Thursday, October 31, 2013

Subway Poem # 30


the boy was i'd say
of high school age
sitting composed
hands politely folded
on his lap

he was alone amid strangers
and he wore a pink wig
styled in movie star fashion

there are dreams inside i guess
that his face does not express
but i understand his pink wig
and after all
it's halloween

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Grace Jones: The Final Halloween Countdown

We now come to the end of our Halloween Countdown for 2013. Here is a rare tune for the dancefloor from the always-scary Grace Jones. It's from her movie, Vamp. Have a perfectly mischievous Mischief Night tonight and a Happy Halloween tomorrow!


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Married by One of The Supremes

Oh, happy Day O'Connor! When I get married, I want it to be by a Supreme, too! Talk about your Hurricane Sandy, ironically on the first anniversary of that catastrophe, retired justice Sandra Day O'Connor is distinctly a force to be reckoned with and she's certainly stirred things up.

O'Connor, a Reagan appointee to the US Supreme Court, today "officiated at the wedding of a gay couple at the Supreme Court, at least the second such ceremony at the court since its June decision that expanded federal recognition of same-sex marriage," according to the Associated Press.

She presided over the private ceremony in the Supreme Court's lawyers' lounge for lucky couple Jeffrey Trammell and Stuart Serkin of Washington. They have raised the bar (and by that, I don't mean the process of qualifying to practice law). I insist on a wedding at the Supreme Court when I finally snag some poor schmuck! I'm worth it!!

This is not totally unprecedented as practicing justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated at a weekend ceremony for two New Yorkers who got hitched. Ginsburg has actually officiated at a total (so far) of three same-sex weddings! I simply won't settle for less. Than a Supreme Court chapel of love, I mean; not three same-sex weddings! Unless they're one right after the other; that could be cool and kind of kinky!

So, hey, Sonia Santomayor, I hope you're reading this, girl!


Dueling Divas Cyndi Lauper & Tina Turner on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

The disco's on fire for Halloween in this mash-up of the Tina & Cyndi cover versions of the Trammps classic, "Disco Inferno." Folks are screaming, out of control! It's a disco apocalypse and Happy Halloween, everyone. I may have to self-destruct now!


Monday, October 28, 2013

Sonique Casts a Halloween Spell on You

Sonique is a hi-tek succubus in this 2000 music video for "I Put a Spell on You," a dance treatment of the old Screamin' Jay Hawkins number. Enjoy! Only 3 more days till Halloween as my 2013 Countdown Continues!


Sunday, October 27, 2013

LoDo Interviews Emcee Justina

Seriously fierce interview via Soundcloud by Lodo:

http://www.ashytojazzy.com/thespotlight/2013/10/25/lodo-interviews-nj-emcee-justina

Memories of Lou Reed

After college and a brief stint substitute teaching, I fled NJ to move to The City. There, I got a job at the now-legendary The Bottom Line. I began as a host, seating people. I was then, after a brief time, promoted to box office. There, I greeted many celebs. Almost all were on my comp list. Bette Midler even wrote me a note on a cocktail napkin after we traded some mutually amusing words. (God, I wish I remembered what they were, but trust me, we briefly made each other giggle!) Her autograph read: "Your b.o. is my b.o." We hung it on the box office bulletin board.

One night, Manhattan Transfer was performing and the club was packed with glitterati. Club owners Stan Snadowsky (who passed away last March at age 70) and Alan Pepper explicitly told me, for reasons still unknown to me, "If Lou Reed shows up, he is not to be comped in!" This made it very awkward for me when the legend showed up. I relayed the news. Mr Reed, who was (to put it kindly) tripping over his own feet, gave me a dour expression and began doling out coins through the b.o. window's slot.
Stanley Snadowski, tough boss who was fond of me

"Is that ok?" he asked.

"Not nearly," I had to tell him. He spun around and stumbled off into the night, leaving me with the chump change, which I put in the Bottom Line cash drawer. I felt sad as it was only a couple of years prior that I saw Lou Reed perform at The Beacon in Boston when he was touring for his Transformer album. He was magnificent on-stage!

