after his truly inspired launch of benjamin bixby that premiered at barney’s new york in one of the worse times in retail economy, the producer, actor, designer took an unexpected vacation. on our end, we can’t wait to see him back. of all the newly launched lines by a slew of loser actors, singers and famous-for-no-reasons, andre was breath of fresh air. some one with a real sense of personal style and principle. we hope to see him back in full force. lots of love to the new BB. by xy
music
skit + skit
LAMOCA presents a “performance” by artist francesco vezzoli featuring lady gaga. as far as i’m concerned, vezzoli is to art what gaga is to music… so once again, i guess we haven’t missed much by not being in LA. by pp’
serge on screen
after the che, frida, johnny cash and so on, it’s now serge gainsbourg’s life to be on screen. it’s been a while since i first heard of this movie, and it eventually hit the screens these days. as you can guess, every serge fan can be skeptical about such a thing, and i recently heard an interview of jane birkin saying she was uncomfortable about it, so i really don’t know what to think of it. i’ll check it for sure with my repetto’s on! by pp’
lady gaga Dissected: why this bad romance with art sucks
first i have to ask myself this: why even bother with a post on lady gaga? well the answer must be the same as george mallory’s when asked why he climbed mount everest, “because it’s there.” well maybe i’m giving her too much credit, but lady gaga is indeed hard to miss. i suppose that’s an achievement by itself these days, to be famous for no particular reason… at least gaga is doing something. even paris hilton ‘respects’ her (now THAT… means something). but what is this “something”? for me, it’s the holy and unholy mixture in this calculated cocktail that is scary. the mixture of things i love and the things i passionately hate all mangled into one. almost impossible to decipher. a hot dog made out of culture. it sure has fooled a lot of people but here’s why…
calculated bottom-rack pop–candy coated with a shiny facade of top-shop art:
active ingredients: tear off a page from a matthew barney catalog (it’s ok to be weird, just soften barney a bit so it’s digestible) + chop some vito acconci (be sure to wash and disinfect all grit) + a dash of warhol (the bit everyone knows about will do fine) + artificially colored dark lyrics (just dark enough, but not too dark) blend with inactive ingredients: blatant commercialism (feel free to put madonna to shame, get four brands to sponsor the same video, why just one) + perfect USDA supermarket approved pop vocals (so middle management and cab drivers alike can get into the groove) + emulate michael jackson’s moves, again (as best as you can. no need to try hard, no one will know) + grate five crates of marketing spin-masters + top with colorless, tasteless, water soluble shiny gelatin. enjoy. by dd
james chance and the contortions: crazy mother
missed that one! james brown meets steve lacy meets mick jagger. james chance live: i can’t stand myself. archives. by xy
mysterious for the season : Brigitte Fontaine : tanka 2
beautifully enchanting by avant garde singer brigitte fontaine. by kl
Kill your idols…. today: music by the services with tristan bechet
no wave music documentary
the documentary was not as amazing as the one we had posted “punk attitude”, but still worth a watch if you are a fan of the genre. by dd
punk attitude: must see film
find out why i always hated nirvana, why new york gets all the credit, and why music today is more like processed cheese than audible food. a must see film for any music lover. super cool, double freak ass bad. see all ten parts or better yet, rent the dvd. everyone from MC5, suicide, ny dolls, clash, television, patti smith, ramones, iggy, black flag, pistols, joy division, sonic youth, and so so on. not to be missed is henry rollins, he is hilarious in part nine or ten where he talks about the beastie boys and the rest. by dd
SUICIDE: better late than never
i’ve been listening to nothing but ‘alan vega’ and ‘suicide’ for the past few days (with gratitude to hd) and i can’t help but be so so impressed by their work, 30+ years later. i hear so many future bands in their body of work, it’s quite amazing how influential they were. searching, i found this clip, certainly worth sharing. i think maybe great music can only exist when you have no audience in mind… and even then it can still fail. i suppose that goes for everything that ends up being truly special. by dd
summer wine: NANCY SINATRA -LEE HAZLEWOOD
for what they are singing about they are standing awfully far apart, no? i am posting this song because i cant find a decent version of the 1996 country classic ‘strawberry wine’ by deana carter which brought back memories of a past life this eve. by kl
En hand i himlen : Jonathan Johansson
great track by swede-pop artist jonathan johansson. directed by simeon frohm, and shot on location in stockholm, lisbon, paris, barcelona, rome and pamplona. roughly translates into “one hand in heaven/the sky”. now it would have been cool if they played this last night when we were intoxicated off our feet. by dd
late night listening
don’t save us from the flames: by M83 from the album BEFORE the dawn heals us. by kl