I’LL WEAR ANY COLOR AS LONG AS IT’S BLACK

This is one of those “we’re extinguished but we’re still alive” posts (to quote my favorite OMD song). I’ve been in the middle of something that is consuming pretty much every free second I have and it’s hard to step back and think about all of the other stuff I am supposed to focus my attention on. At a time like this, I find that I always turn to a type of clothing which is as close as I will ever come to wearing pajamas out in public: this drapy French Connection tunic over a pair of pleather leggings and unseen Zara over-the-knee boots. These Zara boots have really turned around for me — originally they were horribly painful and I hardly ever wore them out of the house. Then, for some reason, I decided to give them another chance and I guess they’ve been breaking in because now they are my go-to shoes every day. I should be able to announce my big project in a couple more weeks and I am going to New York on Wednesday (DJing at Wierd — come by and say hi!) for the rest of the week, so hopefully something more interesting than my wearing “sophisticated pajamas” at a coffee shop will occur.

Been super busy at Rescue – reorganizing, changing a few things here and there and, as always, adding more items to the online store. I’ve decided to start offering my readers deals, so enter the code “WEARBLACK” to get 35% off any purchase in the Rescue Online Store from now until February 12!

Psyched to announce that my friends Sean and Liz of Xeno & Oaklander have launched a “real” website (i.e. not a MySpace page) where you can hear their songs, order their records, watch their films, read articles about them and check on their tourdates. Pretty much everything you’d need to know about this amazing modern minimal synth band!! If you like what you hear, you can check out Sean’s solo project Martial Canterel at Wierd tonight. And if you can’t make it there, you can catch Sean DJing with me at Wierd on February 10th (flyer in the sidebar) with special live guest Blank Dogs . . . can’t wait! Change of plans, Sean will no longer be DJing that night, but he is a regular contributor to Wierd Wednesdays, so look for him some time in the near future. Instead, Pieter and I will be joined by Miz Margo (of San Francisco’s Dark Sparkle).

I have to give some major props to the folks at Kill City. One of their sick asymmetrical leather jackets was on my Xmas Wishlist and I ended up getting it (thanks Mom!) but when it arrived, the sleeve was ripped. I was totally bummed so I sent it back, hoping they’d be cool about returning it. I got a call from them to let me know that they didn’t have anymore of this jacket in stock and they weren’t making them anymore (oh no!) but that they would have one of their sewers fix the rip and refund half the cost (oh yes!). So now I finally have it, all in one piece, and it’s totally amazing. It’s more of a leather cardigan than a jacket, though I think it will come in quite handy on those not-too-sweltering summer nights when real leather jackets are way too much. (This jacket is real leather, but it’s very thin and soft and it’s sort of patched with a ribbed stretch-cotton material under the arms and on the back.) It’s not very noticeable from the photos, but I am wearing this drapey vest/thing under it that I found at Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn last time I was in New York. If it’s not Complex Geometries, then it’s a pretty good rip off of their style (no tags). I have been getting so much use out of this thing, just pinning it however I want or wearing it on top of whatever for an extra layer. My plan of learning how to layer seems to finally be working.

While our trip to LA was, quite literally, a wash in some respects (for instance, all of these pictures are from the same and only nice day we had there); in other ways it was everything a vacation should be. Full of reconnections, missed connections, romance, frustration, frivolous spending, hangovers, jet lag and general good times.

Highlights included:

† Everyone I saw (ranging from “never met in real life” to “hadn’t seen in the past 1-11 years” to “hung out three weeks ago”) . . .

† Shopping at Amoeba Music, Vacation Vinyl, Wasteland and Necromance . . .

† Our ridiculously awesome hotel room. . .

† And, of course, getting to hang out with Massimo for the first time in a few months . . .

Everyone from the east coast always complains about LA, but I found it to be quite endearing, even with the relentless rains. It’s possible I might be back sooner rather than later.

I’m in LA. I came here to meet up with Massimo who just got back from tour in Australia. We figured we could run into some old friends and generally cause mayhem like we usually do. Unfortunately, it’s been raining since we got here and there are no signs of it stopping. Still, we’re having a blast so far. It’s just great to hang out with Mass, since I hadn’t seen him in almost two months. And we are staying at The Standard, which is fucking sick. Our room is so nice, though the see-through shower is a bit risqué for us.

It’s no secret that those pointy platform Jil Sander heels from 07 (I think) would be my dream shoes if I could ever get my god damned hands on them. So, imagine my surprise when I saw these at Buffalo Exchange in Brooklyn and realized that they are actually my dream shoes. Much like the Jil Sander’s, they feature an extremely evil point with a platform (though these have an interior platform). They also had the same kind of stupid tiny ankle strap which I immediately cut off. Unlike the Jil Sander’s though, they are a mix of black leather and grey satin and have a cone-spike heel instead of that insane angular thing. Anyway, it’s not surprising that an evil, angular pair of shoes which are extremely similar to the JS heels are my true dream shoes . . . it’s surprising that they are House of Dereon ? ! ! ? Whatever, upon spying these in my size for $25, I knew there was no point in being snobby. I am pretty sure they will be attached to my feet until they fall apart.

