Music for Lovers

I was first introduced to Suzanne Ciani when our friend Ari showed me this record:


(via All Music for Soul.)

According to my friends, she was a master at the synthesizer, but I all I cared about was her swanlike dress and her baublicious earrings. So big!

As it turns out, she is an extremely talented musician - in addition to being one of those heavy-lidded seventies babes with an old-timey lilt to her speech.



Also, as Matrixsynth commenter Awakened Yeti notes, she looks "baked out of her gourd."

Get To It

Welcome back, lovelies. Hope everyone is stuffed and happy!


A Farewell to Arms (Maggie Michael)

I'm sure you already have something planned for Wednesday. All we ask is that you wear something hella glam.

Thursday is the final day to peep, contribute to, and generally enjoy the presence of the Festivus Pole in Adams Morgan.

If you're up for more partying on Friday, check out the Soulfuck at the Black Cat or Disco City at Rock and Roll Hotel.

Saturday is the last day of Maggie Michael's "All At Once" at G Fine Art. Art is good for hangovers; Maggie Michael is just plain good.

Sunday is your last chance to catch "Odysseys and Photographs—Masters From the National Geographic Archives" at the National Geographic Museum at Explorers Hall.

Word Association

I was going to make a post about Chanukah today, but then I found this picture in New York of Cher at Studio 54 and got really distracted. Her outfit is slightly confusing but it appears to be the tightest jeans ever and an open button down which reveals piles of slinky bling. Don't even get me started on the suspenders! Her cascading waves of hair! Her hat! Do you like how she's all, "Oh, we're going to the most famous club ever? Let me just put on my jeans and my insane gold necklace."


I check our site-counter obsessively (hello, German readers! Thank you for searching Christine McVie and finding us here), and in the last week or so, an inordinate number of people have arrived at Listopad via Google searches for Bobby Trendy, the late Anna Nicole Smith's interior decorator. This prompted me to re-read Simon Doonan's 2002 New York Observer column in which Trendy asks if Diana Vreeland is "a new type of strep throat," which in turn prompted me to look up photos of Diana Vreeland. I found this one at Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art; it was taken by Andy Warhol. This is how I want to be remembered - as a pair of penetrating eyes punctuated by knotty, gesticulating hands, painted nails, and big jewelry.


"We're stormy, and that which is ours breaks loose from us without our fearing any debilitation," wrote Helene Cixous in "The Laugh of the Medusa," which was published in L'Arc in 1968. "Our glances, our smiles are spent; laughs exude from all our mouths; our blood flows and we extend ourselves without ever reaching an end; we never hold back our thoughts, our signs, our writing; and we're not afraid of lacking." Olivier Roller took this photo of her in 2004. I can't wait to be old and have crazy short hair and do whatever the fuck I want with my makeup.

Get To It

If you guys are like me, you're just starting your Christmas shopping now. Tuesday is the last day of the Downtown Holiday Market, a crafts-and-music throwdown at 7th and F streets NW.

Wednesday! The scramble for last-minute gifts. Never fear, lovelies! Meeps is open until 6 pm, and is fully stocked with gifty treats from local designers like niceLena, Clever Crab, and Sharpshirter.

Thursday would be a good day to make four kinds of cookies from a single dough recipe. Whoa!!

This Anna Sui tunic is gently evocative of the holidays - a fashion-forward alternative the Christmas sweater, an item so reviled that it inspires parties celebrating its ugliness. Go with this non-denominational, tasteful alternative for whatever family gathering you'll be attending on Friday.

Saturday, come to Dahlak for the Future Times Consciousness Event, a DJ-fest featuring live sets from Maxmillion Dunbar and Rhythm Based Lovers. Plus! The turntable stylings of everyone you love: Andrew Morgan! Ari G! LesbiJAN! Kid Mike! C Rob!

Sunday is the final day of TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity at the National Museum of African Art.

Snuggletooth

Hi pumpkins. Happy Friday. Since it's my birthday, we have a present for you. Andrew - 1/3 of Food For Animals, 1/2 of Future Times and all of Maxmillion Dunbar - just sent us this deliciously warm, crunchy winter mix he made. (Right-click to download.) It will be peppermint bark and hot chocolate to your ears, perfect for a gray-morning walk to the Metro.

Tracklist!

