You can take the girls out of NYC, but you can’t make em blend in with the locals. We grabbed the always fashionable Gala Darling & Molly Crabapple, threw them in the “dirty” limo and had a crazy day exploring the small city charms of Austin TX. A little rain wasn’t going to get us down….we had a genuine riot of a good time!
Moody Mondays is my weekly feature were I ask a personality to pick a mood, and then choose 5 songs that put them in that mood.
This week I spoke with Kyle Patrick Alvarez, writer and director for the acclaimed film, Easier With Practice. This weekend Kyle took home the coveted Acura Someone To Watch Award from the Independent Spirit Awards in Los Angeles. He’s kind of a big deal! Sincerest congratulations Kyle!
Mood: Inspired
Renowned DJ, Mix Master Mike lent us his ear. We asked him to pick a mood, and then 5 songs that help put him in that mood. Shockingly, he didn’t go with “Beastie’.
Mood: Diverse
Attention ChinaShoppers! Welcome to Moody Mondays, my new weekly feature were I ask a personality to pick a mood and then tell me 5 songs that put them in that mood.
Our first contender is the ever awesome Poet Name Life, Superstar Grammy Award winning DJ for the Black Eyed Peas. Now I’ve known Poet for a long time, and he’s known all over the globe..personally. You could be at a beach bar in Belize or a Discotheque in Dubai, mention Poet and I swear to you someone in the place actually knows him. Not “of” him… but has a real story about “this one time….”.
Apparently Poet has fallen hard for a Melbourne hottie which inspired this little collection of tunes for Moody Monday. Enjoy!
Mood: In Love
I own very few vinyl records. The ones I still own are gathering dust at my parents house in Southwestern PA. I believe some of the early titles in that small collection include Shaun Cassidy, Donny and Marie Osmond, and the later titles included Rick Springfield and Bon Jovi. It was the 70′s and 80′s and we used to play these gems on my parents hi-fi in the living room real loud when they left us alone.
When I was 19 and backpacking across Europe, I discovered a great little indie shop in Sweden called Dolores’ Records. They had more colored vinyl and picture discs than I had ever seen. I brought home at least 12 pieces of pristine vinyl from that trip and I treasured them for years until I was forced to sell them for gas money to move out of Los Angeles. Dark times.
Regardless I don’t think vinyl will ever lose its appeal. There is something so solid about holding a record, the way it plays, the way it sounds, the way it shatters upon breaking. How a good DJ can make a record sound fresh and new each time he mixes it with others. Its about collecting. It’s about nostalgia. It’s about sound. I think its awesome that they still make vinyl records. I may not be the average vinyl patron, but I’m glad it hasn’t gone the way of the buffalo.
Words by Barbie Brady.
Gotta Groove Documentary by Nick Cavalier.
This is a short documentary about a new vinyl pressing plant in Cleveland Ohio, called “Gotta Groove Records”. They specialize in 7″ and 12″ Vinyl creation/manufacturing using PVC molding. Check them out here:
Dir: Nick Cavalier (Brainfish Studios)
Dir. Of Photography/P.A.: Matt Murphy (Northcoast Studios)
Editor: Nick Cavalier
Gotta Groove Records – “Groove With Us” from Nick Cavalier on Vimeo.
I had a chance to sit down with Asher Roth inside the Red Bull Studio, Los Angeles, where he was mixing up a new batch of something awesome. Maybe you only know Asher from the hit “I Love College” but I have to tell you this 24 year old is as humble as any artist I have ever seen. He approaches the hip hop industry from a completely fresh perspective, truly grateful for all he has and willing to embrace the creative process with integrity. He’s not trying to be anything he’s not, which is essentially a young man looking to have some fun. And while you are listening, he might just have something to say.
Asher says that when he got started there was always someone in his ear trying to tell him what’s good. That’s definitely a pit-fall of the music industrialists, trying to manipulate the young blood in order to fit them into a box. However, Asher was already onto the game. He’s into making music to make music. It comes from a place inside where true expression lies. And that’s right back to the beginning, the foundation of Hip Hop. The bones of rap start with the voice. You have to have something to say. The way you weave that something into a beat, into a rhythm, into a song, well that’s just style, be it white, black, Inuit, or Asian.
I generally have little interest in cars. My expertise in that matter stops after being able to distinguish between a SUV and hatchback, pick up truck and 4 door sedan. If given my powers of observation to rely on, after being asked what someone was driving I am apt to answer by color only, the “blue truck” or the “white car”. After that..I’m just not that connected to what one drives.
So it may shock you that I spend the day at the Peterson Automotive Museum and I fell in love with it. The museum, located on the Miracle Mile on Wilshire blvd in LA is a sweet reminder of days gone by. Being a big fan of the diorama, the Peterson really displays vehicles in settings that those cars would call home. It welcomes you to take a stroll down long gone roads in quaint towns near and far. Their collection encompasses examples of the wacky to the classic. From the outrageous to the undiscovered.
Throw a rock in Hollywood and it will probably land in someones drink. This town thrives on its night life, celebrities and decadent designs. Bardot has a touch of all the above. Nestled cleverly above Avalon, on Vine Street right in the heart of Hollywood, its exclusive entrance and comfortable design make you feel like you are a guest in a playboy’s penthouse. I swung by on Saturday night to see for myself if this upscale club lived up to its blossoming reputation, and have to say I was not disappointed.
Ask anyone and they will tell you that I love things that look like things but are actually other things. Like Chocolate Weapons. I’m not a huge fan of actual guns, bullets or grenades. And I hope to never see any of these things up close ever in my lifetime. But the idea of chocolate anything peeks my interest, add the intriguing shapes of destruction and well, I think they just might have something here.
Happy Halloween ghosts and goulies! Everyone here at ChinaShop hopes you a safe and happy weekend full of tooth decaying, gut rotting good times! Let’s take a look back at the posts from the past that had a bit of that halloween flavor. ChinaShop treats for all!