Ok so I may be guilty of titling this piece inappropriately since Pele the legendary Brazilian footballer is not dead, as far as I know he’s alive and well and possibly working in New York these days. No, Pele the man is not dead but my I Pod, who I lovingly named after the great man himself is no longer with us...pray silence.
I say he’s dead, I lost him, somewhere between Baker Street and Old Street he has been lost and I fear never to return. I had Pele since I was 17, my black 30G I Pod Classic, bought prior to the video era of Apple, some called him ‘retro’ I called him classic. My reaction when the seriousness of the situation became real was near tears, I was in public so didn’t want to completely embarrass myself but had I been alone I am more than certain I would have bawled like a baby. Friends comforted me claiming if I just get a new I Pod all could be just as it was, but I shook my head solemnly because no, it can never be as it was because the truth is I just don’t know what was on it. Pele was part of my sub-conscious there were albums on there I hadn’t listened to in years, which I don’t even own anymore they got lost between moving houses and lending out to friends who then leave them on the floor of their cars. Pele was a piece of nostalgia, every now and then I would scroll through and smile at the recollection of driving to Skegness after I got my license blaring M.I.A, listening to Is This It so many times I could list the track listing off by heart and knew every word slurred by Julian Cassablancas, dancing to Wham City in my room in my first year of university and Modest Mouse being there throughout.
There was music on there which wasn’t mine, stealing it off computers of friends and ex-boyfriends, stuff that I probably wouldn’t buy myself but it was good to have it there just like the people themselves. I don’t speak to some of them anymore but they’re part of who I have become and will become and now I feel like a little part of them has been lost. This is all rather self-indulgent and melodramatic but growing up in the digital age I’ve attached feelings to playlists instead of mixed tapes, facebook albums instead of photo albums and e mails instead of letters so the loss of an I Pod carried much much more than monetary value. Sure I could rack my brains and get it all back again but doing this feels kind of artificial, cheating almost, like buying all the football stickers at once instead of collecting them and swapping them and trying to fill up the gaps. No, I fear I need to start all over again but I have compiled a playlist in tribute to Pele, the songs which were buried and hadn’t been listened to in years but still remained in my Top 25 Most Played, goodbye old friend....
Played this song a lot, it's perfect girly indie rock and I don't really know what happened to them, I remember being really disappointed when I found out Dorion Cox, the only male member of the band wrote the lyrics.
Silent Alarm was an amazing album and it was my soundtrack to 2005. I was disappointed with their second album and avoided the third after I heard the first single from it on Radio 1 and thought it was some sort of banging dance TUNE but then cried a little when I found out it was them.
Seems overly topical now but I loved Amy's first album Frank, I remember watching her perform this on Jools Holland with just an acoustic guitar, which I can't find online. I feel reluctant to admit that I never liked Back to Black as much as Frank, there was something simple about this album and there was humour to all the songs which I loved.
When I was 15 or 16 my friend Charly and I got the train down to London, on a school night to go and see The Flaming Lips at the Hammersmith Appollo and I think it might still be one of my favourite gig experiences. We were at the front and I was mesmorised by Wayne Coyne like a weird follower of a cult rather than like a groupie. They're still awesome but I don't think I'll be able to go and see them again, the night was just so perfect and exciting there is no way seeing them again will live up to it.
Monday, 1 August 2011
Tuesday, 5 July 2011
Fall Down
I wrote this after the Fall 2011 fashion weeks had ended and after a few weeks of sun and sweat I'm ready for Fall to arrive, I want layers!!! So this will keep me going till that pesky sun goes away:
As Paris closes it’s doors on another fashion week the feeling I am left with from the Fall 2011 collections is ‘Now I can breathe again.’ And I mean this in the most literal sense. Gone are the days tensing my stomach to hide any unsightly bulges in my body-con dresses, pulling at the length to what seemed to be an ever shrinking hem line and lets not even mention the shoulder-pads, finally we can put the nail in the coffin of the 80s (well, almost, looking at you, boxy jackets making a comeback). A new era of fashion seems to have finally descended, one not based around celebrating the female form in a way which exaggerates our assets or in some cases exposes our lack there of but one that makes us comfortable, cool, yet effortlessly glamorous.
