I have said this before, but sometimes I stumble into artists for bizarre reasons. A good example of this has to do with a project I took upon myself about a year ago. I wanted to make a playlist of “numerical” songs, where the number appears in the title of the song, and the list would be dictated by the order of the numbers. Since I knew a song that had “25″ in the title (Johnny Cash’s “25 Minutes To Go”), I figured that was a good place to stop.

Things went pretty well initially, but once I got past the teens, things got a little harder. In fact, the hardest number would prove to be “23″ (if I was doing this with movie titles, it would have been so easy). Eventually,  I searched and found not only a song, but an entire album about this number, and it was by a group called Blonde Redhead. Well, I also found a song by Jimmy Eats World, but yeah BLONDE REDHEAD, that sounds good!

Not only was the album convenient to my cause, but it’s a really good album:

I know next to nothing about this group except what I’ve read on Wikipedia, indeed when one is struggling to find music based solely on its numeric value, one isn’t going to command an encyclopedic knowledge about the first group to come around. Indeed, Blonde Redhead isn’t even close to the style of music I listen to, but therein lies the intrigue.

I’m not sure about the band’s discography up to this point, but this is their newest album, and apparently takes the band in a “different direction”. I’m not sure what direction these guys are moving from, but if my musical-bullshit-jargon-detector is corret, I’d say that sweeping guitars, massive beats, and reverb-laden lady-singing from their rather attractive Japanese singer lady has been in effect for a while. Of course, it would be a delightful surprise if they used to be a polka band or something, but music hardly ever surprises me.

The sound of the group seems to be based a lot in this particular genre that occasionally crops up (that Wikipedia cheerfully labels “Dream Pop” so let’s go with that). It’s marked by drumming that, real or not, is kind of made to sound like electronic beats, with hardly any fills or character to be found. The guitar playing is the type typically favored by indie groups: all downstroke, lots of reverb and “singing” chords, like U2 if The Edge fell asleep and didn’t modify any of the chords. Bass is invisible, which is fine because this group doesn’t seem to have a set bassist, and bass as an instrument is overlooked almost as often in electronic pop as it is in Country music.

The vocals are perhaps the best part of the group, with a lady called Kazu Makino turning out some very interesting melodies. The title track is the best example of this, her voice is kind of a timid thing, resting in a falsetto melody, but with occasional flourishes of this echoey, haunting array of high notes that just really chills the spine. Later in the album, in songs like “Publisher”, her voice drifts along behind the keyboards and guitars but gives a more rhythmic performance that draws the other instruments aside like curtains so that the listeners find themselves in the middle of the enveloping sound, straining to make out the words, to no avail. Indeed, it’s hard not to get a little fruity about this girl’s singing.

I would point out some highlights to the album at this point, but honestly there aren’t a lot to be had. The entire album just kind of flows by, all of it beautiful, with no real high points other than the title track. Nearly every track has some kind of electronic chord going on in the background, with guitar arpeggios or single note down-strokes droning on as the drums stay constant. It’s almost ambient, but everything is still arranged in a pop song format, and thus demands attention to its various parts without a clear indication of what to look for, kind of like an annoying girlfriend.

If you fall asleep listening to it though, be warned: there are laser noises at the end of one of the tracks (“Heroine”) that will probably wake you back up. It’s ok though, because one of the better songs “Top Ranking“, which has a really silly video. Do any of those 1 second poses involve putting on a bra? Nope!

Still, nothing beats the title track. The beat is incredible, the tune is magical, and the vocals are Radiohead-level of quality in terms of referring to the chord changes to really burn the image of this song into your ears. The video is still a little silly (and just as braless), but a little less because of the theme and more because of the overall pretention involved. Still, I’ve always said that any musician is absolved of pretention the moment they can back it up, and Blonde Redhead has certainly done that for me.

