keys on strings

Over the past few years I've collected a frightening amount of photos on my computer. As I float about the internet I always see things that I feel make me want to go out a create a little. I usually save these for friends birthday cards, blog posts...eventually I hope to make a mood wall with them. Knowing me, this will never happen as I jump project to project faster than the speed of light (currently arranging my sublets for New York and Portland this summer), so I thought I'd post some of my recent favourites here while I formulate another London & music post. Enjoy!

the one that got away

Dreaming all day long, I've been finding myself in positively ethereal situations at night and floating around in a daze every day. Nights have seen balls, champagne flutes, many trains, dances at dawn, low lit forests, glitter flakes tumbling from the sky...aesthetically the most beautiful week I've experienced since my time in Portland. London this past week hasn't held much, I have not seen many friends. I posted a trip to the Selfridges sale (Nicole Farhi pink Breton top, LK Bennett beige patent flats), mostly time spent with the family. These are quiet times, and I find myself sleepily upon the Heath in the ruins often. The music I have experienced live this week included the Fatback Band for work (a band who have the kind of stories to tell that I could only dream of experiencing), Rumble Strips, Johnny Flynn and a few others. 

I must say watching Johnny play for the first time in well over a year was an emboldening experience. I have never seen him play so well. The new songs took a torch to the sky; where there were sparks before, now there is fire. For all the new folk acts emerging from around the world, it is my opinion that Johnny is the greatest talent that you will hear. If you do get a chance to see him play anytime, go and experience the ascent and the growth for yourself.

Moving on, befitting the sleepy state, here are some bands by which to rest your head...

Pearson

So this band have seriously cringey song titles ('Purity of Heart' and 'My Ghost your Ghost'), but their music is pure 7/4 Shoreline Broken Social Scene beautiful with vocals off beat enough to make a mark that's pretty original. It's all pretty rough, but I definitely suggest keeping an eye on them. Plus they look like the kind of people you'd want to be your best friends, totally adorable.

Bahamas

Until pretty recently I did not realise it was a musical faux pas to admit that you enjoy Jack Johnson. I kind of do from time to time. However now that I've found Bahamas I have a way of enjoying the poppy male singer song writer publicly without being mocked. He's like a un-embarrassing not gimmicky Jack Johnson and Bon Iver. Listening to him kind of makes me think of Dawsons Creek- a soundtrack to soft sweet romantic Joey-Dawson moments-and I can't think of a higher compliment.

Amos the Transparent

A bit more depressed Deathcab and pretty beautiful. I'm guessing if the late great Elliot Smith was still around, he'd very much approve of this. 

Emanuel and the Fear

I am a huge Rilo Kiley fan, and if I was ever given the joyous task of putting them on I'd 

definitely pick these guys as a support. They have all that you love about RK and adapt it to make it unique and really special. I'm pretty late on this, but even if you've seen this lot before you've got to admit this bunch write HUGE pop songs that are interesting, have punch and heart, which is a pretty rare combination.

Mason Proper 

The Shins for when the Shins aren't around, with a little something more. The boy-girl vocals

and the heavy percussion make this very worthwhile.

Deastro

I'm sorry, I'm going to use the term afro-beat here. Personally I think the term's crap, but if the music press is going to call Jack Penate afro-beat (dude is from Dulwich) then I guess I can legitimately call Deastro who clap, clop and provide mellow beats just that. So here we are, some pretty good "afro-beat" with touches of electro pop, for the sweater vest set.

Hecuba

This is actually whack. Freak avant-pop I guess? Why doesn't LA have more bands that are as weird as this gang? Life would totally be more interesting.

Quebec Antique

Deathcab 2.0. BIG and beautiful, I'm waiting for Alex Patsavas to stick this on Gossip Girl.

Before I go, has anyone else seen the pianos around London lately? On my journey home on Friday I stopped by the Bank of England, there was a ball just ending at Billingsgate and small gang of ladies in elbow gloves and men in top hats gathered outside the Bank of England. Music began to play and I realised a piano was placed on the steps, two men tapping jauntily at the keys. The music crept round all the empty old buildings and carried far- I could still hear it streets and streets away. It was one of the most wonderful snapshots of the city I had ever seen. 