The label that epitomised this new era best, in my opinion, was Missoni. Although it has been widely regarded for some time that daughter of Angela, Margherita Missoni will become the heir to the Missoni fashion empire it was younger daughter Teresa who provided the inspiration for this collection. Teaming the slouchy over-sized jumpers with long skirts and a man coat slung nonchalantly over the top were counteracted by the typically Missoni palette with stunning embroidery which juxtaposed the whole collection with an over-riding sense of femininity.
This same essence was felt in Antonio Marras’ collection. Effortless femininity.
It is this crucial point which sets apart this coming fall’s fashion from us merely all becoming Annie Hall carbon copies, when channeling the 1970s revival (not that I would have ANY problem with that of course). But femininity is the essential and over-riding presence in slightly male tailoring. Gucci’s trousers were slouchy and wide legged, but teamed with a sinched in waste, a bright colour palette and heels this look is all sensuality and elegance.
Despite the blatant protest from Jean Paul Gautier, who styled all his models in grey beehives this look, I’m afraid, does not have to be mature. My favourite collection from Paris came from Carven who proved that a dropped hemline and androgynous tailoring can be fresh and wearable for all the young’uns. Look kids! No need to bare flesh! What can be sexier than clothes coming from a designer who cites Simone-de-Beauvoir and Lee Miller as his muses? This is truly intelligent fashion for the intelligent girl, styled with splashes of the painfully cool, (those sunglasses are an essential purchase for spring and fall) and just the right balance between preppy and avant-garde.
So, there it is a short guide to what to expect in the Fall fashions for 2011 and I didn’t even touch on Chanel!(slouchy and luxurious to the max) Women everywhere, this is our time to throw away the skinny jeans for good, no really I promise, just look at the evidence. Go forth and be comfortable.... Except for the heels (YSL), that will take some practice.
All photos from Style.com
As Paris closes it’s doors on another fashion week the feeling I am left with from the Fall 2011 collections is ‘Now I can breathe again.’ And I mean this in the most literal sense. Gone are the days tensing my stomach to hide any unsightly bulges in my body-con dresses, pulling at the length to what seemed to be an ever shrinking hem line and lets not even mention the shoulder-pads, finally we can put the nail in the coffin of the 80s (well, almost, looking at you, boxy jackets making a comeback). A new era of fashion seems to have finally descended, one not based around celebrating the female form in a way which exaggerates our assets or in some cases exposes our lack there of but one that makes us comfortable, cool, yet effortlessly glamorous.
The label that epitomised this new era best, in my opinion, was Missoni. Although it has been widely regarded for some time that daughter of Angela, Margherita Missoni will become the heir to the Missoni fashion empire it was younger daughter Teresa who provided the inspiration for this collection. Teaming the slouchy over-sized jumpers with long skirts and a man coat slung nonchalantly over the top were counteracted by the typically Missoni palette with stunning embroidery which juxtaposed the whole collection with an over-riding sense of femininity.
This same essence was felt in Antonio Marras’ collection. Effortless femininity.
It is this crucial point which sets apart this coming fall’s fashion from us merely all becoming Annie Hall carbon copies, when channeling the 1970s revival (not that I would have ANY problem with that of course). But femininity is the essential and over-riding presence in slightly male tailoring. Gucci’s trousers were slouchy and wide legged, but teamed with a sinched in waste, a bright colour palette and heels this look is all sensuality and elegance.
Despite the blatant protest from Jean Paul Gautier, who styled all his models in grey beehives this look, I’m afraid, does not have to be mature. My favourite collection from Paris came from Carven who proved that a dropped hemline and androgynous tailoring can be fresh and wearable for all the young’uns. Look kids! No need to bare flesh! What can be sexier than clothes coming from a designer who cites Simone-de-Beauvoir and Lee Miller as his muses? This is truly intelligent fashion for the intelligent girl, styled with splashes of the painfully cool, (those sunglasses are an essential purchase for spring and fall) and just the right balance between preppy and avant-garde.
So, there it is a short guide to what to expect in the Fall fashions for 2011 and I didn’t even touch on Chanel!(slouchy and luxurious to the max) Women everywhere, this is our time to throw away the skinny jeans for good, no really I promise, just look at the evidence. Go forth and be comfortable.... Except for the heels (YSL), that will take some practice.
All photos from Style.com
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