Chanson Du Jour: “It Must Be Him”

Chanson Du Jour 10/17/206 Vikki Carr: “Que sea él” (It Must Be Him)

I’ve always loved the hilariously desperate song “It Must Be Him” performed by Vikki Carr. The song sold over 1 million copies in 1967 and millions more since.

Vikki Carr remains a very under-appreciated vocalist, one who gets unfairly lumped-in with her white bread contemporaries dominating that woeful/golden era of 1960s MOR (Middle of the Road) radio. rambler_wlkw

On trips in the Stevenson family station wagon, my dad would play this musical spam on the car radio, punching in the dreaded WLKW button, while we kids in the back seat begged for DJ Joe Thomas playing Beatles, Beach Boys and Motown on WICE. But alas – this was elevator music without doors that open and let you out.

It was in the back seat of the Pontiac Tempest, that I learned Vicki Carr sang ‘grown-up” music that I actually liked. Eventually I saw her perform on TV with Merv, Johnny and Mike, where she was always beautiful, charming, and singing brilliantly. Still later, I became the odd used record customer who purchased both Vikki’s Greatest Hits album AND Moby Grape’s groovy debut (sans “flipping the bird”) while shopping at In Your Ear. Has anyone else ever purchased these two records together? No? Hooray for me.

Born Florencia Bisenta de Casillas-Martinez Cardona before opting for the anglicized stage name,  Continue reading “Chanson Du Jour: “It Must Be Him”” →

The Passion of Carl Dreyer: Paris celebrates cinema’s ‘forgotten’ master – France 24

I remember as a teenager, discovering Carl Dreyer’s seminal “The Passion of Joan of Arc” on a midnight movie tv program – way back when one had to leave a couch to change channels. I didn’t leave the couch, and the image of Maria Falconetti’s Joan, with head shaved and tears streaming down her face, have stayed with me ever since. Those eyes!
An interesting piece on Dreyer from France24, below.

“The Passion of Joan of Arc” was regarded as a miracle of cinema long before its original print resurfaced in a Norwegian mental institution. A new retrospective at the Paris Cinémathèque helps rediscover its revered director.

Source: The Passion of Carl Dreyer: Paris celebrates cinema’s ‘forgotten’ master – France 24

Lumière Festival: Catherine Deneuve On Truffaut, Trump, And Why She Never Had a Hollywood Career

LYON, France — Catherine Deneuve was honored with the Lumière Award Friday evening during an emotional ceremony with Roman Polanski, Quentin Tarantino, Bertrand Tavernier, Lambert Wilson, Vincent Lindon, Thierry Fremaux, and her daughter Chiara Mastroianni on stage. Fremaux, who heads both the Cannes

Source: Lumière Festival: Catherine Deneuve On Truffaut, Trump, And Why She Never Had a Hollywood Career