peace out

I'm going to disconnect for two weeks in Costa Rica. I kind of love the thought of disconnecting for a few weeks, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't absolutely terrified at the thought of missing out on new Daft Punk news or big concert on sales. If there is a really great one announced can you help a girl out with some tickets, please?

When I return, I hope to be a few shades darker + feeling fully revived. Oh + Chicago -- you better be done with this snow nonsense by the time I get back.

i was there || bonobo

Show: Bonobo
Shigeto

Location: House of Blues

Date: 4.20.13

Favorite Song: I don't think anything could top "Kiara." Hearing it live was so so beautiful. It made all of the hard work of finding a ticket worth it. I also think I'm going to have some new favorite songs from Shigeto coming out of that show. That guy was phenomenal. I've always liked drummers.

Memorable Moment: Craigslist angel aside (that sold me my ticket for face value no less), I was just blown away by how all of the instruments worked so well together. And Jack Baker? He was absolutely nasty on the drums. I just love the combination of producers + live instruments. I'd be happy if every show was just like that.

Biggest Letdown: This is just me being lame again, but I was way too tired to make it out to the DJ set at Primary, so I'm kind of bummed I missed out. At least I got to see the better of the two performances. Or so I assume.

This Show: was honestly just what I needed. I had a bit of a weird morning + really fought hard to find a ticket because I knew it would make me feel better. And it did just that. Bonobo is seriously impressive live. I had lots of smiles that night.

a little bird told me : march

You should follow: @niggabootydew, @sidewalk_yawn, @whimsyandspice, @ChaseMit, @TEEDinosaurs, @Do312, @djENRIE, @redbullCHI, @marcusgilmer, @AskDrRuth, @hanklayton, @musicthinktank, @rena_tom, @doorsixteen

kid cudi || unfuckwittable

After the first few listens of Kid Cudi's Indicud I definitely have my few stand out songs. I was in a bit of a weird headspace this weekend so "Unfuckwittable" as well as "Immortal" were in pretty heavy rotation for me. I need to do a few more listens before I really get a good hold of the album as a whole, but overall I'd say that I'm pretty happy with the results.

caveman || in the city

2013 is really bringing the good tunes.

simon's headphones

A couple months back I saw the trailor for the indie film Simon Killer which featured the beautiful sounds of Matthew Dear. The plot seemed a little questionable (young, heart broken guy goes to Paris, falls in love with a prostitute, yadda yadda yadaa..), but when it popped up in my OnDemand movies this past weekend I felt I had to give it chance based on music usage alone. The movie was pretty bad, but there were several great songs used throughout the film in addition to Matthew Dear's "You Put a Smell On Me" that kind of made things okay for me. Take  a listen...

curated || matthew brandt

I am obsessed with artist Matthew Brandt's photographic works of art. I don't fully understand how these pieces are created, but he mixes photography with some very interesting things. His Lakes + Reservoirs series, like the one above, is developed in the actual bodies of water from where the photos are taken.

His Taste Tests series, like this one above, is made from different foods. This one was made with mouth wash + the one at the very bottom was made with Airheads.

Then there are the honeybees. These are casualties of a hive that got destroyed.

Things get really interesting with his portrait work. Portraits are created with different bodily fluids such a blood, breast milk, semen, + vomit. Totally weird + creepy, but in it's own cool way.

 I find Brandt's work to be so cool + I especially gravitate towards his Lakes + Reservoirs series. I'm not alone in these thoughts either. Brandt was recently featured in Elle Decor magazine + was also on Forbes' 2012 list of the top 30 under 30 in art + design.

snapshots : march

 

a very good mail day | pinball domination at emporium arcade | local natives concert at the vic | a very good read | alt-j was one of the best concerts i've been to | thai cooking class at the chopping block | awkward office delivery | re-potting plants on a beautiful easter sunday | date night at the bluebird

making moves

I'm feeling a little sentimental after attending a friends' going away party last week. Those are probably the worst types of celebrations, yet I can't help but feel excited for someone that starting on a new adventure. I read a post from Jenna at Sweet Fine Day recently that really struck a chord with me + seems appropriate for these types of situations. She writes:

