GHOSTWAVES, right on!

ghostwaves is hot and rising fast in the blog world. his work has been noted on hypem and he recently opened for treasure fingers this past spring. check out his myspace where he has re-edited tracks from body language, white hinterland and memoryhouse.

lucky for us, he has just sent over his re-edit of best coast's track "boyfriend." ghostwaves' lo-fi california sound is not only reserved for the beach, but it also translates into a rad dance floor track. in "boyfriend" ghostwaves doesn't just re-edit a song, he makes it his own by incorporating himself singing a ramones riff, creating a final product that mixes the old with the new while maintaining a progressive and substantial sound. i wish he was my boyfriend ;)

Best Coast: Boyfriend (Ghostwaves Edit)

Posted by Lizzie on Saturday, July 31, 2010 at 12:38 PM 0 comments

the XX is sexy

three 20-year-olds from south london make up the band, the xx. they sing sexy, breathy songs about love and relationships. the xx self-produced their debut album, and recorded it in a garage during the nighttime which speaks to the whisper-like quality of their songs. currently on tour abroad, the xx will travel to los angeles in september to begin touring the US.
watch their music video for the song "VCR"

Posted by Lizzie on Thursday, June 24, 2010 at 11:08 PM 0 comments

jump!

brooklyn based duo, tanlines, lays down some sun-filtered, sandy dance music. perfect to listen to while bagging rays. basic needs' remix of 'real life' is pretty bouncy but tanlines original track is much more bongo-esque. also check out, "saw"

i can't get surfer blood's 'catholic pagan' from their debut album astro coast, out of my head. maybe i'm in love? these dudes remind me of the alt-rock of the late 90s early 00s, soo groovy, soo angsty!

sleigh bells played at the student arts house, the mill, at trinity college in hartford and they put on a sick show. lead vocalist alexis krauss has this grungy/sexy/hipster? look going on and amps up the crowd with some raw, sweaty and heady lo-fi synth rock. "a/b machines"

ah, i am just going gaga for best coast's "the sun was high (and so was i)" pair that up with crystal castles' "celestica" and you've got some tracks that are perfect for necking to :)

free energy will bring you back to your teenage daydream years. hailing from philadelphia, free energy's songs off their album, stuck on nothing, are full of catchy hooks and riffs; instantly satisfying and rightfully so. "bang pop"

if you are just looking for a beat to bring your spirits up check out two door cinema club's "something good can work"

Posted by Lizzie on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 at 5:46 PM 1 comments

the mother of mother's day

"A printed card means nothing except that you are too lazy to write to the woman who has done more for you than anyone in the world. And candy! You take a box to Mother—and then eat most of it yourself. A pretty sentiment."
Anna Jarvis

mother's day was founded by anna jarvis, a good ol' American lady from West Virginia.
after anna's mother passed away, she threw a memorial event in her honor. in 1907, anna began an aggressive campaign to make mother's day a nationally recognized holiday, and succeeded in 1914. at the time, mother's day was celebrated by wearing a red or white carnation flower in honor of your mother.

miss jarvis, however, was not at all happy with the way people began to commercialize the holiday. she was interested in reforming people to be more respectful to their mothers and was less concerned with the revenue generated by the holiday. she believed printed cards were a sign of utter laziness and disrespect. never a mother herself, anna jarvis was respected when she died at 84 years of age, and the church bells tolled 84 times.

Posted by Lizzie on Sunday, May 9, 2010 at 1:55 PM 5 comments

colors

instead of telling everyone that you are having a case of the mondays, maybe you should just wear a color that alludes to your current state of mind. today, i am wearing red, blue and purple.

RED: excitement, strength, passion, speed, violence, and love
YELLOW: hope, happiness, dishonesty, illness, idealism, and imagination
BLUE: peace, cold, stability, depression or sadness, order, trust, and confidence
ORANGE: energy, flamboyant, expansive, and balance
GREEN: luck, renewal, envy, fertility (brides in the medieval ages wore green to their weddings), generosity and inexperience
PURPLE: mourning, royalty, wisdom and transformation
BROWN: stability, endurance, simplicity and comfort
WHITE: purity, reverence, birth, innocence and humility
BLACK: sexuality, remorse, sophistication, death and power

Posted by Lizzie on Monday, April 26, 2010 at 5:44 AM 8 comments

the evolution of modern art in a chart

in 1936, alfred barr (moma director from 1929-43) charted the evolution of modern art by hand (see the original here) demonstrating how each independent style was a reaction to past style. enjoy the print version below:

Posted by Lizzie on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 12:51 PM 6 comments

photo essay: portrait of a man

"by beauty, as distinguished from the sublime, I mean that quality or those qualities in bodies by which they cause love, or some passion analogous to it. I also distinguish love, or the satisfaction which arises to the mind upon contemplating anything beautiful, from desire, which is an energy of the mind that hurries us on to the possession of certain objects."

