Helmut Smits is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Rotterdam who uses found objects and trash to create inventive and witty sculptures and installations.
 

Without cabinet
 
Via Illusion360

 
Just $27.50 for soft bouncin’ bouncin’ curls.
 

 
Thanks Joe Janacek via ?uestlove !

David Bowie was on a roll when he recorded “Suffragette City”, he was writing enough songs for his own catalog and for others to record. He’d already given Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits “Oh! You Pretty Things”, which was quite a move for the toothsome pop star but, as rock writer Charles Shaar Murray noted, Noone’s version was “one of Rock and Roll’s most outstanding examples of a singer failing to achieve any degree of empathy whatsoever with the mood and content of a lyric.” Noone was possibly thinking about dental hygiene and girls rather than Aleister Crowley and philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, whose ideas are referenced in the song. Bowie had also tried his hand at punting a teenage dress-designer into pop stardom with “Moonage Daydream” and then offered his services to Mott the Hoople.

Hoople were a superb band who hadn’t broken through to the level of success they deserved. Bowie was a fan and on hearing Mott were about to split, offered their lead singer, Ian Hunter, the song “Suffragette City” to record, if the band would stay together. Hunter felt it wouldn’t be a hit, and knew that after a few chart failures he had to have a winner. He therefore asked Bowie for “All the Young Dudes” which Hunter saw as a definite hit, it was and became an anthem for a generation of British youth. “All the Young Dudes” had originally been a part of Bowie’s plan for a concept album that told the story of an alien saving the Earth from destruction, which would become Ziggy Stardust.

“Suffragette City” was written in 1971 and recorded in January 1972. It gives a big nod towards The Small Faces “Wham Bam Thank You Ma’m”, and references (via the word “droogie”) Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, which was the hit film of that year.

Infamously, when Bowie performed “Suffragette City” at the Oxford Town Hall in June 1972, he was photographed by Mick Rock apparently simulating oral sex on Mick Ronson’s guitar. Bowie was actually playing the guitar with his teeth. However, Rock’s photo was so iconic that Bowie convinced his manager, Tony Defries, into buying a whole page of advertising space in the UK music weekly, Melody Maker.

The line-up for the recording of “Suffragette City” was David Bowie: Vocals, Guitar; Mick Ronson: Guitar, piano and ARP synthesizer (which doubles as the saxophone); Trevor Bolder: Bass; Mick Woodmansey: Drums.

 

David Bowie - Vocals

 
Mick Ronson - Guitar
 

 
David Bowie and Mick Ronson - Acoustic Guitar, Piano and FX
 

 
Trevor Bolder Bass
 

 
Bonus Clip Small Faces “Wham Bam Thank You Mam”
 

 
Bonus Clip David Bowie - “Suffragette City” 1972
 

Portrait of Jean-Paul Gaultier by Pierre et Gilles
 
As posted at Jezebel recently, I was happy to be reminded of this incredible, yet unjustly obscure, music video for the “House couture” single “How To Do That” by French fashion designer (and former Eurotrash TV host), Jean-Paul Gaultier. Stored in my garage, I actually have an obsolete format 3/4” videotape of this piece that someone gave me when it came out in 1988. It’s on the director’s reel of Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

The 12” record had a “laser etching” on the vinyl itself of scissors, needle and thread and Gaultier’s logo. The CD has multiple remixes of this song—which is awesome—over and over again (but this is the best mix by far). Featuring Naomi Campbell, Gaultier’s signature cone bras (that Madonna would later make famous) and a dusky gray/purple blazer with 17 buttons up the front and 12 on each sleeve whicht I sheepishly admit to owning at the time…

Hey, it was the 80s, what more do I really have to say?
 

 
Legs and Co. were a glitzy 70s British take on the much hipper sixties Shindig dancers. As corny as they were, what Legs lacked in style they made up in goofy enthusiasm.

Legs and Co. meet The Modern Lovers and it’s a marriage made in TV Hell.

Lacking either a live Jonathan or a suitable video clip, the BBC set this classic single to a dance routine from the ever-cheesy, Legs and Co.”

 
Elvis is everywhere…and so is Henry Rollins. Along with his insatiable need for attention, it seems Henry has a mutant gene.

National Geographic Channel’s Explorer: Born to Rage? investigates the discovery behind a single “warrior gene” directly associated with violent behavior.  With bullying and violent crime making headlines, this controversial finding stirs up the nature-versus-nurture debate.  Now, Henry Rollins goes in search of carriers from diverse, sometimes violent backgrounds who agree to be tested for the genetic mutation.  Who has the warrior gene?  And are all violent people carriers? The results turn assumptions upside down.”

‘Born To Rage’ airs on December 14. Here’s some of what you can look forward to.
 

 
More mutating after the jump…

 
I’m jumping aboard the ‘isolated tracks’ bandwagon (at the risk of hurling it off the edge of its already wobbly reality into the pit of oblivion) with this breakdown of The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop,” the debut single off their first album The Ramones released in1976.

In total, the album took seven days to record; the instruments taking three days and vocals taking four days. It also took $6,400 to record. Joey related: “Some albums were costing a half-million dollars to make and taking two or three years to record.” The band recorded using the same mic placement techniques as many orchestras used to record pieces.

The guitars are heard separately on the stereo channels — electric bass on the left, rhythm guitar on the right channel; drums and vocals are mixed in the stereo mix in the middle.”