"I do really believe that we are meant to be in specific places for certain stages in our lives. Sometimes it’s not apparent when you’re there at the moment, but when you can reflect back on a personal timeline and see it spread out in front of you, it often starts to make sense as you weave together the pieces. I was meant to be in the East Village in the late 80s and early 90s. You could argue that without that experience my world and my mind would be tremendously smaller. In much the same way, I feel like I was meant to go to Washington in the early 90s to figure out who I was again after those years of experimentation and stepping out of every comfort zone I possibly could."

It's an interesting thing to think about + I certainly find myself in the same boat as Jenna. I can't even imagine how different my life would be had I not picked Chicago as my home. And that time a few years back when I was fully convinced that I would be moving to London? Maybe I would have had the time of my life, but I'm glad I didn't miss out on my life here for the past couple of years. Same goes with my childhood home of St. Louis. I don't think I'll likely ever move back, but I feel like St. Louis was a good fit for me growing up. Not the sexiest city, but I wouldn't do it any differently.

I often think about where my life might take me next but I haven't really come up with a good answer yet but I've always secretly kind of thought of myself as north(ish) west coast kind of girl. I've certainly dreamed about packing it all up + moving somewhere fancy warm, but who knows if that will happen. I really love my home right now but I do feel like now would be the time to mix things up a bit. I wish I was a bit more adventurous in that sense but then again, why change a good thing?

1 | 2 | 3

daft punk || get lucky

Those robots were back to their sneaky ways with an interruption during Coachella, an interview with Rolling Stone, get a makeover from Yves Saint Laurent + another commercial during Saturday Night Live. Lots of exciting news, however based on the Rolling Stone interview it doesn't sound like they're going to be touring any time soon.

yeah yeah yeahs || these paths

The new album, Mosquito, from Yeah Yeah Yeahs is quite a strange journey but Karen O's voice sounds as good as ever.

i'm back

What an awesome weekend surprise to have a new self-titled debut LP from Jai Paul pop out of nowhere. The tracks are all untitled, but a few might sound familiar such as Track 9 ("Jasmine), Track 7 (Jennifer Paige's "Crush"), + Track 16 ("BTSU"). I definitely owe this LP a few more listens, but Track 10 definitely stood out for me. Have a listen HERE.

sibling rivalry

I plan to spend a lot of quality time with Shaking the Habitual from The Knife because I haven't quite gotten a good handle on it yet. This is not an album to listen to while multitasking at work. I do know that I heard parts I really love + parts that were perhaps just a little to odd for me. But more on that another day.

Right now I want to focus on the fascinating Dreijer siblings that together make up The Knife. You rarely see them in public, but when you do, they're typically in some costume or mask of sorts. They hate award shows + are against commercialism. 

They've each done their own solo work -- Karin with her exquisite work on Fever Ray + Olof with his lesser known work as DJ Coolof + Oni Ayhun. His work as Oni Ayhun was unknown to me until recently, but it's pretty great + worth a listen.

james blake || life round here

By now I hope that all of you have listened to James Blake's new album, Overgrown. I was the lucky duck that got my first listen last Friday. It is everything I hoped for + more. Claude walked in on me listening to it for the first song + asked me if I needed a moment alone. I was kinda into it to say the least.

 Most of my favorites from the album like "Digital Lion," "Voyeur," + "Retrograde" were previously released, but the whole album really does deserve a good listen. I also love his work with RZA on "Take A Fall For Me." It definitely adds something new. I felt similarly with Purity Ring's "Grandloves" + their work with Young Magic. "Life Round Here" is insane as well.

