Monday, February 28, 2011

call it impulsive, call it compulsive, call it insane.

I grew up in the 90s/00s so the music of that era holds a certain place in my heart. It doesn't even really matter if the music sucks, I love it anyway. So when a contemporary artist takes a song that I was so familiar with and completely turns it on its side, it can be hit or miss. Consider "Too Little Too Late" by Daniel Rossen a hit.

Now I have never really been that into Grizzly Bear, I am picky about my eerie, atmospheric music, and nothing I had heard really wowed me. Somehow, though, I stumbled upon (not StumbleUpon) a version of the aforementioned JoJo song by one of the members of Grizzly Bear and I can't stop listening to it. It is so different from the original in a totally imaginative way and I can't get over how much soul is injected into the lyrics just by them being sung a different way.


(And yes, the title of this post is a reference to The Barenaked Ladies. I loved them as a kid and they seem like all I've been listening to lately. And this song of course. And my Salsa Explosion! cd. Yeah, I know I'm cool.)

Saturday, February 26, 2011

aston.

So Aston is this group of Australian musicians who have recently or are just about to graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and they are awesome. They do classical covers of pop songs that are so creative and inspiring it makes me wish I didn't quit my piano lessons. (But not enough for me to start again. Definitely not that much.) It is also really cool to see how much work went into something that was initially just a side project and grew into something more. It makes me reconsider that bubble wrap project...

Anyways, I struggled a little to decide exactly which song I wanted to post here. The arrangement and video for "Viva La Vida" are beautiful, but it seems like too obvious of a song choice for a classical cover band. And then I thought that maybe I would do "Only Girl (In The World)" because it also quite lovely. But I have decided on "Rude Boy" because it is such an unexpected song choice and Aston's version is actually rousing for classical music. (Not that there is anything wrong with classical music at all, it can just be a little stodgy at times.)



Thursday, February 24, 2011

monsters and mayhem.

So I know that I keep saying that I am in love with people, but I got a lot of love to go around. The list is pretty long, but add Al Pacino anyways. I had to watch Dog Day Afternoon for my screenwriting class, and I totally loved it. Al Pacino was absolutely amazing as Sonny. Funny, frantic, intense, kinda weirdly sexy. Just awesome. And also Chris Sarandon. He was very good as well but I don't think I've ever seen him in anything except The Princess Bride so I was kind of like what the hell is Prince Humperdinck doing in this movie? And oh my god he was also Jack Skellington? Whoa-ly crap. Apparently Chris Sarandon has been keeping himself busy. All the things that Wikipedia can teach you.

Anyways I just had to share my excitement before I got down to business. The business of showing you what other people are doing.

Here are so really cool post-it drawings by John Kenn. I love how he takes such a seemingly mundane medium and makes it seem so magical (and Gorey-esque).









More you say?

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

a rock n' roll moment.

I know this is really late, but until now I didn't quite grasp just how Arcade Fire was. I mean great music, but damn, bad ass. I love you Win Butler.


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

casey hansel!

So I have a confession. The artist in this post (aka Casey Hansel) and I are pretty tight. As in she was pretty much one of my best friends in high school (hence the exclamation point). So this doesn't really do much for me on the credibility front, but as they say, the proof is in the pudding.

For as long as I've known her, Casey has been really artistic (both her parents are art teachers so it is kind of in the genes). She made a dress out of caution tape in middle school. Middle school. Um, awesome. But I think that her work really took off with the idea to make a dress out of trash bags. Now I have no idea where this desire came from, but based on what came out of it, I would say that this was her best idea ever (and that is saying something. Nutella cake anyone?).

So whether you are totally into saving the environment (I'm looking at you with the hennaed hair), or just intrigued by my masterful suspense, you can check out Casey's stuff below.


Said caution tape dress.


Said trash bag dress. Made of purple trash bags and pop-tops. She wore it to our prom. It was amazing.


Made of balloons (!).


This newest addition is made of newspaper, duct tape, and trash bags.


Learn more about Casey and her awesomeness here.

See what else she can do here. Shoes anyone?

Monday, February 21, 2011

new masterpieces.

So this post has been a long time coming. I mean it has been what two, three days since I last posted? FIVE!? Geez. How lazy am I?

