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EDITORIAL STAFF Britt Middleton Founder and Editor-in-Chief Fashion and Beauty Director britt@sundaemag.com
Cameron Hubbard Arts&Culture Editor
cameron@sundaemag.com
Alisha Torrealba Music Editor
alisha@sundaemag.com
Christian BC Music Historian
christianbc@sundaemag.com
Tom Vinson Contributor
tom@sundaemag.com
Amanda McRae Contributor
amanda@sundaemag.com
Kevin Yang Contributor
kevin@sundaemag.com
PHOTOGRAPHERS Haley Barlar Contributing Photographer Mariella Morton Contributing Photographer
PRODUCTION STAFF Jack Cusumano Art Director
jack@sundaemag.com
Asha Ellison Copy Chief asha@sundaemag.com Like what you see inside Sundae Magazine? Tells us at soundoff@sundaemag.com Advertise With Us: Sundae Magazine offers a full range of advertising options. Contact: ads@sundaemag.com PRESS Inquiries Contact: britt@sundaemag.com FOR INTERNSHIPS/FREELANCE OPPORTUNITIES Contact: britt@sundaemag.com
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p4 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
M USIC p5 p6 p7 p8 p10 p11
MUSIC NEWS GOOD VIBRATIONS CONSIDER IT DECLARED: THESE UNITED STATES MORE THAN A FEELING: THE HAPPY HOLLOWS MALE BONDING, BACK TED N-TED GET YOUR GAME ON: MAHJONGG INTERVIEW
p13 SUNDAE’S BEST
T HREADS p14 CUTE SUIT RIOT W/ KARMALOOP p16 THE MOVIE LIFE: LAST EXIT TO NOWHERE p17 SAVANNAH STREET STYLE
P RETTY p18 MELTPROOF YOUR MAKE-UP p19 FLIP THE SWITCH
C ULTURE p20 p21 p22 p24
GOTTA STAY GORGEOUS Y: THE LAST MAN SPINNING WHEELS WHEN AM I GONNA NEED TO KNOW THIS ANYWAY PT. 3
D OMESTICA p25 TWO STEP: SUMMER DRINKS
C HEAP TALK p26 p27 p28 p29 p30 p31
HOME SCHOOL THE GENTLEMAN’S GAME PT. 2 THE WOES OF FORMSPRING ROCK REVIVAL PT. 1 ENTOURAGE SEASON 7 PREVIEW BANGS
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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR I’ll never be too old for summer vacation. A spontaneous trek out of town just seems like the right thing to do when the thermostat hits 90 degrees. Don’t ever let “growing up” get you down. That’s what our June issue is about: throwing caution to the wind and celebrating your quirks. In our cover story, Sarah Negahdari (that’s her shredding on the cover) of the Happy Hollows shares with us why joining a band was one of the most flighty decisions she has ever made – and it proved to be one of the best she has made yet. Plus, YouTube star Gregory Gorgeous dishes about fame, fierceness and blocking out the haters. And speaking of fierce, what’s definitely not is gloopy, melt-y make-up. That’s why we supplied the top products to keep your pretty face matte and clear, even on the hottest days. And are you losing the war against frizz? Check out our sleek solutions that will take you from hot mess to hot damn! Plus, our friends at Karmaloop.com present the hottest one-piece bikinis that won’t leave you feeling overexposed (but totally sexy!). We also have an exclusive interview with Brit imports Male Bonding, a band that would rather puke out a good song than just talk about one (see what we mean on page 10). Jesse Elliot from These United States talks about what’s going right in America, and we’ve got a new set of album reviews for you to peruse before taking off this summer (and don’t forget to take a listen to our new playlist at 8tracks.com/sundaemag). Don’t ever be afraid to act on a whim. Sometimes it’s the best mistake you can make.
Love and leisure, Britt britt@sundaemag.com Do you dig us? Tell us at soundoff@sundaemag.com P.S. – Have you found us on Facebook yet? Check out Facebook.com/SundaeMag for daily music news, fashion finds, and general trash talk. Just don’t ask us to plant seeds via Farmville.
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JUNE 2010
Mu SIC Neverever
MUSIC NEWS By: Britt Middleton
Neverever’s Angelic Swells An Iconoclastic Retrospective Of Rock In a time when even rock and roll is processed within an inch of its life, Neverever emerges with their debut LP Angelic Swells (Slumerberland), a positively dreamy blend of 50s rockabilly, 60s doo-wop and 70s distortion made famous by the CBGB’s set. A return to the three-minute pop structure, Angelic Swells is a time capsule of sorts, instantly transporting you to the days of saddle shoes, AM radio and necking behind the gym after chemistry class. Angelic Swells is out now on Slumberland Records. Hear “Teardrop Tattoo” on our June playlist at 8tracks.com/sundaemag.
Thieves Like Us Navigate Moody Soundscapes on Again and Again The two Swedes, Bjorn Berglund and Pontus Berghe, and American Andy Grier have earned a reputation for dance floor-ready euro-pop (it might have Photo by Kim Zuniga
Thieves Like Us
helped that they recorded Again and Again in a basement in Paris). But don’t start thinking glow sticks and pacifiers. Again and Again (Shelflife Records) presents moody, unhurried downtempos to complement themes of heartache, failed relationships, and alcoholism. Buoyant synth on standout “Shyness” is reminiscent of fellow imports Phoenix circa United. Again and Again is available on Shelflife Records July 6. Hear “Shyness” on our June Playlist at 8tracks.com/sundaemag.
Deer Tick’s Black Dirt Sessions Captures Alt-Country Essence What if God were one of us? That’s one of many questions contemplated on The Black Dirt Sessions (Partisan Records), particularly on the devastatingly Photo Courtesy Shelflife Records
stripped-down “Christ Jesus”, a reissue of the track originally appearing on
Deer Tick
the band’s 2007 debut. Since then, Deer Tick has rallied an impressive (if not uncanny) following including NBC’s “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams, who publicly plugged the band on his BriTunes website. In contrast, The Black Dirt Sessions is grittier than their previous releases. Singer and songwriter John McCauley appears to have come into his own vocally as he delves into the dualities of perception between right and wrong, truth versus belief, and life versus death. Recorded in Black Dirt Studios in New York, The Black Dirt Sessions recreates the raw live sound for which the band has earned a reputation. The Black Dirt Sessions is available on Partisan Records June 8. Hear “Christ Jesus” on our June playlist at 8tracks.com/SundaeMag.
Photo Courtesy Partisan Records
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JUNE 2010
GOOD
VIBRATIONS By: Alisha Torrealba
More Music To Whet Your Whistle This Summer CocoRosie: Grey Oceans The aura of Grey Oceans is highly reminiscent of the state between waking and dreaming. While that could easily be said about previous albums, there is something severely more confusing, lonely, and grotesque this time around. Instrumentally, CocoRosie move away from their hip-hop influence, and replace it with a flood of thick piano harmonies, Native American-inspired chants, and an overall more delicate texture than previous albums. The delicate approach is a little safer than what we’re used to, but I can’t bring myself to describe Grey Oceans as disappointing. The album’s single “Lemonade” makes up for any missteps, sweeping in with beautifully somber trumpets cutting between extreme moods shifts. Other notable tracks include “R.I.P. Burnface”, “Smokey Taboo” and “Hopscotch”.
