Staying present; dinner parties for old and new friends, family and acquaintances; perfecting the midnight omelette and flattering table lighting
Music
Rufus Wainwright, Bob Dylan, Gang of 4, Joy Division, Black Strobe, Motor, pre-1980s David Bowie, CocoRosie, Antony,Pernice Bros, Danielson, Go Team, Ingrid Caven, Bright Eyes, Beirut, Eartha Kitt, Ratatat, Black Devil Disco Club, Coil, In the Nursery, The Walkmen, of Montreal, The Radio Department, The Real Tuesday Weld, M Ward, The Robot Ate Me, Tez, Macaque,
Movies
1970s Made-for-TV horror movies (visit Cafe Drake's sister site at http://70stvhorror.blogspot.com/). Also, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, A Place in the Sun, Imitation of Life, Criminal Lovers (and all other films by Francois Ozon), Rosemary's Baby, The Servant, Safe, I Am Cuba, anything with Barbara Steele, Dirk Bogarde, Rosalind Russell, Ava Gardner, Alain Delon, Udo Kier, Klaus Kinski, Samantha Eggar, Christina Ricci
Television
Deadliest Catch, Top Chef, Gossip Girl, Dexter, Nip/Tuck, Weeds, Shameless, Supernatural, Dirty Sexy $, Search for the Next Elvira, Made
Books
Paul Bowles, J. Carol Oates, Poe, Genet, Elizabeth Smart, Barbara Pym, James Purdy, Joan Didion, Bruce Maddox, Mishima, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, Anne Sexton, A.M. Holmes, Denton Welch
Heroes
Everyone who walks through the doors of Cafe Drake
Emotionally,spiritually,creatively and professionally Cafe Drake is a work-in-progress. Superficial to be sure, but only on the surface.
ALSO: We like to grill our food tableside at Korean restaurants in the West 30s, have post-dinner drinks at some tatty old hotel, dance the merengue till dawn at Dominican after-hours clubs in Brooklyn, have an early AM Japanese breakfast of mackarel, miso, rice and oshinto at a midtown restaurant catering to hungover Japanese businessmen, crawl into bed with a sleep mask, movie star biography, member of the benzodiapine family and Marc Almond on our iPod.
Rufus Wainwright - Going To A Town
yes very bad. I was expecting you at the opening and had been looking forward seeing you. I was very busy the whole time but I admit that I am a bad friend for not contacting you and a bad man in general. I will come to town again this fall. Then we will hang out if you let me.
Drake! Was so great to see you the other day. Crazy as always. Love it. Thank you so much for all of the organizing (can't believe it got canceled), you are the best! Meow, Tiffany
I am Fela Kuti, Fela Anikulapo Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, October 15, 1938 - August 2, 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is essentially a fusion of jazz, funk and Traditional African Chant. It is characterized by having African style percussion, vocals, and musical structure, along with jazzy, funky horn sections. The "endless groove" is also used, in which a base rhythm of drums, muted guitar, and bass guitar are repeated throughout the song. This is a common technique in African and African-influenced musical styles, and can be seen in funk and hip-hop. Some elements often present in Fela's music are the call-and-response with the chorus and figurative but simple lyrics. Fela's songs were almost always over ten minutes in length, some reaching the twenty or even thirty minute marks. This was one of many reasons that his music never reached a substantial degree of popularity outside of Africa. His songs were mostly sung in Nigerian pidgin, although he also performed a few songs in the Yoruba language. Fela's main instruments were the saxophone and the keyboards but he also played the trumpet, horn, guitar and made the occasional drum solo. Fela refused to perform songs again after he had already recorded them, which also hindered his popularity outside Africa. Fela was known for his showmanship, and his concerts were often quite outlandish and wild.Political views
The American Black Power movement influenced Fela's political views. He was also a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism (although in a 1982 documentary he can clearly be seen rejecting both capitalism and socialism in favour of a third way that he described as Africanism), and called for a united, democratic African republic. He was a fierce supporter of human ri
hoi drake, and Amsterdam too. Next week I will go to Iceland maybe for good, but perhaps I will move to Rotterdam for a few months. Constantinople is super fantastic. I was just telling Kristin all about you and she can't wait to meet you. I hope it will be soon.
