A cinephilac blog about an actress, silent film, and the Jazz Age, with occasional posts about related books, music, art, and history written by Thomas Gladysz. Visit the Louise Brooks Society™ at www.pandorasbox.com
Here is something cool I found on YouTube, the song "Dance With Me" by Nouvelle Vague put to video clips of GW Pabst's Tagebuch einer Verlorenen or Diary of a Lost Girl (1929) and Jean-Luc Godard's Bande à part or Band of Outsiders (1964).
And for fun, here is an another video remix of the Nouvelle Vague song and actress Anna Karina in Godard's film. As Brooks' devotees know, Karina has long been associated with Brooks. There are other video remixes of the Nouvelle Vague song out there as well. These two caught my attention.
Can you help identify the musical artist/band seen in the Louise Brooks' film Prix de beaute (1930). They are shown in this brief film clip, with the small musical group entering the scene around the 50 second mark.
Did you know that the Louise Brooks Society has its own online radio station? It's called RadioLulu. You can listen to using the Tune-In app, or using Winamp or the Windows Media Player, or, you can even listen via the Tune-In app on ROKU on your TV.
RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed internet station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/ — RadioLulu features vintage and contemporary music related to Louise Brooks as well as the silent and early sound eras. This is music you're not likely to hear anywhere else.
Launched way back in 2002, this unique station now features vintage music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (which was played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men),
as well as John Philip Sousa’s seldom heard “Atlantic City Beauty
Pageant” (which was written for the Miss America contest, as seen in The American Venus).
Vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars are also featured on
RadioLulu. Among them are Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy
Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery, Frank Fay, Joan
Blondell, and Buck Jones. There is even a song by Blanche Ring, who
appeared in It’s the Old Army Game and was the aunt of Brooks’ first
husband, Eddie Sutherland. A few of Brooks’ European co-stars are also
represented, among them Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté).
Each is a rarity. As well, there are vintage tracks associated with
Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of
recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as
Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.
RadioLulu includes a number of songs by Brooks’ friends and
acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years.
Actress Tallulah Bankhead, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, torch singer Libby
Holman, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher can
all be heard on RadioLulu. Other tracks associated with the actress and
featured on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me”
(Brooks knew Gershwin, and this was her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier
Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her rare booklet, Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing in the wedding reception scene in Pandora’s Box).
All together, RadioLulu features more than 850 tracks! Notably, many
of them come from rare 78 rpm discs you’re unlikely to hear anywhere
else. Of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise” as well
as more than a dozen tracks with Louise, Lulu, or LouLou in the title.
Among them is the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You
Tease,” as well as a number of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring
Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”.
Many contemporary tributes to the actress can also be heard on
RadioLulu. These include songs by Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright,
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, and Soul Coughing.
Famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”.
And there’s Ross Berkal’s tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks).” Berkal,
who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member
of the Louise Brooks Society, was acquainted with the actress later in
her life.
Beyond songs related to Louise Brooks, RadioLulu also features
hundreds of songs from the 1920s and 1930s (along with a smattering from
the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s). There is music from the movies aplenty,
as well as rare recordings by early Hollywood stars and Jazz Age
celebrities. There are tracks by the popular crooners and torch singers
of the time, as well as little known numbers by regional dance bands and
hotel orchestras. There are also early Broadway show tunes, early
European jazz, popular vocal numbers, theme songs, and even a few
novelty numbers.
Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton, Lupe Velez, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and
Joan Crawford are streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy
Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara
Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses
heard on the station include Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra,
Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably, her early
German-language recordings).
Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the
classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of
movie-related songs. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At
the Moving Picture Ball,” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare
vintage recordings about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, Mickey Mouse and Zasu
Pitts. Be sure not to miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley,”
Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio,” and Jack
Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the
talkies.”
What else can be heard on RadioLulu? How about Constance Bennett
singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or Alice White & Blanche Sweet
singing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the
soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance
Orchestra performs “The Vamp,” Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette,” and
Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire.” Regulations explaining proper
radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant,
co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.
RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the Jazz Age and
Depression era—Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted
Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee
Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer. There are
recordings by such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing
Crosby and Benny Goodman, alongside rarely heard artists like the Eskimo
Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred
Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson! You never know who or what will turn up
on this eclectic, always entertaining station.
And that’s not all…. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, swing, standards, and
some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston,”
“Black Bottom,” and “Varsity Rag.” There are vintage recordings of
popular favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By,” along with
great, but little known works like James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be
Modernistic.” By the way, the single longest track is George Jessel’s
spoken word history “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929.”
Among the unusual European numbers on RadioLulu are little heard gems
from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin
of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek; there’s a stirring number by the
great British cinema organist Sidney Torch; and even a 1929 recording of
the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife.” Along
with lovely favorites by the likes of Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart,
and Mistinguett. Also heard are artist models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of
Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an
admirer of Louise Brooks.
There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu.
Here are ten vintage RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’
Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild”
by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, “My Man” by
Fanny Brice, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You
Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra,
“College Rhythm” by Jimmy Grier, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, and “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio.
