This photo of Oxford Street at night is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t tell you who took it or when because I can’t remember where I got it from (anybody know?) Judging by the cars I’d say it was the early 60s but I’m no expert on those things. The way the lights reflect and glisten on the cars makes the city look as glamourously noir-ish as the New York of “Sweet Smell of Success.” England’s capital hasn’t been overly romanticized and turned into a visual cliche the way the Big Apple and Paris have so it’s nice to see it presented as poetically cinematic as those cities usually are. If you want to see a movie that photographs London as stylishly as this, watch the fabulous “Night and The City” which was filmed on location in the city in 1950.

Truth be told, Oxford Street is about the least romantic place in London, it’s always way too crowded for my liking and the shops are mostly dull chains. The street lost whatever interest it had when Stanley Green (otherwise known as “The Protein Man”) died in 1993.

(I’m going to spread my wings a little with this blog and occasionally just post an image I like (I have a lot) without musical accompaniment, it just so happens that time I have a song that goes with the picture.)

Download: Oxford Street – Everything But The Girl (mp3)
Buy: “Idlewild” (album)