But at least I kind have a valid excuse (besides being a college student). I am in DC visiting my mom in her brand spankin' new apartment (kinda hate myself for using the phrase 'brand spankin' new' but I'm just going to go with it). It is really nice (besides the shower curtain I knocked over) and I hope she will love living here.

It is certainly nice to visit for a three-day weekend. And so is DC. I am obsessed with the fact that so many of the museums are free here, namely the Smithsonian. We went to the Museum of American History yesterday, which was closed when I was here last, and I was totally geeking out. In addition to already being an American History freak (hello American Studies major), I love American culture. Seeing MJ's hat, Kermit, and Dorothy's ruby slippers all in one day? Awesome. And we saw Julia Child's kitchen. Inspiring.

Speaking of kitchens, the only real problem with my mom's apartment is that the kitchen is pretty much miniscule. It is barely the size of the kitchen in my dorm, which is kinda sad, but my mom assures me that she has plans to remedy this. It was big enough for me to make brownies in it last night though. Bon Appetit Magazine assured me that these brownies would be the "Best-Ever Brownies" (which I imagine being said in a gaudy announcer voice). Wrong. I mean they were good, but definitely not the best ever. I think I needed more browned-butter.

Anyways, enough about me...

...more about Georgina.

Seriously this girl is awesome. She takes paintings (not necessarily famous ones) and creates an outfit inspired by the composition and coloring. It is such a surprise and pleasure to see what she comes up with next and I highly recommend you check out some of her stuff.

Gustav Klimt







Roy Lichtenstein

Caravaggio



Wednesday, February 16, 2011

waterfall.

http://patch707.blogspot.com/2010/03/first-post.html

M. C. Escher...


meet youtube.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

a short film.


If you haven't seen this short film on The Sartorialist (Scott Schumann) you should because it is really enlightening about the whole street style process. Schumann has no professional photography training, which actually makes The Sartorialist even better because not only are the outfits great, but the whole scene created also is inspiring.

Also, I need to not go four days without reading my blogs. 169 new posts. Blog overload.

I keep looking at pictures from fashion week and seeing hints of people I know in the models. Which is weird. If that girl that sits across from in writing class is a model...

Also, happy belated Valentine's Day. Can you say happy belated (insert holiday here) if it is not birthday? Whatever. I'm a natural born rule breaker.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Saturday, February 12, 2011

the devils are dreaming.

It's weird how much my classes have been influencing my tastes lately. I mean for my CAMS class it has been photography, and now with my music class it has been Squirrel Nut Zippers. Which is a band. An awesome band. I actually really liked Squirrel Nut Zippers before I started the music class, but since they are a swing revival band and we are studying 30s-40s music right now, I felt compelled to put them on repeat.

You might remember SNZ (way too much work to type out the entire name) from the 90s when swing was having a bit of a comeback. Just look at that party scene in Clueless where the Mighty Mighty Bosstones are the entertainment of choice. Or "Zoot Suit Riot" by Cherry Poppin' Daddies. Anyways, the SNZ song "Hell" was a hit in 1996. And rightfully so.

I remember being little and being very confused when they were spelling things out:

"Now the D and the A and the M and the N and the A and the T and the I-O-N.
Lose your face, Lose you name
And get fitted for a suit of flames."

Um, I totally want a suit of flames. That sounds awesome.

I couldn't find a video for "Hell" so here is "Put A Lid On It".


Doesn't she kind of sound like Billie Holiday? (Thank you, MUS 276.)

Anyways, the whole album, Hot, is great. I think I would have to say that "Bad Businessman" is my favorite. Though "Prince Nez" is good too.

Just check the whole album out. Their follow-up, Perennial Favorites, seems a bit different stylistically and tonally (to me at least), but is fantastical nonetheless.

And if that doesn't convince you, they covered "Under the Sea". Um, awesome. And I almost forgot that Andrew Bird used to play violin for them. Could he get any cooler?

Friday, February 11, 2011

william gedney.

I don't know what it is but I have totally been on a photography kick lately. Maybe it is the influence of my CAMS (cinema and media studies) class or maybe it's all the pent up photography love that I have stored up. Or maybe it's because it doesn't take too much effort to just post pictures. Anyways, I am going to try to cut down and maybe do some other stuff. Give it some variation.