I guess sometimes London is pretty magical too...

dark times

I'm so bummed out I missed the hail storm. Somewhere between Liverpool Street and home the underground stole my favorite weather from me. This weather inspires staying indoors, under covers, which is the way I like it best.

Over the weekend I met up with a certain cake lover,  a recent birthday boy, the esteemed human effigy of a claymation penguin and my favorite Chanel loving graduate. 

I visited Chapel Market for the first time on a Saturday, and while I was not impressed with the actual goods on the market, I came across a street off of it called White Conduit Street  that I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area. I met Dave at S.Cohen, a shop of which only one photo seems to exist on the internet. It is a melee. Piles of victorian petticoats, beaded waistcoats, top hats, a stuffed ferret here, an antique gilt mirror there and piles and piles of dusty volumes. I nearly fell over and knocked myself out thrice. It's a place to spend hours and very little money on many things. The taxidermy window display itself is worth the trip alone. What I like most about it (besides the hidden room up the stairs which seems to have been a makeshift chapel and/or the stuffing room) is that it's not like Bolongaro Trevor or any of those purposefully haphazard shops, it is actually a right old mess with many treasures to be found. I wish I had my camera with me, but alas I didn't expect to come across such a gem. Please go discover it for yourself.

The purpose of the trip Dave and I made was to sample some cake at the Euphorium Bakery, which if Google is to be believed, the best cakeshop in London. With locations in Angel, Belsize Park and Hampstead, all modernly furnished and no frills fellow cake lover Dave and I saw no reason not to try it out. We approached and sampled a tart and a swiss roll, as well as some frappes. Both baked goods were light, just rightly moist and presentable, but while hitting the spot just so on a hot day, were certainly not the best cakes in London as proclaimed. The frappes were pretty blah. This judgement may be slightly warped however by the fact that later on that same day Dave and I visited another eatery at which more cake was sampled. If it were not for the delightful blueberry and vanilla cupcakes of Ottolenghi on Upper Street (with locations also in Notting Hill and on the Kings Road) I may have even recommended Euphorium as a prime cake location in Angel, however these cupcakes put everything into perspective. Light, fluffy, and just the perfect size for sharing. The cupcakes had a cream cheese frosting that rivaled Hummingbirds and lacked the overly sweetened sponge that most cakes fall prey too, therein making the combination absolutely spectacular.  Ottolenghi is a little pricier than Euphorium, but the sheer variety of the desserts on offer and the taste sensation they provided make the expenditure 100% worth it.  The service was great, the ambiance was buzzing (and mostly female- lots of amazing salads here too) and the location at the Upper Street-Cross Street junction was convenient for pre and post meal sauntering. The prettier part of Regents Canal runs just behind it, as well as the maze of gorgeous tree lined residential streets and squares of Islington that surround the antique marvels of Camden Passage and Essex Road. 

It is worth noting that Essex Road has become one of the best thrifting spots in all London, and is amazing for cheap and quality goods ranging from typewriters to furniture to vintage clothing. The market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays 10-2, and I highly recommend a visit, not least for cheap art supplies at the CASS warehouse and the glorious Annies vintage. 

Camden Passage is one of my favorite places to bring out of towners because it never happens to be as busy as the other major London markets, and yet retains all of the charm. 

The evening held antics including suave new rides, sick bachelor pads, Kurt Vonneguts Jailbird, Cloverfield and Linderman (in retrospect, actually a very American themed night in Ealing.)

The next day I hopped onto the east bound line to Brick Lane, where I'm spending the next three weeks. This particular trip however was not for work but to continue the still incomplete mission: ballgown. I have to wonder how my Oxbridge friends deal with this kind of stress many times a year, as I simply can't take it anymore. I tried to budget at £50, an optimistic figure I am aware, and failed. Next I angled for a £100, now in my day before the ball desperation I have raised the bar even higher and feel a little sick about it. I searched high and low, I considered renting a dress from girlmeetsdress, I tried on more dresses than any girl should have to. 

