It's bon anniversaire for Jacques Dutronc this weekend as the French cultural icon turns 70. It's not that I've pasted my walls with his portraits or anything, I just remember it's the same date as Edward's. Here's Dutronc with his gorgeous (and more famous) female counterpart, Françoise Hardy. Watch him in action here.
Sometimes it's difficult to recognise drawings as real, viable products until you see them in a shop or —very, very seldom— editorial. It was lovely to see our Little Blue House on the shelf recently while house-warming with friends.
In retrospect, I hope it took pride of place among the throng of well-wishes because it's cute and not just 'cos it's small!
11/04/2013
• Paolo Soleri, 1919—2013, architect of under-populated Arizona ecotopia, Arcosanti. Wonderful pictures found here and here.
09/04/2013
The death of Mrs Thatcher, that cartoonish super-villain of the 1980s, engenders some peculiar feelings. Compassion, forgiveness and magnanimity may make weak ideological attributes but as emotions they should still be cherished. I always imagined her as Lady Macbeth, trying to expunge the stain of humble beginnings like a phantom spot of blood.
There's an overriding sense of nostalgia in watching the footage rotate this week and thinking about the creative dissent she inspired. Not just alternative/counter-cultural comedy or cinema, but real mainstream stuff too; being seen to extol a message while wholly revelling in the glitz.
I spent half an hour researching contemporaneous lefty-pop for an evocative post: Ghost Town, The Style Council, that Blow Monkey's song with Curtis Mayfield, The Communards… you get the picture. Then I remembered watching the mighty Robert Wyatt's version of Shipbuilding as a bemused 12 year old... it's not something you forget in a hurry.
• Maggie-Maggie-Maggie, 1925—2013
05/04/2013
The spirits of second-hand are strong as we progress through this remarkably wintery spring. So far this season my local charity shop has bestowed a cosy blanket jacket for me, a cute blanket-lined denim for the boy, some as-new Church's shoes for the fella and a tartan brolly against April (snow) showers. Hope I find something in madras, then I'll know summer's on the way.
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