There are some who have you believe his voice was legendary – some dork called him the voice of the twentieth century – but I feel he lacked warmth, passion and most of all believability.

When he sang You Make Me Feel So Young, he was probably harking back to the glory days just before his bus pass arrived. And as for Fly Me To The Moon, well he instilled that tune with so much passion that he would be lucky if he got beyond Slough.

No matter though, for in the late '60s, he did make one album in which those dulcet tones seemed to find its voice and that’s Watertown.
Conceived by crack song writing team, Jake Holmes and Bob Gaudio, who were also responsible for the Four Seasons masterpiece (no, really) Genuine Imitation Life Gazette, Watertown is a concept album of sorts in which the narrator, that’s Frank, tells the tale of how he’s getting on with his life now that his missus has left him and his two boys to try and make it as a film star.

Like many so called easy listening albums, Watertown is a harrowing experience, mainly because songs like Michael and Peter (‘Michael is you, he has your eyes’) are shot through with self-resignation and sadness of a middle aged fella who realises his life is pretty much over now that his one true love has gone.
Best of all is For A While, a stunning lament for the women he still loves, but doesn’t love him, in which our narrator temporarily forgets his sad life.
Not only are the songs magical, and the sweeping orchestral arrangements that underpin the vocalist both beautiful and subtle, but Sinatra really does immerse himself in the character and in many respect delivers the most passionate vocal performance of his career.

If you buy one Sinatra CD, make it Nancy’s Greatest Hits, perhaps the ultimate groovy '60s pop album. But if you get up to 12 Sinatra albums, pass on Nancy in London and give her dad’s masterpiece a listen.

