teddy vs. serge - a conversation

i refuse to believe that anyone reading this will not know who Teddy Pendergrass is. its possible you will not know Serge Gainsbourg- although any hipster worth her/his weight in beer will claim to know. the funny thing is i knew nothing of Serge until Lawrence played me some of Historie de Melody Nelson (google it).  but i loved teddy. a folk hero to me, powerful, sexy and a damn right killer of gamble and huff written songs.

so here is an imaginary conversation with these two polar opposites.

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TEDDY:

i love your whisper. are all french men so stylish?

SERGE: 

we are lovers and cowards. it is what gives us style. and wine. and french bootie!

TEDDY:

when i was in Paris in '77, we stayed at the Beat Hotel- what a historic place. 

(singing voice deep and husky)

can you woo - woo -woo! ahhhh, woo-woo-wooooooooooo.

SERGE:

beautiful. i always wanted to sing like that. Jane would totally love to have your member in her lush mouth. magic.

TEDDY:

i love white women! can she take it?

SERGE: 

what do you mean? she is my wife! of course she can coddle your african-ness. 

TEDDY: 

didn't you write the song Roxanne for that english bloke Stingy?

SERGE:

oh, you mean De Police? the blonde nazi fella? NO, i would never write something as trite as that song.

TEDDY:

AND I would never keep a woman from her work! what a groove though. what does he say?

ROXANNE YOU DON'T HAVE TO IRON THAT DRESS TONIGHT. PUT ON THE NIGHTLIGHT! PUT ON THE NIGHTLIGHT!

SERGE:

YES. something like that. he has tantric abilities you know.

TEDDY:

what?

SERGE:

he can fuck without coming, but he spiritually comes.

TEDDY:

sounds like a mime job to me.

r. kelly's first young girl and vampires (hmmm)

after a night of heavy drinking with aLIVE(aaron)- i made a

 beat, fed the turtles, and proceeded to watch a really bad vampire 

movie- queen of the damned starring Aaliyah. funny thing about this very talented woman is i totally remember being about 19, and visiting my mothers house, where i spent the afternoon watching music videos with my sister Ashley. it was during this haze of black pop gum/nilly musaks that i first witnessed the only 14, or 15 yr old Aaliyah perform in her video for the R Kelly produced song "back and forth". monopoly money to anyone who remembers this song! it had a nice backbeat groove, and the rapist known for being TRAPPED IN A CLOSET looked down right creepy. 

my sis told me that they were married too. i never have been able to find out if this was urban myth, or a fucking chi-town fact.(kelly is from Chicago. im so witty!) so watching this movie brought a flood of

funny memories back, 

and actually had me feeling a little weepy after. not because the movie was just that moving. it was not, but that time was exciting. it was my first year of college, and the freedom that i had coveted growing up was paying dividends. i was reading my poems, touring, and working on stories. meeting amazing people from across the globe. it was during this time that nearly everything was full of promise, and curiosity was my friend, my confidant. 

while my ladyfriend loves horror movies of all ilk, i am not a huge fan. i scare too easy, and dont particularly like gore. she seems to not be bothered. but occasional i find myself watching a horror movie while i'm alone as a way to connect to her. i wonder if any of you do this with lovers. i wont go down that road, but feel free to comment if you feel it. Aaliyah was a beautiful young woman, who was in the middle of grand opening of sorts. it seemed that the star was the limit for this amazing talent, and as it tends to happen with young "stars",  her handlers taste was being measured by her own interests. 

queen of the damned does not compare to any good horror movies of course. and as vampire movies go i would imagine that i falls way short if a list was to be made. GANJA and HESS would have to be in the top ten. if it wasn't - it would surely be some type of filmic racism! emperors be damned. why the connection in popular culture with bad rock music, goth and vampires. i'm sure that the people who actually adhere to the goth "way of life" have better taste in music than some hollywoodummi exec. (?) 

it seemsthe only way a democracy ruled by CAPITALISM able to stay afloat is to push a very bland palate when it comes to art. a quick dig, not even research level would unearth way more fulfilling ish. GENRE does not mean DUMB. say it with me, write it on your jobs bathroom walls. we will not fall into the night, 

for FEAR IS THE MIND KILLER.

and cheese puff artists kill the soul.

sue me.

p.s.- now i'm gonna go to L dookie's blog and she gonna be waxing poetic about the male lead, Stuart f*****ing Townsend. 

white people.

haw.

james and maya

one of the most fascinating things about art and culture, is how a love affair with one artist can lead to unexpected love affairs with artist not even connected to the first lead. the first writer that excited me as a young man was james baldwin. the first book of his i read was ANOTHER COUNTRY- a story about a jazz musician who is cracking from the pressure of 60's NYC, the racism that is so invisible it seethes through the undergarments of the city's progressive facade.