edmund burke: sublime and beautiful (1754)

Posted by Lizzie on Wednesday, April 14, 2010 at 8:29 AM 4 comments

12 questions for shelby scudder

Last summer I had the pleasure of meeting Shelby Scudder, a tall, freelance fashion designer whose personal features are striking and style is all the more outrageous. Shelby mostly works with designer Zaldy who she describes as “a brilliantly creative mind and wonderful friend." Most recently, she helped Zaldy design the costumes for Michael Jackson's This Is It Tour, and Lady Gaga's The Monster Ball Tour, (her head wear design is pictured above) that are "maybe the two most exciting projects I could ever dream up!" she gushes. An energetic story-teller, Shelby recalls her days with designer Paris Kain who was "perhaps as breathtaking as his designs, and as we worked in his illegal Brooklyn loft he would make me bizzaro sandwiches, and fresh pot of tea... then later it would be time for a spliff and a glass of red.” Read Lizzard's interview with Scudder below.

(lizzard)Who are your favorite designers? (shelby scudder) Hmm, I really never have consistent favorites...I guess I would say Pucci, but by that I mean Emilio, not the array of designers who have taken over in the many years since his death. In general I like fashion that is rad but simultaneously has a sense of humor, like DSquared2 and Jeremy Scott, because I don't take myself too seriously. This season I really loved the colors and shapes at the Balenciaga show, and surprisingly the jackets at Burberry Prosum really spoke to me.

How would you describe your style? Tough 90s tomboy on a colorful 80s acid trip, or a girlie 70s mushroom trip, depending on the day.

What do you believe are staple items that every girl should own? Jean shorts and flannels. Over and over, baby.

Where do you find inspiration? On the streets!! And in Vogue Nippon. And old music videos they play on VH1 Classic at the gym.

Worst fashion trend? And best? Worst is labels. People tend to believe something is great because of who made it, but aesthetics should really be the determinant. Best is individualism! I like when people dress like the best version of themselves as opposed to the best version of what is "Best" at the time.

What items do you always carry with you? Cherry Vaseline, my camera, extra contacts, and a ring (in case I forget to put any on in the morning).

What’s on your play list now? I’ve recently gone on a Regina Spektor relapse... but also lots of Scissor Sisters and the XX. “Anywhere I lay my head” by Scarlett Johansson, “F**k and Run” by Liz Phair, “Gravel Pit” by Wu Tang and “You make me wanna” by Usher. Plus constants like Lauryn Hill, the Gossip, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Stevie Nicks and “These days” by Nico. I love a bitch that can sing.

Who is your favorite artist? My mother.

What is your main fault? Worrying!! What people think, what people want, what will happen. But I have lots of faults I’m still trying to get myself in order.

Where would you like to live? By the ocean.

What are your favorite flower and bird? Casablanca lilies; any bird that has amazing colors.

What is your favorite motto? Do everything you want to, wear anything you want to, tell the people you love how much you love them; get rid of the nasty ones- no time! I aint got the time!!

Shelby with her own design in Henri Bendel, and working in the studio on designs for gaga

Posted by Lizzie on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 7:13 PM 4 comments

lamb time

lambs as house-pets? eh...but whateva! it's lamb time!

Posted by Lizzie on Wednesday, March 24, 2010 at 1:19 PM 9 comments

photo essay: moral hangover

do not walk through the JUNGLE of opinion

images via markthecobrasnake and flikr

Posted by Lizzie on Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 12:14 PM 7 comments

5 minute makeover with crawl

in steve rash's 1993 comedy, son in law, an innocent country girl from South Dakota begins her freshman year at UCLA where her eyes are opened to the truths of dorm life. unable to relate to the lifestyle of her classmates and wanting to go back to the farm, crawl (pauly shore), the resident advisor, stops her from leaving by giving her an ambush makeover. watch the entire clip or cut to the 5 minute mark.

Posted by Lizzie on Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 11:54 AM 6 comments

if you are a hipster getting hitched...

something old, something new, something borrowed, something urban?
that's right, soon all who wish to wed will be able to get their dream wedding dress from urban outfitters. UO is working with the Anthropologie design team as well as other guest designers to create bridal dresses, jewelry, gifts and bridesmaid dresses. the wedding dresses are going to be priced between $750-$5,000 (the average bride tends to spend $4,500 total on bridal apparel). UO also intends to provide services for wedding planning, flowers, and travel. the line is set to be launched by next spring. unfortunately, no images of the designs have been published, but maybe madonna served as an inspiration for them?

