Monthly Archives: July 2015

WEEK 34 / 13 – 19 FEBRUARY 2015

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232 FRIDAY 13 FEBRUARY 2015

Rich Man’s Frug– Orchestra

Sweet Charity - 1966 Original Broadway Cast

Could there be another song more mid-1960s sounding than the Rich Man’s Frug? I doubt it. This silly psychedelic tune comes from Bob Fosse’s 1966 musical “Sweet Charity”. During a swanky affair, a group of velvet-clad dancers do the “Frug”, a dance craze at the time. The style, full of lateral movements came to represent everything Fosse’s choreography was about. Take, for instance, “The Aloof”, walking with shoulders back and swinging your arms from side to side, which is a Fosse signature move.

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COMING UP – WEEK 34 PREVIEW

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Rich Man’s Frug– Orchestra

All About Love – Natalie Cole

Heat Wave – Marilyn Monroe … My father had a Super 8 camera and projector and through the years we had built a tiny collection of cartoons and home movies. As a matter of fact, my first work as an editor was splicing together a family trip to Mexico into just one reel.

Thoroughly Modern Millie * – Sutton Foster … We just need to make sure we keep up with new things and adapt, so we’re not left behind. In other words, we have to be thoroughly modern, and embrace change.

This Could Be the Start of Something Big – Jack Jones

She Loves Me – Buddy Greco

Out Of The Blue * – Julia Murney, Brian d’Arcy James … when I combined both “The Wild Party” albums, I went into a very dark place where I stayed for most of the summer of 2000. 

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 33 / 6 – 12 FEBRUARY 2015

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225 FRIDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2015

Proud – Heather Small – Top 10 Contender

Queer As Folk

I’ll always associate Proud with “Queer As Folk”, the TV show.

It is a nice coincidence that I write about this song in the week I’ve just finished binge watching “Queer As Folk”, the American series. I watched and enjoyed the original run from 2000 to 2005. However, it was only this second time around that I’ve come to appreciate the cultural and, in a way, the historical significance of the show. Before 2000, no TV show had ever addressed so openly the issues of the gay community in any city, USA. For the first time, many young gay people saw themselves mirrored in real characters that captured with precision the reality of their lives.

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COMING UP – WEEK 33 PREVIEW

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Proud * – Heather Small … Who can forget those decadent parties at Babylon? Or the sleaziness of Liberty Baths?

Getting to Know You – Julie Andrews, Children’s Chorus, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye * – Michael Feinstein … I can see him waking up in the middle of the night in his lover’s arms, dressing up, stealing one last kiss, and hurrying up back home to his wife. 

Kim’s Charleston – Tammy Amerson, Elaine Stritch

The Best Thing That Ever Happened – Alexander Gemignani, Claybourne Elder

Brotherhood of Man – Nick Jonas, Rob Bartlett, Ellen Harvey … I had the chance to see the show in early 2012, and being from the school of “If-you’re-under-35-I-may-not-know-who-you-are”, I wasn’t entirely sure I knew who Nick Jonas was.

Star! – Julie Andrews

* Top 10 Contender

WEEK 32 / 30 JANUARY – 5 FEBRUARY 2015

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218 FRIDAY 30 JANUARY 2015

There’s No Place Like Home – Orchestra

Lost - Season 4 (Original Television Soundtrack)

Nothing says “Lost” as this flawless evocative composition by Michael Giacchino. It was first used as the ‘Oceanic Six’, the only survivors who are able to make it out of the island, return to civilisation. From then on, the theme became an intrinsic part of the rest of the show’s run. It was repeatedly used with different variations.

Just as last week’s “King’s Fate – Prince’s Future – Kralahome’s Demise – Anna’s Surprise” was in the background while I wrote a passage of my novel, “The Return Of The Army Of Light”; There’s No Place Like Home also played a role while I wrote another extract of the story.

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COMING UP – WEEK 32 PREVIEW

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There’s No Place Like Home – Orchestra

Steal Your Rock ‘N’ Roll – Montego Glover, Chad Kimball

I’m Always Chasing Rainbows – Sumi Jo … Life often plays like that, it throws at you what you think is a consolation prize, but in reality it is giving you a good one, so enjoy it.

Volver – Luis Miguel

I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face – Rex Harrison … This is the part when us, regular folks, would call our friends and bitch about our ex-lover. 

Piazza – Orchestra … Gay groups in Argentina did not want tolerance, but respect, period. Tolerance left room for judgement; respect was unconditional. 

Mas Que Nada – Sergio Mendes & Brasil ’66

WEEK 31 / 23 – 29 JANUARY 2015

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211 FRIDAY 23 JANUARY 2015

More I Cannot Wish You – John Carpenter

Guys and Dolls

Summer of 1992 has a special place in my memories. I had finished my masters in the spring, and the organisation I had been working for a few months had extended my contract for another six months. I had moved to a new place near DuPont Circle in DC. This was the early 1990s and it would take another four or five years for the area to become chic.

So, there I was in a small efficiency apartment at the Chastleton, at 16th and R, where as legend has it The Duke and Duchess of Windsor stayed for a while.

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COMING UP – WEEK 31 PREVIEW

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More I Cannot Wish You – John Carpenter

After Car – Orchestra … If you live in Washington, DC, sooner or later you will find yourself on the verge of breaking a political scandal or at the very least, you’ll fantasise about it.

Battle Hymn of the Republic – Judy Garland … Judy Garland was probably the only real friend Kennedy had among all the Hollywood glitterati that surrounded him.

King’s Fate – Prince’s Future – Kralahome’s Demise – Anna’s Surprise – Philharmonia Orchestra & William Kidd

Sheik of Araby – Café Accordion Orchestra

Easy Money – Bellamy Young, Sam Harris, Kevin Ramsey … It is a look back to Times Squares in the 1970s, way before Disney invaded the 42nd St. area, a place populated with pimps, hookers, and dealers.

Mambembe – Soledad Bravo