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Song of the Day – De Novo Dahl!

Every Monday-Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. The podcast features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent musicians that KEXP DJs think listeners should hear, along with songs from more well-known artists. Today’s featured selection is an unreleased recording from De Novo Dahl…

De Novo Dahl – Shout (MP3)

Get info about their upcoming shows, learn more about podcasting and subscribe now.

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Today in Music Can’t Hardly Wait

image from Chryde on Flikr

Every Monday-Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. The podcast features exclusive in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that KEXP DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Morning Show host John Richards, is by Low Vs. Diamond and is found on their Life After Love EP on Marrakesh:

Low Vs. Diamond – Stay Awake (MP3)

The Los Angeles band has returned home after a tour of the US and the UK and is currently working on their debut full-length. You can learn more about Low Vs. Diamond on their website and listen to their entire EP. If you would like to learn more about podcasting and subscribe to our podcasts, go here.

While this week was a good one for new releases (we’re still listening to Nine Inch Nails and Elk City), there are still many, many more good things to come. Here’s what you should be waiting for:

One of the most anticipated releases right now is Bjork‘s forthcoming Volta. You’ve seen the artwork, you’ve heard a song, now all you have to do is sit back and wait for three weeks. It’ll be worth it, but for now you can read an interview with the Icelandic sprite at Brooklynvegan, watch this video below, and, if you get really bored, create your own Volta cover artwork over at Stereogum.

Possibly of equal interest, though much further off on the horizon, is the next Interpol album. However, blazing through the blogosphere are videos of two new songs the NYC brooders played in Ottawa on Sunday night. You can find them just about anywhere now, but we first saw this one on You Ain’t No Picasso:

You’ll probably have to wait a while for the next Snow Patrol album, but Spiderman 3 hits theaters in less than a month, and with it comes the new SP single “Signal Fire.” While you can feed your Venom jones by viewing a cinematic fan-made version of the video on YouTube, the official version is far more interesting and features kids re-enacting scenes from the story:

Many of you are eagerly awaiting June 18, when The White Stripes finally release Icky Thump. NME got a chance to listen to the album in its entirety and provides a track by track evaluation here.

Radiohead appears to be toying with our anticipation by releasing a 10-second clip of what fans on Ateaseweb have identified as a new song entitled “15 Step,” which the band has performed live in recent shows. The new song will likely be included on the band’s forthcoming release that is currently being referred to as LP7 and is only cryptically referred to on their blog Dead Air Space. Thankfully, Pitchfork explains how you too can get a-tease.

Finally, this is not something that you have to wait for: The Shins, who have already released their 2007 album, performed this “Take-Away Show” for La Blogotheque. In the video, the band in searches for a quiet place to perform an impromptu set, strumming and singing Love’s “Alone Again Or” until they just stop on a corner and break into “Gone For Good.” But what are we explaining it to you for? Watch it for yourself:

Thanks to Chrisopher Blue for a great in-studio performance this morning. Coming up at 3 pm, you can hear The Greyboy Allstars, whose “Still Waiting” was the Song of the Day podcast last Friday. If you missed either of these performances or want to hear them again, you can go back and listen on our Streaming Archive for the next 14 days.

Don’t forget to keep on the lookout for any interesting news to share or other suggestions for music that we should be listening to and discussing. Email us at blog@kexp.org.

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Top Ten Albums of 2009 – Staff & Volunteer lists

KEXP DJs have turned in their lists for Top Ten Albums of 2009, but what about the rest of the hardworking staff and volunteers? KEXP is supported by a legion of music-loving people who are dedicated to the mission of sharing musical discovery with everyone else they can.

The authors of the lists below consist of full-time employees, part-time staff, DJ assistants, regular interns, NYC volunteers, and a whole lot more — and just as their roles at the station vary, so do their musical tastes. Here, you’ll find the expected, the unanticipated, and the unknown. Coming up soon, we’ll feature their Top Albums of the Decade as well.

Oh, and don’t forget that on December 31st, we’re counting down the Top Albums of 2009, as voted on by you, our listeners, and then on January 4th, we’ll count down the Top Albums of the Decade. Tune in all day!

