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.
Wednesday // July 07, 2010 at 17:06 // filed under Music
Have you
ever asked yourself: what would Foals sound like, in this their Total Life Forever-era, fronted by
a woman? We believe this freshly unleashed remix that Foals did for Brooklyn
duo The Hundreds in the Hands might have
just given us the answer. It's got loops, echoes, spooky vocals, whispers, reverbs and trumpety
synths. In fact, this remix made me really miss those Aussies, Howling Bells, which can mean only one
thing: it’s good!
Tuesday // July 06, 2010 at 15:37 // filed under Music
We know
three things about Tim Fuchs. 1) He's an Australian. 2) He's friends with Flight
Facilities. 3) And he remixed the new Foals
single, ‘Miami’, with FF’s help. The remix is one of those chill disco numbers
quite similar with Flight Facilities’s own single, ‘Crave You’- only warmer, spookier
and less vocal.
It might
lose what the original was all about – big beats and over-thought guitars - but
it does give us something equally good in exchange. In fact, the result of this remix
gives us some new information about Tim Fuchs: he just put himself in our Hot-To-Watch list; and he
should be on yours too.
Wednesday // May 26, 2010 at 12:20 // filed under Music
There ain't nothing quite like a girlfight - except a TRANNY buffy beat down against pumped up body builders in slow motion! Foals take us there in the new video, directed by Dave Ma, for track 'Miami'; borrowing a little from David LaChapelle, a little from the drag race scene (ha!) in Grease and a whole lotta oiled up bodies, featured transgender personalitiesCalpernia Addams and Glamourous Monique. Check it:
Tuesday // March 23, 2010 at 10:32 // filed under Music
Right. Here's the latest in the slow unveiling of Foals' next step and where they find themselves in their forth-coming album Total Life Forever, above being the artwork for the album cover. As well, here is the next single 'This Orient'.
You, loyal readers, will know that I was a bit worried about where Foals were heading, until I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by 'Spanish Sahara'.
Untangle yourself from all your previous Foals album notions and encounter this the next single from Total Life Forever as another step towards the sound that they have been describing as their new one - the one that some of us have been a little nervous about. There are some beautiful moments that show a brilliantly more mature - though almost a little too controlled - Foals on 'This Orient'; as well as parts where I just felt like it veered into Coldplayish territory just a tad.
So I feel thrown back into that pre 'Spanish Sahara' apprehension, as this is not what I look to Foals for. I do much prefer the less restrained 'Spanish Sahara' to 'This Orient', but it has made me all the more curious for the album.
Total Life Forever could potentially be so brilliant if they pull it off...In the meantime, check Foals getting 'this western feeling' in the vid for 'This Orient' directed by Dave Ma below:
Monday // March 08, 2010 at 15:55 // filed under Music
Foals
The hints that Foals have been dropping in reference to the sound of their upcoming album (due out May the 10th) have been a little scary; and I, like others, have been a bit worried about how this is all going to pan out.
So for me at least, when 'Spanish Sahara' dropped, it was a most pleasant surprise. A definite departure from their more aggressive, angular math-rock of Antidotes, 'Spanish Sahara' swoons and floats, with Yannis Philippakis working a lovely vocal.
The track is mellow, melodic and lovely. Rather epic really, as is the video. Foals are serious as they ever were; and this song finds them grave, sombre and bleakly gentle; with just a hint of their previously start/stop guitars having been sanded down to a more warm, subtle and less edged finish. Quite beautiful. If you haven't caught it already, check the video below:
Spanish Sahara by Foals
Minimal and toying with percussion beautifully is the atmospheric and sensuous Mount Kimbie remix. Cop it below. As for the rest of Total Life Forever we'll just have to see won't we...
Tuesday // May 12, 2009 at 22:56 // filed under Music
Foals
The Foals were
never the obvious band the market expected them to be. Starting with the fact that they didn't include their poppiest moments ("Hummer" and "Mathletics") to their great debut Antidotes (produced by David Sitek) and still managing to get into the British top 3 in the first week of its release. Although
they were endorsed by the NME hype universe, they've managed to go beyond the rest of the
skinny-jean-ed bands. So far away, that the band was invited to remix the Field's incredible comeback single, "The
More That I Do".
One could say that their remix is really close to the
original, but for me the slight changes that the boys did made the song keep
it's own force while still harnessing the Foals sparkling sound; heavy
effects, distorted guitars and basic dancey drums. Now I'd like to see a band
like the Kaiser Chiefs
