New Romantic Nostalgia

Today I am feeling a bit of nostalgia for a time when I was a New Romantic, and the music I listened to then...

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Hearts Hearts

This gentle chamber music cover of the classic Joy Division song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" is performed and arranged beautifully by Austrian group Hearts Hearts. And the wistful, touching narrative in the video reminds me a lot of Palace's song "Heaven Up There" previously here.

http://www.heartshearts.net/

Winter World 2018

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France - Photo by Alain Jocard/AFP/Getty Images

Amsterdam

Christmas Market, Vienna, Austria

Copenhagen, Denmark

Tuileries Gardens, Paris, France - Photo by Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

London, England

Kinkaku-ji-Rokuon-ji (The Golden Pavilion), Kyoto, Japan

Denmark

Reykjavik, Iceland

Painswick, Cotswolds, England

Christmas Market, Prague, Czech Republic

Quebec, Canada

Aarhus, Denmark

Venice, Italy

Versailles, France - Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images

The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany

Budapest, Hungary

Life Ball

The annual Life Ball held in Vienna is not only the largest AIDS charity event in Europe but one of the largest charity events of any kind in the entire world. Each year, celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Elton John and Neil Tennant join politicians such as Bill Clinton and a plethora of party-goers for concerts by performers such as Katy Perry and Nina Hagen, fashion shows by internationally famous designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Calvin Klein--and dancing. Lots of dancing.

This year's Life Ball takes place on May 21st. And to promote that, photographers Susanne Stemmer and Markus Morianz collaborated on a series of images based on this year's theme: "Spread the Wings of Tolerance," based on figures from Greek, Roman and Christian mythology. I see Zeus disguised as an eagle whisking Ganymede away, Icarus falling, Nike, Mercury, and Archangels Michael and Gabriel. These sumptuous images are a feast...

http://www.lifeball.org/