At one point I grew so desperate I started trying on dresses in the middle of Dray Walk, modesty be damned and still ended the trip with no dress. I'm not particularly picky, but why does every full length gown have to be coral? Coral is a putrid colour unless you are in a tropical climate, and even then it borders on Donatella Versace. 

I then proceeded to kick it with the Neens (who had already gotten her dress for the ball from Bluebird, damnations) and wallowed in my Japanese pancakes (SO GOOD) in the Sunday Upmarket before heading to Urban to buy a consolation hat (evidently this is a pattern, the day before for some reason I bought a top hat "to keep things in"). I bought this one  in white and moseyed up Oxford Street, the best way one can mosey on a Sunday in central London. I met up with the family for some fun in Berkeley Square and a meal at the Princess Gardens of Mayfair on North Audley Street (aka the end that is not home to Marc by Marc Jacobs). 

The food at Princess Gardens was pretty standard. It's an older crowd than I'm used to- think more Scotts or J Sheeky than Hakkasan, and is armed with an amazing wait staff, but I was fairly underwhelmed by the food itself. The only really remarkable dish I had was the Bean Pancake I tried for dessert, which was really only good because it sounded so weird that I assumed it'd be gross and it wasn't. In any case I shan't return.

On the way home the family and I deliberated over what restaurants we deemed best in London (we eat as a family every Sunday) and the five names that came up consistently were Le Caprice, Cecconis, Hakkasan, Roka and Ciprianis. Honorable mentions also went to Nobu, Scotts, the Soho Hotel, Thai Rice (I once saw Micheal Cera AND Mclovin there) and Lupa (best local pizza delivery place you'll ever try). I wonder if most people would agree?

Finally, now after a pretty heavy days work (and more gown hunting, tear) I am in bed, with some awesome music...

1. Ugly Casanova

A Subpop gem. The only label I can listen to in the morning gives us a Jeff Lewis-Good Life-Modest Mouse hybrid here. Evidently it is best for starting and stopping, I'm making this my lullaby tonight.

2. Boys Who Say No

Man they sound happy. Of course they do, they're from Toronto. This is like pop punk if it were played on a ukulele, banjo and keyboard. So Warped Tour 2009.

3. Woods

REAL folk music.

4. Endangered Ape

Louder, Faster, Harder music for kids who wish they'd been able to take to the floor of CBGB's before it became a John Varvatos store.

5. Pollyn

Awesome electro-pop Zero 7 style.

6. Air Waves

Look who's here! Brooklyn again! Hiiiiiiii Brooklyn.

7. The Beets

Shoegaze. Stoner Rock. Summer haze. Lazy mornings. These guys. All in one breath.

8.Anamanaguchi

Kitschy and kind of cheesy. If you could hear neon pink, or Simpsons yellow this is what they would would sound like.

More and more and better music to come!

the beatles or the rolling stones

I often wonder what music translates to the older generation beyond the pulp of Radio 2. It's something that really bothers me, especially when I look at people on the tube and you can guess what kind of music they're listening to by looking at them. In most cases you'll almost always guess right. 

So I thought I'd try a little experiment. I approached my dad, who at the time was watching Camel and Zep music videos on Youtube and tore him away from the Wii (he's found his arch rivals to be Sarah and Elisa, fictional opponents on Wii Tennis) and asked his opinion on some of my current musical favourites. By no means is my dad a "hip dad", but this little experiment showed some interesting results. There was a lot of love for Metric, Passion Pit , Santigold and TV on the Radio and not so much for Pains, Silversun Pickups and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, all of whom he dubbed "try hards". He did also admit to liking that awful song by N Dubz, La Roux and Flo Rida, which sullies his opinion in my eyes a tad, but does illuminate the fact that the elder generation (sorry dad) shouldn't be presented with the soft serve music that the media expects them to lap up.

I guess a prime example of this is Adele, a super talented artist whose early live shows around London were incredible, and then sadly went on to produce an incredibly dull album, that wouldn't you guess it, Radio 2 loved. I played my dad the old, old myspace tracks and he LOVED it 1000% more than the god awful 'Chasing Pavements'.

