The Young & The Banging

A yearbook, like you've never seen before. This ain't your plain, regular high school 'memories' pack, these are The Young & The Banging.

"Inspired by both the traditional American high school yearbook and Ezra Petronio's yearbook, "Bold and Beautiful", The Young and the Banging is the very first ever co-created yearbook dedicated to the new wave of young, cool and creative youth in downtown NYC"
- Heron Preston

About LAgirlsNY

Bam Bam!

Of all the places I'd love to have been on the 4th of November, Union Square's probably at the top of my list.
I know loads of public places went wild with excitement after Obama's lanslide victory, but none like Union. None.
Here are a few pics my friend Christina took on over there, entitled "What You've Missed In Union On Election Night".

"Idiocracy Avoided: Ooh, I like That One."

Pictures by: C-Photos.

So...

I've been getting some serious junk mail from Nylon, for about a week now, it wouldn't bother me unless I knew how the fuck they got a hold of my email.
So you're selling your soul to the worshiping of 'It Girls' AND you're spamming me? Bastards.
It's Officialy Do or Die day. I know I can't be in my comfortable liberal state of New York, where it's easy to proclaim your support for Obama and not get stoned, but the feeling in London, although not as strong, for obvious reasons, is still very much alive.
My friend from class was sporting her Obama tshirt today. Made my face light up. All over the Tube, there's jassive posters of Bam Bam plastered. Makes me feel at home a bit.
Do or Die, people. Show Up or Shut Up.

Obama 08, Ya'll.

The Rag Factory

I tought this was interesting. So the good people at Zineswap threw their launch party, on Heneage Street just off Brick Lane at The Rag Factory last night. All for the sake of swapping home made goods, in which case zines, from all over Europe and beyond.
Some seriously interesting display. Some funkily clad bastards and some good music were of essence, the likes of Mirror! Mirror!, DEFN, My Panda Shall Fly, Wasp Display, and Sportsday Megaphone [the lead singer is fucking mental].
Bring Your Own Booze. Nice, cannot complain about that. Ever. Cupcakes all around [can you say fancy?], and a unisex bathroom. Fucking love it.
I, managed to take a few shots.
My favorite 'zine', should I mention, was possibly the one with the WasteYourself artists' display and scribbles on it. They do some pretty dope shit.
A little bit of Kraffhics doens't hurt either.

We managed to walk past a Public Bathroom on our way back, which, to my amazement, apparently hosts an underground basement club soon as it hits 6 in the morning. I wouldn't ask...

Pictures by Soulk!d
More Pictures Over There.

Skitzo Dancers

I'm quoting a friend of mine when I say this: "Nobody drops a beat like Justice!"
I managed to go through 31 hours of non-sleep and total schizophrenic excitement after one hell of a night on the 25th.
Fuck, the last time I wrote on here, I was projecting just how badass teh gig would be, but damn I don't think I ever could've predicted any of what went down. Fuck no.
So, I'm venturing into this new self-employed 'hobby' these days, *ahem* nightlife photography. I mean, yeah, shit...there's not a lack of party photogs out there, but they're old, and I'm young :]
I'm pretty decent at it too, might as well give it a shot, eh? See? No? You don't think so?

p.s: to all you mofos behind the decks while Ed Rec was dropping some sweet beats, fucking dance! Hipsters NEVER dance. Putain.

NY Excuse - Soulwax [Justice Remix]


Pictures by: Soulk!d

A Cross The Universe

These mofos will be in town at the end of October, along with Mehdi, SebastiAn, So Me & Busy P at This Is Not London.
It's a trailer release party, and it promises to be all sorts of epic.

"Oi!"

So I crossed over to London, 'bout a week ago today.
You could argue that I have a pretty decent reason for not updating, this lovely piece of work. This city is fucking crazy, I can't even begin to make an assessment at the moment. No fucking way.
I'm in this 'cafe' in my school right now, funny, my classes only begun today, I love uni...I don't have to wake up till 10, and my lectures/seminars are no longer than 2 hours. Oh yeah.
Plus, I don't take 'useless' classes, no, none of that. My majors, and that's it!
So far I've only been to Camdem Town. Danm. It's everything I expected it to be, and more.
Me and Andrea are most likely off to East London on saturday, and I'll give Covent Garden a visit on sunday.
Indie Kids are basically everywhere, so I feel safe. Ha!
Boo hoo, I miss New York, I miss Brooklyn the most. I fucking hate the L train, but I haven't found it's replacement, so I still miss that streamlined bastard.
No music for this week, nothing new I can put up anyways, so I'll leave you with some Revolte & a track by Relation remixed by Lifelike, which I've seriously overplayed all summer.

& This Is Why I Lose Faith In People...

