Washed Out - New Theory

when I close my eyes and think of you, this what I see


Washed Out- Feel It All Around
Washed Out- New Theory

Get a grip

I've been obsessed with these ads from Dolce & Gabanna. Throughout the day I'll find myself fantasizing about those gloves. A few weeks ago I finally went out and got two pairs of black satin gloves. I've been trying to work up my own version, but since most of my wardrobe is composed of dark colors I'm afraid it'll be washed out... so I've been playing with embellishments. The scarf though is proving to be a bit more difficult, it doesn't look sleek like the ad... kinda looks more like the scarves are trying to cop a feel on my twins.... so I'm not sure yet if I'm going to finish it. The glove headpiece though I'm definitely going to finish, hopefully before new year's eve. I just don't know if it'll be too wacky to wear out, but then again new year's eve should be about indulgence & exaggeration, right? Oh and I want those thick frame black glasses.

Zippity Do Ahhh

This past year I managed to finish little projects I've started. I've got this bad habit of getting really into something, but then leaving it halfway through. Lately I've been making more of an effort of letting my creations come full circle and blossom. I was really into feathers and making little hats, but right now it's all about the zippers. When I first start I don't have a set idea in my head of how I want it to turn out, I just let it flow. I love manipulating the zippers, twisting them here and there and then changing their course again.
I love the contrast of the red and blue together. I don't know what to call it, hair accessory or little hat? I just like to pin it into my hair :)

This was my first foray into playing with zippers. I did most of it in a few hours, but then let it sit for months before I finished it. I had intended to use it as a necklace, using the ribbon to pull it together. I should have used a different material though as the base, the felt is too conspicuous.
When I'm unsatisfied with my selection of clothes, I turn to accessories for that extra spice...which was the case this past weekend. I ransacked my room and came upon this old friend. I started playing with the necklace and I ended up using it as a sort-of headband. I think I prefer it that way, I loved how it turned my outfit from bland to interesting but interesting in a good way (or so I hope)
They might be a little funky, but it's comforting for me to wear things that I've made and know no one else has

Harlem

I don't know if it's the winter, but I'm excited about all the new music out there. I love my sad, heartbreaking songs, but damn sometimes I need a break. It's great to hear a fun song that just makes you want to shake, rattle and roll. Right now Harlem is doing it for me. Hailing from Austin, Tx they've got that je ne sais quoi element that just makes their tunes infectious, but not in a "i'll hate you after too many consecutive listens"
Check out their tune Friendly Ghost Here's a description of the song from their website blog:
" if you were trolling around the internet looking up our band name and random other words you might have stumbled on the fact that a song was given out by matador off our new album coming out on april 6th. its called friendly ghost and according to most things we have read it is supposed to be about a ghost (i guess music blogs dont believe in metaphors but they do believe in ghosts...and vampire weekends ability to turn concepts of musical lineage on their heads) so no matter if it is about a ghost or a girl or an ice cream sandwich... whoop here it is!"
And the buck doesn't just stop there. Bands nowadays really know how to embrace the internet and promote themselves. On their myspace theythey put up a cover of the month that you can download for free. I love how they reworked this favorite of mine: Harlem- Goodbye Horses (Q.Lazzarus)

Listen to this now

baby piano, an accordion, xylophone, tambourine, finger snaps..... hello love.

This is a VideoSong - a format in which whatever sound you hear is presented in the video. No Timberland-like extras or lip synching, everything is there for you to see and hear. So intimate and beautiful. It's an apple crepe, a smile of a child with chocolate on their face, the little pang in your heart when you stare into the eyes of your love, that first step off of the train onto the tracks...


When I first heard this, I felt like Amelie's blind man at 1:37


You can find Pomplamoose on myspace. You can purchase and download their music there. They've got lots of good covers, including Beyonce's "Single Ladies", that you can download for free

Chase the Tear

Last nite, Norweigians were treated to different kind of light show. "Within seconds a giant spiral had covered the entire sky. Then a green-blue beam of light shot out from its centre - lasting for ten to twelve minutes before disappearing completely." Scientists say that the occurrence was longer than what would be natural and are in no way connected to their native northern lights. Many are saying that it's from a missile test Russia doesn't want to acknowledge. To do so would mean big trouble for them since Russia is supposed to tell Norway when they're going to do a test. Or, you can go with what others are saying :UFO. Either way, I imagine I'd be in a stupor watching this in Norway. It'd scare me & enthrall me all at once. It's beautiful beyond words. Read the full story here

Speaking of otherworldly, beautiful things... here's new Portishead : Chase the Tear. They did it for Amnesty International. Buy the 7" here
Maybe it's late and I'm starting to get loopy, but listening to Chase the Tear and looking at those spirals I feel like I've got a sci fi movie developing in my mind. Hmmm......

Small Black- Despicable Dogs

This is our getaway song.
The one that’s playing in the car as we decide to keep going.
You turn to me and I know, it's unspoken
I know your eyes and you know mine

(but I won't be wearing sandals or have hairy albino hair, sorry)

Download Small Black : Pleasant Experience here
You can hear more tracks off their myspace. Be sure to at least sample "Weird Machines" and "Bad Lover"
Their self-titled EP is amazing ( sorry I can't think of better word). It's been on heavy rotation the past couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to hearing the full length. I've got a feeling the promise of the EP will be fulfilled & not suck like some of their predecessors... *cough.... Yeah I'm looking at you Passion Pit. I can't even listen to Passion Pit's EP anymore because how disappointed I was with their full length release.
Here's to you Small Black *fingers crossed*

pronto, muy pronto

This thursday morning I'll be on a flight on my way to Zacatecas. I'll be heading out with my mom and two of my cousins. We'll be celebrating my grandfather's 90th birthday. It seemed that this day would never come. I kept getting paranoid that something would come up and we wouldn't be able to make it, or worse yet that my grandfather would get sick. I'm excited to be in zacatecas again and maybe do some tourist things this time around, but more than anything I want to spend quality time with my grandfather. It's different spending time with him there... he's in his element and it brings him great pride to have us there, to show us their way of life and values.

