“I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife.”
Maggie's ponders
Writer blog-www.maggiewritesmoderndread.tumblr.com
Eurovision, I Love You
The middle of May is my Christmas and it truly is the most fabulous time of the year. Sequins, choreography, songs of love and peace, feathers, fake-tan and strategic voting. In other words, the weird and wonderful world of Eurovision. The Eurovision Song Contest was born in the 1950s, in a bid to unite post-war Europe through song. Countries qualify with their song in an effort to make it to the final and once in the final, all countries around Europe vote for the most popular song and its country becomes the next Eurovision host country the following year. Historically, Eurovision has launched the careers of ABBA and Celine Dion and many up-and-coming European artists are hoping the same thing, with one of the more colourful winners being Israel’s ’90s champion, transsexual Dana International (yay for progress). Eurovision 2013 wrapped up in Sweden last Saturday night, with Denmark dubbed winner for their song ‘Only Teardrops’, sung by a barefoot and …
Sharon Tate
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Lana Del Rey - Chelsea Hotel No. 2
Originally by Leonard CohenGorgeous.
Heartbreaking.
Unforgettable.
Having spent the past week listening to various incarnations of this song on repeat, having learned the history of its subject, and having read and virtually memorized its lyrics, I can’t imagine better words to describe it than these…
… It’s gorgeous. The beautiful melody is melancholy and thoughtful, not overly done or excessively dramatic with its lonesome guitar strumming along. Especially, it’s calm and almost soothing, and that peace it provides sets the stage for the subsequent baring of emotions. The minimalist guitar is there to accompany the singer, and put her in the spotlight. As much as I respect Cohen for recording the song originally, there is something about Del Rey’s husky vocals that add an extra tinge of bittersweet reflection. Hers is the version I keep craving more of.
… It’s heartbreaking. The tune and vocals drip with a barely concealed sadness. As strong as the narrator tries to be as he thinks back on this doomed love affair, as much as he convinces himself that this woman is out of his life, his words ultimately belie his wounded attachment. For someone who doesn’t “even think of you that often”, he spends a lot of time dwelling on their time together and the impression she left on him. His actions betray his still-fragile soul. And when Del Rey sings it, her voice imbues Cohen’s words with a very authentic pain; I could believe that these are words from her own heart, obsessing over a lover who hasn’t quite left it.
… And it’s unforgettable. I think its constant repeat in my playlist, in my mind, and in my voice has cemented that. It has painted this vivid scene for me, of indomitable Janis Joplin living wild and talking big, and Leonard Cohen left helplessly enamoured in the wake of her volcanic spirit. Just like she lived fast and died young, their affair was similarly passionate but burnt out quickly. And just like she left behind a legacy that has flourished in the ensuing decades, so has their unfortunate love left this token that continues to wrench heart strings forty years later.
You may deem yourself ugly, but this, this truly is beautiful.
Maggie's secret life, in words: The Three Graces of Longing
The Three Graces of Longing is a story of a life spent searching for belonging and love. It examines how a life can be spent in a flirtation between the past and present.
Tomas Beldomnik is a reclusive old writer, back in the empty and mountainous village of his birth and he begins to reveal…
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Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl: The Epitome of Hipster Couples
Few celebrity couples are able to maintain a professional relationship, create superb music and look so darn gorgeous doing it like Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl. Not a lot of models have impressed me as much as the ethereal Charlotte Kemp Muhl. The brunette is the face of Maybelline and the girlfriend of rock royalty heir and musician, Sean Lennon. While the son of Beatle, John Lennon and Yoko Ono was thrust in the limelight since birth, Muhl also entered the fashion industry from an early age. The Georgia born, Muhl met Lennon backstage at Coachella musical festival and upon discovering Muhlâs musical talents, the couple formed a band, Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, together with their own music label, Chimera music. Their music is mellow, quirky and folksy - in a way that’s reminiscent of Lennonâs parents collaborating together musically. Her voice is breathy and fits in with self-confessed âneo-retro folk psychedelicâ vibe of their music, …
