I’m writing this as a friend who would write something to help you out.  Your iPod might hate you.  Let’s figure this out.  The situation may suck right now, but it’s super easy to remedy.

Some might say that inanimate objects like MP3 players can’t hate because they don’t experience feelings.  Fair enough, but hate may not be a feeling.  We leave it up to a court of law to determine whether or not offensive acts are hate crimes.  No lawyer would debate whether a crime is provably sad or happy.  Those are feelings for sure.  We keep them out of the legal system.  Hate?  A feeling?  Who can really tell.  I’m not here to discuss that.

It would be more constructive just to find out if your iPod hates you.  Let’s go.  How to tell if your iPod hates you: a flow chart I made.

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MTV’s alt/indie music show 120 Minutes visited Stockholm in 1990 and 1992.  They set the interviews for both segments in Pet Sounds, an institution of a record store down in Södermalm.

Early in the 1990 video, the host talks to the owner of Pet Sounds about the locals’ preference for CDs over vinyl, implying that’s the right, progressive choice.  They visibly glow when talking about grunge’s demise.  A band called Whipped Cream talks about how it’s very hard and unusual to have a female singer since rock is a man’s world.  The band also talks about how Swedish bands have a hard time being heard outside their home country because Sweden is so unknown, music-wise.  Popsicle is also interviewed, and I feel dumb for not knowing that the band released music back in 1990.  I love them.

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Michael Stipe collaborated with the Belgian label Maison Martin Margiela to create a microcassette accessory.  Cast in 925 sterling silver, the tapes will be produced in a limited edition of 199.  Each will be packaged in a handmade bound, signed notebook.  They’ll be available at Margiela boutiques and some concept stores.

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San Francisco’s Chanel store just re-opened following an extensive remodel by architect Peter Marino.  The store’s 7,900 square feet spread over three stories, with floor-to-ceiling translucent, hand-pleated silk panels.  Sounds light yet opulent, like Marino’s previous work for the French house.  But then the accessories display area supposedly has gold jewel-box walls and a gold leaf ceiling – I’m very curious to see how that could be pulled off without looking gaudy or ironically gaudy.

The store is located on Maiden Lane, one of my favorite places in San Francisco (yeah, going out on a limb for that choice.  Maiden Lane is gated for pedestrians and looks like a generic block from any high end shopping neighborhood in a European capital).  After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Chanel commissioned gates to close off the block to cars.  The brand’s name is on a plaque by the gates.

There are some exclusives to the boutique to entice visitors to come back, and the store held parties over this past weekend.

Chanel
155 Maiden Lane
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 981-1550

Hermès and Leica updated their 2003 collaboration with this year’s 35mm rangefinder system camera, the Leica M7 Edition Hermès.  The camera’s body is finished in silver chrome and accented by either orange or étoupe leather.  100 pieces of each color will be available, and the cameras will have serial numbers.  They’ll be available in the UK stating in December 2009 at authorized Leica dealers and the Leica Store Mayfairand.  It’ll retail for 8500£ or $14,265.

More info:

To complement the design of the camera, the special Leica M7 Edition Hermès set includes a silver anodised Leica Summilux-M 35 mm f/1.4 ASPH. wide-angle lens, a matching classic round lens hood in silver anodised metal – manufactured specifically for these models – and a Leicavit M rapid winder in silver chrome. A real leather carrying strap, handcrafted by Atelier Hermès to match the colour of each camera, provides the finishing touch. Each set is delivered in a linen-covered, silk-lined box.

The Leica M7 Edition Hermès camera has a number of distinct features compared to the standard Leica M7 model. For example, the top plate is engraved with the Leica name in classic script: the red Leica logo has been omitted to preserve the colour harmony of the leather covering. All control elements of the Leica M7 Edition Hermès have been manufactured exclusively in metal, and the back of the camera is finished in silver chrome. Furthermore, the red colour of the engraved auto and 7 settings on the shutter speed dial has been replaced by the specific shade of the camera’s leather. The technical specifications of the special edition set are otherwise identical to the standard model.

Do you find this camera too preppy?  You can always carry your regular camera (weathered & authentic, obvs) in a touch-chic Givenchy case!  The French luxury goods houses take care of everyone.

The Givenchy case is $3,620 at Barneys.

LA producer Belief just released the first in his upcoming series of Aaliyah remixes.  His take on “Try Again” updates the song with deeper beats and reverb but thankfully retains a lot of the original’s seemingly simple directness.  I can’t call the track minimal because it’s too layered, but at the same time, the production and performance came across to me as a honed down and pure.  Loved it when it came out, love the remix now.

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Levitate Architecture and Design Studio built this staircase right into bookshelves, resulting in a beautiful surprise of practicality and wonder.

Via Fubiz

So excited to announce our first show!  It’s coming up right after Thxgiving, and it’ll be at Daydream Republic – such a great space.  We’re playing a big warehouse that’s been converted to an art space, and we’ll be doing it on a gold stage.

The Buttermilk Truck will be there all night with breakfast treats, including Hawaiian bread cinnamon French toast sticks, pancake bites, and omelets.

Of note: it’s free, drinks are cheap, and there’s street parking.

Daydream Republic
Wednesday, December 2nd
8PM
FREE

4500 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
map

Gonna be so fun.  See you there!

Our new/first photo shoot features some black scrawling on people’s hands.  I call it body graffiti because I can’t deal with body paint.  When I was a small child, I saw a tragic poster of a vibrantly painted model, and I found it so nasty that I decided I was gonna hate body adornment for life (on me, anyway).  Seems perfectly rational to stick with lifelong decisions you make as a preschooler.  Obvs I have no tattoos.

For the shoot, the graffiti gave us something to play with at an otherwise stagnant studio setting.  Staged photos wouldn’t have been a good introduction to this new band.  From doesn’t pose.  Plus I figured some rough black shapes would look more like party pranks than garish/gratuitous/disgusting body paint.  Ew, could you imagine?  I can’t let it go.

Here’s Rodrigo painting a bird onto Val’s hand:

Turns out this idea was hovering elsewhere at the same time.  Here’s some tribal body paint at the Rodarte spring/summer 2010 show:

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We were super lucky to have Jacob Safari remix our French Beastie Boys cover.  He’s remixed bands like Mates of State, Major Lazer, and Crooked Fingers, and he himself is in Signals and was in Mae Shi.  OMG.

From – “Fight for Your Right (Jacob Safari Remix)”

Jacob found a way to make a bunch of stuff sound new – the Beasties, our cover, “I Feel Love.”  So yeah the remix is amazing.  I love it.  Hope you’re now someplace where you can play this loud.

Visit Jacob Safari at his site, Twitter, or MySpace.  Or in person!  He’s DJing at Dragonfly in Santa Monica on November 16th.  Three one oh, yo.