Kennedy isn't coming to Austin anytime soon, but I'm going to pretend he's coming here to pimp his new album Life Is a Party, which dropped last week. Here's a sample of my FAVORITE Kennedy song, "Karate:"
Kennedy used to be a member of Silversun Pickups (did you know that? I didn't!) before branching off to create his own character, which by the sounds of it, was conceived directly underneath a disco ball.
One of the songs from the new album, "John and Yoko," features vocals by the adorably hip Yelle. I've seen Yelle perform in Austin about three times now, and every time she finishes a show, she waves her arm over her head and says, "thank you AustEEN!" Cutest thing ever.
Man, Mohawk's Green Room is really stepping it up. Apparently, Misprint's Happy Hour tonight is the first of many HH parties there this summer. I wonder if the condo dwellers across the street will feel a touch of begrudged-yet-wistful longing, gazing out at Mohawk's tipsy patrons? (Then again, with last night's Spiro's shooting - !?! - maybe Red River's condo residents will decide to spend summer indoors).
"ALERT: MISPRINT MAGAZINE EMERGES FROM HIBERNATION
The new issue of misprint magazine comes out this Friday, via happy hour and supermodel bartenders. No cover — food will be there, beers will be cold, and you will get served. COME AND GET YOUR NEW ISSUE OF MISPRINT, A FREE KOOZIE, AN INSULT, A COCKTAIL, AND A PEEK AT RED RIVER'S ONLY BEARDED SNOW LEOPARD.
The monster foam party is from 5-9 or whatever. Mega cheap booze and grub catered by the Woodland. "
On a sidenote, I am very proud of whoever wrote this post on Mohawk's site for spelling "peek" correctly. A+! I always misspell that one, along with "referral" and "bourgeoisie." Which perhaps reveals a larger problem.
If loving electro-pop is wrong, I never want to be right.
Passion Pit is coming to Austin next Wednesday, June 3, to play at Emo's (for the bargain price of $12! Get tickets here.)
I love their video, above. It's actually not my favorite PP song (this is), but the visuals in this one are mesmerizing. Did any of you ever watch Six Feet Under? The torn-paper faces in this video remind me of that photography series Claire did for art school.
Want!
Anyway, that's going to be a big night, what with Rare Magazine's Rarest of Them All Party and all. Last year's party had over 1500 people, and this year, White Denim is playing. Who knew Wednesdays were so out of control?
Alright everyone. It's deadline week for me so the Austin posts are a little sporadic. However. If you are a die hard Real Housewives of NYC fan like I am, then the video below is pure magic. (And also not for sensitive listeners! Kisses!)
ENJOY:
Oh Real Housewives of Dallas, when will you finally descend upon us like a shimmering gift from heaven? Stop taunting us, Bravo!
So anyone who knows us in "real life" knows that our house is, for all intents and purposes, a hostel. There are no less than three people living on the bottom floor at all times, two to three on top (we live in a duplex), and often, one person crashing indefinitely in our downstairs guest bedroom. Sometimes for a night. Sometimes nine months.
Because of this, it's not unusual to wake up on a weekend morning, and discover a friend - or as the case may be, a brand new acquaintance - brewing coffee and whistling in his underwear. Some may find this lack of privacy disconcerting; for some reason, it's never really bothered me. (Unless you touch my laptop, and then the gloves freaking come off).
So there I was, yesterday morning, standing still half asleep in front of the bathroom mirror and struggling to correctly administer the toothpaste onto the toothbrush. I heard a guitar strumming in our guest bedroom next door, where one of our friends - let's call him Jack - had crashed for the night, and he was playing what sounded like a children's song with a simple, upbeat refrain:
"I'm thankful for my family, I'm thankful for my family, I'm thankful for my family, My family loves me."
Sweet, right? Next he moves onto, "I'm thankful for the air/I'm thankful for the air/I'm thankful for the air/For the air that I breathe."
Ok, so Jack's strumming through the things he's thankful for: the sky, his friends, his teachers. And before I go any further with this story, I should tell you that Jack is not only a peddler of children's songs, but in many ways, is a child himself. What prompted his burst of joyful song? Why are zebras so awesome-looking? We may never know - just the immutable forces of nature at work here.
