Archive for the ‘Cold and Sparkly’ Category

artificialkingdom
The Artificial Kingdom
March 2nd, 2011

It’s been a long time.

Winter was a sort of interminable prison sentence this year, but spring is finally doing its slidy dance into the corners of the grass plots of Brooklyn. This month I don’t have any great back stories or epic inspirations, just an old cliché: the-best-of-something-or-other. So, this mix is the Best of White Gilt.

As a very few of you may know, my good friend Shay and I hold a sporadic dance party in Greenpoint called White Gilt, which was the name of our band, but then I turned 30 and we both got very career oriented. So, why not turn it into a DJ night, which is much more mature and serious-minded? This was, we both agreed, a Good Idea. Read the rest of this entry »

dalek
The Dalek’s Dream
July 30th, 2010

Being addicted to British television has its perks. In addition to off-color sitcoms and Welsh cartoons, the BBC has a very nice way with music documentaries. Synth Britannia is a well-researched, extremely interesting piece about how a once marginalized and underground genre of music came to be the defining style of a decade. It’s difficult to imagine PBS devoting the same kind of attention and care to these acts’ American counterparts, mainly (I suppose) because production costs would far outweigh interest in the subject. Read the rest of this entry »

depth
The lord of depths
May 7th, 2010

Change is never easy. Whether it is the yearly confusion surrounding seasonal shift or a major alteration in fortune, change takes us all by the scruff of the neck and wags its finger in our faces. Through its clumsy reminders we are forced to accept that we are finite, that we own nothing absolutely, and that we must make the best use of the time that we have. I believe that an approximation of personal peace can be attained by acceptance that flux is the only constant, and that in the end, the details are everything. That said, sometimes you just have to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and keep going. Read the rest of this entry »

fortheroad
Highway Life
November 30th, 2009

Last week I was in southern California, driving around, trying to get a better idea of what constitutes American identity. It’s pretty amazing that this country is so incredibly diverse and yet manages to be cohesive enough to aspire to a national archetype. Landing in LA, the tall palms swaying against dry air, I felt as far away from New York as I did in Finland. Read the rest of this entry »

fregments
Fragments
May 10th, 2009

…another in an occasional series.

White Horses, 1984, directed by Vladimir Grammatikov

I’m sorry, you know, but I had no other options. I didn’t mean for you to come here. But now you are here, you must help us. We can’t last much longer. With these words, White Horses begins its odd, uneven adventure. Roundly panned in the mid-eighties as too incomprehensible for children and too idealistic for adults, this Swedish adaptation of an Italian children’s novel quickly fell into obscurity, though it deserves further notice at least for its incorporation of all the classic eighties fantasy film conceits. Read the rest of this entry »

jakarta
In Jakarta
March 12th, 2009

Without further ado, I bring you the first of (hopefully) many Imaginary Soundtracks:

In Jakarta, Andreas Brezchs, 1987 Read the rest of this entry »

transgression
Spectacles of Transgression
January 11th, 2009

A long silence, a new year, and many changes coming. January wears into February, as the cold settles in. Back in the city, for what it’s worth, shuttling between heated houses as quickly as possible and planning for the eventuality of another, warmer, season.

I have been feeling extremely uninspired to create anything, and though I’m sure it is a by-product of winter, the lack of tangible results in my life is beginning to nag. I know in talking to my friends that this is not something unique to me; it is a widespread, insidious feeling lately. This could be due to the obvious downturn in everyone’s fortunes, of course, but I wonder if the hangover doesn’t run deeper than that… Read the rest of this entry »

geometries
Some disordered geometries…
December 10th, 2008

As the weather grows steadily colder, the light more grey, and the last leaves fall off the trees, living in a city becomes noticeably, well, geometric. Without any real organic presence, glass, metal, and cement are the materials that make up the bulk of everyday existence. I always wondered why city dwellers dressed so differently from people who live in rural areas, or even in suburbs. Every time I get off of a flight in a Southern airport, one of the first things I notice is the profusion of pastels (and fleece– ha.) worn by people not-of-the-city. However, being here in the winter solves some of the mystery, sort of. What are the main colors of New York in winter? Grey, black, white, brown, and brick red. Read the rest of this entry »

laterstill
Sequins in the background
October 22nd, 2008

There are quite a few nights when I stay out longer than intended. After a certain point, the city starts to blur at the edges, lights pass without notice, and time escapes you. Whether it’s a long walk home through an industrial business zone, or a long drive on the interstate, these are songs that will serve you well at three AM, or even later, if that’s your fancy. Read the rest of this entry »