Tuesday 20 December 2011

the daily poxy soundsystem: james vincent mcmorrow- if my heart should somehow stop.


who: james vincent mcmorrow

sounds likelonging and the endless distance travelled by a day dream.

why we love himceltic druid meets french connection man and their combined beards produce a song.  i am beard. i am song.

most likely to say: what’s the premium on your facial hair insurance?

not out of place on: into the wild mix tape,  as alexander supertramp wanders the alaskan wilderness. oh how our hearts  still hurt.

something to ponder: separation anxiety is just one of my co-morbidity disorder’s. somebody get the charlson index out…

[aine herlihy]

Thursday 15 December 2011

the daily poxy soundsystem: bag raiders - shooting stars



who: bag raiders.

sounds like : as if someone has just thrown a slice of pineapple at your face from a passing fruit cart.

why we love them: one member of the group used to be an elephant trainer. true story. he might even train us.

not out of place on : a cadillac car stereo as you drive along the palm tree ridden coast, into the encroaching dusk.

most likely to say: no, we are not cut copy. next.
   
something to ponder: will they serve pina coladas when we get there?

[callum dickson]

Thursday 8 December 2011

what inspires the inspirational: ivan m. granger


ivan m. granger is a poet and the creator of one of our favourite poetry websites, poetry chaikhana. ivan joyfully shares the sacred poetry of cultures, religions, and spiritual traditions from around the world. in particular, poetry chaikhana has a middle eastern theme, honouring the vibrantly, devotional, irreverent, and truly profound sacred poetry the region has given to the world. but ivan also says there is another important reason for this middle eastern flavour: to counter the miserably limited portrayal of middle eastern cultures and religion we are given in the west. he says “although i am not a muslim or sufi, it is desperately important to remind the western world of the rich spirituality the middle east has given to us”.

so what’s the deal with the un-pronounceable name?  well, my fellow philistines,  “chaikhana is a teahouse along the legendary silk road pilgrimage and trading route linking china to the middle east and europe. it is a place of rest along the journey, to sip tea, and to gather together to sing songs of the divine”.

ivan lives in colorado with his wife michelle. the man’s a mystic - sign up to the chaikhana poetry mail out and you will concur i'm sure.  


listening to: liszt's ‘la campanella’, i keep returning to this piano solo piece. it manages to be delicate and a bit agitated, while also surprisingly serene. i've also been listening to radiohead's ‘creep’.

reading: the yoga tradition by georg fuerstein. and the novel musashi, by eiji yoshikawa. of course, i have a stack (literally) of poetry books all around my desk.

watching: cadfael - a medieval monk solving murders. now why does that feel so cosy?

eating: gluten-free pumpkin pie. well, i would be if there was any left...

loving:the sunny day with snow glistening on the ground. inspires moments of stillness.

loathing: am i loathing anything? i hope not. though i have to admit to a few things i’d like to see changed. do you think we can set the world to rights with a list of 25 items or less?

tired of: ...social institutions that have forgotten what it means to be a human in the world.

bored of: too much is purposeful. it can become a compulsion. i know i'm doing something right when i have moments of boredom in my day.

scared of: plenty. but facing those fears, isn't that what makes for a good adventure?

dreaming of: i used to dream i was fighting zombies. or flying above rooftops at twilight. lately i've been travelling through strange lands, labyrinthine buildings, following vaguely familiar pathways to unknown destinations. every time i think i know my dream landscape well, new, strange vistas open up.

visit the website at : http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com

[aine herlihy]

Tuesday 6 December 2011

the daily poxy soundsystem: veronica falls- come on over


who: veronica falls

sounds like : a hypnotic invitation to make out, based on meteorological circumstances.

why we love them: they sing about finding love in graveyards and perennial bad feelings -our inner wednesday addams has found an outlet.

not out of place on : anything christina ricci related (prior to pan am).  

most likely to say: let's just watch roger corman movies all day and discuss the terrifing effects raven haired women named ligeia, have on us.
   
something to ponder: maybe i should get my hep shots before i wear a vial of someone elses blood?

[aine herlihy]


Sunday 4 December 2011

the daily poxy soundsystem: peter and kerry-crash and burn

who: peter and kerry

sounds like: a sunday morning migraine brought on by regrets rising up through your body.

why we love them: they wanted fluidity so drank excess fluids. we get it.

not out of place on: the soundtrack for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

most likely to say: how do i get home from here? i want my own bed and my own ibuprofen.

something to ponder: hubris is for pioneers. hangovers will teach you humility. 