And here are ten contemporary RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to
miss: “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), “Valentino” by Connie
Francis, “Louise” by Eric Clapton, “Weight Lifting Lulu” by The
Residents, “Interior Lulu” by Marillion, as well as “Marlene Dietrich’s
Favourite Poem” by Peter Murphy, “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
by The Passions, “Just Like Fred Astaire” by James, “Lulu Land” by
Camper van Beethoven, and “Brandenburg Gate” by Lou Reed & Metallica
(from their Lulu album).
Over the years, this unique, long running station has gained many
fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin once rated it a
“Wow.” Likewise, Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus)
has tuned-in on occasion, and told us so. As has the award-winning
science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe that a
retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group named Radio Lulu named themselves
after the station?
Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise
Brooks. That’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of
the many rare and related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks
Society. Listen today for free by clicking on the widget at the top of
the page. Let us know what you like or don’t like, and what you might
want to hear. Got something to contribute. We would like to hear about
that too.
Louise Brooks listens to RadioLulu. How about you?
Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu, and the Louise Brooks Society. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on TWITTER or FACEBOOK. And, for even more fun, visit the LBS account on SOUNDCLOUD for more related audio rarities.
In 2018, the LBS hopes to put together some thematic podcasts featuring material from RadioLulu, as well as material (like classical music) not featured on the streaming station. For example, there is music related to the time Louise Brooks was in Denishawn....
Yesterday, I received a CD in the mail from France. It is called Navega!, and it's by Moussu T e lei Jovents, a French musical trio who have received glorious reviews across the major media in France, England and elsewhere.
Their 2016 CD came with a handwritten note telling me that it includes a song about Louise Brooks. And indeed it does! The tenth track is called "Louise B," and its lyrics (which are included among the linear notes) evoke the silent film star. I've listened to the disc, and like it a lot. In fact, I am re-listening to it as I type this blog. By the way, the disc has lovely packaging, and not just because it has pictures of Brooks contained within. A couple of pages are reproduced below.
Moussu T e lei Jovents play a type of world music referred to as fRoots (pronounced "eff-Roots"), which is short-hand for Folk/Roots. Or in the case of Moussu T e lei Jovents, French Roots. Check out the band and their recordings at http://www.moussuteleijovents.com/
On their website, you can navigate to their discography. Click on Navega!, and there, you can listen to "Louise B." Copies of can be Navega! can be purchased HERE.
Otherwise, their Facebook page can be found HERE, while their Facebook fan page can be found HERE.
Here are a couple of video of their songs, each of which features Louise Brooks. Another video for the song "Smoking Area" also includes a brief clip of Louise Brooks.
The terrific 1930 Louise Brooks film, Prix de beauté, will be shown at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Springs, Maryland on Saturday, November 18th. And better yet, it will feature live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne, a superb musician who has given new life to the rarely shown silent version of the film. (I have seen Horne accompany this version of the film in the past, and it really is terrific.) More information including ticket availability can be found HERE.
PRIX DE BEAUTÉ
Silent with live musical accompaniment by Stephen Horne
PRIX DE BEAUTÉ aka MISS EUROPE
PRIX DE BEAUTÉ was the final film Louise Brooks made in Europe before
returning to Hollywood, following her two collaborations with G.W.
Pabst, PANDORA'S BOX and DIARY OF A LOST GIRL. It was badly served by
its sound version, released in 1930, and has been little revived since.
Shown in its silent version, however, the film is revealed to be a
masterpiece of modernist melodrama, and perhaps Brooks' finest work.
Lucienne (Brooks) is a typist for a Parisian newspaper alongside her
boyfriend and their best pal. When she wins a beauty pageant, glamorous
new opportunities start to come her way, badly straining her
relationship with her old friends.
DIR Augusto Genina; SCR René Clair;
PROD Romain Pinès. France, 1930, b&w, 113 min. NOT RATED
113 Minutes,
Drama
A few years back, I had the chance to ask Stephen a few questions about his work as a musical accompanist, and specifically for Prix de beauté. Here is an excerpt from the interview.
TG: What is your approach to composing the score for a silent
film?
SH: My approach varies from event to event, depending on many
variables - some of them quite prosaic, such as how much time I have! On
occasion I'll be commissioned to compose a fully notated score, either to
perform solo or with other musicians. Most often my approach is improvisatory,
but 'planned'. By which I mean that I'll watch the film and prepare certain
musical elements, along with certain specific effects, such as when I'll switch
between instruments (for those that don't know, I'm something of an
instrumental multi-tasker). I like the elastic quality of an improvised
performance, which I think can sometimes respond from moment-to-moment in a way
that is hard to do with a fixed score. But equally I recognize that people like
a good tune! So I try to thread melodic elements throughout, which I guess
creates something of a hybrid: an improvised score.
TG: Were there any special challenges in composing the score for
a silent film that is today best known as a sound film?
SH: I think it's simplest to assume that the audience hasn't
seen the sound version. Obviously several people will have done, but the event
should ideally stand on its own terms, as a silent film / live music event.
