Fashion | Gotta keep it separated, J.W. Anderson

I am not on it. I won’t even pretend to be. But as I said before, I like to watch. The good ‘ole Grey Lady, has a playlist going called In the Studio | The New York Times: “Where does a collection begin? In the mind and imagination of a designer, of course, but also in a physical space, an insider sanctum that is almost never seen by consumers: the office and atelier. In many ways, these private spaces reflect the choices and points of view that inform fashion as much as any runway show. If in doubt, simply consider the outtakes from a series of behind-the-velvet-curtain videos in which designers from New York to Paris invited The New York Times into their professional lives.” Beyond hearing/reading his name, I don’t know much about J.W. Anderson or the specifics of his designs for, as it turns out, two labels: his own and Spanish luxury emporium Loewe. However, I now absolutely admire how organized/compartmentalized he tries to be. See this still from his interview! Com’on – this mobile phone separation and labelling is something to emulate! Neat and sanity preserving.

Art | Polly Morgan’s Artful Taxidermy

POLLY MORGAN “REST A LITTLE ON THE LAP OF LIFE” The Internet is a wondrous place! The remaining Luddite in me is having a little tantrum now. I will let it till it tires itself. One two three … ten. What makes it wondrous is the access and exposure it can give to those of us who do not have access to, in this case, BBC Four. BBC Four has had a fantastic series – “What Do Artists Do All Day?” – billed as “Intimate, observational portraits of leading artists, revealing unique insights into their working lives and creative process.” Glee! Right now, the episode I want to refer to, is available for a month through BBC Four web site, but do not fret – as long as copyright folks do not pull a plug – YouTube channel Art Documentaries has some episodes, too. And this is how I got to know of Polly Morgan and what taxidermy can be. I have not had much liking for taxidermy. It’s a strange and often dusty substitute, better at a museum and only when the local zoo does not have the real thing. It’s downright creepy inside of any house except maybe when it is a lodge. I am not judging. It’s how I respond to it, and I cannot see it at my place. However, what Polly does may make me change my tune. The creepiness is still there, but the faux art snob that I am is attracted to this different presentation. Take “Rest a Little on the Lap of Life”. It’s a friggin’ rodent exulted to a dessert puff, sleeping below a chandelier, presumably peacefully under that glass case! I can see this piece having a prime spot chez moi. Seeing Polly at it and talking about it adds a contextual dimension I can totally saddle next to. Check it out when you can.

“There is something about yourself that you don't know.”

A still from Guy Ritchie's "Revolver"

There is something about yourself that you don't know. Something that you will deny even exists until it's too late to do anything about it. It's the only reason you get up in the morning, the only reason you suffer the shitty boss, the blood, the sweat and the tears. This is because you want people to know how good, attractive, generous, funny, wild and clever you really are. "Fear or revere me, but please think I'm special." We share an addiction. We're approval junkies. We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The "hip, hip, hoo-fucking-rah." Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on, you crazy diamond. Cos we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others. – Jake Green, “Revolver”

Travel & Music | Bristol takes any crumpet

SOURCE: BRISTOL STREET ART
PHOTO BY SEPRELLP | ARTWORK BY SEPR

To me Bristol always means Massive Attack and Tricky. It is what is … But of course, Bristol does not stand still – its scions unify and bring it!

Baby, it’s cold outside!

First official day of winter / Solstice : December 21^st.

Today : -17 degrees C / 1.4 degrees F

ILLUSTRATOR: GAVIN REECE

Movies | Zabriskie Point finale

What a lame plot, if that’s what that was. Dialog – not much better. But. Exquisite cinematography. About one hour forty-six minutes into it, also, a piece that morphs with the soundtrack so well that I would pay to stage it at any contemporary space worth its existence. This is Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point” | Cinematography Alfino Contini | Music Pink Floyd “Come In Number 51, Your Time is Up” where it matters ~1:53

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

I SEE MONSTAS | HOLDIN’ ON	ELISE HURST | MELBOURNE | AUSTRALIA

Music | Female singer-songwriters №17: PJ Harvey

How could I forget! Tsk tsk. Ms Harvey! Maybe a shy/calm flower in real life (many a creative is), she is not artistically. This petite lady is Man-Size and a 50-ft Queenie; she can howl with the best of them, then whisper and tell a good story or make a promise.	DOWN BY THE RIVER
~	A PLACE CALLED HOME
She’s got style. She can rock.  Yep, Man-Size 50-ft Queenie indeed …  No no, she is more than that.	THIS IS LOVE

Fashion | Bits & bob that inspire men’s wear

As a follow up to How men get dressed, here is Patrick Grant of London's Savile Row based E.Tautz & Sons talking about designing A/W 2013 collection.