As my friend, going to Boston University at the time, was an usher there, I had to wait for her to finish up her business with the theater. (She had comped me in.) Milling about in the lobby, I saw Mr Reed leaving. In sunglasses at night, he approached me, not much taller than I, to shake my hand with a very firm grip. His first words, with a grin, were: "Are you here alone?" I told him I was waiting on a friend, quite starstruck. "Too bad," he said and walked off with his entourage.

After a heroin-related liver transplant earlier this year, Mr Reed died of liver failure, apparently, according to Rolling Stone. That magazine encapsulized: Reed is best known for his work as guitarist, singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground, and his solo career. Reed had a profound impact on American culture, introducing avant garde rock and pop art to mainstream music.

Reed was born in Brooklyn, raised in Long Island, considered himself bisexual but married performance artist/singer Laurie Anderson in 2008.

As The Who said today: "R.I.P. Lou Reed. Walk on the peaceful side."

Amen. "And the colored girls go ...."






My Q&A with Debby Holiday Goes QOCR!

I am so proud to share the Q&A I had with the divine Debby Holiday with Queens Our City Radio. Once more around the world! Thank you, Debby; thank you, Barbara Sobel @ Queens Our City Radio! http://queens.ourcityradio.com/ Support our indy artists! They rock!

http://queens.ourcityradio.com/uncategorized/qa-dance-diva-debby-holiday

Liza Loses It on My Halloween Countdown

Is there anything scarier than Liza with a Z losing her mind, not going left and not going right on the middle of the (dance)floor? Special Halloween remix from stevers62 on YouTube as My 2013 Halloween Countdown Continues with only 4 days to go.


Saturday, October 26, 2013

2013 Halloween Continues with the Spirit of Karen Carpenter

A '90s dance mix (radio edit) of The Carpenters' "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft." This is sung by UK Karen Carpenter parodist Jackie Clune (as in the way Karen would pronounce "clone") and produced by the great Ian Anthony Stephens. Get ready from the alien invasion on my 2013 Haloween Countdown!


Matt Pop Remixes Ghostbusters on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

An invisible man sleeping in my bed? I ain't afraid of no ghosts. Are you? Boo! 2013 Halloween Countdown Continues with this Matt Pop remix. So good, it's scary.


Thursday, October 24, 2013

Nick Lion's Love Godess -- the Remixes

The remix e.p. for Nick Lion's "Love Goddess," sung by Sir Ari Gold http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/08/exclusive-buddy-beaverhausen-q-with-ari.html,
is handsomely packaged from its cover art to its incredible liner notes that are beyond informative; they are both passionate and touching. This project is obviously a labor of love and it feels that way when you're listening.

From Steve Sola (The Gentlemen Prefer Blondes original radio mix) comes a very smooth and classy handling of this song. You can concentrate on the sensitive yet catchy lyrics (song written by Mr Lion and Paul Errico) that I found touching. They also made me grin. The chorus provides a distinguishable hook for this song. Sola's Diamond's Are a Girl's Best Friend mega club mix, however, is an upbeat potential floor-filler.

Paul Errico's The Blonde Bombshell pop dance mix is another appealing radio-friendly remix. However, I was particularly fond of Minoo's Iconic Skirt Blowing Up mix (in radio and dance floor edits). Very hiNRG. It made me get off my ass and werq my body in my apartment tonight. (No mean feat!)

Jared Jones also provides an excellent make-you-wanna-move remix, as well, with his Some Like It Hotter radio and dance club mixes that have subtle Latin touches. Unfortunately, Steve Hernandez' Something's Gotta Give "Naked Club Mix" is a trancey, spacy re-work that's more of a dub mix jettisoning the integrity of the original song as well as those apparently "bothersome" lyrics. It's the only remix that falls flat on this e.p.

Ari Gold's voice is perfectly suitable for this material, by the way; a match made in disco heaven.

The "Love Goddess" remix cd is available @ http://www.amazon.com/Love-Goddess-Remixes-Sir-Gold/dp/B00F3LHEFK/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1382661011&sr=1-2&keywords=sir+ari+gold

And please check out my exclusive Q&A with Nick Lion: http://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/09/q-with-love-goddess-and-icons-nick-lion.html

I'm Not Scared of Halloween 2013

Halloween Is Coming and I'm Not Scared. That's the name of the song written by Pet Shop Boys and recorded by Eighth Wonder featuring Patsy Kensit, on my 2013 Halloween Countdown.


Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Bette Davis Writes a Letter to Daddy on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

Perfect for your Halloween party, a remix of "I've Written a Letter to Daddy," the song from the film, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. Remix werq by the fabulous Joel Dickinson ("Thee Werq'n B!tches Jesus Camp Mix"). http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/02/dj-buddy-beaverhausens-q-with-dj-joel.html I've been loving this one a long time. Enjoy!


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Crazy in the Night with Kim Carnes & Vincent Price on My Halloween Countdown

Vincent Price Meets Kim Carnes in this great and Halloween-appropriate Matt Pop remix of "Crazy in The Night," returning to my Halloween Countdown 2013!


Monday, October 21, 2013

Whisper to a Scream: Halloween Countdown 2013

From the Scream movie soundtrack, the song "Whisper to a Scream" by SoHo on today's Halloween Countdown! Only 10 Days till Halloween (Countdown will end on October 30).

 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

My Octoberry Turntables

Halloween is coming but the latest promos I've received aren't scary at all! In fact, they were quite encouraging for the most part.

The Paperchaser club mixes of Martha Wash's "It's My Time" aren't as successful as I'd hoped for. The club mix is generally too short for club sets, clocking in at 4:45. Though it retains the integrity of the power ballad from the ex-Weather Girl's wonderful, "Something Good" album, it's a bit clumsy in parts, especially in its segue to and from the song's bridge. The Paperchaser Money Mix is just dross with a cacophonous industrial sound that had me searching for the Advil.

Come on, remixers, this is the great Martha Wash, one of the prima divas of dance! Tony Moran, Ralphi Rosario, where are you?

When Madonna kissed Britney Spears at the Grammy Awards, it was the kiss of death as Britney has, in no way, lived up to being the next Madge in terms of career consistency. Now and then, however, Brit surprises us with a new club hit and she is currently back with the hip-hop inspired "Work Bitch!" She's not twerkin'; she's not even werq'n; she's good, old-fashioned working this hot little number. Already hugely popular; expect it to chart in a major way.

With a certain Madonna-esque affectation, Britney has a curious way of sounding British at certain essential moments of enunciation in this partly rapped, partly sung melange. But, let me just admit, this is my current guilty pleasure. I LOVE this song! Official remixes to come though there's a bum crop of bootleg mixes available now.

Judy Cheeks ("Reach") returns to dancefloors with "Without Love We're Lost," sporting a great remix from Paul Goodyesr. (Music link below.) Incredible diva vocals and pure, melodic dance-music bliss.
So cheeky! And Australian diva, Tina Area, is back, too, with the always-fabulous remixers, 7th Heaven, bringing "You Set Fire to My Life" to energetic life for dancefloors. The Cosmic Dawn remix is also aces on this one. Two great new dance songs that will move your heart, spirit and feet. 

Peace, love and disco forever! Enjoy and spread the love!






Lene Lovich on My 2013 Halloween Countdown: Gothica

From her 2005 album, Shadows and Dust, Lene Lovich's "Gothica," perfect for your Halloween party!


Saturday, October 19, 2013

Puppini Sisters Get Spooky on My 20013 Halloween Countdown

Here's the official video for the Puppini Sisters' swing version of "Spooky." Love them girls. And Happy Halloween, y'all!


Happy Birthday, Holly Woodlawn!

The 67-year-old Warhol superstar, Ms Holly Woodlawn, shares a birthday with John Waters superstar Divine. Today, we wish Holly a Happy!

Born Haroldo Santiago Franceschi Rodriguez Danhakl in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico, she took her stage name as a mash-up of Holly Golightly and Woodlawn Cemetery.  After changing her name, she told people she was the heiress to the famed NY graveyard. Holly grew up in Miami.

