may anyone have a room or know
someone who needs a roommate in new york city?
im searching for a temporary home.

one of my favorite interpol songs untitled was the first opening track to turn on the bright lights.

when i first heard this album, i spent so much time feeling myself apart of new york. dark tall buildings under red, purple and blue streaming lights, the rush of times square, golden yellow taxi cabs, broken sidewalks and myself happily alone walking down the unknown city streets, finding my way with my headphones.

photography by automatt
interpol drawing by enrico fioraso

there are moments when
when i know it and
the world revolves around us
and we’re keeping it, keep it all going
this delicate balance, vulnerable all knowing
sing like you think no one’s listening

from long island, new york, straylight run consists of john nolan (from taking back sunday) and his sister michelle derosa. currently unsigned, this family collaboration write such emotional lyrics and vocally carry it with the simplicity of their complimentary piano and guitar. along with their bassist shaun cooper and drummer will noon, straylight run have shared two full-length albums showcasing how much their music meaningfully seeps in.

existentialism on prom night
hands in the sky (big shot)
[prepare to be wrong, 2005]

image stills from straylight run’s hands in the sky video

recently, i asked
marissa nadler
about a song, moment and what it meant to her
…
this is how she responded.

the last time i saw richard

the last song off of joni mitchell’s blue, has the most crushingly sad lyrics i have ever heard. i remember how after i had first experienced what it was like for life to be that devastating after the loss of love, this song really resonated with me.

when she says, “richard got married to a figure skater and he bought her a dishwasher and a coffee percolator” it communicates how tragic it is when great loves leave/settle for mediocrity, or maybe life just becomes mediocre. that song truly has been a soundtrack to a lot of the most poignant parts of my life.

[marissa nadler grew up in massachusetts and was recently named as one of boston globe's 25 most stylish icons. she remains true to her own vision with shades reminiscent of stevie nicks while wearing handmade victorian laced gothic dresses and sharing such soft, soprano vocals that cascade like echoes of wind-chimes on a warm summer day.

marissa has created three albums, blending delicate arrangements of mythological instruments that provide the atmospheric sounds of a surreal dream. listen to: diamond heart from the 2007 album songs iii: bird on the water]

am i living wrong
do you see a long road with no one on it
and the right of men that you learnt only to forget
you see my sad wife and my high margin of profit
but you don’t care at all
you don’t care
at all

theres something about these live french radio sessions that seem to resonate such a surreal quality. patterns of sounds sharing a vulnerability that can’t always be found in an open scattered arena; hearing this type of emotion and intimacy should be a state of mind set for every moment of any performance.

the veils
black session // 10.30.06

a birthday present
jesus for the jugular ***
one night on earth
calliope!
state trooper (springsteen cover)
nux vomica ***
advice for young mothers to be
under the folding branches
the wild son
pan ***
not yet
more heat than light

***highly recommended

artwork by izabella pierce

after recently moving and subletting a home again in boston, i’ve found myself with an impression of this scene that lingers on the audience needing to come back to appreciating, smiling and falling in love with music again. my kind roommate, corryn, surprised me with tickets to see the gutter twins last night at the paradise rock club. finding a cozy seat on the black vinyl sofas against the wall, together we sat in anticipation for the opener great northern.

this la quartet have been a special band inside my collection over the last few years. as i remember receiving their demo, feeling humble about the collection of their male-female harmonies and how sweetly those dreamy guitars lingered. the live experience was far beyond that, shimmering full of epic potential and mind-blowing creativity. after their show, it seemed only right to secretly tell them how i personally felt. after shaking hands with the entire band and graciously speaking with vocalist/keyboardist rachel stolte, it seemed important that great northern receive as much praise as possible.

from great northern’s 2007 debut
‘trading twilight for daylight’.
the middle
home

the lights in the room seemed to all gently fade to black as mark langegan (formerly of the screaming trees) and greg dulli (of the afghan wings and the twilight singers) appeared. in between breaths of too many cigarettes, the audience was cast under a spell, as they cautiously swayed their bodies to the brooding rock and sensual sounds of the gutter twins.

