running out of ideas?

When I saw a picture from the set of Alice and Wonderland I was instantly reminded of Emily Browning's coat in Series of Unfortunate events... both designed by Colleen Atwood. Well, it is a great coat... 

on the plus side...

i am OBSESSED with this clip. 

I watched The Saddest Music in the World a couple years ago (I was 12) and it definitely did things to my brain. Some of those images just stick with you forever... (woman's glass leg shattering into a million pieces, peppy pianist catching fire...) But the effect is beyond incredible. I've found myself addicted to watching little clips and trailers of guy maddin films on youtube because it's so wonderful just to immerse yourself in his world for a while...

what is wrong with me?

not really digging the new Animal Collective EP... 

I know I'm a little late as this was leaked on the 19th but I just stumbled across Fall Be Kind EP and... wasn't that impressed... Overall, I felt it was a little over-processed, too much reverb and sparkle. But let's look at this track by track so I can put my finger on what it was that bugged me... 

1. Graze: Animal Collective has this dangerous tendency to lean towards a sound that is, in my opinion, too big for them... As seen prior in Safer, I feel that when they overdo it with the reverb, echoes and over project their voices, it takes away from their more haunting, subtle side as seen in Loch Raven or Banshee Beat (maybe I'm just an old fashioned freak folk fan, but Feels was definitely my favorite Animal Collective) and then the weird jig in the middle... no comment. It's like they're trying to go back to their campfire songs and switch around time signatures like they always have but now it just seems forced and gimmicky and has no flow... 

2. What Would I Want: Definitely the best song on the EP. The beginning has that cacophonous, celebratory quality which you can only get from a well-done Animal Collective track. The middle vocal part is a little more conventional than usual but I forgive them... Almost like Fireworks at times but definitely more inhibited and reined in. As usual, I hate the chimes. They're all over this EP and I feel like they automatically cheapen every track. 

3. Bleed: Definite DJ Shadow influences at the beginning which I'm okay with, kind of like their vocals in #1 on Strawberry Jam which I LOVED, but from there onward I feel like it just turns into self conscious and over structured harmonies and overlapping soundscapes that don't introduce anything new or exciting for the group... 

4. On A Highway: One of my least favorites. At this point, the music is so ballad-like and structured that it almost sounds like Death Cab. which is not good. The lyrics are overflowing with platitudes and cliches, totally missing any type of spirit and quirkiness we got from previous AC tracks... I predict this one is going to be really popular though. 

5. I Think I Can: Hmmm... not sure how I feel about this one yet? A little too rigid but it still feels more natural than the rest of the EP. 

Maybe I just need to give it another listen, but I feel as if my overall impression is that they're starting to lose their extremes... The joyful moments are no longer as joyful, the haunting sections aren't quite as haunting... everything is just sort of in this middle ground, and kind of in a safe place for their commercial viability and fans. I think this will be successful but I can't help but feel like there's something missing throughout the EP. 

Frontier

The latest Danielle Stech-Homsy cosmic cotton candy creation, still keeps the general ethereal mood of Bride of Dynamite but has a more smooth, processed feel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... If Bride of Dynamite took place in a small cave, Frontier is more of a venture out of the cave and into the surrounding wilderness. Thus, we lose a bit of the intimacy of the first album but gain more interesting landscapes and sweeping sounds. I find her songs most successful when she sticks to a more simple vocal line (such as the haunting non-vibrato strophes of Bride of Dynamite evocative of the songs of troubadours of the medieval era), and lets the background noises and effects become a part of the landscape rather than taking control of the song. The Light House (my favorite track) embodies all these qualities, and much like Everyone is Someone's, uses sound bytes that seem as if they were collected by spending an afternoon sitting with a recorder on a playground bench and oddly placed blips and crackles to expand the meaning of the song and create a poignant setting. The Visitor, reminiscent of Radiohead's Treefingers, seems more labored and thought-out, unable to transport us to Rio en Medio's asteroid in the same way the rest of the album can with its gossamer, celestial state of being. 

les yeux sans visage

over the past couple days i've been completely obsessed with this french horror film... it really embodies my mood right now.

marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc marc

First collection of the week with a point of view, and something new to contribute... Marc said that he didn't want girls all wearing black and studs, and that they should be themselves instead, bla bla bla... Cliches aside, I thought this was a cool collection with a less literal definition of the meaning of cool. With the scarves balled around the neck, ballerina buns, kooky layering, and overall slouchy Comme Des Garcons feel, it's a different kind of confident woman which I always appreciate as I feel I can identify with her more than with the Balmain "rebels." This season's rebel is so much more interesting, and doesn't need shoulder pads or spikes to show that she's tough... Taking your boyfriend's button down, sticking a frothy Erin Fetherston-like number over it and topping it with a fringed bag is a lot more edgy in my opinion than wearing the same tired bleached jeans and combat boots...

coconuts, plenty of junk food

NEW COCOROSIE!!!! FINALLY! I was SO excited to find this the other day. Apparently, it's a tour only CD EP with no plans for release, but it's on youtube and I used file conversion sites to turn the videos into mp3s... I'd seen a couple live videos with them where the music was a little too techno/dance for my taste but from listening to coconuts, plenty of junk food I'm glad to see that they haven't completely abandoned their beautiful freak folk roots. Okay, track by track review, ready?
Coconuts- my least favorite; the fake flute solo interludes I find a little unbearable.
Happy Eyez- I'd seen a live version of this on youtube and loved it, the lyrics are so cute! They call me wee willy winky...
Milkman- beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. There are parts of it that remind me of Charles Foster Kane's wife's voice in Citizen Kane, with Sierra's fragile warble and washed up opera singer tone.
Joseph City- I love this, as it paints a whole different picture for me than other CocoRosie tracks. This is the first time I've ever gotten an abandoned urban jazz club kind of feel from their music. Makes me picture them in an empty bar sitting at the piano bench together in long tattered white dresses...
Spirit Lake- I keep thinking I'm hearing Rufus Wainwright in the beginning. This is nice too, a little reminiscent of Armageddon from Noah's Ark...

Here are the Youtube links...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H16z-3AtUR8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTA4iRTc3eE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocKiErJ64ik&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r60GFrOyj0o&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmLJRvvFi9o&feature=related

if you're going to san francisco, make sure to wear...

Found this blouse in my friend's dress-up closet today and thought it was so Woodstock... I bleached the skirt this summer and bought the fake flowers at the dollar store this morning, I just couldn't resist! I have this odd attraction to fake flowers, I know I'm going to be one of those old ladies with potted plastic ferns all around my house and weird fabric orchids in vases full of mancala beads instead of water...

the flower that drank the moon

So, I know I'm not the first blog-writing, alt-music listening, graphic-novel reading, fashion-interested teenager to have discovered the movie Ghost World or anything, but I watched it last night on youtube and I have to say that I LOVED it. It's really a very beautiful movie, kind of the anti-Amelie, in my opinion. Well, now that I've brought up Amelie an explanation is warranted... Amelie: a quirky french film about a lonely girl who finds beauty in the small, mundane everyday details of her life and performs random acts of kindness, hangs out with insightful old guys and has cute retro fashion sense .
Ghost World: a quirky american film about two lonely girls with affectionate contempt for their suburban habitat who keep up continuously sardonic mockery of the world around them. They also enjoy observing the people and places around them, and Enid (the anti-Amelie herself) keeps a journal as well, but they perform random acts of meanness. Insightful old guys also come into play, but in a much more uncomfortable sense.
Despite the grittier surroundings and pessimistic attitude, I found Ghost World to be just as beautiful and moving (if not more) as the highly stylized Amelie, and it is thought provoking, hilarious and depressing all at the same time. And since I guess this is kind of a fashion blog, I should also add that I am obsessed with Enid's clothes and being a huge garage-sale-junkie I flipped out during the garage sale scene in the movie... What would I not give to rummage through Enid's piles of cast-off retro 50s dresses, cool t-shirts, and schoolgirl skirts? 

has christmas come early?

Yet another unexpected Radiohead single has come out (although this one was apparently leaked) in the past two weeks! Called "These Are My Twisted Words", it has these wonderful atmospheric guitar lines that remind me of the arpeggios in Weird Fishes crossed with the gritty feel of Bodysnatchers. I really loved the track, and though it's not necessarily a change of direction from what they did in In Rainbows, the song definitely feels more isolated and lost without losing that particular brand of Radiohead angst that we all love so much. Listening to the song was like driving through a desert in a shoddy car- unsettling, exciting, and desolate.


