DIY Glam Pop for the Disco Set.

Steed Lord is the kind of band that gets the name "collective" because they are up to much more than simply making music. The trio hails from that fabled land of Bjork and hot springs, Iceland. They make good use of their country's reputation for all things fairy-wood-nymph-electric-cool and actually produce some sweet dance music. Listening to their single 123 If You Want Me really shakes my hips. I haven't wanted to be in a club in a long time (they smell funny when you're sober) but I'm craving a little thump thump dance dance under strobing spotlights next to hot bodies. Also, if the Steed clan's headmistress Kali could whip up a getup for me to rock, I'd really appreciate it, and probably enjoy myself that much more. Watch their video below, and visit their site here.

STEED LORD - 123 IF YOU WANT ME from STEED LORD on Vimeo.

Oh, and "If you want me, put your back against the wall."

H/T the cool hunter.

One-Earringed Warrior.

Robyn ain't new. She's been around a deliciously long time, a fact I find remarkably comforting. She's someone that I had very ignorantly overlooked for many years simply because once I listened to one of her songs and it was too blip-bloop-bleepy-electropoppy for my taste. After that particular afternoon I never looked back, and dare I say that I was soooo wrong not to. I personally use this example of my own failing to never say no til the third try of anything ever again. After so long of clicking past any presence of the cute blond popstress, what made me reconsider? A friend with good taste (thank God for those!).

A little while ago my friend Rahul posted a Letterman appearance of Robyn's as his g-chat status message with the simple text: "Yes!!!" Because Rahul is nearly prescient in his level of taste, I clicked and watched Robyn make a hand-kissing fan of Mr. Letterman with her rousing rendition of one of her latest singles, Dancing On My Own (see above). The performance quickly became my repeating lullaby, alarm clock, and daytime dance tune. In fact, I only recently replaced it with something new, which is....also by Robyn. Her video for her song Hang With Me is sweet and officially cements her status as cuteness embodied.

Robyn - Hang With Me official video from Robyn on Vimeo.

Robyn's pixie appearance is edged with a taste for the modern. She favors designers with a like of tailoring and structure. She also prefers one of my all-time favorite modes of accessorizing--asymmetrical earrings. She frequently dons just one dangler, or a big and a small one. This trend should have come and gone a long time ago. But, when the right person does it, it instantly transports me back to that sweet spot of time in the '80s when all of the cool, older girls were doing it and creating that magical kind of envy that makes a little girl want to stick out childhood so she can do it too.

Robyn, can I be you when I grow up?

Instra:Mental Meditation.

My friend Rory just dropped this song by Instra:Mental in my inbox and I can't stop listening to it. It's dreamy and heavy with bass-backed desire. It's just one of those songs I can listen to on loop and not feel a minute of wanting another for days to come.

The boys are hastily labeled by critics as drum and bass, but duo Alex Green and Damon Kirkamduo defy true categorization. You have to listen to their stuff to get a real grasp on it, or at least attempt to. Next time you want to really conjure up the perfect outfit, tune in to one of their Autonomic Podcasts, close your eyes, and let the images of spacey, serene, style dance across your darkened eyelids. Let me know what you come up with...maybe we can get the two spinners to put up some production money for a trippy, fan-imagined clothing line inspired by their sonic experiments. I think it'd be a great idea.

I Now Work At A Disco With Beth Ditto. Yes I do.

My coworker Graig and I have turned our humble office into a disco. How you might ask? It's easy with the addition of what I have now come to believe is an office supply necessity. Introducing the Desktop Discoball!

You know you want one.

All you do is hit the lights, push the lil button and watch the spectacle of silvery light spin. Now, you can't just have any music playing when this thing is going, you need to maestro the perfect soundtrack. May we suggest the soulful stylings of Ms. Beth Ditto, who has become out daily work party's star performer. She's so amazing. Not only is The Gossip's song "Heavy Cross" too good for words according to Graig, but Beth Ditto is one of my favorite fashion icons, so it all works out incredibly well. The Ditto's curvaceous figure is the least of her most amazing attributes, girl can belt it out and she's a singularly sensational role model for liberation of all kinds: aesthetic, sexual, body. It just doesn't end. Here she is in the song's glittering and golden video:



And, just in case you doubted the girl's for realness, check out this making of the video feature that highlights her greatness.