Nelson Smock Riddle was born June 1, 1921, in Oradell, NJ. His father was an amateur musician who performed in a local band, and Riddle learned classical piano as a child, later switching to trombone at age 14. Debussy and Ravel were favorites early on, though he also listened to pop music and big-band swing. In 1940, he joined Jerry Wald's dance orchestra as trombonist and arranger; the following year, he moved on to Charlie Spivak's band, leaving to join the merchant marine in 1943. Exiting the service, he spent 1944-1945 as a trombonist with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, also writing a couple of arrangements ("Laura," "I Should Care"). In 1946, he returned to the New York area, where he arranged for big bands like the Elgart Brothers and Elliot Lawrence. By year's end, however, he had decided to relocate to Los Angeles, where he landed a job as an arranger for Bob Crosby. From there he moved on to become a staff arranger at NBC Radio in 1947, also composing background music for dramatic programs, and continued to study arranging and conducting with Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Victor Young.  Riddle caught his first big break when Les Baxter recruited him to ghostwrite a few arrangements for Nat King Cole. One of Riddle's efforts, "Mona Lisa," became Cole's biggest hit ever in 1950 (though it was credited to Baxter). "Too Young" was another huge success in 1951, and Cole hired Riddle as his primary arranger; that relationship would endure for over a decade and produce classics like "Unforgettable." In 1952, Riddle wrote an arrangement of "The Blacksmith Blues" for Ella Mae Morse that turned even more heads at Capitol; soon, the label hired him on as an in-house arranger.  When Frank Sinatra signed with Capitol in 1953, the label encouraged him to work with the up-and-coming Riddle; Sinatra was reluctant, initially wanting to remain loyal to his chief Columbia arranger, Axel Stordahl. He soon recognized the freshness of Riddle's approach, however, and eventually came to regard Riddle as his most sympathetic collaborator. The first song they cut together was "I've Got the World on a String," and as Sinatra moved into the LP format, Riddle became a hugely important collaborator. Sinatra wanted to record conceptually unified albums that created consistent moods, and Riddle's arrangements had to draw out the emotional subtext of the material Sinatra chose. Riddle's work was alternately romantic (the 10" LPs Songs for Young Lovers and Swing Easy), desolate and intimate (In the Wee Small Hours, Only the Lonely), or confident and hard-swinging (Songs for Swingin' Lovers!, A Swingin' Affair!). The results were some of the finest and most celebrated albums in the history of popular music.  Capitol signed Riddle as an artist in his own right during the early '50s; leading his own orchestra, he recorded a series of albums (upward of ten) geared for the easy listening audience. In 1956, he scored a breakout hit single with "Lisbon Antigua," an instrumental of European origin that climbed all the way to number one on the pop charts. The follow-up "Port au Prince" made the Top 20, as did two albums, 1957's Hey...Let Yourself Go! and 1958's C'mon...Get Happy!. Plus, his 1958 composition "Cross Country Suite" won him his first Grammy. As the '50s wore on, Riddle got increasingly involved in the motion picture industry, thanks in part to Sinatra; he worked on the scores for the Sinatra films Johnny Concho (1956), Pal Joey (1957), A Hole in the Head (1959), and Come Blow Your Horn (1963), plus the Rat Pack vehicles Ocean's Eleven (1960) and Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964). Branching out into other film projects, he worked on the W.C. Handy biopic St. Louis Blues (1958) and Stanley Kubrick's Lolita, and earning Oscar nominations for his scores for Li'l Abner (1959) and the Cole Porter musical Can-Can (1960). He also served as the musical director on variety shows starring Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Rosemary Clooney.  In addition to Riddle's 1950s associations with Sinatra and Cole, he wrote arrangements for -- among others -- Betty Hutton, Jimmy Wakely, Peggy Lee, Dinah Shore, and Judy Garland, the latter of whom turned in two of her finest interpretive albums in 1956's Judy and 1958's Judy in Love under Riddle's guidance. At the end of the decade, he began a fruitful relationship with Ella Fitzgerald, cutting two sessions with his orchestra backing her up (Ella Swings Brightly With Nelson and Ella Swings Gently With Nelson) and contributing extensively to her mammoth Songbooks series, particularly the Gershwin, Kern, and Mercer volumes. Over the course of the '60s, Riddle went on to work with the likes of Rosemary Clooney (1960's Rosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle), Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Al Martino, Johnny Mathis (1961's I'll Buy You a Star), Shirley Bassey (1962's Let's Face the Music), Billy Eckstine, Jack Jones, Eddie Fisher, Keely Smith, and many, many others. His last full album with Sinatra was 1966's Strangers in the Night , on which Riddle's feel for contemporary pop in the post-rock & roll age helped Sinatra regain his commercial standing.  Meanwhile, Riddle continued his soundtrack work, crafting some of his most notable material for television. He wrote the distinctive theme for The Untouchables in 1959, and his theme song to the series Route 66 was hugely popular, even making the pop charts when it was released as a single in 1962. Although Riddle didn't write the legendary theme song to the Batman TV series, he scored many of the individual episodes. He also worked on shows like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Tarzan, Emergency!, and Barnaby Jones, among others. In 1967, he signed on as musical director of the popular Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and went on to serve in a similar capacity on early-'70s variety shows hosted by Julie Andrews and Helen Reddy. He earned another Oscar nomination for his work adapting the score of Paint Your Wagon (1969), and notched his first Oscar win for the score of 1974's The Great Gatsby. Meanwhile, Riddle continued to work with Sinatra on special projects, including the singer's 1971 farewell concert at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, and a 1974 comeback show at Madison Square Garden. As his music grew increasingly jazzy and driving, he also continued his own recording career on Sinatra's Reprise label for a time, later switching to Liberty/United Artists and a succession of smaller imprints.  By the mid-'70s, Riddle was largely retired, a combination of changing musical tastes and health problems that necessarily curtailed his activities. He emerged in the early '80s to work with Linda Ronstadt on a succession of traditional pop albums: 1983's What's New, 1984's Lush Life, and 1986's For Sentimental Reasons. The former two both earned him Grammys for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocals. Riddle's final completed project was Blue Skies, a 1985 collaboration with opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa. He passed away in Los Angeles on October 6, 1985. - Steve Huey (allmusic)

Frank Sinatra – Fly me to the moon

By far one of the best moments in the classic film Ocean’s 11 is the scene where dude is running through the casino with the money, and then the cops blast him right outside to “Berlin’s “Take my breath away”. This is one of the coolest movies ever by the way, the rest suck!

