west of the mark

i don't really like kanye west. it's nothing personal (lies: it totally is), i just find it hard to esteem rampant narcissism and daft-punk-degradation in a man. this is perhaps a shame, as i might otherwise find his particular brand of tourettes intriguing and endearing.

suffice to say, i've been fostering a slight grudge since the stomach-turning stronger. so when lisa armstrong's telegraph piece about his debut ss12 collection in paris appeared on my feed this sunny morning:

stick to the day job, kanye: kanye west's debut fashion collection is rap with a capital-c.

i'm not going to pretend i wasn't suffused with a subtle sense of schadenfreude.

by all accounts, west's designs aren't heinous, merely misjudged. armstrong is right: the world does not need another bandage dress. nor another pair of skin-tight metallic jeans that languish in our wardrobes, waiting patiently for the day we magically metamorphosize into ms moss. and fur rucksacks? for summer? is that what i'm going to be taking to tamarama this season? that one is going to be a delight after a bit of saltwater and salt and vinegar get to it.

i think it could be the overlong jeans, the metallics that sing pure bling, or the undisguised penchant for shine-on-shine ensembles, but i can imagine west himself donning a few of his creations before an evening of good ol' fashion mic hijacking. perhaps this is where he went wrong: for womenswear, his offerings are old time, but made for men, maybe it could have been a runway revolution. although, let's be honest: probably not.

all in all, there's nothing too damning - i don't think a smear campaign against such a worthy opponent is a calculated risk the tele is tempted to take. however, if it were me, and my collection was referred to as a "stupendously vacuous enterprise", i'd certainly lay low for a while.

time to alphebetise the mink collection, perhaps.

[gussy]

[image: style.com]

remember those books by graeme base?

well, this photographer's work reminds us of that, in the most charming way. 

mikel uribetxeberria has a name that is delightfully unpronounceable to a simple sydney mind such as mine (apparently 'tx' is 'ch'), and hails from azkoitia, in northern spain's basque country (look how much we're learning today! and it's the weekend, too). 

he has exhibited in paris, mexico, berlin and madrid, in addition to having won a slew of awards. yes, that's right, a slew.

my favourite is his animalia collection; obviously in part because of the whole graeme base aspect, which reminds me of the eleventh hour, and how my world was turned upside down when the culprit turned out to be that bastard mouse with the pretentious name that escapes me for the minute. however, more prosaically, i can't go past the displaced 'wrong place at the wrong time' feeling of it. it makes me feel that at least it's not just me.

[gussy]

[image: mikeluribetxeberria.com]

braids: wear them in your heart.

we defy you and your braids not to unravel and melt into a mild euphoria post consumption.   'native speaker' is the debut long player from  the canadian quartet BRAIDS. out now via kanine records.

“our next single is 'beer in my eye’ ” crystal stilts

brad hargett, the lead singer of crystal stilts, alienates the crowd with antagonistic eyes and is uncomfortable performing alongside french girls in floral dresses (who subsequently steal his can of san miguel and return it to him via his eye!).this much we  have discerned from their gig in cargo. but what else would you expect from these brooklyn purveyors of haunting, atmospheric post-punk pop. distant, melancholy and moody, crystal stilts’ new album ‘in love with oblivion’ might just be the perfect soundtrack to those long heady nights that belong to summer, but somehow get hijacked by winter!  

we have it on repeat. repeat i say, repeat. but don’t take our word for it….

the album will be released in the uk on 11 april 2011.

http://www.myspace.com/crystalstilts

[image: www.faultmagazine.com]

[aine herlihy]

band of the week: team me!

we recently caught team me at an upbeat, intimate gig and were so impressed by their pop/folk/electro styling’s that it seemed only fair to share.

having recently supported british sea power and the wombats for a number of tour dates their next UK show is at the lexington, london on march 31^st followed by a slot at brighton great escape festival  on may 12^th.

their first official release is a five track EP due to land on april 18^th; head over to their myspace page to hear the norwegians in action, or check out this for a tune...

http://www.myspace.com/teammegjaggu

[callum dickson]

fishlove.

half of all fish caught in the north sea are thrown overboard dead. 

poxymash understands, better than most, the curse of indicisiveness/not wanting something once you've got it, but this is out of control. 

hugh fearnley whittingstall, food writer, celebrity chef extraordinaire, and championer of the real food movement, has decided enough is enough. he's started the big fish fight, a campaign to end the carnage.

more than 640,000 people have signed up to support the campaign so far; have a look at the website, and help give plaice a chance.

[gussy aureli]

a little projection goes a long way

we all know that a little light can do big things (i think perhaps god said something similar, come to think of it). anyway, this has never been more the case than with the ice book, an animated fairytale pop-up book by artists davy and kristin macguire.

combining an artisanal aesthetic with digital media, the result is both eerie and breathtakingly beautiful. and with the bandwidth now suspended due to high bandwidth usage, the above video will have to do for now - it's definitely worth a look. 

many thanks to psfk for unearthing this little gem.

[jessica aureli]