Crystal Castles: Crystal Castles
Some of the pure insanity of their eponymous debut may be toned down, but Crystal Castles have refined their sound with an impressive amount of chaos tangled throughout. “Doe Deer” and “Empathy” utilize some of Alice Glass’ effected screams and wails with epileptic bursts of sounds, but we see her softer side incorporated into the sparkling, intense loops of “Celestia”. More accessible? Yeah, but I don’t fear Crystal Castles losing their integrity as they take these progressive steps. Ethan and Alice have once again created their own ferocious bubble we can’t help but be consumed by.
Sleigh Bells: Treats
Sleigh Bells have been bubbling steadily beneath the surface of Brooklyn for quite some time. So after much anticipation, their debut album Treats wastes little time in thrusting what they’ve got all up in your face. The first track, “Tell ‘Em”, unleashes ample amounts of distorted guitar and laser blasts along side Alexis Krauss’s demonically sweet vocals. By the time you arrive at “Crown on the Ground” mid-album, you not be able to handle more ass shaking. The duo layer a hearty boom of beats and swimming melodies that make me think to refer to Crystal Castles or M.I.A., but alas, Sleigh Bells have thrown us a truly unique party.
Tobacco: Maniac Meat
I saw Tom Fec, a.k.a. Tobacco, once at a Black Moth Super Rainbow show where he danced around with his mask on, showering the crowd in Doritos. A little creepy, but oodles of fun! Maniac Meat may have some of the sunshine dream vocals Fec uses in BMSR, but they are only used to lure you into his electronic junkyard funland. The track “Heavy Makeup” practically scared the piss out of me when it abruptly slows into a sickening swirl (you got sick from a lolli lolli lollipop/you feel free when you’re killing me). Tiny beats and pops ooze with flickering reverb like some kind of chemical meltdown on the “Grape Aerosmith” (featuring Beck!). Live instruments and synths alike sputter with a ripping distortion throughout the album, never overstaying their welcome. The verdict? Maniac Meat is fingerlicking good. *albums rated on a scale of 1 to 5. 6
JUNE 2010
CONSIDER IT
DECLARED By: Britt Middleton
These United States frontman Jesse Elliot explains why they might be the most confused band on the planet.
SM: Your band is called These United States. Would you then declare yourselves a “political” band? Jesse Elliot: Well, we’re definitely a geographical band. Probably a cultural band. Maybe even a philosophical band. We’re a confused band. So, yeah, we’re a political band, sure. Consider it declared. SM: There seems to be definite themes of freedom and independence in your music -- something definitively American. Is it difficult to preserve this aesthetic as indie rock moves toward dance and worldbeat styles? JE: I think most people like freedom and independence. Americans are just real arm-y about it. Like arms up in the air, rights to bear arms, walking arm-in-arm, getting armies together to go fight for things, arm-wrestling. Think of all the things we use our arms for. There’s a lot of that in us, yeah. But the best Americans – well, our favorites, anyway – always danced like Beats, dancing, beatific, dancing, beating, no question about it, back and forth, out beneath the diamond sky, one hand waving free, all that lovely nonsense. We’re just not in it for the preservation, I guess. I guess we’re always happy to see a new revolution come along, wherever it comes from, wherever it goes to. SM: You initially had two ideas for what would become your third full-length release, and you let the 2008 elections decide which album the band would record. JE: Everything Touches Everything was the album that we attached to Obama – told him to run with it, put those particular eggs in that particular basket, right? The other message we gave to John McCain, assigned him to that, something darker and more rooted, something looking more inward and older, some might say sadder, some would just say more grown-up, all depends what you think of grown-ups, they’re not horrible people, they mostly mean well, and then told old man McCain it was gonna be a helluva tricky fight, but we believed in him, or this other album believed in him at least, knew he could do it, creaky bones and all. He didn’t do it. ETE won. That Obama, he knows a thing or two about how to get things done. You can’t not love a man like that. Very good bones. Very American again there, see? SM. Let’s talk more about the new album. How would you describe the mood and tone of this album compared to your earlier releases?
Photo Credit: Sarah Law
JE: The good bones I was talking about. Something strong underneath, right under the surface. Something exuberant. They’re all still there. They’ll never go away. It’s been a strange few years, but what few years haven’t? Something about the zeitgeist of 2008 holds up, always will – people will always look for some new old thing to get back around to in the right way at the right time. The release before that was about crimes, which people also find a way to always get back around to. You can’t go wrong with people – they always get back around to everything, given enough time. This is what they mean when they say that our music is timeless. It really is. Who said that? We said that. On behalf of the American people, who got us elected to this here position of Very Special National Band of the Zeitgeist Now and Forever. Well, that’s the mood of the albums, anyway. Haven’t decided how we feel on all these subjects just yet. SM: You guys have been on tour a long time. How does tracing across the U.S. influence your songwriting? It’s what got us elected, by ourselves, really. I give all credit to us, which is all credit to the road. We really know how to tear it up. We really know what alleys in what cities and what passes through what mountains. There are maps for these things. You’ve gotta look a long long time at all the maps to get a knack for this. But once you know em, it’s all there. All the songs, planted everywhere, not just America, but all those songlines tracing all through Australia and across ocean liners between different continents and all the family histories ever, you just gotta pay attention. I’m sitting on this farm right now, as we speak, watching three farmers’ daughters go racing across the field out front of the front porch, southern Maryland, springtime, air’s just getting hot the last few days, and I’ll be gone again a few days after. They’re the products of a Swiss father and a French-Canadian mother, both very very rooted people, stark, sinewy, burnt, wild in the eyes, know everything about the BTU’s it takes to heat a farm and the most efficient way to get all that energy from point A to point B. So of course their youngest daughter, Hazel, 4 years, beautiful, she’s just an amazing singer, sitting on the toilet after dinner every night just kickin her legs, infinite joy, bellowing away to the whole wide world like no one’s even aware of her being there. So everyone listens. You have to take songwriting lessons from that. You can’t not. Everything Touches Everything is available via United Interests. Hear the first single “I Want You to Keep Everything” on our June playlist at 8tracks.com/sundaemag
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JUNE 2010
Photos by Mariella Morton
MORE THAN A
FEELING By: Jack Cusumano
How Happy Hollows frontwoman Sarah Negahdari’s gut-feeling translated into musical triumph.
