A Silent Flute

Fascinating When I'm Updating

2010-04-20T11:49:00.001-04:00

RIP

Are You Ready for the Remix? | Rollin' & Scratchin'

2010-04-15T21:25:00.002-04:00

Badman Know Di Crepe | Vybz Kartel "Clarks"

2010-03-31T00:10:00.011-04:00

A summer anthem for tenured professors and badmen alike? Usually, the song about branded footwear thing, I can't get down wit' it, but Vybz Kartel's Clarks potentially nerd-blazin' summer anthem "Clarkes" picks up where Ghostface left off, celebrating the suede in style. The YouTube massive seems to appreciate this tune as well;

"bore! bore! bore! ah wah u ah sey jj,dis tune sick eno,d teacher madddd mi seh"

Says Dmadgazadog. Nuff said a dem. Lighta! Or should I say; tootsbrush!

The Disputed King of Auto-Tune

2010-03-30T23:29:00.004-04:00

I managed to inject my rap trivial pursuits into the letters section of Esquire (April, Tina Fey cover, on stands now). NPR & WNYC, I'm coming for you next. If you cover one more ethnic novelty rapper or yet again, a conscious dread dude from Prospect Heights, while continuing to ignore the facts of the matter, that there's a now a guy on the charts called Waka Flocka Flame, and that Usher's new song is about fingering and it's awesome, I'm going to have prank phone call Leonard Lopate with DJ Khaled McDonalds drops. I'm so sincerious.

Weekend Reads | Cashmere, Likes, Bananas & Dislikes

2010-03-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

The Prince of Solomeno by Rebecca Mead in The New Yorker
Why India Loves Facebook by Tunku Varadarajan on The Daily Beast
The Great Grocery Smackdown By Corby Kummer on The Atlantic
The Death of Film Criticism By Thomas Doherty on The Chronicle Review

Color Ways

2010-03-24T10:00:00.001-04:00

One thing to sort out now for the summer is your tote bag, park/beach blanket scenario, right? Please do not get that blanket that comes with a handle you saw on eBay or whatever. And if you got the Supreme Budweiser tote, that's tacky son. Unless it's for your girl, then that's a pimp decision you made right there. Now, you could get real ACL-on-it and get some vintage scenario that some dead dude used to carry logs in or whatever - or you could save yerself the time and trouble and just sort it out on LL Bean like a normal person. Something interesting LL Cool Beans's offering right now is the Custom Boat and Tote. As a sneaker joke, I did one in a Jordan I colorway, yo (I will be seriously excited if there are kids outside Uniqlo that've matched a custom tote to their Js though). But I'm thinking more like above ultimately (you know I'm all about the "Dark Bronze bottom," if you know what I'm saying). And why go to all this trouble? To take shorties on dates. And once you're done, make sure you Don Draper that ho and shake your trash out in the park.

Watching Ladies Go By

2010-03-16T14:50:00.002-04:00

Not to undermine what's going on here, but I watched this a second time with Slave "Watching Ladies" playing instead of "Look," and it worked quite well.

The Color Purple

2010-03-13T12:40:00.005-05:00

Purple Diary

"Every man should celebrate and seduce women because women love to be celebrated and seduced" - Olivier Zahm in The Future of Fashion Part Four

Blue

2010-02-22T12:01:00.002-05:00

A Russell Harty (the guy Grace Jones attacked on air) Show appearance by Wham! An early on, '83 thing. If you're much for "Blue", I can recommend the tunes appearance on my No Kimono mix. A proper cassette classic.

Koudlam Live

2010-02-19T14:09:00.004-05:00

Last night I took in French recording artist Koudlam at the Austrian Cultural Forum on 52nd. Koudlam describes his music as electronica/tropical/psychobilly; duly apt. The vibe was very Easton Ellis party piece; first scene of The Informers moody or alternately Less Than Zero coke-fete-montage creepy jubilance. Maybe it was the sunglasses. While sucking on an imported bottle, Koudlam crooned (think time-stretched "Bela Lugosi's Dead"), virtually motionless in front of a laptop. All told, the performance and vibe added up to a sort of Vangelis featuring Jim Morrison collaborating on a cocktail of Adderal and THC vibe.

LIFE Style: Chilin'

2010-02-17T09:25:00.001-05:00

This particular collection of images is about one of my favorite pastimes; chillin' out. You can chill by yourself, or you can invite friends and make it a chill festival, like my friends here in Cannes.

A good thing to do is get ice cream. Or drunk.

When he wasn't 007-in' on 'em, George Lazenby was quite a master of chilling with babes on the slopes. Note the ultimate in chill attire - pas de laces.

Chilling with babes es muy importante; they can keep you warm in Central Park. Yowww.

Christian Slater has always been a fan of relaxing by doing drugs, which is certainly one way to do chillin'. Important mellow attire is a t-shirt and khakis.

But, you can be dressed up and also be low-key. I'm not a big The Who guy, but Roger Daltry's style got kind of interesting in the '80s; lots of striped shirts, lightweight blazers and jackets with tailored pants. Tres chill.

Pitt's overall vibe is cool, because you can tell he's saying to himself, "OK, let's get this over with so I can go roll a doob." Even in Inglorious Basterds.

This is some dude that went to Yale, protesting something. I don't exactly get what there is to protest if you're going to Yale, but whatever, he doesn't looked too stressed about it. OK, looks like it was about apartheid, but still.

A chill ensemble from The Dominican Republic. Supreme will never, ever make pleated pants, by the way. Dare you, Baque.