[aine herlihy]

Saturday 3 December 2011

what inspires the inspirational: eva baker.


today sees the launch of a new and exciting community arts space at 44 marlborough avenue hackney, with  a day of performances, interactive sessions and general good vibes to be enjoyed by all. we caught up with the events spirited organiser, eva, (whose tireless efforts to promote the arts always keeps us hopeful) to find out what inspires the inspirational. 


listening to: explosions in the sky for atmospheric wintry bus rides, billie holiday to warm up a cold evening, and basement djs 'the heatwave' podcast for house party shake downs.


reading: john snow's autobiography - he's a bit of a hero and it's a great account of what it's like to be an investigative journalist, which is my dream.


watching: the power of nightmares, a 3 part documentary by adam curtis about the rise of the politics of fear in relation to neo liberalism and radical Islam. a truly illuminating watch. 


eating: borek, the spinach and cheese pastries that my amazing local corner shop sells. they're massively addictive!


loving: the amount of suggestions, insights and warmth i've got from the residents of the hosing estate where we've just set up a community centre. i feel really grateful for having a job which allows me to interact with some inspiring people in a meaningful way, and that doesn't involve sitting behind a computer.


loathing: the media's relentlessly negative portrayal of young people and their position in society. if you keep telling them they're the 'lost generation' they'll start to believe it... put some solutions out there instead of telling people how hopeless  they are.


tired of: the police popping up at every demo in vast numbers, no matter how peaceful, and using unnecessary force.


bored of: everyone  in the public eye talking about how shit everything is (politicians, journalists, media).


scared of: prejudiced, narrow minded, greedy people... especially the ones in parliament and heading up other powerful institutions.


dreaming of: far away places... continually.

to find out more about the event visit: http://www.facebook.com/events/192422744176372/

[aine herlihy]

Friday 2 December 2011

tube tutorials - an underground enlightenment #1



the tube isn't just a breeding ground for germs and jerks alike. when it’s not rush hour on the central line, and you're not head-locked under a fat mans underarm, it can be an almost metaphysical investigation, like a john donne sonnet, y’know? despairing amid anomie and now an elitist educational system, we’ve decided each week, to transform otherwise bleak platforms full of weary, nameless strangers and ask, is there anything they can teach us?


it started on the cirlcle line, as all great shit analogies for everything should. we sat as we always do, playing foosball with our eyes, when suddenly i felt an elbow on my arm. his name was arlin, a new york jewish gent, and he wanted words. sporting a powerful, powder blue suit he claimed to be a professional bridge player and a best friend of omar sharif. OMAR SHARIF!? we couldn’t think of any one we’d like to meet more, aside from murphy brown, perhaps. as we journeyed west, arlin helped us compile a list of nine ( he hopped off before we could get to ten) yiddish words, you need to know, now.  it doesn’t matter, that after all that, we realised that omar sharif isn’t in fact jewish and never was.  however, we suppose that these additional words, a source of rich expressions, will benefit your syntax thus improving brain elasticity.  happy days.

1. bupkes:  a rather rude way of implying a strong sense of nothing, by which we mean, ‘horse droppings’. as in,  “after everything i have done for you, what do i get? bupkes”.  


2. chutzpah: in english, chutzpah often denotes courage or confidence, but among yiddish speakers, it’s not a compliment and implies arrogance. which is the same difference. as in “that willow smith kid, she got too much chutzpah for something that size”.

4.feh: representative of the sound of spitting and used to suggest disgust. where would you be going without it?


5.kibbitz: what a word! it means to gossip or give unwanted advice. kibbitzing, it’s what we do best.


6.maven: used to connote an expert, often used sarcastically. for example “quit acting the maven, you don’t know bupkes ‘bout nothin”. 


 7.oy vey:  an exclamation of dismay, grief, or exasperation. most likely to be used on a sunday morning, when you check your sent messages. 


8.shlep: just shleping around y’know? get slouchy, get shlepy.  


9.schlock: meaning cheap, shoddy, or inferior. the words your landlord didn’t use to describe your apartment. oy vey. 