Don't you just love her? Party on, Beth. I'll see you at work in the morning.

Musical Interlude: Rap Genius

Here's a little story that must be told, and it goes a little something like this: When I was in that sacred stage of human development known as adolescence, rap opened my eyes to just how words could be used. I was on the verge of tearing my everything out in fits of angsty, pre-teen rage, when I realized that what I really needed to do was write. I needed to get out the crazy build-up of everything and put it on paper, which I was actually decent at. That realization came to me when I walked into my older brother's room and heard his Wu-Tang tapes (yep, I said tapes--as in cassettes) blaring out of his speakers. It was the most amazing thing to me to sit and listen to these wordsmiths that just spun a story to a beat; quick and dirty. The rhythm, the rhyming, the references, the metaphors, the similes! I was a dorky, English-class-loving sixth grader and I was in mad, passionate love with this hardcore rap that spit rough lines about grabbing girls and smoking blunts. It was like some secret version of poetry that I wanted to know all about. But, that was easier said than done. Pre-Internet (Yes, I said pre-Internet--as in perhaps you had a dial-up connection on the family PC days) lyrics were hard-won information when you were sneaking listens in your big brother's room and had no idea where he kept anything, let alone cassette cases (and were afraid to look because one time you found pot and thought you could get arrested for simply knowing it was in the house). So, I never knew what anyone was talking about most of the time, and my initial interest gave way to the embarrassment of never feeling cool enough to like what the older bro liked.

The Wu.

Cut to many years later when songs are downloaded, the Internet is wireless, and I don't care about being cool: I love rap more and more all the time. Good story telling is such an admirable talent, and good rap songs are stories the way folk songs are stories. Jay-Z? Lil Wayne? Ghostface? They are amazing with words, and it's awe-inspiring. With the advent of lyric sites coming out the wahzoo, I'm now able to perform most good rap songs as Karaoke numbers (I said I wasn't worried about being cool), meaning that I know what the words are. But, as a white, suburban girl by birth, I still don't know what most of the words mean. Enter Rap Genius.

Click it.

This site breaks down the lyrics of a growing number of rap's greatest songs. It provides all of the background info you need on any mention of anything that isn't 100% straightforward. I kind of think I'm the target audience (white girl from the burbs with no refernece point for the myriad of urban insider secrets that she's fascinated by) and I'm honored. The site delivers the goods a la Pop Up Video, with floating blurb boxes explaining what it means to be "faded to brown" (drunk off of Hennessy or high on heroin!) or to have a "thick knot" (lots of cash!). The best part? You can listen to the songs as you read along! I have a feeling the hardcore rap fans won't like their lyrical secrets all spelled out to outsiders, but I think it's a perfect idea, executed hella well with mad humor, yo. Check it before you wreck it. (I'm kidding...kind of.)

Lick it like a lollipop like Lil Wayne, or spread your B.I.G. love (it's the Brooklyn way).

Once you "exegize" the lyrics, take your favorites and make them into t-shirts via any one of the custom tee design sites, like Cafe Press and wear your new words like the bottle poppin' baller that you now are. Word.

XX Marks The Spot.

There is something so utterly joyous about the fact that the internet has allowed dorky, non-hot with a capital H, non-ripped, teased, pushed-up, muscled, cutie pie musicians to break through into the mainstream, or at least a close tributary. I know I've made this point before, but it's such a relief to see non-packaged musicians again who's selling point is their talent. Introducing The XX.

They are a band of four twenty-somethings from London who have more edge than your average mellow-voiced quartet. Check out those haircuts; that black-ed out, slightly grungy look with thick trimmings of self-consciousness. Now, check out their music and love it:


This remix of Florence and The Machine's You Got the Love is good-a-licious.


