I wake the possessed

Paraskevidekatriaphobia - such a lovely word.

Yes, at the end of this rather dismal (weather-wise) extra week off after our Spain trip, it also happens to be Friday the Thirteenth, the bad luck day [if you believe in all that sort of stuff]!

I don't. I believe in being invisible - like our old faves Gravitonas!

Gravitonas - Lucky Star

Cause I look to the east
And I look to the west
And I bless my lucky star
Bless my lucky star
I'm invisible, visible
Un-visible, oh oh

So I bow to the priest
And I wake the possessed
And I bless my lucky star
Bless my lucky star
I'm invisible, visible
Un-visible, oh oh

Thank Disco(?) It's Friday - and have a great weekend, peeps!

Never mind the black cats - bring on the goat!

Are you feeling paraskevidekatriaphobic?

First posted here in 2015, let's revisit some of the weirdest superstitions around the world, courtesy of The Stylist magazine:

Stay forever young by carrying an acorn
Forget anti-ageing creams - in Ancient Britain, women carried acorns in their pockets to stay looking young. According to Richard Webster in The Encyclopaedia of Superstitions the oak tree was believed to provide longevity and to ward off illness due to its long life.

Don't eat lettuce if you want to have children
In the 19th century, English men avoided salads if they wanted to start a family. In The Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions, a book on 'Plant Lore' suggests that lettuce was detrimental to child-bearing because it was a 'sterile' plant, and "as plants exhibited peculiarities in their actions, so were they supposed to operate on man".

Don't chew gum at night
Fancy freshening up before a night out? Stick to mouthwash in Turkey. Harry Oliver, author of Black Cats and Four Leaf Clovers, says that the Turkish believe that "if you're chewing gum at night in Turkey, you're actually chewing the flesh of the dead".

Never give gloves as a present...
...well, you can, but you must also receive something in return, or you'll both have bad luck.
Gloves are attached to a whole host of superstitions , dating back to Medieval times and the days of chivalry, when Knights wore a lady's glove in their helmets. It's also bad luck to drop a glove, and then pick it up yourself - derived from the custom of a lady dropping a glove in the hope a prospective lover picks it up.

Off to an important meeting? Look out for a goat.
The goat has been associated with debauchery, lust and the Devil for thousands of years - and is also believed to absorb any evil or harm that may cross your path. That's why it was once considered good luck to encounter a goat when travelling to an important meeting.

If your skirt turns up, you'll receive a new dress
Ever get an annoying fold in your skirt when you've sat on it strangely? According to old folklore, a new outfit might be coming your way. The Oxford Dictionary of Superstitions cites that in 1914, it was "a common belief that if the lower edge of a woman’s skirt has become turned up so as to form a kind of pocket, some good fortune, such as a present of a new dress, will come to the owner."

An awkward silence means an Angel is passing over
This rather whimsical explanation for a lull in conversation is attributed to Dylan Thomas' Portrait of the Artist - it features the line "A host of angels must be passing by … What a silence there is!".

Eat grapes at midnight for good luck
On New Year's Eve in Spain, not everyone kisses as the clock strikes twelve. The superstitious eat twelve grapes at midnight for 12 months of good luck.

Go to hospital on a Wednesday
According to The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, an old wives tale says the best day to go to hospital is a Wednesday. Monday is the best day to leave and Saturday is the worst - as it means you'll soon be back.

Pass a newborn baby through a rind of cheese
In Medieval England, expectant mothers made a 'Groaning Cheese' - a large wheel of cheese that matured for nine months as the baby grew. When the 'groaning time' or birth came, the cheese would be shared out amongst the family - and when nothing but the outer rind was left, the baby would be passed through the wheel of cheese on Christening day to be blessed with a long and prosperous life.

Tuck your thumbs in if you pass a graveyard
In Japan, if a hearse passes you by, or you walk by a graveyard, you must tuck your thumbs in to protect your parents. This is because the Japanese word for thumb literally translates as "parent-finger" and so by hiding it you are protecting your parents from death.

If a bird poos on your house, you'll be rich
In Russia, if a bird defecates on you, your car or your property it's good luck, and may bring you riches. The more birds involved, the richer you'll be!

Keep a hot cross bun for a year
Much like the tradition of keeping a slice of wedding cake after the ceremony, this slightly grim superstition is supposed to bring luck. Hot cross buns were originally eaten at ancient pagan festivals - but without the cross. Christians added this in later to ward off evil spirits, and once baked on Good Friday morning, one was hung in the house for a year to bring good luck.

And, don't forget...

Clap after sneezing to avoid killing a fairy!

Apparently.

Never mind all that daftness, dear reader, it is the end of another stiflingly dull and samey week in front of that bloody laptop - and we all need a bit of a lift...

To that end, let's troll off to Sweden, where those arch-platform-shoe-wearers Gravitonas aren't worried about superstions - they're invisible, apparently.

Thank Disco It's Friday (the Thirteenth)!

Gravitonas - Lucky Star

Cause I look to the east
And I look to the west
And I bless my lucky star
Bless my lucky star
I'm invisible, visible
Un-visible, oh oh

So I bow to the priest
And I wake the possessed
And I bless my lucky star
Bless my lucky star
I'm invisible, visible
Un-visible, oh oh

Have a great weekend, peeps!

Popadoodle-doo

OK, OK, it's time to feature once more another selection of newer choons that I have recently encountered, for your indulgence...