I will definitely have to look more into this band, especially since I understand they also sing in Japanese and French, two languages I’m studying! I also understand that they have been compared to the group My Bloody Valentine (it has been, in fact, said that they “rip off” the group), but I have never heard My Bloody Valentine, mainly because they have yet to produce a song called “23″, and thus have not the same use as Blonde Redhead to me.

So yeah, it is certainly nice to discover new artists by accident, especially under unusual conditions like that, and I’m glad to have found Blonde Redhead. Someday I may have to publish my numerical song playlist, in fact, thanks to a group called Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele (no joke), I have found a track containing the number 26, which means I can extend my list even further. However, after actually hearing Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele, I may just have to keep it at 25 songs in the name of quality.

I loooove hula hooping! I also loooove music! Combine these 2 and there you’ll have my reason to wake up and get moving around. Hula hooping makes me dig through my collection and listen to songs I had other wise forgotten about through the years.  So, If anyone is looking for ideas, check these out. Feel free to share your faves with me as well… I’m always looking for new jams!

1. Divine by Sebastien Tellier
2. Blood from a Stone by Hanne Hukkelberg
3. What the World Is Wating For by Stone Roses
4. World Clique by Deee-Lite
5. Digital Love by Daft Punk
6. French Navy by Camera Obscura
7. Back That Thang Up by Juvenile
8. Divine Hammer by Breeders
9. Earth Intruders by Bjork
10. Freakshow by Cure
11. Do It To It by Fannypack
12. I’m Good, I’m Gone by Lykke Li
13. Around the World (intro, rumba) by Senor Coconut & His Orchestra
14. Saturdays by Cut Copy
15. No Pussy Blues by Grinderman
16. Room to Breathe by Hangar 18
17. Margaya by The Fender Four
18. Close Your Eyes by Ian McCulloch
19. The Dream Machine by Sukia
20. Everything’s Fine by Adorable
21. Inclined to Vomit by Adult.
22. Egg Man by Beastie Boys
23. En Particulier by Blonde Redhead
24. Strange Fruit by Catherine Wheel
25. Beef Jerky by Cibo Matto

Since blonde redhead concert, this has been my wallpaper, and i have no intentions to change it.

Kazu!

One of the best photos I’ve ever taken. I will never forget the moment she came in with her white Gipson SG and started playing Dr. Strangelove.

Hola estimados seguidores, que seguramente son muy pocos, pero en fin los estamos invitando para que nos ayuden a poder hacer la lista de los mejores 100 discos de esta década. Y pues estoy seguro que muchos tienen sus favoritos así que pues por medio de votación iremos sacando los discos. Así que esperamos nos den 10 opciones en los comentarios de esta entrada y pues yo pondré mi lista, ya se que 10 discos es muy poco, pero si pueden poner mas adelante,  traten de pensar en esos discos que creen cambio la manera de hacer música y formaron ó son parte importante en sus vidas.

Be it so, be quick
Don’t run, just walk and walk and walk
Don’t lose yourself to decorate
Somewhere on your wall
Cause somewhere in your mind
You know you are doing fine

-Blonde Redhead-

Eventually, last year I was road tripping along the East Coast in the states and abandoned computers for a while, but is I said, I’m an interdisciplinary artist and also like taking pictures. Suddenly I was at a Blonde Redhead concert, just in front of Kazu and happily took lots of pictures.

Best concert i've been in yet.

There is not any particular point for this post being in here, except for the fact of that being one of the nicest pictures I’ve ever taken and the fact of me being unable to understand why is there people who use their flash for their concert photos.

per un venerdi notte finito il sabato notte successivo.

per le ore che non esistono e quattro persone che ascoltano un vinile in quel limbo di note e secondi.

perchè chiudendo la finestra qualcuno ha sussurrato: ciao, torino.