So it's with complete innocence and unadulterated joy that Jack dives into the body parts he's thankful for: "I'm thankful for my head," followed by "I'm thankful for my throat," descending on down to the organs, like lungs, intestines, etc. (Have you thanked your intestines today?)
After Jack wraps up "I'm thankful for my stomach," I realized I'm intrigued to see where he'll go next, what with the song's "the head bone's connected to the/neck bone, and the neck bone's connected to the back bone"-like logic. So I stop brushing my teeth. I leaned closer to the door.
A brief pause in strumming.
And then:
"I'm thankful for my ANUS, I'm thankful for my ANUS...."
"Their debut LP, More Parts Per Million, was conceived and recorded in the kitchenette of singer Hutch Harris's house, known as "The Moss Motel", in southeast Portland, Oregon. The album was recorded on a 4-track cassette machine, with total tracking costs around $10."
I like the fact that Hutch named either his house or his kitchenette, I can't tell which, "The Moss Motel." Makes me want to walk around my house and name all of the rooms: we'll call the bathroom "Chateau de Never Any Toilet Paper," the living room "Inn of Errant Beer Cans," the backyard "Two Strangers Once Had Sex Out Here Suite..."
We're going to do a proper post on record label / multimedia organization Monofonus Press here pretty soon, but in the meantime, here's an event that you all should know about: Monofonus is hosting the record release for Over The Hill's second LP, Looking for a Spark, tomorrow night at The Parish. OTH's sound is a little tough to describe - twangy, occasionally paranoid, but more often calm and soothing. Go give it a listen. I like the song "Ronald Reagan."
This Over The Hill song is titled - appropriately enough, once you see the video - "Possession." You likey?
So I ran into James and Sarah of East Austinite last Friday at The Peacock, and was reminded of their cool Eastside Home Contest running this week. Have you all heard about it? Basically, eastside residents upload pictures of their impossibly hip, stylish abodes (like THIS ONE - oh my God?) and then we all vote.*
Anyway, it gave me the idea to reach out to Austin Eavesdropper readers with a similar proposition. Not a "contest" per se, but a roundup of local...outfits. Yeah? You dig? LACED WITH ROMANCE recently sent me some delicious tie-dyed tights, and I wore them out a few nights ago.
I know, the photo quality is stunning.
Here's a better one:
And a close-up:
LWR sent over some pretty fuchsia ones, too. Ever since their catwalk run at Fashion Freakout last February, these tie-dye tights have basically become my personal fetish object. I can't wait to throw together more outfits with them.
Anyway, look at the fierce winner below, who was so kind to send me his pic!! John basically turned a Carrie Bradshaw belt into a well-balanced Johnny Cash accessory. Is he not just très fab:
Note the sassy Hip-Cock of Accomplishment!
So anyways, Austin, I was wondering if you'd like to share what you're wearing right now - preferably with photos. Because this is one stylish city. While no one does this kind of thing like Austin Style Watch, I thought it might be fun to READ as well as SEE how you all are dressing yourselves these days, via your pics and commentary.
what are you wearing, austin?
If you'd like to participate, send outfit photos to the email address located on the right-hand side of the screen. If you submit pics, I will post them. (With a few commonsense exceptions, like nudity, or something truly horrifying a.k.a. drop-crotch harem pants.)
*I'm voting, and I'm typing, but I'm also drooling. Drooling and typing. Because these homes are so damn cute.
Do you know what I want to be? A member of Austin Etsy.
Whenever summer rolls around, I start itching to get my craft on. Know what I'm sayin'? This city is chock full of really talented, nationally-known DIY fiends, from Austin Craft Mafia to Naughty Secretary Club. Austin Etsy is a relatively new little camp of local crafters, and I pop over to their blog from time to time to see what pretty wares they're hawking.
