"Bavarian #1 (Say You Will)" - Miike Snow

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)

"The Wilhelm Scream" - James Blake

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their various holidays with friends and/or family. I was fortunate enough to enjoy a wonderful week long vacation at Summit Lake Lodge in Moose Pass, Alaska. It was pretty refreshing to be totally unplugged for seven days, and I was able to come up with a decent list of future posts - I'm so excited to share them all with you!


Without further ado, so begins the first real post of 2012. Fittingly, its inspiration was a song I heard on NPR's All Songs Considered podcast featuring the best music of 2011. I had heard this song by James Blake before on The Current, but this was the first time I was able to listen with headphones and really envelop myself in the sound. Boy, am I glad I did. This song is incredible.


The lyrics are simple in theory, focusing on the idea of "fallin', fallin', fallin', fallin'", but the melody just builds on itself in a really profound way. It begins somewhat dark but dreamy with a little bit of a futuristic feel and then grows in intensity and almost loses control. I think the folks at NPR summed it up best when they described it as a "startling sound".


This look is a tamer version of what I feel in this song. It starts with a simple, dark, elegant gown and the wearer just continues to add on to it with louder and louder accessories. I am seriously loving all the neon I'm seeing right now, and I was excited at the chance to incorporate it into this look.


Listen to the song here.