Eyewear

100 Best Living British Poets: #62 SIR ANDREW MOTION

2012-02-14T09:39:00.001Z

Sir Andrew Motion #62

Eyewear's Top 14 Songs For Valentine's Day

2012-02-13T21:26:00.000Z

she is in love

As poets and lovers know, music and and love go together like a tenor and vehicle. Here are Eyewear's top 14 love songs, or songs about 'love', in no order - and, I should add, some classic break-up songs like 'Wicked Game' or 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' are not included, though they too are about love's wounding force - however, in the spirit of the occasion, I am erring on the side of romance and eros.

1. Bob Dylan - 'Lay, Lady, Lay' - the most improbably delightful Dylan song, for me, this rich cowpoke tune is also seriously sexy.

2. Ella Fitzgerald - 'My Funny Valentine' - well, this is the classic, really, the heart of the matter, and pure wit at that.

3. Bob Marley & The Wailers - 'Could You Be Loved' - the answer is, with this going on, yes.

4. Madonna - 'Dress You Up' - one of the great cross-dressing songs, and exuberantly wackily boy-crazy pop.

5. Simple Minds - 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' - memorable 80s nostalgia trip and indie pop love gem.

6. Bow Wow Wow - 'Aphrodisiac' - this lusty song is nearly insane, and suits the madness of love potions.

7. Depeche Mode - 'I Feel You' - the most stridently romantic of all DM's tunes, and one closest to being a rocker, with sleazy synth thrust they have.

8. Mazzy Star - 'Fade Into You' - possibly the greatest unrequited love song - certainly the best dream pop version.

9. The Romantics - 'One In A Million' - the power pop classic. Its joyous simplicity never stales.

10. Rihanna, Jay-Z - 'Umbrella' - such a moving, sweet song, with an image as old as Herman's Hermits, and timeless.

11. Massive Attack - 'Girl I Love You' - a throbbing, sinister and deeply powerful expression of passion.

12. Minnie Driver - 'Everything I've Got In My Pocket' - this attempt to cheer up an apparently depressed friend or lover is very moving.

13. The Kinks - 'All Day and All Of The Night' - more primal, more pure, than The Beatles, this is the greatest Sixties expression of utter desire. "I believe you and me last forever" - what is more poetic than that?

14. Whitney Houston - 'I Will Always Love You' - is there a more beautifully sung pop song? A more poignant one on this date in time?

Honourable Mentions: 'A Girl Like You', The Smithereens; 'Heart Shaped Box', Nirvana; 'Today', Smashing Pumpkins, and 'There She Goes' by the La's.

100 Best Living British Poets: #63 LINTON KWESI JOHNSON

2012-02-13T09:20:00.003Z

Linton Kwesi Johnson # 63

100 Best Living British Poets: #64 JACK UNDERWOOD

2012-02-12T20:54:00.001Z

Jack Underwood #64

100 Best Living British Poets: #65 JEN HADFIELD

2012-02-12T19:27:00.003Z

Jen Hadfield #65

100 Best Living British Poets: #66 TOBY MARTINEZ DE LA RIVAS

2012-02-12T15:40:00.002Z

Toby Martinez de la Rivas #66

The Death of Whitney Houston

2012-02-12T14:19:00.001Z

This is very sad news, and shocking news at that. Whitney Houston was the Michael Jackson of soul and R and B female singers - that is, one of the world's greatest entertainers - a superstar. Houston was not to all tastes - her soaring ballads are mawkish at times - but her talents were strikingly superb. She was an actress, a model, a singer, a performer - in sum, a truly rare combination of beauty and artistry.

Many singers will attest to her being a major influence, and that her vocal skills were second to none. One of the top-selling recording artists of all time, and the most awarded female singer in history, she easily takes her place in the pantheon. Her death in a hotel bath reminds us, too, of another drug-doomed genius, Jim Morrison of the The Doors. Houston was so clean cut and ubiquitous in the 80s and early 90s that her downfall was upsetting and discomfiting. It was always hoped she would pull out of her death-descent.

This seemed possible, for, unlike Winehouse - a far less important musical figure in comparison - Houston did not seem totally self-destructive; she had friends such as Oprah, and a world of goodwill. It may be her death was an accident, brought about by an inadvertent overdose. The African-American Marilyn Monroe, in terms of cultural impact, this great beauty with the huge voice left the world stage too soon. She needed better bodyguards, perhaps.

Unto Caesar

2012-02-11T13:14:00.001Z

I write this as a Catholic. Religious faith is under attack in both England and America this week, from reasonable secular argument that no doubt emanates from enlightened good will. This does not make it right. In American, President Obama wishes to enforce by law provision of contraception in health care, even at Catholic institutions (such as hospitals), where such provision explicitly flies in the face of Catholic teaching; though most Catholics turn a blind eye to the contraception ban, such an option is not easily available to an official organ of the Church.

This is an example of two competing claims for good - the state's versus the personal moral rights of persons and churches to follow their own beliefs. The absence of contraception is a secular evil; its presence, for Catholics, is a sin. Obama, a politician, is attempting to render unto Caesar what is not his. In England, a new judgement by the courts has banned the saying of prayers before town council meetings, a common practise in a nation where Her Majesty the Queen is the head of the Church of England. Here, the state has a religion, unlike in America, but atheist activists are attempting to prune such powers back. This seems a grubby and sad attack on a harmless, even positive act. To ban prayer is to begin to delimit what more broadly makes us human - and here, unlike with contraception, is no medical issue. If anything, prayer is known to be therapeutic.