It’s well after midnight. The only people left in the venue are bandmates. After shutting down the merch table, Happy Hollows frontwoman and guitarist Sarah Negahdari finds a moment to catch her breath. They’ve just wrapped up the final show of their west coast tour for a modest crowd in Tucson, Arizona. In 2005, Negahdari packed her things and moved from New York to LA. Why? She simply “had a feeling” that she needed to be there. Five years later, it’s hard to argue with her intuition. Sarah, along with band members Chris Hernandez and Charlie Mahoney, recently wrapped up their third SXSW appearance, just finished a west coast tour with Besnard Lakes, and are enjoying a wealth of good vibes from an evergrowing fanbase. Between the move and the Happy Hollows’ recent triumphs, however, there were day jobs and band tryouts. While Sarah was working at a restaurant in LA to pay
“[Sarah] was like, ‘Okay, you’re my rhythm section now.” 8
JUNE 2010
the bills, Chris and Charlie, two DC transplants, were looking for a guitarist to round out their band. When Sarah showed up to try out after seeing an ad on Craigslist, things clicked into place, although perhaps not in the way Charlie and Chris expected. “[Sarah] was like, ‘Okay, you’re my rhythm section now,’” recalls Charlie. “She was like, ‘I have a show in two weeks, we’re gonna learn all my songs!’” “Yeah,” laughs Sarah, “I kinda took over.” Watching Sarah’s captivatingly frenetic stage performance, it’s easy to see why this strategy has worked so well for the Hollows. Belting out vocals while shredding the fretboard of her guitar with finger-tapping techniques, Sarah demolishes any pre-
conceived notions of rock and roll gender roles. In fact, Sarah has used her position as front-woman to conquer some of the insecurities of her youth. “I kept liking guys that were in bands,” Sarah explains, “[but] it wasn’t that I really wanted these guys, it’s like, I wanted to be that.” Even thought it’s been a few months since the release of their debut LP, Spells, the Happy Hollows are using the internet to maintain momentum. Two album outtakes have already been posted on the group’s Bandcamp page as “pay-what-you-want” downloads, and more are on the way. “We probably have like, ten or twelve b-sides,” says Charlie. “We, like, way overextended ourselves in the studio,” adds Sarah. While The Hollows note that a lot of people have donated money in exchange for the downloads, even free downloads require an e-mail address, which can be a useful tool. “We’ll be stalking you,” jokes Chris. The Happy Hollows have been releasing music videos via YouTube with regular frequency as well. One of the most recent to surface is a video for the Spells b-side “Big Bad Wolf,” a video that features the band playing in a sea of candy corn, riding a rocket-boot-wearing “pegacorn,” and general surreal insanity. “When [director Ryan Reichenfeld] sat down to give us the treatment of the video, what was in his mind, I thought he was full of shit,” notes Sarah, “and it’s just amazing to see the video two years later, that every detail he spelled out to us that day was in that video, from beginning to end.” In the near future, the Happy Hollows will be playing some east coast dates and writing new material for their next release, but in the meantime, take a moment be thankful that Sarah followed that gut feeling way back in 2005 and moved to LA. The world is a better place for it.
Want more Happy Hollows? Watch the band discuss Facebook, SXSW, bacon and more! It’s all in the video outtakes from the interview on youtube.com/SundaeMagTV or vimeo.com, keywords: Sundae Magazine
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JUNE 2010
PUKE, PLAY, REPEAT
By: Britt Middleton
John Arthur Webb of noise-pop trio Male Bonding couldn’t care less about rock and roll. Male Bonding guitarist and singer John Arthur Webb is straightforward when it comes to making music: “Don’t employ music techniques that you can’t spell or understand.” The band’s breakout LP, Nothing Hurts, (Sub Pop) aptly follows that trajectory. It’s a straight up return to the roots of rock and roll, a novel triumph in a musical climate where the blues-based rock sound is overcome by polyrhymithic complexity and digital effects. Perhaps, it’s that simple credo that gives Male Bonding their unique identity and a voice you can’t ignore. “I think any influences we have are much more subconscious than you would think,” Webb says. “I would never write a song to sound like a certain band. Having said that, we all love 70s punk and 50s pop, so I guess it might have some impact somewhere along the line.” Anchored by emphatic guitars, driving drums and buoyant vocals, Nothing Hurts is the raucous, rowdy interpretation of those influences. Recorded in only five days, Nothing Hurts supports the premise that the most promising music is guided by gut instinct. “We’re not the kind of people that think about anything other than puking out a song that we all like,” Webb says. At home, amongst the Turkish restaurants and pool clubs of Dalton, a district of London, there is plenty to keep them inspired. Fitting in anywhere has never been a concern for Webb, whose band will announce U.S. tour dates in the fall. “We fit in where we get slotted, and if we’re unhappy with our surroundings, then we’ll change them or shake things up to suit us more,” he says. “I care more about what’s for dinner than what other people are up to.” Nothing Hurts is available now on Sub Pop Records.
BACK IN ACTION By: Britt Middleton
After the smoke has cleared, Ryan Breen a.k.a. Back Ted N-Ted is ready to move on. Sometimes to start anew, you’ve got to let the old crap burn. Producer and solo artist Ryan Breen can certainly attest to that. Several years ago, his personal life was getting too heavy to bare. He needed a way out. “I was struggling to express my emotions,” he says which led to a night of “reckless burning.” “[I] ended up burning my old abandoned apartment to the ground. It was consciously un-intentional but I think my subconscious dragged me into that mess so I’d clean up my act and deal with my shit.” A night in a Phoenix, Arizona jail (on the fourth of July, no less) and thousands of hours of community service later, Breen who now operates under the moniker Back Ted N-Ted, is ready to reemerge with his first LP, The Mirror (Modern Art). A patchwork of frenetic synth, soaring choruses and a contemplative lyrical overlays, The Mirror helped Breen cope with his insecurities, both personally and musically. “I’ve grown more comfortable with the sound of my own voice,” says Breen, “but I definitely got really into processing the shit out of it for a while there.” With nearly a decade in the business, Breen has helmed multiple albums for Japanese artist Coppe, as well as released a remix of the dreamy “Say Goodnight And Go” by Imogen Heap (of which she’s called one of the only remixes she actually likes). In that time, he also experimented with a few pre-Ted tracks inspired by his cryptic personal journals. This time around, however, Breen arrives with openness to his own shortcomings. “[The album] was inspired by a moment of clarity where I took responsibility for all of my experiences, projections and judgments. The moment happened while looking in the mirror and realizing my part in things… for the better or the worse.” Along those lines, recording the album became a somewhat masochistic experience for Breen. “I felt really uncomfortable exposing my voice and emotions. I was also extremely critical of myself,” he says. “But in the end the songs probably saved me thousands of dollars in therapy bills.” The Mirror is available on Modern Art Records on August 25. Hear “Lose Control” on our June playlist at 8tracks.com/sundaemag.
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JUNE 2010
Photo courtesy Sub Pop Records
“We’re not the kind of people that think about anything other than puking out a song that we all like.”