However, there are some challenges that this silent version presents,
particularly all the images that specifically reference sound effects: the
repeated close-ups of loudspeakers, etc. One has to make a decision about
whether to acknowledge them musically, or 'play through' them instead.
Unless you're playing an instrument that can produce
comparable sound 'effects', I think it's best to approach these things in a
slightly abstract way. In the tango song scene I've chosen to focus on a couple
of specific elements within the scene - rather than trying to create an
impression of vocalizing, for instance. However, the song in the final scene is
inescapably important, so I think that I have come up with a rather clever
solution to the problem.
TG: Were you able to integrate the two songs used in the sound
version into your score? If so, how?
SH: I'm largely gearing the performance to
people who are coming to this film without having seen the sound version. The
songs are not generally known now, so while it's important that I play a tango
when they're dancing / singing a tango, I don't think that it has to be the one
sung in the sound version. But just wait until the climax...
TG: What can those who attend this screening screening look
forward to?
SH: A lovely but flawed film, elevated to near-classic status by
the transcendence of Louise Brooks. On a musical note, I've noticed that the
music I'm preparing often starts in a major key, before resolving to the minor.
I think this is the influence of the Brooks persona: full of joy, but with a
lingering note of melancholy.
I came across this sheet music online, and thought it might be of interest to those of us who inhabit the Lulu-verse. It is a song titled "Chanson de Lulu" by Émile Zola (words) and Alfred Bruneau (music). It comes from a four act opera called L'Ouragan.
Émile Zola (1840-1902), of course, is the famed French author of Nana and other literary works. [On July 26, 1958, Louise Brooks viewed a print of Jean Renoir's film version of Nana at the George Eastman House -- follow THIS LINK to view a video clip from the film.]
Alfred Bruneau (1857-1934) was a French composer who played a key role in the introduction of realism in French opera. Zola and Bruneau collaborated on a three operas, including L'Ouragan. It was considered his best work.The sheet music shown below was published in France in 1901. L'Ouragan was given in Moscow in a Russian translation in 1905.
One reference I found described the opera as a "gloomy story of love, jealousy, and revenge" set among fisher-folk on an unnamed coast. Otherwise, I haven't been able to find much else about this piece, and how it might fit, if at all, into the Lulu-lineage. (There was, as well, a famous circus performer named Lulu in Paris around the turn of the last century.) Some additional images from the original 1901 opera production may be found HERE. Would anyone know of an English-language translation of "Chanson de Lulu" ?
A couple of days ago, I posted an admittedly longgggggggg blog regarding RadioLulu, the LBS sponsored, Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed, internet only station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today.
I did so because, lately, I have been working on the station, freshening-up both its playlist and its HOMEPAGE on the Louise Brooks Society website, and wanted to let everyone know. There is a lot of great music to be heard on this unique station.
RadioLulu is located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/. There you can see songs the station is currently playing and has recently played. Otherwise, for those who might want to tune-in here and now, click on the widget shown below, listen, and enjoy.
At the bottom of that admittedly longgggggggg post, I mentioned that I had been considering putting together some thematic podcasts, perhaps sometime in 2018.
I figure I would gather together six or ten songs, and talk about them a bit, like a DJ might. Each show might run 30 to 60 minutes. I could explain why these songs play on RadioLulu and how they are related to Louise Brooks. Believe you me, there is always a reason, or some justification of a kind, no matter how obscure. Recently, for example, I was streaming RadioLulu at home using the Tune-In app through Roku when my wife asked why I had included Al Jolson's "Sonny Boy"? The answer may not be obvious to the casual listener, but I knew why. It's played on RadioLulu because it was the flipside on a 78 rpm of one of the handful of "Beggars of Life" recordings I own.
Well, I've given of podcasts a lot of thought, and I came up with about three dozen different themes for different shows. Here are a few of them. Each, I think, should prove interesting and entertaining. Look for them starting in 2018. (First I got to learn how to record and edit-in songs in a podcast.)
Beggars of Life: Variations on a Theme (Song)
-- "Beggars of Life" and other related tracks
Louise Brooks Recommends
-- dance numbers recommended by the actress in "The Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing"
Syd Kay's Fellows
-- recordings by the wedding band seen in "Pandora's Box"
Homage to Lulu
-- contemporary recordings in homage to Louise Brooks
Diary of a Lost Girl: Music of Otto Stenzel & Juan Llosa
-- recordings by the original film score composer & the small combo seen in the film
Flappers & Vamps
-- Jazz Age recordings of “Flapperette,” "Runnin' Wild," “I’m a Jazz Vampire,” etc...
Screen Co-Stars
-- vintage recordings by Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery and others
Also on the Bill
-- rare recordings by Emil Coleman, Bruz Fletcher and others who shared the stage with Louise Brooks during her time as a ballroom dancer in the 1930s
God's Gift to Women
-- recordings by the stars of the 1931 film, Frank Fay & Joan Blondell (and maybe a song by Barbara Stanwyck, who was married to Fay at the time)
Denishawn
-- dance numbers by Denishawn composer Louis Horst, and other related classical music
Charlie Chaplin
-- mostly vintage recordings associated with the Little Tramp (songs written by, conducted by, or about CC)
If I Had a Talking Picture of You
-- vintage movie-related songs from long go like “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At the Moving Picture Ball,” “Hooray for Hollywood” and “My brother makes the noises for the talkies”
Did you know that the Louise Brooks Society has its own online radio station? It's called RadioLulu. You can listen to using the Tune-In app, or using Winamp or the Windows Media Player, or, you can even listen via the Tune-In app on ROKU on your TV.
