“Steady Baby” said Aretha Franklin, Susan Zelouf tells how to fight the November scaries…
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The whole world is a village, and by village we mean Bucha, Bosnia, Beirut, Libya, Syria, Gaza, Yemen, Ukraine, Afghanistan. You don’t have to be Navalny or Savita or Khashoggi or a fleeing Syrian or a fleeing Sudanese or a fleeing Jew or a fleeing Palestinian, leaving your one beautiful life, such as it was, behind. The world is a village, and by world we mean that continents away, if a butterfly flaps its gorgeous wings, here at home we feel a gale force wind.
Collectively traumatised on an almost daily basis, we may find we cannot cope with the smallest of slights, melting down when confronted by so-called first world problems, in the office, at a red light, around the dinner table. Have we mentioned the election? You know the one, stakes higher than our spiking blood pressure, pitting democracy against dictatorship, decency v shamelessness, competency v chaos, character v corruption. Be it a landslide or a win by a whisker, buckle up for the democratic concept of a peaceful transfer of power supplanted by a fever dream and assorted unrest. Throw in smartphones blowing up with bad news 24/7 and it’s no wonder we are a hot mess, at a loss as to how to keep it together when things are falling apart.
One of four tracks written by Aretha Franklin in 1971 for her 18th studio album Young, Gifted and Black, the hypnotic funky groove command “Rock Steady” spoke to a country in upheaval, still reeling from a decade of assassinations: JFK, MLK, RFK and Malcom X, in turmoil over the Vietnam War and the ongoing struggle of the civil and women’s rights movements, hurtling towards the Watergate scandal. In the face of protest and change, “Rock Steady” offered respite from the racial and political tensions rocking the nation. Drummer Bernard Purdie’s lowdown beat moved the Queen of Soul to “Just call the song exactly what it is”. The rhythm section’s backbeat, with Chuck Rainey on bass and Dr John on percussion, buoyed Aretha’s vocal “with a feeling from side to side”, but it’s the ride and slide of Donny Hathaway’s layering of electric piano and organ around Purdie that rocks steady “in my hips from left to right”, according to Franklin, and makes us all want to do “this funky dance all night”, or at least until the end of November.
What makes you rocksteady when the world’s Richter scale approaches the high nines? Do you read a page or two from Pema Chödön’s When Things Fall Apart or do you comfort eat a pint of Murphy’s Irish Brown Bread (Arán Donn) ice cream? Do you empty jammed drawers and heaving rails onto the floor, sorting through for something, anything that sparks joy or do you online shop for that life changing skirt/shirt/shoe/bag? Do you have a dark night of the soul, letting go of righteous indignation and embracing empathy, eschew Othering and choose Belonging? Do you walk into the wild, in search of cairns, landmarks to guide your course or do you doomscroll, soothed by how lucky you are, comparatively? Do you “Sit yourself down in your car and take a ride” or do you hit the brakes? You know what Aretha would do, baby. @susanzelouf
I’M ROCKING a scorpion brooch in rock crystal, coral, diamond-tipped stinger & claws. www.vhernier.it. Santa?
I’M CHANNELING my inner Blondie in a Rockstar cashmere sweater. www.sphereone.ie.
I’M COLLECTING poetic pieces by Irish artist Sasha Sykes like Faith in soil, roots, granite and resin. Filial Love @voltzclarkegallery until November 16.
I’M SUCKING it in in a Versace draped leather corset dress. www.farfetch.com.
I’M ARMING myself in sculptural silver from Parts of Four, a destination jeweller in Le Marais, Paris.
I’M PAYING lip service in Isamaya Ffrench Lips in Cardinal (in a dick-shaped case). www.cultbeauty.com.
I’M GIVING shade in Bottega Veneta’s Drop aviator sunglasses, available from www.net-a-porter.com.
I’M GROUNDING body and soul in STABLE of Ireland’s handwoven Crios blanket. Westbury Mall, Balfe Street, Dublin 2.
I’M POCKETING a sheer strapless top by Acne Studios available from www.mytheresa.com.
I’M DANCING to Ecce Homo, Gavin Friday’s much awaited new album. Preorder from www.goldendiscs.ie.
I’M STEADYING November nerves to Aretha’s “Rock Steady”. What it is, what it is, what it is.
I’M SQUARING off in a www.edgeonly.com Squared Off band in recycled white gold.
I’M TOTING Khaite’s suede Lotus bag. www.ssense.com.
I’M LANDMARKING milestones via Rob MacFarlane’s field guide to the literature of nature. www.kennys.ie.
I’M THROWING myself in at the deep end in Shark Lock stiletto ankle boots in latex. www.givenchy.com
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