Jim Beckmann, Online Content Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Capsula	Rising Mountains	BCore
Fool’s Gold	Fool’s Gold	IAMSOUND
Deer Tick	Born on Flag Day	Partisan Records
Built to Spill	There is No Enemy	Warner Brothers
Who Knew	Bits and Pieces of a Major Spectacle	101berlin
A Place to Bury Strangers	Exploding Head	Mute
Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Glassnote
Engineers	Three Fact Fader	Kscope
Foreign Born	Person to Person	Secretly Canadian
Justin Townes Earle	Midnight At the Movies	Bloodshot

Leigh Bezezekoff, Programming Intern

Artist	Album	Label
BEADS	No One Knows	Self
The Oh Sees	Help	In the Red Records
The Maldives	Listen To Thunder	Mt. Fuji
The Fucking Eagles	Midnight Sour	Gaptooth Jukebox
Grizzly Bear	Veckatimest	Warp
Modest Mouse	No One’s First, And You’re Next	Epic
The Animals at Night	Cut To Chase Chorus and Fade	Recovery Room
Fresh Espresso	Glamour	Out For Stardom
The Dutchess & the Duke	Sunset/Sunrise	Hardly Art
Various	GIVE Seattle 2009	Cafe Vita

Rebecca Campeau, Volunteer Wo’Pop/Mo’Glo Assistant

Artist	Album	Label
Amadou & Miriam	Welcome to Mali	Nonesuch
Buraka Som Sistema	Black Diamond	Fabric
Novalima	Coba Coba	Cumbancha
N.A.S.A.	Spirit of Apollo	Anti
Gui Boratto	Take My Breath Away	Kompakt
Hello Seahorse!	Bestia	Nacional
Soulico	Exotic on the Speaker	JDub
Major Lazer	Guns Don’t Kill People Lazers Do	Downtown
K’Naan	Troubador	A&M
Max Pashm	Nevermind the Balkans	Elektrikos/Organikos

Morgan Chosnyk, Troy’s Assistant/Intern

Artist	Album	Label
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavillion	Domino
Gui Boratto	Take My Breath Away	Kompakt
Yppah	They Know What Ghost Know	Ninja Tune
The Heavy	The House That Dirt Built	Counter Records
Akron/Family	Set ‘Em Wild, Set ‘Em Free	Dead Oceans
Japandroids	Post Nothing	Polyvinyl
Fever Ray	Fever Ray	Rabid Records
Dan Auerbach	Keep It Hid	Nonesuch
Cymbals Eat Guitars	Why There Are Mountains	Self Released
Sleepy Eyes Of Death	Dark Signals Remixed	Self Released

Tamar Cohen, Volunteer Morning Show NYC Intern Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Various/ Red Hot Compilation	Dark Was The Night	4AD
The xx	xx	Young Turks
Bon Iver	Blood Bank	Jagjagwar
Julian Plenti	Julian Plenti Is… Skyscraper	Matador
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	It’s Blitz!	DGC
Doves	Kingdom of Rust	EMI
Fanfarlo	Reservoir	Atlantic
Andrew Bird	Noble Beast	Fat Possum
Freelance Whales	Weathervanes	self-released
Julian Casablancas	Phrazes For the Young	RCA/Jive

Brian Cullen, Volunteer Photographer/ Writer

Artist	Album	Label
Pink Mountaintops	Outside Love	Jagjaguwar
Lightning Dust	Infinite Light	Jagjaguwar
Jason Lytle	Yours Truly, The Commuter	Anti-
Port O’Brien	Threadbare	TBD
Mt. Egypt	III	Secret Seven
The Dutchess and the Duke	Sunset/Sunrise	Hardly Art
Dan Auerbach	Keep It Hid	Nonesuch
The Tallest Man on Earth	Shallow Grave	Kemado Records
Bill Callahan	Sometimes I wish we Were an Eagle	Drag City
The Cave Singers	Welcome Joy	Matador

Carol DuPuis, Underwriting Account Executive

Artist	Album	Label
The xx	xx	Young Turks
Dirty Projectors	Bitte Orca	Domino
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavilion	Domino
St. Vincent	Actor	4AD
Lusine	A Certain Distance	Ghostly International
Miike Snow	Miike Snow	Downtown Records
Sonic Youth	The Eternal	Matador
The Big Pink	A Brief History of Love	4AD
Wilco	(the album)	Nonesuch
Dark Was the Night	various	4AD