Hace pocos días nos dejó Earl Palmer. Puede que su nombre no sea demasiado conocido, ni siquiera entre las personas que sentimos un cierto interés por todo lo que rodea a la historia del "rock and roll". De hecho, si tengo que ser sincero, a mí su nombre no me sonaba de nada y, en otras circuntancias, su desaparición me hubiese pasado totalmente desapercibida de no ser por algunas de las maravillosas opciones que nos proporciona internet... como la de estar constantemente informados acerca de todo aquello que se publica referente a todos los temas de los que queremos hacer un seguimiento exhaustivo.

Y así fue como me llegó la noticia de que uno de los hombres clave en muchos de los éxitos de Little Richard (incluyendo la gran Tutti Frutti), Neil Young, Frank Sinatra o Elvis Presley y que era considerado como, quizás, el mejor batería de sesión del mundo, nos había dejado a la edad de 84 años. Descanse en paz.

That video made me think of a video my grandfather showed me.  Buddy Rich with Frank Sinatra.  It's all about the 3:00 mark onward.

Which reminded me of this.  Stevie Wonder on the drums.  Certifiable bad ass.  Hero material.

Take That

Amor

Sexo

Desilusão

Tristeza

Euforia

Alegria

Equilibrio

Nostalgia

Tranquilidade

Sensualidade

Desespero

Insatisfação

Extase

Medo

Movimento

Cor

Olfacto

Textura

Som

Sabor

I've Got You Under My Skin

¿Y acaso eso importa?

Like saying somethin` stupid like I love you

Y la versión preciosa de Frank y Nancy Sinatra.

I just wanted to let you know that I am a genius. It's a heavy
responsibility that few among us have to bear. But you wouldn't
know that, would you?, You probably think it's just wonderful to be
a genius.  But you don't know the burden that destiny has placed
upon me.

How do I know I'm a genius?

Well, Peter Gzowski said so, that's how. And Peter Gzowski
is smarter than you --- blaaaaatttttt. (Insert raspberry sound).
Actually, he sort of accused me of it, and I demurred
semi-convincingly while softly guffawing and twirling my dimples.

But why do people keep saying that about me? Are they
trying to centre me out? Make me feel uncomfortable?

I think it's because deep inside they know that I am cute as a
kitten and very sparky. I always say that you learn more about
people from what they say about other people, so let me tell you
about people who accuse others of being a genius. Having been
accused many times, in fact as recently as Saturday, I've had time
to reflect on the phenomenon.

In a way it's a compliment, no doubt about it. But there's also
a bit of puffedupness that rides along. It's enough to say
of Bob Dylan, for instance, that he's influential, prolific,
successful, admired, etc. But when you say, "Dylan is a genius",
what are you doing but commenting on your own outstanding
and under-recognized perspicacity?

Okay, so all that aside, I was invited to meet the late great Peter
Gzowski on Morningside one morning years ago. Morningside
was the flagship current affairs show that ran nationally on the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio network. And Gzowski
was the beloved star, the voice and heart of the Corporation.

He had the reputation of being a great interviewer. It was only a few
months after being interviewed by him that I realized just how good
he really was.

I had been involved in a series of weekly concerts, featuring
orchestral instruments arranged by me. I worked frantically,
with the help of Darcy McFadyen, my scribe and whipping
boy. We sat up many nights all night, me singing out oboe parts
and bassoon parts and him writing them down.

One time Darcy said we need a new woodwind song. And I
said, "Oh, okay, how about..." and started without hesitation to
sing something that became a song or should I say "a piece".

