12.27.2010

Diamond Messages - music to obsess to

If you are a facebook friend of mine you probably have seen me post music videos from Diamond Messages over the last two weeks. Let me just say I fell in love... really I did.
Diamond Messages was originally a duo but the Smoke & Mirrors EP (came out last month) was done exclusively by Jason Craig. This EP has an emotional and deep quality to it due to the combination of ambient psychedelic music with hip hop rhythms. I probably listen to this EP on repeat for an hour each day. I just keep falling in love over and over and over and over again.
 My introduction to Diamond Messages was through their music video for the song "Liquid Dream". It is crazy how much this video matches with the song. Both the video and song take me back to my days when I was middle school when my innocence began to disintegrate. It is sad but very beautiful at the same time. The video consists of clips from a Swedish movie En kärlekshistoria aka A Swedish Love Story. I'm pissed as hell at Netflix because they don't even have this movie to rent! Really? I mean it is fucking Netflix, they are supposed to have every movie out there (except porn- bummer).






Smoke & Mirrors EP by Diamond Messages

I was trying to do some more research on Diamond Messages and I found this great review by Liam Dufferwiel on Spontaneous Rhythms.

Smoke and Mirrors
"The lead track Smoke and Mirrors opens with a mysterious ambiance before the drum progression and electronic hooks that are the heart of the track are introduced. The track drifts pleasantly along, like the soundtrack to a summer drive, before relaxingly drifting away without giving even the suggestion of a finale."

Liquid Summer
"Liquid summer brings reminders, like dreams, of times past when life was built on innocence and half truths. The passing moments when you didn’t realise that you were young and that ever so slowly that youth was in decline. The track treats the listen gently, letting them invest their own emotions and memories from the forgotten summers that the title evokes before slipping away without even the hint of warning that is so typically synonymous with youth. The subtle nuances of dread that linger throughout the track only adds to the over all feeling of loss that this track so perfectly captures."

Let's Make A Vow
"Let’s Make A Vow is a standard sample of measured electronica. Driven by the calculated bassline the track sets the mood of the track that has suggestions of the electric undertones of Leftfield, where the Faisal remix gives the track more of a club feel."

I also find this interview by Truants really interesting if you want to get to know more about Jason Craig and his creation of Smoke & Mirrors.

12.25.2010

"A Christmas Homage" by Katie Schwartz

My friend Katie wrote this one morning. I read it last week and thought it was the most genius rave Christmas poem ever. So here it is:

"A Christmas Homage" by Katie Schwartz

Twas the weekend before christmas, And all through the bay
There were so many parties, Just in one day
The headphones where hung by serato with care
In hopes that this next mix won't raise any hairs

Some children were nestled all snug in their beds
Others had candy kids dance through their heads
Mamma in her jeggings, and I in my beanie
Had just settled our brains on a very long evening

When out on the street arose such a clatter!
I sprang from my post to see what was the matter
Away to the drop box, I hid all the cash!
Was acting quite normal and not at all brash.

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow
Gave lustre to objects like nobody knows
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a miniature DJ with eight tiny reindeer!

He rolled right on through and got set up right quick
I knew in a moment this must be DJ Nick!
More rapid than eagles his groupies they came
As he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dealer! now, Dancer! now, Weird guy who's stripping!
On, House-head! on, Twostep! shit! That guy is unzipping!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So it's up to the house-kids, party on they do
With a sleigh full of tracks and DJ Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard some guy say
This guy was ranked 3rd last week on RA.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney DJ Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed up in fur, from his head to his foot
Because some hipster once told him, it's irony misunderstood
A satchel of goodies a sack full of tracks
He looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
Where under his nose it remained white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he passed to the next geek,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath,
He had a smug face and a little round belly,
It would have shook if he laughed, but he was told it would have ruined his image so he didn't.

He was happy deep down for his time was just near
To closing a set that would make us all cheer.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
I knew in a moment this'd be on the internet.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all our heads with tunes of rebirth.
Laying his finger aside of his nose,
He gave a wink, and a sniff, up the chimney he rose.

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
His set and the night would be unforgettable.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a long night!"

12.24.2010

before the new start to a new year

Yes I deleted all my past posts. I did this on a whim last week. I know I haven't contributed to my blog in MONTHS, so I thought why not start from scratch! Some of the people who I told this to were "Why the fuck would you do that?!" Well to answer that, the past "let them eat tiramisu" was mainly a fashion based blog. Over the last 6 months I have been getting more and more burnt out of fashion. I was going to FIDM (the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) and this month I chose to take a leave of absence for some time. Right now I am in a rut with life and trying to figure out what I truly want to do with my life and to find the inspiration and determination that I have lost. So long story short "let them eat tiramisu" will no longer be a blog centered around fashion- it will be centered around what I find inspiring right now- music.
So lets give a toast because it is Christmas and New Years is a week away! This will be a new beginning for me and my blog.
Eat some goddamn tiramisu