Now Playing At Peepshow: Hot Dog!
Few XLR8R fashion shoots match the one in Issue 75 (March 2004), which features not only some good-looking models and tasty fashions, but also a dude in some sharp Adidas kicks and a hotdog suit gallivanting around San Francisco. We’ve unearthed these photos from the archives of XLR8R, now available for viewing at Peepshow.
Daily Download: IAMISEE “Lufthansa Heist Device”
IAMISEE is a one-man hip-hop operation with a taste for soulful purity in his music. Also known as Invisible Man, he creates dark boom-bap in the vein of early Company Flow or Aesop Rock–complete with lots of scratching, ’90s hip-hop samples, and b-boy references. The piano-driven leads and grimey snares make “Lufthansa Heist Device” a hip-hop purist’s wet dream.
Download this song as an MP3, or preview a week’s worth of tracks at the XLR8R Podcast. Subscribe using iTunes, or with an RSS reader of your choice.
Culture Two Sevens Clash (30th Anniversary Edition)
According to legend, Culture’s lead vocalist Joseph Hill had a vision, while riding a Kingston city bus, that some of Marcus Garvey’s cataclysmic prophecies would come true on the seventh day of the seventh month of 1977. It doesn’t matter that the day came and went without incident; the resulting record, Two Sevens Clash, lives on as one of the greatest reggae songs ever recorded. But it’s only one jewel among many on this beautiful re-release; the disco stepper “I’m Not Ashamed” and the righteous “See Them a Come” are here, too, along with five bonus tracks, including dubs and DJ versions with the great I-Roy. A fitting tribute to Hill, who passed away unexpectedly last year.
Dandi Wind Searching Flesh
I just saw Dandi Wind in New York and it was one of the best shows I have seen this year: rototom rolls, saw waves, and Dandi jumping around in some Jim Henson-sausage-link-Muppet-gut tunic. The recording of this song doesn’t do the live version justice. Hopefully on her next LP, Dandi will ditch the drum machines and record her drummer.
Datach’i The Regulator
This Bad Brains cover is a track from Datach’i’s forthcoming album 13. Joseph Fraioli takes Bad Brains’ original hardcore sludge and beast-whips it into lo-fi digi-punk. This is one of the few covers I have ever heard that not only stands up to the original, but carries its themes forward in a completely complimentary direction. The track is so good; it’s just too bad it’s only one minute long. Just play it 10 times in a row like I do.
Skolbeats 2007 Line-up
Kids, you’re going to have to postpone your Ibiza summer vacation, because Brazil’s premiere electronic festival Skolbeats is beyond official this time around. For the eighth installment of Sao Paulo’s power-fest, the organizers have confirmed performances from Kompakt’s Gui Boratto, MSTRKRFT, Laurent Garnier, Afrika Bombata & TC Islam, DJ Marky, The Crystal Method, Simian Mobile Disco, and many, many other killer DJs and artists.
The fest spans two entire days, with three stages dedicated to techno/house, urban music, and live acts. In addition to a legendary line-up, Skolbeats takes place at Campo de Marte, a private airport–which should have no trouble ensuring that things will stay sweaty, sticky, and insanely hedonistic.
Skolbeats 2007 Line Up:
May 4
Denise
Leo Janeiro
Nathan Fake
Magal
Gui Boratto
SugarDaddy
20:20 Soundsystem
Life Is A Loop
Donacha Costello
MSTRKRFT
DJ Mag Arena
Meme
Ingrid
Gabo
D Ramirez
Paulinho Boghosian
David Guetta
Sander Van Doorn
Lui-J
Puff
Antonia
CIA
Q-Bert
Zegon
Afrika Bambataa & TC Islam
Tony Touch
May 5
Marcos & Marcelo Braga
Julio Torres
Propulse
Carl Loben
The Cuban Brothers
Bonde Do Role
MixHell: Iggor Cavalera & Leimah Leyton
Shapeshifters
The Crystal Method
Simian Mobile Disco
Guy Gerber
Murphy
Marquinhos Espinosa
Bungle
DJ Patife
D-Bridge
DJ Marky
Friction
Andy
Fabio & Grooverider
DJ Marky & Laurnet Garnier
Dynamite MC
Stamina MC
SP:MC
Clovis
MC LuckyDenise
Leo Janeiro
The High Strung Hits the Books
Detroit, Michigan has never been known for arty pop music. Techno, electro-infused hip-hop, and of course, some soul music–yes. But art-pop? Not so much.