RadioLulu is a Louise Brooks-inspired, silent film-themed internet station streaming music of the 1920s, 1930s, and today. Located on the web at http://192.99.8.170/start/radiolulu/ — RadioLulu features vintage and contemporary music related to Louise Brooks as well as the silent and early sound eras. This is music you're not likely to hear anywhere else.
Launched way back in 2002, this unique station now features vintage music from five of Brooks’ films — the haunting themes from Beggars of Life (1928) and Prix de Beauté (1930), as well as musical passages from The Canary Murder Case (1929), Empty Saddles (1936), and Overland Stage Raiders (1938). On RadioLulu, you’ll also hear the familiar “Sidewalks of New York” (which was played on the set of The Street of Forgotten Men),
as well as John Philip Sousa’s seldom heard “Atlantic City Beauty
Pageant” (which was written for the Miss America contest, as seen in The American Venus).
Vintage recordings by Brooks’ screen co-stars are also featured on
RadioLulu. Among them are Adolphe Menjou, Esther Ralston, Dorothy
Mackaill, James Hall, Lawrence Gray, Noah Beery, Frank Fay, Joan
Blondell, and Buck Jones. There is even a song by Blanche Ring, who
appeared in It’s the Old Army Game and was the aunt of Brooks’ first
husband, Eddie Sutherland. A few of Brooks’ European co-stars are also
represented, among them Siegfried Arno (Pandora’s Box), Kurt Gerron (Diary of a Lost Girl), and Andre Roanne (Prix de Beauté).
Each is a rarity. As well, there are vintage tracks associated with
Brooks’ brief time with the Ziegfeld Follies, including a handful of
recordings by performers who shared the stage with the actress, such as
Ethel Shutta, Leon Erroll, and the great W.C. Fields.
RadioLulu includes a number of songs by Brooks’ friends and
acquaintances, as well as individuals she worked with over the years.
Actress Tallulah Bankhead, chanteuse Lucienne Boyer, torch singer Libby
Holman, bandleader Emil Coleman, and nightclub owner Bruz Fletcher can
all be heard on RadioLulu. Other tracks associated with the actress and
featured on RadioLulu include George Gershwin’s “Somebody Loves Me”
(Brooks knew Gershwin, and this was her favorite Gershwin song), Xavier
Cugat’s “Siboney” (recommended by Brooks in her rare booklet, Fundamentals of Good Ballroom Dancing), and two numbers by Sid Kay’s Fellows (the jazz band seen playing in the wedding reception scene in Pandora’s Box).
All together, RadioLulu features more than 850 tracks! Notably, many
of them come from rare 78 rpm discs you’re unlikely to hear anywhere
else. Of course, there’s Maurice Chevalier’s much-loved “Louise” as well
as more than a dozen tracks with Louise, Lulu, or LouLou in the title.
Among them is the Coon-Sanders Nighthawks’ recording of “Louise, You
Tease,” as well as a number of different recordings of both “Don’t Bring
Lulu” and “Lulu’s Back in Town”.
Many contemporary tributes to the actress can also be heard on
RadioLulu. These include songs by Natalie Merchant, Rufus Wainwright,
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark (OMD), John Zorn, and Soul Coughing.
Famed cartoonist Robert Crumb is heard on “Chanson pour Louise Brooks”.
And there’s Ross Berkal’s tribute, “MLB (for Louise Brooks).” Berkal,
who is mentioned in the Barry Paris biography and is a longtime member
of the Louise Brooks Society, was acquainted with the actress later in
her life.
Beyond songs related to Louise Brooks, RadioLulu also features
hundreds of songs from the 1920s and 1930s (along with a smattering from
the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s). There is music from the movies aplenty,
as well as rare recordings by early Hollywood stars and Jazz Age
celebrities. There are tracks by the popular crooners and torch singers
of the time, as well as little known numbers by regional dance bands and
hotel orchestras. There are also early Broadway show tunes, early
European jazz, popular vocal numbers, theme songs, and even a few
novelty numbers.
Recordings by early Hollywood figures such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton, Lupe Velez, Clara Bow, Rudolph Valentino, Gloria Swanson and
Joan Crawford are streamed. So are recordings by later stars Buddy
Rogers, Claudette Colbert, Jean Harlow, Paulette Goddard, Barbara
Stanwyck, and Dorothy Lamour. A few of the European actors and actresses
heard on the station include Brigitte Helm, Camilla Horn, Anny Ondra,
Conrad Veidt, Pola Negri, and Marlene Dietrich (notably, her early
German-language recordings).
