So Sylvie

recent posts

  • YSL:Hedi Slimane:Psych Rock

    Where fashion and music collide, Yves Saint Laurent has been there. Witness these two video examples, more than 4 decades apart. The first is an instrumental accompaniment, L’enfant la Mouche et les Allumettes, by Jean-Claude Vannier for the 1971 YSL catwalk show. Note how cool musicians in turtle necks can be.

     

     

    Now, with the nouveau moniker Saint Laurent Paris and Hedi Slimane as creative director, music and the fashion house have never been more fused, "Music is clearly, for me, the starting point of anything", Slimane says. Besides his design focus, Hedi is a serious photographer and has been capturing musician's portraits for some years. He's now been setting them loose on the catwalk as seen in the Spring 2015 Psych Rock Collection. Like singer Sam France of Foxygen (he comes into view at 7:33 in the video below), who I just saw the other day in Big Sur, and standing amidst redwood trees at the edge of an azur coastline he said dreamily, "Do people really get to live in this place? I'd be fine just livin' in those fallen down trees over there." Hmmm, nice juxto: living in the woods wearing Saint Laurent.

     

    Soundtrack by Mystic Braves

  • Reigning Sound

    I've written before on the subject of sad songs that are upbeat and danceable. Reigning Sound out of Asheville, North Carolina, by way of Memphis, have captured that beautiful juxtaposition with their song Never Coming Home (Merge Records). Let the sad dance begin!

     

  • Up Syndrome ~ The Innocent Ones

    Browsing in one of my favorite little shops in the mountains recently, I was heartened to find a 1930s studio portrait of a Down Syndrome baby, so tender and pure, peeking out from under a flannel veil. When I got home I researched the subject and discovered that yes, there was a time that existed before the days of stigma (that seem to correspond with the invention of "Hollywood") when parents proudly and lovingly honored their Down Syndrome babes. In praise of my dear brother Jon who turns 40 today, I share these images, beginning with the one I found:

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  • June 2nd ~ My Birthday

     ~ More about this later. Love, Sylvie ~

     

    Baklava cake

     

    Mmmm…..baklava cake!

     

     

     

  • Open Minded ~ Open Shelving

    I've had this open shelving in the kitchen for a while but never got around to putting a backing board on it until now. I painted it this moody blue/black/grey (I don't know the exact name because I purchased a "mistake" paint). It's a great backdrop for the dishes.

     

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  • Art for Home’s Sake: Housing Works Art Auction

    Ending tomorrow (I received the press release  a tad late)! 

    "Bid on more than 50 generously donated pieces of art by world renowned artists."

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    KATE HARDING ~ Meramec Caverns, Stage Curtain…

     

    "Proceeds from Design on a Dime Art Auction will benefit Housing Works’ newest supportive housing development, the Hull Street Residence. Hull Street is a from-the-ground-up housing development project that will transform a vacant 6,000 sq ft. lot into a beautiful and safe home for 30 single, formerly homeless adults living with HIV/AIDS."

     

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    MICHAEL PUTLAND ~ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards

     

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    RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA ~ Untitled 2014

     

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    ROSS BLECKNER ~ Untitled

     

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    DAVID W BULLANDAY ~ Spring Storm, Tennessee
     

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    CHRIS HONDROS ~ Untitled

     

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    BANKSY ~ Napalm

     

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  • Flamin’ Groovies ~ Cookin’ at the Crepe Place, Santa Cruz

    I don’t know how my blog turned into a music blog. I will be mixing in the other arts again (je vous promets), but some of these musical notes just beg to be shared. Marcel and I passed some wild time with the Flamin’ Groovies yesterday, and I did a goodly amount of time travelling (set list below). 

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    “One of America’s most influential cult bands, the Flamin’ Groovies came out of the San Francisco area in 1965 playing greasy, bluesy rock & roll dashed with British Invasion panache in an era dominated by hippie culture.”   ~ Music Bloodline

     

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    We sure cut a rug. Dancing and singing and shouting ’til we were hoarse. Fun night!!! 

     

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    Santa Cruz was the first stop on their US-Euro tour in support of their soon-to-be-released EP “End of the World”. They’ll be playing tonight in San Francisco at The Great American Music Hall.

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    Merci beaucoup guys!

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    Stay tuned for Marcel’s interview with the band 🙂

     

    Founding member and guitarist Cyril Jordan’s site, and guitarist Chris Wilson’s site (lots of fun history on Chris’s).

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    Sneek peek off the new EP:


     

    Special thanks to Adam for continuing to bring amazing music to the Crepe Place. Mwah!

     

  • Lovely Painful Melancholia!

    My years of the late 1970s into the early 1980s were drenched in these two songs. I played them 'til the grooves were worn down.

     

     

    (see pinky finger on the mic)

     

     

     

     

     "Tonight's lunar eclipse means that in the next few days you'll have extra power to wake yourself up out of any trance you might be in or to come to attention about some automaton-like part of your psyche. It's a good time to outwit and wriggle free from a bad habit; to deprogram a negative behavior pattern and substitute a positive one." ~ Brezsny, Free Will Astrology

     

     

     

    "All of creation is conspiring to shower us with blessings. Life is crazily in love with us ~ brazenly and innocently in love with us. The universe always gives us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. The winds and the tides are on our side, forever and ever, amen. The fire and the rain are scheming to steal our impossible pain. The sun and the moon and the stars remember our real names, and our ancestors pray for us while we're dreaming. We have guardian angels and thousands of teachers, provocateurs with designs to unleash us, helpers and saviors we can't even imagine, brothers and sisters who want us to blossom. Thanks to them, from whom the blissful blessings flow, we are waking up."

    ~ Rob Brezsny

     

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  • Neutral Milk Hotel Show at the Fox Theater in Oakland

    Read Marcel's review of the Neutral Milk Hotel show at the Fox Theater in Oakland, April 10, 2014

     

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    Interior shots of The Fox…

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    A couple of favorite spots for coffee and tasty food near the Fox Theater …

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    For the finest cup of coffee, served with attention to the smallest detail, head across the street to Duende at 468 19th Street. Housed in the tile-clad Oakland Floral Depot Building – a stunning example of Art Deco architecture – it's a peaceful getaway right in the heart of the hub-bub. Lots of beautiful artisan touches, salvaged materials and large-scale art work. If you have time to spend you can have a satisfying Basque inspired dinner here – "Creative Soulful Food".

     

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    A large scale assemblage at Duende

     

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    If you want the most flavorful burrito ever, go to Xolo, also in the Oakland Floral Building, at 1916 Telegraph Avenue. The taqueria is named after "the hairless dogs that Frida Kahlo used to keep."  They also serve a vegan pozole and on Fridays and Saturdays Birria (goat, not so easy to find). The interior is dressed in traditional bold colors with sweet vintage touches and a wall devoted to Luche Libre (wrestling) posters.

     

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    The secluded back patio:

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    It's always fun to go to a show with Marcel. There were other bands in the audience who recognized him and came over to say "Hi" and shake his hand. So sweet. Now that the concert season is upon us, look for him at a live venue near you 🙂

     

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