Thoughts from the Bus Stop

The Power of Love: Frankie Goes To Hollywood

via YouTube.com

One of the music channels was showing the video for Frankie Goes to Hollywood's The Power of Love the other day and I found it really moving.

First, there's Holly Johnson's beautiful voice, and the tender lyrics, along with Godley and Creme's nativity-themed video, which (references to vampires and the Hooded Claw aside!) changed the meaning of the lyrics for me from a simple 'human to human' love song to one which speaks about God's 'undying, death-defying' love for mankind:

Feels like fire
I'm so in love with you
Dreams are like angels
They keep bad at bay - bad at bay
Love is the light
Scaring darkness away - yeah

I'm so in love with you
Purge the soul
Make love your goal

The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal

I'll protect you from the Hooded Claw
Keep the vampires from your door
When the chips are down I'll be around
With my undying, death-defying
Love for you

Envy will hurt itself
Let yourself be beautiful
Sparkling love, flowers
And pearls and pretty girls
Love is like an energy
Rushin' rushin' inside of me

This time we go sublime
Lovers entwine - divine divine
Love is danger, love is pleasure
Love is pure - the only treasure

I'm so in love with you
Purge the soul
Make love your goal

The power of love
A force from above
Cleaning my soul
The power of love
A force from above
A sky-scraping dove

Flame on burn desire
Love with tongues of fire
Purge the soul
Make love your goal

YouTube: Holly Johnson sings The Power of Love on Later...with Jools Holland
Official Frankie Goes To Hollywood Website
Official Holly Johnson Website

The Holloways: Generator

Video for Generator by The Holloways via YouTube

The Blonde has got me into the new album by The Holloways - So This Is Great Britain? So far I'm utterly hooked on the bouncy bouncy ska sound of Generator, the new single. I love that whilst it's a cheerful melody which makes me dance, the lyrics aren't 100% chirpy:

"I don't live in poverty
I''ve got a little bit of money and I've got a healthy body
I'm not going to let stuff get me upset
And I won't let all the little things get me depressed.

When I was a young boy, I got a stereo
And I taped all the songs straight off the radio.
The sounds that the bands made, and the melodies
Is all I need to make me feel free.

Sometimes you get so low, you don't know why
Or a little upset all inside
May I remind you that you don't live in poverty?
You've got your youth, and you've got food in your belly.

I can get a record player, and a generator
Generate the music that makes you feel better."

It reminds me of Madness, veering towards The Specials. Top notch.

Museum Seeks Clubbers For Haçienda Project

Poster for the Hacienda's Hallucienda Monday night slot. © MoSI

Via 24 Hour Museum:

"The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester is hosting an event designed to capture the memories of clubbers from the Haçienda."

The Museum's exhibition Fac 51 The Haçienda runs from 3 April–30 June, on Tues and Thurs from 10.00am–4.00pm. Urbis will also be running a Haçienda exhibition from 19 July 2007.

I love Bjork

Bjork at Coachella, 2007

That is all.

Today Was A Good Day

A great day out today has really lifted my spirits. Good company, a change of scene, some culture, some shopping and some good food have done me the world of good.

Sarah, the Blonde and I went up to the Big Smoke to see the Kylie show at the V&A. I'd already seen it but it's free and they wanted to go so I didn't mind seeing it again at all. Lunch at the V&A wasn't cheap but at least the £7 sarnie the Blonde and I bought to share for economy reasons turned out to be huge and delicious.

Then we snuggled on a Surrealist sofa in the foyer...

Then off to Tottenham Court Road to lose myself in the wonders of Paperchase, and on to Oxford Street Topshop so Blonde could enlarge her sock collection and drool at anything with skulls on. I picked up a couple of David Shrigley cards for my wall - this one cos I've always loved it and this one to make me smile in the face of necessary medication. And, one trip to Schuh later, the Blonde had happy feet.

We headed over to Wardour Street (having warned Sarah about the loos) for lovely Thai food, but stopped off first at Soho Square so I could see Kirsty MacColl's memorial bench - every other time I've looked for it the place has been too crowded, so it was lovely to find it and have my picture taken sitting on it.

After dinner there was an unplanned stop for a crepe before getting the bus back to Victoria, very very full and completely knackered... but happy.

Calvin Harris - Acceptable In The 80s

Via YouTube

Flicking through the channels this morning whilst munching my peanut butter on toast, I spotted this Calvin Harris video. I'd never heard of him before (although I remember a news story from last week about Kylie working with a little-known Scottish DJ) but the video had me rapt... and the song is fab too. More about that video here.

Hole Hearted

Gary Cherone and Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme perform 'Hole-Hearted' with John Paul Jones, Steve Hackett and Paul Gilbert. Via YouTube

I've been playing an old mix tape which has been stuck in a cupboard for years - a compilation I made in September 1994 (yikes!) of my favourite songs. Surprisingly most of them still do it for me. One of them is Extreme's wonderful Hole-Hearted:

Life's ambitions occupies my time
Priorities confuse the mind
Happiness one step behind
This inner peace I've yet to find

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I'm not blind why can't I see
That a circle can't fit
Where a square should be

There's a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can't be filled with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted

This heart of stone is where I hide
These feet of clay kept warm inside
Day by day less satisfied
Not fade away before I die

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I'm not blind why cant I see
That a circle can't fit
Where a square should be

There's a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can't be filled with the things I do

I just searched YouTube for it, and found a fantastic live version which looks fairly recent - Gary Cherone has much shorter hair, as does the luscious Nuno Bettencourt. Mm-mmm, he looks even better with age... (fans self).

I love to sing Hole-Hearted as a worship song. Maybe it's meant to be about romantic love, but its lyrics speak to me about trying (and failing) to find fulfillment in something or someone other than God - a trap I fall into ALL the time.

The Pornograffiti album was a huge favourite of mine. I played it non-stop - and not just the ballads either... in my younger days I liked to ROCK!!! (When vexed, I could often be found in my room shrieking along to Seether by Veruca Salt.)

YouTube also has a version of More Than Words from 1992 - complete with BIG Cherone hair - and many other live performances.

See also:
YouTube: Seether - Veruca Salt
YouTube: Number One Blind - Veruca Salt

Kylie World!

Gold lamé hot pants worn in the 'Spinning Around' video, 2000 © V&A Images

Yesterday I was mostly lost in Kylie world...

See also:
Telegraph, 28/01/2007: Creating Kylie - William Baker
YouTube: Kylie Minogue - Spinning Around

Closer to Kylie

Get Closer To Kylie with this snazzy little interactive on the Kylie section of the V&A Museum's website where you can examine some of her stage clothes in more detail. The Kylie exhibition opens next week.

I get to go to the press launch for work (yes - I'm so lucky, lucky lucky!) but it's bound to be a crush, and I've also booked to go again with the Blonde and Sarah at the end of March. This should be an altogether more civilised visit, as we plan to include Thai food in Soho (taking care in the loos) and sock shopping on Oxford Street in our schedule.

Kylie: The Exhibition comes to London!

Kylie © Darenote Ltd 2004

Woo hoo! KYLIE: The Exhibition, which I posted about in Feb, is coming to the UK! It's on at the V&A Museum in London from 8 February - 10 June 2007. And (unlike many of the big blockbuster exhibitions) it's going to be FREE!