apologies, i have been absent for an unflattering amount of time. but what better way to make your presence known than through absence, right? ah yes, the little lies we tell ourselves.

so like every hipster in williamsburg who is living their 90′s moment (yo, i wont be caught in neon zubaz tho), i too have been fettered by the culture spawned by the swansong of Reaganism and the phoenix of liberalism.  1987-1994, what is UP! against the backdrop of the culture wars and the other clutches of specious neo-con campaigns, the American cultural production was totally unrestrained, perverse and down right sexy.  Soaked in the lavish apexes of early 80′s coke-fueled commercialism, the late 80′s/early 90′s melancholy somehow ignored (for the most part) the real doldrums and desperation that comes with true depression.  While 90′s angst seemed raw and real, sorry kids, it was still damn glamorous. Nirvana, Reality Bites, NWA, you name it- were all able to strip the sheen and gloss off of standard industry-production but their glorification of anger, frustration and anti-corporate values definitely thrust the belly of the beast into fetish territory.  Grunge and guns ain’t pretty but somehow our pop culture still made them damn seductive.

with that being said, what resulted was thwarted freedom and partial release; the failed promises of 80′s and 90′s culture are not lost on today’s prime-agers.  sure, the lower half of my generation were still children (although kids with tv & radio) but our older brothers and sisters were in middle/high school- the catalyst for taste formation.  so duh of course we’re seeing a resurrection of 90′s ideals in culture today- the only problem with today is that we’re all hell bent on the remix/convergence (no judgement here, as remix is what made the club dj).  we’re just sorta clinging on to all of that innovative production…but what remains is that expectation of failure and constant cynicism (but didn’t prevent us from stealing from the best!). regardless,  you should expect by now that i’m not too persuaded by guitars and MCs so i bring to you house (and a few other random smatterings of synths).

girls and boys, whip out your 909s ! prepare for some classic chicago and deep detroit and their offspring (i challenge you to distinguish the original cuts from today’s tracks. except for the last tune, duh, obvi)

without further ado…sunday resurrection: 1-2-3 can you feel it?

d for ?

you look good but you ?

no jerkin allowed !

reality did not bite

midwest misery?

sooooo much to do, so little time to make a darned mixtape or think about much except for school and sheets…

with the beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeach on mah mind, here are some salt, sand and sexy hair.

la musica y la baile apres le fin de semaine, kidlets!

just your average day in the sun

copy cat!

poof! watch out for that sand...

what you dont want to happen when in a bikini

of the battles we pick in life, this one of transparent artifice and tyrannical influence seems to be an utter waste of time. infinity + 1 is still infinity.  how much more splintering and redefining of social/political positions will we do until we realize that acceptance and cooperation aren’t binary practices?

this week i have been trolling the annals of the internots for the music i love so dear, but in the name of research and consuming research to be exact.  what am i supposed to do when i aint got much to give except in the words for page.  so i leave you with this-

the man who weaves wobbly bass, jazzy synth, disco snatches and every other murky contender in the electro mafia. TREASURE FINGERS (to give a plug for a sec- he and his  ”funky party jamz” will be at Webby on the 21st ! )

they'll be hiding in the shadows, they'll be hiding in the dark of the night

lemme see that fancy legwork

oh rexy, you’re so friday!

le mystere est beaux

il n'y a pas rien comme la nuit

et le ciel s'en sourit

le fin o le fin?

so instead of reading what actually was IN these books, i have been collecting muzak and other fun trinkets– and this week’s mix is off the chain. i am not exactly tooting my own horn here, since well, i didnt make the music. thank you to all the wonderful musicians out there who make life just a little bit more sparkly and sumptuous.

i present to you: Effme Friday!

and of course, the aural wouldn’t be complete without the visual, despite what sebastian says. here some pics yo!

just say NO to lonely disco

let the light shine through you

believe her! believe me.

horn freeze!

sure traditional tags (yah, before social media) have been on subways and buildings but this new hooligan, WOMP, has been hitting up the funniest places– here are my shots:

going postal!

no park for you! one year!

the ironic placing of these images with such a tag is such a hilarious finger to the system- the postal truck, the construction site with a ‘no parking’ barricade, a public phone (bc really, who uses them anymore?).  If you spot any WOMPs out there, take a photo & send on over!

and TrustoCorp has been switching out traditional road & street signs for some equal protest to system- perhaps a bit bolder and much more stylized, these signs have been put up from chinatown to tribeca and meatpacking. really beautifully done, if you ask me, especially when coupled with such irrefutable biting realism (or cynicism, depending on the shading of your lends but meh! never gets old to me!)

let them eat cake, says the queen of chinatown!

oh corey, watch out for the DOT

so what does this say? well, basically, in a post-graffiti world where subways are cleaner than my kitchen. Banksy has made street art as radical as bottle service and snark still seems to be the prevailing method of rejecting corporate values (albeit it IS getting a bit stale), these little trinkets are a nice counterbalance to our society’s general proclivity for shiny, branded values.

if you spot any around town or your part of the woods, send ‘em ova!

all photos are by me, except the sunglasses at night which you can find here at TrustoCorp’s flickr

many of us are starting to coat our jelly with a nice shade of bronze (even me!) and we saw lots of flesh on the streets. yay for spring!

here’s a little dippitydoodah to get us all pumped for backyards, barbeques and booze, errrr, brouhaha: who dat friday?! (beware: its some beloved favorites from past summers!)

here’s a little preview of what summer should bring:

nothing quite says summer like beer.

sign me up, please!

the original myspace shot

vodka flower!

wish i had some amazing excuse such as hitting da club too hard but really, i was tiiiiiiiiiiieyard and watched Witches of Eastwick (holy crap, i want the cast’s entire wardrobe).

Anywhoooozle, i’ve made a thumping bumping discoboppidybop for you. in a NEW FORMAT! welcome to the world of the mp3.

so without further adoooooo, here you go! freakyshow friday!

and of course, it wouldn’t be complete without pictures.

a little mixtape that twinkles in the aquatic: friday, march 26th: eau du celeste

here are the lovely images that have kept me up all night!

Wunderkammern

the greek nymphs are jealous

someone, PLEASE, push me off my pre-raphaelite podium

taxidermy never looked so good

take a gander and you’ll see why!