I first encountered William Gedney in the December (I think) issue of Dazed & Confused and I was totally blown away. Apparently he wanted to get some pictures of rural life so he asked to spend time with a mining family. He was sent to Kentucky and spent something like six weeks there taking photographs. The results were amazing. By the way, not all of these are from that trip, though the majority are.

http://theselvedgeyard.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/ky0178-150dpi.jpeg
http://jwanderson.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/william-gedney-jwanderson.jpeg
http://u1.ipernity.com/11/22/80/4972280.c0229e16.560.jpg
http://www.tfaoi.com/am/5am/5am262.jpg
http://susanaraab.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/picture-2.png
http://pics.livejournal.com/bekalo/pic/001e400g


Basically, I'm obsessed.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

bunk beds.

kate beauty2 Morning Beauty | Kate Moss by Juergen Teller
Kate Moss lookin' awesome.

(not a euphemism)

what was old is new again.

ABC Open Producer as a baby with my Nanna on the Shores of Lake Bonney

Mini me with an over-sized life jacket on

rio de janeiro

The Anglican church at Eccleston

Coolest family portrait project ever.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

dreaming of z-boys.

The book Locals Only: California Skateboarding makes me wish I could skateboard, lived in California, and lived in the seventies. Or was tan. (Never going to happen). None of which is true. But a girl can dream...





Damn you Hugh Holland.

Monday, February 7, 2011

in the summertime...

Here in Wellesley it is SO. NOT. SUMMER. We get snow just about everyday and while it is beautiful, it is a pain in the ass to maneuver and just kinda gets you down after a while. February is the worst.

So, for your viewing pleasure, select pieces from Moschino Cheap And Chic. Rosella Jardini obviously understands the blues. And how to cure them.





I feel happier already.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

vogue.




Aren't these cool? All the different covers of a year's worth of Vogue Magazine have been layered on top of one another. I love the creativity of taking a seemingly finished product and making it into something new.

All made by shrubrub.

the one. the only.

Zomg. And I'm that excited and am totally geeking out so I feel no shame in saying zomg. But seriously zomg guys. I saw Ira Glass last night at the Sanders Theater and it was amazing. So amazing. This American Life is possibly my favorite thing ever and to hear, and see (which was really strange), the creator was surreal.

He talked about storytelling and how best to convey an excellent (or in honesty not so excellent) story effectively and suspensefully. Meanwhile he told some great stories of his own and was hilarious.


Too true.

If you get a chance to see him speak you should because he is completely charming and totally informative as well. What a combination.

Friday, February 4, 2011

happy friday.


nina leen.

Dreaming of beach days. 


Peter Sellers in a shot that I am absolutely in love with. And was a total pain in the ass to get by the way.


http://www.denimology.com/2010/11/instyle_magazines_sexiest_jeans_ever.php

Nothing like a little French New Wave to brighten your day.


Indira Ghandi. A Wellesley woman if I ever saw one.



Also, has anyone seen I Am Love? I tried watching about half of it and had to stop (though because it was two in the morning more than anything else). What I did watch I found slightly strange and honestly, poorly paced. Now that I am in a screenwriting class and I know what I'm talking about (yeah, right), I feel justified in saying that the film just took too long in introducing a main conflict. An hour into the movie and little had happened. And it wasn't necessarily in the Sofia Coppola-esque way of basically making a movie of atmosphere. Perhaps the story picks up. I just wasn't that impressed. I'll try finishing it and see what happens. The costuming, though, was gorgeous.

Anyone have any thoughts?

All the pictures are from Life unless indicated.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

why don't you sit right down and stay awhile?



So I love She & Him and was totally obsessed when Volume One came out. Since then I haven't listened to them that much because I had exhausted them for the time being. But today I was looking through my blogs and someone posted a video from Volume Two, and it just made me happy. I didn't enjoy Volume Two as much as I did Volume One, so I hadn't watched the video before. It was pretty good (which means pretty good for She and Him, infinitely better than just about every other band), but I really like the older stuff better, hence, Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?.

I was trying to figure out what my favorite song was from Volume One so I could be like "Gosh guys seriously, if you haven't heard insert single song name here than you haven't lived", but I realized that I really love all of them. So just go listen to the album. Especially This Is Not A Test. And You Really Got A Hold On Me. And I Thought I Saw Your Face Today.

And just as a semi-side note, if you haven't listened to any M. Ward (the "Him"), than you should, because he is amazing. One of my favorite guitarists ever. I've never really been good at discerning who was playing guitar but he has such a signature sound that it is easy.