During the benighted Sochi Winter Olympics, many, many protests against Vladimir Putin and his thugs with their continued disgusting anti-gay stance have come to the fore. With calculated timing, here's a new remix by out-gay Israeli superstar Offer Nissim of the 1980 hit by Dschinghis (Genghis) Khan - Moskau, which is superb:

Offer Nissim ft. Rockinson - Moskau

In a similar but more blatant vein, the marvellous Norwegian Annie (with Bjarne Melgaard) has released a highly-charged protest against the Putinistas, with Russian Kiss... “Show your love for the lovers, the others, the fighters, outsiders, people like you.” Indeed!

Annie ft. Bjarne Melgaard - Russian Kiss

Speaking of "in-yer-face", here is the latest from the ever-challenging Sharon Needles, and she's Dressed To Kill, alright! “This isn’t a fucking costume, this is a way of life!“

Sharon Needles - Dressed to Kill

Of all the comebacks one may have anticipated from mega-stars of the 1980s, who would have thought that Berlin (of Take My Breath Away fame) would have resurfaced three decades later with a genuine stomper of a track?! Here is the magnificent Animal to prove us all wrong...

Berlin - Animal

Courtesy of the lovely Henry over at Barbarella's Galaxy, here's a slice of Aussie-Greek Eurotrash, in the busty form of Vassy. We're All Mad! Apparently.

Vassy - Mad

As if we could lower the the tone much further... OK, let's give it a try, in the capable hands of Miss Cherie Lily:

Cherie Lily - Body

And, finally... How about a combination of not one, but two of Swedish crazy person Alexander Bard's bands - Gravitonas and Army of Lovers - on one track?!

Gravitonas ft. Army of Lovers - People Are Lonely

Enjoy - and, as always, let me know your thoughts!

Something old, something new

We had a lovely time at the Glamour of the Gods/Glamour Factory event last night - the National Portrait Gallery was packed to the brim with fabulously stylish people (the theme was Hollywood and "black and white", and people really took to it with a vengeance). The glamour makeovers were all fully booked and the individual talks and the cocktail bar were chock-a-block, but the Peppermint Candy DJs (pictured above) were fab (all 30s and 40s music), and the atmosphere was marvellous!

Over at Dolores Delargo Towers Museum of Camp, I will be featuring selections from the magnificent Glamour of the Gods photo exhibition throughout the week...

Enough of the vintage - let's have another of my regular swishes through the newer music that has caught my attention recently. I open today's selection with a really controversial choon - well, I say controversial only because the newly re-formed Steps have decided to release as their new single a cover version of Abba's Dancing Queen, and that is likely to set some hackles rising among the pop purists...

Steps - Dancing Queen

Speaking of Swedes, thanks once again the the lovely Henry over at the fantabulosa Barbarella's Galaxy for flagging up the new (excellent) single from musical genius Alexander Bard and his latest pet project Gravitonas - enjoy Lucky Star!

Gravitonas - Lucky Star

Described as "an upcoming act from Brighton’s hub of musical talent" [how I hate that word "hub"], here's the Special Ks with their catchy new single Crystal Fields - which reminds me of something else, but I am damned if I can put my finger on it...

The Special Ks - Crystal Fields

Now, here's a difficult one. I love minimalist electro music, and the rather striking-looking Matthew Duffy does that particular genre of music very well. However, I am in two minds about his cover of Pete Shelley of the Buzzcocks' timeless classic Homosapien...

Matthew Duffy - Homosapien

On the one hand, Mr Duffy's is an atmospheric and rather good stand-alone track. On the other, it cannot compare with the original. What do you reckon, dear reader?

Pete Shelley - Homosapien

Much, much better is this excellent new single from a dramatic young lady calling herself Queen of Hearts, Shoot the Bullet. Produced by Swedish electro-meisters (and house favourites here at Dolores Delargo Towers) The Sound Of Arrows, it's rather reminiscent of Robyn or Hercules and Love Affair I reckon - which is definitely no bad thing in my book!

Queen of Hearts - Shoot the Bullet

And finally, it is after all a Saturday, so we should really finish on a party note - and who better to provide that than the almighty Miss Gloria Estefan with her new anthem Wepa!

Gloria Estefan - Wepa

Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy!

Pride shopping, wet Goths and Swedes

I spent three hours today in the miserable drizzle in Camden, in an ultimately fruitless trawl of the vintage shops and weird boutiques for which the markets area is so famous, for items to complete my Gay Pride outfit for this year. Frustrating enough in the sunshine, but navigating the combination of wet Goths, slow-moving tourists and dodgy food outlets without actually buying anything is just depressing...

So I think it is time to cheer a Sunday evening up - as once again I feel like sharing some of the newer music that has caught my ear lately.

Opening this latest selection is the first of no less than three Swedes - the lovely Johan Agebjorn:

Johan Agebjorn - The Last Day Of Summer

With a very mid-80s British pop feel (think Echo and the Bunnymen, Lotus Eaters, XTC, that sort of sound) here's a fab video for a fab song - Mirrors, the debut single from Talking Pictures:

Talking Pictures - Mirrors

New releases from our second Swede, the very mad Robyn, are always welcome here at Dolores Delargo Towers. Here she is in a more reflective mood than usual with a fine choon Call your Girlfriend:

Robyn - Call your Girlfriend

Here's an excellent and atmospheric dance number by the third of our triumvirate - Swedish outfit Gravitonas (another vehicle for Alexander Bard of Army of Lovers and Alcazar fame), here teamed up with Russian cutie Roma Kenga [above]. Everybody Dance indeed!

Gravitonas & Roma Kenga - Everybody Dance

And to close, here's a fab new mix for 2011 by some DJ called Stargate of Depeche Mode's classic Personal Jesus. Excellent video! I do still prefer the original song, however...

Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus (The Stargate Mix)

As always, ENJOY!