Kimburly Ervin, Communications and Grants Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Bon Iver	Blood Bank EP	Jagjaguwar
Various	Dark Was the Night	4AD
Handsome Furs	Face Control	Sub Pop
Wilco	Wilco (The Album)	Nonesuch
J. Tillman	Vacilando Territory Blues	Western Vinyl
Man Party	Tiger Game EP	self-released
Telekinesis	Teleknesis!	Merge
Jason Lytle	Yours Truly, The Commuter	Anti-
The Dutchess and the Duke	Sunset/Sunrise	Hardly Art
Mirah	(a)spera	K

David Frank, Volunteer Photographer

Artist	Album	Label
Coconut Records	Davy	Young Baby Records
Sky Larkin	The Golden Spike	Wichita Recordings
Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Glassnote
M. Ward	Hold Time	Merge
Fanfarlo	Reservoir	Canvasback/ATL
U.S.E	Loveworld	The Rebel Group
Hello Seahorse!	Bestia	Nacional Records
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	It’s Blitz	DGC/Interscope
Noisettes	Wild Young Hearts	Mercury Records
Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson	Break Up	Rhino

John Gleason, Volunteer Part Time DJ Assistant

Artist	Album	Label
Grizzly Bear	Veckatimest	Warp
Bat For Lashes	Two Suns	Parlophone
Black Moth Super Rainbow	Eating Us	Graveface
Dirty Projectors	Bitte Orca	Domino
Ramona Falls	Intuit	Barsuk
Hotels	Where Hearts Go Broke	Hidden Shoal
Phantogram	Phanotgram EP	BBE
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavilion	Domino
Nurses	Apples acre	Dead Oceans
Passion Pit	Manners	Frenchkiss Records

Zach Gore, Video Intern

Artist	Album	Label
David Bazan	Curse Your Branches	Barsuk
The Thermals	Now We Can See	Kill Rock Stars
D. Black	Ali’yah	Sportn’ Life
Bill Callahan	Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle	Drag City
The Deep Dark Woods	Winter Hours	Black Hen
Laura Gibson	Beasts of Seasons	Hush
Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Glassnote
J. Tillman	Vacilando Territory Blues	Western Vinyl
Elvis Perkins in Dearland	Elvis Perkins in Dearland	XL
Justin Townes Earle	Midnight At the Movies	Bloodshot Records

Rischel Granquist, Administrative Assistant/CD Project Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Visqueen	Message To Garcia	Local 638
The Heavy	The House That Dirt Built	Counter
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	It’s Blitz	Interscope
Wilco	Wilco	Nonesuch
The Flaming Lips	Embryonic	Warner Brothers
The Blakes	Souvenir	We Are Ok
Lily Allen	It’s Not Me, It’s You	Capitol
Silversun Pickups	Swoon	Dangerbird
Major Lazer	Guns Don’t Kill People…Lazers Do	Downtown
The Purrs	Amused, Confused and More Bad News	Self-Released

Janice Headley, Programming Assistant Extraordinaire

Artist	Album	Label
Yo La Tengo	Popular Songs	Matador
Au Revoir Simone	Still Night, Still Light	Our Secret Record Company
Julie Doiron	I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day	Jagjaguwar
Superchunk	Leaves In the Gutter EP	Merge
The Bats	The Guilty Office	A Hidden Agenda
The Clean	Mister Pop	Merge
Pants Yell!	Received Pronunciation	Slumberland
The Pastels/Tenniscoats	Two Sunsets	Geographic
OOIOO	Armonico Hewa	Thrill Jockey
Euros Childs	Son of Euro Child	National Elf

Kelly Hilst, Outreach & Events Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Dirty Projectors	Bitte Orca	Domino Recording Company
Built to Spill	There Is No Enemy	Warner Bros.
Volcano Choir	Unmap	Jagjaguwar
Bill Callahan	Sometimes I Wish I Were An Eagle	Drag City
Yo La Tengo	Popular Songs	Matador
Grizzly Bear	Veckatimest	Warp
Rachel Grimes	Book of Leaves	RuminanCe
Japandroids	Post-Nothing	Polyvinyl
Califone	All My Friends Are Funeral Singers	Dead Oceans
Wilco	(The Album)	Nonesuch