I was happy today, I got my new Nylon issue [I can't say I'm a bonafied Nylon type of chick, I'm more into BPM, but who turns down a FREE subscription?]
It's a colorful touch to a rather bland mailbox, besides, their graphics are visually stimulating, and they tickle my senses! [oooh!], but lately, I've been getting less and less excited about the stuff they're writting about! [who gives a flying fuck about the new 90210?], I want to see REAL people, and REAL shit, no teen drama will ever come close to Skins anyway, at least not for me.
So the October issue I got today, no different. Here I was, anticipating what's buzzing on the other side of the Atlantic, and I get IT girls.
*sighs* Not only does the 'definition' in itself made me yawn, I quickly realized after just a few pages, that I'm only getting a paper version of The Cobrasnake. Harley Viera-Newton? what the fuck does she do for a living? Isabelle McNally, did she find a cure for AIDS? Tennessee Thomas? Who? Oh, and my favorite, Cody Kennedy, yes a letter short of her already hyped sibling, because apparently the world needs one more Kennedy chick. There's only four girls on the spread I give a bit of credit, one I'm slightly on the fence for, but they are Teyana Taylor, Alexa Chung, Coco Rocha and Abigail Lorick, because unlike the other bunch, they have jobs, they actually work.
The reason I'm even writing about this issue is really because I was baffled by some of the summaries. Almost all of them were "trying to figure out what exactly is in IT girl[...]" partially because they don't think they fit the bill, but if they were trying to play the dumb card, it worked, however I only saw it as a failed attempt to alienate themselves from this tag. You know who and what you are, just own up to it.

Nylon! if anything, I believe in your journalistic abilities, and yes because of you I have a reason to want to go to my mailbox at the end of the month; but we need to stop this oligarchic and random passing out of fame cards. We need more than just barely-legal do-nothings to act as our 'role models', we need kids who actually do something for a living! people with real talent, for fuck's sake! I'm not good on a keyboard, and I'm shit with a guitar, but I know loads of teens who do more than just sit around wasting their folks' hard-earned green, and who could use a little exposure. Come on Nylon! I need to see someone who hasn't been on every Cobrasnake set, someone I've never seen before, someone who has more than looks going for them, if you need directions on where to find such prodigies, I'll be happy to help!
I know you can do it & I'm patient. My subscription ends in three months by the way.

Indie Kids Rejoice!

Specially if, like most of us, your scene hates Under-21s! [or Under-18s even] and try everything in its power to keep you away from the good stuff that goes down in your local clubs/etc. Alas, there are people who understand our struggle! Because not every son of a bitch on a guitar has to be 'of age', talent sees no age! Though it may take America quite some time before this notion sets in, in Europe however, the Indie scene is not only ruled by up and coming teens, it's also accommodated to make it very much possible for their talent to be heard, and seen by all who's following.

This post is a special Indie Music issue [because it'd be a terrible thing to limit myself solely to electronic/house and hip hop music, no?]. I'm putting on the table, some of the finest 'New Kids on The Block' musicians I've had the chance to stumble upon all month. Caution! Loads of videos and names to remember ahead.

Let's start of with the U.K., no stranger to incredible music, the alternative rock scene in London is not only still very much alive, it's also experiencing a saturation of new bands and artists, almost all of which are under 18. I could name loads of favorites, but I'm narrowing it down to my Top 3 from the Queen's Land:

Bombay Bicycle Club - According to NME, "the hottest band to come from North London for quite some time", and they're young. How young? "the band have only just taken their GCSEs. Don't be deceived though, there's a lifetime of experience in these glorious tunes."



Cajun Dance Party - Also from London, the lead singer reminds me of a sleeker, more 'proper' Luke Pritchard, but they sound nothing like the Kooks, besides they have a chick on keyboards. R-a-d.



Lo-Fi Culture Scene - If you haven't figured your life out yet, and you're way over 21 you might reconsider watching these kids, as they are just that: kids. Not a day over 14, these lads are seriously giving rockstars twice their age something to talk about [and possibly, be ashamed of?]. As if you adults needed proof that, once again, talent sees no age, please, make way for Lo-Fi Culture Scene!



Crossing over to the French side of the Manche, the spur of indie rockers is no different. With the new wave of well established names such as Les Shades, Brooklyn and Second Sex, it's slightly impossible to think that the French, who are experts on electronic music, cheese, wine and clothes, could ever experience a shortage in their musical goodness making-factory. Behold!

The Dodoz - From Toulouse, this quartet lead by a female vocalist is a favorite of Les Inrockuptibles, and soon enough probably yours too.

Neimo - Another four-piece band, this time from Paris! they are however, the oldest one in this whole damn music post. Moderne Incidental out on the 22 of September.

The Tellers - Sticking to French-speaking quartets, although from Belgium, The Tellers are what I came to witness, just last night on an episode of Taratata. They sound a bit like Phoenix, and if you ask me, that ain't bad.