Per distrarmi cerco delle variazioni musicali. In realtà cercavo un cd dei Marlene Kuntz, ma mia madre con le sue manie di ordine e pulizia l’ha nascosto bene! In compenso ho riesumato un cd dei Blonde Redhead, Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, era il 2000. E sono tornata indietro a quel periodo, l’università, il mio fidanzato, il gruppo, il concerto, i pomeriggi sui libri a bere te e fumare sigarette. Era tutto diverso, ero più leggera, per un periodo di sucuro più sorridente, forse i sorrisi erano dovuti ai costanti cambiamenti, le evoluzioni inattese, l’incontrollabilità che non mi spaventava…

…erano bei tempi!

Yo la Tengo has a new album out called Popular Songs. I featured a track on last weeks show. I sat down this last week and listened to the album and there are some truly beautiful unique tracks on it. I’m going to feature a couple of the tracks tonight from the album on Radioloveless. I love their sweet lyrics along with their complex juxtaposition of sound in a handful of the tracks.

Here’s the set for tonight, listen in from 8 to 10 pm on KRUI 89.7 fm or online here.

1. Sunny Day Real Estate, Rising Tide (2000), Faces in Disguise

2. Yo La Tengo, Popular Songs (2009), Here to Fall
3. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam (2007), For Reverend Green
4. Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures (1979), I Remember Nothing

5. Colin Newman (of the band Wire), A-Z (1980), Around You
6. The Names, Swimming + Singles (1982), Discovery
7. The Wake, Here Comes Everybody (1985), O Pamela
8. R.E.M., Dead Letter Office (1987), Wolves Lower
This album contains rarities and B-sides including 3 velvet underground covers. (This was also a great request by this Hottie.)
9. Catherine Wheel, Ferment (1992), Texture
10. Department S, Sub-Stance (2003), Is Vic There? (The track was originally released in 1981)
11. Josef K, Entomology (1981), It’s Kinda Funny

12. Blonde Redhead, Misery Is A Butterfly (2004), Misery Is A Butterfly
13. Pinback, Some Voices (2000), Some Voices
14. Kinski, Alpine Static (2005 off of Sub Pop), Hot Stenographer

15. The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Strung Out in Heaven (There seventh full length album released in 1998), Let’s Pretend its Summer

16. Built To Spill, There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (1994), Distopian Dream Girl
17. The Dandy Warhols, Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia (2000), Cool Scene
18. Frank Black Francis, Frank Black Francis (2004), Velouria
19. Guided by Voices, Bee Thousand (1994), The Goldheart Mountaintop Queen Directory
20. The Dream Syndicate, Out of the Grey (1986), Cinnamon Girl

21. The Velvet Underground, VU (recorded 1969 released 1985), Foggy Notion
22. Talking Heads, Talking Heads: 77 (1977), Happy Day
23. Slowdive, Morningrise-EP (Morningrise is the third single released by Slowdive in 1991), She Calls
24. My Bloody Valentine, Isn’t Anything (1988), No More Sorry

01/Done Somebody Wrong – The Allman Brothers Band
02/Surf’s Up – The Beach Boys
03/Top Ranking – Blonde Redhead
04/Blue Condition – Cream
05/Blue Blue Ocean – Echo & The Bunnymen
06/Baby Blue – Badfinger
07/Mood Indigo – Frank Sinatra
08/Grey Day – Madness
09/La Pour Ca – Nada Surf
10/Shoot You Down – The Stone Roses

Um, yeah, in case you didn’t get what the theme of the playlist is, look at the titles of tracks 4-6. In anticipation of a brighter week, I’m drowning myself in melancholy all day tomorrow to get it out of my system.