Michele Khazak, Associate Producer

Artist	Album	Label
The Curious Mystery	Rotting Slowly	K Records
Califone	All My Friends Are Funeral Singers	Dead Oceans
Dirty Projectors	Bitte Orca	Domino
Do Make Say Think	Other Truths	Constellation Records
Soulsavers	Broken	Columbia
Hannu	Hintergarten	Kesh
Yo La Tengo	Popular Songs	Matador
Taken By Trees	East Of Eden	Rough Trade
tUnE-YarDs	BiRd BrAiNs	4AD
Mulatu Astatke & The Heliocentrics	Inspiration Information 3	Strut Records

Soleil Kelley, Production Intern & DJ Assistant

Artist	Album	Label
Phantogram	Phantogram	BBE
Thao with the Get Down Stay Down	Know Better Learn Faster	Kill Rock Stars
Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Glassnote
Passion Pit	Manners	Frenchkiss Records
Generationals	Con Law	Park The Van
Antlers	Hospice	Frenchkiss Records
Zero 7	Yeah Ghost	Atlantic
Grizzly Bear	Veckatamist	Warp
Air	Love 2	Astralwerks
Luc and The Lovington	Feel The Warmth	self-released

Chris Kellogg, Producer, New York Programming

Artist	Album	Label
Grizzly Bear	Veckatemist	Warp
Built to Spill	There is No Enemy	Warner Brothers
Dinosaur Jr.	Farm	Jagjaguwar
Telekinesis	Telekinesis	Merge
Phosphorescent	To Willie	Dead Oceans
Malajube	Labyrinthes	Dare to Care Records
Various Artists	Panama! 2: Latin, Calypso & Funk On The Isthmus 1967-77	Soundway Records
BOAT	Setting the Paces	Magic Marker Records
Kings of Convenience	Declaration of Dependence	Virgin
Bomba Estereo	Blow Up	Nacional Records

John Loggins, Volunteer DJ Assistant (NYC)

Artist	Album	Label
Animal Collective	Meriweather Post Pavillion	Domino
White Rabbits	It’s Frightening	tbd
Jeremy Enigk	OK Bear	Lewis Hollow
Miike Snow	Miike Snow	Universal
Dan Auerbach	Keep It Hid	Nonesuch
Blakroc	Blakroc	Blakroc
David Bazan	Curse Your Branches	Barsuk
School of Seven Bells	Alpinisms	Vagrant
Fanfarlo	Reservoir	Atlantic
Bon Iver	Blood Bank	Jagjagwar

Sharlese Metcalf, Audioasis Producer

Artist	Album	Label
Karl Blau	Zebra	K
Throw Me The Statue	Creaturesque	Secretly Canadian
Grynch	Chemistry EP	Self-Released
Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band	Mt. St. Helen’s Vietnam Band	Dead Oceans
Macklemore x Ryan Lewis	The Vs EP	self-released
Telekinisis!	Telekinisis	Merge
The Physics	High Society	self-released
Motorbikes	New Colorself-released
Police Teeth	Real Sized Monster Series	Blood City
Nurses	Apple’s Acres	Dead Oceans

Kat Metrovich, Front Desk & Events Volunteer

Artist	Album	Label
BlakRoc	BlakRoc	BlakRoc
D. Black	Ali’ yah	Sportin’ Life
The xx	xx	Young Turks
Brother Ali	Us	Rhymesayers
Fresh Espresso	Glamour	Out For Stardom
Macklemore/Ryan Lewis	The VS. EP	self released
Tom Waits	GlitterAnd Doom Live	Epitaph
The Purrs	Amused, Confused and More Bad News	Big Damn Deal Music
K’naan	Troubadour	A&M/Octone
Various	Live at KEXP Volume Five	KEXP

Brady Morella, Volunteer Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Fanfarlo	Reservoir	Atlantic/WEA
Elvis Perkins in Dearland	Elvis Perkins in Dearland	XL
Them Crooked Vultures	Them Crooked Vultures	DGC/Interscope
Hot Leg	Red Light Fever	Universal UK
Dan Auerbach	Keep It Hid	Nonesuch
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros	Up From Below	Vagrant Records
The Swell Season	Strict Joy	Anti
Nirvana	Live at Reading	Geffen Records
Slender Means	Adrift in the Cosmosself-released
Arctic Monkeys	Humbug	Atlantic

