Thursday 11 September 2014

Shannel Watkins' best moments - RuPaul's Drag Race season 1 & All Stars


Divine's grotesque glamour and a PWL pounding was a match made in heaven, hell and countless questionable gay bars.

Gia Gunn's best moments - RuPaul's Drag Race season 6


How is she, though?

Song: Elize - I Can Be A Bitch

Genevieve Waite - Pink Gin & Lime


Enjoy the idiosyncratic adorablity (yes that is a word) of RuPaul's Drag Race season 1 contestant Tammie Brown, before the clip sinks into a song that very much fits the same description.

Madonna


Interview clips, and a montage video accompanying an 'oldie but goodie'.

There's Nothing I Won't Do - JX


The pinnacle of 90s dance?

Cyndi Lauper - Higher Plane


Whether you think it's a clunky mess, Living Proof dregs Cher wouldn't holler an F-bomb whilst on her motorbike over, or sublime disco chaos, Higher Plane showcased Cyndi's renewed pop energy on her sadly squandered Shine album (the label folded, the songs leaked online, etc).

Youth - Foxes


It might sound silly to say, but the first time I heard this song (as a free download 1 or 2 years before it became a top 20 UK hit thanks to being used on an advert), I immediately imagined the dancing of Rita Hayworth. I could ramble on about how much I love her, but hopefully this montage, more than the other ones I have made for Dietrich, Davis and Crawford, will do a better job getting across exactly why that is.

Face To Face - Siouxsie & The Banshees


Of all the Golden Age movie stars, none were more dedicated to protecting and maintaining their projected star image as Marlene Dietrich. Whether she took time to act in them sometimes or not, her films are works of art and her face and how it is lit, or her costumes, being far more important than unimportant things like, you know, dialogue or a gripping story-line.

Losing My Mind - Liza Minnelli


It's almost impossible to consider either Joan Crawford or Bette Davis without the other, but in doing so is a disservice to two very distinct careers. Both were unrelenting in their determination to remain on top, so it was unsurprising that they would collide in a number of ways throughout the years. What they both have in common, besides the obvious, is that they adapted as they got older and never looked back in the process. Joan held onto her 'star image' for longer, which meant that in the 1950s her films showcase her vintage traits with increasingly bizarre and 'camp' results. And speaking of results, Liza's album boasts a number of dramatic turns and indeed torch songs (least I mention Joan's unforgettable flop tour de force Torch Song, which one could argue was her All About Eve), and so Losing My Mind seemed like the obvious, and only, song choice to soundtrack Crawford's demented and determined screen turns (wherein she is often driven to despair and utter madness). An awful woman, monstrous and powerful, she made every second on screen count and as uncomfortable as it is to admire such an unfortunate individual, she remains one of the ultimate movie stars.


Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes

I can't say I'm familiar with Kim Carnes's career, but she's still at it I see. Something I like to do to amuse myself is make montage videos, and combining my obsession with Hollywood's Golden Era actresses compelled me to make this video. It contains around 40 of Bette's 100-plus pictures, and even cramming in 'only' that many was a challenge, but labour of love.


Spice Girls - Wannabe (Motiv8 Vocal Slam)


Things around here are probably about as quiet as Emma Bunton's booking diary. The Motiv8 sound was formulaic as hell, but when on form the sound felt like the vanishing point of dance-floor euphoria. The dynamics of the Spice Girls, their sheer carnage and charisma, struck a chord (for lack of their vocal ones) in a way that will probably never be replicated. Although this montage is a little out of sync in places, there are some nice sequences and it hopefully encapsulates their inescapable appeal.