Among others, Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell are heard singing the
classic “If I Had A Talking Picture Of You,” one of a number of
movie-related songs. There’s also “Take Your Girlie to the Movies,” “At
the Moving Picture Ball,” and “Hooray for Hollywood,” as well as rare
vintage recordings about Chaplin, Garbo, Keaton, Mickey Mouse and Zasu
Pitts. Be sure not to miss H. Robinson Cleaver’s “Grace Moore Medley,”
Fred Bird & Luigi Bernauer’s “Hallo Hallo Hier Radio,” and Jack
Hylton and His Orchestra’s “My brother makes the noises for the
talkies.”
What else can be heard on RadioLulu? How about Constance Bennett
singing “Boulevard of Broken Dreams,” or Alice White & Blanche Sweet
singing “There’s A Tear For Every Smile in Hollywood” (from the
soundtrack to Showgirl in Hollywood). The Waldorf-Astoria Dance
Orchestra performs “The Vamp,” Nate Shilkret plays “Flapperette,” and
Marion Harris sings “I’m a Jazz Vampire.” Regulations explaining proper
radio station identification are given by none other than Cary Grant,
co-star of the 1937 Brooks’ film, When You’re in Love.
RadioLulu features many of the leading stars of the Jazz Age and
Depression era—Rudy Vallee, Russ Colombo, Ben Selvin, Fred Waring, Ted
Weems, Paul Whiteman, Annette Hanshaw, Helen Kane, Mildred Bailey, Lee
Wiley, Ruth Etting, Kay Thompson, and Frankie Trumbauer. There are
recordings by such famous names as Duke Ellington, Fred Astaire, Bing
Crosby and Benny Goodman, alongside rarely heard artists like the Eskimo
Pie Orchestra and the Brox Sisters, as well as Scrappy Lambert, Fred
Elizalde, and Dorothy Dickson! You never know who or what will turn up
on this eclectic, always entertaining station.
And that’s not all…. RadioLulu plays Ragtime, swing, standards, and
some real hot jazz, including such popular hits as the “Charleston,”
“Black Bottom,” and “Varsity Rag.” There are vintage recordings of
popular favorites like “Stardust” and “As Time Goes By,” along with
great, but little known works like James P. Johnson’s “You’ve Got to be
Modernistic.” By the way, the single longest track is George Jessel’s
spoken word history “The Roaring Twenties 1920-1929.”
Among the unusual European numbers on RadioLulu are little heard gems
from the 1930s Polish chanteuse Hanka Ordonówna as well as the Gershwin
of Czechoslovakia, Jaroslav Jezek; there’s a stirring number by the
great British cinema organist Sidney Torch; and even a 1929 recording of
the German dramatist Bertolt Brecht singing “Mack the Knife.” Along
with lovely favorites by the likes of Josephine Baker, Django Rheinhart,
and Mistinguett. Also heard are artist models Suzy Solidor and Kiki of
Montparnasse. Both posed for the surrealist photographer Man Ray, an
admirer of Louise Brooks.
There is nothing else quite like RadioLulu.
Here are ten vintage RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to miss: “Makin’
Whoopee” by B.A. Rolfe & His Lucky Strike Orchestra, “Runnin’ Wild”
by Isabella Patricola, “The Sheik of Araby” by Fats Waller, “My Man” by
Fanny Brice, and “Puttin on the Ritz” by Harry Richman, as well as “You
Oughta be In Pictures” by Little Jack Little & His Orchestra,
“College Rhythm” by Jimmy Grier, “Singin’ In The Rain” by Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike), “Slumming On Park Avenue” by Alice Faye, and “Ramona” by Dolores Del Rio.
And here are ten contemporary RadioLulu tracks you won’t want to
miss: “Lulu” by Twiggy (the 1960’s supermodel), “Valentino” by Connie
Francis, “Louise” by Eric Clapton, “Weight Lifting Lulu” by The
Residents, “Interior Lulu” by Marillion, as well as “Marlene Dietrich’s
Favourite Poem” by Peter Murphy, “I’m In Love With A German Film Star”
by The Passions, “Just Like Fred Astaire” by James, “Lulu Land” by
Camper van Beethoven, and “Brandenburg Gate” by Lou Reed & Metallica
(from their Lulu album).
Over the years, this unique, long running station has gained many
fans and listeners. Famed film critic Leonard Maltin once rated it a
“Wow.” Likewise, Louise Brooks devotee and celebrated Dr. Who actor Paul McGann called it “incredible.” The Pulitzer-Prize winning graphic novelist Art Spiegelman (author of Maus)
has tuned-in on occasion, and told us so. As has the award-winning
science fiction writer Richard Kadrey. And would you believe that a
retro Spanish pop/swing/rock group named Radio Lulu named themselves
after the station?
Music has played a significant role in the life and films of Louise
Brooks. That’s why RadioLulu was started, as a means of sharing some of
the many rare and related recordings collected by the Louise Brooks
Society. Listen today for free by clicking on the widget at the top of
the page. Let us know what you like or don’t like, and what you might
want to hear. Got something to contribute. We would like to hear about
that too.
Louise Brooks listens to RadioLulu. How about you?