Holly is immortalized in the Lou Reed song, "Walk on the Wild Side." ("Holly came from Miami, F-L-A.") Meeting Andy Warhol at The Factory, she joined Jackie Curtis and Candy Darling as part of his groundbreaking transgender/drag queen ensemble. Holly co-starred in Warhol's "Trash" and "Women in Revolt." She also appeared in the non-Warhol films, "Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers," in which Bette Midler sang a song called "In The Very Last Row," and "Is There Sex After Death?" She also appeared in the indy film, "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss" starring pre-"Will & Grace" Sean Hayes.

In 1991, Ms Woodlawn published the memoir, A Low Life in High Heels, which I adore to this day. http://www.amazon.com/Holly-Woodlawn-Story-Life-Heels/dp/0312064292/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382209966&sr=1-2&keywords=low+life+in+high+heels

Holly currently resides in West Hollywood and frequently does cabaret shows around the world.


Friday, October 18, 2013

Beaverhausen's NYC News: The End of Roseland and a Village People Cowboy

Roseland 1961
Recently, I saw Blondie perform at Roseland. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/debbie-harry-and-blondie-rule-roseland.html The 1919 roller rink turned ballroom (in the 1920s) turned concert hall (since the 1990s) just announced it will close its doors in April. Another legendary venue gone from the NYC landscape.

Madonna has played there, The Rolling Stones have played Roseland, The Black Party has been thrown there. But soon it will be gone. 

Roseland has for years been a favored New York [place] for a wide range of bands from the early days of rock, through disco, grunge, modern rock, jam, pop, urban and EDM. The venue found a new gear with a $1 million production/rigging renovation in the early ‘90s, funded by [developer Larry] Ginsberg, which led to more high profile bookings of multiple dates on bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and other hot acts when competition in that cap range was not as fierce, reported Billboard. 

News that seems to have escaped the mainstream media about the death of Village People's latest cowboy, AJ Perelli, but Sobel Nation and Our City Radio reported on the incident. http://queens.ourcityradio.com/stations/dance-news/queens-city-radio-sends-condolences-family-friends-village-peoples-aj-perelli 

"May AJ RIP and sing to the Angels," wrote Our City's Program Manager, Barbara Sobel. 

"One of his biggest achievements to date came several months ago when he landed the gig in the role of the Cowboy (originally played by Jeff Olson) in the group,Village People," said Ms Sobel's article in Our City Radio online, written before the tragedy.

The group Village People currently are coming up the dance charts, internationally, with their new single, "Let's Get Back to the Dancefloor," and appeared on this season's premiere episode of Arsenio.  Other members have expressed their grief, fond memories and condolences.

Perelli suffered serious brain damage from a fall or from an attack. As of now, details are unclear. He was 24 years of age.



"Dark Lady," Cher on my 2013 Halloween Countdown

This song is murder, I tell you, as Cher encounters a sleazy supernaturalist in New Orleans. Well, the Diva was done dirty and she don't play. A Cher classic, early '70s radio hit, now a dance remix. My Countdown of Mayhem continues as we hurtle towards Halloween. Submitted for your approval for your Halloween party.




Thursday, October 17, 2013

Petula Clark Goes Crazy, Downtown, on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

Ever think you're losing your mind? Oftimes scary, but not on Halloween when you can go Downtown (to the Village parade) and celebrate your inner demons. Presenting Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" as covered by none other than old girl Pet Clark! This YouTube video adds the crazy legs of Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse.


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Joan Crawford & Faye Dunaway on My Halloween Countdown 2013

Another great remix from Stevers62 YouTube that's perfect for your Halloween hell-abaloo! Especially fab if your guests just know all the lines from both the Joan Crawford flick, Strait-Jacket, and the Faye Dunaway-as-Joan Crawford film travesty, Mommie Dearest. Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" is expertly mixed in for good measure. Now, bring me the axe!


Monday, October 14, 2013

Baby Jane, Lady Gaga, Blanche & Beyonce on My 2013 Halloween Countdown

A Halloween special: Lady Gaga & Beyonce & Blanche & Baby Jane Hudson. That's who! A different mix from something I posted in 2011 [http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-halloween-countdown-revisits-baby_13.html] Enjoy, my wicked trick-or-treaters! EeeeeeHeeeHeeeeeeeee!! And beware the telephone!


