Five Things I Saw & Heard This Week: Wednesday 24th October

You Can’t Always Get What You Want
“I had the idea immediately; the idea of somebody sticking their tongue out. The difficulty for me was how to portray that visually, as a disembodied mouth. So I tried straight on, I tried a profile, different views of it, different versions. And obviously I was trying to get something that looked a bit pop and looked a bit cartoon-y, but also something that looked luscious. And I just kept re-drawing it until I came up with the version, as it is now, the original. That’s what I presented to Jagger and he said he really liked it…” From a recent interview that I did with John Pasche about the Lips & Tongue logo (read it here). He also said “I find it difficult to look at the versions of it—as a designer it just irks me a bit. But I have to say; I think it has been used quite cleverly over the years in different forms on the various tours. And I think that’s probably Jagger again.” Gird your loins, John, here it comes for another round…

Sometimes Only MOR Will Do
“Since her dad [Folksinger Ewan McColl] was absent, she could sing along to her brother Hamish’s singles, apparently teaching herself the vocal harmony parts to the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations when she was seven. Her mother remembers Kirsty waiting for the musical interludes in Andy Williams’ TV show: “Kirsty would take her violin out of the case and accompany him. I would have a quiet laugh to myself, but she took it very seriously. Then she’d put the violin away until Andy Williams came out for another song, and out would come the violin.”— Michael Hann on Kirsty McColl, The Observer. Like a palate cleanser between courses, listening to MOR provides a respite from less smooth music. I’ve always been drawn to Bacharach and David (The Butch Cassidy soundtrack is one of my favourite albums of all time), Dean Martin and Andy Williams. A few months before his death BBC4 ran compilations of songs from his shows, and the duets showed his mastery of harmony lines, timing and plain fitting-in with his illustrious guests. None finer than Judy Garland, with an astonishing performance of—of course—Somewhere Over The Rainbow. Halting and hoarse, she eases her way into the song tentatively, staring the camera (and audience) down, like it’s an enemy out to get her. As she gets into her stride she suddenly powers into the chorus like a trouper, before Andy joins in on the final two lines (If happy little bluebirds fly/above the rainbow why, oh, why can’t IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII…) to tenderly wind the song down.

On My iPod, Lisa Hannigan, Metro
Bells Of Harlem by Dave Rawlings Machine.“My friends are sick of me banging on about this tune but I think it’s perfect.” I’m with Lisa. A melody so beautiful, the first time I heard it I immediately looped the intro to use as a ringtone on my phone. Plangent and plaintive, it’s up there with People Get Ready as one of the best songs written about the Civil Rights movement, with a clever and sharpeyed lyric… “Far down the streets, I see the signs/The crowd is breathing faster/Some must have walked a hundred blocks/I see the flocks and pastors.”

Bruce Weber, Selfridges Christmas Ad, Count Basie, Pearly Queens Et Al
Oh God, the overwhelming hum of hipster cliche, tracked by Basie’s Jingle Bells. Bah. Humbug.

“Herd Of Morons.” Brilliant