Photo courtesy K Records
Mahjongg. There’s a chance that word conjures in you, after aggravating Windows 95era desktop games that you didn’t understand and chill Chinese dudes huddled around cardboard on milk crates, the thought of one of the most killer art-dance bands of the last decade. Or maybe it doesn’t. For those in line with the latter, Chicago-based Mahjongg is on the eve of releasing their second album for K Records, The Long Shadow of the Paper Tiger (its third album total). Each subsequent release by the band has proven a further trip into obtuse, extended rhythm jams (equal parts Brit post-punk, Ze Records 1981 and Konono No. 1). The French have caught on, inviting the band several years in a row to various electronic music festivals; it’s about time these guys were given some North American love in place of less deserving contemporaries. We recently asked some random questions of Mahjongg co-founder Hunter Husar, and though they may not reveal much about his music, well … that’s what the album’s for, right? Go buy it on July 20. SM: So what are some of your favorite things to do in your free time? HH: Build rock gardens, dance, read, listen to music, eat, build stuff with computers, make funny outfits, walk on the beach. But I dunno, I don’t really have free time outside of making music usually. SM: If you were not in a band what would you want to do? HH: Probably be some kind of military industrial contractor but have a bad conscience. SM: What was the last movie you watched? HH: “The Terminator”.
GET YOUR GAME ON WITH
MAHJONGG By: Joel Cusumano Mahjongg co-founder Hunter Husar answers the questions that matter
“I’m a dedicated amateur
making weirdo ‘experimental
dance’ music, more or less”
SM: What’s your favorite movie soundtrack? HH: The soundtrack to the Kartemquin documentary about the painter leon gollub. SM: I once heard from a mutual friend of ours that you had expressed a desire to 11
JUNE 2010
write songs like the kind that Celine Dion performs. How far along are you in reaching that goal? HH: That’s nice of (him) to say that. That’s the sort of crap that comes out of my mouth all the time. I’ve said a lot that I want to make pop music and think I would be a good producer, but lately I’m accepting that really I’m a dedicated amateur making weirdo “experimental dance” music, more or less, and I don’t have the experience to make mainstream mixes. Fact is, I don’t know how to make that kind of shit, I can appreciate it, but don’t know where to begin. I can like sing and stuff, it’s just that when it’s mixed how pop music is when the vocals are way out in front the music becomes secondary and it just sounds cheesy to me.
SM: How do you feel about Ikea? HH: I like how you can eat Swedish meatballs off other people’s trays at the food court, that’s bout all I go to say. SM: Of these recent celebrity deaths, whose were you most personally affected by? Ronnie James Dio, Corey Haim, Polish President Lech Kaczynski, rapper Guru, or John Travolta’s service dogs? HH: Death does not affect Mahjongg, there is no pain in death. Pain in life, on the other hand ... something to be avoided. SM: Why?
SM: OK so I asked some of my Tumblr followers for some questions to ask because I suck at writing questions. As you can imagine, as most of these people are about 18 years old, some were stupid, but there were some that seem cool. Let’s go: What are some of your favorite websites? HH: This is what pops up when I open [Google] Chrome: drudgereport metafilter citibank chicagotribune liveleak mwave. SM: If you had to pick a spirit animal that best represents your band, which would you pick?
HH: Because there’s no life after death, so you can’t experience pain. When you’re living, even if you’re barely conscious you will still experience some kind of pain. I think the point is to somehow be stoked that you get to die eventually so that you don’t have to worry about stuff anymore. SM: What is your favorite video game? HH: Battlefield 2142 for sure, I really like the plot: global warming makes an ice age come back too soon and a world war breaks out fighting over the limited resources left.
HH: ZZ Top. SM: Why?
SM: And here are some questions I took from a Myspace poll: Have you ever worn a crown?
HH: They have a flying car and make awesome music.
HH: Of course!
SM: WERE THE NAZIS REALLY ILLUMINATI ALIEN SPAWN?
SM: Do you have any pickles in your fridge?
HH: Mahjongg does not believe the Earth has been inhabited by intelligent life.
HH: I have an empty pickle jar, does that count? SM: How long has it been there?
SM: Along those lines, what’s your favorite conspiracy theory? do you believe it or do you just think it’s neat?
HH: How am I supposed to remember that?
HH: That the highways going around Chicago are made so that you can put four tanks on each overpass, and shut down the entire city with a minimum of force. Sounds pretty crazy but then again, it’s pretty crazy how the highways are planned here.
SM: What is the last thing you stapled?
SM: What is your favorite snack food?
SM: Do you believe in second chances?
HH: Vitners Red Hots? Coke.
HH: You always deserve a second chance, unless you’ve been violent.
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JUNE 2010
HH: Some math homework from the other day, it wasn’t mine, it was a kid I was tutoring.
SUNDAE’S BEST Welcome to Sundae’s Best, our answer to the best playlist. Ever. Our Staff picks ‘em, you take all the credit at tonight’s party. New Playlist each month.
This is beach music. This is party music. This is the stuff you need to get the most from your summer. Enjoy the insanely cool grooves of Indian Jewelry, Free Energy, Dam-Funk, Amanda Blank, Eleven &the Falcons, Angels and Airwaves and more. Learn more about the bands at SundaeMag.com.
LISTEN @ 8TRACKS.COM/SUNDAEMAG 1. “Certified Diva” - Tami Chynn feat. Tifa 2. “Tell ‘Em” - Sleigh Bells 3. “XXXO” - M.I.A. 4. “Drunk Girls” - LCD Soundsystem 5. “Heaven’s On Fire” - The Radio Dept. 6. “Dial My Number” - Rusko 7. “High Hopes” - Onra feat. Reggie B 8. “Empathy” - Crystal Castles 9. “Wondaland” - Janelle Monáe 10. “Gipyup”- Eleven &the Falcons 11. “Drugs” - Ratatat 12. “Bad Kids” - Black Lips 13. “Walcott” - Vampire Weekend 14. “There Is No There” - The Books 15. “Teardrop Tattoo” - Neverever 16. “Christ Jesus” - Deer Tick 17. “I Want You To Keep Everything” - These United States 18. “Lose Control” - Back Ted N-Ted 19. “Worst To Come” - Male Bonding (feat. Vivian Girls) 20. “The Kids at the Club” - Comet Gain 21. “What’s In It For?” - Avi Buffalo 22. “Please Don’t” - Bears 23. “O.N.E.” - Yeasayer 24. “My Keys Your Boyfriend” - Everything Everything 25. “Right Hand Hi” - Kid Sister 26. “Sweet 16” - Thunderheist
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Photos by Britt Middleton
SAVANNAH, GA
STREET
STYLE Photos By: Haley Barlar
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JUNE 2010
PRE MAKEUP TTY
MELTPROOF YOUR By: Britt Middleton
Think dew-y, not gloop-y this summer.