Fashion | How men get dressed. Short films by Chris Floyd

Chris Floyd takes pictures – still ones and moving ones. One day The Sunday Times Style Online commissioned from Chris a series of short films on dapper men’s rituals of daily dressing. Here to share and get you started.

Music | Well hello Monday! Ya Mama!

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" – Oscar Wilde

Coded Candy | Pushing the aural envelope

JAMES ZABIELA

So far Coded Candy dealt with the visual – infographics, computer generated graphics and films, icons etc. – but there is another type of Coded Candy – the aural. Technologically, DJ’ing has moved beyond mixing the records. The equipment digitizes it all and has expanded in such a way that in deft hands DJ’ing approaches the arena of pure performance. At the core of it all, we want the DJ to just play that song – but the question is now, which one? The pre-recorded or live? Following is an excellent insight into DJ’ing Coded Candy courtesy of BBC Radio 1, hosted by a longtime proponent of electronic music and a DJ himself Pete Tong, featuring a master class by affable DJ James Zabiela. When you are done or over the chit chat, check out James Zabiela’s London set at Boiler Room TV to see it all in practice. When done by a Master.

Fashion | Tatler let your feet do the talking

Art | Can I have a woof-woof, meow, grr or any such sound? Animal photography

Tim Flach has a resume that includes work for National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, The Sunday Times, Stern Magazine, Gore Tex and Hermès.

Music | If you listen to it on repeat, time to post it – She Sells Sanctuary from The Cult

Formed in 1983 | From Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

At Home | Bought back in 2008, decorated and in 2012 put up for sale - Daphne Guinness' Fifth Avenue apartment

Architectural Digest

Music | Moloko said time takes too much time

The groove. The slow motion takes. Let me touch on the former. Back in the days when I resided in a particular country I went to a Moloko concert. A bass solo happened and the audience was… cold! They responded when a guitar solo came, and so-so to a keyboard one. Well, that was an interesting insight into the locals, since I just arrived from a country where the bass groove done in any musical style was just the ticket. I didn’t understand them, but I guess I just got to know them a bit right there. Never mind, this song still grooves rightly and that’s what matters. Times and places change… constantly.

Music | Stone Roses earworm’d themselves today and Love Spreads

The Stone Roses come from Manchester. Madchester, that is. They were one of the key bands in late 1980s and 1990s, and meshed together classic pop and understated 1980s dance groove. And today… this is my earworm. A very persistent one.

Fashion | Audrey Hepburn sixties style

This one goes with Alexa Chung sixties style.

Red dress, iconic photographer (Richard Avedon) and an icon immaculately dressed.

Check. Check. Check.

Read more at Harper’s Bazaar.

Music | Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun

To say that Pink Floyd is a seminal band is rhetoric. It has been said before and will be said again. More often than not, the entry point would have been “The Wall” or “The Dark Side of the Moon”, with the latter brought up if you started with the former and “Money” being the entry track – after all it was one of the major singles and one used on many an occasion as a soundscape to any report or any scene about – drum roll – money. “Time” is another option and the tick tock is how I started. But there was Pink Floyd before all that.

Formed in 1963 by two architecture students Roger Waters and Nick Mason as Sigma 6, it went through name and personnel changes, and landed Syd Barrett on the guitar. Mad genius that one; one plagued by a darker demon – depression. Come December 1967, the demon overtook so much that David Gilmour was brought onboard, leaving Syd to continue as a nonperforming songwriter. His tenure ended in 1968 with a final contribution being “Jugband Blues” on “A Saucerful of Secrets”. “The Dark Side of the Moon” was not released till 1973, so in between the hallowed Syd period and that masterpiece, Pink Floyd continued doing what David later referred to as musical “noodling”. It was still the height of psychadelia, their brand of psychadelia that many progressive bands are indebted to. As far as I am concerned, they were not painting a barren musical landscape. Curiously titled “Ummagumma” album offered my standout track from that period – “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.” A welcome option if like me you are currently enduring winter with daytime temperatures well below freezing.