watching the band play off one another and that hidden sensuality that rests within the darkness of their collaboration felt apparent to witness. the gift of the night was their cover of jose gonzalez “down the line”, hearing those drums pulsate and the words screamed *don’t let the darkness eat you up* made me believe it. listening closely, it became comforting to notice how both bands set-lists beautifully segued into one another. like my own private music world, if only there were more people there to actually understand and fill the room.

from the gutter twins’ 2008 debut
’saturnalia’.
each to each

from their recent performance
in paris, france.
number nine
down the line (jose gonzalez cover)

original painting by corryn leigh young

toronto based crystal castles consists of vocalist alice glass and multi-instrumentalist ethan kath. together they share an electrifying intensity that can only be described best by the sounds of their atari 5000 sound chip. however, the name crystal castles is not taken from the video game but instead is referred to an old she-ra (masters of the universe) commercial and a moment where alice remembers a childhood memory of her cousin receiving a she-ra crystal castle and understanding that excited reaction, innoncent feeling about a gift.

back in 2005, crystal castles’ track alice practice was considered as just an accident, a recording used in the background during practice and cleverly placed onto myspace. a few months later, these demos floated around the internet and ethan was secretly asked to create remixes for special artists like bloc party, the liars, the goodbooks and klaxons. on march 31, 2008, crystal castles presents their anticipated full-length self-titled debut album, sharing many of their songs from over these years. known for their live performances in pitch black darkness and making the whole room collapse, their scheduled performances currently on tour with the band, health are sure not to be missed.

alice practice (one of those songs discovered while my ipod was on shuffle. for some reason, mixed within the stillness of just the beats and her screaming… it felt beyond invigorating.)

crimewave (crystal castles vs health)

atlantis (crystal castles remix) by klaxons

artwork by rachel j wong

you may need me more
than you think you will

electric feel
mgmt [oracular spectacular, 2007]
the eraser (xxxchange_mix)
thom yorke [unofficial, 2007]
forever heavy
black moth super rainbow [dandelion gum, 2007]
blind (ft. antony hegarty)
hercules & love affair [self-titled, 2008]
weight of the world
patrick watson [close to paradise, 2007]
simple x
andrew bird [armchair apocrypha, 2007]
brainy
the national [boxer, 2007]

artwork by arabella proffer

the core of the band hot chip, alexis taylor and joe goddard, began songwriting while studying music together at the south london elliot school. after playing around with different elements of sounds and infectious textures and producing them into a few home recorded demo eps, the label astralwerks and dfa signed them immediately and in 2004, the birth of their debut coming on strong was released. challenged by the idea of progressing, hot chip shared critical acclaim and much success with their second album the warning yet, still maintained a focused sentimental direction.

just like we breakdown (dfa remix)
[from the single: over and over, 2006]

hot chip’s third album *made in the dark* features a mixture of their catchy electropop, colorfully reflective beats and surprisingly synthesized pop ballads. the single ready for the floor was rumored to originally be created for kylie minogue to sing but unfortunately she never even heard it. the band dismissed this as a misquotation and said that if kylie was to be given one of their songs to sing, this would be it. however, after experiencing duffy’s cover and performance live recently for radio one — a comforting, addicting and soft, feminine approach has completely taken over.

l i s t e n

original:: hot chip
cover:: duffy
remix:: soulwax dub
mashup:: smoothed out on an r&b tip version

artwork by brian taylor
(originally from scotland, brian taylor is inspired by the world of vintage cartoons, films and novelties. his illustrated prints may be purchased through blue flip art, sharing a percentage of proceeds towards his favorite charity.)

just shy of twenty years old and a graduate of the brit school, adele sings with a comfortable conviction as if she’s been singing like an old soul for years. hailed as the next amy winehouse and full of past inspiration from greats like billie holiday, etta james and ella fitzgerald, adele contributes r&b vocal tones to relaxed structures of brass strings, her own piano keys and natural acoustics. before the debut, 19, was even released, she was the first recipient of the 2008 brit awards critics’ choice and was titled the sound of 2008 by bbc 6 music.

i like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque
i love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades
i like it in the city when two worlds collide
you get the people and the government
everybody taking different sides

hometown glory
tired [nineteen, 2008]
last night [the strokes cover]

artwork by ruby persson