That's on repeat. Super seductive, right? Check them out on Myspace.

Interlude: Not A Love Song.

Here's a break from fashion the fashion biz for a min. I threw my iPod into shuffle drive this afternoon and this song popped up. I wanted to share it with you. It's one of my all time favorites, and has been for years.



It's entitled Love Song and Madonna and Prince rocked it out on the Like a Prayer album back in... wait! wha?!...holy shizzle! I just looked up when Like A Prayer came out and it was 20 years ago!!! Oh my! Instead of focusing on how old that makes me feel, I'm going to give props to Madonna and Prince for creating a song that still endures. Good job guys!

Ugh, I still feel old...

Make Some Noise.

Presenting the Noisettes:

How funky/fresh/old-schooly cool is this video? I'm in girlie, girlie love with lead singer Shingai Shoniwa. How could I not be? That double rolled, super-braided updo? The shakin' and stirrin' white fringes on that beaded dress? The barefooted happy dancing? That's a whole lot to love. The band is still newish on the scene, but this video signals their solid gold arrival. Now how can I do my thin, white girl hair like that? I think I hear the hiss of an economy-sized can of Aquanet singing my name.

And She's Cute to Boot.

Ummm, watch this!



That's Theresa Andersson doing her best 8-person band impression and succeeding with high friggin' flying colors. I'm so impressed, and look how cute she is:

I love her enthused moves, and that black and white flowery dress above is now on my list. Also, her mother knitted her those wrist warmers in the photo on the left out of wool from her native Sweden. Theresa now lives in New Orleans and makes all her music in her kitchen, as evidenced by the video above. The fact that she performs this craziness live is so cool. I'm gonna keep my eyes out for a local performance. I'll let you know when she's near.

Suddenly I Want Skates

Ok, so they look like they were styled by the manager of your local Urban Outfitters, but I'm digging this indie boy band Hockey and their music.



"Too Fake" was my getting dressed music today. I like the part where he says "get off of me." I often say that.

Coming In For A Landing.

Lex Land sings the hot, hot, sexiness right out of this song. This 22 year old California native made a big impression on the folks that matter at SXSW this year and she's going to be on career-maker KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic on April 7th. I'm loving her bluesy, rolling voice and the jaded lyrics of this song. I'm also loving the new trend in beauti-full, seriously talented, female singers.

You like her as much as I do? Maybe you will also love her cutesy, crafty creations. Check out the chanteuse's necklaces and keychains available through her Etsy shop. Multi-talented. She's gonna be all blazing and on fire soon enough. Til then she's keeping her day job at Kit Kraft hobby shop in Cali and Twittering all about it. Follow her life of almost thereness but still brokeness one Tweet at a time. Fascinating.

Monae Love

Janelle Monae caught my eye when she showed up to the Grammy Awards looking like something fresh, thrownback and other-timely with a twist of new. Then I checked out her music and she is all of those things. She's got a concept album about an android who falls in love with a human on the drop in a few months and your opportunity to climb aboard her space shuttle before it rocket launches is now. I'm loving her uniform of old school Little Richardesque suits and her pompadour bouffant. She's purdy but doesn't rest on her good looks, in fact she shakes so much frenetic booty at her live shows that I'm not sure if the word rest is in her vocab. And--drumroll please--her music is grrreat. See it for yourself:


Climb on board and buckle up, she's ready for takeoff.

I Like Pretty Moving Pictures

Yelena Yemchuk, fashion photographer and former Billy Corgan flame, co-directed this video for The Smashing Pumpkin's Thirty-Three back in the '90s. It's beautiful.

It relaxed my eyes, then everything else had no choice but to follow. Ahhh, the power of pretty.

And The Award For Best Use of A Secretary Blouse In A Music Video Goes To...

Oh My God, I think I love Ida Maria.

President Obama, can I marry her yet?