The High Strung is out to set the record straight. In support of its latest record Get the Guests (Park the Van), the band is spearheading one very unique tour across America, where rather than taking on packed bars and small clubs, these three well-read gentlemen are venturing on a library tour!
It’s true. The awkward silences of sniffling bookworms and kids shuffling through aisles of text will be exchanged for classic rock-meets-power-pop intensity.
Lyrically, the band utilizes character sketches as a songwriting tool. With tracks ranging from stories of Cupid shooting himself, to a narcissistic museum curator decorating walls with his own work, to a narrator trying to decide which character is the best romantic model, it’s far from surprising that a band of this intellectual magnitude wouldn’t appear in a library here and there.
Sharing the same label as new pop icons like Dr. Dog and The Teeth, The High Strung are out for literary achievement. Scholars, prepare to have your quiet day of study interrupted.
Get the Guests is out May 15, 2007 on Park the Van.
Mama Clothing’s Favorite Things
Streetwear is definitely a boy’s game, but there are just as many girls coveting all-over-print hoodies and crazy-colored high-tops. Enter 32-year-old Gabriella Davi-Khorasanee, who began filling the void in women’s garms three years ago with Mama Clothing. This season, Mama’s offering Mondrian-inspired and leopard-print tees, custom doorknocker earrings, and even a lace-print New Era just for the ladies. Davi-Khorasanee can often be seen around San Francisco, rocking Chanel shades and a white wife-beater, and hustling on one of her many projects, which also include a men’s line called One Hit Wonder and an all-female posse known as M.I.S.S. Crew. We asked her what she can’t live without.
1. Hello Kitty Rolling Suitcase ($135)
I travel a bit for work and I always take my Hello Kitty carry-on with me. It’s the perfect size to stow everything I need on a flight, including a laptop and pillow. Why carry the same boring black luggage that everyone else has? My model is a few years old, but every year Sanrio releases a different version.
2. Zippo Black Crackle Lighter ($18.95)
What can I say? Everyone’s got at least one bad habit. Zippos make the habit a little harder to break. From the unmistakable hinge click to the faint smell of lighter fluid, it’s the best lighter ever. My little charm has black crackle–not only does it look amazing, it actually has some history to it. Because of the lack of raw materials during WWII, the lighters allocated to soldiers had a black coating to prevent rusting.
3. Vivienne Westwood: 36 Years In Fashion ($35)
The Vivienne Westwood exhibit at San Francisco’s de Young Museum (through June 10, 2007) is breathtaking. To see her pieces up close, and see the tremendous amount of detail that went into each garment, was such a great experience. It was also really interesting to see how her style changed, yet remained true to her ideals. If you can’t see the show in person, this catalog is the second best thing.
Zoo York Teams Up With Mike Giant
Zoo York‘s latest collaboration should thrill both the skate kids and the socially conscious. The skateboard company has teamed up with artist Mike Giant and New York non-profit youth organization Stoked Mentoring to produce a limited-edition skateboard deck and T-shirt, both adorned with custom artwork from Giant.
Proceeds from the collaboration will go towards Stoked Mentoring, but Zoo’s contribution is part of a longtime support system the company has provided for the non-profit over a period of time.
“For the past two years, Zoo has provided us with office space, resources, and access to their team, which has allowed us to serve over 120 at-risk kids in NYC,” says Stoked Mentoring founder Steve Larosiliere. “We’re excited to finally work with Zoo on a project, and we’re honored to have Giant provide the artwork.”
Decks and shirts go on sale in June, with a release party slated for Wednesday, June 6. As release parties go, this one will feature DJs, drinks, and the opportunity to get one’s hands on the material goods before the rest of the world does. Not a bad deal for giving a little money to a worthy cause.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Stoked Sessions II
Pink Elephant, 527 W 27th St., N.Y.
8 – 11 p.m., 21+
A required charitable donation will go directly to Stoked
