bondidwhat.

poseur.

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:32:10 -0400

One day, in sophomore or year of high school, I was with a couple of friends and ran into the uber-goth of my school. “Poseur,” she muttered under her breath before taunting me to quickly name every single Siouxsie album chronologically. I said, uhhhh, no. “Fucking poseur,” and she cackled. You see, just simply dressing the part is not enough - you must master the lifestyle, conform to the the “rules,” and only listen to approved bands. I was more into industrial in high school, but was known to listen to whatever the hell I wanted - I was still openly a Madonna and (gasp) U2 fan, and I wasn’t going to stop liking a band or artist just because they weren’t deemed “cool” enough. You see, I didn’t give a shit about the lifestyle - I didn’t want to wear the uniform; I wanted to wear whatever I wanted and listen to the music that I liked. Who cares if I was going to be made fun of the goth chick that many of my friends thought was a total bitch. They reminded me, wasn’t she the one who had teased hair, sporting her Benetton before winter break? Her once sunny disposition turned black along with everything else, and I found it to be hypocritical immediately.

In high school, music is a very powerful force. As much as we may say that we don’t want to conform, we all do to an extent. Each subculture has some sort of uniform, some code of honor, that you follow in order to belong. For some reason, I was a bit stubborn - I wanted to hang out with the cool kids, but there was no way I was going to give up my other friends in the process. Sure, I wore black most days, but there were times when I wanted to wear something different. When it came to music, I may have been partial to new wave and industrial, but I sure loved the Pixies and Replacements. As far as I was concerned, I was no poseur - I was authentic and true to the only one that mattered, myself.

summer concerts. ny area style.

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:59:17 -0400

It was the Summer of 2002 when I first attended the Siren Festival. It was the second year of the annual indie rock/hipsterfest and I remember it well. Coney Island, in general holds great meaning to me, and seeing a free show alongside the Cyclone is an amazing experience. It was there that I first heard Shannon Wright, Pretty Girls Make Graves, and Les Savy Fav. Over the years, after some really solid lineups, it seems to have lost it’s edge for attracting top notch headliners mixed with underground next-big-things.

Speaking of which, the McCarren Pool Parties were another concert series for the uber-hip while it lasted (2006-2008). Seeing PGMG, Les Savy Fav, and The Breeders there was quite an experience and quite possibly one of the most unique venues ever. Last year’s Breeders show was awesome - seeing the sisters Deal banter onstage is quite a treat, and Kelley said in the middle of the show something to the effect of being excited for the new pool, to which the audience snickered. It was a fun moment. This year’s lineup, with a venue change (now at East River State Park), shows a more obscure offering - with the highlight being last week’s Mission of Burma show (which I missed).

Then come the big shows that you pay for, and I must say the best, if not scariest, outdoor show I went to was last summer’s REM show at the Jones Beach Theater. During Modest Mouse’s set, the sky ripped open, a bolt of lightning hit one of the towers, and the theater was evacuated. REM finally took the stage after the storm subsided and opened with an impromptu rendition of CCN’s “Have You Ever Seen The Rain” before bursting into “So. Central Rain.” Amazing stuff. The Jones Beach Theater is an amazing place to see a concert - I’ve seen Depeche Mode and Morrissey there prior, and there’s some kind of magic that happens when you see a band at a venue that is right on the water.

If I had to pick a local summer show that I could go to this year, I would have to pick the All Points West festival. The Beastie Boys, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Ra Ra Riot, The Ting Tings, My Bloody Valentine….I could go on. Ah, if only I had the money to pay for the 3 day pass. Plus, even though it’s in NJ, it’s at Liberty State Park overlooking the skyline. I could only imagine how amazing that experience would be. There’s always next year…

bon

my music tumblog

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:28:17 -0400

my music tumblog

Blip Transmission #5 The Ramones/Beat On The Brat It always...

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:55:43 -0400

Blip Transmission #5

The Ramones/Beat On The Brat

It always satisfies me to mention that the grandaddys of American punk hail from the fine borough of Queens. This is one of my favorites of theirs and every time the Mets are against the Phillies I chant this! Unfortunately I will not be discussing the Mets this season.

The Ramones - Beat on the brat (Live 1975) (via arturomonsalve)

Blip Transmission #4 Datarock - Computer Camp Love A genius...

