New music excitement

Nothing make me more excited than the prospect of new music from some of my favorite bands and artists.

I thought that the unveiling of M.I.A's new video, and the preview of the latest from The New Pornographers would be the highlight of my week but leave it to Interpol to steal that honor. A few days ago Interpol finally removed the "Interpol 2010" tag on their official website and replaced it with a dramatic unveiling of their new song "Lights".

Their new record has no name or release date but with the free download of "Lights" making its way onto the internet one can assume a new effort from them will be released in the near future.

Anyone who knows me will know that I have been an enthusiastic Interpol fan from the very beginning, even standing by the band when they released Our Love to Admire, which was not necessarily a critical success. "Lights" is a moody track, in some ways it hearkens back to the Interpol of the past with Paul Bank's monotone vocals and punchy guitars but it serves as more of an extension to Our Love to Admire. The song has a definite "Pioneer To The Falls" feel, a more ambient sound as the song builds, the last minute of the song is what makes it great. To make the new record truly great they need to lose the sweetness of Our Love to Admire ( see "No I in Threesome" a song I HATED) and focus on creating songs full of vigor and intensity (more along the lines of "Obstacle 1", "Evil" and "The Heinrich Maneuver").

Though "Lights" sets the stage for a "newer" Interpol sound I am hoping the record can showcase all they do well, including the punchy pulsating sounds of their past.

Download the song for free www.interpolnyc.com

Art in motion

In the world of music videos art is often forsaken for cheesy performance pieces and half-naked women. Some musicians, very few unfortunately, can make their music even more meaningful and relevant with a well thought out, well produced music video. Case in point M.I.A.

Monday M.I.A released the video for the first single off her third record "Born Free". The Romain Gavras directed clip is violent, and hard to watch but shows the true arbitrary nature of racism and persecution. In the video U.S. SWAT team agents (or some government entity) plow through an apartment complex, beating people who get in their way until they find the red-haird man they are looking for. They take the man and put him on a bus with other red-haired men when it becomes clear the police/military force are singling out and capturing red-heads. The caravan passes red-haired "rebels" as they throw rocks . The caravan ends in a wasteland where the men are released and shot at while they run away.

The video captures the true pointlessness, and arbitrary nature of racism. Why would they be targeting men with red hair? Why then is any particular group targeted with violence and oppression? Using people with red hair rather than brown skin makes the point even clearer to the viewer because one would never think someone could be judged by the color of their hair. If people can be oppressed and killed because of the color of their skin then why not their hair? It is all random.

As someone from Sri Lanka, M.I.A. has seen meaningless oppression of the Tamil people for years and reflects on what she sees with this video. Racism has no deeper meaning, hate is right on the surface, people can hate based on the color of someone's skin, hair, anything that sets them apart.

This is a fashion post

Music has always been my greatest interest but fashion comes in a close second.

Alexander McQueen's Fall 2010 RTW line was set to debut only days after Lee McQueen's suicide. The looks, instead of shown on runway, were shown in a private viewing. Below are some of my favorites from the inspired collection; truly exquisite.

the details...

my definite favorite, the neckpiece is amazing.

LOVING the boots.

booties are fantastic, as are the mixed patterns, one of his trademarks.

Some other Fall collections I am crazy for are Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Siriano (though I hate how his models were styled), Rodarte, Viktor & Rolf (who dressed and styled models on the runway), and Miu Miu. I was definitely disappointed in a few of my favorite fashion houses like Balenciaga and Fendi, I just wasn't impressed with their point of view.

Some favorites...

Balmain, gold is very on trend for fall. Great use of gold as a base hue as well as gold in detail.

Rodarte. Knits are always seen in abundance in fall but they used the style in a unique way.

Christian Siriano. Definitely one to look out for, a budding talent for sure.

YSL. Love the blue shoes with the black, a lot of metallics in this collection with a lot of basic silhouettes.

I really need to write more

Because I really don't have time to review MGMT's Congratulations here is a link to Rolling Stone's review of the record. I can pretty much agree with their opinion, it is a pretty good effort, what I expected essentially. I think it is hard for a band that had a stellar debut to follow up without disappointing people. While there are few possible singles, the songs are very engrossing and interesting. Standouts include "It's Working", "Siberian Breaks", and "Congratulations".

Ch-ch-check it out.

Inspiration

Art inspires me. That is, art in the broadest sense. Art as in fashion, painting, music, architecture, and writing.

The importance of art often comes in its absence. On February 11 the world lost one of the most innovative fashion designers, and I lost one of my biggest inspirations, Lee Alexander McQueen.

