Thursday, September 16, 2010

Après moi le déluge

Today was the first day of the annual Newport International Boat Show. It was busy but not yet crowded this morning, but by Saturday morning you won't be able to see the streets for the feet walking on them.



And an added little treat... Last night I watched Pirate Radio (in its American release; in its UK release it was called The Boat That Rocked); my public library has a copy of the DVD, and whenever it shows up on the shelf I snag it. I love that movie! If like me you were listening to lots of music back in 1966 and '67, then you'd recognize all of the music in this movie: The Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, Smokey Robinson, Otis Redding, the Who, The Box Tops, Dusty Springfield... The story is fictional, but it's based on a real situation: despite the rock explosion of the mid '60s, especially in Great Britain, the BBC was stupid enough to ban the music from its airwaves. So entrepreneurial souls anchored boats on the North Sea and broadcast rock and pop music to the eager listening public of the British Isles. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, and Kenneth Branagh. My favorite clip from the DVD wasn't part of the released movie, but writer/director Richard Curtis loved it so much that it's the centerpiece of his deleted scenes extra feature. And I found the whole clip on YouTube. So listen and watch as Rhys Ifans as super dj Gavin Cavanaugh explains how rock & roll makes sense of a crazy world!


Yup! That says it all for me. I think I need to go listen to some Kinks now!

Photos & text © 2010 by A. Roy Hilbinger

2 comments:

  1. It was a right-of - passage for young Brits my age.Head under the bedroom blanket:A transistor radio glued to my ear;Listening to Radio Caroline late at night.We All Felt Like Outlaws!!!

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  2. Great shots of one of my favorite towns! and that video clip was excellent, the movie itself is very enlightening about our recent past, i hope more people view it.

    i gave you one of my weekly goddess awards which you can collect anytime you like if you like.

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