Sunday, October 13, 2013

It's a Sin with the Pet Shop Boys: 2013 Halloween Countdown

Pet Shop Boys, sweeties!  You know I have a crush on Neil Tennant as it's no secret. http://djbuddybeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2012/02/my-top-five-most-fabulous-men.html
It's Sunday. It's Fun Day. Or is it Sin Day? Halloween Countdown loves sinners in any event; hey have the devil within them.

A very Catholic song, in essence. For everything I longed to do/ No matter when or where or who....


Move Over, Darlings: Vintage Beaverhausen

In the days before Buddy Beaverhausen was born, when I, Charles Truenski, went by the nom de plume Char Treuse (a contraction), I wrote a column just for friends that I'd Xerox and mail after I typed (but didn't save) them on the computer at work. This private, little column was called Move Over, Darlings. I came across them in a trunk today. And got nostalgic and even had a few laughs.

The landlord of my last apartment on 5th Ave in Manhattan destroyed most of this trunk, including an entire, large scrapbook of photos now gone forever. (All those Throwback Thursdays shot to hell, not to mention my personal memories.) Claiming he needed to repair my floorboards, my trunk was placed on the fire escape by said landlord and his super-cum-henchman (wrapped in plastic, assured that was sufficient protection against the elements of rain, sleet and snow that season). At that time, unbeknownst to me, he was selling the building (and trying to drive rent-stabilized tenants like me out, obviously by any means possible). I moved to Bay Ridge shortly thereafter and, by the time I opened the trunk, many things were severely water damaged.

Be that as it may, my hard copies of Move Over, Darlings survived. Here's half of one column I just love, I admit, because of the memories, when I look back 13 years later. Hope you enjoy it, too:

What becomes a legend most? Well, it certainly isn't sitting on your fat can when said legend gracefully extends her hand to you. And yet, that's just what I did when the fantastic Miss Eartha Kitt approached me, briefly but graciously, after her act at the Cafe Carlyle. 

Stupefied by this ever-so-close encounter, I unimaginatively stammered, "You were... fabulous!" "Thank you very much," Eartha uttered perfunctorily, but I just knew she was appalled by my lack of etiquette. After all, when a diva humbles herself and walks among her adoring audience, pressing the flesh with one hand while clutching a fan's bouquet of roses in the other, you are expected to stand before her in a gentlemanly fashion; not sit like a lazy, uncouth stiff in front of his tv set. I thought I even saw her looking down to see if I had a remote panel in hand.

To my socially correct friend, Kevin, who stood to greet the star, she gushed coquettishly: "You have such a great face! I kept looking at it from the stage and it kept me going!" So, like, you looked at my face and it almost stopped you in your tracks, is that the inference?

Eartha's act was a melange of tunes in French (including her signature, "C'est Si Bon"), Turkish and Japanese (you ain't lived till you hear Eartha sing "Come On'a My House" Nipponese-style) as well as hoary survivor songs we're all sick of, like "I'm Still Here" and "I Will Survive." Eartha makes them work because of her unparalleled phrasing and enunciation, and just because she's Eartha Kitt and she'll sing what she damned well pleases! 

She still does her golddigger schtick. (La Eartha is 79. When she sang "My Heart Belongs to Daddy," I wondered just how fucking old might Daddy be.) She also does her pussycat thing and her Parisian waif routine, and gets away with it all because, as a performer, she is legendary and absolutely unique in every way.

Ms. Kitt looked far younger than her years, even when seen close up, and she was in fine shape as was evident in her form-fitting gown with the low-cut back. As they say, "Kitt don't crack." And that's the truth.









Saturday, October 12, 2013

Halloween Countdown 2013 with the Complete Brian De Palma Film, "Sisters"

Since it's Saturday, I thought I'd present you with something a bit more epic on this year's Countdown. I started this by-now holiday tradition in 2013 by posting the full 1960 British horror classic, City of the Dead, via YouTube. Tonight, it's the full-length 1973 Brian DePalma flick, Sisters.

