Edited by McArthur Joseph
It’s graduation season which means if you are a graduating senior then it’s time to ask your parent for your well needed presents. Nothing says “thank you for providing me an education” better then asking for material possessions. Keep reading for 13 great ideas for what to add to your wishlist.
Edited by Kirby Marzec
Imagine the sweatiest event of your life. Perhaps it was during that marathon you ran in Phoenix, Arizona or possibly that 100 degree scorcher when your air-conditioning cut out…whatever the case may be, try to relive that sweat. Now, take that sweat, times it by 3 days, 80,000 music freaks, less than 3 inches between you and the drunkard next to you and you’ve got yourself a typical Lollapalooza music festival. Throw in some humidity, 6 hours worth of rain, thousands of 24 oz Bud Lights, some horse manure scented mud and you’ve got Lollapalooza 2009 down to a science. Welcome, my friends, to the most brilliant weekend of my life (and that’s no exaggeration.)
I had envisioned this post looking something like Hedi Slimane’s photo-journal after he attended Coachella back in April; something containing photos of well dressed and flawlessly styled potential models. This next statement may be a generalization and offensive to some, but through my Fashion Indie opinionated eyes, EVERYONE LOOKED LIKE SHIT. Love handles stuck out of trashy booty shorts. Cargo shorts and graphic tees comprised the male population. Ray Ban shades were in a nauseating full effect. Trust me when I say that there was not a single person worth wasting a megapixel of my Nikon D50. But in everyone’s defense, it did rain quite a bit, mud caked Grant Park and it was pushing 100 degrees on a daily basis. So, if your excuse for slacking on style was in preservation of you Alexander Wang swag, you’ve been forgiven. As for the rest of you, I’m severely disappointed.
But all fashion zeros aside, Lollapalooza 2009 will go down in Kirby history as an all-time fantastic weekend. My friend Amber and I met up with some of my NYU buds, as well as some of last year’s festival friends and some new ones, and enjoyed the sounds and sights of some of the world’s most talented music artists. Although I saw over 50 shows in total, there are the significant few that really stuck out in my mind:
Animal Collective, despite my having almost died of suffocation from moshing, was an absolutely amazing show. I mean, come on, who doesn’t want to hear a 15 minute version of “Brother Sport” while watching the sun set over Lake Michigan? Crystal Castles, needless to say, was a shit-show…but in the best way possible! Lead singer Alice Glass was a classy lady chugging from her bottle of Bacardi Superior between songs, taking drags from her cigarette throughout and hawking spit in the crowd. Although I only caught a few of Passion Pit’s songs, they certainly didn’t fail to stir those butterflies I get every time I hear “Sleepyhead.” Andrew Bird relaxed the crowd with his melodic violin licks and whistles and was a perfect example of pure talent. Vampire Weekend, as always, put on a high energy set and left the crowd practically drooling over some of the new songs they whipped out. MSTRKRFT reigned as my favorite of the Lollapalooza 2009 DJ sets, completely blowing what Bassnectar, DeadMau5 and The Bloody Beetroots had to offer out of the water. Despite my former biases for Kings of Leon and The Killers, both groups (with the help of a few energetic friends and a bit of booze) rocked the house…nothing beats soaking in 80,000 bobbing heads and waving hands as I sat atop some 6’5″ stud’s shoulders (thanks Evan!) rocking out of The Killers’ “Human.”
But if one band really sealed the deal on this year’s Lollapalooza experience, the award goes to none other than the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. As one of the Saturday night headliners, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs had some very big shoes to fill after they replaced The Beastie Boys’ slot (due to Adam Yauch’s cancer surgery). Many Lolla-goers had their doubts about the Yeah Yeah Yeahs headlining performance, saying that they weren’t yet popular or experienced enough to deserve a coveted main-stage concert. Well, let’s just say those nay-sayers are biting their tongues because the Yeah Yeah Yeahs stole Lollapalooza 2009. There’s not much else to say except for the fact that their performance was outstanding, complete with high energy, humble recognition of such an amazing opportunity and a fantastic sound. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise, lead singer Karen O is a rockstar.
So, are you itching for next August yet so you can plan your trip to Chicago and experience the greatness that is Lollapalooza? I know I am.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Fleet Foxes
Animal Collective
Crystal Castles
Atmosphere
Andrew Bird
This is what Grant Park looked like on Friday, August 7th.
Photos via Metromix Chicago. Check out the Lollapalooza website for photos and reviews on this year’s festival as well as information about 2010′s bash!
Edited by Rebecca Alexander
Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Edited by Amanda Gabriele
The recent Jezebel article asks the question, “Why won’t sexist advertising go away?” Some very strong points are made, and I agree that women are 10 times more likely to be the subjects of sexually charged advertisements. But the view I kept questioning myself on as I looked at these photos was this- why do four of these five advertisements not phase me one bit?
As my 4.5 years of fashion/journalism school come to a close this week, I can’t help but wonder if the industry I’ve been trained in has made me numb to provocative advertising. Working in the world of fashion, many times it’s difficult to look past the art value in something to the political argument. In the L.A.M.B. fragrance ad, for example, I don’t see a cum shot, I see perfume. Gwen Stefani has been breaking media boundaries for years now, showing up at red carpet events with pink hair and a bare midriff. Especially for a young, edgy brand like L.A.M.B, an ad like this comes across to me as playful and fun, not demoralizing.
I can see why many women would take offense to the Dolce & Gabbana ad. Yes, the female model in the photo is being held down by a male. Is it bad I find this sexy? For decades, Dolce & Gabbana has produced sexually charged campaigns to reflect its brand and design philosophy. Maybe it’s a cultural barrier between America and Italy as the latter’s culture is more open sexually. Nudity is common in magazine spreads and advertisements, so no one blinks an eye. To be completely honest, when I saw this ad, my thoughts went directly to how the garments and accessories were portrayed rather than what the models were doing.
The Remy Martin ad is interesting to me because it’s two women acting in a playfully sexual manner towards each other. I have to laugh because does anyone look at this photo and assume these women are lesbians? Probably not. If it were two men, however, most people would be quick to assume they were gay. It’s a very strange, long-running stereotype that straight women can act sexually towards each other, but straight men can’t.
The Nikon ad shocked me. I can’t believe they are actually running this. First off, the models need a sandwich, or six, stat. Secondly, I am so sick of seeing young women, in real life or the media world, posing half naked for some douche just because he has a camera. I missed the memo awhile back telling me I could become famous by modeling for an amateur photographer who has a trendy Web site.
And the BMW ad makes no sense to me visually. I wouldn’t even look twice if I saw it in a magazine. Fail.
Am I a bad feminist for looking at the art of fashion many times instead of the social taboo? I don’t know if there’s a right answer. But my attraction to provocative fashion advertising tells me it has something to do with the industry I work in. And I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
