I recently had the pleasure of seeing Miike Snow live at First Ave, sort of on a whim, actually. I was more excited for the opening band, Niki and the Dove (more on her at a later date), and was only vaguely familiar with the main act. Well. I am familiar now. And I am a fan. It was incredible visual and aural spectacle that cause the crowd to erupt into a dance party on a Tuesday night in Minneapolis. A fantastic show, and now my appreciation for their work has grown (after my initial listens of their albums to educate myself before seeing them live).
One of the songs that I enjoyed most before seeing them live and now have an even greater liking for is "Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)".
This song has a strong, militaristic drum beat layered under some whistling, keyboard, and distorted vocals. It's a really enjoyable mix of eclectic sounds and styles. What's more, the song's about imploring someone to give things up for love, and we all know how I feel about sweeping notions of lurve.
I wanted to incorporate both the strong marching sound and the sweeping notion of leaving everything behind with this look. Balmain is my go-to for exceptionally strong (shouldered) looks, here contributing both a fun jacket and a stern leather turtleneck. I started the bottom half with a no-nonsense wool skirt, but added a whimsical peekaboo with the TopShop celestial pencil skirt. A bright, fun necklace completes the look, giving away that she takes a risk and says she will.
See a live version of the song here.
Balmain jacket / Balmain top / McQ by Alexander McQueen skirt / Topshop patterned skirt / Yves Saint Laurent pumps / Marni handbag / Sass & Bide necklace/ Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)
I first discovered Natalia Kills when she opened for Robyn's Body Talk tour in early 2011. I thought she was dark but oh-so-fun to listen and dance to. Since then she's released a full length album, Perfectionist, opened for a bit on Katy Perry's California Dreams tour (when Robyn was unavailable), and put out an incredible video for "Kill My Boyfriend" (watch it here - seriously, watch it. It is stunning to watch, if not a bit disturbing, what with the whole "she's plotting to murder her boyfriend" thing. And the looks are to die for.).
This song is so absurdly catchy, I sort of forget that I'm chanting "kill, kill, kill" as I sing along. It reminds me a bit of Kate Nash's "Kiss That Grrrl", in that the melody and message of the song totally differ from each other. I love when that happens. And at its core, this song is really all about being with the one you truly love, by any means necessary. How sweet!
Hence the adorable, very spring-forward Mulberry peplum top with the super-strong Balmain leather pants. The look is clearly based on these two opposing pieces, but the accessories all have a pretty/edgy balance as well. The Missoni jacket boasts some shoulder hardware, the ASOS platforms provide a wide heel (perfect for chasing after that boyfriend*), and that ring is likely actually considered to be a viable weapon.
Again, listen to the song and watch the video here.
*Note: I am not endorsing actual violence with this post, I promise. I just have a weakness for pop songs with an edge.
I will be forever indebted to my parents for a
number of things. The obvious things: raising me well, giving me a
really great childhood and adolescence, molding me into the person I am
today. Another notable influence? Music. My music tastes have very much
been influenced by those of my parents. My father is the one who taught
me to appreciate an album in its entirety, without shuffling songs and
without skipping songs. And he always stressed the importance of
purchasing the actual CD, not the digital version, so you can appreciate
the artwork the artist painstaking selected.
My
father is also the one who introduced me to Rocky Votolato. He was in a
record store one day and hear a song from "Makers" being played. He
immediately loved the song and asked the staff where he could find that
album (another trait I got from my parents - having and indulging in
immediate reactions). Since then I've seen Rocky twice live, once with
my dad. I've really come to appreciate his music as each new album has
been released since then. He seems to cross genres, moving from a
rougher tonality and harsh melody to a lighter, folksy sound and then on
to an almost country feel.
This outfit is inspired by "Suicide Medicine" from Rocky's album of the same name. This was the one of those harsher feeling albums. This song has such a great hook but you can't ignore the sound of erratic desperation and hopeless nostalgia. Those are the feelings I tried to evoke with this look. The look is pretty straightforward - rough around the edges, alluding that it was hastily thrown together, but I really enjoyed putting the details together. I added some uber-girly pearls and feminie shades to evoke the sense of vulnerability in this song. I especially like this YSL clutch that looks like an addressed
letter; I included it here to reference the life that was lost.