I went down to New York for my favorite type of whirlwind Tuesday/Wednesday weekend. Tuesday night I DJed the second installment of Todd and Harrison’s Tuesday Nite Disco at Glasslands. The first one was nuts and featured Salem and Gatekeeper, got written about in the NY Times and just generally created a lot of buzz. Unfortunately, I missed that one. This one, however, was SICK. My friends Led Er Est and Light Asylum played and both were totally amazing. I’ve seen Led Er Est a bunch of times, but mostly at Wierd, so it was nice to see them in a new setting. This was also the first time I had seen them since their album came out and even though the songs obviously sound amazing on it, hearing them live creates an entirely different world — one a lot darker and scarier. Light Asylum were awesome and intense, I especially loved their semi-industrial jams. Afterward, I DJed tons of synth/wave/industrial all from vinyl, which was a nice change (I mostly use mp3s at Rescue Nite). Everyone was dancing like crazy and going nuts, which is obviously the best response any DJ can ask for. The next day, I got this text from Bruno (of Light Asylum):

Amazing.

Everyone in New York should be sure to keep an eye on this new party because I have a feeling some awesome times will be going down in the near future and I will be making sure to hit up as many as I can.

Photos by Naomi Ramirez

I first discovered the Murder City Devils through a t-shirt trade a friend did with a member of a touring band at a fest in the late 90s (my friend had a Gizmo shirt, this guy had a MCD shirt). A year or so later, I picked up the record this image is from, Empty Bottles Broken Hearts. I have loved them ever since, though like any deep-seated love, it is hard to pinpoint the exact spot from which the love comes. Or why exactly it’s there. I’ve thought about it time and again because honestly, I can never seem to get enough of this band and lately I have been listening to them like crazy, even going so far as to watch the, admittedly, pretty bad documentary Rock & Roll Won’t Wait. (Note: this documentary is fun to watch if you like the band, but offers absolutely no insight to them as a group or as individuals and has really bad sound quality.)

The only conclusion I have been able to come to is that there is a certain innocence and charm in the Murder City Devils which I am attracted to. While I obviously like the music, I am also drawn to what they represent to me: a lifestyle, a type of personality, an attitude. The songs are all straight-up rock and roll, but obviously by people who are coming from a punk background and playing what they think rock and roll should sound like, not ripping off classic rock. The lyrics are so basic and ‘blue collar’ that sometimes they border on the ridiculous (“Bunkhouse,” “Fields of Fire”) but other times touch on the sublime with their simplicity (“Every Shitty Thing,” “Get Off The Floor”). I also think that this image has a huge part in my attachment, which is funny considering they mentioned on the documentary that it wasn’t supposed to be put inside the record. There was something about seeing this, these arms cut off from the people they were attached to and just presented as something on their own, that has stuck with me as a sort of ideal (life/style-wise) for the past ten years.

While searching the internet for images, I found out that MCD are playing in New York next month. And I am freaking out! On my walk to work today, I was thinking about how annoying it was that I had only seen them twice and both times ended up shitty in their own ways (not because of the band). They reunited last year and played a bunch of shows on the west coast but there was no way I could make it out there. Obviously I was crushed. I’m a little nervous about the fact that they’re playing the Nokia Theater though, I think I’ve been to a show there before and it’s obviously a huge crazy venue where buying a beer will set you back $12, but I totally don’t give a fuck, I am going to go and scream my lungs out and finally have my moment.

Images from MCD Flickr

 

Murder City Devils – Idle Hands

Download most of their discography here, including their cover of “Can’t Seem To Make You Mine” — one of my absolute favorites!

Maybe because of my shaved head, or maybe because it’s so fucking cold and layering is necessary, and maybe too because I just sit in the store all day and don’t always feel like getting all dolled up to walk through snow and cold . . . for all of these possible reasons, I’ve been feeling like I need to go more grunge lately. Unfortunately, this was a bit hard seeing as how I only had one plaid/flannel and while I do tend to wear it quite often, I felt a bit limited. Luckily, experimenting with a new style is exactly what thrift stores are for. I picked up three shirts the other day for about $9 total (two regular plaids, one flannel . . . yes I am aware that they are all the same type of blue/black plaid, what can I say, it’s what I’m drawn to). Anyway I’ve been wearing one of these thrown over a cut up t-shirt and leggings every day and it’s been fucking great. I’ve also been trying to come up with the perfect layered airplane outfit for my trip to the west coast in a week and I am 99% sure one of these plaids will factor into it.

