Absence Makes the Heart Go Wander

Sorry to anyone who's been checking this blog in the past months only to be disappointed by the discontinuation of posts. Summer just passed me right by, and I've been so busy I didn't even have a chance to leave a proper "away" message. So now I will try to make it up with a "be right back" message.

Over the last few months, I was busy planning and launching an online vintage shop called Immaculate Heart Vintage with my friend Meg. You can check out my selection of vintage home goods for sale on Dawanda here. Until the shop is completely up and running smoothly, I won't have much time to post stuff here. But I am also in the process of slightly rethinking this blog and will do my best to do at least a few posts a month.

And in the meantime, you can keep yourself occupied with "Off the Record." It's an English-speaking radio show on Berlin's indie/rock/alternative station hosted by my friends Liz and Vince (both of Death by Pop fame). You can listen to it weeknights starting at 10pm online here (just click where it says "Jetzt hören/Radio-Player öffnen").

So Happy Listening and Bis Bald!

Snaps

Yay, I got my Metronomy Holiday Snaps Competition prize pack in the mail yesterday!



No beach bag, but I'm happy. And prepared to go on a crazy fun holiday. If only I had actually booked one this summer! *sigh* But I think I might give away half the prize to my friend David, who would have OWNED this competition, if only he hadn't gone on vacation until AFter the submission deadline.




Next year, David. Fo shizz!

SXSW 2008 Recap: Cut Copy @ IHEARTCOMIX/Mad Decent Party

I've got Aussie's on the brain this week. Most notably The Presets and Cut Copy (Bumblebeez get honorable mention). Saw The Presets at SXSW and Berlin Festival last year and Cut Copy two times at SXSW this year. And I had no regrets seeing either of them twice. In fact, Cut Copy's last set at the IHEARTCOMIX vs. Mad Decent Blowout Party gave me goosebumps. EsPECially when the enTIRE crowd started jumping in synch and i could feel the CEMENT floor moving up and down like a trampoline beneath me!

Melt! 2008 Festival Fashion Report

Yay! Summer is back from taking its own vacation! Though I'm partial to mild weather, it would've have been nice to have had it this hot the other week at Melt!. But instead, it was cold and rainy the first two days of the festival (it wasn't until the third day that we got to feel the warm glow of some sunrays). I was fascinated though, by how all the hipsters translated their urban street style into functional festival wear.

There was tons of eye candy, but for my Melt! festival fashion report, I shall focus on wellingtons!

I remember when I bought my turquoise pair of wellies at Urban Outfitters; it felt so revolutionary!

But since then, fashion wellies have exploded onto the scene. I seriously couldn't stop taking pictures! The most common motif seemed to be polka dots, followed by florals. And props to the guy who even spraypainted his own (apparently there's a gap in the men's fashion wellington market).

Anyway. Here's a few of my favorites followed by a slideshow of all the cool ones I was quick enough to capture.

The Black Kids Domino Effect

This past weekend when I was at Melt! Festival (more about that coming up), one of the Berlin Battery DJs played a remix of Black Kids' "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend". It'd been ages since I'd last listened to them, so I spent all day at work Monday replaying their myspace playlist. And one earworm tipped off another. You connect the dots.

"Hit The Heartbreaks"


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Kate Bush "Don't Put Your Foot On The Heartbrake"



"I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend"


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Rilo Kiley "The Frug"



"Hurricane Jane"


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The Pippettes "Pull Shapes"

P.S. For more tangents, check here every Tuesday.

The The Chapin Sisters: How To Keep Cool This Summer

I just discovered The Chapin Sisters for myself. I really wish I had heard of them before and can't begin to imagine why I hadn't. At any rate. Despite midsummer's sweat-inducing temperatures, listening to them today gave me goosebumps. I'm sure their harmonized voices will send a hauntingly sweet chill down your spine too. Here's my favorite songs so far...

Kill Me Now:


Toxic (yes, it's a Britney, bitch):

Boderline (Madonna cover):

July Rockstrology!

I admit, I love reading my horoscope. I used to be addicted to checking it every morning, and then at night I'd compare the day's prophecy to its actual events. Sometimes there'd be absolutely no correlation at all, other times it would sort of fit, and every once in a while it would actually perfectly correspond to a current situation in my life as if the stars really were looking down on me. And I just loved that synchronicity.
Over the years, I've started looking at horoscopes not as a forecast of what is going to happen to me but more as advice for how to approach whatever does happen to me. But even so, I try not to take them too seriously and prefer to relish their superficial entertainment value more than anything else.