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 10:12:45 -0400

Blip Transmission #4

Datarock - Computer Camp Love

A genius song. Datarock really has this knack for really smart pop culture references and their authenticity is welcome when there are so many hipster douchebags out there now. This song brings us right back to Computer Camp in 1984, complete with Commodore 64s and all that geekery. The other thing that makes this song so irreverent is the fact that the song also plays as a spoof on “Summer Lovin’” straight from “Grease.”

Datarock - Computer Camp Love (via NettwerkMusic)

Blip Transmission: U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One This song for me...

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 10:24:37 -0400

Blip Transmission:

U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One

This song for me is all about the art of the crush. The sweaty palms, gathering the courage to say something, that lump in your throat - we’ve all been there. For some reason, I always envision this song played at a High School dance - in my head, I totally have my own video playing. I replay all the silly, embarrassing moments of prior crushes. Unfortunately, the actual video for this is pretty bizarre and quite lame, but let’s chalk that up to the fact this was the early 80s when videos were allowed to be absolutely ridiculous and abstract.

U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One (via HyLeRo)

Friendships can be a love/hate relationship and sometimes they...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:05:16 -0400

Friendships can be a love/hate relationship and sometimes they are more agonizing and ecstatic than romantic relationships. Having a best girl friend is like having a sister - you feel as if you are blood related although you aren’t. Lives become intertwined even though they start to fragment and separate.

In Me Without You, Marina and Holly are best friends that seem inseparable. They do everything together, but as Holly matures, Marina seems to remain stuck in adolescence over the 15 year span throughout the film.

This movie also struck a chord with me, and no movie to my recollection other than Ghost World illustrated how friendships break apart.

This is something that I had to do earlier this year with a friend that I have known for such a long time continued to bully me and I finally had enough. While longevity is a great thing to have, quality and respect are another.

Me Without You trailer (via moth)

Blip Transmission: Nick Drake - ‘Cello Song This song is...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 10:43:12 -0400

Blip Transmission:

Nick Drake - ‘Cello Song

This song is absolute perfection to me. Definitely one to go on my personal soundtrack. Nick Drake was such an enormous talent who left this world far too soon.

Nick Drake - ‘Cello Song (via geithuus)

When I lived in Williamsburg, the word...

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 00:54:22 -0400

When I lived in Williamsburg, the word “gentrification” was a dirty word. Sure, we were the middle class that moved into a neighborhood once in decline, but once the luxury condos started going up and the yuppies with their Prada bags shuffled in, the term had new meaning. It became the epitome of greed and narcissism. Many of these luxury condos sit vacant, as no one can afford them now.

Now, living in the suburban sprawl of Shirley, NY - an area that has a bad rep, some of us recent pioneers to the area are welcoming the term with open arms. When a couple of years ago, I would get pissed about Starbucks moving into the ‘Burg, I am thoroughly excited about the prospect of chains moving into the area. While some people who grew up on the Island are skeptical, since change out here happens a lot slower and methodical, I am pretty psyched that the efforts to incorporate a Village are pushing forward. People are committed, and that in itself is exciting. They are also sick of the stigma - and when people get angry and cannot take it anymore, they take action. Something to certainly be happy about.

Another thing that I didn’t do as a lifelong NYC resident was pay attention to the local elections aside from the Mayor. Now, I realize that acting locally is crucial to the revitalization plan.

Recession Gentrification (via TheNorik)

Blip Transmission: I am going through my Blips from the...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:04:30 -0400

Blip Transmission:

I am going through my Blips from the beginning and will be posting vids from my stream here.

My very first Blip back in January was the first track from the new Metric album. The track, “Help I’m Alive” makes me cry sometimes and their new album, Fantasies is one of the best and most concise albums to come out in a while. The song is an anthem to live life to the fullest and not holding any regrets. Seeing them live a couple of weeks ago at Terminal 5 was definitely one of THE most energetic and emotionally charged shows that I have ever been to.

METRIC “Help I’m Alive” - a Deco Dawson short film (via metricmusic)

Short movie about the plague from France. I really love the...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:57:55 -0400

Short movie about the plague from France. I really love the animation in this.