Of course I realise there is theory and strategy behind who gets played where on the radio, and I know it's not easy to get new bands to a platform where they are unbiasedly exposed to an elder audience, besides children taking their parents aside as I did. However I still do wish radio stations would take a chance on maybe delivering an hour of what would be considered youth oriented content to direct to the 30+ crowd, maybe having awesome labels like Neon Gold, Chess Club, 4AD etc curate. It'd certainly be a way to foster a new connection not only between kids and their parents (from the preteens through to the college kids) but also would give newer artists and labels a connection with the seasoned listener. These guys don't go to many gigs or club nights and don't really get to hear new music until it's filtered down a long stream of musical atrocities and I think it's a real shame that they miss out. After all, if your parents are anything like mine, they shared their Smiths records with you, so why not try and share something with them that is as important to you, even if it is just an album crush that lasts a week?

I feel I should say, I didn't buy the Topshop dress mentioned below. Too many threats of mockery. 

I cave, I cave. 

Weekend dining, shopping, mania update coming soon. 

the rain comes through my jacket.

This dress.

I think it's pretty ugly. I also think it's ugly to the point where I really like it. Figures. Tomorrow it shall be mine.

Today I hit up this place for brunch, with the esteemed DK. I've been to Princi for lunch before -great pizza, great salads- but for brunch MY GOD. The baked goods kick some serious you know what. The cannoli was out of this world and I heavily recommend trying it (at 80p a piece can you really say no?) The restaurant's fairly casual, has a wonderfully modern interior, quick service and is very reasonably priced for Soho (£8 for a hearty portion of pizza and salad). It's canteen style service is one which ensures you never have to wait too long, and it somehow manages to feel luxurious (like one of owner Alan Yaus' classier joints), while being affordable and a culinary delight.

I also made a trip to the Alison Jacques Gallery on Berners Street to see the Saul Fletcher exhibition. I wasn't too impressed at first. Given the critical acclaim the exhibition had received so far I found Fletchers paintings to be very GCSE "abstract" self portrait. Pfft "assemblage". The photographs are what have been used to advertise this show to the public, and they were what drew me to the exhibition. It is in them that you'll find the depth of matter that makes visiting this exhibition worthwhile- they're claustrophobic and I suppose illuminate the idea of a photographs ability to capture (as in trap) not only an image, but time. The subjects are captured in the frames, as though in little decaying photographic prisons. 

Looking at the photographs in a series, as they are presented in the gallery, you become very aware of time passing which leads onto the installation pieces in the next room very well. These installation pieces are all of wood, cardboard, aged brown matter- branches and birds feet and "bodies" hanging with claws gripped in the air. 

Aging, entrapment, reminders of fleeting mortality, decay...not exactly an uplifting exhibition, but worth popping into if you're killing time in the Oxford Circus area.

Also today, I went to one of my favourite spots in London, on the hunt for a ballgown (I have loads, and yet no floor length ones, sigh) I took to Grays Antiques. I prefer hunting for clothes for events in places like Grays and Alfies because you don't find three year old H&M dresses being sold off as vintage and the elderly ladies and gentlemen who sell to you are genuinely passionate about the history of the pieces they sell, not having seasonal trend pieces. Grays is also the best place to buy old books in the whole wide world. Biblion in Grays Mews is my idea of heaven. Check out some of the selection here. Short of the British Library Biblion is the closest you can get to holding first editions of real worth in the capital, and maybe if you're lucky (and loaded) owning them.

Finally, I got home and found myself to have a whole load of emails from Brooklyn bands. I don't know where or how, but at some point I've been added to some sort of hipster mailing list. Weird. So some bands follow...

Vampire Hands

Unfortunate name right? Why choose the same mythical (OR ARE THEY?) creature as the single most successful new indie band of the last few years to share a name with? Is it something to do with Google searches? In any case the band are in some ways quite similar to the Vampire Weekend, but also sound a fair bit like Stars. Essentially they are a mellow hipsters wet dream. So cool they're not even from Brooklyn. No. Really.

