What We’re Watching – Charlie Is My Darling

charlie is my darling band photo

Above from left: Mssrs. Jones, Watts, Jagger, Richards, and Wyman in Ireland, 1965.

One of my favourite film genres is music documentaries. They offer a fun insight into the bands, indulging us fans and giving us a glimpse of what went into a certain record or period of time in a band’s career. For me, one of the best music docs of all-time is “Charlie Is My Darling”. There have been a lot of documentary films made about The Rolling Stones over the years. From the seminal concert film “Gimme Shelter” to Robert Frank’s unreleased (but often bootlegged), down and dirty “Cocksucker Blues”, to the nearly unwatchable 2008 bloated disaster of a film by Martin Scorcese, “Shine A Light”. The Rolling Stones have had their magical career covered from every direction, but never so insightfully as in this not often seen film from 1965.

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Gorgeous Lady of the Week — Margot Robbie

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Yes, at 23 this stunning Australian beauty is a little younger than the ladies we normally go for here at MFL. But c’mon — who can resist that face and, well, all the rest? She strikes us as a bit like the second coming of Grace Kelly, who was also a very young breakout sensation in her day. And we wouldn’t be surprised if a wealthy prince whisks her away someday either. But we’re in good company in being enchanted by such a youthful beauty — one has only to check out her sizzling work in The Wolf of Wall Street to see that Martin Scorcese is just as smitten with this blond bombshell. And he’s a hell of a lot older than us!

Margot-Robbie Pan Am

After making it big on the Aussie mega-soap Neighbours, Robbie split for LA and landed a prime role in ABC’s 2011 retro series Pan Am as a rookie flight attendant. While it seemed that Pan Am would also capture that magical 60s zeitgeist so successfully mined by Mad Men, the show was cancelled after only one season. But it’s hard to keep a stone looker with Margot’s kind of talent down and after a supporting part in 2012’s About Time, Ms. Robbie scored the plum role that any aspiring young actress would give their eye teeth for: the ultra-sexy party girl Naomi LePaglia who tames Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street.

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Trust me: you’ll need a cold shower after watching their sex scenes.

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With a great photo shoot for Esquire under her belt and currently illuminating the various red carpets of awards season, Margot Robbie is one of the fastest rising stars in Holywood. She’s now shooting Violent Talent and will co-star in the upcoming Will Smith vehicle, Focus, so we’re definitely not the first to peg her as a sure thing for a long and successful Hollywood career.  With a face and bod like that, and talent to match, she’s a slam dunk… and definitely the stuff that lupine dreams are made of.

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Earworm of the day — That’s Because You Drive Me by Acid House Kings

Because my New Year’s resolution is to inflict upon you all the nonsense catchy pop rattling around in my head one song at time…

What is it with Swedish bands and maddeningly sweet, highly contagious tunes? From 2005’s Sing Along with Acid House Kings, “That’s Because You Drive Me” anchors an album of persistently cheerful, decidedly un-moody Scandinavian pop, as if ABBA cross-pollinated with Belle & Sebastian. The original packaging even included a DVD of karaoke-ready videos (which can all be seen on YouTube), hence the “Sing Along” part. Go ahead and join in–you know you want to. Plus, resistance to such determined sunniness is futile, futile I tell you.

The Allure of Military Watches (an occasional series)

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Military-issued wristwatches are one of the hottest categories of collectible vintage watches out there. When we talk about Mil-Watches we are speaking for the most part about timepieces that have been officially issued to a given country’s armed forces as an essential part of a soldier, airman, marine or sailor’s equipment. For example, navy divers may require a dive watch to aid in timing their decompression intervals and pilots may require a chronograph to record mission flight time or monitor gas consumption. Back in the pre-quartz days, these watches were all analog mechanical watches that possessed certain high standards of durability and functionality as required by the needs of a particular branch of the service. Therefore, these older Mil-Watches not only have the standard charm of vintage watches in general but also the mystique of possibly having seen combat or other rigorous military action. It’s no wonder that not only veterans but also those of us who have not been in the military are drawn to the vicarious thrill that an issued military watch can convey, as well as a sense of paying homage to the warriors of days past by the mere act of strapping it on. There’s something about a vintage object with a tale to tell and with the high price of many Mil-Watches nowadays, it’s clear that these special timepieces are telling a very appealing one across a wide spectrum of collectors. Better yet, genuine military watches are immune from the normal aesthetic standards of most other collectible timepieces where Mint Condition is generally the highest standard and finding a desirable watch that has never been worn is akin to finding a Grail. With Mil-Watches, the collector wants to see the use in the watch, the nicks and scars that could well denote combat and adventure. Up to a certain point, the more WABI the better!

It’s not possible to go into every Milwatch out there in in these posts, nor do I have the specific expertise required to do so. Not even close. For that I would recommend starting out with something basic and general like the Concise Guide to Military Timepieces, which, while not the world’s greatest reference book, will give you a general overview of what constitues a Mil-Watch and what’s out there in terms of variety. Even better would be a visit to the Military Watch Resource Forum where everyday you can find informative and spirited conversation on all things Mil-Watch great and small. They also have an excellent sales corner (membership required) where some of the most fantastic pieces crop up in all price ranges.