So ever since my awesome sister-in-law Jen gave me The Big-Ass Book of Crafts for Christmas, I've been doing the craft thing a little more regularly. I made these plates for one of my friends who got married last month, and because I'm kind of a horrible person they are still waiting to be shipped:
You actually can eat off of these plates, but they have yet to be tested in a dishwashing machine...so probably safer just to hang on the wall I'm thinking.
Anyway, I don't have an Etsy store yet for these guys, but I'm thinking about it so I have an excuse to make more of these plates. Have any of you started up your very own Etsy store? If so, was it hard?
This Saturday, TV On The Radio is playing a sold-out show at Stubb's!
You can still get tickets here, at Craigslist. I'm counting 12 offers entered today.
And speaking of Craigslist...
It's been a long time since we've visited Missed Connections here on Austin Eavesdropper, hasn't it? I was at the Statesman Tweetup earlier tonight, and someone asked me if I actually eavesdropped on people. It made me miss my old friends on Missed Connections, that hopeful, oh-so-wistful slice of local internet users who just want to reconnect. "Oh, if only that ice cream server at Amy's knew how I really felt." "Hey, I Heart Video guy, did we, like, totally exchange meaningful glances today?" "Hey hot chik in rd car at Lamar & 6th stoplite u want to get 2gether???"
Let's see what Missed Connections we may or may not be making today. Here's a post that is quite poetically titled: it is called, "the vast blue ocean - 45:"
"It's funny to me that with all of the research done on my background by the both you, ya'll (Yee-Haw!) still only a small fraction(10%) of me without knowing who I am truly am and I am misunderstood completely by everyone. So I am going to shed some light since my greatest strength is remain a introvert...."
Listen up ladies: You may think you know this guy, but you only know 10%. For example, did you know he prefers DIFFERENT varieties of mustard for DIFFERENT moods?
"If I am in a sense of sophistication,then, I like Brown Yellow Mustard on the top bread, Organic Tomatoes, Miracle Whip on the bottom, Lettuce, Bacon, Pepperjack Chesse and finally a little bit of Thousand Island Dressing.
If I am in a sense of normacy, then, I like French's Regular Yellow Mustard on the bottom, Roma Tomatoes, Miracle Whip on the top, Lettuce, and American cheese(shredded).
If am in sense of raunchiness, then, I like Hill Country Yellow Mustard and Mayo on the top and bottom mixed together(but one has to spread one condiment first, then, wash it off with soap, and then use the other since I don't like getting the condiments in each other jars),and lettuce. "
Are you dying right now? I'm dying. Don't you love that the tantalizing combination of Hill Country Yellow Mustard + Mayo = "raunchiness??" (But seriously - wash off the mustard knife before dipping it into the mayo jar. Let's not be savages).
"And that hourglass magnificent awe-shocking frame(especially those defined thighs) that gravitates me like the aroma of freshly baked homemade chocolate-chip cookies when I come walking into the door. It makes me feel elated."
I bet you didn't see that coming? Peas and carrots, apples and oranges, thighs and cookies. Facts of life, people.
There are more - oh, so many more glorious Missed Connections! - but I'll let you go explore the generous bounty for yourself.
It's a little late notice, but there's a party going on tonight at Back Alley Social for Bleach Magazine. From Austin is Burning:
"Bleach's "Down the Rabbit Hole" issue is revealing itself on Friday, and in pre-celebration, there will be a pre-launch party on Wednesday. Also, the party will be thrown for Bleach's homegirl Michelle. Happy Birthday, girly."
"Nico Vega is coming to Austin to play at Emo’s on Wed, May 13th. Since they’ll be in town on Tuesday night, we’ve joined forces with them to throw a last minute party that is free for all!
So, come out to this great new bar - Submerged - on 2nd & Trinity to party with Nico Vega. They’ll be spinning vinyl for several hours for your dancing pleasure! Joining them will be DJ Thibault and DJ Markus with a K!
We’ll have a complimentary, open bar (while supplies last), photobooth by John Pesina, and two ticket giveaways for Nico Vega’s show at Emo’s the next night. FREE!!!!!
(To enter the giveaway, you have to RSVP “Yes” to our Facebook invite. You have to be present to win.)
