Back to Ramsay Street...



I just found this little skit of Kylie and Jo Wiley re-enacting a scene from Neighbours between Charlene and Mrs. Mangle. The funny part is that Kylie can still dig up that deep Aussie accent she had back in Neighbours. I just love the feistiness of Charlene.

Here is also a funny clip of Kylie rollerskating as Charlene. The way she slams into that wall is hilarious, she just rolls right by, hehe





Strange Day...

What a strange day this seems to be, the weather is gloomy and dark and it feels like autumn is already here. I am listening to Celine Dion's Falling Into You (which is a winter kind of album) and feeling it is very appropriate even though winter is far from here.

Maybe it is also the fact that today, the 28th of July,  a very good friend of mine died in a motorcycle accident 4 years ago. This day always has a bittersweet memory to it and combined with the gloomy weather today, I am feeling a bit in the mood for big time power ballads from Ms. Dion and her fantastic deliverence of such songs as It's All Coming Back to Me and All By My Self.

My dear friend, where ever you are, I hope you are happy and still drinking your coffee with more sugar then coffee in it, hehe



Wepa

Hey cuties.



Ah, summer must be in full swing since queen of summer salsa Gloria Estefan is about to release a brand new single called Wepa. It is supposed to be relesed on iTunes globally next sunday (I sure hope there will be a physical release as well, otherwise my Gloria obsessed boyfriend over at Barbarella's Galaxy will not be happy, hehe)



Beautiful pic of Gloria, simple yet elegant. Can't wait to hear the song and the forthcoming album Miss Little Havana since it is supposed to be similar to the disco fantastic Gloria! album.

Here is a little message from Gloria herself about the song and it's impending release. There is even a small snippet played of one of the remixes of the song and it is very salsa, disco and summer all rolled into one. I for one can't wait to hear it. There is also a video she made especially for Miami Heat, and of course the song itself.

Kisses





Horrible beyond words

I just read about this over at perezhilton.com and I have to say this is completely appalling. To imagine that in 2011 we are still getting news reports about these kinds of actions. This is truly horrible and saddening.

Words cannot properly describe how awful and disturbing this!
According to a new report, the Western Regional Minister of Ghana Paul Evans Aidoo MP has ordered the arrest of all gays in the country.
Here's what he said about his sickening decision:

"All efforts are being made to get rid of these people in the society."

Aidoo has put Ghana's Bureau of National Investigations and other security forces to the task, and he's even called on all landlords and tenants to "inform on people they suspect of being homosexuals."
This is absolutely horrendous! There truly aren't strong enough words to express how horrified we are by this.
Our thoughts and prayers are with all the gays in Ghana right now, as well as their families, friends, and loved ones.

Praise



Hey everyone :)

Even though I do not like Rihanna and her music I have to give her praise for what she said about Madonna in a recent interview. Just stumbled across this little info and found it interesting and wanted to share it with you all:



"I think that Madonna was a great inspiration for me, especially on my earlier work.

If I had to examine her evolution through time, I think she reinvented her clothing style and music with success every single time.

And at the same time remained a real force in entertainment in the whole world."

This is indeed so true and in a much better manner than what Lady Gaga is doing (let's not mention everything she has "borrowed" from Madonna.



Blast from the Past

Me listening to Music

Since music has always been such an important part of my life, I have decided to post every once in a while a blog about songs that I for one reason or another still love and adore to this day. These will be songs that I have loved and adored since I was a kid and have certain memories attached to them. Some of them I even found strange yet entertaining, and some even changed my life. I am a firm believer that music and even certain songs can change your life and have a profound impact on you at a certain time in you life. With that in mind I think it is very appropriate to begin with a song that did indeed change my life since it is the song that made me a life long Kylie Minogue fan, Confide in Me.



Prior to hearing Confide in Me back in 1994 (when I was 16 years old) I had heard all of Kylie's Greatest Hits since a penpal from Germany had sent me a cassette tape (yes cassette, people) of the album Greatest Hits and I absolutely loved her music but did not become the mega fan I am today, right away.

I had seen her some years before in Neighbours and found her very interesting as the feisty mechanic Charlene and I really like the storyline between her and Scott (like everyone at the time).



Since Kylie had not been popular here in Iceland for her music I wasn't that familiar with her as a singer until my penpal introduced me to her music. After having been listening to her music for some time now I got very excited when I found out that she was about to release a new album, on a new record label back in 1994. Since I had gotten to know Ms. Minogue's music back in 1992 I was getting anxious to hear some new material from her. Prior to the release I tried to get my hands on everything relating to some news of her return so I bought and read various pop magazines like Smash Hits, TV Hits, Big and many others. By now I had taken a great interest in her and her music so the release of her new album was a big deal.

