Jamie.T, Jamie T or Jamie-T

So I was debating posting about this guy for a couple days since I am a little self-conscious about liking his music, but then I was like, "Hey. Hey you. This is YOUR blog. You go tell these people about Jamie T (or Jamie.T, or Jamie-T). You tell them about his music. Tell them he has a new album, Kings & Queens."

I give myself pep-talks like that all the time, you know. "You're a lion. Take what's yours."

So Jamie makes some good music. Apparently his first album was pretty much straight hip-hop, and he maintains that vibe with chanted cockney verses.

EDIT: I have now listened to the first album, Panic Prevention, and it is not conventional hip-hop. Hip-hop is certainly prevalent in the beat structure, and while he does spit his lyrics for the most part, to say he was rapping would be a bit of a stretch. /EDIT

The production on Kings & Queens is solid, if overly-poppy at times, but the real magic is in the lyrics. I hate when music reviews quote lyrics, because there's really no way to properly contextualize them without the whole structure of the song, so I'm not gonna do that.

What I'll do instead is focus on the negative: the reason I debated talking about this guy is that some of the offerings are sickeningly cheeseball. When I say cheeseball, I mean it: there are a couple tracks that are more Spice Girl than Streets, if you catch my drift, and other tracks have the "I'll make a cheerful song about depressing stuff" vibe reminiscent of Chumbawamba. That's right. I GET KNOCKED DOWN BUDEYEGEDDUBAGIN. Yikes.

Here's my favorite track from the album Kings & Queens, his second full length effort:

Jamie T - The Man's Machine

Jamie T | MySpace Music Videos

Volta Special #777

Combination white leather and suede with calfskin laces. It is an attractive shoe. Attractive like a good bonus structure, not like Natalie Portman.

For sale at only 21 locations throughout the world: 7 in Italy, from whence Volta hails, 7 in the rest of Europe and 7 internationally. Special #777. That's some really clever stuff you clever little shoe company.

Go to the clever little website to see where to get the shoes.

via highsnobiety

Medicom Toy Star Wars Bearbrick Set

Usually I post a bunch of crap that's unavailable. These are not like that. They are totally available. Online even. Little Star Wars toy bears. For sale. I am actually going to buy them today.

Oh but guess what? The entire checkout process is in Japanese. If I had more money I'd probably just mash buttons and see if I ever received them in the mail, but I don't, so I won't. Anybody else want to give it a shot? Give it a try over at Gettry. 2,980円. I think that means they're about $35.

via hypebeast

Juan Francisco Casas

Juan Francisco Casas is an artist. He makes photorealistic drawings. With Bic pens. Ballpoint Bic pens. Have you ever tried to draw with a Bic pen? Doodles. That's the best you're going to do. This man, however, this Juan Francisco Casas character, has turned it all on its head. The big wheel of evolution keeps rolling, rolling toward a future in which photorealistic pen and ink drawings are done with Bic ballpoint pens. And the future is now.

Is that enough words? Sometimes I just ramble because I feel that a 'blog' should have a delicate balance of words and pictures, and as a strongly visual person, I like the pictures better. Also, sometimes I'm lazy and pasting pics up here is a far less involved task than sitting at this keyboard and pounding out drivel for you all to read. Or not read; maybe you're strongly visual people as well. Maybe my musings and ramblings are disjointed and unreadable.

That's possible, you know. I don't make any claims to proper literary organization, much less talent. I do claim that I know how to fill a page with words that are spelled correctly, which is sadly better than most of the partially literate masses in this day and age.

Alright, that's another rant for another post. Before I digress any further, I'd like to point you over to Juan's website and tell you that I truly am impressed with his ballpoint skills. The inspiration for this series was photos of nights out with friends, which is apparent from the context and vibe of the pieces pictured.

via juxtapoz

Sh*t My Dad Says: The Sitcom?

My favorite crotchety old man may be getting some more airtime, according to my inside sources. And Adult Swim and Wired...

From Wired.com:

"After moving into his parents’ San Diego home over the summer, Halpern parlayed his father’s obscenity-laced observations into a mini-empire. He signed a Shit My Dad Says-inspired book deal with Harper Collins last month and will co-write the CBS show, which — no surprise — will be retitled if it’s picked up for a full prime-time order."

So there you go: Twitter will provide you with a forum to post what other people say, then you can get rich off it. It's America.

thx maggie

Edifice Quilted Jacket

So yeah, Edifice has graduated from one-hit wonder to bona fide chart-topping coat maker (what?). Anyway here's the new quilted jacket, and here's the badass Melton I posted earlier this autumn. Looks like the whole leather-strap-about-the-neck piece is their marque déposée.


via selectism

André Hand Painted Quiksilver Surfboards

I can't surf. Well, let's be fair: I don't know how to surf. I would like to, but it turns out that there aren't a whole lot of great spots to learn in the Midwest. Unless you count my boys who have been pushing the wake surfing scene on Lake Minnetonka...or these crazy bastards...but as a wannabe purist, I really don't consider it surfing unless its on a wave made by the ocean.

Anyway, André drops these slick hand-painted jobs along with board maker Quiksilver. No word on availability or anything like that, but they are rad. I'm stoked. Gnar.

via highsnobiety

Rent the Runway

The New York Times has an article about a new service called Rent the Runway, which boasts of providing $1000 gowns for rent at $50-$200 a pop, and is being hailed as "Netflix for evening gowns." I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have my fashion marketed to me like a DVD, so its a good thing the operating team of Jennifer Hyman and Jennifer Carter Fleiss have a few tricks up their sleeveless Hervé Légers.

Here's the Times' version of how it all works: "The rentals run $50 to $200 for a four-night loan and are shipped directly to the customer’s doorstep. After wearing the dress, she puts it into a prepaid envelope and drops it in the mail." Netflix. For clothes.

Some interesting ideas:

• Invitation only. Not a new idea, of course, but even a whiff of exclusivity is huge when it comes to high fashion.
• Service is king. "Customers who want to be extra-safe can choose a second style as a backup, for an additional $25. And all dresses come with a custom garment bag and a 'fit kit,' which includes double-sided tape, bra strap adjusters and deodorant stain removers."
• Insurance. $5 damage insurance and the dryclean fee included in the initial cost. Obviously, the renter bears the cost of complete destruction.
• Styles. Many designers sell their pieces directly to the service, but others provide Rent the Runway with exclusive runway pieces in exchange for the profits. Wearing runway pieces = awesome. Even I know that.

My only commentary on this idea is that it is a pretty ballsy play given the customer service issues that are bound to arise when dealing with such volatile components as fashion, logistics, and women. Honestly I hope it works.

Maybe we'll get something similar going for the gentlemen sometime soon. Seems unlikely, given that most men are fine renting a $200 tux from Gingiss Formal Wear whenever they need one...and rocking a tweed blazer with black slacks, brown shoes, and a disgusting tie should they have a job interview or funeral...but there I go again, ellipses and tangents. Kudos to you Jennifer and Jennifer, and good luck.

via NYT

SFIDA x SILAS Football, Jersey

I don't know what a SFIDA is, and SILAS is the name of that kid on Weeds, but I love football, and they made a pretty badass looking football and jersey for limited release. The Maltese cross Union Jack is genius.

via highsnobiety

Perrelet Chronographs

Some sweet watches or "chronographs" if your noise is at slight incline from Perrelet. I'm a fan of the non-traditional hour layout and aged cheese. I also prefer boxers to briefs and would rather not discuss why.

The hour layout I'm talking about is called Regulator with Retrograde Hour. Why wouldn't it be?




via selectism