russt68

That's a SERIOUSLY great winner this week... all the top 3, in fact, totally brilliant. :heart:

10 B 9 D 8 E 7 C 6 F 5 G 4 I 3 H

Mary's Prayer... a truly great song.... bit of an all-time classic, really....

http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm76/blissfulignorance_2008/madonnamdma.jpg

The Vinyl Factory are releasing another of their gorgeous limited 12"s for this release...... white vinyl, seriously limited. I have to say, I'm not keen on the single mix of NLMG... the album verson packs far more of a punch, the single version sounds a bit... demo-ish?

fchd is SPOT ON..... you can try to be a gay icon..... but true 'icons' are ones who fight for their cause, not ones who desperately court it. Geri isn't sassy, classy or ballsy enough to be a gay icon - period. And she 'didn't know about Margaret Thatcher's comments'? They weren't some throwaway comment - it was a whole bill that rocked the gay community in the late 80s called Section 28, which was an incredibly homophobic and fascistic policy that basically criminalised the promotion of homosexuality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_28). The tabloids championed it at the time saying it stopped schools promoting homosexuality (which middle England and Daily hate Mail readers absolutely lapped up)- however, the main body odf the bill was the complete cutting off of funding for any theatre productions with a whiff of a gay theme, gay bars and clubs were not allowed to publicise their events anywhere, many gay charities were cut down and funding ceased..... it was an incredibly damaging and cruel bill that Cameron has since apologised for... and one that was spearheaded by none other than Geri's 'heroine' Margaet Thatcher - and one she knew absolutely full well about unless she was living under a rock in the 80s.

The one that sneaked up on me was Off To The Races... initially I dismissed it as a bit of filler, a bit limp, too poppy by half..... but, again, lyrically, she turns a seemingly simple song into something amazing..... from a definite lowlight to one of my album favourites.

She wasn't, no..... Jill Halfpenny played Beverley, Joe Absolom played the neighbour's brutish husband, the dark curly haired girl from Two Pints of Lager played the dopey wife, and some guy from Ghost Stories played Beverley's husband.... it was a seriously great play...... and Geri seemed to love it. I was shocked how small and old she looks in real life... how old does she claim to be nowadays? As for Geri being a 'gay icon'.... no way. Yes, she recorded Its Raining Men, and yes, she fronted Britain's 2nd best ever pop girlband.... but a gay icon? Absolutely utterly not. She's done absolutely nothing for the gay movement.... and let's not forget, this is a woman who named Margaret Thatcher as her 'heroine'... the same Margaret Thatcher who attempted to criminalise being gay in the 1980s...so a gay icon? Only if you're stupid, I think.

10 C 9 B 8 E 7 A 6 F 5 I 4 H 3 D 2 G

Sex tape? SEX tape? She sucks as well as she sings....ie.... atrociously. As a good friend of mine said after watching it "It's like watching a dog eat hot chips".

Geri Halliwell sat next to me (with her GORGEOUS boyf) at the theatre last Saturday night...... watchng the brilliant Jill Halfpenny in Abigail's Party at the Chocolate Factory in London. Crikey, she's SO tiny.... and old looking.

She's released one of the worst singles of her career as a lead single...and the second single is even worse.... so casual observers will avoid like leprosy. Of course, the loons will buy it regardless (and so will I)..... but you really have to question what she's thinking with these first 2 singles... especially when there FAR FAR better tracks on the album...... :blink: :angry:

Thanks Jake... that's stunning by the way...

The album is my album of the decade so far...... but I think Blue Jeans is the weakest track on it.... National Anthem or the superb Off To The Races over Blue Jeans any day of the week. Some of the songs on the album might pass you by until you read the lyrics - lyrically, she's nothing short of fantastic. And forget Tarantino - she sounds like the best soundtrack David Lynch hasn't used yet...... shocked at folk calling her a 'one-trick pony' - perhaps they haven't listened to the album......

It could get bumpy ;)

Naaaa.... the thought of sitting through a Steps gig with a load of old camp gayers doing the routines makes me feel physically ill..... I can see Dead or Alive and Bananarama in provincial gay clubs across the land most weekends of the year ;)

In reality, the only great records SAW made were for Bananarama, Divine and Dead or Alive. The rest of the motley crew mentioned here..... ugh. Bargain bin fodder.

And leww.... You're making yourself sound like a design slag. Play the field.... it's fun ;-) I'm 50/50 on whether by looking at a cover, you know who the designer is. It's nice to have your own distinctive design style, bit I love seeing our BJ designers pushing the boat out and going a bit leftfield on us. I think the best designs are the ones that represent the act. You couldn't have a pink and fluffy cover for a death metal act, for example. and I don't see any problem whatsoever in choosing a google image if that google image is relevant and fits the act. Anyway, let's face it, we have some stupidly talented people entering every week. Whether what they do appeals to all is irrelevant. Most of the finest artists were misunderstood in their day. Perhaps the best and lasting art is the art people don't understand right now? Waffle over... Now get voting folks x

God yea, of course! And by the way, your cover this week is orgasmic. So there ;-)

And also, to put up someone else's cover against Ryan's and then question whether they're 'serious' about scoring Ryan lower... sorry, but that's just downright insulting to the other designer. As I said, nobody is immune from poor votes in this contest. And to just religiously give top marks again and again to the same designers, whoever that designer may be, is unfair and a bit ridiculous. There's been covers entered the past three weeks that I've been aghast at the high voting for. But it's rude and insulting to bring this up because it's belittling that person's efforts, and this is supposed to be a 'just for fun' contest, not a bitch fest. And also.... not a 'love-in' for your mates and their mates.

Taste IS subjective, true. I always vote for the cover that represents the chosen artist and grabs me. There's loads of truly excellent designers on BJ and some truly superb entries this week. Jake, we don't all belong in the same fan club.... sometimes Ryan hits the spot, sometimes he doesn't. Same as everyone who enters this contest. Nobody should ever be guaranteed votes just because they're your mate regardless of their work.

10 G 9 E 8 C 7 H 6 A 5 F 4 B 3 I

it is kind of.... it's topless/naked burlesque girls :lol: :teresa:

Undecided on which one... whatever one gets most interest, I'll go with as I'm off to London shortly..... http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm76/blissfulignorance_2008/vcmgb.jpg http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm76/blissfulignorance_2008/vcmga.jpg http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm76/blissfulignorance_2008/vcmgc.jpg

The lead singer Lee was a very good friend of mine.... we grew up 10 minutes from each other...... it's such a shame the band's album never saw the light of day - it was truly excellent, stellar pop all the way. This single was ok (and surely had one of THE best TOTP appearances of the whole decade), but it was 'Hear me Calling', their debut (and the fantastic remixes) I'll always return to.