It was a period of forced hyper creativity, in other words.

In fact, after the first rehearsal, of a string section, the musicians,
all unpaid students of course -- were fussing over the charts.
Apparently, I had done some things incorrectly, never having
learned to read or write music. And of course, any errors
in Beethoven's charts (he was another genius, I'm told) had
been identified and dealt with centuries before.

What do I know from a chart? I did my best to put the jots and
tittles and squiggles and blots in the right places. Problem
was that these dudes were spoiled. I had to get Darcy to
beg them to come and play with us in the first place.

(In fact I got Darcy to call every prospective musician and repeat
the same script, one I picked up from Robbie Robertson by way
of Ronnie Hawkins in 'The Last Waltz'. Yup, it didn't matter if it
was a boy or girl, he had to say, "The money's shit, but you'll get
more pussy than Frank Sinatra".

And, in fact, Darcy looked to me to be his mentor at the time,
so he took my suggestions seriously.

I'll never forget the moment he called Heidi the Milkmaid. Heidi was
a busty and enthusiastic oboe player who could milk a melody for all
it was worth. As he connected to her from my kitchen phone, when it
was time to deliver the line, he looked up for my approval and
insistence. I gave him the head nod and he delivered.

I had told him that this script had a magical, counter intuitive,
archetypal and hypnotic effect on people. Even if their conscious
minds were confused or repulsed, THEY WILL COMPLY!!!!

And so he told Heidi that she'd get more pussy than Frank
Sinatra, and I suppose she shook her head once or twice and said,
"Okay, I'll play in your concert".)

Digressions, gotta love 'em. So we created six concerts.
The first was string night. The idea was to create a set
of original music on strings for presentation. And then to
have the string section play with the Angels of Montenegro
(my group) for a second set.

The following week would be the same format for a brass
section, the third week woodwinds, etc. etc. until the grand
finale on the final Friday when we'd have 32 musicians on stage.

I was doing my best to get some publicity for the concert
series and Morningside expressed interest but said, can
you come on the show after the concert series is all over?

Oh, okay I said.

Our interview started pleasantly enough. He had heard
a couple of songs, which we discussed and then we
listened to snippets from the concert series.

After hearing a string bit...a little Mozarty air I wrote, and
a big band-ish tune and a gospel tune and a woodwind
air, he made "The Accusation" of my geniosity.
And, as I said, I demurred semi-convincingly. "Aw shucks
I WISH I really was a genius" or some such.

My pal Chris Warren -- TRULY a genius -- said he was
listening on his Walkman at the time, outside the side door
of the hospital where he was then terminally trapped in a steno
pool. And he said he felt really jealous at the accusation.

I'm jealous beyond words at some of his songs and his
Nashville guitar, but it was sweet of him to say so.

So, the interview ended, and I discovered how influential
Morningside was among the coffee house set, artists,
loafers, pinkos and alternative lifestyle people. They
came up to me for at least two years and congratulated
me on my Triumph.

It seemed to them that being on Morningside was not
just a media appearance, it was a sign of having arrived.
But I secretly suspect that it was the Accusation that
moved them to consider my status as having changed.

In the months that followed I was interviewed by other
journalists, and notwithstanding the conceit I was
nourishing that I was in the process of becoming a
Significant Artist, they really sucked.

And I sucked.

And so I turned on Morningside one morning to listen
to Mr. Gzowski interview a Saskatchewan Worm
Farmer or maybe it was a Nose Hair Tweezer Inventor.
He brought the same warm humanity, authentic curiosity
and fascination and peerless broadcasting instincts...

...and I was humbled.

To hear the interview click below.

Morningside with Peter Gzowski

Did you know that the well known Snoop Dogg (aka Snoop Doggy Dogg or Cordozar Calvin Broadus Junior) gets two siamese cats: Miles Davis and Frank Sinatra. Incredible, isn't it ?