So that's 6 bands, 7 videos, but surely I won't put my pen down without sharing this little gem of a performance : a cover of the White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, sung by both BB Brunes and Hard-Fi [yeah, from that aforementioned incredible Taratata episode]. A nice touch is conveniently, a French-UK indie rock pairing.

Things Are Trippy in Brooklyn...Mad Fucking Trippy.

I don't know how much of this I've missed, the time elapsed from August 15, to Now has been seemingly witnessed some peculiar occurrences in Brooklyn.
I, actually no...I think I am missing a lot of this. It's hard to keep up, despite having a ridiculous amount of time in your hands. I've been following these three stories for about two weeks now. Let's start with Pandamonium. What is it? no clue. Who made it? Umm, a bunch of hyperactive teenagers/young adults/people. Why? again, no clue. What's so interesting about it then? whoa! they took over Bedford, taking the L from Union & shit went down with the poliiiice. Serious? hell yeah I'm serious. Riot!


Then, came the holiest of grails, a fucking renegade party! under the Williamsburg Bridge! [these kids be crazy!]. It looked insane, even Clayton Hauck was there, snapping pictures. They had a local band perform out of a cleverly crafted phone-microphone, Japanther I believe is their name. Beer cans everywhere, arms flinging in all sorts of directions, for one night, that bridge was their playground, and it all came down beautifully. Until the police crashed it.

[check out that ghetto blaster, word up]

[you can sooo have a bike date *rolls eyes*]

[ah la la, la police vous emmerde, non?]

And finally...my pick for most distorted idea ever, goes to Misha Calvert, for organizing what's debated to be the most controversial pageant in Williamsburg's history [actually, the only pageant in Billyburg history]. Mr. & Ms. Williamsburg. [seriously.]
Altought Ms. Calvert is probably not the model citizen the Burg could be proud to have produced, there are people actually willing to participate, let alone show up. Who are they? I don't think I really want to find out. She did say that it was "part of the court-ordered community service she was sentenced to perform after being arrested for stealing a few Colt 45’s"
[someone is bugging the fuck out].

picture credits: Pandamonium (dantegeek) ; Renegade Madness (IThinkYoureSwell) & (EveryOneIsFamous)

Justice: The Movie?

Or so it seems. So word on the street is that the Ed Banger boys are making a feature presentation, with [and I quote] "Naked girls & a dude that sounds like the cowboy from The Big Lebowski".
I dunno, sounds somewhat legit, I guess. No?. Maybe better than The Crusade, Pt. 1 [which apparently has a Pt. 2 in the works]
A screening of the trailer has already been held in Manchester, but we're probably going to wait a teeny bit longer to get some good stuff from Pedro & Co.
If anything, it might turn out like Para One's Hooligan Disco, which came out a while back. An epic tale of backstage debauchery and tour bus/car/moped chronicles. I really liked that Hooligan Disco skit, it had a little bit of everything: Surkin "being dramatic", Patrice and his truly impressive collection of SW*R shoes, Orgasmic cutting the finger of Guns'n'Bomb's Johnny Love off & everything else you'd imagine on a cross-country club hopping tour. I mean really,I live for this kind of [raw] footage.
The episode is a solid 45 minutes long:


Being a truthful account of Para One, Surkin, Curses! and Orgasmic's journey through North America, in search of endless skies and perfect parties. Chicago, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Riverside. Three weeks.

"Umm..."

The RIAA: "Always Cramping Up My Style".

It's Those Little Things

My greatest source of inspiration are my friends. It's cause they're all so damn wicked. Seriously. Every single one of them. And when they come up with incredibly cool ideas, It makes me want to keep up with the pace, ha! in a way. You'll never be cooler than your friends, and if you are admitting to being so, check yourself you're an asshole.

My friend Hemaly runs a blog where she cites some of the latest happenings in indie culture. From Colette, to French Flicks, to Nightlife Photography, to Louis Garrell and everything in between. It's by far one of my favorite blogs on the web, because there are so few dedicated to simply alternative stuff [because really, most blogs nowadays come with the stigma of being a fashion blog, if not a music one]. Although I'm mostly stuck in what's new on Hypem, City Slick is where I go to get my indie fix, after all, that is how I discovered Les Chansons d'Amour, among other things.

Inspiration is like gas, it keeps things running. Fortunately, it doesn't have a price tag. That being said, some people may abuse of it [plagiarism], others don't do shit with it [apathetic know-it-alls], but we all have it. At some point. Some of us keep it for long, and make great use of it. I do hope that's most of us.

"I feel the need to put up a track, since I've been slacking lately".
- Soulk!d

Lykke Li - Everybody But Me [diskJokke Remix]

New Justice

I'm sounding like a complete groupie here, but I'm really liking this new Justice track. It has the perfect ratio of deep distorted rock synths and classic harmonious rhythms (did that even make sense?).
Besides, the Dior collection doesn't look half bad (no, it actually looks pretty neat).

Pic-Ture & Sticker by stracubo