IM // UR | Nestor's Seattle Diary

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 book the 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.

Nestor's Seattle Diary

Monday // March 01, 2010 at 11:20 // filed under Music // Etc // Lifestyle

Say Hiya to Nestor

photograph of Nestor by Danny North

We all know I have this *ahem* indefinable thing for HEALTH's drummer BJ; but before there was BJ, there was (drumroll please - HA!)...Nestor.

Nestor is currently of Sky Larkin drummer fame, and right now is back in Seattle with bandmates Harkin and Dug at John Goodmanson's (Death Cab for Cutie, Los Campesinos!, Sleater-Kinney) studio, who also produced the band's debut album.

Nestaaargh, the oddly gentle, ranga beast that he is, is writing a little Seattle guide/diary for us. Here's his first week for you...

21 Feb 2010, Seattle

Yo yo,

Seattle is good, although we're pretty badly lagged!

Beautiful weather, a freak heat wave or something. Meant to be hailstorms next week!

Just been for a walk. I forgot how scene Seattle is, we looked like foreign exchange kids look when they visit your school. Ha.

23rd Feb 2010, Seattle

I've been having trouble getting to sleep before 3am lately, partly through nerves about recording and partly through getting up later and later! I thought it would help with the timezone shift, but so far it's just made it even harder to adjust.

Our food today consisted of take away pizza for lunch and burgers from an old school burger joint called Dick's for dinner... Mmm, healthy. I already feel like crap, might be time to get healthy already, which basically means don't eat around here!

We get weekends off so we can have a rest (and so John [Goodmanson] can hang out with his new baby) so I reckon we're going to the cinema a few times while we're here and I think 'Precious' is probably on the agenda, it looks pretty awesome. Did you know Oprah Winfrey produced it?

I always forget how hard recording is, especially when we're just starting. Only did a few hours today and I'm already totally wiped... It's a good job we've got the wizard to help us out when we're in trouble!

25th Feb 2010, Seattle

Home sweet home. I wake up feeling like I'm stowing away on a galleon or something, it's kind of cool but not the most comfy place I've ever slept!

I found out today that the last band to stay at John's studio named this little space The Butt Hut, not sure that I want to know why...

X Nestor

You can check Nestor's epic drum work here, as a little bonus, in 'Smarts', the result of the last time the trio and John Goodmanson crossed paths for 24 hours, late last year in Wales.

Flash Content

Sky Larkin - Smarts [mp3]

POSTED BY CHRISTEL ESCOSA

TAGS: Sky Larkin // LINKS: Sky Larkin