So…come dance and party with Nico Vega, and then go see them perform the next night at Emo’s! We’ll see you on Tuesday night!
SPONSORED BY: 42 Below Vodka and Riazul Premium Tequila"
My favorite Nico Vega song is probably "Gravity" - reminds me of old school, 90s Courtney Love a little - but I also dig this stripped-down version of "Beast."
So I've been thinking a lot about vintage and recycled fashion lately, probably because it's Mothers Day today. Growing up, my badass mom harbored a deep and abiding love for thrift stores, a quality I've only truly come to appreciate in my 20s. As a teenager, you see, my tastes needed a little....refining. But not in the way you'd expect.
"Alright honey, what would you like this year? More than anything in the world?" asked my mom on my 12th birthday.
"I would like -" brief pause to summon the Adult Voice required for such a situation - "a DOONEY AND BOURKE PURSE."
"What?!" she laughed. "Oh honey. A Dooney? You don't want to look like everybody else. Trust me."
And trust her, I did. Thank God. Can you believe 12-year-olds ever walked around carrying purses that looked like, um, this?:
These - THESE! - were the hottest thing going at my school in 1993. While many of you carried Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers, the 6th graders at my school toted...these. What was the goal here, exactly? To pretend we were 45? Many of my friends had a Dooney and Bourke, and God, I wanted one so bad! But Mom stated her case simply and decisively. I never got the Dooney and Bourke purse. And I never regretted it, either.
Fast-forward to right now. I've been out of town in NYC for work this week, and on Friday, I got to meet the lovely Danielle Ganek. When I told Danielle I was from Austin, she said: "oh, the home of vintage!" It left me quite giddy, especially since I was openly OGLING this necklace she was wearing:
That actually isn't the exact necklace - just the closest one I could find online. It was a moveable, shiny fish pendant, dangling from a long gold chain. When I asked her where it was from, she said, "the 70s!" I forced myself to stop staring - both at it, and this delicious, giant, amber cocktail ring perched on her finger - and filed Danielle's effortlessly cool look away in my mental bank.
Later on, I was telling my work colleague about the necklace, and about how great it is to meet women with an appreciation for vintage and/or thrift. We've talked here before about Austin vintage shopping, but I'm one of those people that tends to patronize/stalk ONE vintage store (Buffalo Exchange on Guadalupe) and not venture further. So vintage lovers, I want to know: where do you go shopping here in ATX?
Although I'm not sure how good this looks on me, I've been in a high-waisted mood for the past month and have been obsessively tucking everything in. I've found a few high-waisted goodies at various vintage stores, both bricks-and-mortar and online. Observe:
Me! (TOTALLY KIDDING - I wish). Love this girl's whole sassy look, and it comes from Austin's very own Laced With Romance.
Let's see more:
(P.S: I found all of these by going to eBay and entering the search term "high-waisted." The Vintage District is one of my favorite eBay vintage stores, and the source of the last three goodies.)
Austinites, can you feel me on the high-waisted thing? I know it's not a terribly new trend, but I'm just now embracing it. You guys?
There are three fun things happening today, although I'm sure these aren't the only three. This first one is actually an event later this month - Pachanga Latino Music Festival - but special, reduced-price tickets are on sale TODAY! Get them here.
This festival is happening at Fiesta Gardens, and call me sentimental, but anything with the word "fiesta" in it just warms my little San Antonio heart. I was having a discussion with someone last week about how gaudily WONDERFUL Fiesta is. I love Austin to pieces, but sorry ATX - San Antonio has you beat on the parade front. I wish this city had more parades. Why? Well, if we did, we might be so fortunate as to greet members of Fiesta "royalty." Are you all familiar with the Fiesta king/queen/dukes/etc? No...?
I'm not exactly sure how a "listening evening" is conducted, but I think it's a cool concept! I do enjoy St. Vincent, her quasi-housy sound and her pretty, pretty vocals. She's coming to Mohawk June 19. Camera Obscura I am still a bit new to, but they are coming to Antone's June 15.
Ok, so I've had this song in my head for so damn long, I figure I might as well share it with the world.