Posted by Lizzie on Monday, March 8, 2010 at 6:00 AM 11 comments

evening of light 1969

evening of light was filmed and directed in 1969 by french director, francois de meil, as a video promo for nico's album, the marble index. iron asheton and iggy pop (who starred alongside nico) discussed the event in "please kill me" written by legs mcneil and gillian mccain:

ron asheton: nico got some filmmaker to come to michigan and make some sixteen-millimeter movie with iggy. we all went out to this farm, and nico got john adams to be in it , too, because he looked like a sphinx: big, long, tight, curly red hair. it was the dead of winter and we were sitting looking out this picture window, laughing, while they put these mannequin arms all over the field--john with no shirt on, and iggy with no shirt on, doing nothing. boy it was real artsy.

iggy pop: we ran around and around this potato field and mimed with plastic limbs. i never made much sense of it. it was jive. but i needed dinner that day. what had happened whas that francois de meil of texas money wanted to do a film with nico and she said, 'if you wanna do a film, you gotta come out to michigan and put jimmy in it.' so he said, ' well, okay.'

Posted by Lizzie on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 7:34 PM 1 comments

sunday funday

heres to a wacky weekend!

Posted by Lizzie on Sunday, February 21, 2010 at 6:13 PM 1 comments

the (st)art of spring

essie's the art of spring collection is marking the start of a cheerful coming spring. ever since chanel launched it's highly coveted mint green nail polish (modeled wonderfully here) color makers have been trying to capture brilliant, luminescent shades that are neither garish nor tacky. with names such as "pop art pink," "tart deco," and "red nouveau," essie's fresh line is inspired by the art milieu and includes enchanting colors that are the perfect initiation to the spring season.

Posted by Lizzie on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 7:18 AM 1 comments

disco sticks

as the snow fell in jackson hole, wyoming, humble rumble was there to capture the frozen freshness!

winter into WINTER from mikey van beuren on Vimeo.

Tune in this edit is "Sweet Child of Mine (remix)"- Mylo

Posted by Lizzie on Monday, February 15, 2010 at 7:42 AM 1 comments

too sexy for my shirt

Modesty, oh, modesty. Who doesn't want to admire a svelte women? Look at legs that go on for miles? Gaze at perfectly pronounced collar bones? Yes, there are some who should probably cover up a bit more, maybe even thrown on a pair of undergarments...Fashion designers have appropriately noted this in their 2010 RTW collections, emphasizing and focusing on the female anatomy and allowing spectators eyes to wander to parts of the skin that are usually kept covered.

Alexander Wang's collection fuses sporty with sexy; apparent in his midriff bearing and leg enhancing outfits, "as if a bevy of cool but wayward high-school girls had raided the locker room armed with a pair of scissors."

Rodarte's collection displays garments that look as though they have been elegantly torn and tarnished. Think of an alluring woman who has been wandering in the desert for some time, choosing a Rodarte outfit to endure her long journey. Peek-a-boo holes that show hints of the stomach and upper thigh.

Vivienne Westwood's wild hair and make up styles evoke Alice in Wonderland, only Alice seems to have lost part of her outfits on her way tumbling down the rabbit hole...or  after a scuffle with the Queen of Hearts.

Versace's collection can be summed up with these words: sexy, short, see-through, slits, slants, superb.

Posted by Lizzie on Friday, January 15, 2010 at 6:50 PM 3 comments

jack kerouac on robert frank's "the americans"

When Robert Frank, a close friend of Jack Kerouac, published his photographic book titled "The Americans", he asked Kerouac to write the introduction. Frank, one of the great beat photogs, knew Kerouac's insights on navigating America in the mid-1950s would best encapsulate the beat-spirit of the book. Here's the intro by Jack Kerouac:

Download an MP3 of Frank discussing his exhibition called "The Americans" at the MET in 2009. I especially loved listening to Frank's descriptions of Jack Kerouac, who he described as always sleeping and never driving (they first met on a road trip to Florida).

Posted by Lizzie on Monday, January 11, 2010 at 3:09 AM 0 comments

spinning now: filligar

For all you psychedelic rock fans of MGMT and Vampire Weekend, good news: there is more sweet electric kool-aid for your ears! Midwest indie band, Filligar, is comprised of four white dudes from Chicago who have been rocking the suburbs (and college campuses alike) for a while. Three of the four members are brothers who attend Dartmouth have been writing, recording and producing their music for over eight years and have honed in on a particular style; one that Margot Tenenbaum would probably dig. Their music video for 'The Observatory' features groovy green screen effects, Lolita shades, and feels like it might be all just be a dream.

Check out "The Observatory"

Posted by Lizzie on Thursday, January 7, 2010 at 1:32 PM 1 comments

art comparison: the absinthe drinker v. drug store, detroit

brain exercise:
what are some similarities between Degas' Absinthe Drinker (1876) and Robert Frank's Drug Store, Detroit (1955):

Dr. Lizzard says: Degas' painting of absinthe drinkers depicts a world that we cannot enter visually and, therefore, can never fully comprehend. He isolates us from the scene by placing a newspaper blocking our entry into it. Frank presents us with a public space but leaves us as observers (cake case).

Posted by Lizzie on Wednesday, December 30, 2009 at 7:00 AM 1 comments