Winter 1:2 Mix

A day early.
Click on Steve to download.
Many thanks to the Neighbor Upstairs for introducing me to some great stuff, perfect for this promising Winter.
Why don't you start with Bill or Pete and end with Nico or Dino?

Elton or Bertrand?

Trying to decide which version to put on my mix for next month:

ATP

The crowd during the Pastels at the MBV curated ATP 'Nightmare Before Xmas,' Dec 2009

I told myself that last year's Coachella was going to be the last music festival I would ever go to (but I had said that the year before as well...) Well, at last year's Coachella, I left early (again) because it just became too painful. As much as I love going to see bands play live, I like quality, not quantity. My spirit was slowing breaking after the 99th band and I was feeling a bit claustrophobic...

Lately, going to see a band is more about the intimate experience and less about being with the general public. Yes this doesn't sound right but all I care about is seeing what the band sounds like live, how well they play their instruments, and whether or not they are dripping with charisma. The best place for this is not in the front or amongst the folk, it's leaning against the back wall or the preferable corner.

But when my band was invited by MBV to play this past December's ATP at Butlins, how was I suppose to refuse this ultimate honor? What's one more show right? Especially as something as special as this... MBV did an excellent job curating the festival. Best music festival experience ever...

I've never been to ATP but it's the kind of festival made for someone like me: it was relatively clean and not muddy whatsoever, all three stages were within one minute of each other, the on-site accommodation was not too shabby, and most importantly, I only saw one drunkard being taken away from the venue the whole weekend... Absolutely civilized. ATP is really about the music, well the kind of music I like and grew up liking. It felt intimate enough and being amongst the folk, who were just as into it as I was, there was no other feeling like it. Kindred spirits.

Do you know how fulfilling it was to have gotten the chance to finally see Television Personalities and The Pastels at last, two of my all-time favorite bands?

TVP's Painted Word is pure genius.



Pastels' Comin' Through is pure pop.

Ulrike Meinhof

Germany has never been my thing. I tried getting into krautrock in my teenage years and only got as far as Neu!*

The Deustch aesthetic encompasses a different kind of sensibility for me. I've found it challenging, ambiguous, and a little too intellectual and serious for me.

Perhaps I've heard of Ulrike Meinhof before but during this past holiday, I was formally introduced to her in Chris Kraus' first novel, I Love Dick. An epistolary novel, I Love Dick was very thrilling and fun to read. I loved how cultural theory and criticism were used to drive the plot. Now I'm reading Kraus' second novel, Aliens and Anorexia, which further delves into the life and activism of Meinhof. It's a pretty wild book.

Without realizing what it was about, I went to a rare screening of Yvonne Rainer's amazing Journeys from Berlin/1971, which also explores Meinhof and her gang. At times super abstract and dense, this film was so unwavering in its examination of personal and political identity and power. I was in over my head but learned a lot and left a little bit bewildered and light-headed which was very exciting. And the word "terrorism" was never mentioned once in the film.

The next day, I told my precocious filmmaker friend about it and he was like, "Oh, you don't know about the Baader-Meinhof Gang? They were really hot."

He's totally right. They were dangerously hot and sexy. I wished someone had told me of their handsome countenance years ago because I would of instantly read up on them (or in this instance, google imaged them).

Here is Andreas Baader and his equally hot girlfriend, a fellow RAF member, Gudrun Ensslin.

And here is Ulrike Meinhof. Smart and sexy.

Weirdly, Meinhof died on the same day as my birthday.


ALL HOT.

---

*I believe this genre was more of a British conception which was not found amusing by those making said music. I find the term a little disconcerting and derogatory for my taste. Would people be okay with "chinkrock"?

Hippo Facto

How amazing is this? 

From Why Travel to France blog:

"The last year or so in L.A. has proven that food trucks not only have evolved far past their “roach coach” days but also have inadvertently contributed to reducing people’s carbon footprints. These roaming restaurants that come to you, offer anything from gourmet Korean tacos, grass-fed beef hotdogs, cupcakes, Banh Mi, BBQ, sushi, crepes – you name it, you can probably find the meal on wheels you’ve been looking for. I like the idea of the Green Truck running on vegetable oil, using biodegradable containers and serving organic food. The only glitch is that the food is not local, which is understandable in L.A.