Rachel Ratner, Communications and Outreach Manager

Artist	Album	Label
The Oh Sees	Help	In The Red
The Dutchess and the Duke	Sunsest / Sunrise	Hardly Art
Ty Segall	Lemons	Goner
Grass Widows	Grass Widows	self-released
The Intelligence	Crepuscule with Pacman	In The Red
SPURM	SPURM EP	ggnzla
Charles Leo Gebhardt IV	Unfaithful EP	ggnzla
Spits	IV	Recess
Scraps	Scraps EP	ggnzla

Aaron Starkey, Online Manager

Artist	Album	Label
The Flaming Lips	Embryonic	Warner Brothers
Dinosaur Jr.	Farm	Jagjaguwar
Built to Spill	There Is No Enemy	Warner Brothers
Sunn O)))	Monoliths & Dimensions	Domino
Japandroids	Post-Nothing	Polyvinyl Records
Antony and the Johnsons	The Crying Light	Secretly Canadian
Califone	All My Friends Are Funeral Singers	Dead Oceans
Slender Means	Adrift In the Cosmos	Painless Life Music
Metric	Fantasies	Metric Music International
Steve Earle	Townes	New West Records

Kate Stinson, Volunteer Coordinator Intern

Artist	Album	Label
Fruit Bats	The Ruminant Band	Sub Pop
Phoenix	Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix	Glassnote
Yeah Yeah Yeahs!	It’s Blitz!	Interscope
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavilion	Domino
Neko Case	Middle Cyclone	Anti-
Fever Ray	Fever Ray	Rabid Records
Coconut Records	Davy	Young Baby Records
Passion Pit	Manners	Columbia
Starfucker	Jupiter	Badman Recording Co.
Girls	Album	True Panther Sounds

Reese Umbaugh, Volunteer Podcasting Assistant/Audioasis Assistant/DJ Assistant

Artist	Album	Label
Handsome Furs	Face Control	Sub Pop
Felix Da Housecat	He Was King	Nettwerk
Fresh Espresso	Glamour	Out For Stardom
Basement Jaxx	Scars	Ultra
Simian Mobile Disco	Temporary Pleasure	Wichita
Annie	Don’t Stop	Smalltown Supersound
Metric	Fantasies	Metric Music International
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	It’s Blitz!	Interscope
Black Moth Super Rainbow	Eating Us	Graveface
Little Boots	Hands	Warner

Erin Waters, Individual Giving Coordinator

Artist	Album	Label
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavillion	Domino
Dirty Projectors	Bitte Orca	Domino
tUnE-YarDs	BiRd BrAiNs	4AD
Grizzly Bear	Veckatimist	Warp
Cass McCombs	Catacombs	Domino
Flaming Lips	Embryonic	WEA/Reprise
Yo La Tengo	Popular Songs	Matador
The Big Pink	A Brief History of Love	4AD
The Generationals	Con Law	Park the Van Records
Miike Snow	Miike Snow	Downtown

Sheryl Witlen, Volunteer DJ Assistant

Artist	Album	Label
Animal Collective	Merriweather Post Pavilion	Domino Records
Yeah Yeah Yeahs	It’s Blitz!	Interscope
Metric	Fantasies	Metric Music International
Cold Cave	Love Comes Close	Matador
The Dodos	Time to Die	Frenchkiss Records
Robert Francis	Before Nightfall	Atlantic
Fever Ray	Fever Ray	Mute
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros	Up From Below	Vagrant Records
Javelin	Jamz n Jemz	self-released
The xx	xx	Young Turks

Anthony, Intern

Artist	Album	Label
Washed Out	Life of Leisure EP	Mexican Summer
Floating Points	Vacuum Boogie EP	Eglo Records
Gui Boratto	Take My Breath Away	Kompakt
Fool’s Gold	Fool’s Gold	IAMSOUND
Telefon Tel Aviv	Immolate Yourself	Bpitch Control
Ben Frost	By the Throat	Bedroom Community
The Maldives	Listen To the Thunder	Mt. Fuji Records
Burnt by the Sun	Heart of Darkness	Relapse Records
Wilco	Wilco (The Album)	Nonesuch
ISIS	Wavering Radiant	Ipecac

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• Live Video Cahalen Morrison & Eli West
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Sasquatch! 2012 Rumors Abound!

