Dear reader: have you any particularly great ideas for Xmas stocking fillers you’d like to share?
Please do email them in to us preferably with a picture at info@vulgo.ie, and we will add them to this post. As you can see we are aiming for TEN. So that’s six down, and four to go…
1. LAURIE ANDERSON: HOMELAND
You can buy it at Dublin’s Tower Records. Cost: €19.99
Here are some sample lyrics from Laurie Anderson’s “Homeland” CD, which might inspire you to put it in someone special’s Xmas Stocking:
THINKING OF YOU
I was thinking of you.
And I was thinking of you.
And I was thinking of you.
And then I wasn’t thinking of you anymore.
Or how about this:
ONLY AN EXPERT
Now sometimes experts lend you money
And sometimes they lend you lots of money
And sometimes when the subprime mortgages collapse
And banks close and businesses fail
And the crisis spreads around the world –
Sometimes other experts say
Just because all the markets crashed
Doesn’t mean it’s necessarily a bad thing.
And other experts say: Just because all your friends were fired
And your family’s broke and we didn’t see it coming
Doesn’t mean that we were wrong.
And just because you lost your job and your house
And all your savings doesn’t mean you don’t have to pay for the bailouts
For the traders and the bankers and the speculators.
Cause only an expert can design a bailout.
And only an expert can expect a bailout.
…
Cause only an expert can deal with the problem
And only an expert can deal with the problem
And only an expert can deal with the problem… etc.
(This catchy ditty is also available separately from the Homeland album as a 12 inch vinyl single for $9.00 plus postage)
If these lyrics resonate with you, or if you think they might resonate with someone you know, VULGO recommends that you stuff the spookily timely CD into an ultimate and unflinching 2010 X-mas stocking.
2. PINA BAUSCH: VOLLMOND
If Laurie’s lyrics frighten you, upset you, or remind you that you want to just forget about all that harsh reality (well, you’re only human), VULGO recommends that you counteract all that is too close to the bone with the mellow, dreamy, and sometimes trance-inducing music of “Vollmond” (German for “Full Moon”) – music from the Dance Theatre of Pina Bausch. VULGO was lucky enough to see “Vollmond” the show, and to have a lovely chat with Mathias Burkert, Pina Bausch’s long-time musical collaborator when they were opening Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival alongside Laurie Anderson’s astonishing “Delusion” in October. As all of Tanztheater Wuppertal’s scores were very carefully selected found music, Pina Bausch was in fact the ultimate DJ. Vollmond is the only CD Tanztheater Wuppertal has ever produced of the music danced to in their legendary Dance Theatre pieces. So you can imagine, it is pretty special. It was produced as a labour of love by Japanese composer Jun Miyake, who contributed to the score for the 2006 Dance Theatre piece Vollmond. You’ll find such treats as the Belanescu Quartet, electronica from Amon Tobin, Leftfield and more. A groovy compilation that will allow your mind to wander well away from all the cataclysmic stuff (see above) to a totally cool, nearly word-free, dreamy other-place. Take us there!
Vollmond – Music From The Dance Theater Of Pina Bausch
Disc 1:
Belanescu Quartet with Steve Arguelles – Part One: Life And Death (9:31)
Amon Tobin & E. San – Untitled (5:43)
Various Artists – Lilies Of The Valley (5:32)
René Aubry – Mémoires Du Futur (5:05)
Nenad Jelic – Pefto (5:43)
Belanescu Quartet with Steve Arguelles – Part Two: Aria (3:46)
Tobin, Amon – Yaswas (5:25)
Sublime & Jun Miyake – Au Clair De Lune (2:45)
Alexander Balanescu & The Belanescu Quartet – To The Hills (Variation 1) (4:42)
Disc 2:
Leftfield – Rinos´s Prayer (Nic Rapaccioli Remix) (5:42)
Marasma – The Bed And The Window (4:26)
Siegfried Ganhör, To Rococo Rot – The River Flows And All Is Well (8:10)
Amon Tobin – Fat Ass Joint (5:49)
Amon Tobin – Ruthless (Reprise) (7:08)
Jun Miyake feat. Arto Lindsay – Alviverde (5:30)
Cost: €28.00 plus postage
You can buy it by clicking here.
3. LITERARY LEMON SOAP FROM SWENY’S PHARMACY
While you’re listening to that, for a bit of pure VULGO bodily indulgence how about some LEMON SOAP from Sweny’s?
Mr Bloom raised a cake to his nostrils. Sweet lemony wax.
- “I’ll take this one,” he said.Ulysses, James Joyce (1922)
Buy it at Sweny’s Pharmacy, 1 Lincoln Place, Dublin 2.
Cost: From €3.50 – €15.00
Support our new diarist at Sweny’s with this delightful, and somewhat erudite stocking filler.
4. LOMO FISH-EYE CAMERA + SUBMARINE
At VULGO we like to immortalise and celebrate what’s beyond our peripheral vision. One of those great Lomo Fish-Eye cameras on sale at Dublin’s Gallery of Photography is perfect for that job. And when feeling amphibious, a Lomo Submarine will do the trick. Cost: €85.00 + €37.00
5. A MEMBERSHIP OR TWO
Is there any better way to support the organisations you love than becoming a member? Perhaps, but such a nice way to contribute and to share your passion will give you many rewards during the new year ahead. There are loads of memberships out there, these are just a few we recommend:
6. SNOW SOCKS
How many more snow storms must we endure until we feel we must get prepared for the next one? I’d say, while we answer that, why not stock a pair of snow socks for your tyres for around €100 the lot? You will be rewarded with that warm joyful feeling of continuing your journey no matter what. The video was seen first at Mick’s Garage web site – one of the first companies offering these. You can also go for chains, if you have that feeling.
So now you get the general idea. If you have made it this far, reader, and have any particularly great ideas for Xmas stocking fillers you’d like to share please do email them in to us preferably with a picture at info@vulgo.ie, and we will add them to this post.
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