Welcome, dear reader, to my new blog layout. I thought it was time for a bit of a change, and here it is, in all it's glory. I hope you like it as much as I do. Also welcome to my new weekly column 'The Very Thought Of It...' where I will spill my thoughts, ideas or opinions on the week in the hope to entertain and possibly even to inform - a little thoughts diary perhaps? Expect an update every Monday, hopefully you'll enjoy it!
Here's the first one.
Saturday was my third and final drive of the week to my boyfriend's house in Surrey. I usually train it during the week but now I am avec baby, i.e. my new little puppy Dhillon, I have to drive. On this particular trip I dared to turn on the iPod in the hope that there might actually be something I wanted to listen to out of the 3,000-odd songs I have collected over the years. Recently they have all become so laborious, and it doesn't help that the music industry, in my opinion, is a little stale of late - it all sounds the same!
I came across an old playlist - 'Divas'. I put it on. Finally something I didn't mind singing along too! Yes, I am a Diva addict. Hello, my name is Simon and I am addicted to Divas. I have no problem saying it. But let me shed some light on what I mean by a diva.
Let me try and link this to fashion, somehow. You know when you buy a really amazing piece of clothing, something you know you'll have forever, that you can pull out of the wardrobe when you're feeling a bit special, that you can forget about for months then find it in the depths and act all surprised when you do but still wear it proudly? That's how I feel about my Divas. I come back to them time and time again, they're a safe haven away from the Keshas and the Dizzees of the music world.
And I'm talking the old school Divas, not these young girls with dressing room demands as long as Santa's present list. I know what you might be thinking: 'This guy sounds so OLD!' but, dear reader, I really feel that Britney, Christina, heck even my beloved Beyonce are not/not yet at Diva status.
My hero, Dolly Parton, proves the point. She's 64, probably had the same number of plastic surgery operations, and can still sing as if she were 16 again. She's famously penned more than 3,000 songs, has starred in some of the best classic films ever (9 to 5, Steel Magnolias etc), is now the biggest employer in Tennessee and is still going strong.
Who can wear a wig better than Cher? No one. She, apparently, has a separate private jet that is solely for the transportation of her wigs and is temperature controlled so not to disrupt the styling. Why? because she can! Remember her Farewell tour? Course you do, it lasted three years!
Did anyone see Tina Turner live when she was in town? I did. Two hours that woman sung and danced for - two hours! Who cares if she's 70-years-old and still shows as much leg as Kate Moss? She's earned the right to. And let her dress head-to-toe in tin foil looking clothes, she gets away with it.
How can anyone call Britney a diva? She hasn't sung live since....forever and she's just not old enough, plain and simple. You see, the title of Diva does come with age. Longevity in a business that is constantly on the move. Sustainability under intense pressure. You don't see Liza Minnelli shaving off her hair in an act of desperation or Babara Streisand losing shocking amounts of weight for a bit of press. They have an air of dignity.
My Divas are here to stay ladies and gents. They are, in the most glamorous sense of the phrase, like cockroaches of the music industry. Do you really see ol' Dame Shirley in a retirement home? I think not.
If you ever find yourself bored of your iPod, load it with the Divas and you'll never be lonely again!
The Very Simon G's purchase of the week: Every film Dolly and Cher have ever been in - you won't regret it! x
Saturday was my third and final drive of the week to my boyfriend's house in Surrey. I usually train it during the week but now I am avec baby, i.e. my new little puppy Dhillon, I have to drive. On this particular trip I dared to turn on the iPod in the hope that there might actually be something I wanted to listen to out of the 3,000-odd songs I have collected over the years. Recently they have all become so laborious, and it doesn't help that the music industry, in my opinion, is a little stale of late - it all sounds the same!
I came across an old playlist - 'Divas'. I put it on. Finally something I didn't mind singing along too! Yes, I am a Diva addict. Hello, my name is Simon and I am addicted to Divas. I have no problem saying it. But let me shed some light on what I mean by a diva.
Let me try and link this to fashion, somehow. You know when you buy a really amazing piece of clothing, something you know you'll have forever, that you can pull out of the wardrobe when you're feeling a bit special, that you can forget about for months then find it in the depths and act all surprised when you do but still wear it proudly? That's how I feel about my Divas. I come back to them time and time again, they're a safe haven away from the Keshas and the Dizzees of the music world.
And I'm talking the old school Divas, not these young girls with dressing room demands as long as Santa's present list. I know what you might be thinking: 'This guy sounds so OLD!' but, dear reader, I really feel that Britney, Christina, heck even my beloved Beyonce are not/not yet at Diva status.
My hero, Dolly Parton, proves the point. She's 64, probably had the same number of plastic surgery operations, and can still sing as if she were 16 again. She's famously penned more than 3,000 songs, has starred in some of the best classic films ever (9 to 5, Steel Magnolias etc), is now the biggest employer in Tennessee and is still going strong.
Who can wear a wig better than Cher? No one. She, apparently, has a separate private jet that is solely for the transportation of her wigs and is temperature controlled so not to disrupt the styling. Why? because she can! Remember her Farewell tour? Course you do, it lasted three years!
Did anyone see Tina Turner live when she was in town? I did. Two hours that woman sung and danced for - two hours! Who cares if she's 70-years-old and still shows as much leg as Kate Moss? She's earned the right to. And let her dress head-to-toe in tin foil looking clothes, she gets away with it.
How can anyone call Britney a diva? She hasn't sung live since....forever and she's just not old enough, plain and simple. You see, the title of Diva does come with age. Longevity in a business that is constantly on the move. Sustainability under intense pressure. You don't see Liza Minnelli shaving off her hair in an act of desperation or Babara Streisand losing shocking amounts of weight for a bit of press. They have an air of dignity.
My Divas are here to stay ladies and gents. They are, in the most glamorous sense of the phrase, like cockroaches of the music industry. Do you really see ol' Dame Shirley in a retirement home? I think not.
If you ever find yourself bored of your iPod, load it with the Divas and you'll never be lonely again!
The Very Simon G's purchase of the week: Every film Dolly and Cher have ever been in - you won't regret it! x