Finally the time came that both Confide in Me (29.08.94) and Kylie Minogue (19.09.94)were released and I remember calling a record store here in Reykjavík every day until they finally had it in stock (bear in mind that I lived in a small town 45 km outside of Reykjavík so I would have to take a bus to Reykjavík to go buy the album). Even though I had not heard anything of the album I was very excited about hearing it. Then I took the bus to Reykjavík (the lengths you go to for one of your idols at that age) and went to the record store to buy the album. I remember when I came they were unpacking the cd, along with other titles, out of the boxes they came in. I took one copy and went to the register, thinking how I couldn't wait to get home and listen to it.



 

Then I went back home (the sole purpose of this trip was to buy this cd) and I put the cd in the cd player and the beautiful haunting sounds of Confide in Me began to play. The strings and the piano, combined with Kylie's angelic voice at the beginning gave me chills and goosebumps. I just sat there speechlees and in awe of this beautiful song playing on the stereo. Bear in mind these were only the first few seconds, and then the violins kicked in at full blast along with the beat and I just sat there, lost for words. At last when her vocals came in I was hooked and I just kept thinking how this was the greatest song I had ever heard in my life (I was only 16). I just sat there mesmerized by this haunting song, sung by this siren with an angelic voice (I know dramatic) and I knew my life would never be the same. By hearing this song for the first time changed my life forever, since from that moment I became a MEGA HUGE Kylie fan and I still am today.

I kept listening to it over and over again, not getting enough of the dramatic gesture of the song. The song is not only brilliantly produced and written by the fab Brothers in Rhythm, but also Kylie's vocal performance is one of her best she has delivered in her career. This was excactly the song she needed to come back to the pop scene after being away for 2 years, at the time. It was bold, daring and different to anything she had done prior. To this day this is my all time favorite Kylie song and I don't think that will ever change. I know this all sounds very dramatic but like I said earlier, some songs can have a profound effect on you and even change your life, and Confide in Me and Kylie certainly did that.

With that in mind I leave you with the video for the song (which is fab) and some performances by Kylie of the song throughout the years. As a bonus I also put a performance of the song made by Hurts since I feel they capture the essence of the song brilliantly.

Enjoy, kisses, teddixxx





Gloomy Monday

Hello sweet kitties



On gloomy mondays it is good to spice up the day with a little camp factor, decadence and plain weirdness. Why not take look at trailers, enjoy some music and pictures of the magnificent Divine in action, just because it is a gloomy monday and hope that the day will brighten up in the process.

Enjoy

Divine (October 19, 1945 – March 7, 1988), born Harris Glenn Milstead, was an American actor, singer and drag queen. Described by People magazine as the "Drag Queen of the Century," Divine often performed female roles in both cinema and theater and also appeared in women's wear in musical performances. Even so, he considered himself to be a character actor and performed male roles in a number of his later films. He was often associated with independent filmmaker John Waters and starred in ten of Waters's films, usually in a leading role. Concurrent with his acting career, he also had a successful career as a disco singer during the 1980s, at one point being described as "the most successful and in-demand disco performer in the world."

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, into a conservative family, he became involved with John Waters and his acting troupe, the Dreamlanders, in the mid-1960s and starred in a number of Waters's early films such as Mondo Trasho, Multiple Maniacs, Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble. These films have since become cult classics. In the 1970s, Milstead made the transition to theater and appeared in a number of productions, including Women Behind Bars and The Neon Woman, while continuing to star in such films as Polyester, Lust in the Dust and Hairspray.





Greatest Hits 2011 - Update



I had to put this up here for you to enjoy. It seems that to coincide with Kylie's arrival in South Africa with the Aphrodite Live Tour, a new Greatest Hits compilation was released with her PWL hits. It appears to be remastered and a must have for me!!!
It appears to have the correct single edits and a bonus remix to boot. Must go out and buy it now. UPDATE: My fab boyfriend had just bought it for me on e-bay. Me a happy Kylie camper!!!



All the Lovers

Hey all :)

I just found a this, a short praise with All the Lover's video director Joseph Kahn. Here he talks about how it was working with Kylie (which was a dream) and how someone at Kylie's record company wanted him to re-edit his final version of the video. Needless to say Ms. Minogue stepped in and set that record company person right and the video remained intact. Thank God it wasn't  changed because I felt that the video was very well done and spot on, and Joseph Kahn did an excellent job on it. I feel it is the best video from the whole Aphrodite era and very much in tune with the song itself. Love it, love it, love it :)



Joseph Kahn Dishes About Working with Kylie Minogue on the Set of “All The Lovers”

Acclaimed director of all things amazing Joseph Kahn (“Toxic”, “Womanizer”, “All The Lovers”) just uploaded the HQ cut of Kylie Minogue‘s flawless video for “All The Lovers” to Vimeo this evening.

