You know that song 'Can't Buy Me Love...'. Well that's certainly true of taste; no amount of money can buy taste. But a good deal of money can buy you a stylist. Gul and Natasha Khan should certainly use their money wisely and invest in stylists, if not for their sake then at least for the public's sake!

Bats for Lashes... no, it's not a magic spell scrolled inside a vial of fox blood, nor the tipsy title of a haiku scrawled on a cocktail napkin, nor the "magic words" should you encounter the Wizard of Odd in a dusky maze of roses.  Well, best to keep it in mind.  Natasha Khan is more than songstress, she's shamaness.  At first sight of Khan in feathers & rainbow glitter, my forehead prickled and my chakras tickled. I ogled her with my third eye.  I'd drink her purple kool-aid!  In big thirsty gulps. We need more DIY spirituality these days. Like Leary's idea about creating you own religion & then re-creating it before the spark becomes dogma. Glamour has its place in that. Front and center! Chiffon & feathers, jeweled top hat, gold lame slippers with up-turned gypsy toes. I know! I'll get ordained by an oily seal and then I'll do weddings.  Anyone getting hitched?  We can all bury our noses in bone china teacups overflowing with sugar -- to remind us of life's delicous absurdity. Then we'll do the Robot while I read aloud the lyrics from "Seal Jubillee."

Seal Jubilee :
The seals, they cried in jubilee
The sharks, they howled along with me
And birds, they flew into the wind
The whale, he roamed the lonely sea

And I dived into you
I dived into you
On this ocean hue
'Cause I dived into you

The lighthouse dog lifted his brow
The crippled trees bent low to growl
And swans, they wrestled with lifetime's grasp
In hopefullness they nestled the past
Teachers and travellers made their mark
They dined and feasted on whale and shark
And so the ocean lost its depths
And boredom rained as the ocean wept

Birds they raised their young for dead
And ladies used feathery pillows for bed
And black snow came and black snow stayed
And froze the ocean out of love
Out of love

I lay quiet, next to you
Transformed a whole
Transformed anew
No longer diving into
But lying quiet next
To you

As if Natasha Khan's haunting voice and priestly sleight of hand weren't enough on this September Sunday,  the song's set to scenes from the VISION QUEST of a film "The Secret of Roan Inish" which just slays me with its mythic beauty. The story of the selkie, a slick Ink of a mer-lass. Watch as she slithers from her seal skin! Now make like selkie and explore the boundries of your skin (skins.)  Push past, walk with wiggly legs unaccustomed to earth; then dive back in like a Selkie who missed her whiskers & sheen. 

Get outta yer skins, then get back in.  Mind your rind.  Be your own fur, your own gold.  Goof bless. 

"I lay quiet, next to you
Transformed a whole
Transformed anew"

Join me next week for another Sunday AM Punk Rock Gospel Blog...

Alphabetfiend is Dia VanGunten -- a writer & wanna-be circus freak living in Austin, Texas.

O Bat for Lashes é uma das bandas que eu mais escuto ultimamente. Nunca sei definir com precisão o som feito por Natasha Khan. No myspace (confiram a ótima A Forest) da banda, ela diz que a sonoridade do Bat For Lashes é parecida com halloween when you're small, dreaming by the sea, pine trees, UFO's, children's choirs, broken heart, harpsichords, big marching band drum, electric guitars, strings, autoharp, dark nightime lovemaking... Resumindo: algo incomum. Essa definição é coerente em relação ao som do primeiro álbum de estúdio da banda, Fur and Gould.

Fur and Gold traz composições lindas, marcadas por letras melancólicas - And when he asked me: do you still love me?'/I had to look away - e instrumentos inusitados, que constroem uma sonoridade misteriosa, mágica. O melhor, entretanto, é que essa mistura de instrumentos e a voz marcante de Natasha Khan são ainda mais impactantes ao vivo.  As melhores do álbum, Horse and I, What's a Girl to Do, Trophy e Prescilla, são perfeitas para ouvir em um ambiente intimista,  entre um sorriso, várias idéias e alguns cigarros.

1. Adele

Born: London, England
Influences: Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James, Aretha Franklin
Albums: 19
Notable Songs: My Same, Right as Rain, Hometown Glory, Chasing Pavements

2. Duffy

Born: Gwynedd, Wales
Influences: Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield
Albums: Rockferry
Notable Songs: Mercy, Warwick Avenue, I'm Scared

3. Corinne Bailey Rae

Born: Leeds, England
Influences: Norah Jones, Billie Holiday, India Arie, Ella Fitzgerald
Albums: Corinne Bailey Rae
Notable Songs: Put Your Records on, Choux Pastry Heart, Like a Star, Trouble Sleeping

4. Joss Stone

Born: Kent England
Influences: Aretha Franklin, The Supremes, Angie Stone, Norah Jones, Alicia Keys
Albums: Mind, Body & Soul, The Soul Sessions, Introducing Joss Stone
Notable Songs: Tell Me What We're Donna Do Now, Don't Cha Wanna Ride,
Super Duper Love (Are You Diggin' On Me)

5. Lily Allen

Born: London, England
Influences: Blondie, Shaggy, Prince
Albums: Alright, Still
Notable Songs: Smile, Everythings Just Wonderful, LDN

6. Kate Nash

Born: London, England
Influences: Regina Spektor, Carole King
Albums: Made of Bricks
Notable Songs: Foundations, Merry Happy, Mouthwash

7. Bat for Lashes (aka Natasha Khan)

Born: Brighton, England
Influences: Janis Joplin, Bjork, Steve Reich, Susan Hiller
Albums: Fur and Gold
Notable Songs: What's a Girl To Do, Prescilla, I'm on Fire, The Wizard

8. Estelle

Born: West London, England
Influences: Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige, Santogold
Notable Songs: American Boy, You Are, Shine, 1980, Freedom
Albums: The 18th day, Shine

Blurb from Pitchfork and they have a free download of the Cures 'The Forest'...

You hear the phrase "Bat for Lashes covering the Cure's 'The Forest'" and you think to yourself, "Yeah, that could be good." As heard on the upcoming Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure, the combination is indeed organic, as Natasha Khan sounds right at home inside the spooky confines of the dark new wave tune. She swaps out some of the pulsing guitar of the original for the clanging sound of an autoharp, which works terrifically, and though the tempo is slightly slower, she keeps the insistent propulsion of the track's rhythm.

MP3:> Bat for Lashes: "A Forest"
[from Perfect as Cats: A Tribute to the Cure; due 10/28/08 on Manimal Vinyl]

Just a pic from her MySpace of her in the Joshua Tree desert...not quite a forest to tie in with the cover but a damn fine pic all the same!

So instead, I'm going to share with you an excellent clothing line I learned about a few weeks ago (on a fashion blog, Style Bubble if I remember correctly).

It's called Mine by Katherine Pont. Pont was an illustrator before she started designing Mine. Her collections are displayed in an almost storybook fashion online, a quaint nod to her art beginnings. Each collection is like an adventure unfolding. Indeed, one might feel a sudden urge to move to the forests of Bavaria and live in a cottage when they see the Autumn/Winter 2008 designs (or maybe that's just me!). The collection features delicate knits, lederhosen-esque jumpers, and "dressy" shorts in a palette of oatmeal, camel, mint green, and navy blue. The varying necklines are embellished very cleverly, from vertical strips of fabric to buttoned turtlenecks. It's all very milkmaid chic, but in the best possible way. The accessories are spot on: tights with two lines up the side, what appear to be plastic necklaces with a bow print etched on, cross-body pouches, and adorable hats. She has a great eye for detail, but nothing looks fussy or over-designed. Even from the big name designers, I have seen few collections so far that truly encapsulate the feeling of autumn/winter as this one does.

And since I don't trust my ability to describe the collection accurately, here are some of my favorite looks. You can view the rest by clicking the link on their website (the link from the first paragraph).

I highly recommend you check out her previous collections as well. I always love seeing how a designer evolves over time.
It's not too late (I have to start blogging during the day instead of right before bed!), so I'll share an mp3 with you. This song is by Natasha Khan, who goes by the name of Bat For Lashes. She, as well as the lovely girls of Au Revoir Simone, are fans of Mine by Katherine Pont. It's only appropriate that I share a song of hers!
\"What\'s A Girl To Do\" by Bat For Lashes
As always, comments are encouraged. For all I know, what is aesthetically pleasing to me could be hideous to others! My brother would agree with that statement; he came in to see what I was doing and promptly declared the model "Ugly. She has no rack". I retorted that she is a model, and therefore is beautiful to a large group of people. He then went on to say that the clothes were also ugly and that no guy would find a girl wearing them attractive. Tony may think that girls dress for the attention of men, but I sure don't, and I hope none of you feel that unnecessary pressure.
Feminist-ly yours,
Caroline Grace

i would have studied them with you. heard their beautiful color and touched their movements.

words in edgeways with natasha khan

If you haven't heard of Bat For Lashes by now then where on earth have you been? What the dickens have you been doing? Not reading Wears The Trousers, obviously, because we've been championing Natasha Khan, the lady behind the mysterious moniker ("it's kind of onomatopoeic in that it sounds like the music but doesn't really mean much"), for the last 18 months. She was one of our picks for 2006 along with fellow successes The Pipettes, The Organ (RIP), Tilly & The Wall and Joan As Police Woman, and even nabbed herself a five-star album review for her bewitching debut Fur & Gold.

2007 has been even kinder to Ms Khan. On signing to major label imprint Parlophone and completing her first UK headline tour with her all-girl band Caroline Weeks, Abi Fry and Lizzie Carey (and garnering no small amount of acclaim in the process), she was invited to take part in Vogue magazine's latest 'Women Who Rock' feature alongside Cat Power, M.I.A. and, of course, the ubiquitous Beth Ditto, cementing her position as one of our most visually arresting and interesting artists.

With an outward appearance inspired by eccentric jazz musician Sun Ra (he used to list his place of birth as Saturn), among others, and a style derived from countless influences and her fascinating formative years, Khan is exhilaratingly unique and, seemingly, in a constant state of artistic flux. Take her new single 'What's A Girl To Do', for instance; it's the third release from Fur & Gold and the second in a row to be retooled in the studio as Khan continues to blossom and develop her ideas. With tongue nestled sweetly in cheek, it's a triumphant nod to the '60s girl group genre complete with deeply thundering drums, foreboding synths and tambourines that shimmer and clatter beneath the spoken-word verses, nagging chorus and affecting coos of despair.

Professional cynics might accuse Khan of bandwagon jumping with last year's prominent revival in the girl group sound but she shrugs it off. "When I was making the album I don't think I was aware of what was going on outside, what was current. I think it was more about my mum bringing me up on Motown and the Shangri-Las and stuff like that. Especially the Shangri-Las. What got me into that was hearing Kim Gordon's version of their song 'One Little Girl'. That was her sort of tribute to the band and it made me inquisitive about them; those backing vocals, the claps, those Phil Spector-y drums and reverbs. It was more of a nostalgia thing."

Mary Weiss would surely be proud of Khan and co's carrying of the heartbreaking, under three-minute, teenage melodrama torch. Think of this sultry break up song as what might have happened if the leader of the pack hadn't died beneath the wheels of another, had got the girl, then, after a few months, bored her to tears with his overt masculinity and obsession with go-faster stripes. "My bat lightning heart wants to fly away," she sighs, and you're right there with her.

When I met up with Natasha in a Shoreditch drinking establishment we talked a little about what comes next. She's quite frank about getting the second album fear and feeling under pressure to match the success of Fur & Gold. "I want to take risks and...push the boundaries. So I might not fulfil everyone's needs to have a specific type of record but I think you just have to go with your honest desires. Basically, I will always remain true to what I want to make and I'm not going to stick to what I know."

She's a big fan of Joanna Newsom's Ys, calling it "classic" and a "masterpiece", and confesses to having a strong urge to write an album of epic songs that incorporate poetry but acknowledges that she first needs to travel a little further down the road of more conventional songwriting. Not too conventional of course. "I've always been about becoming a good songwriter first, about creating an amazing song in traditional song structure but adding something that then brings in a whole myriad of weirdness. I think songwriting and pop songs in themselves are very powerful things and you can make them creative and interesting. So I want to become that first and then maybe I would like to do film soundtracks and stuff like that. But I think the next album will still be epic, in a way."

As well as Newsom, Natasha has long professed an admiration for other proponents of the New Weird America 'movement' like CocoRosie (who gave Khan her first high-profile support slot in December 2005) and Devendra Banhart ("When I met him I felt like he was a kindred old spirit and that I'd known him for many lifetimes"). That these artists have patronaged Natasha to a certain degree and helped to raise her profile is something of an incongruous development in her career given that her music falls some distance outside of the alt-folk circles, a fact she's well aware of. "We're not in the same kind of music, no. It's just lovely to have support and family, especially when you're doing something that is a little bit on the edge or a bit different, maybe. It's good to be with like-minded people who are of the same ilk. It's a lovely family feeling."

She cites Judee Sill and Kate Bush among the more classic songwriters she admires, along with Neil Young, David Bowie and Lou Reed. As a film studies graduate, she's also heavily influenced by the sounds of cinema; The 'ET: Extra Terrestrial' soundtrack is one of her all-time favourite albums, with 'The Karate Kid' in hot pursuit. "The soundtracks are so nostalgic and evocative and heartstring-pulling, but in a quite earthy '70s/'80s way; those minor chords, the swells and suspense. All those films have dark undertones and sad and disturbing parts too, so it's always fully major. They have a twinkling mystical curiosity and it harkens back to the sense of wonderment you have as a kid, discovering worlds outside of your small microcosmic childhood world. 'Donnie Darko' and 'The Virgin Suicides' did the same kind of thing.

"I have my birthday very near Halloween so I think that fuelled my love of symbolism and surrealism. I love people like Daniel Johnston drawing funny monsters and fucked up superheroes and Chris Ware who does comic book drawings. Tim Burton, fairytales, Hans Christian Andersen; all of those things are part of folklore. It's about magic and imagination. Using monsters as symbols for the everyday, like bigger, more ferocious versions of what we, as humans, sort of fear. Cartoons do that all the time. You know Mickey Mouse has loads of surrealism.

"When I was growing up I really liked fairytales like 'The Princess & The Pea' and 'The Red Shoes', but as an adult I've gotten more into the original versions of fairytales that are more barbaric, like Angela Carter stuff with her bloody chambers. Oh, and there's a book called 'Women Who Run With The Wolves' that retells a lot of really old, archaic fairytale stories and brings in Jungian philosophies and their meanings. I love that!"

There'll be plenty of time for reading and watching films on the tour bus this summer as Bat For Lashes hits the festival circuit like never before. With a triumphant appearance at All Tomorrow's Parties already under her belt, she headlines the second day of this weekend's Homefires IV festival, topping a fantastic bill that includes Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton, Andrew Bird and Basia Bulat. Later this month she'll be putting in an appearance at Glastonbury, followed by Latitude in July and Bestival in September, among others. Then there's Rock En Seine in Paris in August where none other than Björk herself personally requested Bat For Lashes as her opening act, having seen Natasha's recent live show and branding it "amazing". She is, understandably, rather chuffed by this but there's a part of her that is really looking forward to winding down this summer and "learning to be a human being again". And, of course, working on that second album. "I'm peeling back the layers," she adds as a slightly mysterious, faraway look steals across her eyes. I wonder what's inside.

Alan Pedder
originally published June 1st, 2007, as part of our Homefires IV special

Eu já adorava o som obscuro e lúdico do Bat for Lashes, da inglesa Natasha Khan. Lembra Björk? Muito. Mas não pára por aí. Como ela mema diz, o som é assim: “halloween when you're small, dreaming by the sea, pine trees, UFO's, children's choirs, broken heart, harpsichords, big marching band drum, electric guitars, strings, autoharp, dark nightime lovemaking”.
Mas o que eu to adorando agora é o visual da moça. Sente o vestidinho que ela usou para abrir para o Radiohead no Victoria Park. E o make? Luxo.

Gostou né? Mais um:

E ano Victoria Park:

Puns this week are pun-k songs... I have to stop this.

Here's a list of movies that sparked protests. Nothing for Hottie and the Nottie though...

Sci-fi author Lewis Shiner is putting all his books online for free.

Mogwai's genius debut, Young Team, is reissued and adored.

Which industry provides us with the most misleading advertising.

Supposedly, MIA is retiring...

Newsweek interviews Abigail Breslin.

The New Yorker has fiction from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Here's an interview with Rhett Miller from the Old '97s.

Here's a list of the top twenty-five TV/movie hookers.

Natasha Khan, aka Bat for Lashes, is not loving the fame game.

The last ever Richard & Judy Book Clubbers have been announced.

Is Google making the world stupid?

Lil Wayne has gone to bat with Al Sharpton.

Rain is coming to our screens.

An ethereal opening song was hard to hear, not least because of some catcalling from the audience. However, things did improve when the band stepped it up with songs such as Trophy, Horse & I, and Wizard. A couple of new songs were also played and both sounded quite promising. I think that her second album is actually out later on this year, so that is something to look forward to. The 40-odd minute set was finally brought to a close with a pretty good rendition of What's A Girl To Do.

Play Vicar Street next time, would be my response!

Anyway, the music made up for it. Day started with a nice, long and stressful journey out Malahide to a friend of a friends who lives right beside the castle. Scorcher of a day, so we sat around drinking, BBQ'n and getting burnt. The perfect warm up. The venue was about half full when we got there, the sun was still shining and didn't stop until after 10pm. Beautiful setting for a beautiful gig.

I must mention the trickery of a friend of the friend of a friend, who managed to sneak into the gig. Dressed in slacks, a shirt and a waistcoat, armed with 5 litres of milk and a pass around the neck for some event in Croke Park, they walked right up to the gate and claimed to be delivering milk. When asked for a pass, they showed the Croke Park pass briefly, cracked a joke and in they went, then promptly dumped the milk in a corner somewhere. While this is pure genius and I can't believe it worked, you'd wonder how many people sneak into these things. Bit harsh on the band in question but then again the price of the ticket was a bit harsh on the regular, honest punter.

So, Bat for Lashes kicked off at about 7pm. My review below was fairly glowing of Natasha Khan's album 'Fur and Gold', but unfortunately the live experience didn't live up to it. Not that it was bad it was just a bit dull. The crowd weren't interested because they were all snobs, impatiently waiting for Radiohead plus the sun was too tempting not to lie on the grass for the evening. The instruments employed were real nice however, including a bizarre one stringed violin sized piece that had a brass horn attached to it, played with a bow, which I must find out what it is. It was good but the album's better.

After much roadie action and jostling for a good spot in the crowd, Radiohead took to the stage around 8:30.

From start to finish they were perfect, with a minor blip from Johnny on 'Videotape', which they promptly stopped and picked up a minute later perfectly. The general perfection was disappointing though. I mean, now I've paid €130 to hear the 'In Rainbows' album as it was recorded (€70 for gig, €60 for boxset). Ok fair enough it's not at the scale of the Tom Waits rip off and I'm happy that I got value for money with the boxset, but I expect more from a performance especially from a band of the calibre of Radiohead.

Anyway, not to be a complete downer, it was still enjoyable. They avoided most of the classics like the majority of their first 3 albums, apart from 'Planet Telex', 'Climbing Up The Walls' (a highlight) and 'Airbag'.

The 'Kid A/Amnesiac' songs were brilliant, in this case I'm amazed at how they reproduce this music live. It's sheer brilliance. Then there was the best from 'Hail to the Thief', no more than 3 songs. They also threw in 'Bangers and Mash and a new song, 'Supercollider', that Yorke performed solo on piano, still rough around the edges though.

I guess my main disappointment was with the performance of the 'In Rainbows' tracks. They played it all except for 'House of Cards', including a nice little acoustic duet of 'Faust Arp'. All these songs were performed exactly like they are on the album, with very little passion in the performances. There was some nice moments like 'Videotape' and 'Jigsaw Falling Into Place', but overall it felt a bit dull for a live performance.

The light show was amazing. As you can see from the pictures, there was strips of lights the height of the stage at the sides and back and about 10 foot above the stage in the middle. The colours and effects the came out of these was incredible, although it would have been nicer if it was darker but I'm not going to complain about the great weather and long evenings. The screens at the back and sides had mainly close up shots of the band and their instruments, a real nice touch for the musos. It also worked with the strips of lighting, creating a stunning visual experience.

All in all it was a good, enjoyable gig, and a great day out, would do it all again tomorrow if I could. Just a shame there was too many negatives. Also, surprising that the additional night (which was actually the Friday night) wasn't sold out. The Saturday sold out within an hour or so but tickets for Friday were still available...

Well, I thought this album was going to be quite upbeat, I don't know why. I guess from 'What's a Girl To Do', I thought that was downbeat. This is a very mellow album. There are beautiful textures, the rhythmic side is there just not as full on as I had expected, very subtle and a great mixture of sounds. Combined with a beautifully, almost elegant voice, this album is a great listen and one that won't bore over time.

The themes explored in the lyrics are often about love and all that lark, which, being a man can be a bit much but at the same time you get the message. You don't even need to listen to what she's saying, just listen to the music and the voice. It's heartwarming and fascinating.

The album opens subtly with 'Horse and I' and never really lets up in it's underhanded means of evoking passion and calm. There are of course the obvious radio friendly tracks that do try to break the mould but they only succeed in making this album more enjoyable. From my post the other day, 'What's a Girl To Do' and 'Prescilla', are these tracks. Really catchy tunes with great melodies and brilliantly executed percussion. Now I'm not saying the percussion here is the best ever, it's far from it in terms of virtuosity, but it's perfect for the music. You really don't notice how good it is unless you listen for it.

The piano work is on a par with the percussion, again it's not mind blowing, but it's perfect. It sits right between the percussion and Khan's beautiful voice. This is highlighted on tracks such as 'The Wizard' and within a beautiful string arrangement on 'Bats Mouth', perfectly executed songs.

The album ends on a strange note though, almost psychadelic. It's mostly soft piano and vocals but has a period of messy, noisy, screeching guitars and excited vocals.

I've been pleasantly surprised with this album, not what I was expecting at all. A brilliant debut, calm, emotional and beautifully crafted. Can't wait to see the live performance tomorrow night, almost wish I was going tonight!

Bat for Lashes are supporting Radiohead on their European tour. Dates and venues can be found here. ]]> http://pearlsandvinyl.wordpress.com/?p=12 Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:56:16 +0000 emilyatkinson http://pearlsandvinyl.pt-br.wordpress.com/2008/06/04/bat-for-lashes-oxford-zodiac-3rd-june-2008/

 

Natasha Khan embodies enigmatic grace as she casts a spell over the audience with her bewitching music, enchanting the young girls emulating her style with feather-sequin headdresses and glitter-adorned eyes. Bat For Lashes have been away for a while now, and their live return is truly spellbinding. Playing a mixture of their known songs, including ‘Prescilla’ and ‘The Wizard’, whilst sprinkling in a few well-received new ones like ‘Pearl’s Dream’, the music is both earthy and tribal yet mystically ethereal. Comparisons to Kate Bush and Bjork aren’t far wrong – if you conjure the sound of Bush singing over lupine howls and the primal drumbeats of ‘Earth Intruders’ on a moonlit night, you’re getting somewhere.

Uma das revelações da música em 2007, Bat for Lashes só perdeu várias das indicações que teve a vários prêmios internacionais por que competia com ninguém menos que Klaxons e Mika. Competição desleal a parte, Bat for Lashes faz um som delicinha, além de ter uma ótima percepção de vídeo.

Bebendo na fonte de Feist, digamos que até um pouco demais, Natasha Khan - Bat for Lashes, lançou o ótimo clipe de "What's a Girl to Do".

É uma releitura. Não vamos tirar o crédito nem de Feist, nem de Bat, porque ficou fantástico!

If you are bored, surf the internet.   

If you feel pain, take a painkiller.

If you feel depressed, take a Prozac.

If you feel stressed, smoke.

If you don't know how to have fun, drink.

©http://adbusters.org/

I am not bored. I don't feel any pain. I am not depressed. I am not stressed. I know how to have fun. 

However, after two rather unpleasant weeks I feel such a void that I have never felt before. The reason is that this weekend is strongly marked as a transition between 2 weeks that were drudgery and next 2 weeks full of free time to enjoy. 

So if you feel empty, reckless and indifferent like me, listen to music. Here's my current playlist:

Listen to My Playlist

Bat For Lashes - Sad Eyes

And when you smile those sad eyes 
Look sadder and sadder still...

I can tell that you're lonely 
But it seems now 
There's nothing you want me to do 
So I won't try to take the sadness from those eyes that I love 
Leave it open for someone else to 

This is such a beautiful song. I totally fell in love with voice of Natasha Khan. It's sexy, songs are gentle, sometimes tragic and uniquely beautiful. I highly recommend her debut album Fur&Gold. 

Beirut - A Sunday Smile

A Sunday smile you wore it for a while.
A Sunday mile we paused and sang.

This is one of my latest discoveries, too. Beirut is an American band led by a 22 years old Zach Condon. It doesn't feel like an American band at all due to typical Eastern European sounds. Beirut is influenced by Goran Bregovic who has been my favorite for some years now (you may know his music from Emir Kusturica's movies). 
Beirut is very unique, I recommend it to people who like to seek new artists and are hungry to hear something different. Worth listening anyway.

Grand Archives - Torn Blue Foam Couch 

Hey darlin' don't you look fine,
the dull look in your eyes,
you're terrified.

Holding the hands of our crimes,
darlin' don't you look fine,
as brave as we were those days.

This is probably one of my best band discoveries ever. I love getting new music and music recommendations from friends but the magic and pleasure (that comes with exploring new great music all by yourself and then giving it to someone) are inexplicable. Thanks to KEXP Song of the day I discovered Seattle's band Grand Archives.  
The band released their debut album "Grand Archives" just about 2 months ago. You might know the lead singer Mat Brooke from The Band of Horses.
Torn Blue Foam Couch is simply one of the best songs I've ever heard. I am pretty sure they are going to be world famous soon. 

Neil Diamond - Play me

You are the sun
I am the moon
You are the words
I am the tune
Play me

This recommendation might sound funny. It's also probably very weird that I didn't know Neil Diamond until these very days. Of course I knew the song "Girl, you'll be a woman soon" and we used to sing it at school with funny deep voice when some of my friends was going to have an intercourse for the first time. :D I never knew who sang it cuz for me it has been like an old folk song that has no original author.
Songs by Neil Diamond would be such a cliche ones if written today. But the enchantment that comes with old songs is flawless. I really enjoy them and they perfectly fit into this spring weather. 

Pink Martini - Dosvedanya mio bambino (Goodbye my baby)

But oh, will you ever know
What you've lost
Dosvedanya mio bambino
Dosvedanya mio bambino
There is a place where only you alone go
There is a world that only you alone know

I heard you finally settled down
In a warm Italian town
So I took the train to see you there

Your wife is sweet and you're well fed
Your daughter tucked away in bed
Still you looked at me with great despair

I hear snow is falling on Red Square

Such a sad and tragic song. I really like Pink Martini, especially during evenings when I have to study and I can't afford playing my favorite music because then I sing instead of studying. But this song is an exception. Kind of cinematic song with jaunty melody. The first time I heard it, the lyrics turned into a movie in my mind and I can't shake off the self same feeling from this song that I had for the first time. Brilliant, intense and authentic.

Wolfsheim - Kunstliche Welten (Artificial Worlds)

I don't really like German language despite the fact that I learn it at school. But this is certainly one great German song by synthpop electronica band Wolfsheim. The band is no longer active but they made many great songs that actually wouldn't make any sense if I were...let's say eunuch :D Songs like Tender Days, Youth and Greed, Underneath the Veil and many others will never fade out from my playlists. 

Goldfrapp - A&E

I'm in a backless dress on a pastel ward that's shining
They gotta watch you still
But there may be pills at work

How did I get to accident and emergency?
All I wanted was you to take me out high
And I was feeling lonely, feeling blue
Feeling like I needed you
Like I hoped you'd call and hoped you'd see me
A&E

The last, the best? Undeniably amazing song. Ineffably beautiful. I have only few songs from Goldfrapp's latest album Seventh Tree but I am pretty sure A&E is the best song on the album. 

So this is my playlist for this transitory weekend. If you listen to some songs, you'll notice that each of them is different. There's bit of cheesy pop, some electronic, lounge, rock, orchestral pop, etc. Without doubt, this is a perfect playlist for the void I feel. Sooner or later, I will feel wholesome again. Until then, I still have this smile, even though yesterday is gone :) 

(Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton)

The Backstory goes behind the scenes of stories appearing in the Style pages of The New York Times Magazine.

They may share the same skyline, but the New York-based models for the "The Fusionistas" photo shoot by Jenny Gage and Tom Betterton — featured in the Style pages of last Sunday's New York Times Magazine — have totally different horizons. Cast to reflect a melting-pot moment in style (fashion director Anne Christensen was inspired in part by an “English tailoring meets Jamaican textures and fabrics” spring Comme des Garçons show), these tastemakers represent an array of disciplines and cultures. The Moment checked in with some of the diverse personalities to see how they mix it up off camera. (You can watch a slide show of the photo shoot here.)

Simon Hammerstein, president of The Box nightclub
Ethnic background: Eastern European Jew
Birthplace: London
Current projects: “Filthy new material for the late show at the Box.”
Personal style: “Lazy.”
Favorite things to blend: “Low-brow and lower-brow.”
Often Mixes: “Humor and sex.”

Shirin Neshat, artist and filmmaker
Ethnic background: Iranian
Birthplace: Qazvin, Iran
Current projects: “I just finished directing my first feature length film, 'Women without Men.' It’s an adaptation of a novel that I fell in love with. It’s the story of four women as they go through personal journeys against the backdrop of Iran’s love/hate relationship with the West.”
Personal style: “My personal style is very Eastern-like and antique. I love jewelry and handmade things. I am definitely someone who doesn’t know the names of brands and fashion designers.”
Favorite things to blend: “Silver and black cloth.”

Matt Whyte, singer and guitarist for Earl Greyhound
Ethnic background: English/Scotch-Irish
Birthplace: Greenwich, Conn.
Current projects: Recording When In Rome’s “The Promise” for Guilt by Association compilation.
On culture: “It helps to dismantle what I think I know.”
Personal style: “Dangerous dapper.”
Favorite things to blend: “Sweet and savory [foods]”
Often mixes: “Metaphors.”

Kamara Thomas, singer and bassist for Earl Greyhound
Ethnic background: Afro-Cherokee-Welsh-German-Russian
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois
Current projects: Earl Greyhound’s next album. “I'm also recording a psyche-rock musical I wrote called 'Bulgaria' about a winter otherworld, and writing songs for 'Tularosa,' an Americana musical about untold American histories.”
On culture: “Culture is the fabric of ideas from which everyone in society
draws their beliefs about themselves and their place in the world. As
an artist, it's my role to create mythologies that uplift the human spirit and lead us to a mutual highest good.”
Personal style: “Rock-n-roll intelligentsia with good helpings of Cherokee-priestess
and prairie-pioneer.”
Favorite things to blend: “Tennis clothes and feathers.”

Ricc Sheridan, drummer for Earl Greyhound
Ethnic background: Choctaw/Cherokee/African/Irish/Chinese/Jamaican
Birthplace: Fayetteville, NC
Current projects: Songs for the second Earl Greyhound album.
Personal style: “Bohemian/Hippie/Dapper. I'm the nucleus of psychedelia so everything is blended into my style.”
Favorite things to blend: “Musical styles and paints and spices.”

Kazu Makino, singer and guitarist for Blonde Redhead
Ethnic background: Japanese
Birthplace: Kyoto, Japan
Current projects: Preparing for the upcoming Blonde Redhead European tour. “I’m also an avid equestrienne, and am training to compete this summer in show jumping.”
Personal style: “I grew up wearing uniforms, and I tend to treat the things I like to wear like uniforms; if I like something, I wear it to death. Jane Mayle takes care of a lot of my stagewear, but during my training with horses, I spend a lot of time in Lacoste. I am obsessed with the colors of their polo shirts."
Favorite things to blend: Cotton and silk.

Bat For Lashes (a.k.a. Natasha Khan), musician
Ethnic background: Pakistani and English
Birthplace: London
Current projects: “Getting a superhero band together to support Radiohead in June! Very daunting, but exciting.”
On culture: “Culture offers me inspiration — it provides a never ending pool of collective universal ideas, imagination, symbols, traditions, community. I especially like the mixing of different cultures — the blending of styles and ideas is where the magic is made.”
Personal style: “My style comes from the most unconscious and playful place in me. It’s really not caring what others think — just blending things I love until they feel/look/sound right.”
Favorite things to blend: “Decades — like the 20s and 80s! Shell tracksuits with ornate masks, beat machines with autoharps.”

The AV Club has an interview with Kimberly Peirce.

New York Magazine has a piece on John Waters.

RICKROLLING!! The best just, like, thing ever!!!

Obama. Pitt. Jolie. Clinton. It's all relative.

Slate has a review of the new season of The Hills.

Bat For Lashes is going to open for Radiohead.

Tina Fey spies a ratings jump for 30 Rock. All she needs is a little added Britney.

Kristin Davis is having such a bad year.

Is Jamie Lynn Spears getting married? Already? Competitive family...

Entertainment Weekly has a first peek at the Secret Invasion book and an interview with Brian Michael Bendis.

The Field Day line-up is looking good.

Richie Sambora has been drunk driving!

Red Belt doesn't look good at all. But it's written by David Mamet. Oh, the decisions!!

A Place To Bury Strangers have done a session for Daytrotter.

Defamer is becoming a little aggravated by the viral marketing for Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Brit Awards 2008

(Rihanna's new look is HOT!!...)

(Look at the Arctic Monkeys....Cute outfits)

Kelly Rowland

(I don't know about this dress...)

Osbourne's

(Crazy as they wanna be...SHAROOONNNN!!)

Check out who else walked the red carpet.

Natasha Bedingfield

Kylie Minoque

Natasha Khan

Shayne Ward

~Until Next Time Stay Addicted~

So go ahead and watch Bat for Lashes' video for "What's a Girl to do?" from the album Fur and Gold. They're definitely channeling a Donnie Darko / hispter / scenester vibe with the masks, bicycles, and clothes.

The album itself is neat. Not amazing, but it's not like anything I've been listening to lately--and thus has probably made a more palpable impact on me as a result. She (lead singer Natasha Khan) will be releasing another album this year as Bat for Lashes, according to Wikipedia. (I added the "citation needed" tag after that sentence so some enthusiast can find the official word; then I will cross-post. I am that lazy.)

Bjork - 'Earth Intruders'

Escort- 'All Through The Night'

Menomena - 'Evil Bee'

Spoon - 'Don't You Evah'

The Wrong Trousers - 'Video Killed The Radiostar'

LCD Soundsystem - 'All My Friends'

Bat For Lashes - 'What's A Girl To Do?'

Bat for Lashes’ debut album, Fur and Gold, has a sound quality as exotic and beautiful as lead singer and songwriter Natasha Khan. Braiding her ethereal voice with simply played, often percussive piano and harpsichord melodies, a wide range of classical arrangements, and percussion ranging from drums, maracas, and hand claps to electronic drum beats, Khan and company have woven a mystical-sounding tapestry, with lyrics that often sound like they could be from the female version of a Renaissance-era balladeer.

This post-medieval sound is best illustrated by the opening throb of harpsichord, backed by marching drums as Khan tells the story of being woken in the night “by a mystical light,” taken by a horse into a wood where she is bestowed a headdress by children who sing to her, “‘This is yours to wear. You're the chosen one, there's no turning back now.’" The fairy-tale imagery miraculously manages to come off without sounding too ridiculous, given the lyrical content.

The next track, “Trophy”, tones down the fairy-tale silliness that is the album’s largest drawback, with what is probably the strongest track, musically. Lush, without sounding overproduced, this tale of love stolen away is driven by percussive low-end piano, and throbbing, tribal drum and bass. The result is eerie and ominous, even vaguely sinister, especially when Khan purrs, “When I put it back inside, I locked the door, a trophy of mercy is a trophy no more.”

Khan’s dreamlike fantasy-inspired lyrics don’t always succeed as well as they do in the opening two tracks, largely because she seems to take herself so seriously. The album’s first single, for example, “Wizard,” with its gothic imagery —”drink his blood and he’s our leader”— inspires giggles more than shivers.

Despite the confusing and sometimes ridiculous quality of her lyrics, the moments that showcase Natasha Khan’s voice, one of the more intriguing, haunting and versatile female voice I’ve heard in some time, are the most compelling. This is best displayed in tracks like “Tahiti,” “Sad Eyes” and the last song, ”I Saw a Light.” As the music slowly builds over the final six minutes, Natasha demonstrates that she is no breathy ingenue to be dismissed, howling at the song’s crescendo in a way that could send shivers up your spine, no matter what words she sings.

Fur and Gold demonstrates potential that legitimates comparisons to greats like Bjork, Kate Bush and Tori Amos. Still, a great deal of that potential is as yet untapped, muzzled by some odd lyrical choices and the self-conscious quality of many of the musical arrangements. Far from being disappointed, however, I’m excited to see what that potential will bring with the next release.

-Amber Aldrich

WE BEGIN with the witchy, ethereal, Bjorkish, any other tired adjectives that might have been applied this year, Natasha Khan - runaway Mercury favourite on the night and Kate Bush for the Noughties. The ramshackle Klaxons snagged the award, but Fur And Gold was the most enticing album on the list, all horses and wizards.
 
This comes on like ‘Be My Baby’ with its thumping drum intro – let’s be clear here, it is the ‘Be My Baby’ intro – before it gets all, erm, witchy and ethereal with Natasha whispering her vexing situation as if she’s floating around right next to your ear. The chorus steals the drums again, but provides no answers, just that question. It takes you into a dark, unsettling world – pure pop drama.
 
Junior took the CD off me, popped it in the tray and pressed play, unprompted. We may have been doing this too long. She then held out her ra-ra skirt and curtseyed throughout, which was a new one on me, but I can quite imagine that Khan is a curtseying sort of girl.