France has had food trucks for many years in the form of pizza trucks in the south and French fry trucks in the north, not to mention the awesome cheese trucks, butcher trucks, bakery trucks… oh! and roasted chicken trucks and more. Aside from the pizza and fries trucks, I haven’t seen much innovation in rolling fast food until recently, and this one is pretty cool.

Taking food trucks to a whole new level and incorporating today’s “green” needs, Christopher Mauduit and Fabrice Vanderschooten launched Hippo Facto last November near the city of Caen, which is located in north west France just about 10 miles inland from the English Channel. What’s not to love about it? Pulled by Percheron draft horses and dedicated to sustainable living and organic, local products, Hippo Facto couldn’t be more brilliant. Respecting the environment and serving fast organic and local fare that’s simple, healthful and creative, you can order fruit/vegetable juices, tartines, soups among other offerings. The containers are also compostable.



You’re right, I can’t imagine a food truck like this in a megalopolis such as Los Angeles. Picture the road rage of people behind the horse and buggy! Hippo Facto seems to work where they are. Of course, it takes them two hours to get to Place de la République in Caen. That’s all good considering there’s no fossil fuels involved, they don’t live in a speedy world and besides, some people commute longer than that in cars every single day. Now THAT’S crazy."

***

Something New

It all came together a couple of weeks ago:
my favorite hike in Elysian Park,
my new favorite song,*
and
my favorite thing I've yet to experience: the airship.

*Expect to hear more of Dino Valente on my next mix. My neighbor just introduced me to him and I can't get enough of Dino. And it all makes sense now; he wrote my other favorite song, "Something on Your Mind" by Karen Dalton.

Team Conan

10cc - I'm Not In Love

Everything about this song and video is just perfect. The choral backing, the rhodes, the bassist!

I'm so in love. Best song ever.



repost from Bestest Song Ever.

20 years ago...

Back in 1990, I was absolutely obsessed with these 5 English bands and had the good fortune to catch them live in Los Angeles...

Year of the Tiger

The standout track on this mix is Be Not So Fearful by the exceptional Bill Fay... Words to live by in this new year...

Alina and The Book of Sounds

Two albums keeping me company on this Sunday as I wrestle with writer's block:

http://rapidshare.com/files/59469213/alina.rar

http://rapidshare.com/files/154162339/BofS1.zip
http://rapidshare.com/files/154164830/BofS2.zip

The White Diamond

Herzog.
Airships.
Beauty. 
Lighter than Air...

Thanks KM for the suggestion.

Yard Sale Details

Repost from RFTH:

All the details for our Unknown Treasures yard sale now up on Craigslist (a small grab of my loot pictured above). Selling a bunch of things previously posted on R4TH plus other flea, antique mall finds and wardrobian exiles. Also dapper vintage clothing from Tim, kicks and vintage/designer ladies clothing from Les, Violet and Owley, + Indie records to boot. All in one place, do drop by.

Unknown Treasures

This holiday season, I've been invited to participate in my friends' annual group YARD SALE. It's this Sunday, December 13th somewhere in Silverlake (address to be announced later this week)! Tim and Violet will be selling clothes/wares again, Matt will be selling some amazing things (which I'm not sure what they'll be yet but amazing no doubt) and Ricky and Leslie will be unloading some of their unknown treasures.

Some highlights of Owley's treasures:

*New and vintage designer pieces (Margiela, Comme des Garcons, Sonia Rykiel, APC, Vivienne Westwood, Band of Outsiders, Pendleton)

*Mint conditions records featuring early 90s indie rock

*Various musical instruments

*Vintage pottery from Morocco, Denmark, Mexico and Vietnam

*Vintage books featuring music biographies (first editions)

and Ostwald Helgason masks, Romanian Byzantine eggs, English rose-shaped candle holders, precious gems, rocks and crystals...

Everything is shockingly reasonably priced and erm, negotiable!

And for those who personally know me, I'm taking appointments this week for a presale "open house"!

Here's what it looked like last time... here and here...

And from bread itself comes bread sauce...

