Walkman: The Most Wonderful

To relax this sunday, I give you my list of this year's most beautiful tunes. Lay down for 45 minutes and enjoy.

1) 'Youth' by Daughter (from 'If you Leave' LP)
Great lyrics and pleasant voice. Ohhh I really love the lyrics. It's heart-breaking.

2) 'Glacier' by John Grant (from 'Pale Green Ghosts' LP)
John Gant is an outstanding singer, and this particular song is just wow. The lyrics are so clever and powerful. Very inspiring. And strings by Fiona Brice are lovely as always.

3) 'Wonderwall' by Oasis, covered by Hurts (from 'Blind' EP)
This cover is so emotial it makes me cry. Theo's voice and Adam's piano/guitar are just perfect.

4) 'Julian' by Say Lou Lou (from 'Julian' EP)
Their voices and melody are perfectly intertwined. And of course, the lyrics are the main thing.

5) 'Buzzcut Season' by Lorde (from 'Pure Heroine' LP)
My favourite song by Lorde. It's so magical and fragile. And the instrumental and the lyrics.

6) 'The Road' by Hurts (from 'Exile' LP)
I think this is the best song from this album, if not ever by this band. I have no words really. Just listen, you'll sure like it.

7) 'Alone' by Depeche Mode (from 'Delta Machine' LP)
I just love the sounds in this magical number. It's like heaven. It's good to know you can find heaven in electronica just as in, for instance, strings.

8) 'Hudson' by Vampire Weekend (from 'Modern Vampires Of The City' LP)
Seriously, the world NEEDED this song. Every time it comes on, I'm somewhere else, and it's good.

9) 'Heaven Wait' by White Lies (from 'Big TV' LP)
I love the atmosphere, with the drums and Harry's voice. Feels melancholic.

10) 'Hold On To Me' by Placebo (from 'Loud Like Love' LP)
I've already wrote about this song as the one I can calmly fall asleep to. The theme nicely complements the previous song, but it offers the solution at its end. And I love the athmosferic instrumental.

Maybe you have to listen to these a few times and then it will get under your skin. So you can hear all the instruments and timbres and naunces of the voice. Than let me know if you like them. Sweet dreams!

xxx

Runway: The Roaring Twenties

This year I'm hosting a New Year's party, and the theme is the Great Gatsby.

The 1920's were the post-war period. Women embraced more casual, so to speak androgynous silhouette. Short hair, loose dresses, waistlines on the hip. On the other hand, fashion became daring with shorter skirts, excessive make-up and rolled-down stockings. Speaking about the Great Gatsby, we have to dress like flappers. Those girls were obsessed with dancing Charleston, drinking (prohibited) alcohol, smoking cigarettes and wearing rolled-down stockings. The Roaring Twenties period.

 

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Here are some collages I made (images from Google and Tumblr). As we don't own any 20's dresses, I expended the scope of clothing, so you'll also see evening dresses and show girls (like dancers etc.). I think those photos above are stills from old movies.

 

Let's begin with dresses. They were shorter, but not that short! They went below the knee. Some evining dresses were long. Only costumes (as for dancers) were really short. The dress could have art deco motifs, fringes, beads, fur, ruffles, really any kind of ornamentals. They were not tight! Remember the androgynous silhouette!

 

 

Women did not wear high heels, but low thick heels. Especially dancers. Shoes had a speific form. When you see a shoe like that, you can't miss it's from the 20's. Dancers loved t-bar shoes the most. They were all closed toes and, it seems to me, quite comfortable. Other accessory were fur or feather wraps, big feather fans, stockings and sometimes long gloves. No bags! (All can be seen above.)

 

 

 

Hair! Women had short hair. Hairdo was made by fingering tehnique (those lovely waves), which is quite difficult for a beginner. Curls could be also drawn to the face. Or it was straight, but cut in a short bob. For long hair, the solution is low chignon. Here's a video how to make the 20's hairdos (avoiding fingering):

 

 

The most important thing is hair accessories. Beaded hair bands or turbans, with feathers again or simply glimmering, were a must for a flapper! Also, don't forget jewellery. Big earings, long beaded (or diamante) necklaces and bracelets. Bracelets were sometimes worn high up on the arm.

 

 

Moving on to make-up. It was bold and dark. Pale skin, dark eyes, red/purple lips, pink blush and thin long eyebrows. Here's a lovely video that includes some history lessons and a tutorial:

 

 

More pics:

 

 

 

(I would NOT recommend that hairdo in the top right corner for long hair, I just think it's funny!)

 

 

 

And, finnaly, here's how it looks in some modern versions. Those costumes in the middle are from the newest movie 'The Great Gatsby' and, as you can see, they are NOT historicaly accurate. But still, they carry the spirit of the times. Oh, and you can see how men dressed here as well! Bow ties or ties+suites+hats.

Wuh, such a long post. I hope it was informative and fun :-)

xxx

 

Dark Room: Towards Christmas

This Christmas won't be white in my country. It wasn't for the last few years. But I can at least set the mood with some decorations and snow!

 

 

(Please click to enlarge)

(Photos from 2010.)

