Saturday, October 18, 2014

A Modish Coiffure

Here is a nifty advertisement I came across while looking through microfilm at the library. It dates from 1925.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Fascinatin' Rhythm on NPR

If you like music of the twenties, thirties and forties - you'll want to check out a weekly one hour radio show called "Fascinatin' Rhythm," which airs on National Public Radio. (The show can also be heard on NPR stations over the internet.)  I have been a fan of this program for some time. And everytime I hear it I learn to love some new song or singer. One program I heard, for example, reminded me how much I like Annette Hanshaw - a wonderful singer from the 1930's.

This special show is also an inspiration for RadioLulu. More about "Fascinatin' Rhythm" can be found on this webpage. Check your local NPR listings to see if "Fascinatin' Rhythm" is broadcast in your area.
Fascinatin' Rhythm explores the history and themes of American popular music from Stephen Foster to Stephen Sondheim. These weekly "radio essays," illustrated by recordings, won the 1994 George Foster Peabody Award for letting "our treasury of popular tunes speak (and sing) for itself with sparkling commentary tracing the contributions of the composers and performers to American society." The Peabody citation called Fascinatin' Rhythm "a celebration of American culture." The program originates from WXXI-Classical 91.5. and is nationally syndicated.

Each program features a theme - a particular kind of stage or movie musical, a single composer or lyricist, a distinctive performer, or defining image or idea. Fascinatin' Rhythm blends education and entertainment, as it also shows how songs from the Golden Age of American popular music (1920-1960) anticipate today's popular music. Heard nationally from Orlando to San Francisco and Honolulu, Fascinatin' Rhythm reveals America to America through popular songs

Thursday, October 16, 2014

On this day in 1927 . . . .

On this day in 1927,the Kansas City Star ran an article on Now We're in the Air and stated "This film is said to have an increased love interest. It will at least have our interest since Louise Brooks is the heroine. We gather from the pictures we have seen of the production that Miss Brooks is some sort of circus performer, as she is shown succumbing to the temptation of abbreviated skirts. That is Miss Brooks's old weakness." 

Newspaper reporters certainly had a way with words back then.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Other stations that I like and listen to

Along with RadioLulu, here are some other Live365.com stations that I like and listen to:

Radio Dismuke - 1920s & 1930s Pop & Jazz

Absinthe Radio - The Greatest Hits of the 1920s and 1930s

Sweet & Lovely - Sweet & Lovely, Hot & Sassy ! Songs from the 20's & 30's (Jazz Age 20s, Songbird 30s)

Weimar Rundfunk - Jazz-Swing / European Hot Dance Bands, European Dance Orchestras

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

William K. Everson archive

Well worth checking out is the William K. Everson Collection, a website which archives publicity material, photographs and most importantly the film notes (short essays) of the film historian, author, critic, teacher, archivist, and collector. 
Everson knew Louise Brooks, and wrote highly of her in his terrific 1978 book, American Silent Film. And some years ago before his death, I had the pleasure of seeing Everson's 16 mm print of Beggars of Life.
Film buffs will enjoy exploring this site.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Max Ferguson's new watercolor of Louise Brooks

Max Ferguson's new watercolor of Louise Brooks is now viewable online. Check it out, along with the artists' other work, here. (The pianist is Ben Model.)




Sunday, October 12, 2014

Cool pic of the day: Louise Brooks, by Hobe

Saturday, October 11, 2014

What do Louise Brooks, Nicki Minaj, Lindsay Lohan, and Rosamund Pike have in common?

Louise Brooks and her iconic bob continue to influence and be discussed. And today, she was in the news:



Refinery29
Did Nicki Minaj Just Change The Bob Game?
The 'do she's rocking would put Louise Brooks to shame — it's like a modern take on Vidal Sassoon's iconic cuts. And, while we're having a serious bob moment (and so is all of Hollywood) . . . .

The Lindsay Lohan Mystery
Lindsay Lohan’s development as a screen actor has been unnaturally thwarted, but one thing she has is the rare and purely cinematic quality, never quite visible in stills, which found its fullest expression in the Louise Brooks of Diary of a Lost Girl or Pandora’s Box: a thrill and possibility located not in the body but in the face, especially the eyes, as if someone has turned all the lights on inside.


Telegraph.co.uk
Rosamund Pike's Gone Girl bob: so sharp, it could be a murder weapon
The outstanding filmic hair moments over the past century - from Louise Brooks' almost shockingly modern bob in Pandora's Box (1928), to Cate Blanchett's Freudian red wig in Elizabeth (1998) and Kirsten Dunst's (2006) mauve tinged bouffant in Marie Antoinette - have been awarded to whackos, psychos and shopaholics.
 

Friday, October 10, 2014

Brooksie: The Jazz Age Musical

For those who haven't already checked it out, well worth visiting is the Swiss website for Brooksie: The Jazz Age Musical. You can even order CD's.
Powered By Blogger