Worldwide Groove Corporation, Besame Mucho
Cat Power, Silver Stallion
Catatonia, Mulder and Scully
Royalchord, Mighty Minor
Neko Case, At Last
Chairlift, Garbage
The Do, The Bridge Is Broken
Call and Response, Landscapes
Camera Obscura, Shine Like a New Pin
Florence & the Machine, Kiss With a Fist
Cadallaca, Your One Wish
Corrin Campbell, Shame
Amy Millan, Old Perfume
The Butchies, Shooting Star
The Bran Flakes, Dance of the Sugarsnap Fairy
Uke of Space Corners, Doggies
The Breeders, Divine Hammer
Bran van 3000, Drinking in L.A.
The Inner Banks, Lemon Tree
Brassy, Play Some D
Bratmobile, I’m in the Band
The Nocturnes, I Love the Lighthouse Keeper
Boyskout, Lobby Boys
Boy Least Likely To, I Keep Myself to Myself
Lhasa, Is Anything Wrong
Boyracer, Ask Too Much
Bjork, I Miss You
Blonde Redhead, Four Damaged Lemons
The Black Tales, Boys Underwear
The Dead Weather, Hang You From the Heavens
Black Box Recorder, New Baby Boom
Munchausen by Proxy, Sweet Ballad
Blackberry River Band, Too Drunk to Remember
Taken by Trees, Anna
Blake Babies, Temptation Eyes
Bis, I’m a Slut
Sally Shapiro, Miracle
Bitesize, Cold Turkey
The Bird and the Bee, Love Letter to Japan
Sex Presleys, Teddy Bear
The Cardigans, Happy Meal
Yacht, The Afterlife
Bikini Kill, Rebel Girl
The Husbands, Nobody But Him
Suddenly, Tammy!, Supersonic
Anjulie, Love Songs
The Rocking Horse Winner, Novelty

the juliana hatfield three // feelin’ massachusetts
belly // gepetto
the breeders // huffer
sonic youth // sugar kane
the jesus and mary chain // the hardest walk
suicide // keep your dreams
blonde redhead // 23
pj harvey // silence
air // empty house

_

[ à londres pour une semaine. soyez sages. ]
_

Blonde Redhead, 23 – 2007

Well, you might have gathered that it was a no brainer for me this week.  So, here is this is a powerfully evocative video for Blonde Redhead’s song, “The Dress”.  As you can tell if you follow the link over to You Tube, the debate rages about the video’s effectiveness.  I think it’s fascinatingly simple, able to be interpreted in a number of different ways, and it does the deeply emotive qualities of the song justice.  What do you think?

1. dreams:
tino
challenging me to a _____-off
a brilliant ridiculousness
laughter breaking us up
how she howls in pain into dorm room window
after toe stubbing
last week of highschool
transplanted to class
in the city
after busses and cars
a bit lost
but finding my way
to room
#210

2. awake to this:
silentely, i wish to sail into your port, i am your sailor
quietly, i drop my weight into your sea, i drop my anchor
i sway in your waves,  i sing in your sleep

3. remembering last night’s radiant body
carrying heat of sun in
bones
limbs
shoulders

4. choreographing the vita shuffle
a series of dance moves to include:
the deepfry
the dishdog
and
the salad spinner
perhaps also
the scrub
the BEHIND YOU!
and the prep

5. airborne aardvark sauce
cough is contagious
and fed by laughter

6. sir, yes sir!
jon and i
joking
about wearing fatigues to work
responding to manager
as if he were lieutenant
[don't ask me why i know how to spell that word].

7. nicoletta’s blue dress kitchen magic
green rice
tortillas from scratch rolled out
from molly’s hands
heirloom tomatoes, refried beans, avocado, delicata squash
heaping plates on back porch devoured
followed by corinne-led ruminations on home
contentment
so rare
it’s almost hazey/unrecognizable

8. the ruminations:
home: difficult conversations and cozy tea moments
sometimes all in one sitting
home: not a place i am moving through
but a place i inhabit and tend to
home: combination of aesthetics and mindfulness
creating space to move and breathe and be renewed in

9. this one’s for you corinne:
equinox
and new breathing space
between bangs and eyebrows

10. twenty-first century ‘chat’
instant
max on the other end
how a heart can open
and feel held
in warm old-friend arms
from 300 miles away
in black and white
i’ve got you in my planner
october
and we shall sing

