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Wednesday , December 10, 2008

Love (and a Q&A): complexgeometries

The first time I saw work by complexgeometries, I was amazed at how they took the simple, humble idea of a t-shirt and turned it into something infinitely more dramatic and intense. Putting on something by complexgeometries is an equally transformative experience: it's as full of ease and comfort as wearing a t-shirt or tank top, but you feel ten times more mysterious and poetic due to the beautiful draping and lines in many of the garments. It's perfect clothes for a sophisticated nomad or a couture skateboarder: wonderfully comfortable but genuinely compelling from a design point-of-view. Based in Montreal, complexgeometries is a relatively young operation, but they've found a good deal of success during their short time in existence thus far -- their clothes are carried in cool places all over the place, including my own beloved Oak in New York. (You can also buy from their own website online.) Clayton, the designer of complexgeometries, was super-kind enough to answer a few questions for us -- you can read more after the jump about the role that Buckminster Fuller played in the company, the importance of random Google searches and the beauty of Italian disco.

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Tags: Buckminster Fuller, complexgeometries, couture skateboarders, Google, Italian disco, sophisticated nomads, t-shirts, The Sound of Music

Wednesday , October 29, 2008

Love Yr Blog: Erica of Royal Quiet DeLuxe

(In which our most beloved bloggers expound upon undying crushes, spirit animals, and les objets du awesome you need to know about right now. In this edition: the lovely and succinct Erica of Royal Quiet DeLuxe.)

Tell us one thing you're really into at the moment that you want the whole world to know about. The library, I love the library. It's like going shopping. We have a beautiful new library in SF, in Glen Park, right across the street La Corneta Taqueria. Today I walked over and got The Complete Maus and two fish tacos.

Who is your all-time number-one music crush? Patti Smith.

What's one item in your closet that you couldn't live without? My impossibly thin black t-shirt, so I can pretend I'm Patti Smith.

What's your spirit animal? A courageous lion.

Tags: blogs, fish tacos, interviews, libraries, lions, Patti Smith, San Francisco

Monday , October 27, 2008

Love Yr Blog: Mimi & Minh-Ha of Threadbared

(In which our most beloved bloggers expound upon undying crushes, spirit animals, and les objets du awesome you need to know about right now. In this edition: Mimi and Minh-Ha, the stylish brainiacs over at Threadbared.)

Tell us one thing you're really into at the moment that you want the whole world to know about.

Mimi: The one thing I'm really into right now is the new Maximumrocknroll Radio call-in advice show called "You've Got A Problem." Maximumrocknroll stalwarts Erin Yankee and Arwen Curry host the show, taking questions like, "How do I keep from spilling my martini in the pit?" in a completely serious, but also tongue-in-cheek, manner. (Arwen suggests bringing a mason jar for your martini, making it both instantly punk and easily protected.) So far, there's only been one show, and most of the questions are "older punk" questions about not turning into the "back in the day" creep at the all ages-show, or finding punks to date who aren't teenagers as more and more punks turn into ex-punks. Although I'm pretty much an ex-punk, and I'd be the one to ask Arwen if she wanted to go dancing, at which point she'd avoid any night-time activities with me for something more neutral, like going to the beach, or discussing the genius of Ursula LeGuin (about whom Arwen is filming a documentary).
Minh-Ha: La Garconne, the online store. I want almost everything on this site! I check it everyday the way some people keep an eye on gas prices or the weather. I even wrote them a fan letter! (The last one I wrote was to Michael Jackson in 1984.)

Who is your all-time number-one music crush?

Mimi: Besides my awesome, amazing girlfriend Fiona, it would have to be a three-way tie between my first punk rock love Blatz, Mary Weiss from The Shangri-Las, and the eternally effervescent Cyndi Lauper.
Minh-Ha: There has never been anyone other than Sinead O'Connor for me. Yes, there were flings here and there (Blondie, Cyndi Lauper, Sting in the Police years) but Sinead circa "Drink Before the War" had me at and will always have me with "Somebody cut out your eyes/You refuse to see /Somebody cut out your heart /You refuse to feel"

What three albums do you want accompanying you on a hypothetical lifelong desert island exile?

