A news aggregator I frequent directed me to Stereomood.com recently—and I have spent a significantly less amount of time on Grooveshark and Hypemachine since.
The premise is that it will play an assortment of music based on the ‘mood’ you decide to listen to. Albeit, some songs are questionable in terms of quality, but the variety is really what keeps me coming back.
Check it out. I’m still learning the ways of the the site, but follow me under my pseudonym ‘greguardo’ if you can.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Despite this blog falling victim to what I call blogger’s-block, I will make no effort to apologize for inactivity. I will however get it back on track and be your number one source for somewhat interesting music and trends sometimes.
audible/visible but mostly whimsical
I’ve been feeling very european my entire life, albeit it’s a hugely personal and selfish feeling. My imagination usually only conjures up visions of a solitary me roaming the narrow alleys, almost floating down the cobblestone streams, with very few people I know within earshot.
Spending habits, lifestyle choices, values, tastes, profession, goals, ideals, sports, culture, architecture… Sometimes my adoration is subtle, other times flagrant, but I have always been drawn to things and people infected with european flare.
For this, I dedicate this post to European House (French being arguably and traditionally the best electronic music) and Italian Houses (and landscaping). I hope to sometime contribute my own pictures of Europe, as well as some of my own music, to a blog post dedicated to Europe in the near future. Perhaps resulting from my (unofficial, as of yet) trip to Italy in January 2010.
MP3: Zoot Woman – Taken It All (Le Knight Club Remix) -FRANCE- Le Knight Club (Guy-Manuel De Homem-Christo [1/2 of legendary Daft Punk] + Éric Chedeville). Without a doubt currently my favorite track.
MP3: Crystal Fighters – Xtatic Truth (maybb Remix) -ITALY?- There is confusion as to who exactly ‘maybb’ is, but some suggest that it may be ‘BB’—Beni Benassi. With that in mind, the song does seem ridiculously Beni Benassi-esque.
MP3: French Teen Idol – I Want George Soros -ITALY- Set your alarm for 1:00AM. Drop whatever you are doing and get in the driver’s seat of a car. Steal it if you must. Be sure to have this song ready to play. Get on the highway, and press play.
To sum up this euro-inspired post, gaze into the infinite scenarios these pictures conjure up in your imagination, sigh a bit, and go on with your day trying not to figure out how to experience these places for yourself.
Aside from the DJ name fit for a perverted sesame street character, this track from Yeah Yeah Yeahs mixed by joey2tits is clean and calculated.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Runaway (joey2tits Remix)
Purchased as a house-warming gift (what makes a house warmer than distinguishable sound of vinyl-on-needle action?) for a rad couple, I unwittingly discovered the Dark Was The Night compilation record. Ironically, I find myself smack-dab in the middle of musical transition stage, where I can almost see the icy waters of the lake slowly transform into a viable weekend destination, and when each day is allowing me to shed one more piece of winter clothing. A transition from cold, calculated electronic music is once more giving way to organic indie rock and roll and folk rock, as the days become longer and the sleeps become shorter. Welcome to spring everyone.
One of the more remarkable tracks is from my good old friend Sufjan Stevens. By good old friend I mean, of course, someone who has forced me to entertain the idea of becoming a nomad permanently, questing for invisible waves of sound that induce all those happiness-inducing hormones. Have a listen (bear with it for a couple of seconds through the– intense, if anything else– intro):
Sufjan Stevens – You are the Blood
Anyway, get the whole album. You will not be disappointed. Granted, most of the compilation is comprised of much less intrusive songs: bon iver, decemberists, arcade fire, etc..
credit: vinyl records around the world
I happened to be looking at Elvis Jesus for the fall at the EJco’s Toronto distributor’s showroom, (side note: we saw some phenomenal cashmeres priced at a modest $500CDN/ea of clear Elvis Jesus pedigree but somehow the combination of intense detail and soft cashmere created this magnificent juxtaposition of class and clash… looking forward to seeing them in stores, and perhaps get my hands on one if I’m lucky)… BAM sidetracked!
