It's the Devil I Love

The most tender place in my heart is for strangers
I know it's unkind but my own blood is much too dangerous
Hangin' round the ceiling half the time
Hangin' round the ceiling half the time

Compared to some I've been around
But I really tried so hard
That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"

In the end I was the mean girl
Or somebody's in-between girl
Now it's the devil I love
And that's as funny as real love

I leave the party at three a.m.
Alone, thank God
With a valium from the bride
It's the devil I love
And that's as funny as real love
And that's as real as true love

That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"

That echo chorus lied to me with its
"Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on"

editorial: emma watson

I love Emma Watson's editorial in the current issue of Teen Vogue. British traditional fashion, the red, the fox fur, the clean lines, all set on edge with chunky avant-garde heels and layered chain necklaces. Plus, Emma has incredible poise for "someone her age" and wears clothes beautifully. She's the spokesperson for Burberry's fall line and looks absolutely stunning. Emma is brilliant--stunning, but incredibly intelligent and well-spoken. And for that matter, Teen Vogue consistently creates excellent editorials that are age-appropriate, elegant, and thought-provoking.














confession: i like teen vogue editorials
better than US Vogue editorials

Swing!

The "indie" genre of music has always had roots that are easier to place, for me, then today's popular Top 40 music. Zooey Deschanel (one of my resident girl crushs) and M.Ward's fabulous band She & Him brought my attention to the burgeoning resurgence of appreciation and homage to the slight country sound allowed in the late 1950s early 1960s during the Nashville sound, as well as the increasing parallel the female indie singers and bands drew to their predecessors, torch singers and girl groups like June Christy, Patsy Cline, and Billie Holiday. Singers like Neko Case, particularly on her excellent new album Middle Cyclones, modernize the old sound and yet stay true to the standard of excellent vocals and delicious harmonies.


As this occurs, the clean lines and big eyelashes of early 1960s have also become more popular, as well as the 60s film vibe that excellent stylizes their music videos.

Jenny Lewis "See Fernando" from Team G on Vimeo.

(a cover, but still illustrates my point, I think)


And this is from Stuart Murdoch, of Belle and Sebastian fame. While working on their last album, he got the idea for a girl group that he hopes to culminate with a musical film, God Help the Girl. The self-titled soundtrack was finished in 2008, with three contest winners Catherine Ireton, Dina Bankole, Britanny Stallings, and Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon and Asya from Smoosh. (source: Pitchfork)

Dazzle Me

thank you, Kat Dennings' twitter

Macabre

I love a healthy dose of the macabre--something this amazing video by the Kills (Alison Mosshart is my hero) illustrates quite nicely, I think. I adore dark poems by Poe and Browning and suspenseful stories, but almost in a 1940s gumshoe kind of way. It's such a strange mix, vacillating between Joan Jett's edgy sex kitten to a vampy femme fatale a la Marlene Dietrich. All this being said, I don't think I'm quite cool enough to make it work, or at least, I haven't figured out how to mix the 70s rock vibe, indie fashion-esque thing I'm rocking. I either go totally metal (which I don't want to do, because I don't look good in it, and I don't like metal music, besides).

Life has been rather dull and boring, beyond the acquisition of my new and most lovely macbook!! It's white and shiny, and lovely, and works like an absolute charm--which is such a nice change from my last computer!! I've been scouring the internet for inspirational pictures of all kinds; architecture, fashion, people, places, interior design. I want my life to be more creative than it's been and to really place my finger on the pulse of what I hold most dear. We'll see how that goes.

Other than that, I'm attempting to name my new computer (she's a girl!). Any thoughts?

The Grey sea and the long black land;
and the yellow half-moon large and low;
and the startled little waves that leap
in fiery ringlets from their sleep,
As I gain the cove with pushing prow,
And quench its speed i' the slushy sand.

Then a mile of warm sea-scented beach;
Three fields to cross til a farm appears;
A tap at the pane, the quick sharp scratch
and blue spurt of a lighted match,
And a voice less loud, thro' its joys and fears,
than two hearts beating each to each!

~Meeting at Night by Robert Browning

Fashion Icon: Janis Joplin

Though unorthodox, one of my recent favorite fashion icons is Janis Joplin--that is to say, early Janis Joplin. I love the 1960s mixture of patterns and colors, as well as the free style of her hair. She clearly hardly did anything to it, which is fantastic for me because I can hardly get my hair to do anything other than what it likes.

I love the look of peasant blouses, even though I can't particularly wear them myself. She really does a fantastic job of layering necklaces and showing off how jewel tones can just make your skin look fantastic. And the pants that she wears!! I'd never wear them in real life (I'm an utter demin kid, personally) but I think they're just phenomenal.






A rather classic photo of her, I believe it's on the cover of her Greatest Hits album. I am in love with this embroidered jacket/shirt thing, I can't really tell from the photo. If I could find that anywhere I'd snap it up in a New York minute, let me tell you.

Everyone seems to remember Janis Joplin at the end--deeply troubled, overly haggard from years of hard drugs and alcohol. She had an incredible voice and seems to just have been one of the most fun people to hang around with before fame and its drawbacks seemed to eat her from the inside out. I prefer to remember her younger, somewhat happier--just kinda living life.

Grace Slick, a rather impressive icon herself, said "Janis knew more than I did about "how it was", but she lacked enough armor for the inevitable hassles. She was open and spontaneous enough to get her heart trampled with a regularity that took me thirty years to experience or understand."

Bright Side--

Rather than groan and moan about all the potential downsides of returning to the USA, I'm going to pep myself up with all of the things I'm looking forward to:

~baking cookies and my lemon pound cake

~watching television/having a television

~Watching all the movies I missed while in England:
-Inkheart
-Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
-Slumdog Millionaire
-Coraline
-Adventureland

-The Brothers Bloom
-Little Ashes (though Dali scares the shit out of me)
-Easy Virtue
-Terminator Salvation


~Movies that I can't wait to see that are coming out soon
-Public Enemies
-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
-500 Days of Summer
-Taking Woodstock
-Inglorious Basterds
-Julie and Julia

~Food that I will eat:
-Pancakes (in Britain they're like crepes, not flapjacks)
-skittles
-fruit salad

~Playing badminton with Dad (I hope I hope I hope)
~helping my sister plan her wedding!!
~hanging out with my friends
~going into D.C to see the new National Museum of American History, et al
~going to see Spring Awakening at the Kennedy Center with my sister and her friends, a treat for my birthday
~going to Screen on the Green 2009!
~taking walks in my neighborhood
~attempting to find my chi at yoga classes
~playing cards with my mom
~my own bed
~moving back into my apartment
~reading