Sisters was a breakthrough film for the director as well as for the film's star, Margot Kidder. The supporting cast is wonderful: Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning, William Finley, Barnard Hughes, Dolph Sweet. I love DePalma's directorial flourishes, including his brilliant use of split-screen technique. The Hitchcock influence, especially via Psycho are unmistakable. Bernard Herrman even does the music score, for crying out loud! And it's set (and shot) on Staten Island! Lisle Wilson makes a handsome, charming leading man. Love his line, when he offers to take Kidder home and asks her where she lives, and she tells him it's Staten Island: "I thought you said you live in New York City!" And catch Olympia Dukakis in a bit part.

So bring out the pumpkin pie and candy corn, relax & watch this clever, scary, suspenseful and ever-so-tongue-in-cheek classic, a Beaverhausen top pic. And never were there such devoted sisters ~~ when it comes to mayhem! Or, as the poster blurb exclaims: "What the Devil hath joined together let no man cut asunder!"


Friday, October 11, 2013

It's Friday: Disco Down to Friday the 13th (Part 3)

In 1982, the really scary thing about Friday the 13th Part 3 (in 3D) was that it opened with a disco theme. The following extended mix was popular in clubs. So put on your hockey masks and swing your machetes like it's Camp Crystal Lake circa 1982! Another gem for your Halloween shindigs. Bwahahahahaha! Aaaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!


Blabbing with Matt Alber

Check out my latest interview with openly gay singer/songwriter extraordinaire, Matt Alber, exclusively @ Blab It to Beaverhausen! Simply click on the link below:

http://blabittobeaverhausen.blogspot.com/2013/10/q-with-matt-alber.html

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Milk Toast!

Here's my toast to Harvey Milk! As Gayapolis reported today: "The U.S Postal Service confirms that they will be issuing a commemorative... [p]ostage stamp in honor of Harvey Milk in 2014."

Hallelujah, everybody!  Milk man's on his way!

As The Advocate put it:

More than three decades after his assassination, gay San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk is still making history. [The USPS reported] the stamp will include one of Milk's signature phrases: "Hope will never be silent."

Milk is the first openly LGBT elected official to be featured on U.S. postage, reports the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund's Gay Politics blog.


"Harvey Milk's legacy is alive and well," Victory Fund president Chuck Wolfe said on the blog. "His historic run paved the way for a new generation of LGBT leaders who can be open and honest about who they are, and it's encouraging to see the U.S. Postal Service honoring his legacy of perseverance and pride today."

Harvey Milk, "The Mayor of Castro Street," was a national icon and LGBT martyr. He was assassinated by Dan White who, ironically, went postal.

Next year, I intend to actually write letters to people that go in the US mail because of this. Support the USPS, support Harvey Milk's memory! Support love, equality and human rights!

Psycho Goes Disco on My Halloween Countdown 2013

Clever version of the Bernard Herrmann theme from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." This special dancefloor rendition and mix is produced by Zyrko (yes, Zyrko goes Psycho) and is perfect for your high holiday (that is, Halloween, of course) parties! Also perfect for dancing in your shower! Or imagine you're at a house party at the Bates Motel. You're dancing with Norman, who's kind of shy but cute, and Mother isn't feeling herself today! Butcher knife optional.


Subway Poem # 28

we forget the rain
when we go underground
to catch the train
until we rise
and ride the bridge
through the drizzle again
and so then when we sleep
we submerge into the deep
until we rise to take the train
and face the rain 

Subway Poem # 29

lady in a burka
on the coffee cart
sells me a bagel with a schmear
and coffee of course coffee, coffee,
a cup of coffee

check my notes from underground 
but left my heart
not in san francisco 
but on the q train
on the train, outward bound 
on the train

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Will Ab Fab Go Big Screen?

It wasn't all that long ago, it seems, that Jennifer Saunders, writer and co-star of the hit Britcom, Absolutely Fabulous, told Glamour magazine that she just didn't see a full-length motion picture version of the series happening.

Today, my friend Don Foster sent me the latest news from London's The Express.

"As we're going into winter, a nice little summertime film seems rather attractive," Saunders said, regarding a film treatment of the comedy.

"Mrs Lumley - who plays Patsy Stone in the long-running series - had recently revealed that she would be happy to star in a film adaptation of the show.

"Lumley and Saunders... reprised their roles [as Patsy & Edina] in a number of Ab Fab specials, most recently an olympics-themed episode in 2012."