11. tarot cards
in stacey’s hands
alberta park
await me
tomorrow

For the Damaged by Blonde Redhead

(Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons, 2000)

Maybe again he will be alone
Guess we’re equally damaged
Find your name do it all the same equally
Signal when you can’t breathe no more

Say you were me then you could see the view
You’ll know we are equally damaged
Don’t be a fool, make it easier
You’ll learn to say when
Signal if you can’t say, “no more”

Don’t cross your finger
Sundays will never change
They keep on coming
You’ll be a freak
And i’ll keep you company

23 – 2007

Researching this album, it was somewhat of a surprise for me that Blonde Redhead has been around for more than a decade as a band and that 23 is their seventh studio album.  I first listened to 23 ahead of the 2007 ACL festival where Blonde Redhead was going to perform, and I had every intention of seeing them there.  Instead, in what became one of the more unpleasant memories of the festival (the unfortunate propane tank explosion), we were actually stuck outside the gates in the direct September sunlight while the festival crew worked to contain the chaos inside.  Off in the distance, we could hear Blonde Redhead’s set.  They were performing the song “23″, and I remember thinking about how fresh and different it seemed compared to the litany of guitar rock the festival usually offers.

That freshness is part of why I was surprised to find out that it was their seventh album; it’s rare to hear a band go the way of experimental dream pop 12 years into their career, and if they do, they might not pull it off so convincingly, but Blonde Redhead dive in full force right away.  “23″ is the album opener, and despite the memories of the oppressive Texas heat and dust it recalls, it’s an appropriately enticing introduction to the style of the whole album.  It’s a wall of experimental electronic noise, dreamy guitars, and Kazu Makino’s vocals are quietly full of melancholy tension, and layered with her own background vocals for extra expressive affect.  The next song, “Dr. Strangeluv”, sounds like Radiohead circa OK Computer meets The Cure; a mix of a sparkly ethereal atmosphere with a dose of measured electro-beats.  The third track, “The Dress”, finds the band darkening significantly.  It’s brooding with a enigmatic air, including looped gasping and haunting vocals and lyrics.  It’s easily the most compelling song on the album.

“SW” sounds like it might belong on a different album entirely, partially because it’s a male vocalist instead of Makino’s delicate femininity, but also because it has a semblance of straight forward electric guitars and a Beatles-esque brass band bridge.  “SW” segues into the similar sounding “Spring And By Summer Fall”, and then later “Publisher” picks up on this vibe as well, replacing the electric guitars with sparse synth beats that eventually become more lush in the chorus.  Of all the songs on 23, “Publisher” would be the one that most makes you think of other bands.  Second to last track “Top Ranking” is the best of the last half of the album.  It sounds like it was recorded in a robot fantasy land and is almost effervescent compared to the dramatic qualities of the first several songs, and the very last track, “My Impure Hair”, closes the album on a mysterious sounding note, using not-yet-heard acoustic guitars and swirling synths behind the revealing lyrics.

23 is fascinating; the album doesn’t unfold itself for you and it takes several listens to become acquainted with all that it has to offer.  The last half isn’t quite as strong as the first, but that’s only because the first tracks are so bracing.  23 sounds more “new” than many albums to come out in 2007, plus it’s also more daring.  Blonde Redhead are obviously a band that continues to push their own boundaries, and you have to respect the fact that they can do it to such success.

