...ARE YOU LISTENIN'?

A very Merry Christmas from Phil Spector, Ol' Blue Eyes, and me!

THE BODY

The band is STILL on tour. Which is ridiculous, I know. I KNOW. But just when I was starting to forget what Alex's face looks like (there's some brownish bits...and a mouth, yeah I think there's a mouth...), the powers that be dropped this painfully adorable new video in my lap. Considering that they had all of one afternoon with the band to shoot this thing, I'm really impressed with how pro it came out. And also: the children. I'm generally not so jazzed when it comes to the small people, but man, if I could have beautiful children that only came out at magic hour and only moved in slow motion...The worst part? Little Alex was EVEN CUTER in real life. I'd show you a photo but you might just spew all over your monitor.

So anyways, I hope you guys are having a great weekend, and I hope you too get a chance to go out and run around and bash things with sticks. Why should all these professionally-good-looking kids have all the fun right? Just promise me you wont wear your glasses in the water--those things don't grow on trees mister!

HEART IN YOUR HEARTBREAK

On the one hand, I'm posting this video in honor of the Pains embarking today on a five week US tour to celebrate their brand-spankin'-newest, sophomore album which just came out on Tuesday. On the other hand, I'm posting it because I fucking love it! The first time Alex showed me the rough cut I immediately made him play it for me at least five more times in a row. Everything about it just makes me so happy! And every time I watch it, something else makes me laugh--Alex's pot leaf necklace, Kip's ponytail toss, Christoph's emo stance, Peggy's glasses and, ok, Kurt's face pretty much always. The posi-vibes are practically melting my brain!

P.S. If you happen to spot some awkward looking blondish girl up front at the Philly or D.C. shows who you think might be me...well, it might just actually be me. Maybe. Possibly. Come say hi if you like, I'll try not to embarrass us both but I make no promises.

for your listening pleasure

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Heart In Your Heartbreak by forcefieldpr

Wahoo! The Pains have a new single out, the first--and one of my very favorite--from their sophomore album which will be released early next year (yes, I've heard it and yes, call me biased but it is GOOD.) I've been anticipating this moment literally since, ahem, I heard them open up sound check with it in Kobe, Japan all the way back in February (just being real, guys.)

Don't forget, these dudes just embarked this morning on a West Coast tour, followed by a couple weeks in Europe. I can guarantee several new songs are in the mix, so if you think you've already seen the Pains, well my friends, think again!

just right!

Director: Keith Hopkin
Art Direction: Mike DeSutter
Wardrobe+Styling: Siri Thorson
Full credits here!

Remember back in July when I posted photos from June of a video shoot I styled for Xylos? Well, I'm super duper excited to finally share with you the end product! I'm very happy with how it all turned out--especially the bedroom shots, I lucked out so hard that the vintage nighty I had bought matched the (sight-unseen) decor to a tee! Thanks so much to Keith, Mike, the band, and everyone else involved in the whole process <3

not enough

Thank you all so much for the sweet comments on my last post! I'm so happy with how the film turned out, and I'm glad you guys are too!

The last few days have been filled with a lot of getting up way too early, trudging under the hot sun, sweating buckets, and various other activities that leave me an exhausted grimy mess by the end of the day (albeit with a wee bit more cash in my pocket, occasionally.) Speaking of which: these are some photos I snapped a couple of weeks ago on set at the epic, near-20-hour-long video shoot for "Not Enough" by Xylos. The video was directed by Keith Hopkin, and styled by yours truly (using the better part of my own closet, I might add!) Can't wait to show you the real deal!

dream about me

Yesterday, I wore one of my very favorite summer shirts. It makes me feel like a pixelated rainbow...or maybe like I just stepped out of a Depreciation Guild music video??

Happy long weekend!

just say...

Pet sitting/video editing/prepping for a job on Saturday is making my life crazy and non-conducive to creative blogging at the moment, but thankfully The Pains picked up some slack for me by releasing their insanely adorable new music video today. Even though it's hard for anyone to top crashing a Furry party, I think this might be my fave yet...

higher than the stars

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart are coming to a town near you! (...Maybe??) Today, the greatest band in New York City/the World is embarking on a two week tour of the Eastern Seaboard. They've put some of my very fave, very new songs into set list rotation, and I'm tellin' you, you don't wanna miss out! If you happen to bump into the dudes after the show, tell Alex that Little Banana sends her love.

sun was high (so was I)

I don't usually get all that excited about new/current music, but when I do, I get EXCITED (think Girls here...) I've been listening to Best Coast, either on the stereo or in my brain, basically non stop for the last few weeks. I went and saw them play last night at Mercury Lounge and it was, yep, the best. There's a quality about Bethany's voice that I find irresistible--powerful, a bit of a rasp at the edges, occasionally seeming to teeter on the edge of breaking only to pull back at the last second.

Someone has made a couple of amazing videos for her songs using footage from old films. The one above is a scene from Les Demoiselles de Rochefort. Be sure to check out the one from Un Homme Et Une Femme as well! And go see Best Coast if you have the chance, you wont be sorry you did.

P.S. Funny story: before I ever knew who Bethany was or had heard of Best Coast, I used to follow her (now-defunct) flickr because she would always post amazing things like tatoos of bong-smoking dolphins. Fast forward several months, and I end up with an internship at FADER...only to find out eventually that Bethany held the same position as I did right before my arrival. She was responsible for the excellent Thrintage column, and by extension, for making me miss California even more than I already did, no small feat indeed.

it always comes back to love

The Girls show at Webster Hall on Saturday night was beautiful. The stage was decked out in piles of fresh flowers, and the disco ball was employed not once but twice! The best part though was probably the amazing backdrop of twinkling stars that came on and off during several songs.