Thank you for your interest in Louise Brooks, RadioLulu, and the Louise Brooks Society. Be sure to follow RadioLulu on TWITTER or FACEBOOK. And, for even more fun, visit the LBS account on SOUNDCLOUD for more related audio rarities. In 2018, the LBS hopes to put together some thematic podcasts featuring material from RadioLulu, as well as material (like classical music) not featured on the streaming station. For example, there is music related to the time Louise Brooks was in Denishawn....
As I type this blog, I am listening to one of my very favorite film soundtracks - Stuart Oderman's piano accompaniment to Pandora's Box. It was Oderman's exceptional, moving, romantic pastiche of classical piano music that helped me fall in love with Louise Brooks - and helped open up a world of music by the likes of Debussy, Satie, Rachmaninoff, Brahms, and others. Thank you Stuart Oderman. I owe you.
Back in the late 1990's, I was so desperate to re-enter Oderman's moving score that I made a tape cassette recording of the VHS soundtrack by placing my recorder next to the TV set. Despite its limitations, I have played it many times since -- almost to the point of it wearing out. Admittedly, it was a crude recording, and the fidelity was poor. And once, when I enthusiastically played it for a friend, a pianist, I could sense the look on their face was one of bewilderment. They likely only heard musical noise. I heard scenes from the film.
Stuart Oderman, one of the finest silent film accompanists, died on July 28 at the age of 77. The Louise Brooks Society mourns his passing.
Oderman was many things. Besides a pianist, he was also a writer and film historian. Oderman was the author of five books, including ones on Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Lillian Gish, and the Keystone Cops.
He also authored two volumes of memoirs called Talking to the Piano Player. The first volume includes interviews with some of the most important people
of a bygone film era: Marlene Dietrich, Frank Capra, Colleen Moore,
Jackie Coogan, Madge Bellamy, Aileen Pringle, Allan Dwan, Adela Rogers
St. Johns, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Anita Loos, Leatrice
Joy, Dorothy Davenport (Mrs. Wallace) Reid, Patsy Ruth Miller, Ann
Pennington, Claire Windsor, Betty Bronson, Minta Durfee, Lois Wilson and Constance Talmadge.The second volume featured interviews with Artie Shaw, Lita Grey, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Harry Richman, Veronica Lake, Marie Windsor, Joan Blondell, Gloria DeHaven, and Tallulah
Bankhead
Significantly, for more than 53 years, Oderman accompanied and composed music for silent films at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, as well as at theaters, museums and universities across the United States, Canada, and Greece. His scores appear on VHS / DVD releases of Pandora's Box, the Charlie Chaplin documentary The Eternal Tramp, and the Harry Houdini film, The Master Mystery.
Television audiences may be familiar with his Laurel and Hardy series, and his work for the Comedy Channel.
Oderman came to his calling in a special way. While still in high school, the young movie buff used to cut classes in order to see silent films playing locally. In 1954, he snuck off to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to see the Lillian Gish film Broken Blossoms.
A lady sitting next to him took notice and said, "You belong in school." His response was, "I want to play piano for silent films." The woman turned out to be Gish. She took him by the hand down to the piano, Oderman later recounted, and introduced him to Arthur Kleiner, the celebrated silent film pianist.
Kleiner became his teacher and Gish his point-of-entry to the silent era. "She gave me a life," he says of the actress some consider the finest of the era. "I owe her."
In celebration of the forthcoming Kino Lorber release of Beggars of Life (1928), starring Louise Brooks -- as well as the publication of my new book, Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film, I decided to scan and post images of some of my vintage 78 rpm recordings of that film's theme song, also titled "Beggars of Life." Here they are. Some, like the brown colored disc, are scarce. With so many releases, one might assume it was a somewhat popular song.
Here is my playlist as heard on KDVS (90.3 FM / Davis, CA) on July 21, 2017. I was a guest DJ on "The Jerk Show," and played nearly 90 minutes of Louise Brooks related music. The show (I think) can be streamed HERE.