I just hope that someone can grab him for a festival this summer. I'll be in Costa Rica so I won't be able to make it to his show at the Metro. You have to assume he'll be back though, right?

public works of art

I think it's been a combination of things that have put me at a quite interesting point in my life where I'm feeling quite good about myself. I'm a little bit older. I feel pretty settled in Chicago. My money concerns are slowly beginning to melt away. And to be honest, I've flushed out some of the people that just didn't quite fit into my life. I feel as though that last bit feels a bit harsh, but that's something that usually ends up happening naturally anyways.

With all of these feelings of self love comes my desire to really spend my time doing the things that are enjoyable to me. So much of my late teens to early twenties was doing the things that as a group my peers would want to do. And that's totally normal. I think by me choosing DePaul + moving to Chicago I really set the wheels in motion to help me break away from that. Of course it didn't happen overnight, but here I am now.

This is probably the lamest thing I'll ever say, but I love my hobbies. I'm rarely ever bored + I really try to fill my life up with interesting things that I love. Music is obviously a big one, but I've also always really loved art + I want to try to embrace that a little bit more.

Ghostly posted a link yesterday for the Sonnenzimmer exhibit at the Public Works gallery which to my surprise is right in my neighborhood, Bucktown, near the Damen blue line stop. The exhibit, from artists Nick Butcher + Nadine Nakanishi, looks pretty intriguing + opens this Friday + runs through June 7th. They have gallery hours too throughout the week, so I'm definitely going to have to peak my head in one of these weekends. Plus, if Ghostly tells you you should do something you probably should...

"Gazing upon their work, one is awash with feelings at once familiar + foreign, as though having wandered into a memory where all speech is in an unknown tongue."

sprung

I like florals, but I'd probably say I'm more of a subdued floral kind of girl. It's the kind of thing where you just want to add bits + pieces scattered about, otherwise it can be quite overwhelming. This turntable from Urban Outfitters would add just the right amount of floral cheerfulness to any room. If this came in a blue-ish green option I'd be all over this beauty for sure. It almost has me rethinking my whole color scheme.

fringed

For the past couple of years I've been all about the fringed bikini top trend. It's faded a little bit recently since I never wanted to spend $100+ on a swimsuit top + also because the trend was getting a little rampant. Well, now I'm totally eating my words because I found a pretty awesome $14 option from Target that I just couldn't pass up. It's not the best for sunbathing, but it will be perfect bachelor/bachelorette catamaran party.

pitchfork music festival | 2013

FRIDAY

Bjork | Joanna Newsom | Wire | Woods | Mikal Cronin | Angel Olsen | Pissed Jeans | Daughn Gibson | Trash Talk | Frankie Rose

SATURDAY

Belle + Sebastian | Solange | The Breeders | Savages | Swans | Rustie | Low | ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead | Phosphorescent | Andy Stott | Mac DeMarco | Ryan Hemsworth | Julia Holter | Parquet Courts | Merchandise | Metz | White Lung

SUNDAY

R. Kelly | MIA | Yo La Tengo | Lil B | Toro Y Moi | TNGHT | El-P | Killer Mike | Chairlift | Foxygen | Sky Ferreira | Glass Candy | Autre Ne Veut | Evian Christ | Waxahatchee | Blood Orange | DJ Rashad

recovery

You're doing yourself a disservice if you haven't checked out CHVRCHES yet. They remind me a bit of Purity Ring (if you're into that kind of music) + BBC listed them as promising new music talent for 2013. I heard great things about there show in NYC a few weeks back which convinced me that I needed to see them this June at Lincoln Hall. Thankfully I got my tickets because it looks like the show is already sold out. Only kidding, a second show was added.

Ps. I wish so much that this concert was on a Sunday so that I could say I was going to "church."

human towers

These unbelievable photos from David Oliete were taken at the Concurs de Castells festival in Catalonia, Spain. The Concurs de Castells festival includes 32 teams of 100-500 men, women, + children to form these amazing human towers. The heavier adults form a base at the bottom, while smaller children can climb up to 10 stories high to form the tower. These photos absolutely blow my mind.

via