Devil In A Woodpile

I have a confession. I sort of wish I had an excuse to dress like a 1940's folk singer. All the time. Pin curls. Red lips. Day Gloves. The whole she bang. I don't think it's that much of a bad thing. Rory did it on Gilmore Girls. It looks awesome, but I don't do it at the risk of looking as though I'm in costume twenty four seven. Whenever I'm vintage shopping in Stables I feel a surge of joy when old time folk comes on and I kind of wish I had been able to visit Storyville and dress like this. Devil In a Woodpile make the kind of music (along with some heady blues and jazz) I imagine to have been played in the famed down and out district. It's not trendy new folk, and it's certainly not ground breaking, but for generation envy this music is perfect. 

The Hideout

Iron & Wine part two. I find the songs inexplicably heartwarming and dreamy. Not dreamy as in the same way I describe the Jonas Brothers (swoon) but Sufjan style dreamy. Music for muggy days for sure.

My Gold Mask

The Hood Internet love her. Sold yet?

Like a heady young Karen O striding through an especially 70's Bond theme tune.

I like this bunch a whole lot.

Blank Dog

Pains-esque, but with totally indecipherable vocals. Enigmatic and sunny. Think 'Here's Comes Your Man' era Pixies instrumentally and you've got it.

Pick A Piper

Words cannot describe how weird this band are. Pumping a totally out there combo of pys-tribal pop I can't compare them to anyone, all I can say is that in all their weirdness (like the dress at the top of the page) they end up being confusingly wonderful.

A couple more things, yesterday I also went to Satsuma (only because Taro is shut between 3-5) which was kind of blah and overpriced (£12 for a tofu steak bento, while at Taro it's about £6 and about a billion times better) and SNOG, to which I am addicted. I had a Classic Natural Frozen Yogurt with chocolate chips and coconut flakes and it officially rocked my world. I also saw Exlovers play (also Wild Palms who did not please my ears at all), who were pretty rad on their faster songs. 

Tomorrow brings a trip to Alfies (the ballgown hunt continues) and a Lemuria gig at the Fly. Hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a trip to the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition too, as next week new shows open at the Tate (Futurism!) and the graduate shows continue at The Truman Brewery, making for some exciting times approaching. Not to mention these awesome shows in the not too distant future:

• Walking in My Mind

  Jun 23-Sep 6, The Hayward

  This year the Hayward’s summer exhibition delves into the creative imagination through large-scale installations representing the mindscapes of ten international artists, including Charles Avery, Yayoi Kusama, Keith Tyson and Pipilotti Rist. 

• Bill Brandt
  

  Jun 24-Jul 18, Chris Beetles Gallery

  An exhibition of work by the German photographer who studied under Man Ray and made Britain his home, becoming instrumental in documenting the British way of life from the 1930s to the 1950s. 

• Jeff Koons
  

  Jul 2-Sep 13, Serpentine Gallery

  American artist Jeff Koons continues his boundary-pushing examination of taste, consumerism, beauty and banality with a show of paintings and sculptures at the Serpentine Gallery.

 

(thanks to Time Out for the above exhibition descriptions).

Get Busy. Keep Busy.

trunk show.

All of the above on display at the Tate Modern.

So now that I'm in London again for a consistent period of time I'm going to try and bring some other interests of mine into the blog. Namely, art and great food. Now I'm not going to try and act like any sort of authority on anything, but I do have a habit of going to a significant amount of exhibitions and eateries and thought it might be nice to suggest some of the good ones sporadically here and there.

Today I recommend the Design Museum. I went to the Super Contemporary Exhibition this morning and spent four hours reading, playing, looking and learning. I usually have a gallery absorption speed of thirty minutes max, so feel the amount of time I spent in this exhibition reflects well on the content. You'll learn so much about London- architecturally, historically, in regards to fashion, art and music- all in a wonderfully curated space. Not to mention, the area where the gallery is located, Shad Thames is a wonderland (one which I had never been to before) which is but a fifteen minute walk from London Bridge. Views of the Tower of London, Victorian canals hidden away, gorgeous cafes, cobbled streets, floating gardens, tiny bridges and old boats...it was utterly delightful. 