Mimi: These are hard! The Ex's Scrabbling at the Lock; Gang of Four's A Brief History of Time; and The Shangri-Las' Myrmidons Of Melodrama. I totally cheated there and picked two giant compilation albums. I should probably pick something a little poppier, though, like The Rezillos or T. Rex ("poppier" is maybe the wrong word...). Three is too small a number!
Minh-Ha: Without hesitation - English Beat's Special Beat Service!! Every song feeds my inner Rude Girl but Ackee 123 is my favorite. The other two are Sinead O' Connor's The Lion and the Cobra (for the days I'm angry about the political economic structures that forced me into exile in the first place) and Tom Waits' Anthology (for the melancholic days when my spearfishing skills fail me).

What's one item in your closet that you couldn't live without?

Mimi: Practically, black turtlenecks are a lifesaver for putting together a teaching outfit when inspiration fails. But otherwise, my 18th Amendment Colbert wide-legged, high-waisted jeans. I love, love, love these jeans! I wear them to teach, to write, to sit around, whatever. I'm resigned to the fact that sartorially, I am a '70s Vietnamese refugee slash art teacher slash Lynda Carter's non-Wonder Woman alter-ego Diana Prince.
Minh-Ha: Right now, my black Soia and Kyo funnel neck coat. We went from Summer to Winter over night! But I'm looking for a thick chunky dark gray cocoon sweater to be my next "one item"!

What's your spirit animal?

Mimi: This one is easy - unicorn. I want to be able to fix everything that's terrible and unjust with a touch (or a stab) of my gleaming, magical horn.
Minh-Ha: The oft overlooked wombat -- small, powerful, and deceptively cuddly.

(l to r: Mary Weiss of the Shangri-Las, a super-cuddly wombat, a unicorn!)

Tags: blogs, Maximumrocknroll, Sinead O'Connor, spirit animals, Threadbared, unicorns, wombats

Wednesday , October 22, 2008

Love Yr Blog: Ann of Annplified

(In which our most beloved bloggers expound upon undying crushes, spirit animals, and les objets du awesome you need to know about right now. In this edition: Ann from Annplified.)

Tell us one thing you're really into right now that you want the whole world to know about. The Showtime TV series "Dexter." I Netflix'd seasons 1 & 2 and my boyfriend and I watched each in a weekend. I'm already a TV-on-DVD glutton, but this show is outrageously addictive. Michael C. Hall is amazing as a compulsive serial killer (he only kills violent criminals who've gotten away with their crimes), and the plot just keeps getting more intense and brilliant each season. I'm usually a big scaredy cat of all things gruesome/horror, but I have a fear/fascination with serial killers (it's a know-thine-enemy kind of thing?) and Michael C. Hall is completely loveable as one. You HAVE to watch it.

Who's your all-time number-one music crush? Jenny Lewis - my all-time number-one girlcrush! She's adorable (and teeny like me!), has the most crushworthy closet, and rocks the gorgeous red/wavy hair I'd love to have. Plus her/Rilo Kiley's music always seems to be the soundtrack to my life.

Name one item in your closet you couldn't live without. Slips - vintage and new. They're perfect for making sure you're not showing a mismatching or bright bra underneath all the tissue-thin clothes that are prevalent nowadays - and they easily freshen up an old outfit when you let 'em peek out from underneath or around the collar.

What's your spirit animal? Right now it's an owl. Works mostly in the night, perceptive, clever, sneaky...I didn't feel very sneaky much in my life until recently - when I had to balance a daytime work life and a personal life! (Oh my, that's starting to sound salacious...I promise it's not, but let's just say this more private period will pass when my daytime work life and personal life merge once again.) When I graduated college, I seriously considered getting an owl tattoo on my right shoulder blade to symbolize Athena's owl...but then I got lazy, and it probably would have been too trendy for me anyway.

(Cutely predatory: Michael C. Hall on "Dexter," owls.)