Here is my playlist:
000 John Matthew Jones – “Louise Brooks” -- from What Will Survive EP (2013) 1:40
001 Sarah Azzara – “Like Louise Brooks” -- from Revenge of Danger Girl (2000) 3:25
002 Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark – “Pandora’s Box” -- from Sugar Tax (1991) 4:04
003 Soul Coughing - “St. Louise is Listening” -- from el oso (1998) 4:29
004 Ron Hawkins – “Lulu” -- from The Secret of My Excess (1995) 1:49
005 Rhum for Pauline – “Louise Brooks' Lover” – from Miami (2010) 2:43
006 Natalie Merchant – “Lulu” -- from her self-titled album (2014) 4:15
007 Jen Anderson – “Lulu: The Story” -- from Pandora’s Box: The Soundtrack (1993) 3:56
008 The Prize – “Silence” -- from Silence (2002) 7:00
009 Nouvelle Culture – Actress Louise Brooks Theme – from Fading Pictures (2005) 4:41
010 Olivia Louvel – “Lulu a Hollywood” -- from Lulu in Suspension (2007) 4:09
011 Gosta Berling – “Berlin” -- from Everybody’s Sweetheart (2008) 8:07
012 Javolenus – “Waiting For You (Like Louise Brooks)” – from ccmixter website (2013) 3:12
013 Paul Hayes – “Louise Brooks” -- from Vol. 1 Love Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (2003) 2:13
014 The GrrrL – “Black is the Color (Louise Brooks’ Hair)” -- from Run You Luscious Lesbian (2010) 1:57
015 Tombstone Teeth – “Louise Brooks On The Subway” from Bells of Orchids (2011) 1:30
016 unreal dm – “Bob Your Head Like Louise Brooks” -- from LastFM website (200?) 3:50
017 Lady Godiva – “Louise Brooks” -- from Louise Brooks Avenue (1999) 4:47
018 Les Primitifs du Futur – “Chanson pour Louise Brooks” -- from World Musette (1999) 3:50
019 Maurice Chevalier – “Louise” -- from a 78 rpm (1929) 3:12
That's me, wearing a vintage Clubfoot Orchestra "Pandora's Box" t-shirt
And here are my introductory remarks:
I’ll be playing music from all over the map – electronica, new wave, alt rock, folk rock, prog rock, pop and even a little vintage jazz. But all of it is tied together by some kind of association with the silent film star Louise Brooks. Some of these songs are tributes or homage. Some only name-check the actress. But still, its pretty remarkable that so many contemporary musicians have composed songs about an actress who was working nearly a century ago.
For those who might not be familiar with the actress, Louise Brooks was a silent film star popular in the 1920s. She is thought of as a flapper, and was famous for her bobbed hair. It was a style worn and copied by many women in the Jazz Age, and today you still see is worn by models and actresses and perhaps even a few students around Davis. Among Brooks’ contemporaries were familiar names like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Rudolph Valentino and Clara Bow – the IT girl. They were all people she knew.
Brooks mostly played in comedies and light dramas and the occasional crime film. Some think of Brooks as a femme fatale. She made a number of films in Hollywood, as well as one movie in Berkeley, a college romance called Rolled Stockings; however, that film, like so many other silent films, is lost.
Had your grandparents been in Davis in the 1920s, they would have seen Brooks films play at the old Varsity Theater. The old Varsity (located at 706 2nd Street) operated from 1921 to around 1949. That building was demolished and replaced by store buildings. A new Varsity Theater, built at 616 2nd Street, still operates today.
Though Brooks was an American actress, she did make three films in Europe. Those include the 1929 German made Pandora’s Box, in which she played Lulu. It is easily her best known role and film. She also made another German film, Diary of a Lost Girl, which is really terrific, as well as an early French sound film, Prix de beaute, or Beauty Prize. Each is a tragedy, and without giving anything away, I’ll say that Brooks’ character comes to a bad end in each. Jack the Ripper is involved in one.
I have about 20 tracks line up, which should fill this time slot. Most of them are pretty obscure. I have other LB related tracks, but these are my favorites and these are the ones I thought listeners would enjoy.
If you want to find out more, look Louise Brooks up online. Chances are you come to my Louise Brooks Society website at www.pandorasbox.com , which is full of information about the actress. There is also a terrific biography by Barry Paris which is available at the UC Davis library. The Shields library also has a copy of Brooks' book Lulu in Hollywood. There is also a documentary.
A handful of her surviving films, including Pandora’s Box and Diary of a Lost Girl, are available on DVD. Also, her best American film, Beggars of Life, is coming out on DVD next month. [Beggars of Life tells the story of an orphan girl who kills her abusive stepfather and flees the law. While on the run, she dresses as a boy, hops trains, and hangs out with hobos. It’s transgressive in so many ways....] BTW, that new release includes an audio commentary by yours truly. I’ve also just published a new book on the film called Beggars of Life: A Companion to the 1928 Film. It’s available on amazon.
Should all go according to plan THIS TIME, I will be guest DJ-ing on KDVS this Friday afternoon. KDVS is a free-form college radio station (out of Davis, California), and I will be spinning Louise Brooks and silent film related rock & pop and jazz from 1 - 2:30 pm PST.
(I will be playing tunes heard on RadioLulu.) I suspect more than a few tunes I play will make their West Coast radio debut!
Listen over the air in the Davis / Sacramento area at 90.3 FM, or stream online at https://kdvs.org/ (I'm not sure if the show is archived for later listening.)
UPDATE: My gig has been postponed. I will let everyone know when I have been rescheduled.
Should all go according to plan, I will be guest DJing on radio station KDVS this Saturday afternoon. KDVS is a free-form college radio station (located in Davis, California at the University of California, Davis). I will be appearing on the "Groove Theory" show, and will be spinning Louise Brooks and silent film related rock, pop and jazz starting at 2 pm PST.
Most of what I plan on playing are contemporary recordings, from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000's. And perhaps, I might play a vintage track as well. I suspect a few tunes will make their West Coast radio debut!
Listen over the air in the Davis / Sacramento, California area at 90.3 FM, or stream online at https://kdvs.org/
The Invention of Morel, a new 90 minute opera with a Louise Brooks inspired character, has received its world premiere at the Studebaker Theater in Chicago, Illinois under the auspices of the city's Chicago Opera Theater. Additional information on the production can be found here.
