Daily Dots Daily Dots: Kid Cudi, Prince, Coachella, Pavement, Le Tigre, Beck, INXS, Duff McKagan

March 25, 2010 - 5:00 pm

juanmaclean

Today’s bloggin best…

- Kid Cudi released a new video. DatNewCudi

- The new Glitch Mob single is free (and mellow?) LA Times

- Is Prince stealing from fans to pay his tax bill? Village Voice

- Is Le Tigre reforming just to record with XTina? LA Weekly

- If Pavement added an LA gig, does that mean Coachella is sold out? LA Times

- Beck cover of INXS is finally online for real. Beck.com

- There is no way the Duff McKagan book will be as good as Slash’s book. Village Voice

- The Juan Maclean is giving away an empeefree. DJ-Kicks

Fashion Uncategorized Questionable Trends

March 25, 2010 - 11:41 am

Clogs, baby!

Every season, there are trends which come to the fore & cause us to crinkle our foreheads in confusion.  Why is this in fashion?  Who is really going to wear it, & if so, why?  So many things seem to be designed with the intention of being “interesting” as opposed to flattering.  While this certainly happens in high fashion, it seems to be even more prevalent within the realms of young indie designers.  Sometimes I look at what’s on sale & wonder, really wonder, why? 
 
With that, I present to you some trends which I have mixed feelings about.

Clogs. Karl Lagerfeld, head evil genius at Chanel, sent clogs down the catwalk late last year.  Since then, they have popped up on the tootsies of both Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen as well as countless other celebrities.  Since fashions usually trickle down from celebrities to the high street, it’s a fair bet that we’ll soon be seeing only the backs of our friends feet for a while.

I remember being in primary school when black studded clogs worn with white ankle socks were all the rage.  I didn’t do it then and I definitely won’t be doing it now!  This new incarnation is a little less clunky, more streamlined & mostly designed to give you serious height.  Take your currently fashionable wedge bootie and lop off the back, and you have the modern clog.

So, what do you think?  The perfect shoe for summer or an unfortunate trend?

If clogs are a-callin’ to you, Teen Vogue has a list of “must have” clogs for Spring.  Also, may I suggest exfoliating your heels thoroughly?

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Gallery Music Some Damn Fine MEN

March 25, 2010 - 11:39 am

You hear the sort of terms that music critics might throw around for a band like Men, and they might tend to sound over-inflated. Terms like electro-punk or dance collective. These sort of labels don’t really take into account that Men are a good goddamn time. The three-piece fronted by Le Tigre’s JD Samson was at turns hilarious, subversive, cool and flat out fun. Samson greeted the freezing crowd with plenty of appreciation and the band started to pull into gear. Men sounds like all kinds of crazy thrown together and twisted around. Halting, Kraftwerk style singing with some of the dance bounce and bravado of classic Devo or Talking Heads.

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Austin TX Gallery Kittles and Strangeland Go to Austin

March 25, 2010 - 11:15 am

Yasmine Kittles and William Stangeland Menchaca of Tearist performed at Carniville on Saturday. The LA-based duo played early in the day to a sparse crowd but that didn’t keep them from pulling out all the stops. It’s obvious that Yasmine is at home on stage, jumping from one side to another, dramatically swooping her head, as if encouraging the wind to have its way with her long, dark locks.

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Gallery Music Diplo Runs the Show, with a Little Help from Major Lazer

March 25, 2010 - 11:14 am

The consummate man-behind-the-curtain, Diplo, aka Wes Pentz, has been responsible for the rise of pop musicians like MIA, Blaqstarr and Santogold, a record label (Mad Decent) and one of today’s most hyped acts, Major Lazer. So it was pretty fitting that I was able to slip into the depths of the Mexican-American Cultural Center for a few minutes with one of modern music’s most influential heads. He’s done this a million times already and is cool and collected, friendly and far from flapped even though we spoke in the midst of what I was later told was an extremely hectic time.

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Austin TX Twin Atlantic Plays Sick

March 25, 2010 - 11:12 am

Twin Atlantic

Twin Atlantic, like most bands who travel to Austin for SXSW, played multiple shows. Three to be exact. I caught the first one, the night that Sam, the lead singer, was super ill. International travel (they come from Scotland) and the hyperactive, germ infested, drunk fest that surrounds the festival doesn’t help the ole immune system fight off the inevitable SARS like outbreaks every night. However, without Sam owning up to the fact that his face felt like it was going to explode, the average spectator would have never known anything was amiss.

The band rocked out full force, holding back none of their special charms. From the explosive beginning to the feedback fueled finale, this band continues to take America by storm. They are currently touring throughout the United States. Check them out in a city near you.

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Daily Dots Daily Dots: Flying Lotus, Thom Yorke, Dr. Marten, Massive Attack, LCD Soundsystem, Asher Roth, Gogol Bordello and Phoenix free MP3s

March 24, 2010 - 5:02 pm

drmarts

Today’s bloggin best…

- Flying Lotus replaces Thom Yorke leak with a flash player. URB

- Massive Attack kick off major film project for Heligoland. Dazed Digital

- Punks jump up, throw out back! Dr. Martens turns 50. Format Mag

- More LCD Soundsystem behind-the-scenes video. Fader

- Asher Roth’s manager arrested for tween endangerment. SOHH

- Noel Gallagher talks about getting his ass kicked onstage. Billboard

- Gogol Bordello is giving away a free song. GogolBordello

- And Phoenix is giving away and entire live album. WeArePhoenix

Fashion Style Profile: Angeliska Polacheck

March 24, 2010 - 12:34 am

Angeliska dresses down

Sometimes you meet someone so incredible that you are completely smitten with their view of the world. Angeliska Polacheck is one such person.

We met in 2002, when she was living in New Orleans & I was in New Zealand.  A writer, photographer, folklore expert and overall wonder, her style is a brilliant and absolutely original mishmash. Sequined voodoo priestess, hedonistic Victorian, tattered bon vivant, she is all of these things and more. I hope you find her style as inspiring as I do!

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