La Peste on Vimeo (via Vimeo)

Banksy is probably one of my FAVORITE artists ever. I just wish...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:51:26 -0400

Banksy is probably one of my FAVORITE artists ever. I just wish there was a way for me to get to Bristol. Sigh…..

banksy (via snappycat)

I am not a huge 4th of July fan. Never was. I mean, I...

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:48:26 -0400

I am not a huge 4th of July fan. Never was. I mean, I don’t hold anything against backyard barbeque (in fact I was at one) - I am just not a huge fan of fireworks. ESPECIALLY in my new enclave where they were shooting them off day and night all week in preparation for a five our spectacle. Well, it wasn’t so much of a spectacle as it sounded like a freaking war zone. Unfortunately, my neighbors like blowing sh*t up and it gave me a migraine. Bah.

via www.virtualpurpura.com

Blippety-bloppety-boop!

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 19:43:10 -0400

Blippety-bloppety-boop!:

I listen to FAR too much music. I have the tendency to be a genre hopping fool. Just check it out for yourself to see what I am yapping about.

Photo

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:12:55 -0400

So, I’ve Been A Little Incognito The past couple of weeks...

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 00:37:20 -0400

So, I’ve Been A Little Incognito

The past couple of weeks have actually been busy. And not in that scattered ADHD haze exactly - I mean, I’ve been really busy. With work. Freelance to be exact. Whether it be editing photos or researching press contacts or even managing Twitter accounts, I have been quite the busy bee. It’s been a whirlwind, and I even attended my very first Long Island networking event, which was very odd. I won’t go into details, but it is a whole other world out here. It feels like the minor leagues next to events I’ve been to in the city. I have essentially traded rubbing elbows with Creative Directors at the Art Directors Gala for listening to spiels from The Bug Man. Yes. You read correctly. I will not repeat.

Sometimes I feel like I have made some awful missteps in my career. Now that I know I have ADHD with an odd mixture of neuroticism (yes, I was the annoying chick that always went: “they’re letting people go, omigod, is it going to be me?”) the job hopping makes more sense to me. But why did I leave Ai? There were people there that were making me uncomfortable, and I really let it get to me. Sad thing is, it was the most rewarding job I ever had. They invested in me and paid for graduate classes, and I left them in the dust. It was a bitter pill to take. And I left it for that horrible recruiting job that effectively sent my career in a downward spiral. I learned my lesson.

So now, I am enjoying the freelance life. Working my own hours, setting my own schedule, and working on a diverse range of projects that don’t have too much structure. Most of it is deadline oriented work, which I am pretty good with. It’s different, but now I am wishing that I got help earlier.

Big props to a former friend who suggested this years ago - you were right. And if you knew that the things I said were linked to the ADHD, maybe things would have been a bit different.

In other news, I’ve been getting the crafty bug again and today made my solid perfume. Unfortunately I reek of it and my hands are very dry. I’ve been learning to sew. I am also trying to see if I can laminate or sew my stock of patterned paper and turn them into wonderfully upcycled wallets and such. Marc’s been doing man-work - our bathroom floor was so ridiculously awful that he couldn’t take it anymore and went to Lowe’s. This weekend was all about plastering and tiling. That should be complete by the weekend.

via blog.craftzine.com

Travelogue - Part Three Saturday we woke up and decided to go to...

Sun, 31 May 2009 18:49:44 -0400

Travelogue - Part Three

Saturday we woke up and decided to go to this cafe called Brewhaha for breakfast. It was a pretty lazy place and we both ordered blueberry multigrain pancakes with fresh syrup. It was very good and we decided before hitting the road, we’d hit the hot tub and chill for a little bit since it was closed the night before. The smell of the basement was pretty pungent - it smelled of sweat and mildew - not a good combination. The pool area was desolate and the hot tub was merely a pool with warm water and no jets so we obviously did not stay.

When we hit the road heading toward Northampton, we took the scenic route; the Mohawk Trail along US Route 7 through the mountains. It was absolutely amazing - the windy turns and the stunning views were incredible. So many interesting towns along the way and lots of kayak tours. When we hit Northampton, we kind of meandered about the town, hitting up the stores and browsing. Nothing really struck our fancy, and we got back in the car to head over to Amherst for lunch. We ate at a place called Mango Mango which was really good. I had a veggie chik sandwich with guac and granny smith apples which may sound odd but it was really good. We then waltzed into Newbury Comics and checked out some cds. Nothing struck my fancy.

