a perfect Storm of artistic genius

I wanted to take an opportunity to acknowledge the passing of Storm Thorgerson, one of the artistic masterminds behind Hipgnosis and also his own company Storm Studios.  Storm is best known, of course, for being the visual conceptualist for Pink Floyd, designing (along with his then-partner Aubrey "Po" Powell) the majority of the band's album covers and accompanying graphics and videos for nearly their entire career.

But Storm is also responsible for one of the most interesting videos of the 1980s which has seen much airplay not only for its own startling style, but because the song itself remains an absolute classic.

Trevor has stated he was never particularly a fan of this video.  However, I will say this: Storm knew that the world needed not only to hear Trevor's musical talent, but to see what an attractive person he is...and he delivered on this point beautifully.

Having talked to Storm once back in 2009 (and also knowing a couple people who were friends of his), I can testify he was utterly hilarious and charming and a true force of nature.  I was stunned, I really thought of all people he would be the one to figure out how to live forever.  But such a force as he was - artistically and personally - will ensure his legacy will endure even after we're all long gone.

Collector's Corner: something I will hold on to

Author's note: this post is extremely image-heavy, just as a warning for your web browser.

A continuing series wherein I share my obsession with and collection of Trevor memorabilia.

Courtesy of the collector's treasure trove which is eBay, I recently obtained a promotional VHS tape distributed by Elektra Entertainment in 1989, labeled as "Roctober Compilation Reel."  It is a collection of music videos from such artists as Simply Red, Motley Crue, The Cure and 10,000 Maniacs.  The true value of this item for me is that it also contains the video for "Something To Hold On To" which as long-time fans know has never seen a home video release in its' entirety.  Portions of it can be seen in the YesYears documentary released in 1991 but otherwise versions of this video available online are clearly copies which were originally taped from television broadcast and are much degraded in quality.  What I now own is a first generation copy directly from the record company and as such is nearly pristine despite being over 20 years old.

the tape in question

To further authenticate my assertion that this is an original copy, I'd like to note the video does not contain any identifying captioning at the beginning, as one would view on television, which means the broadcast entity provided the titles generally displayed in the lower right-hand corner.

from the opening sequence of the video

This video - which Trevor is always quick to point out he loved making - was directed by Jeff Stein, who was also behind some of the 1980s most memorable videos, including award-winning clips for The Cars' "You Might Think" and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' "Don't Come Around Here No More."  It is by turns sexy, silly, cute, and colorfully kinetic, and as such it has won a permanent place in the hearts of Rabinites. There are seven different wardrobe changes during the course of the video and the hair his female fans were so enamored of was wonderfully fluffy.  But there are many elements which lend a whimsical quality including iguanas, Shelley Duvall's decoratively-painted face, and a polka-dot room in a house of guitars.

1989 was an important year for Trevor: in full possession of his singing, playing, and songwriting prowess as well as presenting an attractive iconic image which carried over into live performance during the club tour to promote Can't Look Away.  Speaking of iconic images, a few years back I commissioned from an amazingly-talented artist who I am proud to call friend a portrait of Trevor as he appears in the video but as a visual pun - the acronym for the song is STHOT - I wanted him to be a polka-dot angel.  Her response was to evoke religious iconography such as can be viewed in Mexican folk art.

"St. Hot"

artwork by Jennifer Albright

I had the contents of the videotape professionally transferred to DVD and thus I can share with you now some screencaps of Our Trev in one of the most well-loved of his onscreen appearances.  Some of these could only be obtained with frame-by-frame advance, and the clarity is wonderful, I hope you'll agree.

No foolin'

Author's Note: This is an April Fools' post in which your humble narrator is entirely serious.  Really.


"...the qualities that make Twitter seem inane and half-baked are what makes it so powerful..."
-Jonathan Zittrain
Professor, Internet Law, Harvard Law School

Social media can be a great tool for celebrities/professionals to utilize to interact with their respective fanbases.  I don't necessarily perceive the online world as the Great Leveler which some may claim it to be, but on the other hand in this age of instant electronic entitlement it is a savvy move to establish even an artificial relationship with the masses.  It is rather a populist platform in regards to allowing everyone - famous, infamous and obscure - to act stupid in a variety of ways.  However, one of the pitfalls of said medium is the presence of impostors.

Twitter is - as a social networking service - seemingly incredibly susceptible to the wiles of celebrity impostors and online trolls.  Their own history shows that despite their authentication process they really don't seem to care about preserving identity integrity unless they are exposed for shoddy authentication practices (i.e. the Wendi Deng debaucle).  And I can say this because it's true: there is an example of just this issue in regards to Our Trev.

The "Neato Stuff" listing on this blog is a collection of links pertinent to Trevor and his online presence and one of them is for his official Twitter account, @Rabin_News.  Why this and not @TrevorRabin or some other variant?  Because those have been claimed by impostors, and the one individual who persists in impersonating Trevor still has an account, going by @Trevor_Rabin.  This person is not spoofing Trevor for comedic purposes (as some have been known to do in regards to other celebrities), this person is allowing and even encouraging people to believe that he/she is Trevor.  The account (and the one which preceded it) has been reported for violations of the TOS numerous times and yet Twitter allows it to remain.

In my opinion this has gone on long enough; and so I'm calling it out (as I also did on Yesfans last year), because people are continuing to be fooled by the fake account and the fans have a right to know.

As example I have included two Tweets from the same date, May 9th of last year, the day after the release of Jacaranda.  Both are promotional in nature, but note how the fake Tweet uses a pronoun which makes it obvious that the poster is impersonating the individual in question (and also that the fake account posted after the real one).

This is from the fake account:

This is actually Trevor (and his publicists):

Subsequent postings from the fake account continue to support my claim that this person is impersonating Trevor; nor does the poster ever appear - when receiving Tweets from fans who believe that he/she is Trevor - to correct those assumptions.  However, this person does not post often enough to call obvious attention to the deception.

My message to Rabinites is: don't be fooled, and spread the word in regards to Trevor's real online presence where you can express your support and admiration directly to our favorite musical polymath.  Maybe #IsupporttherealTrevorRabin or #Rabinitesacceptnoimposters as a trending topic?  I'm sure you're wondering, "Hey, Humble Narrator, if you're so annoyed, why don't you do it?"  Well here's the thing: I can't be bothered with microblogging...as my readers are aware, I do go on a bit.  But seriously, Trevor is plugged into the online world now, and it's important to know who you're really talking to.

Now then...anyone else hear about the all-tuba symphony project, or was that just me?