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.
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.
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?
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?
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.
Tuesday // April 27, 2010 at 16:00 // filed under Music
oOoOO
oOoOO have been circulating once more since they recently made a mixtape for a clothing label called Actual Pain (<<--go cop the mixtape there) and are far more spooky and weighted than their often childishly employed name might imply - unless there's some weird ooo-ohh-ooo-oh-oh way of pronouncing it that I'm unaware of.
Ponderously dark but somehow beat driven in an almost hip hoppily gothic way, oOoOO have had me hypnotised this week. Eerie in it's meandering clarity, their track 'Hearts' - which was included on their recent mixtape - is like stomping steadily through a sharp cold mist on a grey day with Casper, Christina Ricci and Ichabod Crane lurking about somewhere nearby...it's some pretty freakily cool stuff.
Thursday // March 18, 2010 at 14:56 // filed under Music
Lady Alpha Passion Bits refers not only to a mash up of Alphabeat and Passion Pit who did the 'Telephone' remixes in this post, but also I suppose, a little bit of what Lady Gags kinda presents: an Alpha[beat] bitch, [Passion]ate about her work who's Bits are under speculation.
The very first time I encountered 'Telephone' was sometime late last year. It wasn't actually the single - it was this version below (I couldn't find the original poster/video, but here it is anyway).
Even in this form, it's sticky as shit to your shoe.
I don't look out for Gaga or go out of my way to check her, because stuff from and about her tends to smack you in the face anyway - GIRL IS EVERYWHERE (and suffering from exhaustion as you undoubtedly would be). When 'Telephone' assaulted my senses, I was floored by it's ambition and ridiculousness.
'Telephone' has been analysed, blogged and screen capped to mega-deth; and begrudgingly, understandably so, just like 'Bad Romance' was. And yet I also find these two remixes of the track fun and hair flicky enough to post. I sort of don't feel like I have that much perspective on Lady Gags; I'm a bit confused myself as to how I actually consume her/music/product/persona/poo cakes.
Either way.
Alphabeat's remix goes between a typical dance club track to a Pussycat Doll-ish segment during Beyoncé's breakdown (which I really enjoy) to taking on a touch of Robert Miles. Really not bad at all Alphabeat.
Passion Pit's retouch immediately made me question whether I'd misunderstood who had actually remixed it. Passion Pit, dat really chu? It was more interesting to me that this was a Passion Pit product rather than anything else, in this super dancey late 90s feeling remix, though it's still pretty bangin' as well.
I get the Madonna comparisons and all, but I really think that Gags is going to end up much more like a Cher figure/character rather than Madge-y one, y'know? What do you think?
Monday // November 30, 2009 at 00:00 // filed under Music // Fashion
Charlie in the studio, East London
photograph by yours truly
By now you've all been sickeningly fascinated/sucked in/unwillingly riveted by the Lady Gagz video. Not surprisingly at all, a number of Charlie Le Mindu pieces have found their way onto the newly nosed Gaga; least of which crowns the top of thatMcQueen ensemble she werks in the middle of the clip.
Forget the shoes (for a second) and check the hair!
In the meantime, Charlie has been named Fudge's Hair Ambassador (whatever that means), amongst styling hair for various hot bands video clips as well as his cut and style residency at Tatty Devine's Brick Lane shop.
In the midst of this update, I hit him up for 5 tracks he's been listening to lately, and here's what he hit me back with:
1 Kap Bambino : Batcaves 2 Winona Carr : Please Mr Jailer 3 Pizza Kids : We Like Pizza 4 Lady Gaga : Bad Romance 5 Peaches : Mommy Complex 6 ( bonus track ) : Suicide : Ghost Rider
Watch out for a Charlie Le Mindu cover of Winona Carr's 'Please Mr Jailer' - little do y'all know, that another lesser known talent of Charlie's is that he yodels. Yes, he yodel-odelays. And rather well, actually.
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.
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.
Tuesday // June 09, 2009 at 18:07 // filed under Music
CALVIN! YUKSEK! FILTHY DUKES! DON'T GO TO THE DARK SIDE (not you STUART PRICE, you've been there for a long time already)! I KNOW THEY PAY MORE AND
THE GIRLS ACTUALLY GO TO THE GYM, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY KATY PERRY AND LADY GAGA WILL CUT YOUR HEADS OFF. BE WARNED.
THIS IS A TEST - c'mon, I dare you not to download these...