Also, thanks to Diane, I made a bee line for the merch table afterward and picked up one of these patches (to go on the back of a well-worn jean jacket, but of course):



Alex snagged a frisbee as well! So genius. Here's a little video of them performing Lust for Life:



I wish there was more sparkly star action...but I think you get the general idea.

(All photos via Brooklyn Vegan)

Teardrops on my Telephone

Alex recently did a little guest post over on the FADER blog about this mind-bogglingly huge Hunx & His Punx pin he bought at SXSW.

Fittingly enough, Alex Frank (aka the Other Alex, style assitant at FADER) was sporting a Yes Homo tee that day, which happens to be the name of my favorite fake glam band. Cuh-razy.

(photo by John Francis Peters)

Happy Holidays Part II

...and it is!!

EDIT: UGH, weak NBC! Watch it here

pretty tough to think about

White Blood Cells was easily one of the most important albums of my mid-teen years (along with the soundtrack to The Royal Tenenbaums and Queen's Greatest Hits...) The White Stripes also hapen to be possibly the most Christmas-appropriate band ever, in terms of color scheme anyways.

My point is: rock out guys, it's the beginning of December!!

she keeps bees

Saturday night, I headed out into the 'burg to see a friend play her first show drumming. They were the first band in the line up, and after their set and a snack run, I ended up kinda milling about inside, preparing to deftly make my exit. Honestly, I'm usually not one for live shows, unless it's a band I know and love. I'm there to say hey, show my face, chug a watery beer and bolt.

It's rare that a band I don't know anything about actually gets me going, which is why I'm still not quite over what happened when She Keeps Bees took the stage. And I mean TOOK. This girl owned that stage like she'd built it with her two bare hands--and that voice. By the end of their set the place was going nuts, and even relentless skeptics like myself we're bopping along. I kind of felt the way I did when I first heard the White Stripes, you know, back before Jack married a supermodel and became a Bond Girl or whatever...

Anyways, I feel like She Keeps Bees is definitely a band you need to see live in order to fully appreciate their awesome powers. Their recorded stuff is great, no question, but seeing Jessica Larrabee bring it in full force is not something to be missed. Here's a tiny taste:



(photos by Adriana Jovanovic, Romain Barbot, Allison Green, and Rebecca Teal, all courtesy of She Keeps Bees' myspace)

Enjoy!

Growing up, my family didn't particularly favor junk food. One of the few extravagances that was unfailingly allowed, however, was a big box of Coca Cola Classic in cans, kept in the icebox for cooling down on hot afternoons in between stints of garden work.



These days I mostly find the stuff a little too intense, but every now and then it really hits the spot--especially the Mexican variety, paired with chorizo tacos and salsa verde. And let us not forget the frozen JB-and-Coke slushie as purveyed by Bushwick Country Club. Yeah, I'd like to buy the world one or two o' those...

(click photos for sources!)

just some boys called GIRLS

Every time I think that my love for this band has reached its pinnacle, that Girls, we couldn't possibly get much higher--they go and play a live, five song set for FADER tv in some cozy little bar lit up by the dusty light of a waning summer afternoon (!) I DARE you not fall head over heels for this shit.



This song isn't actually on the album (it's the B side of the Hellhole Ratrace 10"), but it's crazy beautiful. It feels so totally timeless that when I heard them sound check with it in Vancouver, I thought they were playing a cover of some old velvety waltz number.



I, for one, love the way this song echoes the opening measures of "Hellhole Ratrace" (listen to them back to back and you'll see what I mean.) Whenever I'm feeling a little blue, wandering around the city, those opening verses always float through my mind. Also, did he just musically quote "Nothing Compares 2 U"?? Yes, yes he did.



As the last song on the album, I think this sums up the Girls experience perfectly. I remember listening to the head of True Panther Sounds describing to Alex the sort of earnestness with which Christopher wrote this song, and it's this kind of absolute, near-dubious level of genuine sincerity that makes this band so special to me.

You can head over HERE to watch them play "Morning Light" and "Summertime" as well. And let's not forget, their album fiiinnnaaalllyyy drops on the 22nd, a measly five days from now. I pre-ordered my vinyl weeks ago (ok, it comes on CD too)...let the countdown begin!!

Perv Pop Superstars

Two nights ago my friend Jacky called me at 1:30am to tell me that she had just opened her copy of the Village Voice to find this hilariously accurate illustration of the Pains (by Marc Burckhardt) gracing the front page of their Fall Arts Guide. She was right, this shit is TOO GOOD. My scanner wasn't big enough to capture the full glory, but you get the idea.

Alex is pictured in his favorite burgundy cashmere v-neck sweater and, of course, Peggy's bangs are immaculate.

FAQ&A

FAQ Magazine has published a really great interview with Christopher from Girls, illustrated with photos by Aaron Brown (the man behind the majority of their amazing music videos.) It's pretty long, but absolutely worth reading all the way to the end. Chris has a lead a truly strange, truly amazing life thus far. Also, I'm seriously considering whipping up a DIY rip off of that jean jacket...

AND ON THAT NOTE: Guess which song is currently starring in the video for the new Urban Outfitters Fall catalog??? You really gotta see it on the homepage while it's still up for full effect. So crazy!! Man, first the Pains, now Girls, next...world domination.

candy colored romance

I know it feels like they're sort of everywhere at the moment, but I don't think I'll ever really get tired of watching these soft, lo-fi Super8 music videos. Especially the ones filled with pretty girls in pretty clothes (...and pretty boys don't hurt neither.)