This past weekend was an absolute whirlwind for me. After an unforgettable experience at ATP's Nightmare Before Xmas at Butlins, I ended it with a rather amazing and cozy Sunday in Londontown. What can be better than an intimate acoustic performance by the exquisite The Clientele, followed by a delicious traditional Sunday roast (both at The Lexington) and crowned by a proper English bath?

They were out of the roast beef but I settled in nicely with the roast chicken. The bread sauce with its velvety, creamy concoction of milk and breadcrumbs delicately flavored with bay leaf, nutmeg and cloves was the highlight here... Bread sauce is one of the oldest British sauces, dating back to medieval times. A foundation of nearly all other sauces, this is considered one of the "mother sauces," as the French say... Apparently, the use of slightly stale bread is optimal, making it an economical way of using up leftover bread. Indeed! It was the perfect accompaniment to my roast poultry dish..

“If thou tastest a crust of bread, thou tastest all the stars and all the heavens.” 
Robert Browning (1812-1889)

fall mix, part three

Before winter makes its arrival, here is the last of my fall mixes, beta 3... a bit random at times but these gems have been keeping me company these last couple of months. x

Griffith Park

Thanksgiving Day.
Los Angeles.
80°F, 26°C.

El Perro del Mar

These ladies really did it for me this year... First there was Camera Obscura's My Maudlin Career, then Taken by Trees' East of Eden. Now it's El Perro del Mar's Love is Not Pop. 

I'm a sucker for sad songs sung by sweet voices... and Sarah from El Perro del Mar can make even the worst song sound heavenly. When I first heard her new album, "Gotta Get Smart" was it for me.




Then I found comfort in "A Better Love." These two songs absolutely encapsulate the last couple of months for me.

I think the last time I cried during a show was at Acoustic Mainlines.

Seeing El Perro del Mar play tonight nicely rounded off this year for me. Don't you love it when the music you love listening to at home comes alive right in front of your eyes... complete with the best musicians with the most beautiful guitars, backing up a beautiful singer with the best outfit on, singing like there's no tomorrow? Things have changed since I last saw her a few years ago. She's in a different place now. So am I. Our timing is great.

Ooga Booga Mini Shop opens!

Unstoppable. This past weekend, two formidable figures of Los Angeles, Una and Wendy, joined forces to create the Ooga Booga Mini Shop within the Keep shop in West Hollywood. This just makes me so giddy. I love these girls. 'Tis the season...

Charley Harper goes well with baby Keep shoes.

Look Jeremy, it's the Atherton Lin 2010 Stand Up Straight Calendar prominently displayed!

Keep + Ooga Booga have made fresh fruit preserves and pickled beets in honor of their collaboration.  These limited edition jams and pickles used sustainable produce only.

The ever useful JanSport backpacks.

I learned about "Secret Male Hypotism" in Melissa Ip's zine.

The ribbon cutting ceremony courtesy of the Los Angeles Police department.

A Hottie: Ideal for Cold Winter Nights

I had such an unbelievable time in London Jeremy. Thank you.

You and Jamie completely spoiled me; it was so comforting waking up to homemade granola and the wonderful smell of coffee on those chilly mornings.

I told you that the one thing I wanted to get on this tour was a hot water bottle and London seemed like the perfect place to get something like this. As I much as I adore my Teddy, I need a hottie to keep me company for the coldest nights of the year.

You took me to Labour and Wait to see if there was a nice one. Sadly, my new favorite shop isn't carrying hotties this season (though I did find a lovely Armor Lux Breton red stripe top...)

But Boots have everything don't they? I found a nice basic red one and since I've been back in LA, it's been keeping me warm all week. No more earaches, backaches, muscle aches, tummy aches...

Hot water bottles are common in Europe but not so much in the States. I reckon it could be a liability if the thing pops and someone ends up suing someone else for cause of injury... So American of us innit? BUT a hot water bottle is a great energy-efficient way to stay warm during the winter months. It uses less energy than an electric blanket, a space heater or central heating... And in the mornings, I feed my plants with its lukewarm water. Nostalgically old-fashioned but thoroughly modern with its uses, it's a classic. When I go back to yours in a few weeks, I think I'll buy a few more as Xmas gifts...

An Englishman who is currently living in LA told me this week that the trick to keeping a hottie warm all night is to get all the air out of it before sealing it. His mum taught him that.

In my dreams, the best of both worlds...