De La Terre Sun Diffuser $50, delaterreskincare.com
Photo by Haley Barlar
Meltproofed make-up begins with well nourished skin. This lightweight, all-natural serum made even our oily skin moist but not shiny. Protective enzymes halt sun damage, while soothing botanicals and powerful antioxidants help reverse hyper-pigmentation.
Colorescience Skin Mattifying Primer SPF 20 in Chocolate Mousse $45, colorescience.com This super smooth formula is enhanced with skin-protecting minerals and cocoa (yum!). Soaks up excess shine and gives a silky canvas for foundation. BONUS: Works as a bronzer on fair skin and a color enhancer on darker complexions.
Revlon Grow Luscious Waterproof Mascara in Blackest Black $8.99, cvs.com Lengthen, condition and grow your fringe without fear of smudges!
Sephora Collection Stain and Shine Lip Gloss $12, sephora.com Skip the lipstick and go for this tinted stain combo instead (try it in Plum Pink/Think Pink). For a more vibrant color and staying power, apply the lightweight gloss before, the stain.
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JUNE 2010
Photo by Haley Barlar
$6.29, drugstore.com
FLIP THE
Just one pump applied to towel-dried hair smoothes out frizz and tames unruly snarls (plus, we’re totally addicted to the scent!). Use before blow drying to ensure all-day sleekness.
By: Amanda McRae
Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Weightless Anti-Frizz Serum
TRESemme Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray
Score silky, smooth
$4.49, walgreens.com This lightweight spray yields plenty of softness and shine. Apply to damp hair before blow drying, then a few extra sprays while flat ironing to protect hair from the heat.
CHI Shine Infusion Hair Shine Spray $13.99, walgreens.com Sweep this over the top portion of your hair before flat ironing to nix flyaways and impart shine. But go easy -- greasiness is never a good look.
TIGI Bed Head Spoil Me Smoother and Instant Restyler
SWITCH strands – even in humidity! Make these products your secret weapon all summer long.
Defrizzer,
$15.99, folica.com Why not stretch your blowout an extra day? Spray a little around your hairline (the first place to revert). Smooth as needed with a flat iron and you’re ready for round two! 19
JUNE 2010
CUL TURE
GOTTA STAY
GORGEOUS By: Britt Middleton
YouTube celebrity. Television personality. Gay rights activist. It’s all in a day’s work for Gregory Gorgeous.
SM: Who is Gregory Gorgeous and why does he have nearly 50,000 subscribers on YouTube? GG: Ha ha honestly, Gregory “Gorgeous” is something I made up one day when I was bored. My friends had been pushing me to make YouTube videos for a while before that, but I was pretty reluctant. Finally I did, but I really didn’t take it seriously at first. I was like, “Hmm... I want a screen name that is SO conceited. It’ll be so funny”. So I thought of Gregory Gorgeous and it kind of just stuck ha ha. And as for my subscriber count, I can’t explain that! I just remember posting my first video and seeing that one person had commented and I was like, “OMG! I NEED TO MESSAGE HIM BACK AND SAY THANK YOU RIGHT AWAY! MY LIFE IS COMPLETE!” After that it kind of just gradually got more and more successful. I’m really happy where I am right now.
Photos courtesy Gregory Gorgeous
SM: You live your life pretty publicly. Is there a side of you that even your family or closest friends don’t see? GG: I really don’t think I hide anything from my YouTube viewers. I know that even before I started posting videos, I could easily tell who was being fake to the camera by just watching how they were talking. Everything fake will eventually die, so you definitely have to be real or people will call you out. I do think that the majority of people think I’m crazier than I really am, though. I do have my downtime and I do like my privacy...but I’m still a crazy bitch! SM: Lady Gaga or Madonna. Be honest.
“I do have my downtime and I do like my privacy...but I’m still a crazy bitch!” 20
JUNE 2010
GG: Honestly I’m going to say Lady GaGa. Madonna has so many epic songs and I do love the way she reinvented herself so many times and stuff, but Lady GaGa is just so much more my generation and I feel like I can relate to her more. Her music is more my style. I mean, the pointy bras were amazing, but I kinda like the hairbow more, you know? SM: Do you consider yourself a role model for young people struggling with their sexuality or coming out for the first time? GG: I definitely would never call myself a role model. I make videos on subjects that I feel need to be talked about and people relate to them. Some of my more serious videos are about sexuality, hate, and coming out of the closet. When people e-mail me and tell me that I’ve inspired them, it feels amazing. I can’t thank my viewers enough for all the support that I’ve received throughout my time on YouTube. It really does mean a lot to me. SM: What makes you so damn fierce? GG: I think that people generally think that the word “fierce” means “good looking” or “hot” or something like that, but I don’t think that at all. Fierce to me means confidence in yourself. People need to understand that no matter where you’re living or who you’re close friends with, people will always hate on other people who are different. If
you can look how you want and act how you want without giving a shit about what people think, you’re a fierce bitch in my book.
Y: THE LAST
SM: Fans can catch you on MTV’s “The After Show”. How did that opportunity come about? GG: I was actually approached with the offer through a Facebook message! I’ve always been a fan of “The After Show” because you KNOW I’m a The Hills and The City type of girl, so when they asked me to be on the show I was excited! The first time I was on, it was via webcam and now I’m on the couches as an “After Show Friend”. It’s so funny because backstage there’s always horror stories of how other people got on the show. This one girl told me she waited 3 hours in a line outside in the freezing cold to audition. I’m like, “Oh... you must have been cold out there” LOL. It’s so fun though, everyone there is really nice to me and I love meeting the other Friends! :) SM: You just turned 18. Are you planning on moving to America? What’s next for Gregory Gorgeous? SM: Well I’m kinda sorta living there already, actually ha ha. My family owns a house in New York, which we travel to a lot for weekends and things like that, but right now I’m planning to live downtown in Toronto with my best friend, Lisa. We’re both going to fashion school and living together... which should be an experience. As for what’s next for me, I really don’t know for sure. I’m working on a few projects that I can’t really talk about just yet and I don’t want to jinx anything ha ha. But hopefully good things! Need more Greg? See him at youtube.com/user/GregoryGORGEOUS
MAN By: Regina Hamilton
Over the last few weeks, as I have delved into the world of “Y: The Last Man,” created by Brian K. Vaughn and Pia Guerra, I’ve come to the conclusion that this book (because calling it a graphic novel doesn’t seem to do it justice) literally has something for everyone. Whether you are into the sweet love story involving the main character Yorick and his girlfriend/ fiancé Beth (think: Odysseus and Penelope), or you want to see just how much sex the last man on Earth could have, “Y: The Last Man” has tremendous appeal. Vaughn and Guerra don’t shy away from controversy. Homosexuality, racism, sexism, genetic cloning, religion and politics complete a mixed bag of contention. Vaughn and Guerra push you to the very edge of acceptable limits, while never inferring the morality of any one character’s actions. That’s left for you to decide. In a world-class opening, the story begins with the death of every male in every species on Earth. The human population is halved within a matter of minutes. Of course, chaos ensues. The surviving women of the world must then try to make sense of their new society in ways that are, at times, unexpected. Our charming protagonist is Yorick Brown, a fresh out of college, twentysomething escape artist with a (male) pet monkey named Ampersand. Yorick is smart, cunning and rough around the edges; he is also the sole surviving man on Earth, a title that comes with the incredible responsibility of caring for the needs of humanity over his own. He is humanity’s final hope and tries, in spite of himself, to rise to the challenge. His survival is the central pause-point of the series. How did Yorick escape “The Plague”? He wants the answer to that question more than anyone, and his search for the truth and a solution to reproducing the human race leads him on a journey around the world. Along the way, he’s assisted by Dr. Mann, a geneticist who impregnated herself with her own clone. Another ally is Agent 355, an operative for a shady government agency whose motives are just as nebulous. Yorick also meets his fair share of adversaries in the form of nouveau-Amazons (think: bows, arrows and a serious case of uni-boob), samurais, Israeli secret agents and his very own sister, coincidentally named Hero. There are ten volumes in the series, each spanning a few weeks worth of time. According to the nice man at my local comic book shop, the ending is definitely worth the time you’ll spend reading this beautifully illustrated series.