For my birthday picnic in May I decided to make paper fortune cookies as party favors with song lyrics as the fortunes. I had lots of fun with it (and I hope my party guests did too!) and I thought I'd transplant the idea to my blog. So from now on, I'll be posting my "rockstrology" horoscopes at the beginning of each month (yeah, I realize I'm a bit late with July, but the month's not over yet!) along with a playlist of the songs used in the previous month. You might already be able to name some of the tunes, but I thought it might be more fun (and unbiased) to keep all the artists and song titles a surprise till the end of the month (and if you really can't wait to find out, you can always just google it).

Mind you, I'm not an astrologer (and I'm no happy-go-lucky, always positive-thinking life coach either). I assigned the song lyrics to all the zodiac signs at random without paying any attention to what was matched with what, and they are all open to your own interpretation. So have fun finding out what's written in your July (rock)stars!

Aries ( March 21 - April 19)
Fun and sunshine--there's enough for everyone. All that's missing is the sea. But don't worry, you can suntan!

Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
If they follow you, don't look back. Like Dylan in the movies.

Gemini (May 21 - June 20)
You're flying when your foreign eyes trace the heights of the city.

Cancer (June 21 - July 22)
Boys lie too much. Girls act too tough. Enough is enough.

Leo (July 23 - August 22)
All of your days will be blessed, so put on a smile and get dressed.

Virgo (August 23 - September 22)
Who cares what games we choose? Little to win, but nothing to lose.

Libra (September 23 - October 22)
Advertise to lonely eyes.

Scorpio (October 23 - November 21)
Dance, dance, dance. Words can never make up for what you do.

Sagittarius (November 22 - December 21)
When you go out stepping on the town for a while, your money's low and your suit's out of style. But it's all right if your clothes aren't new. Out of sight because your heart is true.

Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)
Some people claim that theres a woman to blame. But you know it's your own damn fault.

Aquarius (January 20 - February 18)
If you're in love you should make love.

Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Our paths still cross in these high pressure days. A crowd pattern will emerge. Exchange phone numbers, wither away.

The Black Ghosts: TGIM! in London and SXSW 2008 Recap

I know. I'm such a procrastinator. I have a ton of backlogged photos from various gigs that I wanna share. But hey. I'm only human. And luckily Urban Outfitters just gave me the right kick in the tush to at least upload my photos of the Black Ghosts set from the IHEARTCOMIX SXSW day party:

So London, please do take advantage. You won't ever find a better way to start your week! In fact, forget TGIF. Thank God it's Monday!

Anyway. Here's some of my photos from the SXSW set. And if your dance moves are stale these days, take note of my favorites of the night: James doing "The Hammer" and Josh doing the "Nosepicker". Couldn't have busted a move better myself. In fact. If Santogold ever needs to replace her backup dancers, she'll know who to call.

Oh Snap! Metronomy Holiday Photo Contest!

Omigod, not only is Metronomy's new song "Holiday" the best vacation-theme earworm since Franz Ferdinand's "Better on Holiday", Wham's "Club Tropicana" and Righeira's "Vamos a la Playa (which was all aaages ago)...



...but they're coupling the single release (out on July 7th) with a super fun holiday snaps competition!

here's my entry:

me picking a wedgie at europapark (ca. '83)...

all good now:

Enter your own photo by leaving a comment on their myspace blog post!

It's Baaa-aaack!

Thanks to Miss Modular, my old "American Boy" earworm is back with a new attitude...



and a vengeance...

Death by Red Bull & Vodka (Rakes DJ Set, 6/13/08)

Last Friday was the best Death By Pop since Coffin Joe's DJ set. Special guest DJ of the night was Jamie of The Rakes, who (despite a few technical difficulties) expertly entertained our dancing feet alongside DBP-resident xh. Copious amounts of Vodka Red Bulls (which I hadn't consumed since my early 90's "techno days") led to my unfortunate demise by dawn. But the road to ruin was fun. In fact, I should've arranged the photos in order of drunkenness. Although I'm sure it's not too hard to tell where my BAC started taking off!