I hope you will not be surprise if I tell you that I did not find any picture of the (doggy) singer with his two babies ;o)

everybody in the town knew

there was something different about Ruhl

Ruhl never stopped growing

he is five foot ten three hundred and ten pounds of solid muscle

Ruhl is sometimes called the king of kings,

the German giant or the savior

one day there were two children

trapped under a house

nobody knew what to do

somebody called for Ruhl’s help

Ruhl came to the house

lifted up the building and set the children free

about five years after that

there was a man stuck on the side of the road

the man had a flat tire and couldn’t fix it

the German giant saw the man struggling

so Ruhl ripped the tire off

and put the new one on

everyone in the town praised Ruhl

for centuries to come

just one year ago it was just another

day for the king of kings in the gym

when suddenly Ruhl saw a young child

pinned under weights the child thought

he could lift with ease

Ruhl ran to the child

he picked up the weight with

one finger and saved the child from being crushed

under the 500 lbs of weights

nothing like this had ever been done in the past

Ruhl is now a world known legend

the German giant is still a legend to this day

Ruhl is happily married

Ruhl will never be forgotten

in his small German village

people look up to the German god

Ruhl is praised and worshiped

all over the world

Underworld commence par une scène sportive ayant lieu en 1951. On assiste à un match de baseball entre les Giants de Manhattan et les Dodgers de Brooklyn, deux équipes qui ont aujourd’hui déménagé sur la côte Ouest des Etats-Unis (San Francisco et Los Angeles respectivement). Déjà à l’époque, les deux équipes entretenaient une grande rivalité. Ce match particulier est une partie historique qui restera gravée dans l’iconographie sportive des Etats-Unis : l’histoire du shot heard around the world.
Nous voilà donc dans le stade de Polo Grounds avec Cotter, un jeune noir qui resquille pour entrer et assister à la partie. Don DeLillo livre une description minutieuse de l’ambiance et des personnes présentes : les joueurs, le commentateur et même J. Edgar Hoover, le célèbre directeur du FBI et Frank Sinatra. Pas moins de 60 pages sont consacrées à cette partie de baseball. Le jeune Cotter se débrouillera pour attraper et repartir avec la balle du match. Cette dernière servira de fil conducteur pendant une partie du roman. L’une des personnes qui l'aura en sa possession s’appelle Nick Shay et c’est le personnage central de Underworld. Nous le suivons sur une période de près de 50 ans : sa vie de couple et son travail dans les années 90, son enfance et sa jeunesse à New-York dans les années 50, les relations avec son frère, jeune prodige des échecs qui participera comme chercheur à la course à l’armement avec la Russie, son aventure avec une artiste renommée qu’il a croisé des décennies auparavant.
En bref, Don DeLillo nous raconte à travers Nick Shay et des dizaines d’autres personnages une histoire de l’Amérique au cours de la seconde moitié du vingtième siècle.

Nous assistons notamment à l’explosion de la navette Challenger, aux pensées d’un homme devant la plus grande décharge du New Jersey, à la représentation de l’assassinat de Kennedy, aux meurtres perpétrés par un serial killer sur les routes du Texas, à une première de film ennuyante et à l’instant clé qui verra la vie du jeune Nick Shay prendre un tournant inattendu. Tous ces moments seront la source de questionnements et de réflexions de la part des personnages du roman.

