[vale willie de ville] love and emotion

Spanish Stroll

Oh wow. We look at all the meanness going on behind the scenes in our country, in our own experience, even affecting this blog and then we can look at Willie de Ville who died last night at the age of 58, of cancer. How often do you see your humble blogger wax so lyrical about a singer but this man had a genuineness, a passion and a zest for life, undercut by life's seamier side - it's a wonder he made it thus far when you look at all his personal issues.

Hey Rosita! Donde vas con mi carro Rosita? Tu sabes que te quiero pero ti me quitas todo

I could have run any youtube of his for your delectation but this one is special and if you can give a few minutes of your time, let me explain. The first youtube below was a performance of his song Just Your Friends, given at Museumplatz, Bonn in 2008, aged 57. The other version I was going to post was from 1981, aged 30!! It's my favourite song of all time by him, done 30 years later [you can see better quality in HQ here]:

I don't believe you know what's right or wrong
This is the price I pay for feeling so strong over you
You know that all of the time, I laid my heart on the line
And how I was so blind - I only see the good side of you

I remember that night, I remember the rain
I wandered the streets, lost in this pain over you
Yes, I wish I could take you away from your friends
Dragging you down but you're still hanging round with them ...

How many guys can relate to that?





Some lady commented:

Oh, what a gem!!! Whew!  Willy is so incredibly talented. Charismatic man who is multi-talented. Crystal clear video with terrific sound.

This is the hit which did it for him [hope Lou Reed's listening]:





Another:

She's a Mixed Up, Shook Up Girl

And one more to sign off with:





Did I say one more? Here's a slightly wooden early version of Love and Emotion [he seems a bit shy here] but the song is class:

I hold your hand and as we walk along, I can't understand, how a love can live in this desolate land. Broken windows and broken hearts and you are cheated before you start; was there ever a chance? No, there was never a chance ... but then your love, love and emotion ... oh your love sets me free.

Now everyday, at 5 o'clock, I run down your street baby, to your block and up five flights of stairs - up five flights of stairs ... and in your laughter there's mission bells, coloured lanterns and carousels, and in this hallway there's home, no Im not so alone ... because your love ... sets me free.

Critic Mark Keresman wrote about Willy DeVille:

In some respects, DeVille is the rock & roll counterpart to Sinatra—both can rock, both stared down personal demons, both are capable of rousing memories sweet and sad, and both can navigate the mean streets with panache before winding up on Lonely Avenue at daybreak.

Sigh - there's the litmus test. I'm sure the men won't like this music and I suspect there are not too many women left with that romantic streak who'd appreciate Mink de Ville. I hope I'm horribly wrong and wide of the mark.

Vale, Willy de Ville!

[manic humo[u]r] three nations

It's not how each nation does the sit-com and the straight that BEST defines a nation's humo[u]r IMHO but how they handle the manic. Here are three manic clips:

English:



American:



Australian:

[troll alert] code amber and apology

I'm having troll problems from someone who's trying to stir up a dead and buried issue again. I have the email filtering on for all the players in the backstabbing of your humble blogger long ago but unfortunately, Blogger itself does not allow blocking. Therefore, at the times I'm away from the computer, I have to use moderation for now.

These people are sad and one can only hope they get a life but there it is - some people like to stir up trouble. I'm not the only victim in this predicament around the sphere.

[japanese model] somehow forgets half her kimono

The First Post runs a simple issue - is this tacky or not?

It got a chorus of complaints from traditional Japanese but the French designer was disdainful:

[Ines] Ligron responded to the outrage with French disdain. "The conservative and fashion dinosaurs are criticising her [Miyasaka’s] costume, meanwhile the fashionistas love it," she said. "I care only about the movers and shakers in the fashion industry."

Well that's all right then. The Dominique Prieur School of Cultural Respect is not to be sniffed at. As long as the fashionisti notice you, Madame, that's all that matters in interpreting Japanese tradition.

Or is this a surly reaction?

[at the beach] in a paris arrondissement

The French are nothing if not inventive.

The city pours an amount of money into constructing beaches in summer in the romantic city so that commuters, holidaymakers and tourists can enjoy it without the inconvenience or cost of a trip.

Good idea or an eyesore, especially around sites of historic interest? Would you consider the sight of the great unwashed, unclothed along the elegant streets of Paris, obnoxious or do you think it's a positive and inventive move?

Is it good for the kiddies?

Would it work in London, Manchester, Birmingham or wherever? Could the city fathers be persuaded or is Britain too bankrupt?

Who would have the deckchair concession?

[naughty net] the beeb says people don't like it

Oh, give a medal to the BBC for its touching concern for the plight of the people "hooked" on the net.

"My wife won't send e-mail" one man says. "She likes the personal touch [so] doesn't know what's happening to that letter of yours [if it is sent electronically]."

Privacy is another worry, as computers have made information gathering so powerful.

"The whole world's on computers", says one woman. "You just have to say your postcode and they know everything about you. I'm just not interested."

"If you hit the wrong key," says her neighbour, "what about privacy?"

And hitting the wrong key took us into complaints about design and computer complexity.

There is an alternative point of view - that the net gives access to friends you'd not otherwise have had. Also, if you were to go around the blogs on your roll, you'd see so many cases of people on holiday or where RL impinges. Doesn't seem "hooked" to me ... although it is part of our lives.

For me, the net replaces television but not radio - this latter, thank you, Beeb. It replaces newspapers but not entirely. Sometimes I'll buy one but it is true the dead wood press does include magazine items of interest. The political commentary we get very well from the blogosphere, thank you.

Nice try, Beeb.