of their many, many moods. A song like “Presidential Suite” from 2001’s hyper-ambitous Rings Around the World makes a virtue of beautiful horn-fueled, almost Bacharach-esque balladry — even if the lyrics are a scathingly sarcastic tribute to the foibles of 90s world leaders.

Rings features the Super Furry Animals showing off a dazzling array of musical approaches, from growling techno-punk to historical story songs to funked up tongue-in-cheek message music. One old friend of mind compared it to a modern day White Album. All in all, there’s a ton of good stuff to choose from. But call me a sucker for sophisticated love songs (not silly, though, despite the album cameo by Paul McCartney — the song actually features legendary misanthrope John Cale). “Presidential Suite” always reminds me of the scene in To Catch a Thief when Cary Grant & Grace Kelly kiss and then we cut to that cinematic symbol for something more profound outside their posh Monaco hotel room — “There were fireworks in the sky/Sparkling like dragonflies”. Strange that a Welsh alternative band in 2001 could bring a comparison from Hitchcock from the 50s to mind but there it is. Must be the universal language of love — and cinema — by way of Cardiff.

Classic Photography — Eliot Elisofon

Above: Photographer Eliot Elisofon in the Congo, 1951 (Joan Elisofon/National Museum of African Art)

Time’s passage can elevate and it can also erase. Once great men can see their fame grow as the years pass while others who were prominent in their day are practically forgotten. The latter circumstance is the unfortunate case with Eliot Elisofon, arguably a lost titan of 20th century photography. If the name does not ring a bell, you’re not alone. While Elisofon was a staff photographer for LIFE magazine during WWII and after, part of a team of luminaries like Alfred Eisenstadt and Margaret Bourke-White among others, his name is not very well known today. And that is a pity because Elisofon had an important and multifaceted career from the 1930s until his death in 1973.

American soldiers in North Africa during the Allied Tunisia Campaign, 1943 (Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

American soldiers in North Africa during the Allied Tunisia Campaign, 1943 (Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Jessica Tandy & Marlon Brando in A Streetcar named Desire, 1947 (Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Jessica Tandy & Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, 1947 (Eliot Elisofon—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images)

Born on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1911, Elisofon graduated from Fordham University and promptly became a member of the socially conscious Photo League in 1936. Continue reading →

Gorgeous Lady of the Week — Naomie Harris

After a long period of establishing herself as a versatile and talented actress in big movies, Naomie Harris rocketed to worldwide fame with a bullet. Literally. As James Bond’s support agent in the field, she is responsible for taking the shot on M’s orders to stop a terrorist entangled with Bond on a speeding train. Instead she hits Bond and derails his life sending the world’s favorite secret agent into injury-induced existential crisis. Such is the beginning of 2012’s dark and biographical 007 blockbuster Skyfall. And only at the end of the film do we discover that Ms. Harris’ sexy and capable character is, in fact, Eve Moneypenny, now quitting the field and destined for a lifetime of desk work and double entendres. Now that is how you become a big time movie star.

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The daughter of Caribbean immigrants in London, Naomie’s mother was a scriptwriter for the long-running BBC soap EastEnders and she caught the acting bug quite young, where she had success as a child actress. Her big break came in Danny Boyle’s excellent 2002 post-apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later as Selena, one of the harried survivors of a horrible pandemic. After good roles alongside Colin Firth in Trauma and former Bond Pierce Brosnan in After the Sunset, Ms. Harris was tapped to play the mysterious and supernatural Tia Dalma for the 2nd and 3rd movies of the mega-budget Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End.

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Then came her revelatory work in Skyfall, memorably making amends with Daniel Craig’s Bond in Macao but never succumbing to his legendary charms. And then, as if to prove that she was more than just a lithe and beautiful starlet, Ms. Harris did awards-worthy work as Winnie Mandela alongside Idris Elba in the respectful biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.

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It’s readily apparent from her now-long and accomplished resume that the 37-year-old beauty can not only act alongside today’s hottest leading men — from Depp to Craig —  but can also deftly hold her own with them under any circumstances. In a movie world often dominated by blond bombshells, the dark and lovely Naomi Harris stands out with playful sex appeal, acting chops and a sharp-edged sense of humor. She’s an unconventional original and a major talent and that’s something we absolutely can’t resist. In short, she’s an MFL kind of gal and she’s one of the many reasons we’re keenly anticipating Bond #24 and all her other future work still to come.

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Watch Collector’s Notebook — For most new watches, there’s no need to pay retail

With the massive 2014 Swiss watch fair “Baselworld” just completed and all those hot new models being released, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement and yield to temptation by forking over your hard-earned dough as soon as those beauties become available later this year. And if there’s another watch out there that you’ve been jonesing to own for a while now, you might also be considering going to the brand’s boutique store or authorized dealer and ponying up for it there. But the truth is that for most models (unless money is no object), there’s no real reason to pay full retail for the watch of your dreams. For example, you might consider buying from so-called “gray market” sellers who will offer small discounts over MSRP. But very often they will deliberately leave out such desirable pieces of the new watch package as certain authenticating paperwork and, worse yet, some will even file off serial numbers because these watches have literally gone out the back door of an authorized dealer. Far better in my opinion to do your hunting among like-minded enthusiasts through one of the very high quality and high volume Sales Corners hosted by the major watch forums on the Net. With a little due diligence and patience, you can usually save a significant percentage by buying a pre-owned example from another collector rather than paying dealer prices. Just as with a newish but pre-owned automobile, the prior owner will have taken some of the depreciation out of the price equation, leaving you with a lot more bang for your buck.

One of the largest watch discussion sites in the world, Timezone.com also has an excellent Sales Corner

One of the largest watch discussion sites in the world, Timezone.com also has an excellent Sales Corner

Continue reading →

What we’re listening to today — ‘Round About Midnight by Miles Davis

And I mean the whole album, Miles’ first for Columbia in 1955, and not just the admittedly fantastic Thelonius Monk track “‘Round Midnight” that opens up this seminal work.

With Davis on trumpet, Coltrane on tenor sax, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones on drums, this was the archetypal 1950s quintet’s maiden voyage and set the tone for a massive outpouring of now-classic music that filled four more smokin’ albums in quick succession (Cookin’, Workin’, Relaxin’ and Steamin’).

As the session that started it all, the newly patented mix of Cool and Hard Bop sounds magically intimate, warm and almost casually virtuosic and ‘Round Midnight still has that “breaking of a new dawn” kind of effect even today. From the not-quite-eponymous opener to the gorgeously aired out “Dear Old Stockholm” to the telepathic “Bye-Bye Blackbird”, this 10-track masterpiece is an album that belongs in any serious music collection, Jazz-focused or otherwise. It creates an inspired mood all its own, whether you’re on your own, entertaining friends or wooing that special someone. It never disappoints and always sounds fresh. How many things can you say that about?