Le rythme narratif est très lent, presque insupportable par moment tellement DeLillo veut être minutieux dans son récit. Il veut partager avec le lecteur l’intégralité d’une scène jusque dans ses moindres détails. Mais même si ça n’a pas toujours un sens évident, les échanges verbaux, les descriptions de lieu, le langage non verbal et les pensées des personnages, tout ça n’est jamais gratuit. Cela concourt à dresser un tableau réaliste de la vie de ses personnages. Ce qui peut paraître décousu est en fait très habilement construit. Très souvent, l’histoire nous est racontée comme si on était dans le cerveau des personnages, on passe vite d’une idée à l’autre. Les pensées s’intercalent avec les dialogues. L’exemple le plus frappant est quand Nick a une conversation avec sa femme dans le lit conjugal. Cette conversation paraît complètement décousue pour le lecteur mais elle suit la logique de leurs deux esprits qui ont l’habitude de fonctionner ensemble. J’ai eu l’impression de plonger dans les pensées de chacun des personnages, d’entrer dans leur logique parfois tordue, dans leurs tourments et dans leurs passions. Don DeLillo joue avec la chronologie de cette deuxième moitié du vingtième siècle, une époque où les angoisses des individus sont omniprésentes. La tension est permanente à la lecture de Underworld. Ce sous-monde est tout ce qui sous-tend les relations entre les individus.

Notons que Underworld fait la part belle aux années 50 qui dont Don DeLillo fait la genèse de l’Amérique moderne. Et le berceau en est New-York. Non pas le riche Manhattan mais les quartiers moins reluisants du Bronx et de Brooklyn avec leur population d’immigrants, de petites frappes et de piliers de la communauté.

Je recommande donc chaudement la lecture de Underworld, disponible en français sous le titre d’Outremonde. La lecture en est agréable à condition d’accepter de se laisser emporter par son rythme si particulier. C’est une œuvre magistrale qui se déguste lentement.

Det blev »I Feel Like Going Home« med Charlie Rich.

Det var när jag i går kväll kom fram till R i skivhyllornas countryavdelning och tankade över samlingen »The Most Beautiful Girl« till Macbookens jukebox som jag bestämde mig.

Charlie Rich behöver upprättelse.

Han borde vara en sångare som nämns när man pratar om sångare som Sinatra, Presley och Scott Walker men som på grund av tillfälligheternas spel, för lite flyt och för mycket sprit hamnade i skymundan på Sun-etiketten.

Under slutet av 50-talet och hela 60-talet fick Charlie Rich mest harva som huspianist i Sam Philips Sun-studio i Memphis. Först i början av 70-talet fick han några egna hits, som ändå mest blev angelägenheter för långtradarchaffisar som på de långa prärievägarna i Amerikanatten rattade in countrystationer.

Så det allra sista jag gärna gör, det är att ge Charlie Rich upprättelse.

...La Voz...

Besame mucho es una de las canciones que he estado escuchando últimamente. Me afisioné mucho a la canción tanto que, estuve buscando las otras versiones que cantaban las otras personas, empero, solo me llegó a gustar la versión original. La de Frank Sinatra. Les dejo el lyric esta vez, sin traducción:

Besame, besame mucho,

Each time I cling to your kiss, I hear music divine,

Besame mucho,

Hold me my darling and say that you'll always be mine.

This joy is something new, my arms enfolding you,

Never knew this thrill before.

Whoever thought I'll be holding you close to me,

Whispering it's you I adore.

Dearest one, if you should leave me,

Each little dream would take wing and my life would be through,

Besame mucho, love me forever and make all my dreams come true..
Besame, besame mucho,

Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez.

Besame, besame mucho,

Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte depues.

Quiero tenerte muy cerca mirarme en tus ojos estar junto de ti.

Pienso que tal vez ma¤ana estarte muy lejos muy lejos de ti.

Besame, besame mucho,

Como si fuera esta noche la ultima vez.

Besame, besame mucho,

Que tengo miedo tenerte y perderte despues.

Me ha surgido la duda si dice..lo último en español...creo el lyric está mal. Por que esta versión (la que he colocado) la canta Pedro infante....¡en fin! iré a ver si  está bien. Luego la corregiré.

Bob Marley, a Reggae legend, died of Cancer in 1981 at the young age of 36.

Frank Sinatra, lived a long 82 years but proved the old saying, "it's better to burn out, than fade away" might actually be true.

Johnny Cash, "The Man in Black", lived a long, hard life and passed away not too long after his true love did. Only after his death did he receive the kind of recognition he deserved. If this video doesn't give you chills, maybe you should delete Wax Heaven from your favorites.