21
JUNE 2010
Photo courtesy Bicycle Film Festival
22
JUNE 2010
Photo by Michael Weimar
SPINNING
WHEELS By: Jen Whalen
Jen Whalen, a producer for the world famous Bicycle Film Festival, finds that bikes are a girl’s best friend. I ride bikes. Some people write graffiti, some people play tennis, some people go shopping with their girlfriends. I ride bikes. I still go shopping with my girlfriends sometimes, but I’d rather go ride in the streets with them. And the guys go crazy for it. I love all kinds of bikes. I sing about them, I make videos about them, I am in videos about them. We have been through heaven and hell together (I broke six ribs, clavicle, hip, and punctured my lung when hit by a car while riding with my best friend in 2007). This does not stop me. I started riding a track bike about five years ago and doing these urban unsanctioned street races, a.k.a. “alleycat” races. It was then that I realized I was kind of good at it which made me even more obsessed. I have done over 30 alleycat races, winning a lot of women’s races, plus I’ve kicked a lot of the dude’s butts, too (I love being a girl!). If anything I am doing in my life inspires a girl to get on a bike, then I am happy. Through this escalating love for bicycles, I was introduced to the Bicycle Film Festival in 2006, and it captured me. It grabbed a hold of me and blew a fresh, cold breath of air into my young lungs. I sat in the Film Anthology Archives in New York City and watched a program of short films about bikes. I went through every human emotion looking up at
Jen Whalen
that screen. Laughter, strength, joy, empowerment, and was eventually brought to tears. That is what keeps people coming back. The Bicycle
Want to know when
Film Festival affects people. It brings the world together. Four years later, I am the producer for BFF Miami, and am spending a lot
the Bicycle Film
of time at the BFF headquarters in New York City. This year the BFF is happening in approximately 40 different cities all over the world. We’ll be screening the most amazing bike films, most of them making their debut
Festival is coming to
at the festival. It is our 10th anniversary this year, and we have races, awesome parties, and our Joyride art show to ring it in. This year we also herald the women of the bike world by throwing a huge party with
your town? Check out
all female DJs. Bike culture can be very machismo, and women are often overshadowed. So this year we are raising our glasses to the lasses!
bicyclefilmfestival.com
BFF takes on New York City from June 16 through June 20 (for complete dates, check out bicyclefilmfestival.com). People will come together
for all the deets.
from all over the world because of our common friend...the bicycle.
23
JUNE 2010
WHEN AM I GONNA NEED TO KNOW THIS,
ANYWAY? Pt. 3 By: Cameron Hubbard
In the final part of our literature series, we give props to William Shakespeare, the grandmaster of Iambic Pentameter.
repetition. Even if you’ve never read one of his plays, you undoubtedly know the plots to some. From the 90s teen flick “10 Things I Hate About You” ( an ode to “Taming of the Shrew”) to 2001’s “Scotland, PA” (“Macbeth”, anyone?) to the many, many reincarnations of the Romeo and Juliet story, Shakespeare’s work has made its way into every element of popular culture. So, when it comes time to sit down and read the stories, they feel familiar and boring. Plus, they’re way harder to read in Elizabethan English than to watch on a movie screen! Why you should revisit him today: Because he’s Shakespeare! For better or worse, the Bard’s works have shaped literature right up to the present day. Without him, T.S. Eliot’s “Prufrock,” which alludes heavily to “Hamlet”, might not have come to be,
As graduation season arrives and fades into the final summer before college, a few things are certain: Green Day’s “Good Riddance” will be played one too many times; almost every graduate will receive at least one copy of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh, the Places You’ll Go”; and many a yearbook will be laughed and cried over. Then comes the excitement of the next phase: college orientation, decorating a dorm room, making new friends. Oh, right, and all those new classes you’ll have to take (and this
“His pasty, balding head is posted up in almost every high school classroom.”
time, you’re buying the books!). So, in honor of the sadness of an ending and the anticipation
and Joseph Fiennes, who played the man himself in 1998’s
of a new beginning, we’ll start at the beginning for the ending
“Shakespeare in Love,” might not have found fame. When you
of our three-part series on the writers you pretty much hated in
get right down to it, few writers can truly match Shakespeare’s
high school, but that might be worth another shot these days.
wit, story-telling or command of the English language. The fact
William Shakespeare: He may not have been the first great
is, even after 400 years, the material continues to captivate and
writer in the English language, but he’s certainly become the
inspire readers.
most well-known. His pasty, balding head is posted up in almost every high school classroom, and his works are a crucial part of
Works to start with
the high school curriculum. In fact, oftentimes, exposure to the
Tragedies
Elizabethan poet begins well before 9th grade and extends to
Cutting your teeth: Romeo and Juliet
classrooms beyond English. Shakespeare may have lived only
Ready for a challenge: King Lear
52 years, but by the time some students make that graduation
Digging a little deeper: Coriolanus
walk, it can feel like a lifetime spent studying his works.
Comedies Cutting your teeth: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Why you hated him in high school: Bo-ring. For many students,
Ready for a challenge: The Tempest
much of the problem with Shakespeare comes from too much
Digging a little deeper: Measure for Measure
24
JUNE 2010
DOMEs
TWO
STEP: TICA
SUMMER DRINK EDITION By: Jack Cusumano
Two ingredient recipes for the lazy chef.
“This is a
SoCo + Orange Ingredients: • SoCo • Orange Juice
good way
Combine SoCo and orange juice (proportions to taste) in a glass with ice. Incase you’re wondering, we don’t consider ice an ingredient. This is a good way to get your vitamins on a summer evening. If you insist, you can call this one a “comfortable screw” (but we’d rather not).
to get your
vitamins on a summer evening.”