It’s been quite awhile…

I have so much to say, and yet nothing at all. It’s that awkward time between Summer and Fall, and I’m desperately trying to decide on my next move.  This has been quite the amazing, adventure-filled Summer. Here’s a brief recap:

• I transitioned beautifully back into myself from the manipulated, hurt place I found myself in at the beginning of the summer.
• J and I had a yard sale and clothing swap to try and purge our lives of unwanted material items. I made a whopping two dollars, but we found ourselves with quite the story to tell. Lets just say that a creepy old guy’s ball fell out of his pants a little too close to my head for any sort of comfort. Then there was the strange homeless-vagabond chick who tried to steal my kitten, swap urine-stained clothes, and then piled the rest of our crappy yard-sale items into her……wait for it….brand new Lexus SUV. Heh.
• J and I took a beach vacation at North Myrtle and got screwed over where we were supposed to stay. So, after passing out on the beach from sheer exhaustion, we got such a bad sunburn that we spent the rest of the week drinking our sorrows away with middle-age crazy people. We almost got arrested for trying to camp on the beach, almost slept under a bridge, finally slept in my car behind a bar parking lot, had an impromptu music jam with awesome people, and saw a girl get stabbed in the face with a beer bottle. Good times.
• I got laid off at my main job. Which I didn’t really enjoy at all, anyways. So, I suppose the universe took care of that for me. Although now I am being forced to live off of a tiny bit of unemployment, which isn’t exactly paying the bills.
• I delved deeper into the world of yoga and stand-up comedy. Not at the same time, exactly. And I seriously will (for those of you who think I won’t) eventually get up and try my hand at it.
• I took a nine day job as driver and merch girl for the band Afromotive. I drove fifty hours that week, and It was pretty awesome and wholly exhausting. But I got to go to Pennsylvania, Portland Maine, and NYC for the first time, ever. Now I can’t stop thinking about moving to Brooklyn.
• I’ve met some wonderful and inspiring new people, and had many an adventure. I drank too much, slept too little, and procrastinated a TON. But it’s all been worth it.

So now Summer is coming to a close. I, for one cannot wait for the autumn to settle in, the leaves to change brilliantly, and then the thunderstorms to make everything mushy. I have so many opportunities knocking on my door right now, with no idea which to choose. I may edit a book for a New York Time’s best selling author. I may join a well known burlesque troop. I may sell most of my things and take a trip wandering aimlessly for a few months. Too much to do and too little time. I suppose my summer procrastinating didn’t exactly help the piling up to-do lists, and bills. But there’s really nothing else to do but keep-on-keepin’-on.

I’ve learned a lot about myself this summer. I’m so used to overwhelming myself with doing a million things at once, and then abandoning half-done projects half-way through. I found my spark again and re-joined the world of the wide-eyed-bushy-tailed extroverts. So now, I’m trying to take it easy… taking every day as it comes. Of course, I still think too much, analyze freakin’ everything to the detail, and think too much about the future. But I’m trying my damndest to just relax and enjoy the moment more often. Because after all, when life is said and done…those moments are going to be the ones that create contentment. I like to live off the grid and do everything the wrong way. But, hell. It makes life interesting. And according to my mother, I just have ADD. ha!

So, I promise to write more on here from now on. But in the mean time, listen to this:

Almost Autumn Mix (The Awkward In-between)

1. Regina Spektor “The Flowers”
2. PJ Harvey “Down By the Water”
3. Mates of State “Haha”
4. Radiohead “Been Thinking About You”
5. Shellac “Billiard Player Song”
6. Head of Femur “Curve that Byrd”
7. Rilo Kiley ” Paint’s Peeling”
8. Pavement “Carrot Rope”
9. Mountain Goats “No Children”
10. Fiona Apple “Sleep to Dream”
11. Flaming Lips “Waiting For Superman”
12. Modest Mouse “Heart Cooks Brain”
13. Blind Melon “Sleepy house”
14. Tori Amos “Leather”
15. Emily Loizeau “fais battre ton tambour”
16. Cat Power “He War”
17. At The Drive-In “Catacomb”
18. Nina Simone “In The Dark”
19. Peggy Sue and The Pirates “New Song”
20. Zombies ” What More Can I Do”
21. Feist “Past in Present”
22. Placebo “Pure Morning”
23. Nellie McKay “Zombie”
24. Blonde Redhead “Melody”
25. TSOL “Flowers By the Door”
26. Avett Brothers “Famous Flower of Manhattan”
27. Camera Obscura “If Looks Could Kill”
28. Ben Kweller “In Other Words”
29. Arcade Fire “Wake Up”
30. Velvet Underground “After Hours”

