I have always wanted to sing this song Karaoke. For my 24th birthday, sometime in the earlier half of the decade, I rehearsed my very own version of The Cure's Boys Don't Cry with all the Me's & I's converted to you's and vice versa. The idea was to overcome my karao-phobia and start my year balls to the wall. When I got to the Venue (the Mint on Market in SF) much to my chagrin they did not stock my song. It was a disappointing birthday to mark the beginning of a disappointing year. We left the bar and I don't remember the specifics of the rest of the evening. Several weeks later I ended up singing back-ups for my friend Kymmy's famous rendition of Proud Mary (the Tina version). Shortly thereafter, I was manning the mic myself without fear, doing everything from Beast of Burden to Lola to 18 & Life to Heart of Glass. I was hooked.
Now 5 years and several dozen karaoke bars later, I have yet to sing my altered version of my favorite Cure sing-along publicly and it's not for lack of trying. My hopes of singing this karaoke died and rising from from the ash of that dream was the desire to record my own version, a cover, of the song. For my birthday this year a couple of my friends got me a MIDI because I'd been messing around in garage band making a crap song here and there (I have the baddest-ass friends around..) and they are very supportive of my creative endeavos, as trifling as they may be (isn't that sweet).
Anyhow, my insomnia this evening has allowed me, in a very round about way, to perform this song publicly...
here goes nothing!...from me to you...the vocal stylings and musicianship of ALINA GATTI doing Boys Don't Cry..
P.s Pardon the airy vocal track....i have to sing directly into the mic built into the back of my desktop computer. If you want to mail me a mic...i'll accept.
I was first introduced to the work of Alejandro Jodorowsky through the film Santa Sangre (1989) by the very blue-eyed Theo Stanley, who was either the last of my girlhood crushes or my first adult heartbreak (1999). Santa Sangre was amongst the gateway films that turned me into the amateur cinephile.
Last weekend cinespia hosted a special Sunday night cemetery screening of Jodorowsky's Holy Mountain (1973). While the film may only hint at a cohesive or linear narrative plot, it can best be summarized as follows: A jesus-type figure encounters a mystical alchemist who convinces him and the 7 planetary rulers to leave their material existences behind to go in search of the holy mountain in the hope of securing for themselves immortality. The highlights of the film are the, impossible to shoot in the present day, Frog and Chameleon Circus: a bloody re-enactment of the spanish conquest of aztec mexico starring frogs and chameleons. And the individual stories of the Planetary rulers, particularly Venus, Mars, & Saturn.
I went knowing I would enjoy myself, I always do at the cemetery screenings, but I was blown away by the strength of cultural & religious commentary, satire, humor, and artistic vision of this film. Financed by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and advocating use of psychedilic drugs Holy Mountain is a radical head trip. Find it and watch it.
How many discount cards do you carry in your wallet and where are they from?
Submitted by danatmedog.
REALLY!?!?!?! THIS is this question of the day?
The folks behind vox are thinking this is a worthy question that needs
answering. What a sad day for the vox readers. WHO CARES
where people shop, let alone get discounts from? That is not a
rhetorical question, I am genuinely curious if ANYONE at all really
wants to know where his/her peers are getting prices slashed or what
plastic trash is clogging friendly wallets. Of all the
interesting things to ask a person, of all the interesesting anecdotes
that could arise with as little provocation as a question, today I am
given this. This question reeks of small lives, forgotten dreams,
championing mediocrity. In summation, this question is a load of
tripe.
After all the recent season and series finales, what are you watching on TV these days?
I sold my television in a yard sale for $20, along with a lot of other post-separation junk. I moved into a smaller apartment and now watch movies on my big ass mac screen. I prefer life without TV. When I need the fix or hear of a good show, I'll watch at a Tivo household cuz that's what friends are for (kinda). If not, I'll wait patiently, like a big cat stalking prey, for the DVD release of the coveted show.
Now, in the silence of my new home, without the high pitch squeal of
the TV, my mind is left to wander. At this juncture in my life,
introspection is key. How did I land myself here?
Somedays, I can't escape the feeling that I am in a real time game of Shutes and
Ladders and my foot fell carelessly in a square that set me back four years.
Other days, I feel on top of the world, in control, perched to see
those things bigger and better coming in from the distance. Most
of the time I have a new emotion every five minutes. Such
is life. I prefer it without television.
Opening on June 23rd, I'm curating a two person show in the sixspace annex featuring new works by Amy Chan & Jonathan Marshall called Uncharted Territory. Read more..
Also at sixspace in June is Sarah Cromarty & Salvatore Salamone's collaborative exhibition Reflections...an art show.
Read more...
If you're in town come on by. Good times!
Also, playing at the hollywood forever cemetery tonight is Harold & Maude (hosted by Cinespia). If you feel like singing along to the Cat Stevens soundtrack under (and over) the stars. Come on out.
Last night I saw Morrissey play at the Hollywood Bowl, and while I wouldn't have put How Soon is Now? on my personal request list, it was a stellar performance of that song. Afterwards, on my way to the gold room, I saw the midnight ridazz wrapping up a evening on the concrete and felt the ire of wanting to be in two places at the same time. I haven't been on a midnight ride in too long.
Nor have I written anything on this page...but...I'm back. I think.