My intention is to sprinkle this blog with some places where you may not have been, be that I aimlessly walk around town so often, and have done for the past twenty one odd years. So look out for notes of galleries, fairs, bookstores, cafes, museums, restaurants, shops and events. Oh, and of course music...

Be sure to check out this on Sunday and these over the course of the next few months (gin making classes! riverside singalongs! balls!), I'm sure I'll be seeing you around.

steve albini, what a dude

What was the impetus for choosing the song that you're listening to right now?

Why is it that some songs have memories attached to them and others just as old and listened to don't?

I rarely stop to think about these things, I assume you don't either.

Lately I've been reading the word 'haunting' in reviews a lot (case in point the radical Holly Miranda), it's a word I tend to associate with the ethereal, the hushed tones of a singer song writer and dark places that I've never been to. Then I thought about it- haunting means to be followed by something beyond your control, and this can be anything, not just the ghostly echoes of a wizened being. Lately I've been haunted by songs old and new, fragments of Reflection Eternal have made their presence known when I'm lost without headphones and Harlem Shakes have returned making their refrains known once more in my mind. The two acts couldn't be more different, and yet haunt all the same, and while it remains to be seen who mentioned in the forthcoming blog will dance between my ears for years to come I find all those mentioned are slight ghosts of music I have loved previously, hence why I can compare them to predecessors and contemporaries. 

So I suppose I haven't deciphered what makes music viable for eternal existence (another haunting definition) other than a songs propensity to be catchy, but I hope the bands mentioned below will make enough of an impact on you that you'll take away something with you, even when the act of listening is long gone. 

Look out behind you...

1. Reverie Sound Review 

A female fronted Minus the Bear. Think Regina Spektor sleepy and happy.

2. Cancel the Astronauts

There are touches of early Maccabees and Good Shoes at work on the songs posted on the Scottish gangs Myspace. Vocals need something more, but what already exists sure makes me feel nostalgic for times of being crammed into venues that are no more and having a great Smirnoff fueled time.

3. Girls

I think they're okay, and everyone else loves them. They sound very mid 90's US indie pop, but not in the fun Pains way. Despite this though, to me it says a lot that Pains cite them as one of their favourite new bands so due to my love of Pains I give them props.

4. Lightmares

Bishop Allen drunk and at a house party. I thoroughly enjoy the name too.

5. Hut

Hut sound like the future if it were curated by Passion Pit, Pains and of Montreal. The future looks bright, and like everything I want it to.

6. Boxes and Bags

Their myspace hurts my eyes. However, gang vocals, golden melodies and a random as hell trumpet equal what Los Campesinos should have been. I.e. good and fun.

7. Actual Water

Really really garage rock. Like post Horrors post noise post hipsters who can't play their instruments. Good or bad? I'm still contemplating if the line is a good place to be.

8. La Casa Muerte

A really happy family (of hippies).

9. Big Digits

Cambridge, Mass kids sure like big beats these days. I sure like Cambridge, Mass kids these days. So 80's it hurts, in a sort of cheesy exercise video good way. I am indulging with glee.

10. Fever Sleeves

Like an indie Boys Night Out, really experimental, not at all commercial and quite frantic. I'm not sure they've found their feet (or a good studio) yet, but I have a soft spot for these Black Box Recording alums. Mostly because Black Box reminds me of being a teenager in Toronto and super good times.

11. Gregory Pepper and his Problems

I LOVE Gregory. He's so weird and broken sounding. Gosh, I'd even go as far as to call him quirky (oh the dreaded word). I have a crush. So predictable. I am such a loser.

12. Phantom

Okay, so I feel a little weird talking about this band. When I first heard of them, which was about 3 weeks ago, I thought they were a joke band. A&R Dudes from XL (albeit nice ones) decide to form a band? My first thought was 'COME ON'. However, I actually really like this. To the point where I file2hd'ed the myspace tracks (okay, the first track is way better than the second). How can I place them...do you remember that band Battle? Who had that one single on Transgressive (where did they even go?) about not being able to pay the rent? Phantom sound like that, mixed with a bit of Tulips era Bloc Party and band du jour Delphic. Yup. It's good. Props to Phantom, high fives in the street when you see them, I want more.