it was a stirring book, with layers upon layers of characters, plots and indelible language. after ANOTHER COUNTRY, i went on to read all his books. each one is rich and telling in its own way.

during this time,

my good friend lawrence introduced me to the world of film, and a magical, and under-utilized organization called CLEVELAND CINEMATHEQUE. it was there that i saw everything from early genre movies, foreign films, onto DOGMA 95 generated visual sculpture. it was there that i found out about Maya Deren. she was a documentary filmmaker with an incredible vision. i love her stuff. feel free to check both of these artists out. 

okay. 1987

1987.

i was twelve, and spending sometime with my step father's best friend Butler. (that was the guys fucking name so shut it.) he was the hero guy all young men have- cooler than dad, but still not too scary. what i realize now is the guy was a complete coke-head, and was high all the time to think on after all these years. i remember one particular conversation over the film FLASHDANCE, starring the 80's icon- Jennifer Beals. he told me that a woman like her would never exist in real life, because a mixed race women could just pass for white, and would never have to struggle for dough. now as a kid i had a little sass, and told him that he probably had not seen the movie, based on his take on the plot, and its realness. 

for one thing, 

she was financially strapped by any means. she was a union card carrying welder first off, and secondly she worked as a dancer at a nightclub that closely resembled the art version of a strip house. (she never actually take any clothes off on stage though) so she was making a check from that.

point two,

white people are poor sometimes. actually, most times! so the whole struggle thing, realistic. 

third, and most important point- its a movie.

why this particular moment with dear old dummi butler stands out, i'm not quite sure. perhaps it was the first time i realized that none of the men i knew as a kid were very bright, nor were they even remotely clever. i dont really know what his problem with jennifer was, he alway had white girlfriends, and seemed fairly progressive when it concerned race. women like beal's character exist in real life though, i was married to one. a woman who was layered, bi racial, and a dancer. she was not a welder though, i think she may of been afraid of fire actually. 

for the past 6 years ive been following the showtime original show L WORD- its the final season now, and i fucking love the premise, and story arch. i think i may be slightly in love with

Ms. Beals! damn L dookie wont watch with me though. she a snob, and believe the lesbians on the show to be totally fake. wait, she never actually said that, but its my blog, and i can say what i want. she has a huge fucking crush on Danny Masterson for 70's show, and has a pic of him on her blog. damn her and her need for white men with afros.

fox

megan fox.

now. damn, why did they do it? why would they destroy the seriousness of a beautiful nerd-classic like TRANSFORMERS with this hotties presence?

once i saw her, i wanted her to be on screen the rest of the way. damn the cheesywiz cgi, damn the fucking lack of character depth. what was even more annoying about this movie, which i stumbled onto on cable was the fact that important characters were missing! where were all the autobots? i found this pic of her, how in the hell am i suppose to believe she has the time to read the books behind her, much less the inclination. 

im going to admit something that most of us readers never admit- if i looked like her i wouldn't read. i would be busy being fabulous!

i only read cuz im homely. seriously! lets admit that given a choice, most readers would choose dashing good looks over curiosity, and vocabulary any day!

considerations for a new arrival

so.

im going to actually try and make this a regular thing, this blog. and since my computer is back, (thanks ocampo) i can actually try and put a dent in it.

so i spent the day revisiting mile love affair with miles davis, i watched a pretty documentary about him on OVATION TV. what a great channel, and then i listen to sketches of spain, in a silent way, tutu, bitches brew- made a remix of a herbie hancock song  .  .  .etc.

there is something quite amazing about him when you sit and think about it. just about everyone of my favorite jazz players spent time in his band. he was amazing at finding young talent, let them be young, but driving the whole thing. there is a moment on bitches brew where you know that this push, the search the music represents is the mirror of the youthfulness of his sidemen.

there may not be a modern day equivalent to this uncanny knack of his.

his jack johnson record is one of my prized possessions- i went to look for it around 2am, and couldn't locate it anywhere. i wonder what happen to it. i have a problem with home security, and my friends/associates sometimes "borrow" items along the media variety.

the fuckers!

i never understood why people who like to have media, dont seem to buy any. if you liked tuna, you buy tuna.  if you like shoes, you try and buy lots of shoes- but if you like magazines, you steal your friends?

 j-to-the-esus! 

i will probably end up killing somebody.

along the dozens

so its a week since Obama has been elected, and while i have not processed what it means fully, i find myself drifting in nostalgia's haze, and just daydreaming about my family, the places i've been to, the people i have met along the journey. 

i wish my grandfather was here, i would ask him what he thought, ask him what to do next. get some advice about it all.