Southwest Pickleback Ingredients: Tequila Pickle Juice The typical pickleback calls for a shot of Jameson, but trust us on the tequila substitution. Pour one shot tequila, one shot pickle juice. Drink shot of tequila and chase with pickle juice. If you ever find yourself in Tucson, AZ, try one at the Surly Wench.
Cafe Horchata Ingredients: • Rice Dream™ Horchata • Starbucks Via™ Instant Coffee Combine chilled horchata and instant coffee packet in a glass. We suggest using a small handheld milk frothing whisk for optimum consistency. If desired, add ice. Try this the morning after a few too many of those first two drinks.
25
JUNE 2010
CHEAP
HOME SCHOOL: DIY STUDIO
TALK RECORDING By: Alisha Torreabla
You don’t need to get fancy, just creative. “It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it!” The DIY slogan from Desperate Bicycles in the late 70s was only the beginning of a movement that would continue to leave record companies shaking in their boots. As recording technology has advanced over the years (I’m not just talking about the transition from analog to digital equipment), the more widely available it has become. Home recording and self-release is more possible than ever, and many artists have taken artistic control of every step along the way (e.g. Joanna Newsom, Ariel Pink, Black Dice, and Dum Dum Girls’ basement recordings; Animal Collective and Paw Tracks). It begs the question, “Why the fuck not?”
Photo courtesy Alisha Torrealba
Deciding the desired control factor for an individual instrument can ultimately determine how much you invest into your home studio, and whether analogue or digital best suits your needs. A high quality microphone is sometimes all you need to create more depth and precision, and even this is not always necessary. Too much equipment can be very overwhelming. Either way, I suggest going the cheap route until getting better acquainted. Garageband comes standard with Macs and it has endless amounts of potential (it’s been my primary recording program for years now). When I decided that more sound density control was required, I introduced the Blue Snowball USB Condenser Mic for around $60. There are certainly times when I revert back to the internal mic, or use Fruity Loops on a PC to compliment a rougher recording. Digital has been knocked for being too “clean”, but really it’s an artistic choice in how to utilize the practically infinite number of tracks you can add. More tracks could mean more instruments, more “tiny” sounds and more space. Plus, going digital means access to a library of effects to achieve “clean” perfection or a fun mess.
“It was easy, it was cheap, go and do it!”
Analog systems are still incredibly easy to obtain, whether using an old Sony tape recorder in the bathroom, or scoring something like a Tascam 4 track for under $100. The intimate warm tone and natural distortion of tape is endearing…familiar. Track limitations do exist more than digital recordings, but spacing and equipment compliment analogue just as well (sometimes more so). Costs can initially be kept down. However, since this is the age of digital sharing, you will need equipment to convert…unless, of course, you take Daniel Johnston’s idea of handing out tapes (hey, it worked!). The studio is your most powerful instrument. It allows ultimate control and manipulation. It can turn a tinkering, garage sale-bought keyboard into a baby grand vibrating in a symphony hall. Your sound palate may water for a program like ProTools where such sound manipulation is easily possible, but limitations (especially financial ones) are great opportunities to create a unique aesthetic.
26
JUNE 2010
THE GENTLEMAN’S GAME:
A HOT BENCH By: Tom Vinson
Ollie Tucker was on a hot bench. “It’s only June.” That’s what the papers said. That’s what Tucker kept telling himself as he watched Valierez ground out to shortstop for the fifth consecutive time. Early summer games. “They don’t ACT..tually mean anything...” pennant in June. But...
Nobody wins a
“But it’s all of the little games...they count just as much as the big ones...a W is a W.” Bottom of the ninth...swing and a...miss. That was it. “I’m hitting the showers.” “That’s about all your hitting.” In June, the grass...the turf....it is a mellow green. It doesn’t start biting the feet until August. But in June... “That’s it”, Tucker tells the team, now 18-25, in his comforting way. “I’ll meet up with you guys in a few...” The lowly team heads down the tunnel into the locker room. Tucker heads out onto the pitcher’s mound. He puts the palm of his hand on top of it. Caresses it like a sixteen-year-old would the hood of a brand new Mazda. The caressing turns into rubbing, which turns into a slightly rougher rubbing. A rough, counter-clockwise rubbing. Tucker’s hand is now red... A man tilts his head up from behind the mound. “Do you need something, Ollie?” Tucker suddenly becomes still. “David...David, I’m screwed. If I can’t get this team into the playoffs this year, I’m out. I’m as good as sitting behind the desk at a water supply company.” “I’ll give you the magic touch, Ollie. And I’ll do it because....I like you.” “Thank you, David. I...I miss you, ya’ know?” “I miss you too, coach.” And he is gone. Two days have passed. Valierez looks concerned. “Are you alright, skipper?” Oliie turns to face his crew. “I’m wearing the uniform, aren’t I?”
27
JUNE 2010
I’LL FORMSPRING
YOUR FACE By: Kevin Yang
What ... A Ridiculous Premise.
I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s a sign of me getting older,
Farmville (but of course, that’s a whole ‘nother rant.)
falling behind on electronic trends or having a life, but the recent popularity of Formspring.com really boggles me and my
I know if I were ever to muster the time and effort to ask someone
hamstring. It’s particularly popular with the people I’m friends
a question through Formspring, it would be along the lines of
with on Facebook who also happen to be in high school ...
philosophical nuances or child rearing. You know, important
which may have something to do with it.
issues that only the internet can solve.
When I first encountered Formspring on my Facebook news
On top of my general disdain for Formspring, people on
feed, I originally thought it was a website that promoted cake
Facebook who “like” certain irrelevant causes make me wonder
pans or mattresses. As I ventured further, I learned it lets people
why I’m still friends with them in the first place. I don’t see the
sign up for an account and then allows other users to fire away
point in liking “Don’t go to bed yet, I want to talk to you.” I think
such life-probing questions as “What was the best thing that
these “likes” are absurd, and the whole mechanism should
happened this weekend?” or “Do you like music?”
be reserved only for people who truly admire certain universal interests; I’m talking about barrel-chested Polynesian men who
What ... a ridiculous premise.
like to hopscotch blindfolded or hitting up the local senior citizen center just for kicks.
Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the last few centuries, you’d probably still remember all the time-honored modes of
All of these web trends -- new “It” things and liking people who
communication already in place: smoke signals, Morse code,
are the color green -- are confusing to me. How is anyone able
email, text messaging, even actual human contact -- the
to keep up with this information overload? I have a hard time
possibilities are endless.
juggling my plans for the weekend, much less updating my twoyear plan. Does anyone even care that you “like” girls with back
And what also bothers me is that “Formspringers” (as they’re
dimples? Not really.
called) solicit other people to “formspring” through Facebook. Not only does distract me when I’m looking at a picture of
What I’m trying to say is that these trends make me wonder
my friend at a pie-eating contest, I don’t like it when people
what’s really important in life. After signing up for a cause that
ask to “formspring.me!” What does that even mean? Sexual
supports little people pole vaulting, I’m thinking about rallying
assault? People using Formspring as a means of interpersonal
a “like” page for people who have a healthy obsession with
communication is on par with something else I find heinous:
holding corpulent babies. Now, that’s something I like.