 

† i n s p i r a t i o n †

Flickr search “90s + high school” Queen Michelle Flickr search “90s + high school” Angela + Rayanne

Speaking of impulsive Topshop purchases, I recently bought these boots under the mistaken impression that because they have a half-side zipper, they’d be easy to get on. Unfortunately for me, this is not the case. I’ve been having trouble squeezing my left leg into the boot and since it’s past the 14 day return policy, I’m kind of stuck with them. So I figured I’d give this a shot: Is anyone out there interested in purchasing these from me? They’re a UK size 6 (European size 39), color black and literally brand new. I have only worn them around my room on the rug trying to stretch the legs out (and for barely a couple of hours at that). They retail for $210 on the Topshop website and I’d be willing to part with them for around $170ish. Feel free to email me with better offers, trades, questions, etc. Oh and free shipping in the US!! And again, here they are on the Topshop website.

Note: although I made this fun picture above, I am only selling one pair of boots.

EDIT: I’ve listed them on Ebay (starting bid $100!). If you are interested, you can bid here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180454896648

Sold!

Alert! Alert! If you were a fan of Christopher Kane’s collection for Topshop, there are some really amazing pieces still available in the sale section! I just scored the shoes on the left for $40 (marked down from $150)!

– H.P. Lovecraft, The White Ship

I didn’t do one of those year-end-roundup things where I talked about how many of my New Year’s resolutions from last year I kept or how many I plan to undertake this year. Mostly because things like that end up being too private. However, I will share one. Last year one of my resolutions was continue to read at the rapid rate of 1-3 books per week. I must have been on an insane kick at that point because 1-3 books a week is quite a lot, even for me. I do try to read every single day and there are, of course, times when I will finish a book in one or two days, but usually it takes a bit longer than that. This problem would be easy to solve if only I would read more at work, but even though I can read on buses/trains/planes and in busy cafes, etc — I need to be somewhat focused on my reading, so even though there is background noise, I can block it out. At work, there is too much interruption with all the customers. Anyway, back to my resolution. I did not manage to read one book per week but as the year dragged on, I checked my progress on Goodreads and calculated how much I thought I could get to by year’s end so that I could set a new goal: 26 books for the year. A goal which averages out to one book every two weeks and a goal which, I am happy to say, I met. Despite reading 26 books, I started about nine others that I got through to varying degrees before putting them down for whoknowswhat reasons. So my resolution this year is to finish all those books I started last year and hopefully add another 20 or so onto the list. One such book I started last year was The Thing On The Doorstep And Other Weird Stories by H.P. Lovecraft. It probably seems quite ridiculous that I hadn’t ever read any Lovecraft before, especially when I am such a huge fan of Poe (shocking, I’m sure). A few nights ago I was listening to records in the mostly-dark of my room, thinking about the book lying on my bedside table (The Goddess And Other Women by Joyce Carol Oates) and how it wasn’t really the right book for my mood. Then I suddenly remembered that I had barely finished the introduction of this Lovecraft book and never got around to actually reading any of the stories. I found it easily enough, thanks to my colorized book shelves, and immediately fell into this dark and weird world with the story the above quote is taken from. So far, my resolutions are off to a good start.

Another thing I have failed to mention, and one which is much more exciting and emotional than those American Apparel leggings, is the fact that this 7″ finally found its way into my hands! The story is a little convoluted and begins, or at least is told, in this post I made a few months ago. As stated in that post, when my friend Frank posted this on his blog, he was contacted by someone from the band who was kind of amazed that we were going nuts over this song twenty years after its very limited release (1000 copies, one pressing). Anyway, that guy (still haven’t gotten his name, but I’m sure Frank knows it, I’ll update this when I talk to him) sent Frank TWO COPIES of the 7″ and told F to give one to me since I had turned him onto the songs. I was finally able to claim my prize last week at Wierd.

One of the interesting things about finding out about music these days is that it’s obviously really easy to use blogs or other internet resources to hear incredibly rare things that you never would have even heard of otherwise. But — and I think I speak for all record collectors when I say this — there truly is nothing like holding the actual record in your hands. I imagine it’s a somewhat lesser version of what an archaeologist feels when they find a fossil they had only ever heard of or dreamed about. You can’t believe it’s real, or that you are lucky enough to behold such a specimen! So anyway I’ve been dancing around and jumping up and down on my bed a lot, freaking out to “Fatal Day” and I can’t wait to finally DJ this song from vinyl — which I will be doing on Tuesday at Glasslands in Williamsburg.

It is times like this that I really, honestly, truly do love the internet.