What would Mae West do?

03.10.08

I am supposed to be packing. Instead I've spent the last three hours ransacking my apartment for a Mae West interview I all of a sudden so desperately need to read. And this Diana Dors LP, recently reissued by Castle/ Sanctuary in such glitzy packaging--well, two weeks ago I put it on the turntable and it hasn't come off since. So after the Mae West search, I spent an equal amount of time google-ing for the perfect Diana pic to post here. Isn't she lovely? She's battling it out with Miss West as heroine of the month (last month was Ava Gardner, last year was Veronica Lake). Brooklyn girls usually win, but play Diana's "I Feel So Mmmm" alongside Mae West's "A Guy What Takes His Time" and it's tough competition. One brassy, one cooing. Mmmm.....

As I mentioned in my last post, this step back into the '50s and earlier is very new to me. I'd say 95% of the time I listen to music, I'm hooking into the melody. Rarely the lyrics or a vocalist's performance, but Mae West and Diana Dors are all about the lyrics, and the cheeky, titillating, teasing, saucy performance they give over a lil' easy listening or a big band. You can hear their lips pout. I can't say you're all gonna go for this, but on cold, winter nights, it warms as well as Cabernet.

Tomorrow is Texas. My must-see list is over-flowing, and I just found out a certain hero of mine is speaking at one of the SXSW panels. His books make him seem like a first-class a**hole, but he is perfection to all that know '60s London wouldn't have been the same without him. I'll report back with the deets.

Sheila

Posted by Sheila at 08:32 PM