Happy Birthday!

What? You say it isn't your birthday? Well, it will certainly feel like it when you open The Hype Machine's year-end wrap-up called the Music Blog Zeitgeist 2008. It presents the top 50 songs, artists, and albums of the past year according to music blog mentions, and streams every single one for your listening pleasure. Full songs, full albums, and radio shows featuring interviews with the featured artists abound. Most of my favorite fashion/musica superstars (M.I.A., Jenny Lewis, Cat Power, and many more) are featured so I wanted to pass it along.

We know they can rock, but here are some of these ladies' most fabulous fashion moments:

M.I.A. photoshoots like a mofo:


Jenny Lewis has a seriously early '90s moment with some hats at the 4:00 mark:


Cat Power gigs at a Chanel show:

So, Happy Birthday to your ears, at least. Or, Happy Unbirthday, whatevs. Just listen, dance, and be happy. Put on a listen-dance-and-be-happy outfit while you're at it. That'll make me happy.

The Machine Age

When I was little I spent a lot of time in the woods, which is weird because I lived in an apartment complex in Jersey. But, I loved it: the crunch of the leaves underfoot, the fallen tree benches, rough and tumble brother-led expeditions. Maybe that's why I love Florence and The Machine's video for "Dog Days are Over" so friggin much.


I've always kind of wanted to be captured by odd wood nymphs dressed like psychedelic carnies. Florence makes it seem so very liberating. Florence & Co. also rock hard on "Kiss With a Fist".



Now I want to be captured by wood nymph carnie clowns after I beat pinatas in striped tights. In fact, there you have my New Years Resolution, make that scenario a real deal. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

One/One-Thousand: Clare Shilland

Clare Shilland has mined the overexposed, underage demographic for subjects that speak louder than the cliches that precede them. She snapped portraits at England's Underage Festival, a rock show for kids aged 14 to 18 with no guaridans allowed. Her photos of the fest capture that thing in youth that is so fun to remember, and also so torturous to recall. Remember your first music festival? Remember finding your identity in a rock T-shirt, a box of hair dye, and a piercing or two? Clare's photos of kids at concerts are portraits of self-discovery as much as they are a catalog of the the cool looks of fearless young'uns.













Clare is represented by Santucci & Co. and you can see her portfolio, including all of the photos above there. You can also see her work on the regular on her photo blog.

Get on Down!

This is Ida Maria.

I like her just as much as this little girl does:

She'll be in Brooklyn at Union Hall on January 16th. Here's a couple more tastes of her goodness:


That's why she rocks, this is why she rolls with me in my iPod:

Bowie Sings in the Blues

Looking at Music, MoMA's show about the cross pollination of art, music, and tech in the decade following 1965, is in it's last days of display. It will close on January 5th, so have a look and listen before it's gone.

These great posters were plastered around the city earlier in December when the exhibit hosted a special screening of David Bowie videos presented by Thurston Moore. I love Bowie's blue suit and matching eye makeup in the photo. I love it even more in the full "Life on Mars?" video.

In perfect Bowie fashion, the video is slightly creepy and surprisingly gorgeous. So great.

Deep Cut

The Knife is one of my favorite Swedish electronic music duos (what? There's a lot of them out there!). I love the brother and sister's techy, atmospheric sound. I love songs I feel like I could live inside; songs that create a certain environment, a sonic landscape. Karin Dreijer Andersson's vocals definitely bring me to another place.

While the lead singer and her brother tend to disguise themselves as otherworldly creatures and crazy characters for photo shoots, they definitely enjoy making videos. In a solo collaboration with the group Royksopp, Karin lent her unmistakable vocals to the song "What Else is There?". She also lent her angelic beauty to the song's video:


I love the platinum locks and the untied tie. She looks like a hip Nordic snow fairy taking a detour through the dark alleys of the netherworld. Yep, that what she looks like. The Knife are currently on hiatus, but when they come back I'm sure crazy costumes and great videos will again flourish.