Tomorrow, the bomb will drop and the full lineup for Sasquatch Gucci Belts for Women[/url! Music Festival 2012 will be revealed. But for most of us, two days is far too long to wait. So instead of advocating for patience, why don’t we look go through some hopefuls and find out who is probably playing and who isnt?

Let’s start with the bad news. Bands that play in the Seattle area April or afterwards are not likely to make an appearance. This year, that includes a lot of names. After Radiohead was announced to be playing at Coachella, some might have gotten excited, but alas they will be playing their own show at Key Arena on April 9. Andrew Bird is playing at Paramount on the same day, and The Black Keys and Death Cab for Cutie are playing at Key Arena and Paramount, respectively, shortly thereafter. Some other acts playing Seattle April shows include Neon Indian, School of Seven Bells, Cults, Justice, and Odd Future. It is pretty unlikely that we will see any of these acts at Sasquatch! this year. Some late March shows include The Ting Tings, Of Montreal, Nada Surf, and School of Seven Bells. While these are also unlikely, their chances are slightly higher.

That was sad. But let’s cheer up and think about some that are very, very likely. Feist posted Spring tour dates today. She is not making a Seattle appearance, but rather, finishing up the last leg of her tour about a week before Sasquatch! Given the success of her new album Metals, I’d say she’s pretty likely to appear. Following this same formula for Spring tour dates, we have the same probability for Girls, tUnE-yArDs, Spiritualized, Wild Flag, WU LYF, Starfucker, The Physics, M. Ward, and St. Vincent.

Other interesting Sasquatch! news popped up last week. The website was rumored to have undergone a malfunction, revealing many of the bands that were playing. This list also included above bands St. Vincent, Starfucker, and tUnE-yArDs, but had many that hadn’t been previously mentioned, including Lana Del Rey, Girl Talk, THEESatisfaction, Beirut, Com Truise, Purity Ring, and none other than The Shins. It is quite possible that this list is fabricated, but it is quite thought provoking.

Lastly, let’s talk who hasn’t been mentioned above. Bon Iver hasn’t posted any dates in the area, but given his unbelievably successful 2011 and fantastic self-titled release Dr. Dre Solo Beats, the chances of a Sasquatch! appearance (or even headlining slot) are pretty high. Fleet Foxes played a string of Seattle shows in support of Helplessness Blues last year beats studio headphones, but none of them were recent enough to remove them from our thoughts and hopes. Given that in recent years we have seen Sasquatch! reach out to more throwback acts and hip-hop acts, we have to speculate about those. At the Drive-In is making a comeback this year and is schedule to play at Coachella. In addition, The Mars Volta is releasing a new record in March and they haven’t posted tour dates yet. Either of these Omar Rodriguez-Lopez projects might make an appearance. Seattle locals Shabazz Palaces are currently touring in Europe, but they will be back in town far before Sasquatch! time. With Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg playing a set together at Coachella, really, it’s anyone’s game right now.

This week, we celebrate the last week of mystery about Sasquatch! 2012. The launch party show will be held Thursday, February 2nd, at The Neptune Theatre. Junip will be playing along with Mathew Caws of Nada Surf and The Physics. Details on the show and tickets are here.

See you at Sasquatch!

Sale Spoils

>> The spoils of the Christopher Kane sale have already been feeding back to me so this is just another reminder that it's still on for another day and that they're restocking for today I hear too...

I went fairly early with no long queues to contend with unlike last time when it was also bitterly cold.  There's a card machine now and only ten people in at a time so it's a calm and collected affair.  As tempting as a £750 S/S 10 beaded or gingham frock was I played the safe card with an A/W 09 piece for £220.  List your spoils here if you wish... sample sale support is a must in the case of Kane's sale and any info is always appreciated,Monster Beats Studio Diamond!  

Oh and the shoes have a tale to tell all on their own... more about them later... ,cheap beat headphones!

(With Atalanta Weller wedges, Topshop dress/tunic,Monster Beats Miles Davis Tribut, sheer embroidered sleeve top from Spitalfields)

Denim Trials

From stupid to sensible is the trajectory this weekend.  Supposedly Hawaiian florals and a grey bit of tulle was a bit too much for some people so I've done a 180 and turned to the mundane wardrobe beast that are jeans.  I say beast because since this blog has been going, I've dropped post titles such as 'Denim Challenge', 'Denim Difficulty' as well as countless anecdotes about grappling in the changing room with x labelled jeans, feeling embarrassed, red-faced and generally looking upon jeans as evil condoms for the legs.  Since those days, I've resolutely eliminated jeans from my wardrobe, until I found the Liberty printed MiH collaboration, a validexcuse to dip my toes back into the jean pool (Did I partake in Jeans for Genes day at school?  I substituted with a denim skirt...).