It would seem that in America, the churches need to be tempered, and in England, bolstered - a paradox, since on paper, England's religion is more secure; but on paper only. Faith is stronger in America, where 90% of citizens claim to believe in God. Seen in this light, Obama's liberal attack on faith-based institutions seems bold, and, arguably, foolhardy. This will play into Santorum's zealous hands.

100 Best Living British Poets: #67 GRACE NICHOLS

2012-02-11T13:03:00.002Z

Grace Nichols #67

100 Best Living British Poets: #68 DANNIE ABSE

2012-02-10T11:12:00.003Z

Dannie Abse #68

100 Best Living British Poets: #69 HUGO WILLIAMS

2012-02-08T19:35:00.003Z

Hugo Williams #69

Eyewear recommends....

2012-02-08T11:33:00.003Z

Call for Submissions

The Ofi Press is an online magazine based in Mexico City which publishes monthly in English and Spanish. We are looking for poetry, flash-fiction, essays, articles, interviews and reviews for publication.

www.theofipress.webs.com

Please take a look at our submission guidelines before sending your work and we look forward very much to hearing from you!

http://theofipress.webs.com/submissions.htm

Saludos!

Jack Little- Editor

The Ofi Press

theofipress@mail.com

100 Best Living British Poets: #70 J.H. PRYNNE

2012-02-08T09:26:00.001Z

J.H. Prynne #70

100 Best Living British Poets: #71 ELAINE FEINSTEIN

2012-02-08T09:23:00.003Z

Elaine Feinstein #71

100 Best Living British Poets: #72 TIM DOOLEY

2012-02-07T11:35:00.003Z

Tim Dooley #72

Todd On The Platform

2012-02-06T10:30:00.002Z

PLATFORM 1

2nd Saturday of the month at The Poetry Café, , 22 Betterton Street, London, WC2H 9BX

Nearest tube: Covent Garden

11th February 2012

Donall Dempsey
Dermot Glennon
Nathan Penlington
Todd Swift
Janice Windle

7.30pm-10.30pm

Arrive early to book an open mic slot!
Tickets £5/£4

100 Best Living British Poets: #73 SHEILA HILLIER

2012-02-06T10:08:00.002Z

Sheila Hillier #73

100 Best Living British Poets: #74 JOHN AGARD

2012-02-06T10:06:00.002Z

John Agard #74

100 BEST LIVING BRITISH POETS: #75 MARK FORD

2012-02-04T19:15:00.004Z

Mark Ford #75

100 BEST LIVING BRITISH POETS: #76 FIONA SAMPSON

2012-02-04T19:15:00.001Z

Fiona Sampson #76

Madonna 1982-2012: 30 Years of Pop Genius

2012-02-04T13:46:00.004Z

Great American Icon Posing

Madonna is one of the great cultural icons of the post-war era, easily as significant as Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Brando, or Brad Pitt. Indeed, given the fact that her first single debuted in 1982, thirty years ago this October, and that her new single is out now (ironically self-referencing), and that she is poised to play the Superbowl, it is time to marvel anew. I can think of few major recording artists of similar career span, other than Frank Sinatra and Bob Dylan (Leonard Cohen, of course). Springsteen? Elvis, The Beatles - those other touchstones, lasted less long, as did Michael Jackson. Prince, also a genius, is sporadic, hit-and-miss. No other singer-songwriter of the 80s remains as relevant - indeed, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey, to name two, make so sense without the context of Madonna. Typing out on Spotify her best songs, I came up with 50, before stopping - it seemed silly.

All Madonna albums are a little weak, but winnowed out, each yields at least a clutch of classics. The world of pop music is unthinkable without 'Express Yourself', 'Vogue', 'Like A Virgin', 'Like A Prayer', 'Holiday', or my favourite, 'Dress You Up', which first put me in touch with my inner girl, in a Larkin-lesbian fashion. Madonna has had some bad marriages and relationships, more silly phases than Yeats, and can't seem to really star in a good film (few other top notch performers have bombed so often onscreen); one thinks of Henry James failing at theatre as an equivalent of an American in London with genius singularly incapable of transferring their gifts from their chosen genre to another they desired to excel in. However, as she ages, she renews the idea of female beauty and drive and chutzpah, and increasingly threatens to out-Dietrich Dietrich.

There won't ever be another Madonna. She is still with us, and, if the fates smile, there is no doubt she will be singing fun, zeitgeist songs in 2022, perhaps even 2032. I have loved her from afar since I was 16, when she first appeared on my horizon, and have wanted her to be my big sister since then. I went to see her in Montreal with my mother for the True Blue tour in the mid-80s at the height of her first wave. I hope to meet her one day and write a song with her. In the meantime, I will simply have to strike a pose on my own.

100 Best Living British Poets: #77 FLEUR ADCOCK

2012-02-04T13:28:00.002Z

Fleur Adcock #77

100 BEST LIVING BRITISH POETS: #78 TONY HARRISON

2012-02-04T13:27:00.002Z

Tony Harrison #78

100 Best Living British Poets: #79 DOUGLAS DUNN

2012-02-04T13:25:00.002Z

Douglas Dunn #79

100 Best Living British Poets: #80 JOHN FULLER

2012-02-02T09:51:00.002Z

John Fuller #80