IM // UR | Other kinds of Romance

This is probably the most exciting album we've heard in a while. Can you imagine a metal band not made by (and for) teenagers who worship Iron Maiden like their sisters worship Miley Cyrus? Invasion's The Master Alchemist is a compilation of 12 songs created with noisy guitars and fearless female vocals that will teach future generations about the emerging punk attitude; all with a metal sound and new rave style that might actually be the future of hairy metal. And we all thought heavy metal had no future...

WE // R \\ WEARING

No matter what part of the world you live in, you really can't ever have enough tees. Specially white ones. And black ones. With cool graphic prints on them. Meanwhile, in hipster-dom, crystals are still an ever popular theme, but in this case, we prefer this one in particular from Canadian based operation Handsome Clothing, christened the 'Lunar Crystal' (//Christel) tee. 'Handsome', despite being a kind of old school, highly civilised type of word, does describe this tastefully hip label justly. They also have a darn good-looking blog too, so go check that out while you're at it.

WE // R \\ WATCHING

Burn Notice is a USA Network series about a spy who got burned - which they remind you of in every scene. Although following the
basic style of American television, the series will catch all you dudes out there (sorry, girls won't like this) who like watching things explode in the most diverse ways. And like any good spy show, it teaches you how to make homemade bombs with boring things (a modern version of MacGyver). Plus Bruce Campbell is a lead character. And he's looking all Morrissey like.

WE // R \\ GOING

Imagine a youth house transformed into a club. Now charge 4 reais for a (long neck) beer and from 10 to 15 reais to get in. If you did it all right this would be called Neu (read in German) and actually already exists in São Paulo. My favorite night there is Friday, when they host Explode, a party where they basically play third world inspired songs (from Vampire Weekend to the whole club rap scene from Baltimore). Some great underrated DJs play there from time to time, and when you least expect it, you might find yourself laying on the dancefloor busting out some drunky town moves.

WE // R \\ READING

So yes, we've been wayyyy slack in updating the We//R\\Stuffs, which is why I'm going to say now that we began and finished Oscar Wilde's A Picture of Dorian Gray well before we knew it was a film. This is a classic novel about art, vanity, beauty and the consequences of such. 'A Picture of Dorian Gray' is brilliant; exploring and exploiting the potentially corrosive characters of beauty and what beauty can do to a character. Navigating through the deeply dark and light sides of human nature, Wilde's novel is a wickedly good study of society, and echoes with a cackling delight (and despair) at humanity's foibles.

Other kinds of Romance

Tuesday // November 17, 2009 at 07:33 // filed under Music

Gang signs - Lady Gaga goes Illuminati

The world is a-gog with Gaga right now, what with the whole Beyoncé collabo thing finally being released (did you manage to catch it before it went all restricted on youtube et al? If you missed it here, it's resurfaced again but I gotta say, Gaga struggles to even get a look in next to Sasha Fierce werking it out like that) and the 'Bad Romance' video phenomenon elevating her from making DIY Haus of Gags tribute attire to being a bona fide high end fashion goodie bagger.

I read on the internetz today, a breakdown and analysis of the signs and symbolism that 'Bad Romance' is apparently full of. Like, amongst the rest of the Da Vinci code stuff in the vid, Gags "...makes her trademark 'Eye in the triangle' hand gesture after initiation to make it clear who owns her now. The Illuminati." Everything about this conclusion boggles me, and I find it BEYOND WICKED (and hilarious, and BRILLIANT).

In the meantime a couple of unexpected remixes have surfaced, one from Hercules and Love Affair and the other from Leeds boy Grum.

Hercules and Gaga Affair

I heart photoshop...

Hercules and Love Affair caress 'Bad Romance' with their subtle but signature nostalgic neo house/disco filter; softening the track and giving it a far less aggressive, more sophisticated feel.

Flash Content

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Hercules & Love Affair Mix) [mp3]

Gaga for Grum

...I really do

Grum on the other hand goes for the icy synths and 80s flashback; turning it into a guilty pleasure of a synth pop gem.

Flash Content

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance (Grum Remix) [mp3]

Both in my opinion, endlessly improve on the original track. I ain't no huge fan of the Gags, nor am I a total hater, but you do have to love to hate/hate to love the whole circus. Girl wanted to create a monster and a monster she has become. Dreams can come true, so it seems. And any fashion head worth their salt can't help but at least begrudgingly respect that goddamn video.

POSTED BY CHRISTEL ESCOSA

TAGS: Lady Gaga, Hercules and Love Affair, Grum // LINKS: Hercules and Love Affair, Grum