28
JUNE 2010
REVIVAL:
are incorporating inspiration from early hip-hop, fleshing out a niche started in the first revival by The Go! Team. Even Animal Collective pull big dance beats out of the Reagan-era and put into
A TALE OF LOVE, REDEMPTION
the Obama. But no group has mastered the modern 80s revival/
By: Christian BC
In 2007, Yeasayer made waves with their debut, All Hours Cymbals.
There’s a whole new batch of bands drawing inspiration from the most obnoxious of decades.
held together by a loose pop sensibility and a healthy dose of
AND INDIE ROCK
inspiration sound quite like Yeasayer.
The album mixed Eastern percussion with Western electronics, all experimentalism. Lurking beneath this is a clear influence from the late-70s: intertwining harmonies, big bass and drums, and a powerful tenor washing over tribal-infused backdrops. This year,
Not so long ago, a trend swept the indie nation. A trend that
Yeasayer released their sophomore album Odd Blood, and just
entranced the youth of the underground and slowly spread to all
like its predecessor, it merges the isolated with the cosmopolitan.
aspects of their culture, eventually spilling over into the miasma
This go around, however, the band draws inspiration from the
that is mainstream America. That trend adopted the simplest of
synth-filled, big-beat halls of the 80s. Many fans and critics were
monikers for itself, opting to be known by the very decade for
shocked by the dance-heavy, highly polished new sound, but it
which it was fetishizing and reviving: the 80s.
was truly the next logical step for the band. The world percussion and experimentation remain, yet we hear a more complete sonic
At the onset of the oughts, rock, dance, and hip-hop groups
arc than on All Hour Cymbals. It’s as if they were trying to make
began incorporating various elements of early to mid-80s music
this record all along, but they lacked the production value. And
and fashion into their repertoire, and fans followed suit. Groups
production is the key.
like the Rapture and LCD Soundsystem cashed in on a watereddown version of post-punk. Peaches and Spank Rock took
As older bands reinvent themselves and new groups like Neon
electro and made it filthier while 80s nights and electronic dance
Indian and Washed Out plumb the sonic depths of electronic
bands packed clubs across the country, and dare I say, the world.
music even more, it seems inevitable that the blues-based,
It was good while it lasted, but as time passed, new bands merely
rock-centric sound that has gripped Western culture for so long
took the most superficial parts of the early 80s aesthetic and
is fading in favor of electronic genres. We need only look at
opted them into their oeuvres. Pretty soon most rational-minded
mainstream music to see that rap and dance dominate the charts
people were sick of the whole thing.
while most successful pop musicians thrive on a solid foundation of electronic production. Rock has become a niche or a novelty
Flash-forward to 2009/10, and you’ll find that most self-respecting
and the few Top 40 acts that practice it are atrocious at best. But
indie bands have left the 80s behind. Sike.
worry not, the underground isn’t bound by the same fate and indie musicians aren’t done with rock yet. Like so many generations
Today, there’s a whole new crop of bands drawing inspiration
before, bands today are reviving punk and garage, incorporating
from the most obnoxious of decades. Luckily, they are taking the
its aggression and distortion, while filtering it through a modern
better aspects of it. While groups like Goldfrapp and Marina & the
lens. The music of the 80s wasn’t all slick dance grooves, and
Diamonds are still focusing on the high-gloss dance/pop sound of
a bevy of new, lo-fi artists are making sure we don’t forget that.
the 80s, they manage to keep the music relevant by connecting it with the current electronic aesthetic; those sensual female vocals
Christian BC continues this exploration through the retro revival in
don’t hurt, either. Meanwhile, groups like Javelin and Delorean
the July issue of Sundae Magazine.
Illustration by Jack Cusumano
29
JUNE 2010
ONCE YOU HAVE IT ALL,
WHAT’S NEXT? By: Britt Middleton
HBO’s “Entourage” Returns on June 27, But Is There Even A Reason To Watch?
actually does. As a true pal, Vince is more than happy to share the spoils with his comrades and his older, considerably less successful actor brother Johnny. Money, fame, supermodels--not even Ferraris could come between these dudes; you just can’t shake a bromance like that. Which begs me to ask: why do another season? I shouldn’t even admit how deeply into this show I really am, but even as a fan, I don’t see the point in overworking what is a thrilling study of the American Dream. The sixth season was about evolving,
Once you have it all, what next? As the tagline for the seventh season of HBO’s mega-hit “Entourage”, it puts immense pressure on Vincent Chase and the boys to make it worth our while. If you haven’t experienced this slick, star-studded series (a veritable who’s who of Hollywood), a little background: the show chronicles actor Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) as he rose to supernova status, bringing his childhood friends Eric “E” Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Salvatore “Turtle” Assante (Jerry Ferrara), and big brother Johnny “Drama” (Kevin Dillon) along for the ride. But Hollywood, the temperamental beast that it is, made sure that ascent was anything but smooth; that’s where Vince’s star publicist the vitriolic Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) comes in to help the crew navigate life behind the velvet ropes. We learn it is one rife with cut-throat producers, ruthless adversaries, and madmen directors who will risk it all for some good blow. Ah, the Hollywood life. But just as yin has yang, the drama is leveled off by the sweet perks of stardom: mega mansions in the Hills, million dollar pay checks, fast cars…and even faster women. So now, after Vince and the boys have survived life in the fast lane, what is next? And
be it the characters growing up or growing apart. Vince scored the lead in Martin Scorsese’s remake of “The Great Gatsby”, and therefore cemented his place among Hollywood’s elite. Meanwhile, in an effort to be more than Vince’s wingman, Eric tried (and failed) to start his own talent management firm; on the up side, he finally reconciled with on-again girlfriend Sloan and they become engaged. With no real marketable skills and sick of being a slacker, Turtle enrolled in business classes at UCLA and finds love with former “Sopranos” star (and at one point reallife girlfriend) Jamie Lynn Sigler. Johnny lands a starring role the ensemble series “Five Towns”, but quickly learned that success comes with consequences. As far as I can tell, the seventh season picks up after Vince has “made it”, Eric has secured independence, Johnny has gained clarity about his career, and Turtle has decided to become a grown-up with purpose. So, basically, everyone is doing great. Yawn.
should we care?
It’s rumored that this is one of only two seasons left for the show,
I can’t write this article without stating that at the very core, this
know for certain that I’ll be watching -- be it through gritted teeth
and I’m really dreading how it will end. Despite my anxiety, I
is a show about unwavering friendship, a “bromance” if you will. Four friends move to LA to make it and one of them – Vince –
30
JUNE 2010
or exasperated breath -- when “Entourage” returns on June 27. Because no matter what, I gotta support my boys.
Illustration by Jack Cusumano
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JUNE 2010