My buddy Mickey Leigh, Joey’s brother, says The Ramones was recorded on 4 tracks. As much as I want to believe it, I have my doubts.There’s got be a couple of extra tracks in there for backup vocals and effects. But, maybe not. Producers Craig Leon and Tommy Ramone would know. Hey guys, help me out.

Tommy on his drumming style:

I just played what I wanted to hear, what I thought was necessary. I designed the drum parts specifically for the songs—they were constructed in a way that would fit the songs perfectly. They would wrap around the songs, or the songs would wrap around the drums. The whole thing has to work as a unit, sort of as a framework. We tried to coordinate everything so that everything would be one unit like that. The closest things to an influence would be people like Charlie Watts or Al Jackson. But, I didn’t really listen to drummers, I basically played what I thought was needed for the Ramones.”

Johnny described his down stroked, buzzsaw guitar style as “pure, white rock ‘n’ roll, with no blues influence.” 

Joey’s vocals sound like Ronnie Spector with a dick and a Brit inflected Queen’s (N.Y.) accent. (Ok, he didn’t have Ronnie’s range, but he had the ‘eh hos’ down).

Dee Dee plays loud and could count to 4. But, he couldn’t sing and play at the same time. Which is fucking ok. His bass playing was steady, propulsive and inexhaustible. His 1,2,3,4 mantra was utterance enuff, lodged in the collective consciousness of punk with the absoluteness of the 11th commandment of rock and roll.

How do you deconstruct the deconstructed?

2 minutes of stripped down, locked in, tight rock and roll. Everything in its place, doing exactly what it has to do. Intensely focused. Like Zen.

The sound that launched a revolution and a primer in punk rock for you kids out there.
 

 
Johnny, Dee Dee and Tommy after the jump…

 
‘Written On The Forehead’  from PJ Harvey’s upcoming album Let England Shake (February 15, Vagrant Records).

I was cool to this at first, but I’ve grown to really dig it. Fragile, trippy, lovely. The sample of Niney The Observer’s ‘Blood And Fire’ is so unexpected and strange and yet so…perfect.

Recorded in a 19th Century church in Dorset with long time collaborator Flood who co-produced the album with PJ Harvey, John Parish and Mick Harvey. Let England Shake was also mixed by Flood”.

Fan made video:
 

 
“Blood And Fire” by Niney The Observer after the jump…

 
I’ll be so sad to see Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) go, but I suspect we haven’t seen the last of him. Grayson is one of the few Democrats to show any kind of a spine against the GOP. He’s practically the only Democrat to say the worlds “class war” because he’s not a pussy and he doesn’t mince words. This clip, of Grayson comically flaying the millionaires on Fox News shilling for the continuation of the Bush tax cuts, is Grayson at his straight-talking best. After all, if something saved you six or even seven figures in taxes, you’d probably be for it, too…

They want tax cuts for the rich because they want a tax cut for themselves. What do I mean by that? Let’s take a look at the people who are really in charge, the ones who actually run the Republican party.

Let’s start with this gentleman here, the man with the cigar, Rush Limbaugh. Doesn’t he look happy? According according to Newsweek, he makes $58.7 million a year, and extending the tax cuts means he’ll have another $2.7 million. Mega dittos, Rush, and mega money. Let’s look at the next one.

Here’s Glenn Beck, according to Newsweek Glenn Beck makes $33 million a year as a pundit and extending the Bush Tax Cuts means a cool $1.5 million for Glenn bBeck’s ongoing imitation of Howard Beale from Network. Now let’s look at the next one.

Sean Hannity. Newsweek says that Sean Hannity, this man of the people makes $22 million a year from his act on Fox. And that means the Bush Tax cuts mean an extra $1 million. $1 million for Sean Hannity. Maybe he can afford some anger management classes. Let’s take a look at the next one.

Bill O’Reilly. He makes a modest $20 million a year from his gig on Fox. That means that the Bush tax cuts give him not quite seven figures, nearly $914,000 of extra cash. It’s easy to see why Bill O’Reilly wants to see the Bush tax cuts extended. And I have to say, he’s no pinhead when it comes to that.

And Now, Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin has made $14 million this year from cashing in on her fame. In fact, she’s done a better job of turning fame into cash than anyone in American history. $14 million. So she wants the Bush tax cuts extended so she can make an extra cool $638,000. As she was—as she would gesture (shoulder shrug.)

 
“I am not interested in making political films but in making films politically”-Jean-Luc Godard

“All you need to make a film is a girl and a gun”—Jean-Luc Godard

“I believe a film should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.”

Happy birthday, Jean-Luc Godard! The great French “New Wave” director turned 80-year-old today. Godard, one of the most important film directors and theoreticians of French post-war cinema was recently given a special honorary Oscar award, but this was not without controversy in certain quarters. The idea that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thought he’d show up to accept it—I don’t even think he acknowledged it—is ridiculous in the extreme.

Below, his wild, seldom-seen anti-capitalist screed, British Sounds a.k.a. See You at Mao (US title) a short film made for, but never broadcast by, London Weekend Television, in 1969. When Godard toured American college campuses in the 1970s, this was often the film he screened at his lectures. I recommend that you forward to the next scene if you start getting bored. It’s a neat film, but even 40 years ago, this would have difficult to watch straight through. Parts of it are more interesting than others (something that can be said of many Godard films, of course!)
 

 
More Godard after the jump, including the classic grocery store rampage scene from Tout Va Bien with Jane Fonda.