Every now and then something comes over the transom here that slipped under the radar when it first came out – or in the case of this album, predated this blog. This is one of the best of those – the cd cover image of the rails of the Cyclone rollercoaster with its “REMAIN SEATED” sign overhead is apt. Celebrated for her alternately soaring and piercing four-octave range, Carol Lipnik is also a uniquely gifted songwriter with a frequently sinister, otherwise amusingly carnivalesque edge. Lately she’s been pursuing what appears to be developing into an extraordinary collaboration with singer John Kelly (John Kelly and Carol Lipnik on the same stage – just think about the possibilities that conjures for a minute). For the uninitiated, this is Lipnik’s most recent album and comprises much of what she plays live. It’s a good an introduction to this indelibly New York, Coney Island born-and-bred artist.

The cd opens with Tom Ward’s noir cabaret waltz Freak House Blues, a playfully lurid tale bouncing along with horror-movie organ from keyboardist Dred Scott – a first-rate jazz composer in his own right – and violin by Jacob Lawson. The second cut, Lipnik’s own Falling/Floating mines the same kind of creepy noir pop vein that DollHouse or occasionally Blonde Redhead would pursue back about ten years ago.

Last Dance ( a co-write with Jane LeCroy) flirts with madness:  “I can’t forget the last dance, because I’m dancing it still.” By contrast, another Lipnik original, Traveling is a lushly beautiful and sensually atmospheric. Then it’s back to the macabre with another waltz, Where Are You Going, examining the relationship between conformity and cannibalism as Lawson’s staccato violin screeches along on the beat. Atmospheric and echoey, the menace of Crushed is understated and effectively so: “Do you want me to stand on my knees for you?” Lipnik asks – but it’s obvious that she’s not offering. “I’ll be back, but I’ll be changed,” she warns on the soaring, crescendoing Mermaid Blues. Morir Sonando (a Spanish pun – it’s an orange milkshake) is a big bolero, pretty boisterous for a tribute to the delights of dreaming and sleep. The cd winds up with the haunting, hypnotic, somewhat Radiohead-inflected title track. For those who can’t get enough after all this, Lipnik’s just back from Yaddo and working on a new one. Carol Lipnik plays the Howl Festival, 8 PM on Sept 15 at the 45 Bleecker St. Theatre in the West Village.

(Between this and Lonely is an eyesore, you might think that I’m becoming a little emo – when in fact I am just listening to a lot of 4AD and am thus in the throes of something much worse: fashiongoth ie Tragic Fashion Boy ie it’s possible that I need a smack and a spell in the corner to think about the consequences of my actions.  Oh no don’t look at the outfit.  No no no)

Fuck.

OK, you saw.

This is an outfit I like to call 4AD Back Catalogue or Sweet Christ, I’m Pretentious or Ti Mademoiselle qui aspirent à un morceau de Chanel or Checks my French with Google or The Infanta mourns her pauper-love in secret.  You like?

You should because I’m posing and everything.  I’m always giving/ Hate waiting while you’re living (btw also listening to Jordin Sparks).

Notes, errata:
Jacket – charity shop, provenance unknown
Long-sleeved lace top – Principles via aunt via mum
Short-sleeved lace blouse – Berketex via charity shop, ‘heavily customised’ ie ruined
Shorts – Miss Selfridge via charity shop
Tights – Uniqlo, ‘heavily customised’ ie ’sends teenage boys into paroxysms of weirdo pimply desire’
Shoes – Office

Coming up: what Polish teenage boys think of my tights, rococo architecture (because I know you can’t wait), more bullshit.