I lerve Ida Maria so much as it is, and then I saw this Warhol / Sex Pistols-inspired music video, and it just made me crush on her even more. I saw her a couple of months ago back at the Perez party during SXSW, and as soon as she opened her mouth, I experienced what can only be described as textbook "Lapse Of Sanity," if you will. Sort of like a conniption fit, but in a good way: The flailing of arms, the flinging of sweat. Your own personal splash zone. See, Ida Maria is just so endearing and her music so danceable, that there's no half-ass getting down, know what I mean? (You know what I mean. It's the kind of dancing you normally reserve for your bedroom, possibly in front of your mirror, possibly doing The Carlton.)
Anyway, Ida Maria is not coming to Austin anytime soon, but this blog post is a petition to her British handlers to book another show here (please).
There IS an Austinite who is playing next Saturday however who I'd like to go see: Tummy Toast!
She, along with other electronic-y Austin folks, are playing at Creekside next Saturday. (Check out the Facebook invite for details).
I got to meet adorable little Tummy Toast last Halloween at Black and Tan, and basically mobbed her for a photograph. It's my sincere hope that she makes it big someday, if that's what she wants. I played her song "Friend Crush" for about a month straight around the house, and have a distinct memory of playing the cat like a xylophone with a spoon while doing so (but not very hard). Go listen to that xylophone part right now, and tell me you aren't similarly tempted to instantly play your pet with silverware.
Ok, I don't know about you guys, but whenever I get SWAMPED with work the first two things to go are A) blog/Facebook/Twitter time, and B) the gym.* It sucks, because I feel disconnected. And fat.
But that's all about to change. Why? I'm buying a DAY PLANNER! The old-fashioned, paper kind! While I recently ascended to the next level of Mac smugness and superiority with my delicious new iPhone, I actually don't think it's the best place to record and plan appointments/story assignments/blog posts. That's because I try to make a note on the calendar, and then get distracted halfway through by the farting noise app (which R. made me download. All it does it make different fart sounds.)
Do you all do the day planner thing? I've tried several times and have always failed. In junior high, our school gave us all these small, bound planners with plastic rulers inside to record homework (or something). Even though I was a good student, here's what a typical entry looked like:
"Hi chica! Wuz up?" (<--this is San Antonio-speak). "Math class SUX!!!!!!! Did you watch Dawsons?"
It was more of a place to write notes to Beka than to record "homework assignments," if you will.
But I'm determined to do it right this time, and I think what I need is a desk planner. That you spread out on a table. It looks Very Official.
Anyway, enough chit-chat. Here are three fun things happening this week - one looks AWESOME, as it involves The Black & White Years, and it's happening today!
Go here to RSVP and find out all the details. It's sponsored by Filter Magazine, and is basically like a big bonfire party with private shows. And lots and lots of alcohol. Which is why they encourage taking the shuttle from Progress Coffee.
Have you guys ever heard of Charanga Cakewalk? She of the killer music taste, Rose Reyes, introduced me to them about five years ago. Their song "La Miga Hormiga" makes me want to dance in a circle with lots of happy drunk people. Which I think we should all do, once a week.
Ok....you guys. I just checked out Broken Ear's Etsy store, and I can honestly say that is KILLS me to not be able to go to this party on Wednesday. (I'll be in NYC). Look how pretty!!!
Are you dying? I'm dying. I am such a sucker for vintage jewelry, and it's all modestly priced, too: about $30-$50. RSVP here if you want to go to the sample showcase on Wednesday.
Finally, next Friday, we have.... I'll remind you about this one again as we get closer to the date. But let it be known that Birds Barbershop is GROWING in a RECESSION! Two new stores in one year - east side location, and now this? Damn! They are doing something (a lot of things) right.
And I'm going to get my hair cut there tomorrow, so if we'll see if they do that right too.
Posts
Kennedy isn't coming to Austin anytime soon, but I'm going to pretend he's coming here to pimp his new album Life Is a Party, which dropped last week. Here's a sample of my FAVORITE Kennedy song, "Karate:"
