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Post by Vulnerable Billy on Oct 23, 2005 10:26:55 GMT -5
It’s interesting how acoustic and electromagnetic stimuli can evoke differing thoughts and feelings. Mr Testino spoke about the late Princess Diana as looking vulnerable in his photographs, yet one would never apply this adjective to the photograph of a male. Considering the acoustic spectrum, one could conclude that a singer (male or female) was, say, tormented, but certainly not vulnerable. Sexually arousal is possible whilst viewing a photograph, but this would be very unlikely to occur whilst listening to a record.
His references to ‘puke’ and ‘p*ss’ when living in the derelict hospital for seven years made me wonder how he could tolerate and enjoy the superficial and insincere world of high society partying. Some of his record choices emphasised the importance of this – for example Soft Cell and Grace Jones. A photographer must be able to translate personality into the visual spectrum, so one would expect them to be exceptionally sensitive, yet his record choices didn’t provide much evidence of this. He narrated the experience of meeting the two men whom he knew from his days of living rough in the derelict hospital, yet none of his musical choices (possibly Blondie?) suggested that this period of his life was important to him. Agreed with his comments about Berlin and would have liked to have heard more of ‘Du und Ich’.
Not an uninteresting programme and he was certainly very sincere in respect of his love of England. His devotion to hard work was most appealing, compared with some of the Oxbridge guests who often boast about not working whilst at university. For some reason I kept expecting to hear a record by Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66!
P.S Miss Lawley always sounds silly when she calls the bog 'the lavatory'.
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Crusoe
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Post by Crusoe on Oct 23, 2005 12:26:20 GMT -5
I have to admit, I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of him. The world of fashion, models, celebrities and paparazzi has never really excited me and so I did not have a great deal of interest in Mr. Testino. His story of being rather a poor, one plate at a time, waiter made me laugh, however, and I was intrigued that he had started from such poverty. It gave me a new admiration for him. To pursue your passion and your talent until you succeed is admirable. As you say, Billy, His devotion to hard work was most appealing, compared with some of the Oxbridge guests who often boast about not working whilst at university The music was a fairly mixed bag. Like you, I didn’t feel that there was a great deal of passion for the music but I might be misjudging him. Blondie are one of my earlier pop/ rock memories and I enjoyed hearing “Sunday Girl” again. And I did quite enjoy “Fina Estampa” and thought “Du und Ich” was quite interesting, at first, but quickly became a bit repetitive. It might still be interesting to hear more by the same group, though. All in all, a lot more enjoyable than I had anticipated. I was also interested to hear his views on Kate Moss. “To err is human…” came to mind and I this made me think that he was quite a compassionate man. Perhaps you have to be to get the best from your subjects as a photographer. For some reason I kept expecting to hear a record by Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66! Hee hee – I’d certainly have enjoyed it if he had chosen Srgio Mendes. |
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Post by Vulnerable Billy on Oct 23, 2005 15:07:20 GMT -5
I have to admit, I wasn’t sure exactly what to make of him. The world of fashion, models, celebrities and paparazzi has never really excited me and so I did not have a great deal of interest in Mr. Testino. That’s how it was for me Crusoe – but I do like to cast my eye over the fashion pages of the newspapers and magazines every so often. We’ve been discussing eye make up on the shop floor this week, because someone treated W**** to a hair and make-up session. I’d never seen her wearing eye make-up and it certainly revealed a degree of beauty to her eyes that I’d never noticed in the past. I got the impression that he came from quite a wealthy background, so not too sure if this was done out of necessity. Wasn’t the ‘one plate at a time’ down to an obsession with cleanliness? I’ve often thought the profession of waiter/waitressing must be one of the loneliest jobs in the world. Imagine what it must be like returning to a bedsit (on a lousy wage) after a day dealing with rude louts where retaliation is forbidden. Yes, and one wasn’t left with the impression that the single mindedness required to achieve this had made him inaccessible. Actually, I think Deborah Harry is sounding better to-day. I see they’re about to embark on a large UK tour. His comments about Ms. Moss suggested that he was the kind of man that a woman could trust. He didn’t go overboard discussing his Catholic background, but I wondered if the roots of this compassion were sown as a consequence of this. Hee hee - oh yes, I have a real soft spot for Srgio Mendes and Bras65!!!!!!!!.....'Day after day, the fool on the hill......' |
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Post by X on Oct 23, 2005 16:40:56 GMT -5
I enjoyed this DID v much, more for the chat than for the music.
10/10 for his comments re Ms Moss.
10/10 for the gracious compliments he paid to the British.
10/10 for choosing a Hesse for his book.
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Post by Nurse Duckett on Oct 23, 2005 16:52:36 GMT -5
And Bowie's Life on Mars (is there)
is one of my Desert Island Discs.
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Crusoe
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Post by Crusoe on Oct 25, 2005 9:56:46 GMT -5
I got the impression that he came from quite a wealthy background, so not too sure if this was done out of necessity. Wasn’t the ‘one plate at a time’ down to an obsession with cleanliness? Yes, I think that that is the case but get the impression that because he wanted to pursue a particular career, he was not supported by his family after his studies had finished. You’re right that the one-plate-at-a-time aspect of his job was related to not wanting to get dirty, although it was interesting that customers still seemed to like him. He must have an engaging personality. I’ve often thought the profession of waiter/waitressing must be one of the loneliest jobs in the world. Imagine what it must be like returning to a bedsit (on a lousy wage) after a day dealing with rude louts where retaliation is forbidden. I’m not entirely sure about this. From people I know who’ve worked in restaurants, before, there is often a good deal of camaraderie in these places, although I would certainly agree that there must be something sad about expecting to be ignored whilst others are enjoying themselves. There is often, also, a discrepancy between the wages the waiters receive and the amount they see the customers spending on food. Yes, and one wasn’t left with the impression that the single mindedness required to achieve this had made him inaccessible. He does still sound approachable. This is probably an important part of his job, since he must need to set people at their ease, in order to get the best photos Actually, I think Deborah Harry is sounding better to-day. You could well be right: she has done a lot of singing since Blondie first formed, no doubt picking up plenty of experience. His comments about Ms. Moss suggested that he was the kind of man that a woman could trust. He didn’t go overboard discussing his Catholic background, but I wondered if the roots of this compassion were sown as a consequence of this. Possibly, although one does hear of some Catholics being very uncompassionate, I suspect that it’s a personal thing that isn’t much affected by religion. Hee hee - oh yes, I have a real soft spot for Srgio Mendes and Bras65!!!!!!!!.... ' You and your bras, Billy!  I would have enjoyed hearing something by them, though, particularly their version of “Mas Que Nada”, although that may have made me dance around the room. ;D |
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Post by rosalie on Nov 8, 2005 16:38:33 GMT -5
Liked this one, surprisingly as I thought I wasn't going to. The fashion indusry doesn't interest me that much, and the cult of Princess Di is cringeworthy...I hate it when people appear to be saying things like "she seems so normal" like celebrities aren't human beings.
Anyway this guy was a good guy. I liked his gentleness.
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Crusoe
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Post by Crusoe on Nov 10, 2005 11:00:55 GMT -5
Well done, Rosalie, I think that you’ve summed up my thoughts a lot more succinctly than I managed to.
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