Barricade

The second music video to be released in anticipation of Interpol's new self titled album, dropping September 7th, 2010.  I've been an Interpol fan for a very long time now and so far, I can't wait to hear the new album.  All of the new tracks I've heard are a great blend of what I loved about both "Turn on the Bright Lights" and "Antics".  I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Beach Bubbles

This video is stunning.  It's difficult to believe it's real, but there were no special effects used to make this video.  The movement of these massive bubbles reminds me of the movie, The Abyss.  I could watch this over and over again!

Thank You For Your Love

New video for "Thank You For Your Love" by Antony and the Johnsons.  Every video made for Antony has a haunting quality to it, and this video is no exception!

Madder Red

This video is hard to explain.  I should start by saying that I'm proud that Yeasayer has gotten to the point where they have an amazing director such as Andreas Nilsson wanting to create a music video for that.  Then, you team that with Kristen Bell, which is kind of mind blowing.  The reason I have a hard time explaining this one is because it's equal parts odd, funny, and heart wrenching.  I never thought that a primordial blob could take me on an emotional ride for 4 minutes!  

I Never Thought Painting Walls Would Make Me Want To Cry!

This is an ad for the Dulux Let's Colour Project.  It was shot all around the world in 4 weeks and the places that were painted remain as they are seen in this video.  The song in the ad is by Jonsi, the lead singer of one of my all time favorite bands, Sigur Ros.  It's such a visually striking ad and is so beautiful.  Sometimes I wish I could see a place being transformed at this speed before my eyes.  

Cold War

I just started to really get into Janelle Monae.  When she was first signed, there was much concern over the fact that she was signed to Bad Boy.  I fed into that concern as well.  When I first saw her, I was really struck by her image.  She had SUCH strong personal style and a larger than life presence.  Her first album was ok, but it wasn't anything groundbreaking.  It was really riding on a lot of the trends that were happening in music at that time, thanks to Amy Winehouse and Duffy. Then, I move to Seattle, start listening to KEXP, and I start hearing these fantastic R&B songs and was really surprised to find out that they are by Janelle Monae.  I bought the album and was really struck by what I heard.  It's experimental, pushing soul/R&B to a whole new place, but it's also accessible.  I then saw a tribute to Prince on the BET Awards, and Janelle had one of the most EPIC moments I've ever seen on live TV.  She was electric.  This week, a new music video was released for one of my favorite songs on the album, "Cold War", and it shook me to my core.  It is the most emotionally raw music video that I can remember.  This song obviously means a lot to her (as it does to me) and I think it's amazing that she let us see this moment of emotion in such an intimate way.  It's such a beautiful video for that.  I can't wait to see where Janelle takes us next!

Thank You For Your Love

New Antony and the Johnsons!  Antony is one of my favorite artists.  He's so talented and so unique and wears his heart on his sleeve with everything he does. I had the privilege of seeing him perform live a year and a half ago and it was one of the most memorable moments I've experienced.  Truly beautiful!  I'm so excited for this album to drop in October!

Dries Van Noten Mens Spring 2011

Dries has really been on a roll since his major comeback in 2003.  Before that point, he was an unknown designer to most Americans, despite the fact that he presented his first menswear collection in 1986 and was part of the now relatively well known Antwerp Six.  For the past several years, his menswear collections have jumped to three major trends - world traveler, military garments and 80's street wear.  In his past three years, something magical began to emerge.  Dries has begun to meld all of his influences in an unexpected way, really creating a whole new design language, giving his collections a world of their own to call home.  His Spring 2011 collection is no exception.  There is definitely a street wear influence that shows through the bleached denim and paint splattered pieces, but there's a strict menswear influence through the tailoring in the single and double breasted blazers and menswear shorts and pants.  The color palette was spot on with trend, offering a range of blues, khakis and nude shades, while offering some really fresh blush tones.  The integration of Indian inspired menswear checks that you would expect to see on foreign silks was an unexpected twist that only Dries can pull off.  All in all, the impact was undeniable and the fact that Dries was able to pull all of his references off so seamlessly in one collection was very unexpected.  All in all, a winner!

I Am Love

I'm going to try to go see this movie today.  Tilda is one of my favorites and can do no wrong in my eyes.  This film looks stunning!