Tags: blogs, interviews, Jenny Lewis, Michael C. Hall, owls

Tuesday , October 14, 2008

Love Yr Blog: Larry "Fuzz-O" Dolman of Blastitude

(In which our most beloved bloggers expound upon undying crushes, spirit animals, and les objets du awesome you need to know about right now. In this edition: Larry Dolman, founder/writer/editor (like Kat, Liz and Laura Jane, all rolled into one!) of BLASTITUDE and BLOGSTITUDE)

Tell us one thing you're really into at the moment that you want the whole world to know about. This could go a couple hundred different ways, but I'm gonna say the books of Octavia Butler. She's a science fiction writer, and her books are straight-up harsh because they usually deal with two things: the breakdown of civilization as we know it, and humans undergoing changes into more 'animalistic' roles and behaviors. The crux is that these changes aren't presented as good or bad, simply as necessities, and in some cases improvements. Her book Clay's Ark is like Mad Max meets David Cronenberg but actually more intense than either one... the Parable books (Parable of the Sowers and Parable of the Talents) are a very harsh civilization collapse story (because it's mostly very plausible)... the Xenogenesis Trilogy (compiled as Lilith's Brood) is probably her deepest work of all.

Who's your all-time number-one music crush? Dude-crush alert: the entire early-80's SST Records crew... Ginn, Dukowski, Dez, Spot, Mugger, Pettibon, Rollins, Boon, Watt, Carducci, Naomi, Davo, more.... they worked their asses off and made so much possible, musically, culturally, everything... total heroes... handsome too, especially D. Boon...

What three albums would you want accompanying you on a hypothetical lifelong desert island exile? 1. The Grateful Dead Movie Soundtrack (Not their greatest live stuff but it's still very good, and more importantly, it's 5 discs, and I'm going for quantity)
2. Can - Tago Mago
3. One of the "Radio" discs on the Sublime Frequencies label... maybe the Radio India 2-disc. After about a year on the island I might be able to sing along with it!

What's your spirit animal? Well considering that you don't choose your animal, it chooses you, it would have to be the DRAGONFLY. My son had some temporary tattoos of bugs, and I put a dragonfly on my inner wrist and it felt RIGHT. I called it "insect solidarity" because I consider humans to be basically as significant as insects as far as the cosmos goes... and Wikipedia just told me that, in Japan, dragonflies are symbols of courage, strength, and happiness, and, "It is said in some Native American beliefs that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal after a time of great hardship," which is interesting and may become appropriate...

(from left: Radio India; Greg Ginn (also a big-time music crush of my own! Gemini? Weirdly tall? Raymond Pettibon's brother? DONE DEAL. His presence turned "This Band Could Be Your Life" into a daydream date fantasy); a dragonfly)

LAURA JANE'S POST-INTERVIEW WRAP-UP:

Blastitude RULES. I wanted to make some sort of "this one's for the dudes!" reference here, but what-the-Helen-Keller-ever. If that crap was my attitude towards life, I would NOT be Laura Jane of nogoodforme.com. Point being: I'm SO not a dude, and I love Blastitude and its baby-sister blogspot with all my heart. Blastitude has given me so much in my life: this Rod Stewart Youtube extravaganza (complete with witty commentary), about 234309483984392 zillion psych bands, and many an "Aww!" moment, ie. whenever he talks about reading Winnie the Pooh with his kids.

In conclusion: Larry Dolman is a) TOO DUDE FOR YOU, and b) officially nogooodforme.com-endorsed forevs.

Tags: Blastitude, bloggers we love, dragonflies, music, Rod Stewart, spirit animals, SST Records, TOO DUDE FOR YOU

Thursday , October 9, 2008

Love Yr Blog: Juliet Small Ernst of Touch Touch Publishing

(In which our most beloved bloggers expound upon undying crushes, spirit animals, and les objets du awesome you need to know about right now. In this edition: Juliet Small Ernst from the Touch Touch Publishing blog.)

