Manic Pop

So last night was the 7th annual Lipstick and Lyrics, which is an event produced by the Chicago Gay Men's Chorus that features drag queens singing live. It was definitely a fun night! I've been designing for SPRADA, one of the drag queens involved in this event, for her webseries since June - The Legend of SPRADA so it was really easy to work with her once again. (That, and I have missed whipping up pieces for her!) Before SPRADA, costume design/stage clothing is not something I had really considered though in high school I primarily was the one making Halloween costumes for everyone by editing existing garments or creating pieces we needed for the outfit. Each week or so with SPRADA and the tight filming schedule was like an episode of Project Runway for me as we had to make a dress out of garbage bags one week, and then the next week we would need what turned out to be the bandage-look dress for another scene. It was such a whirlwind that I was usually unable to get grea...

Rhode Island is one of my favorite bands that no one has ever heard of (especially in the United States), but I think they definitely deserve some more recognition. I've written about two EPs of theirs (that roughly go together in my mind) in the past because I was so moved by it. View that post here: Rhode Island - The Third Person/Internecine I first heard this band in the early months of 2006 when they were featured on a BBC Radio 1 podcast featuring best new unknown artists. It was one of those instantaneous loves for me, listening to their song called "Big Two-Hearted River" on the train to work one morning. Rhode Island takes their name from the early incarnation of Belle & Sebastian, who are rumored to have called the band as an early project "Rhode Island". Unfortunately, this is a nearly un-Google-able band name which maybe be why this particular Rhode Island has been obscured from more recognition. Perhaps they'd like to keep it that way....

I found these little gems at one of my favorite vintage shops in Chicago today - they were hidden in the back, but clearly meant for me to find them! I'm always looking for things like this for pattern making inspiration. These particular Simplicity Home Sewing Catalogs are from Summer of 1967 (on the left) and Fall/Winter 1966 (right). The illustrations are great as they are mostly full-body in these and many of the items in here are quite simple as far as pattern making goes. I love the "obliquely waisted" contrast dress in this photo. I actually have 2 vintage dresses in my own wardrobe with this styling and it is always flattering. Sooo cute! Planning on a version of the diagonal dress with the built-up neckline as well. I also like that the back of them, they show back flat-sketch views of items in the catalog as well as approximate yardage for each piece! Similar items inspired by these catalogs (perhaps these very pages) are in the w...

Welcome, welcome. Fully revamped, this is where I plan on posting not only musical musings, but street fashion (check out my former blog www.undercurrentchicago.blogspot.com), as well as a link to my soon-to-be Etsy shop of the same name, Manic Pop! Here is a sample of what's to come in general: Throw pillows! Handmade clothing by me! Reconstructions, also for sale at the shop (not the one shown, sorry!) Semi-psychedelic art (prints soon for sale). And current musical obsessions: Stay tuned!

From time to time, I like to think about eras of music in my own life. This is one of the primary reasons I make mix CDs - a time capsule of that period of my life to save for the future to later revisit. Music instantly sends me back to a time period which is probably why I have been music obsessed all of my life. It has a way of transporting you, which I'm drawn to. Recently, I was thinking about the music I was listening to/getting into when I was in college, at an art school in Chicago. Much of the music and the imagery in the music videos fueled my artistic aesthetic and are largely responsible for my creation process at the time. It's nice to go back to these after about 6 years now because it helps be remember what I was like, what inspired me, and how it now re-inspires me. I first saw this video on local Chicago's JBTV and was hooked instantly. I loved the video, the retro-sound, the slight Motown feel yet so of-the-moment. I went straight onto Amazon and bought th...

I haven't done a "year-end" list in a long while - mostly because I haven't been moved to in a while - but I think the time has come to list albums and songs of 2010. It's a new decade with new sounds. A music buzz word I picked up on this year was "chillwave", likely coined by hipster satire blog HipsterRunoff.com and redistributed across various blogs and websites across the world. The music is characterized by "their heavy use of effects processing, synthesizers, looping, sampling, and heavily filtered vocals with simple melodic lines" according to Wikipedia including such bands as Toro Y Moi, Memory Tapes, and Neon Indian. Wikipedia also mentions that these bands derive musical styles from the 80s "often with a laptop at their very core", but re-interpret it with a less-aggressive, soft-focus and low-fi version of 80s synthpop, with a more "chilled out" sensibility, hence "chillwave". I had the chance to see To...

20 Feet Tall - Erykah Badu "Create Something to Love" - Oreaganomics Listen here: http://www.myspace.com/oreaganomics Call Me - Aretha Franklin Nothin' On You [feat. Bruno Mars]- B.o.B Seventeen Years - Ratatat The World Should Revolve Around Me - Little Jackie