The BBC today quoted Saunders, when pressed about a movie treatment of Ab Fab, as replying  in their "Front Row" interview (with cheek, I must say): "As we're going into winter, a nice little summertime film seems rather attractive."

BBC executive Shane Allen allowed that "the door is always open for more Ab Fab." Oh, hoorah, sweetie-dahlings, hoorah!

Meanwhile, Saunders just published her autobiography, Bonkers: My Life in Laughs, in the UK.





You Can Ring My Tubular Bells! Halloween Countdown 2013

Ok, Halloween People, Party On with this excellent dance remix of Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells," theme music from the film, The Exorcist!


On John Lennon's 73rd Birthday

Music can influence us and help change the world through lyrics that send us positive messages of hope, love and peace, just as the music itself can lift the human spirit. As William Congreve wrote, in The Mourning Bride, 1697:

Musick has Charms to sooth a savage Breast,
To soften Rocks, or bend a knotted Oak.
I've read, that things inanimate have mov'd,
And, as with living Souls, have been inform'd,
By Magick Numbers and persuasive Sound.


No more persuasive Sound, perhaps, than the songs of John Lennon who sang songs of peace and who, tragically, came to a violent end. I sometimes wonder if the world would be better off today were he still alive. John would have been 73 today.




Tuesday, October 8, 2013

I Eat Cannibals on My Halloween Countdown 2013

In the 1980s, New Wave disco presented this internationally popular video from the campy yet fetching ladies of the UK collectively known as Toto Coelo. The topic of the day, then, is cannibalism; the attire, appropriately, is trash bags. I had the 12" on vinyl; I loved the album cover art (seen above).



Monday, October 7, 2013

Zombie Cher on Dj Buddy B's 2013 Halloween Countdown


Countdown to a Happy Halloween continues with this great Stevers62 remix on YouTube. Perfect for your Halloween Countdown! Click on the link below, me pumpkin heads!

http://youtu.be/a9-oloJckK0

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Devil's Gun: Halloween Countdown 2013 Continues

Fe fi fo fum! The 1977 (Summer of Sam!) disco classic by CJ & Company, "Devil's Gun" is back on my Halloween Countdown this year, featuring the group in a rare tv performance.


Saturday, October 5, 2013

Nothing Compares to Dueling Divas

It is Dj Buddy Beaverhausen's humble opinion that Sinead O'Connor was offering Miley Cyrus maternal advice when she told the upstart not to let herself "be pimped" by the music business' industrial machine. The 19-year-old diva of the moment invited this as she cited O'Connor as an influence, after all. However, even her famously mullet-haired dad is an enabler right now, suggesting no publicity is bad publicity. In the long run, that might not turn out to be true.

Miley, however, basically blew her so-called idol off, telling her to fuck off, in essence, dismissively replying to O'Connor that she was too busy to respond further, and taking to Twitter to compare Sinead to troubled starlet Amanda Bynes, including a screen-grab of O’Connor’s public 2012 meltdown.

Sinead then responded with a vengeance to the point of getting litigious:

Miley… Really? Who the f*k is advising you? Because taking me on is even more f*kin' stupid than behaving like a prostitute and calling it feminism. You have posted today tweets of mine which are two years old... posted by me when I was unwell and seeking help so as to make them look like they are recent. In doing so you mock myself and Amanda Bynes for having suffered with mental health issues and for having sought help.... Remove your tweets immediately or you will hear from my lawyers. I am certain you will be hearing from all manner of mental health advocacy groups also. It is not acceptable to mock any person for having suffered. It is most unbecoming of you to respond in such a fashion to someone who expressed care for you.

Is Miley our next Lindsay Lohan?

My advice to Miley and from my own personal experience: Don't piss off the Irish! In the meanwhile, twirk the publicity, ladies!

Halloween Countdown 2013 featuring Laura Branigan

Halloween Countdown Continues with this Classic! The great, late Laura Branigan's "Self Control." This Italo-disco song was a huge radio, club and video hit for the Irish-American colleen from Brewster, NY. Another video with masks, masques and a grand diva for your Halloween bashes. Give it up!


Debbie Harry and Blondie Rule Roseland

Blondie brought their international "No Principals" tour to Roseland last night in Manhattan with X, the '70s punk rock band (with Exene Cervenka) as their opening act.