 

 

(Photos from February.)

 

Photography by me.

xxx

Runway: New Year's Eve

It's always a big deal how you're dressed for New Year's Eve. I always imagine tinsels and glitter. Let it shine. Here are some nice dresses to inspire you.

 

(Click to enlarge)

My Polyvore outfit features sexy nylons, classy earrings and furry case.

 

This year I have an alternative. Something romantic. Soft colours, like pink or white. I don't wear pink that often so that would be very special :-D

Or romantic WITH shiny! Yay!

 

 

Ultra-romantic Polyvore outfit:

 

 

Oh and that golden lipstick-I meant it! So awesome!

Leaving you with one more collage:

 

 

xxx

Gallery: Truisms

Jenny Holzer from Ohio uses short statments in her work, known as truisms. She uses LED signs, projectors, slabs, even t-shirts.

"Often holzer's work presents both explicit content and minimalist aesthetics that make profound statements about the world of advertising and consumer society today." (from designboom)

(Source: Google)

My favourite Holzer's work is Truisms (1977-79). (That's just a sum of her truisms used on different projects, not a single artwork serires.) Something to think about. I think all her satements are true if you look from certain prespective. What led me to the conclusion that nothing is definite and sometimes both sides are wright coz it depends how you look at things. Whatever.

 

(Click to enlarge)

Her site: projects.jennyholzer.com

xxx

Dark Room: Lost

This fashion editorial is about frustration, solitude and feeling lost. I don't know is it really, but that's how I feel about it. It's titled 'Grey Lake', photographed by An Le for TUSH Magazine.

 

 

 

The photos are gorgeous. So is the model Sojourner Morrell. So just lay down, and cry if you have to.

 

Info & more: Grey-Lake-by-An-Le-for-TUSH-Magazine

xxx

Bookmark: Fun Biology

(Printscreened)

'The Quantum Biologist' is such a fun blog :-D Even if you're not into biology. You know, just like 'Top Gear' is fun even if you're not into cars. The blog is not active since 2011, but there's a whole archive to scroll through. So, what is this blog about? It describes some unusual, unknown (to the laity), interesting and funny biological phenomenons. For example, some titles are:

'Zoopharmacognosy'
'The Fish That Climb Trees'
'Resurrection Fern'
'Water Into Wine'
'The Dark Side Of Nutmeg'...

What makes these themes even funnier is writing style. This guy is hilarious. In 'A Natural History Of Leopard Print' he judges animals wearing leo print:

"This leopard bush fish: No. Just, no. Those spots look like they were fingerpainted by a child. Listen, can we talk? This kind of thing might fly back home in the Congo River, but this won’t do for the international runway. It’s not that it’s not leopard print; it’s just that it’s so leopard print it’s an ugly giraffe."

In 'V for Vanadium' he describes tunicates (if you don't know what it is-read!):

"Within about 24 hours of developing, the planktonic larva has found a flat, rocky surface to which it anchors itself and begins its metamorphosis into its sessile, tube-like adult form. (Childhood is a fleeting pleasure in the tunicate’s life.) Not only does the shape of the animal radically change, but so does its physiology: the cerebral ganglion, being primarily for control of movement, serves no purpose to the immobile adult sea squirt, and so the rapidly maturing larva gets to work digesting it for its protein reserves. The tunicate essentially eats its own brain.

After turning stationary and dissolving its own brain, the tunicate larva completes its metamorphosis into a metaphor for the American adult."

Lol. Ok. Enough copy-pasting.

 

He uses a lot of images and videos and stuff, and people are commenting on the posts-it's never boaring. So, if you are studying this: it'll make you easier to remember and understand some things. And if you're not: you'll learn something and spend your spare time better than watcing a boaring brainless TV show.

Link: quantumbiologist

xxx

Wallpaper: Special Details

When thinking about the perfect living space, I have special crushes on some details. Here are some cool things I (or you) could afford.

 

Great view. City panorama. London if possible, but NY would also do. I just love how I can see Zagreb and it's lights at night from my room, but that's just a little fraction. I want it all, beside a couch or bathtub. Well, maybe we can't afford an apartment at the top of New York City, but a huge picture/wallpaper is a good substitute.

 

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 Something that hangs. Hammock chair or easy chair, very cozy and soothing. Than flowers in bottles. Sooo cute. And lanterns or other divinely designed lighting. I just need something that hangs. On second thought, everything mentioned.

 

Galaxy wallpaper. In my room or bedroom. Must. Though I don't know where to get it or how much it costs. Then photographs. A lot of photographs next to each other. I have them already arranged like these on the collage and it's lovely. The last thing (for now) are green plants all over. In high places, so they can hang down like jungle vegetation.



 

Do you have any cool ideas?

xxx

Dark Room: Home

Home is the coziest place in the world. Because it's familiar, protected, warm and clean. Sometimes, when I hear an old song that I love, I think to myself: It's like coming home. You know that feeling?

Because I'd like to stay in bed the whole day and do nothing (but I have to study so-not happening), here's how it should look like.

 

 

All photos by me.

xxx