[aine herlihy]

Wednesday 30 November 2011

what's in the bag?: the cambridge satchel company fluoro satchel


well, it's officially half way through the week. and unofficially too, i suppose (i'm not one to stand on ceremony).

so, what's going on here is a new weekly feature we're trying out, in which we have a look at a few things that are getting us through the week. starting from the bag from whence all said objects would be retrieved, right down to the industrial strength, 48 hour deodorant that i would consider keeping in a holster strapped to my thigh, except that i don't need to (that's the whole point of long-wearing deodorant i think - it's a exercise in holster-minimisation).


is any of this stuff in your bag? or are you more of a holster girl? is cleanser actually the best invention in the world? will the fluoro yellow of the cambridge satchel cause actual and lasting damage to my retinas? or will tortoiseshell specs offer adequate protection? answers on a postcard please.


satchel: cambridge satchel company @ mybag.com

leather trousers: gareth pugh @ farfetch.com
chiffon blouse: lipsy @ cargoclothing.com
boots: miista.com
specs: dsquared2, 01635277299
leather gloves: gantuk.com
scarf: david longshaw at harrods.com
cleanser: eve lom @ beautyexpert.co.uk
deodorant: mitchum @ boots

the daily poxy soundsystem: yuck -get away.


who are they: yuck

sounds like: rocking out beneath a memory foam mattress. 

why we love them: as we listened to them, while reading about the double dip recession (ice-cream anyone?), we thought, yuck, not that again. the link is tenuous, yet we've decided that their ambivalent air might be just what we need to survive yet another finanical fiasco. yay, go team yuck!

most likely to say: it's actually a big responsibility being this cool, y'know?

not out of place: blaring in a rough trade store, while disillusioned 20 something’s  pour over vinyl, wondering is anybody watching them.

something to ponder: what are the chances they would change their name to ‘ew'? it’s just so much softer on the palette isn’t it? today’s homework: work on my ‘y’ words…

[aine herlihy]

Monday 28 November 2011

the daily poxy soundsystem: metronomy - the bay



who: metronomy.
sounds like: reading a travel guide whilst on a late night flight, descending into the lights of tokyo.
why we love them: post-metronomy you will find us in a party mood, sporting a whimsical smile,  yearning for the salt ‘n vinegar of the seaside and stuck to wall with candyfloss, suffering a sugar induced spasm.
most likely to say: we all play synth!
not out of place: getting angular on the dance floor.
something to ponder: do they actually work for a tourist board?


[callum dickson]

look at this rad thing we found #5

in early autumn we began laminating leaves; our tragic attempt to preserve the unpreservable, sic transit gloria mundi and all that lark. but more superficially, we really just liked the hot firmness of it in our hands! but our love of all things leafy took a whole new twist when we stumbled upon christina sanders blog, where she shows you step by step, how to make roses out of leaves. amazing.







but more than rose leaves, we love boyfriends who go to the bother of making them for us. gaww, now ain't that sweet!

For a step by step instruction, visit christina's blog at http://asensesublime.blogspot.com/2011/10/sublime-makes-autumn-leaf-roses.html

[images: christina sanders]

[aine herlihy]

Saturday 26 November 2011

in pictures: poxymash goes to borough markets






the daily poxy soundsystem: bos angeles- beach slalom.


who are they: bos angeles
sounds like: driving in the middle of the road at midnight, staring down headlights in a downpour,  a cigarette slipping from your lips and a crotch full of ash.  the windscreen, the road, everything a stupid blur. death to  pathetic fallacy- our life is such dumb poetry!
why we love them : their lassitude speaks to our broken bodies. we survived the working week - we are the walking wounded, you could steal our kidneys and we would just smile back benignly.
most likely to say: very little. but 93% of communication is non-verbal, so maybe actually a lot, but probably not.   
not out of place on: an episode of the o.c.  when mischa barton was having one of her ‘moments’.
something to ponder: why’s your mouth not moving mister? is that ventriloquism or have you cut ketamine with your valium again?
[aine herlihy]

Friday 25 November 2011

something to do this weekend: manicures, cocktails and clothes, oh my!


she goes to guess! ok, so it's the weekend, and it's bloody cold. we know you want to be sitting in bed watching rubbish tv on 4od (shhhh, don't worry 4od, i still love you; it just has to be a secret love).

but might i suggest that in amongst all this tv watching, you trip your pretty self down to guess (162-168 regent street).

why? they're holding a weekend-long event to celebrate the launch of their holiday party and christmas collections, and there are a veritable bevy of treats on offer, including chocolate, manicures, cosmopolitans, hairdressers and stylists on tap. and, best of all, guess are offering 30% off all purchases (no doubt conditions apply, but i don't think they're the sign-your-life-away conditions; just regular conditions).


it runs from 10 til 5 saturday and sunday. personally, i've got my eyes on a pair of fab boots: my head is telling me to exercise restraint, but i fear that my cosmo-addled heart may lure me over to the dark side.

still, at least my nails will look fabulous.