Lee McQueen put everything he had into his work. His shows were a spectacle, his clothes impeccable. McQueen transformed dress-making and design into living art. Perhaps his best work came in the last two years of his career after the suicide of his dear friend Isabella Blow. His work took a turn for the magnificent; darker, more pointed. His best show was his 2009 Fall RTW line "The Horn of Plenty" where models walked around a heap of black painted trash wearing creations in black, white, and red with exaggerated houndstooth patterns and both geometric and luxurious silhouettes. Models wore their faces painted white with large painted-on black and red lips, bird-cages, umbrellas, and headdresses of recyclable materials adorned their heads. Though often outrageous, his designs were always well made and reflective of the story he wanted to tell.

McQueen's last runway took place a few months ago when we debuted his Spring 2010 RTW line "Plato's Atlantis". The show was his reflection on Global Warming and life in a water world. The clothes and shoes were reptilian, often looking like distorted animal skin and adorned with scale-like embellishments. Models walked the runway while moving cameras captured their movements, projecting them on the large screen behind them as well as to viewers online. The message was made in blue and green structured garments with unique, intricate, and abstract patterns. Also mind boggling are the shoes new to the line, especially the metal industrial pump and lobster claw shoe. His designs were also given new life being worn head to toe by Lady Gaga in her "Bad Romance" music video as well as at the Video Music Awards.

Though the McQueen brand will live on after its creator's death the clothes and vision will never be the same. What Lee McQueen did will live on and be inspiration to designers and artists for years in the future. His unique and revolutionary look at fashion and life and how he brought them together will forever be inspiration.

You don't have to love fashion to appreciate what he did, watch his shows at alexandermcqueen.com click on "experience" then view runway shows from the past.

In memorium

Some of my favorite McQueen looks over the years. RIP.

Things to look forward to

A new year brings new music. 2009 was a pretty good year, see my last list, but 2010 may prove to be a better year for music. Here I compiled a list of my most anticipated records set to be released later this year (or that have already been released in the past month).

-MGMT Congratulations - Spring

There has been no debut record in the past few years as promising as MGMT's late 2007/early 2008 LP Oracular Spectacular. The record combined their knack for melodic pop songs with their rock bearings and psychedelic aesthetic. Their sophomore release, Congratulations, is set to be released sometime this spring and is said to showcase more of what the band can do with their sound while still exploring their range as artists. There are many rumored collaborators but perhaps the most intriguing is the work they did with Paul McCartney, no word on whether any of that will appear on the record.

-Arcade Fire TBA- Spring

Though only releasing two full length records and a few early EPs Arcade Fire has already etched their name into music history with their unique sound and live performance. After the success of Funeral, and more recently Neon Bible, the band's next effort has a lot to live up to. According to band members their next record, though still untitled, will be out spring 2010 and was produced by Markus Dravs. Hopefully the record will have the cohesion of Neon Bible but with the stand-out tracks of Funeral.

-Interpol TBA- Early 2010

In the early 00's, during the wave of New York City rock, Interpol released their debut Turn on the Bright Lights to much praise and fanfare. Their second release, Antics, kept the band on the same path showcasing more of their excellent rhythm section and even more of Paul Bank's lyrical range (though not his vocal range). Their major label debut , 2007's Our Love to Admire, fell far short of their previous work and left fans as well as critics scratching their heads. After spending a few years apart to develop their own music (see: Julian Plenti) the band has put their priorities in check and recorded a new record. In interviews band members say they tried to mix the genuine cool they are know for with their obvious musical progression...we will see.

-Vampire Weekend Contra- Out now

To date, this year's best release is most certainly Vampire Weekend's Contra. Though a seemingly impossible task, the band was able to follow up their acclaimed debut with more stunning music. The sound is still what a fan would expect but much deeper, in both lyrical content and arrangement. The band uses texture to create depth, often using vocals to accompany instruments instead of being layered on top.

-The Strokes TBA- Late 2010

A new Strokes record in 2010 is expected, but not confirmed. After having arguably the most important debut in the past decade, The Strokes have hit some bumps in their musical career. After releasing three records, most recently the mediocre First Impressions of Earth, the band got burned out. In the past four years all of the members have branched out with other projects including (principle songwriter) Julian Casablancas's excellent Phrazes for the Young, Albert Hammond Jr.'s two solo releases, Nikolai Fraiture's Nickel Eye, and Fabrizio Moretti's Little Joy. Putting differences aside, the band is currently working on their fourth LP in a New York City studio. Hopefully in their fourth release the band can bring back their signature New York cool attitude while breathing new life into their careers.

other promising releases...

-The New Pornographers TBA

-She & Him "Volume 2"

-Band of Horses "Night Rainbow"

-These New Puritans "Hidden"

-Xiu Xiu, "Dear God, I Hate Myself"

-Liars "Sisterworld"

-Panda Bear TBA

-Massive Attack "Heligoland"