1. Maxmillion Dunbar - Wouldn't Matter
2. Autechre - Goz Quarter
3. Rhythm Based Lovers - Snow Drift
4. Dizzy K - Yes I Love You (Max D Vamp Out)
5. Isolee - Enrico
6. Kassav' - Lagué Moin
7. Timmy Regisford - I Get Deep
8. T.O.M Project - Renaissance
9. Maxmillion Dunbar - Sugar No Guns
10. Cappuccino - Hell Dance With Me
11. XDB - F.E.B
12. Maxmillion Dunbar - Drumboogie
13. Beautiful Swimmers - Swimmer's Groove
14. G.A.N.G - KKK
15. Goodie Mob - Black Ice (Ice You Can't See loop)

Japanese Snacks from Space

Another sign that DC is evolving for the better - we got ourselves a Japanese market! Prince of Petworth is on this so we aren't the only ones foaming at the mouth with excitement. Those who have traversed the U st corridor are familiar with the Japan Associates travel agency offering flights around the world, by plane or by rocket (dreams!). Now this uber Japanese space has mostly been taken over by "Hana Market," a Japanese alternative to all the good Latino/Korean-oriented bodegas. It's probably the only Japanese market DC has and the only other ones I know of on the east coast are the Sunrise Marts in NYC. Not only are goods wide-ranging for such a small space (there is even a small selection of produce and sushi-grade tuna!), the owner Yoshio Tanabe is very amiable and funny, and the prices are comparable to those at H Mart or Lotte in the 'burbs (I don't understand the economics of this but I want to find out). Let's have more like this!

We'll miss the signs. But this is a good trade.

Men's Pocky: " This combination of crispy pretzel and smooth dark chocolate brings a whole new flavor to fun." Why wouldn't you want to eat this? But does the bitter chocolate make it for men only?
$1.40/bag of frozen edamame blows Trader Joe's and Whole Foods out of the park!
Enough mochi offerings to fill a bathtub. Kewpie mayonnaise - essential for creamy+sweet Asian potato salads.
Furikake seasonings - it's the stuff that Teaism puts on their rice to make it xtra special (try the light green one in the middle).

Now I am going to start daydreaming about a noodle bar and Asian pastry shop...

Music for Lovers: The Fabulous Stains

Let me preface this by saying I love women and I loved riot grrrl and I especially like Diane Lane--so it comes as no surprise that one of the best music films I've ever seen is "Ladies and Gentlemen...the Fabulous Stains."



The signature look in this film is black panties, see-through top and "skunk" hair, plus tons of red eyeshadow and punk attitude.

Yung

You guys know how Kate Moss doesn't talk, right? How Vanity Fair referred to her as "the silent beauty"?



Busted!

I don' know how old this video is, but Christy Turlington looks young and Kate looks downright infantile. Any guesses? '92?

Get To It

(via TAK!)

Helvetica! I've been wanting to see this movie since it came out. Lucky for me (and you) there is a free (!) screening at the DCJCC on Wednesday. Update: email helvetica@communitycinema-dc.org or call 202-939-0794 for more information or to reserve a seat.

Darling CityBikes is always looking out for their customers. They're hosting a free (!) bike maintenance class on Thursday.

The British Film Institute Archive recently restored the early work of Sir David Lean. See Blithe Spirit at the National Gallery on Friday.

Dr. Deborah Willis and Post associate editor Kevin Merida read from Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs at Vertigo Books in College Park on Saturday.

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone who came out for our event this week...and special thanks to Renee Glazer for being such a sweet person. Her designs fell in perfectly with our vintage vision and it was a pleasure to work with her. Photos soon!

Wintage Vintour

After reading about the rumors of Carine Roitfeld taking over at American Vogue, I decide to do a little Google Image-searching for Anna Wintour, the pale, mute specterdonna of this frighteningly lavish magazine. Turns out I missed last month's Fashionologie post marking her 59th birthday.

My stars! I thought I'd seen it all until I saw these photos.


If you told me that you'd just seen a gorgeous sequined rainbow-ombre dress, I would have laughed, but not in a nice way. This dress should have been a train wreck, but it's somehow fucking amazing. It probably has something to do with the way she's looking at the camera, like, "So?" (December 1990)


This makes me think of the Rahzel song "All I Know." Look at that statement necklace! This woman is truly a bad motherfucker. (November 1991)


This is evocative of Susie's Tadashi bodysuit - which I love! Anna, why don't you dress like this anymore? And look at how successfully you are not wearing fur. (December 1991)

But are you ready for the piece de resistance? Close your eyes.



Gaaahhh!!! I found this pic on RDuJour (via Cat Party) but have no inkling of its origin. (Bonus: Cat Party has some vintage pics of Carine Roitfeld and Emmanuelle Alt, too!)

