Oh yea, my rent’s due soon too.

I am supremely jeal of New Yorkers right now. The Petra Projects show is opening tonight featuring a few artists I really admire and who really inspire me (ahem, Alex Hubbard). I emailed the co-curator, Anastasia, with a few interview questions. As of 10 minutes ago when I last checked my email, she has not yet replied! While I patiently wait do the song and dance with my refresh tab, here’s some of the questions I sent her, which I hope get answered soon!

1. In working with a new guard of New-York based artists whose artistic discourse overlap, how much of their work do you think results from the social, political, and economical climate of New York City, where they all reside “in close proximity”?

2. How did your idea for this show come about? And how did APF get involved?

3. From your research and experience, is art a viable medium of communication? How exactly does one “communicate like a normal person”? Anyway, if you’re in NY, definitely stop by the opening. It should be good.

 

Brother Reade (at SXSW), Photo by: Paul Chang

 

 

It often takes me some time to absorb new music, even if the music content comes as a recommendation from a friend. I’m your typical absentminded, ADD-afflicted, music junkie, whose pages of “new music to check out” is forever neatly stacked on the bedside table. I feel pretty caught-up for the most part, but the lightning speed at which new bands are forming keeps me eternally chasing and salivating. I’d say about two years ago, there was a lot of talk about local Silverlake hip hop duo Brother Reade. Friends and friends of friends were feeding me verbal advertising about Brother Reade’s music. People who saw their live shows would rave about how good the performances were. 

A month ago, OG-FAN Sadaf convinced me it was high time I check them out. Brother Reade performed an exciting (and loud) set at Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood, an unusual venue for a hip hop set up. I was sippin on some Honest Tea and bopping up and down to jam after jam. Bobby (glasses) was switching it up with the drum set and the turntables asynchronously yet at the same time, was uniting two beat-making mediums. Jimmy (beard) flawlessly delivered clever rhymes and alliterated catchy sentences. Superfans up front knew every word to their songs. There were many moments I wish I knew them too. Anyway, enough fawning- check out a video of their latest single “Lucifer” at the Black Cat in DC.

Fine. More fawning. Their frequently updated website is worth checking out.

Sylvia Plath reads “Daddy”

 

This poem is real.

Martin Lamothe at Pixie Market

Spanish design team Martin Lamothe getting some love at Pixie Market. New to the store, this Pastel Tulip Jacket is ostentatious but still subdued. The slight brown trim around the color is ironic and the print will make sense under every circumstance. It’s nu-rave, Miami Beach-appropriate, Swedish-chic, and pregger-friendly.

Gotta love the shoes!

permanently on vacation

Loving this Swedish clothing company, Permanent Vacation. All of the Spring 09 styles are throwbacks to the hardcore 90s stuff we used to wear. Floral print leggings. Over-sized chambray button downs. And this:

And when worn, like this:

While scouring through the website, I came across some artwork by Hanna Terese Nilson, a Gothenburg-based artist who contributed fashion illustrations for last year’s fall/winter line.

lollygagging in Palm Desert without purple bracelets

Here’s another teaser for my Coachella weekend round up- assorted photos I shot to document my two full days of lollygagging with friends in undesirable weather conditions. Though going to see live music was definitely a priority, this year’s trip east was mostly about the scene (that I’m now too old for, I guess), the pool parties, and Palm Springs fashion. There were a lot of gladiator footwear spin-offs (so. not. okay), a shit-ton of denim cutoffs, vintage 60s swimwear, and as my friend Zinzi observed, “hard bodies”. Overall, this year’s event felt like an MTV Beach house experience, chock full of bros and bimbos and flame tattoos. But to balance out the Animal House-meets-hipster vibe was the camaraderie among hardcore concert goers who are just looking for a good time.

Highlights included:
1. Spotting Alexander Wang, Kanye West, Zoe Kravitz, Jeremy Scott, Sam Spiegel, and the legendary Robyn at the Adidas x Jeremy Scott party.
2. Brunch at the King’s Highway at the Ace Hotel. Had a terrific mezze platter and a few bites of a jicama, kumquat salad with champagne vinaigrette.
3. Being on stage with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs for 3.5 milliseconds before getting ushered off stage. “What purple bracelets? We need purple bracelets?”
4. Free-flowing liquor and never-ending plates of bbq at the Anthem Ranch.
5. Busy P hitting home runs at the Anthem Ranch with old school jams!
6. Meeting Warren G at a random Mexican food joint and convincing him to pose for a photograph with me and 5 other people.
7. MBV, loud as ever.
8. Getting into the venue with bracelets that once belonged to Thievery Corporation. And feeling self-important about it.

Here’s a nice summary of what 36 hours in Palm Springs might look like, by the NYT.

back to life, back to reality

Susan Sontag photo courtesy of Annie Leibovitz (Brooklyn Museum)

Just returned from Indio, where the sun was ablaze the desert felt like a giant fire pit! I had an excellent time at Coachella and am working on a recap, so stay tuned. I’m also trying to squeeze in a few hours of sleep. For now, enjoy this lovely photo of Ms. Sontag and wish me luck on getting tickets for tonight’s Throbbing Gristle show at the Montalban theatre!

www.takemymoney.com

This week has been triumphant for us web-shoppers. The Muji store has finally gone digital, and now Opening Ceremony’s webshop is open for business. As proprietary as I often get about things I like, I don’t mind that two of my favorite stores are becoming more accessible for fashionistas in the Ozarks or Outer Mongolia or some other region of the world that never gets any retail love.

Ghost ride the blog

Like every 16 – 30 year old interested in fashion, design, and pop culture, I try to keep up with Kanye West’s blog. I was one of those naïve readers who believed that the hip hop laureate was posting 20 + times a day, in between meetings with labels and fashion designers, and was well-versed in every topic requiring good taste and proper intel. Of course, the wool’s been pulled over my eyes, our eyes. My culture-hound friend Ben Wang informed me that there’s been controversy brewing for the last year regarding the legitimacy of Kanye’s blog posts. Apparently, he’s been outsourcing the work to a team of ghostwriters. Woah. Say what? Of course I did a little bit of research. This accusation rings true. Kanye admits to deceptive blog-hosting.

My thoughts.

Chill out everybody. It’s absolutely ridiculous how many enraged journalists there are out there, bashing Kanye’s decision to hire writers. Oh Kanye and his duplicitous ways [insert finger-wagging]. This only fuels the criticism regarding Kanye’s swollen ego and uncompromising personality.

New York Magazine contributor Bennett Marcus says, scathingly, “So there you go — if you want a blog as successful as Kanye’s, it’s as simple as having a camera, a staff of two, and a guy who goes to cool places all the time.” But you know, it helps to also be a Grammy-winning musician exposed to cool shit, who might be too busy to write about all the cool shit all the time. A lot of what I’ve read sounds like juice from sour grapes to me. Survival of the fittest, my friends. Even on the internet, no holds barred. Shame on all the haters.

all about my Madras

A.P.C. Summer Madras Collection

A.P.C. really knows how to tease people who can’t afford to buy things right now.