Their set first brought the spectacle of Brooklyn-based multi-horn brass band, One Cheer, filling the stage physically and aurally before the pop-punk band entered as the brass faded and filed off.

Debbie Harry pranced onstage like the enduring diva she is, in a chic, black graduation gown-styled frock and dunce cap (No Principals), opening with the classic "One Way or Another" from Blondie's breakthrough album, Parallel Lines. Ms Harry's hair was a retro 'do of long blonde tresses. And our girl really knows how to use her head when it comes to working a mini fall! Behind the band was a plethora of non-stop video images as Ms Harry stepped lithely and lively, swirling across the stage. This is a vast improvement, performance-wise, from her heyday (when she was often, perhaps, a bit too stoned to grace us by breaking a move and was physically stiff, though who wasn't at the time).

What followed was a clever and canny set of hits and newer tunes. "Hangin' on the Telephone," "Union City Blues," "Atomic" and "Heart of Glass" were stirred in with the recent single, "A Rose Is Still a Rose" and catchy, energetic current numbers like "Take Me in the Night." (Ripe for remixes!)



Blondie returned for a five-song encore, going back to their first album, Blondie, and the second, Plastic Letters with songs like "X Offender." LGBT fans will qvell learning Miss H even brought legendary drag diva Miss Guy, onstage for a duet before wrapping up with "Call Me," "Dreaming" (a favorite of mine, from the Eat to the Beat album) and bringing the horns back for a "Tide Is High" blow-out. Viva Blondie!



Chris Stein and the band (enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame) displayed an outstanding mastery, showing vast controlled and expert musicianship since Blondie's garage band days.  Some things get better with age and Blondie is one of them.

Roseland's sound system led my friends, people around us and I to believe the sound check may not have been sufficient pre-concert as it took a few songs into the set for proper adjustments to the mix to occur.

We hoped the group would perform their hit (outside the US, though it charted on club charts here), "Maria." I was also hoping for "Pretty Baby," "Sunday Girl," "Touched by Your Presence Dear" and so on and so forth but, honestly, how much of their vast catalog can they do in a single concert!

The night's set started off powerfully with no patter from the diva until after her third number when she doffed her gown (the cap was removed after song numero uno), revealing a fit figure in a low-cut little black dress. Very binky! 

The New Wave idol's voice is a treasure. Like, say, Cher or Ronnie Spector, Debbie is a shining example of the burnishing individualism of pop female voices from earlier eras before a bland conformity and autotuning (not to mention twirking) were deemed necessary to manufacture a hit.

It was a trans-generational audience with a fair share of aging CBGB/ The Mudd Club people. Nobody seemed disappointed.

Grooviest moment you may ask? Definitely "Rapture" followed by a ebullient cover of Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." That rap classic might be my mantra these days.




Thursday, October 3, 2013

Evelyn Thomas' Masquerade on Halloween Countdown

After her international success with "High Energy," Ms Evelyn Thomas and producer/ songwriter Ian Levine followed it up with "Masquerade." Perfect for your masquerade party this Halloween, dahlings, to be sure! A very Halloweeny and tres gay video; quite lavish for the time and full of masks and seasonal touches. You're going to love it as much as I do as we tick down to Halloween night here in Beaverhausenville.

By the way, I love Ms Thomas' very grand hand gestures and diva stances, not to mention her distinctive and powerful voice. More is more! Love Levine's lyrics, too: "What good is talent if you're crying out loud?" Ah, yes, my dahlings, I know that so, so very well. Happy Halloween!



Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Happy Birthday, Annie Leibovitz!

Annie Leibovitz, photographer of the stars, turns 63 today. In 1970, she started her career as staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, just getting off the ground. Three years from that, publisher Stone's Jann Wenner promoted her to Chief Photographer.

At one point, 1989, Leibovitz was in a relationship with the late Susan Sontag, the brilliant essayist. She considers Sontag a mentor.

Glenn Close famously satirized Leibovitz on tv's "Will & Grace," albeit as a fictitious character based on the famed photographer.



Here are just a few iconic images taken by the grande diva of portraits: