Food and TV.

Joy to me is an enormous ceramic mug brimming with English breakfast tea, a whoopie pie, and Top Chef on the television. Breaking up that rich, soft cake and marshmallow filling with my fork then introducing and re-introducing it to my lips, I imagine that I'm simultaneously enjoying one of the pastries or desserts that are being prepared by maybe Malika or Zac or Yigit, my favorite for perhaps obvious reasons, on the 'Just Desserts' spinoff of the original show, which I only caught one season of in its still brief lifespan. The show, unlike my delicious treat, is far from fluffy, and far more watchable than most of those awkward televised competitions on the Food Network, save for Iron Chef. The FN has lately been fancying these types of shows, showdowns and food battles, but hasn't quite found the proper way to best tease out the drama. Chopped is drivel, as has been The Next Food Network Star. I'm not more likely to watch your program just because I watched you outlast other chefs week to week. Iron Chef on the other hand is prime food-related watching, and does an excellent job fetishizing the dishes and ingredients that are and should be the ultimate draw of such shows in the first place. Top Chef is more like a traditional competition-based reality show with a slant in food, which is what makes it so addictive. It did oust Amazing Race from its throne in the reality category at the Emmy's, followed the next year by A&E's Intervention, which is also addictive viewing for mostly the same reasons. Messed up people dealing with substances. In my case, it's messed up shirts covered in chocolate stains.

By the way, I have my money on Yigit to win Just Desserts, and not simply because he's adorable. Ever since I was a wee lad, I've had a knack for picking contestants (Bravo calls them cheftestants for this show, which is silly) who end up winning, most of the time without ever really having a specific reason. I just know how to pick 'em. I called Adrienne Curry and Yoanna House on America's Next Top Model, Fantasia Barrino on American Idol, Guy Fieri on Next Food Network Star. Maybe if Yigit wins and gets wind that my powers of cosmic persuasion on the judges won him the competition, he'll make me a whoopie pie. That would be pure joy.

What's Working?

According to MGMT, their latest single, 'It's Working,' is about taking drugs (ecstasy specifically) flecked with their signature cheeky self-reflexivity. Here, they hearken back to the track that brought them fame to begin with, 'Time to Pretend,' which facetiously likened fame and wealth to fulfillment and success, and reach a final message: substance-derived euphoria and material goods aren't all that great. (I've taken a couple drugs, and as fun as they can be, I'll have to agree.) The video reflects the point, taking some visual and thematic cues from 2004's best (time-traveling) film Primer, pitting rockstars Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden against what first appears to be some piece of furniture from IKEA and ends up being a Frankenstein-like creation of terror, harboring drummers, soft-serve, magical ballerinas and a fair amount of glitter (not to the level of 'Electric Feel,' however). Add this to their collection of visual oddities to go with their latest collection of spooky, psychedelic music. Don't take drugs to this.

The video was directed by So Me.

 

PS: I love Andrew.

What is the What.

A great big congratulations.

Pre-Coachella.  

Who I'm most excited to see at the festival this year hasn't really changed much since purchasing tickets in Janvier; I'm simply more excited about more of the artists/bands than I had been before. Been scanning the lineup poster a lot over the last few months and checking out a lot of the vaguely familiar, the stuff that's related stylistically to the stuff I already listen to. So far I haven't discovered too many bands that I've developed a love for as much as the artists I've loved continuously for the last many years (Bjork, Portishead, Goldfrapp, Massive Attack, Prince) but there are definitely some who've got the kind of swagger and substance that'll have me curious to check in on them sporadically from here on out. Local Natives and Deerhunter are among them. Fever Ray and La Roux are working on me too, and should firmly fall in that list after this weekend, that is, if they put on a good show. I'm still most excited to see MGMT, Yeasayer, Grizzly Bear, Beach House and Miike Snow.

What should I wear?
Hundreds of thousands of people will have been in attendance by Sunday (Day 3) and I imagine a lot of them will, on top of merely wanting functional wear to cope with the expected heat, want to dress for everyone else's eyes, and I don't quite know what kind of look I want to put on. Comfort is priority number one, but I want to look good! Most of my personal style icons don't typically dress for heat, crowds, or longevity (doors open at 11AM and closing is 1AM) - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Pelayo Diaz Zapico - so my brain is being taxed to come up with something that'll sustain a 12-hour day of blistering weather. I do, however, enjoy the look of these guys, who are actually going to perform on Day 1 of the festival...

 ...and whose look, though eccentric, is perfect and perfectly mainstream for Indio, California heat and Coachella indie culture. MGMT is composed of Ben Goldwasser (left) and Andrew VanWyngarden (right). Colorful, breezy, psychedelic, retro-futuristic. I'll have to post pictures of what I decide, after much putting-on-and-taking-off and deliberation.

Here are some fine examples of what was (stylishly) worn in the past:

 

Lesson learned: wear white, keep away from self-made contraptions that double as helmets and animal costumes. I should be okay. Still, picture to come (partly because Valerie has made this her second Coachella-related project after discovering new attending bands)!

Just to warn you.

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Photo du jour

Romance, or a brief rendezvous, at the Coachella fairgrounds.

That wonderful time of year is fast arriving. When the music on the radio gets noticeably mellower, more anthemic. Layers of clothing are shed for tight-fitting basics, if clothes are opted for at all. The yard becomes part of the house once again, and outdoor-time is the best part of the day. When plans involve seeing new things and new places instead of family and familiar spaces. When time off is expected! Hoorah for spring! 

Calling Album of the Year, Nine Months Early?

Beach House's Teen Dream

*You might not be able to actually see the album cover 

Apologies for my long absence, been dealing with some major life changes (really, I'm not just sayin'). The tone, content and frequency of updates might be changing here now, as I still intend to invest myself into this project and, frankly, have few other places to write that aren't prone to getting lost (the internet is everywhere, how can you lose it!). Just a heads up, all two of you, heh. 

I'm going to the Coachella Music & Arts Festival this year after fantasizing about it for the better part of six years, and in preparation for it most of my musical endeavors have been specifically oriented around bands and artists that are slated to perform during that weekend in April. But even despite this, I think a lot of really superb stuff has already found its way into music stores (the physical type and virtually, mine being mostly of the latter) and it's looking like 2010 has already filled its quota in terms of innovative, expressive and infectious stuff to span the year and possibly the decade ahead. It just so happens that a lot of them have been tapped by the Coachella people. Buy your tickets if you develop any interest based on what I'm saying. 

While last year brought us some great innovative stuff from bands old (Dirty Projectors; Animal Collective) and new (The xx; St. Vincent), this year's best albums so far have charted their courses along familiar sonic territories. That's okay, as long as they sound like Massive Attack's Heligoland or Beach House's Teen Dream, which move and pose like both respective bands' previous albums but far more effortlessly and, in this case, hauntingly. Solid, classy stuff from bands that by now have earned the title of reliable, with new releases that still push against the boundaries of the niches they've already successfully carved out; they remain as interesting as ever. 

I look forward to hearing the new sounds of familiar bands as well, with Goldfrapp, MGMT, She & Him and Erykah Badu all set to drop new albums onto the masses in the next few months of so. 

What are you looking forward to?