One of the things I like most about living in London, (apart from the readiness of most shopworkers to dish out free booze to me, as has been on the agenda of late) is its sheer variety of bits and bobs and odds and sods on offer out there in the murky spires. If you have time to find it, that is.
I like the way people watching can become a certified skill; Old Street station on a weekend night hosts more vividly bedazzled birds of a feather than Bill Oddie could ever hope to see. I like how a wrong turn can mean unearthing some joyous architectural gem, or a fresh, green space, or a fairy-strung Love Actually paradise, like Exmouth Market. Most of all, I like the completely contrasting nights a weekend can bring. Only a few weeks ago I was gaily tearing off a pair of maroon jodphurs and flinging an oh-so '90s camouflage jacket on top whilst bartering with a man resplendent in a wedding dress over a Russian fur hat whilst a sequinned bloke beat-boxed.
The aim of the game was Swap-a-rama, and the rules were simple. Turn up dressed in clothes you scraped from some dusty corner cupboard somewhere (or Oxfam's bargain bin), and prepare to enter into an exchange more frantic than the Wall Street Stock market. Sponsored by vintage fashionista fave Beyond Retro, the smallish basement space of XYXO was liberally spread with clothes either dangling from washerwoman washlines or arranged on stage in an EVERYTHING-MUST-GO style. Even if you don't own a single sartorial bone in your body, the sight of so many textiles, fabrics, shapes and styles would have made even Simon Cowell strip off his V-neck and reach for a sailor-girl playsuit. Or maybe not.
I came, a B*Witched cast-off in a silken yellow handkerchief dress, and left a top-heavy Serbian housewife via Dickensian London, resplendent in a tweed blazer covering a multitude of fashion sins I'd acquired during the night and locks locked down with a floral scarf. A word of advice? If you want to maximise swappage, try not to stick on the beer goggles too early. Thompson #2 departed the club in a whirl of tie-dye and "really comfy jeans I put on because I was TIRED". Aforementioned jeans would not look out of place at a Texan line dance. For men.
If stripping down with complete strangers ain't quite your bag, baby, how does the magic formula of felt-tip pens, numbered sheets and women holding lots of balls sound? It's bingo, but not as we know it.
When Underground Rebel Bingo first started out a few years back, it held true to its maxims closer than it does now. No old people, no wankers, no boring people. Photos reeked with the glare of glitter and good times. When we rocked up nearly a month back for the "secret" event on South Bank (aka joining a queue stretching into King's College Student Union), the event was far more freshers than precious. However, a few tumblers of toxic KCL cocktails later and we were soaking up a rowdy atmosphere and wielding Crayola with relish. Two rounds of bingo saw prizes roll off the stage of a calibre the Generation Game could only have dreamed of: a cuddly panda, a GINORMOUS sleeping bag snuggie thing, and my dream, a boombox-sized ipod speaker. Too bad I'd managed to scrumple up my sheet in a flurry of bingo madness.
Next on my list? This bad boy
About this song? To quote Enrique, (and myself, interminably) I LIKE IT.
© Miranda Thompson 2010.
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
Thursday 7 October 2010
Saturday 2 October 2010
Indulgence
Chunky beats + slap-happy drums + kerazy keyboard plinks + velvety smooth vocal stylings = Bobby Brown. Ignore the heavy drug addiction, the spiralling, destructive relationship with Whitney and the sagging moobs - watch this and love.
Particular favourite arrives in the form of verse two and a vest/leggings combo Eric Prydz would give his left turntable to see in the gym.
P to the S - is Mike Tyson rivalling Seth Rogen for Americana comedic value or what?
© Miranda Thompson 2010.
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
Particular favourite arrives in the form of verse two and a vest/leggings combo Eric Prydz would give his left turntable to see in the gym.
P to the S - is Mike Tyson rivalling Seth Rogen for Americana comedic value or what?
© Miranda Thompson 2010.
DISCLAIMER: The video links hosted on my blog are not being presented as my own. If you believe that the copyright in your work has been violated through this post, please contact me through the blog
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