Tell us one thing you're really into at the moment that you want the whole world to know about. Frederick Wiseman. He is an American documentary filmmaker in the "direct cinema" tradition: no voiceover, no interviews, no music, no nonsense. He has devoted his career to exploring pretty daunting institutions (as in Law and Order, Welfare, and Hospital) and some more ordinary ones (like Aspen and Zoo) but don't let the titles fool you: This is energetic, provocative stuff. He edits everything himself and has had something of my dream career: His work is largely financed through grants and public funding (with the exception of his debut, Titicut Follies), and he has been able to produce his films regularly, and on his own terms, since the 1960s. The man is a walking public service. (P.S. His movies are finally available on DVD at reasonable prices!)

Who's your all-time number-one music crush? Most of my celebrity crushes are in the movies, but I'll give this a go: Andrew Bird. His voice is beautiful. He plays the violin. He has a warbley whistle. He is tall, lean, a bit scruffed up. His lyrics are beautiful and morose. And a friend of Rhan's, who had the privilege of playing with him, testifies wholeheartedly that Andrew Bird is the most talented musician he has ever met. The Mysterious Production of Eggs is one of my favorite albums in recent memory, and his takeaway show ("Spare-Ohs") will stop your heart. We're seeing him again at Largo in a couple of weeks. Boy Howdy.

Name one item in your closet you couldn't live without. Here's the honest answer: I've grown to rely almost exclusively on my Royal Elastics Flonicas in the last year or so; they are my work (coffee shop) shoe of choice. Springy, cute, comfortable as hell. I've worn them into stink, and the stink is real. Is that not love?

What's your spirit animal? The elephant. I have loved elephants since I was a child. They are slow-moving, long-remembering, and dangerous when provoked. They lumber, though they get more miles-per-gallon (so to speak) than any other land mammal on earth. They grieve and anger. They're grey and leathery. I could go on and on.

(Equally adorable: Andrew Bird and a baby elephant.)

Tags: Andrew Bird, bloggers we love, elephants, film, Frederick Wiseman, music, Royal Elastics, shoes, spirit animals

Thursday , September 4, 2008

the nogoodforme.com interview: Nut and Bee! OMG!

One thing I can safely say I'll never get over is my childlike preoccupation with baby animals. I'm a total sucker for cuteness; sometimes I feel a bit nerdy about it, but then I reflect upon the heaps of satisfaction I have derived from the existence of wee lil' "aminals" over the course of my twenty-three years, and the only emotion I feel is GRATITUDE.

Short only of Lisa Frank puppies and my longtime love Pochacco on the MAXIMUM CUTENESS front (and not by very much!), New Zealand's Nut and Bee has been charming the Helter Skelter out of me thrice-weekly since I first discovered its existence this past August. Nut and Bee illustrator Annette Lauder is insanely prolific (she's kind of like the nogoodforme.com of the cartoon-animalsphere!); anyone with any interest in cuteness at all whatsoever NEEDS to add her Sketchbook Sweeties blog to their Booksmark Bar ASAP. Every couple of days, Annette gifts the world with a new Sweetie: my personal favorites of late are Panda Takes A Tumble (oh, who am I kidding? This lil' guy makes Pochacco look like Christopher Walken!) and my latest and greatest style inspiration, Miss Fruit Hat Surprise.

Annette has also adapted her super-charming drawings to fulfil more practical purposes: her website sells adorable and affordable lettersets, notepads, recipe cards, and MORE!

Lucky-ducky for nogoodforme.com, Spirit Animal House donees PAWS/LA, ARK II, & the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition, and most of all, YOU, Annette has kindly contributed some highly precious goodies to the Spirit Animal House Raffle!

(at left: Cloudkin sticker set; at right: Magnolia Snooze notepad)

(set of 8 Warmosaur write-on labels)

As always, all you have to do to save some animals and win some cute prizes is CLICK HERE:

Super-sweet Annette is clearly the type of gal who understands the importance of a spirit animal! Click behind the jump to find out about how she built Nut and Bee into a business, why she digs John Lennon, honey, hibernation and more (including some really killer fiction recommendations)!