Unfortunately, Ralphie Lo's cornered the mindshare market on the ageless sport of polo, yet there's a whole lot more style and vibes going on than pique, especially in Texas. A good way to burn through a Saturday.

I get the distinct impression whoever did the tagging on the LIFE image archive doesn't know one Baldwin from another.

These Korean guys weren't actually chillin', they were fighting.

This cat is cafe ready in a t-shirt and a double breasted.

Pierce and Andre are relaxing; khakis, salads, water. Quite a mellow one.

Anthony Perkins in white chinos, maxing, relaxing.

All images, LIFE Archive

Wiliwear by Willi Smith

2010-02-15T10:54:00.000-05:00

''I don't design clothes for the Queen,'' Mr. Smith once said, ''but for the people who wave at her as she goes by.'' - The New York Times

Le Vampire

2010-02-11T09:43:00.003-05:00

via Land of The V

Painlevé, like Guillaume Apollinaire in 1909, claimed that "the cinema is a creator of a surreal life". - Wikipedia

Runway

2010-02-01T08:57:00.000-05:00

"In a place far away from anyone or anywhere, I drifted off for a moment."
— THE WIND-UP BIRD CHRONICLE

Runway (55:32)

Hajime Tachibana "Theme from Nihon No Sugao"
Sting "Be Still My Beating Heart"
Rita e Roberto "Vitima"
David Sylvian "Red Guitar"
Ryuichi Sakamoto "Risky"
Sade "Hang On To Your Love"
Linda Di Franco "TV Scene"
Playgroup "Going Overdrawn"
Jah Wobble "East"
David Sylvian "Bamboo Houses"

Runway on Soundcloud
Runway on Mixcloud

Keep 'Em Dancing

2010-01-25T13:59:00.000-05:00

Because there isn't a video for "Sexy Eiffel Tower" and so you know why the McLaren Supreme Vans looked the way they did.

Version City II

2010-01-25T07:40:00.001-05:00

With some unconscious forethought, I saved a note of the tracklisting for Version City II. In case you were wondering. Only now do I realize that I put two Lenny White cuts on it - it's worth mentioning, the guy was quite stylish, rarely photographed without his signature hat. Of course, Gil Scott Heron wasn't half bad himself.

A Silent Flute - Version City II (60:46)

Flash and The Pan "Waiting for a Train"
The Rivits "Future Soon"
Phil Manzanera "Diamond Head"
Lenny White "Prince of The Sea"
Space "Running In the City"
Mick Fleetwood "Super Brains"
Edwin Birdsong "Kunta Dance"
Chaka Khan "All Night’s All Right"
Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson "Late Last Night"
Lenny White "Night Games"
Osamu "Yesterday & Karma"

You Know More Than Me

2010-01-18T02:40:00.007-05:00

They say Europeans use Dailymotion more than YouTube. I've been looking around for this music video for Linda Di Franco "TV Scene" for many summers, so maybe "they're right and maybe there's a whole stash of Euro vids to be found. While it's not the more dance floor friendly classic 12" mix, I'll live; the sax solo and "how does it feel" ad lib are both intact. In related news, I managed to stuff this tune on a new mix, forthcoming. Look for it. It's the one with the piano bridge.

Torture Taxi by CTRL+W33D

2010-01-16T11:33:00.003-05:00

20 minutes of w33d jams: CTRL+W33D's Torture Taxi

Weekend Reads | Mazes, Minds, Menswear and Man

2010-01-15T11:50:00.000-05:00

Labyrinth Discovered Under The Bosnian Pyramids by Sam Semir Osmanagich on LVL39
The Harvard Psychedelic Club by M.J. Stephey on Time
The Nifty 50 | Patrik Ervell, Designer by Laird Borrelli-Persson on T Magazine
Was Neanderthal Man the Original Metrosexual? in The Daily Mail

You Can Dance

2010-01-14T17:59:00.002-05:00

HELL FEATURING BRYAN FERRY 'U CAN DANCE' from Gigolo Records on Vimeo.

Read all about it on T Magazine.

Reflections, They Say

2009-12-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

"A young girl in leather jeans and a jersey which did not make it to the top of her jeans began to sing. She was extraordinarily good. They all sat at the table to listen to her." - CARIOCA FLETCH

Reflections, They Say (55:51)

Bobby Caldwell "Kalimba Song"
Bobby Caldwell "What You Won't Do For Love"
Quincy Jones "Somethin' Special"
Chaka Khan "What Am I Missing"
Daniele Baldelli & T.B.C. "Cosmic Voice"
Graham Central Station "Mr. Friend"
Atmosfear "Creator's Dream"
Delegation "Darlin' (I Think About You)"
Dexter Wansel "I Will Never Forget (My Favorite Disco)"
Chaka Khan "Best In The West"
Sister Sledge "You Fooled Around"
The Limit "Could This Be Love"
David Joseph "I'm So In Love"

Fraulein

2009-12-20T12:59:00.001-05:00

Ellen von Unwerth at Staley Wise, through January 30th.

Mount Fuji, Miyajima and Iwate

2009-12-16T20:01:00.001-05:00

(autumn) from Samuel Cockedey on Vimeo. via Pink Tentacle

Did someone say chill-out room?

Lick It Up

2009-12-13T20:04:00.002-05:00

via Franki Chan

All Black | Jungle Fever

2009-12-11T00:39:00.002-05:00

"Jungle is a London sumting." Take this 1994 BBC2 documentary for a spin. Look for a young Fab and Bukem, Shy FX in the bedroom days, Rap & Trace at the record shop and UK Apache on stage in Wolverhampton. Heavy.