In the video’s description, he shared more than a few kind words about working with the disco diva, as well as some behind-the-scenes scoop that you probably didn’t already know before:



Kylie was the dream artist to work with. First as a specimen of female, she is a joy to photograph. The camera can do no wrong. Her eyes always twinkle. But on top of that, she is extraordinarily collaborative and supportive. She really loves and understand directors, and once she understands the vision, she completely nurtures you to go for it. The craziest thing was she never watched herself on playback! That’s brilliant. Instead of cosmetics, she’s performing from a pure emotional core. Very few artists trust that instinct or have that ability.
When I turned in the edit, someone at the label wanted to recut the whole video. He just didn’t understand it, nor was he willing to listen to me or anyone else. The re-edit was going to be a disaster. But Kylie stepped in and shut that weirdo down COMPLETELY.
This is one of my favorite videos I did last year, and one of my favorites ever really. The message Kylie wanted to say with this video is important, and I am lucky to have worked with her on it.

Aww! So sweet, right? Such kind words for the incredible Mizz Minogue!



Songs

Here is a selection of songs I am liking or loving at the moment, enjoy

Wanted - Glad You Came

Loving the slight reggaeton vibe in this song



Lili & Susie - Bailamor

Love the utter shameless camp vibe

Sade - Love is Found

I absolutely adore this, Sade never fails to deliver

Mylene Farmer - Lonely Lisa

I am completely hooked on the latest release from divine Ms. Farmer, she never fails to deliver

Vato Gonzalez ft. Foreign Beggars - Badman Riddim (Jump)

Normally I am not that fond of this kind of music but I really like the beat in this one, it is so early 90's dance beat

Jason Deluro - Don't Wanna Go Home

I like this mainly because it is fun shamless pop, makes the day brighter

Coldplay - Every Teartrop is a Waterfall

I always seem to take a liking to Coldplay's singles, been that way for years now

The Young Professionals - D.I.S.C.O

Love it, love it, love it

Clare Maguire - Love her

I have been listening these past few months to a new singer called Clare Maguire and I absolutely love her. Not only has she got a magnificent voice which is both soulful and tender, but she is a great songwriter as well. She kind of reminds me of Kate Bush and Tori Amos, both of whom I adore and love. Her newly released album Light After Dark contains the excellent singles, Ain't Nobody, Last Dance and the magnificent Shield and Sword which has been on heavy rotation at my house the past few weeks



Just wanted to shed some light on this fine lady which I hope will continue to release more music in the future. Here are the fab videos from the released 3 singles, which by the way are fantastic, especially Last Dance, she is so diva like in that one, and I do love my divas, hehe

Enjoy



When We Were Young



Here is the latest offering taken of Take That's fab reissued Progress/Progressed album. The single is called When We Were Young and is supposed to be the final single of the album. I have to admit that I love Progress and can't wait to get my hands on this reissue (haven't gotten around to it yet). I rediscovered my love for Take That last christmas when my darling boyfriend gave me their albums for christmas, been hooked on them ever since.

Enjoy



God Bless Her

Here is clip of the brilliant, late Bea Arthur, reading passages from a Pamela Anderson book at a Comedy Central Roast back in 2005 in honour of Pamela Anderson. The ways Bea does it is in typical Bea Arthur manner, with such irony and sarcasm. It is really funny watching her read these passages, you have to check it out.
Enjoy

Hilarious

This is a brilliant commercial I stumbled across, you have to check it out, it is so funny. Enjoy

Dallas Returns

It seems that Dallas is going to return to the small screen next summer (2012). By the looks of this short trailer it seems to be ever as tacky and fantastic as it was before. It will be interesting to see how this goes, especially since J.R., Bobby and Sue Ellen are all there, with the focus on their sons John Ross and Christopher. Who doesn't remember all the drama and decadence this family went through in its prime. Loved it, loved it, loved it.



Enjoy this small taster of the new Dallas

Too Much

I am sorry but some people just go to far when it comes to being a fan. The following news and pic just proves it but then again both Lady Gaga and her fans seem to be a bit out there anyways. This is not a pretty picture...