There was a sustainable crafts and culture festival going on which was interesting. Walking through the merchant tents felt like we were in a global bazaar, complete with the sounds of ethnic music and the smells of Tibetan cooking. After that, we hit the road and ventured home.

via www.moodyscollectibles.com

Travelogue Part 2: Bennington, Bellydancers, and Brew After...

Sun, 31 May 2009 13:23:47 -0400

Travelogue Part 2: Bennington, Bellydancers, and Brew

After MassMoCA, we checked into our hotel - the Holiday Inn in North Adams - literally around the corner from the museum. We settled for a little bit, and then decided to grab a cup of coffee before dinner. The place we wanted to go to was closed already, and it seems like everything in the town was closed for the evening. Surprisingly, the only stores that were open were children’s clothing stores and toy shops. I left my camera in the hotel room, thinking that we were just going to hang local. Since Marc was in need of coffee and I was craving a chai, we headed to Bennington, VT - which was a 15 minute drive from where we were staying.

We arrived in Bennington and immediately came across a cafe and I noticed the tribal bellydancers that were standing in front. This is when I curse myself and mutter that I should have known better than to leave the hotel without camera in tow! The show was good, a short 15 minute or so set, and Marc was pleasantly surprised, as he thought they looked “scary.” One of the tribe members came up to us and we got into a discussion about bellydance. Very friendly people, but we were on a mission and wanted to see a little more of Bennington before the sun went down. It started to rain, and we were starting to get hungry for dinner, so we ventured out to a diner that unfortunately did not exist any longer.

Plan B was to go to this place Marc found when he booked the hotel. It was this brewhouse not far from the hotel and after getting ridiculously lost (on my behalf, I must admit) we finally found the place. We walk in to the sound of an uninspired cover band singing “Margaritaville” - a song that should be banished from the annals of popular music. We find the dish that we were both excited to find: sun dried tomato ravioli. Now, before any of you say that you don’t go to a brewhouse for pasta, we’ve had some great meals at pubs in the past. Plus, it looked like a house specialty. Unfortunately, we had a Gordon Ramsay moment. After waiting forever (or what seemed like forever, especially when you add bad cover music in the mix) we finally got our dishes. I took a bite, it was okay and then the next bite: FROZEN! Marc also had frozen food. In our heads we were like, “it’s not FRESH! How can you serve this!” And of course, after waiting forever again, we got a nuked plate of food. Awesome. The only consolation is that we scored a free dessert and I must say that was death by ice cream. We were pretty surprised, because we’ve NEVER had a bad meal in the Berkshires - usually the food is super fresh and amazing, so this dud was our first.

LeWitt Exhibit

Sun, 31 May 2009 12:57:30 -0400

LeWitt Exhibit

Travelogue Part One I LOVE road trips. There’s something...

Sat, 30 May 2009 21:31:11 -0400

Travelogue Part One

I LOVE road trips. There’s something about getting away from the familiar and exploring what is out there. I had a wedding booked that was canceled, and Marc had the day off yesterday which was prime opportunity for us to get off the Island!

Marc planned on taking me to North Adams, MA to visit Mass MoCA which I’ve heard amazing things about. Turned out that there was an exhibition of wall paintings from my favorite artist, Sol LeWitt on display. I was pretty excited.

Before we entered the museum, which is a really amazing complex of businesses, shops, and galleries, we ate at one of the on-site restaurants, Cafe Latino. I had some really yummy fish tacos, and Marc had a burrito. The food was fresh and excellent.

Mass MoCA itself is beautiful. This is what happens when a community is vested in bringing culture to the people. Like many towns in Western Mass, North Adams was a big mill town with a huge legacy in manufacturing. The museum site was actually a former electric factory that was closed in the ’80s that started a decline in the city’s economy. In 1999 the museum opened its doors as a place meant for large scale contemporary art.

It is beautiful, and there is one exhibition space that equals the size of a football field. The rest of the space feels open and inviting. Definitely worth a visit. And the LeWitt exhibit alone is worth checking out.

via pix.epodunk.com