Summer Sun, Something's Begun

Jefferson Airplane enjoying the Summer sun

 HOLY SHIT. I have not posted in over a month, and to be entirely truthful, that scares me. There's so much pressure like "WHAT'S SHE GONNA WRITE NEXT" and "THIS NEXT POST BETTER BE GOOD" so please don't kill me if I'm not my usual Sam-y self.

Whether you'd like to admit it or not, Keith Richards was a total babe back in the day.

  Because I've been gone for so long, I decided to just make a spam post of pictures I've seen lately and update you on my life. I went and saw the Rolling Stones back in June (seems so long ago!) and they were lovely. They came on an hour late but I enjoyed it nonetheless, and it was definitely one of the best concerts I've been to. Ronnie Wood is a cutie patootie, by the way, he looked so short and adorable with his little high tops and skinny jeans. Keith Richards wasn't exactly babelicious but for his age he was definitely out there jamming and having the time of his life with the queen of sass, Mr. Mick Jagger, who changed his outfit every few songs and always wore something covered in sequins. For the encore of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" he wore a big fur cape, which he proceeded to toss to the back of the stage, almost hitting Charlie Watts. Poor old Charlie in the back, never being heavily into drugs or groupies like the best of the band. He seemed so cute in the back, like one of those cute little old men who you see and just go "awwww" to. I felt bad that he wasn't able to showcase more of his talent from the back of the stage.
  I also saw Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters exactly a week ago last Thursday, and in comparison to the other concerts I've seen, it was.... eh. Easily one of the worse shows I've been to. I was thoroughly disappointed because I really wanted to like it, but I just couldn't bring myself to sing along to anything. I know Plant isn't in Led Zeppelin anymore, but I'd have liked it if he played more than four or five Zeppelin songs. Half of the songs I didn't know (and I consider myself a pretty decent solo-Plant fan) and the songs that I did know were only in snippets or were to some weird-ass tribal beat. His voice was still there, but his god-like aura definitely wasn't.

Plant used to be a God, what happened?!

  Besides the concerts, I've had a pretty decent summer. I've been working at Dairy Queen and as of now I have $775 dollars in just POCKET money. I might get a bank card so I can shop more often on Etsy and Amazon and I'm considering buying an iPhone with all my new-found dough. But other than working, I haven't been doing anything this summer. I suppose that's better than doing something I don't want to do. Anyway, I hope you all are enjoying your summer and hopefully my next post won't be as boring or long from now! Enjoy ya summer xoxo

Faithfull Flowers

  Well I hope everyone had a happy Easter! (And if you don't celebrate it, had a happy long weekend :) I myself am not a religious person, but my grandparents are, so we all pig-piled to their house for the holiday. I was planning on making this elaborate Easter post but the truth is, I was so tired when I came home that all I could do was mindlessly reblog pictures on Tumblr.
  I've also been having this sudden urge to look and dress like the always lovely Marianne Faithfull. As a kid, I always found her voice in the 60's heavenly and her style stunning. Even in times when her life was troubling (drug addiction, suicide attempts, breakup with Mick Jagger) she always looked so upbeat and flawless in pictures. So, for April, my style inspiration shall be miss Marianne Faithfull.
  Now this post doesn't really have a point, so just enjoy some Spring-inspired pictures of pastels, flowers, and everything beautiful, including lovely Marianne.
NOTE: Although it's on my playlist at the bottom, PLEASE listen to "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" by Marianne Faithfull. It is BEAUTIFUL. Tear-jerking stuff, people. That great.

Elvis Presley’s Graceland mansion

Mushroom stickers from the 1980's.

Elsa Schiaparelli

Still from David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, 1986

Marianne, c. 1967.

“Polka Dot House,” Life magazine, April 14, 1952

The lovely Marianne Faithfull, c. 1966.

From Retrospace.

If you've never heard Marianne Faithfull's tragic story, I strongly suggest you take a listen to my simplified version:

     Marianne started off as a simple folk musician in the early sixties, around 1964. She went to a Rolling Stones gig back in their early days (where one may consider them slightly more innocent than in the later sixties) and she was discovered by them. She got married and had a kid, but soon left her husband for Mick Jagger, whom she started dating in 1966. She met Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones' at the time girlfriend Anita Pallenberg, whom she befriended. She was introduced to marijuana, which eventually led her, with some help from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. She was found by police in a drug raid on Jagger and Richards wearing nothing but a fur rug. She later admitted that this incident had ruined her personal life.  "It destroyed me. To be a male drug addict and to act like that is always enhancing and glamorising. A woman in that situation becomes a slut and a bad mother." 

  She miscarried a daughter from Jagger who she had named Corrina in 1968, another event which gradually tore at her personal heartstrings. When her relationship ended with Jagger in 1970, she was devastated. This was the same year she also lost custody to her son from the previous marriage. This led to her severe depression and eventual suicide attempt. She eventually lived on the streets for two years, addicted to heroin and suffering from anorexia. She was no longer famous, and rarely made public appearances. 

  In 1979, Marianne had the ultimate comeback. She released an album titled "Broken English," which to this day is considered her best album. From years of drug addiction her voice was no longer as light and airy as it was in the early sixties. She now had a deep, raucous voice from drinking and smoking. Her most famous song from this album is "Why D'ya Do It?", a nasty comeback at everyone who had treated her like shit over the years. 

  I just love Marianne Faithfull, no matter how many personal demons she had in her past. I love her voice as well; I think its like Nico's, you either love it or hate it. Either way, she's truly both a beauty and vocal icon.

Faithfull Flowers from itsamodmodworld on 8tracks Radio.

Tracks in bold are my personal favorites from this list.

1. "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face" by Marianne Faithfull
2. "She's a Rainbow" by The Rolling Stones
3. "Victoria" by The Kinks
4. "Long, Long, Long" by The Beatles
5. "North Country Maid" by Marianne Faithfull
6. "If You Want to Sing Out, Sing Out" by Cat Stevens
7. "Picture Book" by The Kinks
8. "Trouble" by Cat Stevens
9. "Mama, You've Been on My Mind (Demo)" by George Harrison