FANS GO GAGA

Lady Gaga's little Australian monsters have gone all out to impress the judges in order to win their way into the global star's intimate Australian show at the Sydney Town Hall next Wednesday.
Entries flooded in from across the country through a number of different outlets, these two from Austereo's competition. Some attempting to replicate the singer's infamous meat dress from last year's MTV Video Music Awards (pictured, left), some digitally altering pictures of themselves to copy the singer's facial implants and some even going so far as to having script tattooed on their wrists.
Some simply reclined stylishly in amongst their Lady Gaga collections (below) in the hope of convincing organisers that they were worthy of tickets to the show.
Lady Gaga hits Sydney's 'Monster Hall' next Wednesday night. She'll also be featured on Monday night's A Current Affair on the Nine Network.

JLS

It seems that boyband JLS are about to release a new single called She Makes Me Wanna later this month in the UK. I have really liked some of their previous songs, such as Beat Again, Eyes Wide Shut and The Club is Alive so it will be interesting to see how they will fare with this one.
Here is some info from the fab blog site AuspOp, enjoy

The boys from British boy band JLS have come a heck of a long way since being runner-up to Alexandra Burke in the 2008 edition of Britain's 'The X Factor'.
With two albums under their belt, four UK No.1 singles (and two further top ten hits), they've been able to hang onto their fan base that saw them go so far throughout the competition.
'She Makes Me Wanna' is the first single from the boys' forthcoming third album - and looking at the video clip, it's fair to assume they're not in London anymore. In fact, the clip was filmed over the pond in Miami, so expect saucy boys and girls wearing very little, fun in the sun and plenty of tight dance moves.
The song is not dissimilar to everything else that seems to be in the charts right now, even employing the guest vocal services of California-based rapper Dev for an extra splash of street cred.

 

 

The Golden Girls

Well, well, well, I guess it is summer since I have started to watch "The Golden Girls" yet again. It seems for the past few years I always watch again one of my all time fave TV sitcom, "The Golden Girls" during the summer. It hink it is the third summer in a row I begin to watch it again from season 1-7. It does not seem to matter how many times I watch this 80's sitcom I always seem to laugh and enjoy it as much as ever.  The sluttiness of Blanche, the naive innocense of Rose, the satiric and ironic humour or Dorothy or the feistiness of Sophia always get me to laugh time and time again.

Storyline

The Golden Girls is based on the lives and interactions of four older women whom have all been divorced/widowed, and are now roommates. Dorothy's main goal during the series is to find a companion she can relate to while her mother Sophia adds her comical outlook and frequents "Picture This" stories. Rose's St. Olaf-ness makes her a little corny but lovable. One thing that changes nearly every episode is whom Blanche is courting.

I remember watching this show back in the 80's when I was a little boy. A little kid watching a show about 4 older women and finding it hilarious, camp and fantastic must have given away my gayness right away, hehe. When my lovable and fantastic boyfriend gave me the DVD releases as christmas presents a few years back I was so happy because I had not seen it in years but did remember how much I had loved and enjoyed this show when I was a kid. Back then I used to love Sophia the most and the complete sluttiness of Blanche, but today I think I love Rose the most. Her sometimes naive and simple view of the world can be hilarious. The fantastic Betty White plays her brilliantly and with such humour, not to mention the famous St. Olaf stories. However we cannot ignore the comedic brilliance of Bea Arthur (Dorothy) who with her furious deep voice and satiric one liners keeps us laughing very hard. Also Rue MacClanahan (Blanche) and Estelle Getty (Sophia) and each episode of all the 7 seasons has many, many funny moments from these ladies. Sadly only Betty White is still alive today, but we can remember them fondly by watching the fab Golden Girls and laugh again and again

Dorothy



Blanche

Sophia

Rose

Here is a very funny moment of the girls out shopping for a trip they are going on, when they decide to buy condoms to keep them sexually safe, hehe



And of course there are many, many great moments we have had when it comes to Blanche and her "urges" and "devasting beauty", hehe

All those funny moments of Rose and her wacky St. Olaf stories amongst other things

Some of Dorothy's best moments

And who can forget the feisty little Italian lady, Sophia

 I hope you enjoyed this little Golden Girls moment.
Kisses, teddixxx

Coming out of the woodworks

Hey kitties.
How time seems to fly away at an enormous pace these days. I have just gotten this blog on its feet and it has already been a week since my last post, hehe.



Anyways, speaking of time flying by, it does not seem to be almost 17 years when back in 1994 I was a young teenager listening to and obsessing over an English band called East 17, which by the way I have just found out, thanks to the fab Barbarella's Galaxy, are releasing their first new material this month in over 12 years. Can hardly believe it has been this long. I was a major fan back then and I always prefered them over Take That. Their new song is called Secret of My Life, a nice little uptempo summer song. I quite like it and it is very East 17 with a new twist. It will be interesting to hear some more new stuff from them, since like I said, I was a major fan of theirs way back when, hehe. Maybe I should did out my old albums and put them on for some nostalgia factor.

