In Gods We Trust

Hubcap Diamond Star Halo

La Madone au coeur blessé, - 1991

Pierre Commoy et Gilles Blanchard
When boy meets boy...

Nathan Coley's installation. 'There Will Be No Miracles Here'
The Dean Gallery lawn, Edinburgh

Pieta (1876)
William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

Reach out and touch faith...

Your own personal Jesus

Someone to hear your prayers

Someone who cares

Personal Jesus - Martin Gore - Depeche Mode

My Soul Afire - Charred hymn book

Cornelia Parker

Always the dead bridesmaid, never the dead bride...

El Día de los Muertos originated in Mexico, some three thousand years before the Spanish conquest, where indigenous peoples believed that the soul did not die, that it continued living in Mictlan, the 'Place of Death.' For Mexicans, the symbolic visits from the dead are celebratory, not morbid or macabre...

Flesh and the Devil...

Leo von Harden (Gilbert) to Felicitas von Rhaden (Garbo):

"Forget you? Not while I live... not if I die!"

Probably just a bit of chutzpah, but it was said that director Clarence Brown, was so overawed by the developing romance between John Gilbert and Greta Garbo that at the end of one particularly passionate scene he neglected to call "cut," instead motioning the lighting and camera crews to stop filming. They withdrew from the set and, after a few hours, had dinner sent in.

Known as 'The Great Lover,' John Gilbert was one of the major stars of the silent movie era, rivaling even Rudolph Valentino at the box office.

Throughout his time at MGM, Gilbert had frequently clashed with studio head Louis B. Mayer. One notorious event occurred in September, 1926, while guests were waiting for  Garbo to show up (she didn't) for a proposed double wedding ceremony - Garbo with Gilbert and director King Vidor with his fiancee, actress Eleanor Boardman - Mayer allegedly made a crude remark about Garbo to Gilbert, who unsurprisingly, flew into a rage and physically attacked the mogul. Eleanor Boardman described Mayer's final look at Gilbert as "terrifying."

Garbo & Gilbert - 'A Woman of Affairs' 1928

(An ironic title, Gilbert, Mercedes de Acosta and Marlene Dietrich might all find apt).

"We're always looking for monsters under the bed.
They're not under the bed... they're on the bed."
The Baby David - Dumb Baby Sounds

Peggy Van Alden : "How dare you think such cheap tactics would work with me!"
Vince Everett : "That ain't tactics, honey. It's just the beast in me!"
Judy Tyler & Elvis Presley - Jailhouse Rock

Jesus' blood never failed me yet

Jesus' blood never failed me yet
Never failed me yet
Never failed me yet
Jesus' blood never failed me yet
There's one thing I know
For he loves me so..

The piece was released in 1975 on Brian Eno's Obscure label and a substantially revisited version was re-recorded in 1993 with Bryars Ensemble and Tom Waits adding a vocal. I found this mostly unseen version on YouTube recently... I'm not certain it's even Gavin Bryars conducting since there seems to be no information with it but for a place and time. It's beautiful all the same...

The story on this beautiful piece, for those unlucky enough not to come across it, is that in 1971 Gavin Bryars was working with Alan Power, on a film about people living rough in the area around Elephant and Castle and Waterloo Station. In the course of being filmed, a few of them broke into drunken song,  some operatic, some sentimental ballads. One of the people, who in fact did not drink, sang a religious song 'Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet.'

"When I played it at home, I found that his singing was in tune with my piano, and I improvised a simple accompaniment. I noticed, too, that the first section of the song - 13 bars in length - formed an effective loop which repeated in a slightly unpredictable way. I took the tape loop to Leicester, where I was working in the Fine Art Department, and copied the loop onto a continuous reel of tape, thinking about perhaps adding an orchestrated accompaniment to this. The door of the recording room opened on to one of the large painting studios and I left the tape copying, with the door open, while I went to have a cup of coffee. When I came back I found the normally lively room unnaturally subdued. People were moving about much more slowly than usual and a few were sitting alone, quietly weeping." Gavin Bryars

Again...

'Rain Dancing' - The debut single from Dumb Baby Sounds
Release date 9 September 2011
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