IM // UR | Unlocking the mysteries of La Roux's 'I'm Not Your Toy'

BEFORE TODAY by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti

It doesn’t take much to make me feel stupid. Trying to find the words to describe the debut album of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti at 4AD is just one of many examples I could give you. To me, ‘Before Today’ sounds like an album that Kevin Barnes could be recording if he loved goth bands more than funk ones. Or like the cold wave genre entering a multicoloured psychedelic stage instead of glazing at it's own depression. Don’t mind my threadbare examples; this is the album that will make it onto every interesting top 10 of the year and you don’t wanna miss it.

WE // R \\ WEARING

I can't resist (probably overpriced) basics-with-a-twist. My wardrobe, full of T by Wang, Oak, Bassike and yes, American Apparel is proof of this; and since in Australia, a new favourite has emerged in the form of Nathan Smith. His selection of supersoft tees, tanks and dresses have sucked me into buying multiples of a number of styles in different colourways. You just can't go wrong with these though! Addictively and endlessly wearable - and not in actual fact, overpriced in the slightlest - Nathan Smith is the way forward for your wardrobe.

WE // R \\ WATCHING

I don’t think any series will treat teenagers the same way that Freaks and Geeks did almost 10 years ago. Although relying on every teen American cliché they could, this series was the closest thing to reality you could get whilst still being something fun and interesting to watch – cause, you know, life is boring. With bands like The Who, The Clash and XTC being either part of episodes or the soundtrack, this 80’s based cult show was short-lived (only 18 episodes), but long enough to enrich the careers of some young actors (i.e. James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Busy Philipps and, erm, Linda Cardellini) and is greatly missed. Can we have a movie about them meeting again in the 00’s?

WE // R \\ GOING

Once, a friend of mine wanted to take me to this 'cheap Chinese restaurant', situated in the heart of Liberdade, a Japanese neighborhood in São Paulo. When we got there the place was packed, but because it looked cheesy and kinda poor, I didn't want to wait it out. It took another friend for me to go back there and fall in love with it. Now, every time the mood for some freshly made noodles (you can watch the chief making the noodle dough through a window) framed in some horribly painted pink walls takes me, I go for Rong He. Did I mention the food is also incredibly generous and cheap?

WE // R \\ READING

The ultimate in peeping tom into other, cooler, more fashionable, richer, quirkier and more-hipster-than-thou lives is Todd Selby's The Selby. Having previously been an internet only voyeur's dream, Todd has just last month released The Selby Is In Your Place, a coffee table tome full of twee drawings, colourful interiors and people showering. Half of the images in the books are favourites from the website and the other is stuff he hasn't published online yet. So go check it out, maybe buy it if you can to make your crappy coffee table in your crappy apartment that little bit cooler with pictures of someone else's cool stuff.

Unlocking the mysteries of La Roux's 'I'm Not Your Toy'

Friday // September 04, 2009 at 18:57 // filed under Music // Etc

Cheesy. The best word to describe La Roux, but, boy, don't we just love her? From that whiney nasal vocal to her perfectly coiffed hair that looks like my little nephew playing punk in the shower - she is awesome. Even though she still needs to understand that she's a mainstream act and therefore shouldn't talk shit in interviews, we love her all the same.

And she's just released 'I'm Not Your Toy' as a single. It comes with a video that made me laugh so much that I built a six pack. Basically, it's so good that I don't even know what to point at. Let's just start from the beginning so we don't lose anything.

WAIT! WHAT IS THAT? IS THAT A RED SHARK? Nope, it’s La Roux, emerging out of the water in this awkward shot. I’m a bit scared of the moment when she opens her eyes. Please, Ms Ginger, don't be hunting my soul.

"Watching my performance makes me a better artist.” she says while viewing the video on a prehistoric version of an iPhone.

“My music is so good that these black dancers teleported their arses here just to dance!”

Oh and now it’s a house party, but the alcohol is yet to kick in so people are just staring and standing.

Some white rich people are worried about black people. When they will ever learn?

La Roux noticed these two above, so she sent a hologram of her head to explain that they are all nice people here and that sort of discrimination is unacceptably racist. La Roux’s faux head ain’t happy.