For my birthday....

03.22.08

... I would like this photo enlarged on a pillowcase.

Thank you to Harry de Louw for bringing his blog to my attention: www.everybodymustgetstoned.net

And while you're at it, check out www.nickelinthemachine.blogspot.com for more ALO and a stunning collection of essays and photos on '60s London.

Sheila

Posted by Sheila at 04:52 PM

Bang A Bang Bang

03.19.08

Elijah Wood + Sheila B. at BUST party

The post-SXSW bitching has begun (too much corporate presence, so many mega-bands eclipsing the minor bands), but there is no denying the joy of attending a music fest in the gorgeous, sunshine city of Austin, TX, surrounded by like-minded music lovers with 1700 bands to choose from. I listened to Seymour Stein as he mourned the loss of record stores (and showed a clip of Cary Grant buying 78s), met Andrew Loog Oldham (too much) and Kim Fowley (who was standing right next to Andrew as we were speaking, but I don't dare acknowledge misogynist creeps, EVEN if they made a few fab records), and DJ'd at a BUST party with Elijah Wood (who impressed with a set of '60s psych, '80s electro, B.B.'s "Contact," B-Music/ Finders Keepers reissues). Saw over 60 bands, mostly unsigned stuff, but also Robyn (if only she could translate her awesomeness live onto record), the Ting Tings, MGMT, Santogold (probably my favorite solo artist this year), the Nouvellas (formerly the Dansettes, and so so soulful), the White Shoes and the Couples Company (Indonesian '60s throwback), and Zooey Deschanel playing June Carter with M. Ward. I'm by no means a country girl, but she was special.

There was little sleep to be had, and therefore I had to succumb to the radioactive waste that is Red Bull. Nasty, but I'm one of the few "industry" folks who refuses to indulge in cocaine. On the last day of the fest, I DJ'd the BUST party from 1 - 6, met Teri for a margarita, the BUST girls for dinner, Kalle for another margarita, lotsa gigs in between, and finally at 4 am, found myself curled up on a couch backstage at a Soundtrack of Our Lives party, and knew it was time to call it a day.

Sheila

White Shoes and the Couples Company

Sheila B. with BUST's Tara + Maggie

The Nouvellas' Leah + Jaime with Teri

Posted by Sheila at 12:52 PM

A Girl's Gotta Eat!

03.14.08

Oh what a glorious hot spring day in Austin, TX! I'm beaming because I just met Andrew Loog Oldham, and he was an absolute darling. YAYAYAYAY! And now I gotta run off to another gig, but I will file a full report once the chaos calms.

Sheila

Posted by Sheila at 05:16 PM

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

Funny Bunny

03.03.08

I am DJing with Elijah Wood at BUST Magazine's party at SXSW! Supposedly he's one of the biggest record collectors in Hollywood. Luv it! The party's free to all, and the deets live here.

Took a night-time walk around London yesterday, and realized for the first time how much I truly love this city. As much as there is to complain about, a walk along the river makes it all disappear. And for those like me who shudder at the thought of quiet, solitary Sunday nights, there's the Royal Festival Hall, where you can veg out on comfy couches with a book and a glass of wine for as long as you like. I topped off the night with a screening of Gentleman Prefer Blondes, introduced very eloquently by the director of Ugly Betty. Anita Loos (the writer) later admitted to creating Lorelei Lee as revenge to the attention males pay to blondes. Ouch! Seems that intent wasn't carried over into the script, as Marilyn Monroe makes empty-headed, man-eating blondes seem mighty appealing.

Music-wise, I think I've caught the '50s bug. Got a snarling girl-rockabilly mix from my friend Marty ages ago, but didn't dare delve into anything pre-1962 (as if!). Then I spent three hours in the Betsey Johnson shop over the weekend--a '50s glam dream den, where a PP Arnold-esque black beauty insisted I give up the A-line in favor of the skin-tight, all while big bands and brawny ladies crooned in the background about their honeys + cheats. Then at Cherrybomb came lotsa Wanda Jackson and goodies from Ace Records' wild 'n weird comp, Good Girls Gone Bad, which prompted a trip to the record shop the following day, where I picked up a stack of femme-fronted rock 'n' roll comps. Although it seems most of y'all are '60s-heads, any '50s obsessives, please lead this girl in the right direction. A list of your top 5 girl rockers would be divine, and very much appreciated.

Night night.

Sheila

Posted by Sheila at 06:03 PM