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Tags: interviews, Lisa Frank, MAXIMUM CUTENESS, Nut and Bee, Pochacco, raffle tickets, Spirit Animal House, spirit animals

Thursday , August 21, 2008

the nogoodforme.com Interview: Shock Cinema

Essentially Shock Cinema came to Brooklyn via Atlanta, but with their stylish, dark, unapologetically arty sound, the band fits right into their adopted hometown's gritty yet sleek milieu. From the immaculate production of their records to the tautness of their songwriting, their brand of noise is supremely poised and even a bit mysterious, but this never gets in the way of tantalizing pop hooks or real human emotion. While I wouldn't call them raw (in the sense of wailing-shards-of-brutal-noise-and-agonized-screaming raw), there's certainly a controlled ferocity behind some of their songs, especially on a track like "Wax Wings," off of their excellent debut full-length release, Hell and High Water, which came out earlier this summer on Kanine Records. In a town where half the bands are more concerned with perfecting their look than writing a masterful song, Shock Cinema's sense of craft stand out. (Although, don't get me wrong, they're certainly quite stylish -- they thankfully sound as good as they look.) It's this care and precision that seems to be emerging from their earlier, rougher sound, making them more cinematic and expansive. I caught them earlier this summer at a show at The Annex in Manhattan, and even with some fairly dodgy sound and live mixing at some points, the strength of their musicianship still came through loud and clear: stellar guitarwork (care of Autry Fulbright) that's equal parts New Wave, Krautrock and straight-up rock, along with stately, intriguing vocals courtesy of singer Destiny Montague. Shock Cinema are playing a few shows in NYC in the next few weeks, including one this Friday at the former Club Midway space in Manhattan (now called Rehab) and next Monday at Santos Party House with ...Trail of Dead. They put on a great, energetic live show, and they're super-cute as well -- don't miss them! And they were sweet enough to answer our usual cheeky mix of questions.

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Tags: Brooklyn bands, music, Shock Cinema

Thursday , July 24, 2008

Accessories (And Q&A): Nashelle

When I first saw the jewelry of Nashelle, I had that rare feeling of being mesmerized by the grace, simplicity and beauty of the design. There's a lovely quality of serenity to the designs from Nashelle, a line based out of Bend, Oregon -- they echo the shapes and motifs of nature and are a bit Art Nouveau in feeling and are so elegantly done that each piece is like a little piece of art. It's a line for people looking for something personal and organic in feeling -- for those looking for genuine emotion and meaning rather than flash or trendiness in their fashion. Plus, Nashelle is totally fair trade and uses recycled metals and recycled 14k gold, kicking in an eco-friendly angle to their operation.

Nashelle designer Heather Beeson was also kind enough to answer a few questions for us about her background and inspirations behind such lovely work.

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Tags: accessories, Alaska, eco-fashion, fair trade, jewelry, nashelle

Tuesday , July 15, 2008

the nogoodforme interview: Francesca Lia Block!

I'm sort of stumbling over words to express how super-, maximum-, ultra-excited we are to be running an interview with one of our most collectively beloved authors, Francesca Lia Block. Legions of fans of books such as Weetzie Bat, The Hanged Man, Violet & Claire and many, many, many others need no introduction to Block -- she inspires such a devoted, passionate following with her readers that I can definitely hear the collective excitement already in various outlets of girl culture. (Liz, Laura and I all spent time on the witchbaby list, dedicated to all things FLB, and first "met" there and exchanged zines through it, so you can imagine the sentimental pull that doing an interview with FLB has for us...we literally wouldn't be here together if not for her work!) The thing is that her books are powerful, honest, beautiful and go way beyond the genre definition of "young adult" or what have you. People become so enchanted with Block's books that they become an intrinsic part of them, especially when the stories have such lush prose, starry-eyed plots and vibrant, sometimes poisonous Angeleno beauty. Entering the Francesca Lia Block fictional universe is like entering a world where beauty can be extracted from pain, where magic happens with a kiss, where food, friends, clothes, music, art and creativity jangle alongside one another like charms on a bracelet, linked together by love and sorrow and everything else. Being part of that imaginative realm, even for a few hours -- no one looks at the world in quite the same way again. To take a phrase from one of my favorite FLB short stories ever, life is the big romance in her stories, and that's something we don't forget here.

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Tags: books, Francesca Lia Block, influences, magical realism, pantheon of awesome, Weetzie Bat

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