Marvin Gaye, one of the greatest of all-time among the elite Motown artists, died at the age of 44 after he was killed by his own father.

Steve McQueen, a legendary Hollywood actor who died at the age of 50 after suffering two heart attacks.

1. A Marshmallow World by Brenda Lee

I listened to the version by The Rat Packs and I loved it. But this version is even more wow. I can imagine the postcard scenery of white rooftops and all :D

2.  Mistletoe and Holly by Frank Sinatra

Hmm. Mistletoe. How romantic.

3. It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas by Bing Crosby

What's Christmas without Bing Crosby? I love all his Christmas carols :D

4. Santa Baby by Marilyn Monroe

I bet my sisters will love this one.

5. The Christmas Song by Jackson Five

Ok, so the song itself is not as rare. But Jackson Five? That's something that my mom will love a lot.

6. Warm and Fuzzy by Billy Gilman

Just a variation to the oldies carols. I love his angelic voice.

7. Here Comes Santa by Linda Eder

Believe me, I've never heard the sung version of this song. Most of the time I only listen to the instrumental version, the monotone version from the lights on the christmas tree at home. By the way, this song comes with Santa Claus Is Coming At The Town medley.

8. A Holly Jolly Christmas by Dean Martin

Again, what's christmas without Dean Martin? My mom has this CD of christmas songs by Nat King Cole and Dean Martin, and it's our bestest christmas carols collection. Let me add one more by Dean Martin into that collection

9. Christmas in The Trenches by John McDermott

A variation to the joyful songs. This one is more mellow, ballad-ish and I love it because it's sooo meaningful. It's about christmas in wartime.

10. Christmas Alphabets by The McGuire Sisters

Took me forever to find this song. Fell in love with it when I first heard it on Gossip Girl (the episode Roman Holiday).

My friend thinks I'm born 30 years too late. I think so too. In fact, I think I'm born 50 years too late. HAHAHA. I'm so retro ;)

Kicks Like a Teenage Dirtbag (New York Mix)

Again, this was something I did a while back and something really spooky happened when I was putting it together. It wasn't until I'd almost finished the track that I realised that the three songs I'd decided to segue all had the word 'teen' or 'teenage' in them. How spooky is that? To finish I added the closing bars of two songs featuring New York in the title...don't ask me why!

Here are the artists and songs I included in this mix:

• The Undertones - Teenage Kicks
• Wheatus - Teenage Dirtbag
• Nirvana - Smells like Teen Spirit
• Frank Sinatra - New York, New York
• Nasty Rox Inc. - Escape from New York

Some Came Running is a lush tapestry of color and subtext that reminds of a Hollywood long since dead and gone, one that seems as foreign now as ever. What begins as a standard melodrama, with an estranged soldier (Frank Sinatra) returning home to presumably cause trouble and scandal for his greedy older brother, slowly evolves into something else altogether - a labyrinth of secrets, uncertainties, and disappointments taking place on many different levels and classes. There's a patience in the storytelling, equal parts direction and performance, that enables the audience to develop a rapport with the characters as they experience a kaleidoscope of emotions. Minnelli oftern holds the camera on his players, soaking in their point of view not through irony or wit, but with a genuine sense of loss (the final pan across Sinatra and Dean Martin speaks volumes). Some Came Running spends so much time documenting these relationships its hard to imagine it ending, and when it does the film reveals itself as a heartbreaking tragedy of the first order. All those sharp hues that were supposed to signified love or hope end up representing a sense of staggering regret we never knew was there.