Nobuyoshi Araki

Japanese photographer and artist. Bjork has modeled for him and he's did cover & sleeve of Telegram. His work is astounding
























































































































"I tie up the women’s bodies because I know that I cannot tie up their heart. They only allow their physical selves to be bound. " - araki



“I’m trying to catch the soul of the person I’m shooting. The soul is everything. That’s why all women are beautiful to me, no matter what they look like or how their bodies have aged.” Bjork was one of his most memorable shoots. “Half virgin, half old bag, like a shaman…what a face”

I don't care for fancy things

This is probably the best cover I've ever heard. My Boys [Girls] done by Taken by Trees. I thought I loved this song before, but their cover just takes you deeper. The way the fresh, soft notes spring up the lyrics' beauty. Always brightens my day
If you don't know who Taken by Trees is, it's the solo project of former Concretes lead singer Victoria Bergsman. You may also recognize her from that infectious PB& J "Young Folks" tune

I want to be there with her, barefoot and gracefully walking the tightrope. So many times we let material things, careers, the pressures of society weight us down...when all really need is our loved ones and a place to call home.

Wonders of Nature

If you know me, then you know I love old books (and their scent).

i found this book recently at the Community thrift.
"Wonders of Nature" : as seen and described by famous writers (up until 1900)
complied together by Esther Singleton. published 1900

a world before your parents, their parent's & their parent's parents
before twitter twatter, video chat, e-mail, spa resorts, microwaves, freeways.... untainted.
Can you imagine what the writer is describing below?


The Big Tress of California:
"at last we entered the true forest-belt, and anything more beautiful you cannot conceive. We forgot our bumps and bruises in sheer delight. Oh the loveliness of those pines and cedars, living or dead! For the dead trees are draped with the most exquisite golden-green lichen...
I can compare it to nothing but gleams of sunshine in the dark forest"
..." The whole air is scented with the breath of the forest- the aromatic fragrance of resin and of dried cones and pine-needles baked by the hot sun, and the atmosphere is clear and crystalline "
C.F. Gordon- Cumming


what would these writers say now if they saw the state these places are currently in?

Bradford Cox is saying Ho Ho Ho, free music for you

Bradford Cox has a stocking stuffer for you and your friends. Download the new Atlas Sound 7" off of his blog
thanks Brad !

Losing Feeling

After watching the video for No Age's "Losing Feeling", I was instantly hooked. I had to go out and get it the next day on vinyl in uptown whittier. I love how now most newly released vinyl gives you a code to download the tracks digitally. Listening to the EP I was blown away by just how great it is to listen to from beginning to end. No skipping around or anything, I could just let it play all the way through. All the tracks are great, but the one I'm most attached to right now is "Genie"
I love playing it after a long day. I can close my eyes and I can feel myself slowly falling, letting go as I let the melody sink in.
here's a fan-made video for "Genie"


check out their video for "Losing Feeling" , it's really cool

Oh let these little words of love become the lamps that light your way

I think the best way to start off this blog should be the same way I like to start my day : with a song that makes a smooth transition from dreaming to full consciousness. There's a mashup of Beach Boy's "All I Wanna Do" & Animal Collective's "Guys Eyes" that I can't get enough of. The combination of the same kind as the pairing of soul mates and they even finish each other's sentences

BB starts: "All I wanna do ... " as AC breathes in "is just want my body wants to "
"to give you all the love I can " ... "to show my girl that I want her"
It's what we allow ourselves to speak out and those subtle, repressed thoughts, desires we cannot always express. AC's powerful, insisting words "need her, need her"
Fused together they might sound neurotic, but who can claim innocence to that when they're in love?

you can download the mashup here

here's a closer look at lyrics:

AC: Guys Eyes
I really want to do just what my body wants to / I really want to do just what my body needs to
If I could just hold all the thoughts in my head and keep them for you /
I really want to show to my girl that I want her / If I could just purge all the urges that I have and keep them for you / I really want to show to my girl that I need her (x2)
If I could just hold all the thoughts in my head and keep them for you I keep it locked right now I really want to show to my girl that I want her If I could just purge all the urges that I have and keep them for you I keep it locked right now I really want to show to my girl that I need her If I could just hold all the thoughts in my head and keep them for you (repeat) Need her So I used my mind and I used my hand It was what I want to do I really don't know what to do if my body should want to What I want

Beach Boys "All I Wanna Do"

All I wanna do is always bring good to you
To give you all the love I can and help you in whatever you do
Sure as the sun will come around again to start off another day
You can be sure that in my heart and soul I'll love you in every way
All I wanna do Is bring happiness to you
I hope it makes you happy to know My love's with you wherever you go
Oh when I sit and close my eyes A gentle thought comes in my mind
My love is burnin' brightly ; My moon and stars shine nightly
All I wanna do (x3)
Oh let these little words of love become the lamps that light your way
My love is burnin' brightly ; My moon and stars shine nightly
All I wanna do (lonely in the night I feel)
All I wanna do (x2)