Art Party Today

Fresh Finds - Artist Edition

Friends, since we like you, we are proud and excited to provide a sneak peek for our Art Party tomorrow at Napolean Bistro 6-9PM! These are just a few of the special Artist Collabo pieces we are featuring, lovingly hand-stamped by our local aesthetic hero, Montmarte, on our hand-picked vintage pieces. Come check them out along with other fine vintage wares, hand-stamped holiday cards by Renee, all while shaking the cold away with the mighty fine DJ Jerome Baker III. We will have refreshments and complimentary Sofia champers for those who hustle:-) For those who lag, don't worry, there will be 1/2 price happy hour specials aplenty. Hope to see you all there!

Music for Thinkers

I am being deviant (what else is new!) with today's Music for Lovers post. This is not actually a music video. It's a National Dairy Council-sponsored PSA from 1972 entitled "Why Doesn't Cathy Eat Breakfast?" Exciting, right?



I'm being completely serious - this video is fascinating and very bizarre. Try to ignore the paternal, omniscient narrator and focus on the immaculately preserved time capsule that is this short film. I still can't get over the decor of Cathy's bedroom (vaguely psychedelic), the length of her hair (astonishing), and the outfit that she ends up leaving the house in (acutely nerdy). If you prefer, ponder the question that the film poses. As the YouTube user who uploaded the film pithily observed, "it's a cross between a cereal commercial and Waiting for Godot."

Get To It

(pic via polymath blues.)

Jonathan Curiel, the author of Al' America: Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots, speaks at Busboys and Poets tonight.

Do not even front like you're not coming to Napoleon on Wednesday for Listopad x Renee Glazer. It's going to be really fun and we're really excited to see all of you!

On Thursday, Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams hosts a reading of the The Domino Book of Decorating. All hail this super-cute and smart magazine.

Can I tell you guys a funny story? When my babysitter showed me Labyrinth during the summer before third grade, I cried hysterically until she fed me cookies. Relive this childhood trauma on Friday at Landmark's E Street Cinema. Midnight show yung!

This weekend, the Smithsonian hosts "Ambulante at Smithsonian: New Documentaries from Mexico," a film series showcasing some choice celluloid: La cancion del pulque (about ancient booze!) on Saturday and XV in Zaachila (about a quincaneara with 850 guests!) on Sunday.

Food Friday

I know everyone is probably still recovering from Thanksgiving, but how can I not address something that contains brie? I went to the Valley Green Inn in Philadelphia last weekend with my family, and while I was not being overwhelmed by the verdant quaintery of this spot (someone get married here - stat), I was being floored by the food. Try their Brie French Toast and see what I mean.

Gingerbread Houses at House of Sweden

(bbcgoodfood.com)

Last Minute "Get To It" for this weekend! I say, what's more Swedish and seasonally festive than Gingerbread Houses? This Saturday at 12-6pm, House of Sweden hosts a Gingerbread House Competition as a part of their Annual Swedish Holiday Bazaar. The space is quite nice and so are Swedish baked goods...

Fresh Finds

We are busily preparing for our Napolean event, but wanted to share these fun clogs with you -- they are BOOT CLOGS! And they are roomy enough for any pant leg. Available at Listopad at Mercedes Bien.

Supple Brown Leather Boot Clogs, Women's 12 or Men's 10.5, Listopad

Edgeward Scissorhands

Sometimes I become very irrational and want short hair.












I blame the recession. It encourages austerity and frowns on frippery. The flow-y locks of the bubble years now seem frivolous and impractical; I'm really inclinded to take a hacksaw to my shoulder-length mane and sport a look that's more - I don't know, severe? Industrial? Avant-garde, maybe? Short hair always seems like the hair of the future, even when it's the hair of the past.



Although the past makes a convincing case for long hair, too.



(photos via Gatochy.)

Next Week!

We are beyond excited about the Listopad x Renee Glazer launch party that we are hosting next week with DJ Jerome Baker III. Head on over to Renee's beautiful blog for more pics...

Listopad x Renee Glazer Vintage Artist Collabo Launch Party
Featuring Jerome Baker III
Wednesday, December 10 2008, 6-9pm
at Napoleon Bistro (1847 Columbia Road NW)
with complimentary champagne and snacks

Get To It

(via BOOKRIDE.)

Tuesday, visit the National Building Museum to hear New Yorker architecture critic Paul Goldberger talk about Learning from Las Vegas. This book sounds insane and was written by geniuses.

A recently-returned-from-tour Edie Sedgwick plays the Black Cat on Wednesday with Gestures and Big Gold Belt.

We always post about Moneytown because we love how DJ Nitekrawler always brings an out-of-town guest to his monthly party. This Friday, look forward to the Richmond-basedScorpio Brothers.

There is a midnight screening of Ghostbusters at the E Street Landmark Cinema on Saturday. Need I elaborate?