Most indie-rock irony is safe, only gently mocking this generation’s angst and Peter Pan complexes about aging. The Indelicates, on the other hand, can come armed with brass knuckles. But even then, you might just laugh at how terribly serious they sound — they probably are, too, anyway.
For the most part, though, The Indelicates are just catchy dance-rock with oddly cute vocals, a campy pop sincerity, and a fair bit of British humor embedded in their lyrics. Catch their first appearance state-side in New York this Friday before they go on tour for their debut album, aptly called American Debut, out on April 14th.
There’s really not much to say, except that I’m beyond excited to see what the dudes will come up with for this new season of Human Giant. What kind of crazy shit could they possibly do? What limits could they push? Thank the heavens that MTV has realized how amazing this show is, and pretty much lets them do what they want (which is usually insane). The clip below leaked a few weeks ago, and is just a taste of what you can expect from the new season. Check it:
Thanks to PAN for bringin’ this new video to my attention… “It Girl” & TRACE lovely Zoe Kravitz stars in Jay-Z’s new video for the track “I Know” featuring Pharrel. Pretty slick video production following the trend of mini-films that focus on a character instead of the artist themselves (think Kanye’s new vid for Flashing Lights, Common’s vid for I Want You). This is a fresh way of getting the music out there without the same video reproducing itself over and over again - I mean how many times have we seen the cars, the girls and the clothes? So it’s nice to see heavyweights taking on these little narratives, giving their songs more power visually, and giving up-and-coming actors a chance to flex their chops, at least a little.
Lately, I’ve really been jockin’ Talib Kweli, and have been moved (yet again) by his conscious flo, inspired from his revolutionary stance and pumped by the powerful culture he embraces and strengthens. I’ve been pulling out old classics from the Black Star album, Reflection Eternal, The Beautiful Struggle - each with tracks that helped to mold me as an MC, a person, and a part of the hip hop movement itself. Although the last 2 albums he released kind of slid past me, and I never got the chance to cop them, last week I randomly came across the video that recently came out for the track “Hostile Gospel” (Deliver Us) from his newest project Eardrum. Watch it for yourself, but I have to say, I’m getting some of those goosebumps that Talib was giving me back in 2000. The video was shot in Lagos and directed by Andrew Dosunmu.
After running shit at the Grammys, snatching up awards, hushing the “you’re speech is going over” music guy and such, Kanye-to-the has revealed a (partial?) list of tour dates for the upcoming Glow In The Dark Tour. Also make sure to check the new video for “Flashing Lights”… eery shit.
Dates are as follows:
April 16 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena *#
April 18 - Sacramento, CA - ARCO Arena *#
April 19 - San Jose, CA - HP Pavilion *#
April 20 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Sports Arena *#
April 27 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center *#
May 1 - Dallas, TX - Superpages.com Center *#
May 2 - Woodlands, TX - Woodlands Pavilion *#
May 23 - Chicago, IL - United Center *#
May 24 - Minneapolis, MN - Target Center *#
May 27 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - Credit Union Centre *#
May 29 - Edmonton, Rexall Place *#
May 30 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome *#
June 12 - Manchester, TN - Bonnaroo
** with Lupe Fiasco# with N.E.R.D., Rihanna
Courtesy of Pitchfork/Nicolas Hart
Celbridge, Ireland’s Bell X1, and their videoclip for “Flame”, serving the dual purpose of getting you in the mood for lovin’ and warming you up a bit should you be in the throes of Old Man Winter’s icy love grip. Lots of octave jumps, toasted marshmallows, pyrotechnics and a giant phone. And yeah, there’s shadow puppets. And whether you’re lovelorn or absolutely smitten, you gotta love fuckin’ shadow puppets. Especially these shadow puppets.
So whether you’re treating that special someone to a romantic dinner at some (overpriced) place that requires reservations (well) in advance or simply cozying up to some Skinemax and a bottle of wine, enjoy V-Day to the fullest and bask in the warm, loving, glowing glow of the cheesiest and most inexplicable holiday on the calendar. And remember, TRACE loves you to pieces, Valentine’s or not.
As children we often let our imagination roam free, to the limits of what is accepted by adults. Everything exists, if not only for a minute - Chupacabra, Vampires, The Loch Ness Monster, The Boogeyman, Bigfoot, Aliens, Werewolves - the list goes on and on. So what changes from the time we’re kids to the time we reach adulthood? Why does our imagination suddenly turn off? All the creatures of our nightmares suddenly no longer exist, and instead our nightmares are replaced with uneasy images of unpaid bills, unwanted pregnancies and psycho killers. I admit, that is still some pretty scary stuff, but it just doesn’t stand up to the thought of a giant underwater creature waiting for the perfect opportunity to crash humanity’s party.