What I will do is discuss some of the Mil-Watches I have been lucky enough to own to give a small taste of their appeal and hopefully show what makes them special.

Benrus Type II

Benrus Type II, ca. 1977

Benrus Type II, ca. 1977

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RIP Phil Everly, 1939-2014

Sad news to start 2014: Phil Everly has passed away at the age of 74 from complications due to COPD. As one half of the seminal early rock duo The Everly Brothers, Phil and his brother Don, who survives him, infused country sweetness and peerless harmonies into the fabric of Rock ‘n Roll and arguably helped keep the flame burning for, as well as inspiring, the Beatles and that other great harmonizing duo, Simon and Garfunkel, in that tenuous period between the death of Buddy Holly, Elvis’s induction into the armed forces and the fall of Jerry Lee Lewis. The full NY Times obit is here.

Here are the Everly Brothers singing their first breakout hit for Cadence records, “Bye Bye Love”, at a 1983 reunion concert, showing they had lost nothing in the over 25 years since its original release. As was their custom, as we watch them Phil is on the left and Don on the right:

Here is my personal favorite from their Warner Brothers period, 1960’s “Cathy’s Clown”, from the outstanding Walk Right Back compilation:

And another great smash hit from their Warner’s period, “Crying in the Rain” , performed here when the boys were fulfilling their military service in the Marine Corps Reserve:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdaX7LG67to

Many have tried but none have succeeded in reproducing the Everlys’ supernatural harmonies. Despite their personal ups and downs through the years, the closeness that Phil and Don displayed on their many hit tracks, that unique quality of two voices remaining distinct and yet becoming one, will never fade away.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year’s Eve, folks, and if you are going to tie one on tonight (as you bloody well should) this clip from 1942’s classic musical comedy Holiday Inn shows you how to do it with style and elán as only the great Fred Astaire can.

*Unfortunately, this video has its embedding disabled but click over to YouTube for this terrific performance–you won’t regret it.

We should all be so charming when we’re blitzed.

Wishing our loyal readers all the very best in 2014 and we hope you’ll keep hanging around our ever-evolving blog!

And of course, be careful who kisses you come midnight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gBalU46KqKI

F1 legend Michael Schumacher in critical condition after skiing accident

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From France this morning comes the shocking news that Formula One legend and 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher has sustained serious brain injuries in a skiing accident in the Alpine resort of Méribel. The 44-year old retired racer was skiing off-trail with his family and struck his head on a rock. Despite wearing a helmet, Schumacher was airlifted first to a local medical facility and then to a larger hospital in Grenoble, where his injuries were severe enough to require surgeons to place the German in an induced coma to protect his brain from further damage.

Along with his family, former Ferrari team manager and current FIA president Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, Schumacher’s technical director for his record-setting 5 consecutive championships with Ferrari, were said to be at the hospital holding vigil.

The full NY Times story is here.

We here at MFL would like to extend our hopes and prayers that Michael makes a full recovery from this ghastly incident. With his superior athletic conditioning, he has as good a chance as anyone to survive such an accident. It really does sound very severe but like racing fans around the world, we are hoping for the best for the great Schumacher and his friends and family.

*Update: You can follow Michael’s progress via the excellent Former F1 Doc blog where Gary Hartstein, an assistant of the late, great Sid Watkins and F1’s medical delegate from 2005-12, is discussing this sort of traumatic brain injury in detail. The Daily Mail in the UK also has excellent straight-up news coverage.

Boxing Day

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If the above image is what pops into your head when you hear “Boxing Day”, then Frazier wasn’t the only one who missed! Of course if you happen to be American, you’ve got a pretty good excuse. In spirit, Boxing Day is one of the nicer and more charitable days of the year, but it’s sadly disregarded here in the US. The exact origin of the term is unclear, but there are several related versions. The one I grew up with is that Boxing Day was named for the day when people in service would receive their Christmas boxes as well as the day off from their employers (having been working for those employers on Christmas Day, no doubt.) A related definition is that Boxing Day is the time to give out Christmas boxes to tradespeople, having spent Christmas day with your family. There are other versions related to charity boxes set out to collect for the poor on St. Stephen’s Day (also Dec. 26th.) Today a vast number of countries celebrate Boxing Day, or a close variation, such as St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland, or Second Christmas Day in The Netherlands.

Whatever its origins, Boxing Day  has become a time to relax with family for one extra day after Christmas, prolonging the good cheer and encouraging an extra bit of relaxation before we all jump back into the fire. It’s a really nice sentiment that we all to often don’t see, giving a bit of extra time for family and friends to help us remember what counts most in life. So here’s to hoping that wherever you happen to be right now, you’re feeling warm and cozy whilst taking it easy with loved ones, courtesy of Boxing Day.

 

Merry Christmas, Part II

And for those who prefer their Christmas entertainment traditional, there is probably no better cinema Christmas Carol than the 1951 Alastair Sim version directed by Brian Desmond Hurst. This adaptation is every bit as faithful and moving as Dickens could have wanted.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ERtv_CC_nY

Merry, Merry and how’s that goose coming? I’m starved!