Nana fan of the world, from myplasticparadise.blogspot.com

→plastic paradise

Now let us praise Nana Mouskouri. The polyglot Cretan-born songstress with only one vocal chord is currently on a farewell tour. Though Cher has had more than one farewell tour, so perhaps I can still hope to see Ms. Mouskouri live.

I became enchanted with Ms. Mouskouri when I was 16. In a local Salvation Army, I found an LP with a cover photo of a beautiful woman wearing an evening gown and black thick-framed glasses. And I remember thinking: any woman who proudly wears her glasses (and with an evening gown no less) is totally awesome, I must have this record. I bought it despite the outrageously expensive price of two dollars. (This was 1985, goslings, and I was accustomed to buying 70's photo print shirts and gold lamé suits for 25 cents.) The record was called something like International Songs, and it is long gone now alas. But I remember that there were beautiful, lushly orchestrated songs in French, German, and Greek, and it was in high rotation during my last two years of high school. I could still hum the opening song for you, a traditional Greek melody.

Her music always makes me feel like I'm living in Europe (with free health care and the entire month of August off) and I'm having a dinner party at my summer home (with a mod pop art decor) serving delicious things including vegetables from my own garden for witty, multi-lingual friends and no one is in a hurry to get home.

Ms. Mouskouri beautifully demonstrates Andy Warhol's dictate to find a style of your own and stick with it. The last photo shows her concert at the Acropolis on July 24, 2008, still lovely and proud at 73 years old. That's what attracts me to her style the most. It's marvelously dignified. I'd keep her around as a style icon even if she didn't sing.

Of course the early 70s are her strongest influence. Just look at her in the Yves Saint Laurent Mondrian dress. But I still think she makes it her own.
Labels: with a song in my heart

posted by samsara at 9:17 AM