Thankfully the monsters have once again reared their ugly heads, in film and in reality. With Korea’s 2006 The Host, and more recently the phenomenon known as Cloverfield, it’s safe to say that we’re once again willing to let our imagination roam free, knocking down buildings and decapitating the Statue of Liberty along the way. But what if these monsters that have been relegated to fantasy all of a sudden became real? In Wes Anderson’s 2004 film The Life Aquatic, the cast is in search of a giant leopard patterned shark that killed Steve Zisso’s (played by Bill Murray) best friend. The search ends, when after surviving a handful of disasters, they finally see the mythical creature, and it’s huge. It’s only a movie though right? And mythical creatures, that are constantly denied existence, can’t all of a sudden really appear… can they? Oh, they can - and they have:
“This six-gill shark (Hexanchus) was filmed during a submersible dive off the northeast coast of Molokai at a depth of 1000m (3280ft). The 2 red laser dots are 6 inches apart, resulting in a length of about 18 ft for the shark.Great ecstatic live commentary by University of Hawaii Oceanography Professor Jeff Drazen! Many thanks to Dr. Craig Smith (University of Hawaii) and Dr. Eric Vetter for permitting release of this footage which was obtained as part of their research data set.”
Although footage of this creature is very rare, there has been documentation off the coast of Japan as well. It’s sad but true, we know less about our own oceans than we do about outer space. This shit is legit, and begs us to ask the question: what else is out there?
French graffiti artist Fafi doesn’t need any introduction. She first started painting on the walls of her hometown Toulouse, back in the early 90’s and now her ultra-sexy fafinettes can be seen all over the world. From Montreal to Paris, Mexico to Amsterdam, Tokyo to Bali, the provocative pin-ups have caught the attention of graffiti lovers the world over. With time Fafi’s style has evolved, and she’s created her own imaginary world, the Carmine Vault, where the Fafinettes live alongside Hmilo, the Hillminis and Birtak. After a series of successful collaborations with Adidas, Coca Cola, Le Sportsac, and MOB, this graffiti queen is now teaming up with MAC Cosmetics. For their Spring collection, the cosmetic giant approached Fafi to create three Fafinettes that would appear on compact powders, lip-glosses, mascara, bags and much more. The limited-edition line featuring Ermine, Monoka and Eriko - the three fafinettes- is out next month so watch out for the launch party scheduled for February 13th at New York’s Bendel’s. The colors are amazing, the illustrations are cute! Ladies, this a must-have for Spring!
Let’s face it, there’s always some degree of instability when it comes to our brightest musical stars. As the old saying goes: it’s better to burn out than to fade away - but the truth of this statement is highly debatable. Whether it’s drugs, alcohol, the pressures of fame or mental illness, so many of our icons fall short of their potential, and there’s no better example than Ian Curtis of Manchester based post-punk band Joy Division. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many bands have taken a bite off of the Joy Division block in hopes of creating their own sound, but it’s certain that bands like U2, The Cure, Bloc Party, and Interpol were inspired by Ian Curtis’s legacy.
Famed photographer and director Anton Corbijn has paid homage to his early work with Joy Division in the form of his first feature length film Control. Based on the book written by Curtis’ widow, the film takes a raw look at Curtis’ life and the bleak world in which he existed. From the first frame, Corbijn captures the raw beauty and sadness of late 70s Manchester, as if the film itself was made up of breathtaking stills. Winning 5 awards at the British Independent Film Awards (including Best British Independent Film, and Most Promising Newcomer), and most recently BAFTA’s Carl Foreman Award, Control is finally available on DVD today in the UK.
Check out this new video by Jonathan Beamish using the earliest recorded version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” produced as a John Peel Session for the BBC in 1979, using original performance footage produced by Joy Division for the 1980 single release version. R.I.P. Ian Curtis:
I’m not saying it’s better than the original, I’m just saying I can’t stop playing it. I’m talking about the Colin Munroe remix to “Flashing Lights”, “I Want Those Flashing Lights.” As with most undeniably crazy songs that are released, everybody and their mama wants to add their two-cents to it, spit a couple bars, single a couple of verses and call it a remix. Canadian artist Colin Munroe flipped the script, and his version is the one that’s currently got the internet going nuts. Munroe added an electric guitar, ad-libs that transformed the hook, lyrics from the opposite side of the fame spectrum and in turn gave the song a whole new meaning - all the while retaining its soulful essence. Yep, it’s a banger. Don’t get it twisted though, even though I’ve been gushing about the song’s sickness for the past 100 some odd words, I’m not insinuating that it’s better than Kanye’s version, I’m just saying “Those Flashing Lights” is bringing the heat too.