(by the way, both this song and harry patch are on my blog ipod to the right of this post if you have not yet heard them)

alice in wonderland silent film circa 1903

I just stumbled across this amazing work of art on youtube and just thought it was incredible... Especially in light of the Tim Burton version of Alice coming out soon, I thought it was really refreshing to see this torn, chewed up reel of Alice in Wonderland versus the beautifully colored, aesthetically entrancing version that we'll soon see in theaters. I especially liked how the camera would merely move away from Alice to make her look like she was shrinking or zoom in to enlarge her, haha... But seriously, this must have been such a big deal when it came out, what with the elaborate sets and tons of extras to act as playing cards... All in all, absolutely fascinating! 

harry patch (in memory of)

So a couple of days ago this Radiohead single came out of nowhere... apparently a tribute to the last surviving World War I veteran in Britain. I immediately went to the source to see what this was all about, and Thom Yorke, as usual, had some beautiful words to say about the song which i highly recommend you take the time to read 

http://www.radiohead.com/deadairspace/index.php?c=495

The lyrics are very moving and an utterly sincere cry for peace that's so rare in an age where people just wear peace signs on t-shirts or tote bags and feel as if they've done their part for humanity. When I heard the opening orchestral strains of the track, I was a little concerned that this was going to turn into some sappy Muse circa Absolution type of thing (in fact, it reminded me a bit of the strings in Muse's absolutely cringe-worthy "Blackout") but I shouldn't have doubted Radiohead for one second, because songs like Harry Patch (In Memory Of) are what distance Radiohead from any type of Muse comparison, showing that Thom Yorke possesses a quality Matthew Bellamy will never have: restraint. Radiohead's understated tribute to Harry Patch was gorgeous in its simplicity and not the slightest bit nationalistic as one might've feared from a war vet tribute. It was merely a majestic ocean of sound with Thom Yorke's beautifully broken voice floating on top. 

the lovely bones

i just watched the amazing trailer for the lovely bones, and i am so unbelievably excited! i was actually really pleased with the casting, as all the characters are pretty close to how i imagined them. also, when reading the book i was always struck by alice sebold's use of colors in descriptions of susie's clothes and various settings, and i'm glad to see that the color palette came through in the movie as that's always something that kind of stuck with me when reading the book. it's kind of difficult to explain, i guess, but i just really appreciated seeing all these beautiful mustard yellows, teals and forest greens come to life in the trailer since i'd really associated them with my overall impression of the story. here it is, enjoy! 

my hedi slimane obsession...

Lately I've been fascinated by the sinisterly powerful photography of Hedi Slimane. Apparently he used to be creative designer for Christian Dior, but quit to pursue photography. I love that his photos have that glowing quality but without the excessive Annie Liebovitz airbrushed look. His pictures look raw and emotional but polished at the same time. I especially love his Sasha Pivarova shoot for French Vogue. 

vintage lace blouse...

so while thrifting yesterday i found this cool eighties lace shirt... it instantly reminded me of this amazing balmain fall 2008 dress so i tried my best to recreate it with a black high waisted skirt. obviously not as cool, but i tried my best! 

la gata

a while ago i attended a cat power concert at the teatro gran rex while visiting family in buenos aires, and it was an incredible experience! to be fair, cat power was never my favorite artist (i sometimes thought of her as "despair lite" creating accessibly depressing inoffensive music for the masses) but seeing her live, i couldn't help but be moved by the power of her characteristically raspy voice... it turned out to be an unforgettable experience. seeing how intimate her concert felt now, with a huge audience and a band behind her, i can only imagine how incredible it would've been to see her nine years ago when it was just her and her guitar... 

here's the youtube link to her lovely version of sea of love... 

i'm nobody, who are you?

are you nobody, too? 

then there's a pair of us - don't tell! 

they'd banish us, you know. 

how dreary to be somebody! 

how public, like a frog

to tell your name the livelong day 

to an admiring bog

-emily dickinson