The Invention of Morel is a music theater adaptation of the 1940 novella by Adolfo Bioy Casares. The score is by Stewart Copeland (the co-founder and drummer for the Police), with stage direction by the English actor-writer Jonathan Moore. Copeland and Moore collaborated on the libretto. The opera was commissioned by the Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater. (Excerpts from The Invention of Morel were performed as part of the New Opera Showcase, presented by OPERA America and NOVUS NY orchestra on January 18, 2016, at Trinity Wall Street.)
The opera features "wonderfully alluring" Valerie Vinzant as Faustine, and Andrew Wilkowske as the Fugitive. Baritone Lee Gregory is the Narrator (the id of the Fugitive), and tenor Nathan Granner is Morel. Kimberly E. Jones played Dora, Barbara Landis is the Duchess, Scott Brunscheen is Alec/Ombrellieri, and David Govertsen is Stoever. The set designer is Alan Muraoka, lighting designer is David Martin Jacques, the video designer is Adam Flemming, and Jenny Mannis is costume designer.
courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater
The full opera debuted in Chicago on February 18th. In it's reviews, the Chicago Sun-Times described the work as "the alternately unnerving nightmare and beautiful fever dream of a man on the run who sees no hope for his future until he conjures a relationship with an enigmatic woman," adding "Invention of Morel deftly balances period charm with a contemporary sense of artificial reality." The Chicago Tribune said it was "a brilliant piece of musical surrealism, 4 stars."
Casares' La invención de Morel is widely considered the first literary work of magical realism (predating the kindred fiction of Jorge Luis Borges, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and others). It features a character named Faustine who was inspired by the author's affection for Louise Brooks. Casares said as much in interviews in later years. Those facts are seemingly not lost on the designers of the opera, who have modeled their Faustine characters after Brooks' appearance, especially her signature bob.
courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater
Though not as well known as it should be, The Invention of Morel has had a unique, lingering resonance. throughout the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Casares’ book was made into a French movie called L’invention de Morel (1967), and an Italian movie called L’invenzione di Morel (1974). It is also believed to have inspired the Alain Resnais’ film Last Year At Marienbad (1961), which was adopted for the screen by the French novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet. Brooks herself ended up on the cover of a recent edition of Casares’ book, which in turn was given a shout-out on television series Lost (2004 – 2010).
Notably, this is not the first time a contemporary opera singer has been modeled after Brooks, (a one-time Chicago resident). Witness William Kentridge's recent staging of Alban Berg's opera, Lulu, where the appearance of the Lulu character was meant to evoke the actress. The source material for both operas, of course, bear a relationship to Brooks as well, as Brooks starred as Lulu in a 1929 film adaption of Frank Wedekind’s earlier play, Pandora's Box. [The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra staging of William Kentridge’s production of Lulu was recently released on DVD / Blu-ray on the Nonesuch label.]
The Chicago Tribune noted: “As the Fugitive (forcefully sung and acted by baritone Andrew Wilkowske) falls desperately in love with a mysterious beauty who's one of Morel's guests, the symbolically named Faustine (a character inspired by the 1920s film star Louise Brooks), we see the Narrator (the excellent baritone Lee Gregory) pouring his confusion and fears into a diary. He tries to catch her attention and persuade her to return his longing, but she remains as remote as the rest.”
courtesy of Chicago Opera Theater
About the opera, the Chicago Opera Theater wrote, "This world premiere opera is based on "La
invención de Morel," a 1940 novel by the influential Argentine author,
Adolfo Bioy Casares. The story for this opera does not live within the
classic constructs of time and space, but instead explores powerful
driving forces of human emotion: love, desire, and sacrifice. . . . An escaped fugitive arrives on an isolated,
strange island. While exploring his surroundings, he observes a group
of tourists and quickly realizes something is not quite right in this paradise.
Intrigued yet wary of these eccentric visitors, he begins to fall
in love with one--a strikingly beautiful woman. He discovers these
visitors are here at the invitation of Morel, a mad scientific genius,
for the unveiling of his latest mysterious invention. When his heart
pulls him helplessly toward this beautiful woman he must ask himself how
much he is willing to sacrifice to be with her."
Chicago Opera Theater's world-premiere production of Stewart Copeland's "The Invention of Morel," conducted by Andreas Mitisek, continues through February 26 at the Studebaker Theater, 410 S. Michigan Ave., in Chicago, Illinois. Tickets are $39-$125; more information at 312-704-8414 and www.cot.org. Here is a short animated piece summarizing the story.
a variant on this piece was published in the Huffington Post
In case you are wondering, or even worried, what you might give the Louise Brooks Society this holiday season, wonder or worry no more. The Louise Brooks Society has updated its wish list on amazon.com, and it can be found HERE. The list contains a handful of books, compact discs, and DVDs of interest to the LBS.
And what's more, RadioLulu also has a wish list made up of CDs and digital music which the LBS is interested in obtaining for possible inclusion on it's streaming music station. The RadioLulu wish list can be found HERE.