Recently I've gone further down the line to confront two specific jeans pet peeves.  This is my way of cartharsis.  The point isn't to purge the pet peeves entirely but to face up to them and go "Hey, isn't it great that you don't disgust me anymore?"   I might loathe something to the point where I begin to wonder that loathing and then slowly eat my words until that loathing no longer exists and all is resolved.  That's how I got converted back to eating tofu and cauliflower.

Therefore, my tofu and cauliflower equivalents in denim to overcome today? 

1) Super low-rise, hipster/bumster jeans.  The sort where colourful G-string straps used to poke out at the sides where lady lumps would curve into a teensy tiny waist or erm... cause a bit of overhang.  I suppose my own straight-up-and-down hips and slight muffin top never really gave me cause to suddenly don a pair trousers that would point those traits out.  Their prevalence in the 90s/00s means that their re-appearance in fashion isn't quite due yet but McQ by Alexander McQueen can lord it over the bumster and revive it with correct timing.  McQueen of course famously showed his own 'bumster' trousers in 1996 in his 'Dante' collection, which trickled down into the G-string revealing entities of later years.  McQ have therefore taken this bit of bumster history to inject in their jeans. 

I'm generally a firm believer that my trousers should sit between my belly button and two inches below - anywhere below and I start to feel like I might not be able to eat properly (for fear of the post-meal bulge) or bend down.  These are a good six-seven inches down the belly button.  Pulling them up would surely cause some sort of internal damage.  The trick was to get over that normal trouser urge and instead revel in a shape that inherently makes you want to push your fingers through the beltloops to tug them down.  Revealing a bank of midriff isn't my normal cup of tea but then again neither was tying up shirts into knots and rolling skirts down to make them shorter and somehow these jeans have tapped into that distant memory lane.  As long as coloured G-strings and builder's bums don't make an appearance, McQ's take on the bumster could very well cause more flesh flashing. 

(Worn with COS top, Beau Coops wedges)

2) My second denim shortcoming?  Bleached out washes and deliberately positioned holes and rips, again the sort that was rife in the 00s.  It hit a new pinnacle of head-scratching for me, when holes and bleach ran riot on a pair Balmain jeans that hit four-figure sums.  Why not just let the denim take its natural course and get holey and faded all by it self?         

Weirdly though from a choice of three washes for Diesel's new Jogg jeans, the most bleached out, ripped up wash appealed the most.  A mysterious sounding 'secret laboratory' at Diesel have developed a hybrid between jeans and jogging bottoms to create jeans with none of those bits that feel a bit 'crusty' at first.  Instead these are jeans for people that want to pull them up without the awkward 'Oh, crap, I can't pull the zip up...' feeling.  In effect, they're not jeans at all but jogging bottoms that look like denim.  Anyhow, it's all denim techno mumbo jumbo to me.  The main point is that bleached out bits and deliberate holes aren't making me want to shake the person who created those holes and bleached out bits by the shoulders going "Why why why?!" 

(Worn with Krystof Strozyna jacket,coach bags sale, vintage shirt, Stella McCartney heels)

On another denim note, I'd like to thank Glamour for starting this denim trail by winging over some denim pieces by Junya Watanabe - a fleece-lined biker jacket and a deconstructed fishtail skirt - that has roots in Watanabe's earlier denim dabblings (most notably S/S 02 and S/S 09) and letting me have a play with them for their August denim issue.  Again, deliberate distress marks are all over the joint on the skirt but the cut of it reveals Watanabe's mastery in experimental pattern, warming me to a skirt shape that I'm not usually enthusiastic about.    

(Worn with vintage shirt, vintage Loewe leather trousers, Prada brogues, Suelly bag,Monster Beats Turbine, Moscot sunglasses)

(Worn with Limedrop blazer, Goodhood x R. Newbold shirt, Mulberry bag,monster beats 2012, Nicholas Kirkwood shoes)