Okay, we were at the distributor’s showroom and they wanted to show us a new line they have started to carry called Blue Blood. Being a somewhat premium-line rookie, I had never heard of it, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be forgetting it any time soon. Take a look at some of their looks, for both men and women from this spring and fall:
They are a true denim-inspired and driven line (hence ‘Blue Blood’ as in the indigo dye in denim). And apparently they’re only focusing on the highest possible quality without really worrying about that pesky thing called price, unlike most other sucker brands. That aside, I tried on a $2900 cashmere blazer today, and if I died then and there I would have been okay with it. Their price points for jeans are between $300 and $1000 for the selvedge Osaka denim (2nd picture from the top) which were pretty amazing IRL.
I particularly like the jumpsuit in the last picture, actually. Other than that look, it’s pretty clean, with just well balanced outfits and colours. Blue Blood is really one of the few high-end lines that the runway clothes aren’t exclusively runway clothes, and that you’d actually want to wear.
In other news, I just stumbled upon a freaking fantastic site called LOOKBOOK.nu for new fashion looks that just ate up an hour of my life without me even noticing.
credit: Agency One, randy
a/v rating: why do i even bother rating? everything on here is golden.
factoid: I broke the zipper on an $1100 EJ leather jacket today and I felt bad about it.
Filed under: alfred hitchcock, Cary grant, nobody reads this anyway, to catch a thief, visible
Caught somewhere between vertigo and splitting headache, I have spent the last few days in bed recovering from one of those super bugs that produce most of the symptoms related to any kind of sickness known to man. So after a solid 60 hours of no-nonsense sleeping (none of that pesky eating or personal hygiene stuff got in the way), I was up for a movie. I chose Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch A Thief.
I was saddened.
The movie was great, don’t get me wrong. Cary Grant’s character solved the mystery, got off scott-free, played Grace Kelly’s character like an instrument… But it saddened me that if I—or anyone in my age category—attempted to mimic his sartorial elegance in North America, we would be socially castrated. Some examples of his style:
I guess growing up isn’t all that bad, if it means I can pull off a Cary Grant-inspired look. I might have to move to Nice or Cannes to maximize quality of said look.
credit: carygrant.net aaaaand whoever told me to watch the movie.
a/v rating: 3 silk scarves and one shawl-collared tuxedo.
*new segment* random factoid: Cary Grant’s real name is Archibald Leach.
Let’s bring it down a notch from that hooligan electronical devil music. A Chicagoan by the name of Andrew Bird (real name?) helped calm me down after a long battle with cable TV this evening with his song Anonanimal. Not too sure what his other stuff sounds like, but he’s from Chicago, and anybody from Chicago is clearly the second coming, so I’m all in. Right-click and DL that hyperlink meow!
credit: hypemachine
a/v rating: oh that’s naice
My (extremely well paid) freelance journalist mla has provided the crowd with her fab five of covers, and they go like this:
Joe Cocker – With a Little Help From My Friends (Beatles)
Oasis – I Am the Walrus (Beatles)
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (leonard cohen)
Gary Jules – Mad World (tears for fears)
Muse – Feeling Good (written by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint—the Smell of the Crowd)
each cover may be better than the original, except for oasis’ rendition of walrus, but not to any fault of their own. they’re covering the beatles.
credit: thank you mla
a/v rating: i’m still waiting for a cover of Patio Lanterns by Kim Mitchell (props for the OPP ball cap Kim)
After the heat-wave we had yesterday here in T.O. in which the mercury soared to a searing +3 degrees Celcius, it got me thinking ahead (apparently at least 6 more weeks) to the coming warm spring and summer months. It also got me yearning for the day I can once again wear my burlap desert boots from Opening Ceremony:
The moment I slip my right big toe into that sexy shoe-shaped representation of the ‘good life’, I just might cry, for as I know at that moment, after all these long arduous months of dry skin and wet feet, the life-giving warmth of the sun will once again begin to frequently bathe my skin and replenish my soul with faith in happiness and love.
I need a tan.
credit: Gravity Pope in Vancouver
a/v rating: great and super