[gussy aureli]

the daily poxy soundsystem: liz green - bad medicine



who is she: liz green

sounds like: part folk, part blues, all amazing.

why we love her: experiencing hyperglycaemia as a result of over-exposure to saccharine girlpop? she’s the antidote.

most likely to say: don’t give me none of that medicine for i'll spit it right back out.

not out of place on a: vintage emporium playlist.

something to ponder: the sunday times calls your music “haunting and beautiful”; how do you top that?

[gussy aureli]


Thursday 24 November 2011

know your banksy from your roa from your stik?

we were planning on doing the london harry potter tour. who knows, maybe we’d have found platform 9 and three quarters. but it just didn’t have enough…street cred. instead, last weekend poxymash had the pleasure of going on the london street art tour, spending saturday afternoon wandering the streets of shoreditch in the cold winter sunshine and taking in the numerous pieces of social commentary that can be found on the surrounding walls.
street art has risen in popularity, rather like a wizard on a rampant broomstick, with well-known figures such as banksy commanding six-figure sums for a single piece. there are now many new, lesser known yet exciting artists decorating the walls of cities around the globe, such as roa, who is responsible for the skeletal bird below. a prolific belgian painter, he has spent the past year travelling the world, imparting his intricate animal pieces onto approximately seventy cities.


we also heard about stik, who in contrast to roa has maybe left london once in the last ten years! as such, many of his simple, yet emotive stick men can be found all around london. we saw numerous eine lettering pieces, such as this large r, next to a face by stinkfish below. ben eine recently shot to moderate fame when one of his prints was gifted by david cameron to barack obama.

if you are looking for a way to see the alternative side of london then we thoroughly recommend this tour. and if you’re worried about our lack of hogwarts experience, towards the end of the tour we actually walked past voldemort actor ralph fiennes!
[callum dickson]

in pictures: the adidas consortium x moniker projects party

the daily poxy soundsystem: weezer - only in dreams



who are they: weezer

sounds like
: you're 14 again (provided you were born in the same year as i was). or, more prosaically, everyone's favourite quirky alt-rockers take on the epic last tune, and pass with flying colours.

why we love them: i loved weezer because my year 9 boyfriend loved weezer. his favourite song was my name is jonas. he also introduced me to the wrist-slittingly divine jeff buckley. so, all in all, not a bad kid (hi jono if you're reading this).

most likely to say: our lead singer shares his name with a body of water and new york state governor.

not out of place on a: stereo at 3am: the streamers are wilting, and a lone dancer sways out of time, lighter in the air.

something to ponder: did the bassist get incredibly irritable, playing the same riff for 8 minutes non-stop?


[gussy aureli]

Wednesday 23 November 2011

get-your-wallet wednesday: it's kirsty doyle!


feeling irritable? spiky even? let your jewellery do the talking (so you don't have to) with kirsty doyle's acrux collection.

for those of you who haven't been instantly won over by these ultra-violet delights, don't worry: it won't make you look like the type of person that shops in camden (you know, in those shops? you know the ones we're talking about. with the scary shoes that are made out of soviet-era car tyres).

no - these spikes are made from czech crystal, so you're staying on the pretty side of punk (apologies to messrs vicious and mclaren, who are currently rolling in their graves, but, well, i like pretty things).

wallet feeling extra generous this wednesday? check out the rest of her pieces here.

acrux necklace: 259.00
acrux bracelet: 127.00


[gussy aureli]

the daily poxy soundsystem: groove armada - at the river



who are they: groove armada

sounds like
: sunset at your favourite beach: sand between your toes, salt in your eyelashes and the smell of fish and chips with vinegar on your hands. don’t forget to wipe the sand off your feet before your get back in the kingswood, kids.

why we love them: um, it’s groove armada. next question please.

most likely to say: we are groove armada, we’re fond of sand dunes and salty air (and superstyling).

not out of place on a : ministry chill out compilation you buy during schoolies week in byron bay (c. 2001).


something to ponder
: why can’t the weather always be balmy? and where can we get some good fish and chips?


[gussy aureli]

Tuesday 22 November 2011

in which dappered get down to the business of snobbery



we love a bit of snobbery. who doesn't? it's good for the soul, and doesn't involve consuming empty calories.

boys, if you think your nose appears to best advantage in the air at a 45 degree angle, check out dappered's five types of snobs in men's style.

personal preference, or prickishness? you decide.


[gussy aureli]

[image: dappered]