Decisions, Decisions.

Tomorrow/Thursday night in Berlin is seriously a "Qual der Wahl" (literally "agony of choice").

There's...

So So Modern (Wellington, New Zealand) @ Westgermany

Decks: The Schlechtboys vs Wast'It'Grrlz (F.U.C./Villa)
Doors Open: 22h
Starts: 23h

Then...

RAPHISTORY 1986 @ Bohannon

djs: marc hype, dj scientist, dejoe, guest: studio17 (dresden)
party: 22.30-3.00 (come early, cuz we close on time)
Cover: EUR 5

and my personal pick this time...

THE BROKEN HEARTS CLUB
PRESENTS A LOVEBOAT SPECIAL!!!
DRESSCODE : SAILORLOOK!!!

HEARTBREAK LOVESONGS PLAYED BY

DJ KAOS (BERLIN)
KHAN LIVE AT MIDNIGHT!!! (I'M SINGLE)
ANTON QLINT (GOTHEBURG)
HECTOR + GUEST (VICEMAGAZINE)
TANJA & BJÖRN
& YOUR BROKEN HEARTS CLUB HOSTS

FROM 10PM TIL LATE
AT BALLHAUS BERLIN/CHAUSSEESTR.102
10115 BERLIN / MITTE

And to get whoever else is going in the mood for (sailor) love...

Like Ghosts Under Rocks

I hadn't visited Ra Ra Riot(my favorite band from SXSW 07)'s myspace page in ages, but they're in The Virgins' Top 8, so after I had listened to the new Virgins album a few times, I decided to see if Ra Ra Riot had any new music up. And they did! I can't get enough of "Ghosts Under Rocks", which I'd only ever heard live before. Speaking of which, the only video I have of them performing this is like 15 seconds long! But here's a nice video of them performing it live at the Bowery this year.



I don't know what it is about this song, or this band in general. But I'm not surprised that they've listed their myspace profile under the categories "Healing" and "Easy Listening". Cheesy as it sounds, there's something in their music (and especially their live performances) that seriously just reaches deep into my soul. Like every song is a spiritual reawakening.

I was super sad that this is all I got to see of them at SXSW this year.



Mind you, this is with the zoom. Big tears.

P.S. Their debut full-length "The Rhumb Line" (recorded and mixed by Ryan Hadlock) is due out August 19. So forget yoga, fasting, whatever and just go out and buy the album this summer!

SXSW 2008 Recap: The Virgins @ NME Showcase

The Virgins were the last band I saw at SXSW this year. I'm still in the process of posting all my other delinquent SXSW recaps, but I thought I'd continue with them because ever since their whole album was featured on myspace last week, I can't get them out of my head (especially the song "Fernando Pando").

When I saw them live in Austin, I was seriously expecting some serious Strokes lookalikes or something. I even overheard this guy next to me in the audience telling his friend how he had seen the lead singer strutting around Williamsburg like an übercool hipster. But when they came out on stage, I was surprised at how they actually look like virgins (the lead singer in particular)! I mean, in person, they look NOthing like their sleek press photos (I didn't know whether to praise their stylists and hair and makeup artist for a job well-done or to sue them for false advertising!).

But in the end it's all about the music, which was without a doubt fun and catchy. Plus by the end of the set, I had pretty much gotten used to their nerdiness. It definitely made them seem more genuine, likeable, and dare I say cute (in an oddly attractive way)! Revenge of the Nerds V???







P.S. I couldn't put my finger on it, but Liz to the rescue again! She described their sound as "80's crooner pop." Spot on! And I think the singer's sexy voice is like beer goggles to his geekiness. *swoon*

Seripop @ Bongout Showroom, Berlin (Opening this Saturday!)

Montreal design-duo Seripop is coming back to Berlin, and this Saturday is the opening of their exhibit in Bongout Showroom. There'll be lots of amazing music posters up for grabs to fit any poor-but-sexy Berliner's budget and style, so check it out!

Here's a sampling of my past faves...

Bongout Showroom
Torstraße 110
10119 Berlin
Opening hours: Tue-Sa, 12 - 07 PM
+49(0)30 280 93 758

Opening Saturday, Juni 7th at 7PM
Exhibit from Juni 7th till June 28th 2008

www.seripop.com