It is however not the original line up since previous frontman Brian Harvey has been replaced by a new singer called Blair Dreelan. The funny thing is that he sounds very similar to Brian Harvey, hehe

Enjoy, kisses

Here are a few of their songs that I absolutely loved back then and still do:

 

Here is a list of their albums and a litte bio.

EAST 17 – a biography

When East 17 stumbled into the Walthamstow limelight in late 1991 they had little idea that their rabble-rousing brand of boy-band pop would create such a storm. Indeed, at the outset, a young Tony Mortimer had been on the verge of signing a solo deal with London Records until ex-Pet Shop Boys manager Tom Watkins suggested that what the world needed was a boy-band antidote to Take That and a band that bad girls could fall in love with. Of course, what Mortimer says now is that he really thought the world needed a UK version of New Kids On The Block and when you think about it this is not a million miles from the inevitable truth. The resultant chaos produced a 1992 debut single, House Of Love, which sold 600,000 copies and a debut album that hit the No.1 spot the following year. The band went on to achieve 18 Top Twenty hits (including Deep, Steam, Let It Rain, It’s Alright and Christmas No.1 Stay Another Day, the latter remaining No.1 for five weeks) as well as four Top Ten albums and sales of over twenty million records. And when East 17 finally split in 1997 it was heralded (and still remains) one of the greatest break-ups in pop history.



EAST 17 are Tony Mortimer, John Hendy, Terry Coldwell and Blair Dreelan but it hasn’t always been this way. Back in 1991 Mortimer’s school-friend Hendy had been hired to provide backing vocals whilst Coldwell and Brian Harvey (who were three years younger) were originally commandeered as dancers. Tellingly, however, Mortimer heard Harvey singing along in a recording session, noted that his own songwriting skills and rap sensibilities absolutely suited Harvey’s fluid R & B vocal overtones and the latter was elevated to lead singer. The ploy worked and soon East 17 were ubiquitous not just in the UK but throughout the world; It’s Alright made them the biggest band in Mongolia, stayed at No.1 in the Australian charts for seven weeks and when the band visited the country the airport was so mobbed with fans they had to sneak out through the back doors; in 1994 the band’s second album Steam reached No.1 and spawned the epic ballad Stay Another Day which earned Mortimer an Ivor Novello Award; in 1995 the band played to 100,000 in Moscow’s Red Square then watched boggle eyed as the usually stony faced security services danced and sang along with the crowd (some of whom, the band found out later) had sold their shoes in order to be able to attend the show; and in 1996 even a duet with Gabrielle called If You Ever reached No.2.



In 1997 with little serendipity East 17’s world came crashing down around them. Harvey did a radio interview in which he suggested drugs were cool and “ecstasy can make you a better person” and whatever one thinks of his comments now it’s plain to see that they were ill-timed: the country’s media had barely recovered from the ecstasy-related death of Leah Betts and the subsequent tabloid furore was part-fuelled by the singer’s apparent moral abandonment; Harvey was sacked, then Mortimer left and the band imploded. A year later Harvey rejoined but it was never going to work without Mortimer and a No.2 single entitled Time on Telstar was an isolated incident. It was time to call time.

Fast forward to 2011 and if a new single called Secret Of My Life is anything to go by then new lead singer Blair Dreelan is a revelation. Recruited like Harvey after Mortimer heard him singing backing vocals, Dreelan is no stranger to the pop firmament having enrolled at performing arts school East Berks Langley where he studied acting and singing. Some years later he reached the latter stages of the finals of X Factor, signed a publishing deal with Buck Music and penned the chart-topping Shout For England for Dizzee Rascal.
Interestingly, Dreelan remembers one day arriving back from school and a friend announcing that he just had to see this amazing band on Top Of The Pops. “It was East 17 performing It’s Alright,” he recalls now, “and he was jumping all round the room. After a minute or so I joined in.”  Dreelan has retained this schoolboy energy somewhat, a fact that is borne out when you meet him. And if you take a second to consider the man’s dulcet tones then you come to realize that East 17 have stumbled upon a rare, latent talent.



In June this year East 17 signed to FOD Records and in July the band will be releasing Secret Of My Life, the first fruit of recording sessions that will see an album release in September. The song is as catchy as hell and the strongest record the band have released since Stay Another Day – although one listen to the new album will convince you that there’s plenty more where that came from. It’s great to have them back.

All content © 2011 by FOD Records and East 17