[caption id="attachment_1865" align="alignright" width="273" caption="With Frank Sinatra"][/caption]

Connie Haines, a petite and dynamic big band singer who performed alongside Frank Sinatra in the Harry James and Tommy Dorsey orchestras, died Monday in Clearwater, Fla. The cause of death was myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune neuromuscular disease. She was 87.  Haines was best known as a singer with a knack for rhythm, and many of her most successful recordings -- 25 of which each sold more than 50,000 copies -- featured her crisp, swinging vocal style. When Dorsey first heard her in action with James at Frank Dailey's Meadowbrook, New Jersey's temple of big band music, he reportedly asked, "Hey, little girl, where'd you learn to swing like that? And when can you join my band?"  It didn't take long. Haines recorded "Comes Love" and "I Can't Afford to Dream" with James, revealing a capacity to handle lyrical ballads as well as jitterbug specials, before moving to the Dorsey organization with Sinatra.   James, however, was not fond of Haines' birth name -- Yvonne Marie Antoinette JaMais -- suggesting that it would take up too much space on a theater marquee. "You don't look like an Yvonne," he said, "you look like a Connie." And "Haines" was chosen, apparently because it was a close rhyme to "James."  Haines quickly made the name her own, however, establishing herself as one of the prime female singers of the big band era. Many of her hit songs were the product of a warm musical partnership with Sinatra via tunes such as "Oh, Look At Me Now," "Let's Get Away From It All," "Friendship," "I'll Never Smile Again" and the jaunty rhythm tune "Snooty Little Cutie."Like many big band vocalists of the '40s, Haines moved on to a solo career as the public's preferences turned away from large ensemble swing to singers. Over the course of the next few decades, she released more than 200 recordings, ranging from her big band stylings to more contemporary rhythms. The first white singer to record for Motown Records, she released 14 songs written by Smokey Robinson, including "What's Easy For Two Is Hard For One." Haines also was drawn to gospel music as a reflection of her Christian beliefs, recording and touring in an ensemble that included close friends Beryl Davis, Rhonda Fleming and Jane Russell. Although her career as an actress tended to be framed in films that allowed her to perform as a singer, Haines' appearances in motion pictures such as "The Duchess of Idaho" suggested a talent that never had the opportunity to fully blossom within her lifelong dedication to music. She was a regular on the Abbott & Costello Radio Show and a frequent guest artist during the golden years of television variety shows, appearing with Milton Berle, Eddie Cantor, Perry Como, Frankie Laine and Ed Sullivan, among others.Haines sang on Sinatra's 89th birthday television tribute in 1995, and continued to work in cabaret rooms, nightclubs and big band revival events until two years ago.  Born Jan. 20, 1921, in Savannah, Ga., she was reared in Florida and began performing at an early age, trained by her mother, a music and dance teacher.  Haines was winning dance contests by the age of 5. At 9, she had her own radio show -- "Baby Yvonne Marie, the Little Princess of the Air," singing with a 30-piece orchestra.  She appeared with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra when she was 10, won a Major Bowes amateur contest and was heard on the Fred Allen radio show while she was still in her early teens. By 1939, Haines -- at age 18 and slightly less than 5 feet tall -- was singing alongside Sinatra in the Harry James Band.  She survived several health crises and near-fatal accidents. While performing with the Dorsey Orchestra, an errant match set her evening gown on fire. Sinatra, standing nearby, pulled her to the floor and smothered the flames with his coat. In her characteristic fashion, Haines brushed herself off, got up and finished her song, wearing only the charred dregs of her gown.  Haines was treated for cancer and had a double mastectomy in 1984. But once again, the experience did not deter her from continuing her musical activities and moving on with her life.  In 2002, after a celebratory holiday performance in Florida, Haines broke two vertebrae in her neck in an auto accident. She was back singing again in six months, although the after-effects of the injury never fully disappeared.  "Connie often talked about her fascination with near-death experiences -- even told me she had one when she was 9 years old," said close friend Roseanne DeMarco, "but she found joy in every day. The funny thing was that, even when she was feeling ill, her vital signs always seemed fine, as though she loved life so much that she wanted to experience every minute of it that she could."  Haines' marriage to Robert DeHaven, an ace pilot during World War II, ended in divorce. - Don Heckman (LA Times)

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