Willis Earl Beal Gives Us Surreal, Lo-Fi Vibes with "Flying So Low"

May 29, 2015, 2:01 am

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Lo-fi crooner Willis Earl Beal is back to break your heart with his newest song "Flying So Low."

The first single off of his upcoming Nocturnes LP, Beal's forlorn croon gives a whole new dimension to a track that's startling in its stark minimalism, lending it a depth and breadth that's complex and vulnerable. A moody air hangs over the entire track, which truly exudes the surreal, Twin Peaks feel Caitlin White at Stereogum pointed out and is definitely something Audrey Horne could sway along to in the Double R Diner.

And with a feel almost as enigmatic as the definitive answer to "Who Killed Laura Palmer?" Beal murmurs "so low" along with thinly-veiled allusions to his loneliness -- a "solo" lo-fi entity with no place to go. Some dust-colored, Badalamenti vibes, for sure.

Nocturnes is out on August 28th via Tender Loving Empire.

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Meet Your Favorite New Twitter Account, "Zayn As Flowers"

May 29, 2015, 3:50 am

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Zayn Malik is many things to many people: Zayn is a "beautiful outsider, the misunderstood bad boy,"Zayn is fireproof, Zayn is still using Mac filters you thought were cool when you were 12. And now, Zayn is flowers.

New twitter account "Zayn As Flowers" juxtaposes the erstwhile 1 Directioner with Pinterest-sourced photos of flowers mirroring his color palette -- and the soulful depths of his aura. Some would even say you can see his brooding, furrowed brow within the peonies. Just go with it. 

Below, a few of our favorites:

pic.twitter.com/qzVZqX3lks

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 2, 2015

#TeenChoice#ChoiceMaleArtist Zayn Malik 🐷🌺 pic.twitter.com/eohZRonsU3

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 28, 2015

(Requested) pic.twitter.com/uYpKGLszUX

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 29, 2015

#TeenChoice#ChoiceMaleHottie Zayn Malik pic.twitter.com/H4IipSZa5V

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 28, 2015

pic.twitter.com/315VOpmZe6

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 5, 2015

pic.twitter.com/yyRbEDLGi0

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 29, 2015

pic.twitter.com/tr2xEzeOie

-- zayn as flowers (@zaynasaflower) May 28, 2015

Everything's coming up Zayn.

H/T: @GabbyNoone and Mickey Boardman.

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Stream Surf (Not an Album by Chance the Rapper)

May 29, 2015, 5:00 am

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What a week for sudden releases of somewhat formless, drugged-out rap music. First, A$AP Rocky was forced to dropAt. Long. Last. ASAP in response to a leak, and now Surf, the long-awaited follow-up to Chance the Rapper's massively acclaimed, star-making Acid Rap, is here. Sounds great, right? Except that Surf, contrary to what you may have heard, is not a Chance the Rapper album (at least not in the same way Acid Rap was). It's different -- and that's not necessarily a bad thing!

Yes, Chance the Rapper is one of the four members of the band The Social Experiment (along with Donnie Trumpet, a.k.a. Nico Segal, Nate Fox, and Peter Cottontale), and yes, he definitely appears on a lot of the songs on Surf. But -- grump alert -- if you look at the listing for the album on iTunes (its main distribution platform), it literally says the artist is "Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment." (For more on the collaboration behind the album and the history of the band, check out this Fader cover story.)

Don't worry, Chance fans. There are lots of other reasons to listen to the record, too -- like "Familiar," which, in addition to a verse from Chance, also somehow features Chicago drill kingpin King Louie and Migos' Quavo. Get Surf on iTunes, or stream it below.

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment - SURF

Photo via Instagram.

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Kool A.D. Forecasts Your June Horoscopes

May 29, 2015, 5:30 am

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Trouble with love? Work problems? Mercury retrograde? Don't worry. Rapper, author of the forthcoming novel O.K. (Sorry House), and expert astrological navigator, Kool A.D. will safely guide you through the coming month.

GEMINI

BUY GOLD. BUY BUTTER. BUY STEEL. BUY APPL. BUY GOOG. SELL DIAMONDS. SELL PORK BELLIES. SELL CVX. GREEN ENERGY. ART.COM. GUITAR CENTER SESSIONS. EVERYTHING THAT IS NOT INFINITY IS A MERE DISTRACTION. THING IS, NOTHING IS NOT INFINITY.DUBAI. DIPLOMATS. BLUES BROTHERS. WAVVES. BEST COAST. TYGA. BLACK CHYNA. THE FADER. PLAYBOY. CULT DAYS. KOOL A.D. GEMINI. SCORPIO. LIBRA. ARIES. CAPRICORN. AQUARIUS. TAURUS. TOYOTA. CADILLAC. CHEVROLET. ACURA LEGEND. GIVENCHY. ROLEX. GUCCI. REAL TRAP SHIT. LIFE AND TIME. HIP HOP. LAS VEGAS. MIAMI. EVERYBODY LOVES MIAMI. OH PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY. THE TIME IS NOW AND AS SOON AS NOW GETS HERE UR THERE, FURL MEH? EVERYTHING IS EVERYTHING. ONE LOVE. BLESS UP. JAH BLESS. I LOVE U.

CANCER

The world is one continuous space. All walls are temporary and to that extent illusory. The door provides a means of exposing and in effect even freeing the wall from some of its illusory nature. So does a window. So does a skylight, which is also basically a window but whatever, who cares, that's not even really the point. The point is there's a number of ways to expose and free the wall of its illusory nature. Meditate on the architectural (and extra-architectural) concepts at play in the Pantheon in Rome this month while eating a bowl of noodles.

LEO

U just made a big leap into something new and very positive, congrats. On another note: "Politics is war without bloodshed -- and war is a continuation of politics, with bloodshed." That's Bobby Seale. Get his cookbook, the ribs go hard.

VIRGO

Last month was rough but u should be ok now. Unless last month was ok then this month might be rough I don't know it's not always an exact science. Patience has been and will continue to be a theme for u. Uh... Eat some pineapple... Uh... Front me a pound of OG kush I got u in a week.

LIBRA

Go surfing. Smoke weed. Drink water. White wine more than red this month. If u have any family or friends in prison try to visit them this month if possible. If it's next month that's fine too. High protein diet. Front me one pound of OG kush.

SCORPIO

Read Seize the Time by Bobby Seale. Then when ur done doing that, seize the time.

SAGITTARIUS

Buy a guitar. If u already have a guitar, sell it and buy another one. If u can't afford a guitar, steal one. Ok now that U have ur guitar, play one song on it and set it on fire.

CAPRICORN

Watch Downton Abbey, The Good Wife, House of Cards, Scandal and Empire, just one episode of each is enough. Listen to Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Thin Lizzy and Bad Brains. Eat some pineapple with a Virgo or a Libra.

AQUARIUS

Everything I said about ARIES (below) applies to U too. Except instead of Gucci and Erykah Badu, it's B.B. King and Miriam Makeba.

PISCES

There's a documentary on Ornette Coleman U should check out. Milestone put it out, I forgot the title. Another good Milestone joint is The Connection. Another good one is The Exiles. Play some Roy Ayers on good big speakers with somebody ur sexually intimate with. Shoot a firearm this month.

ARIES

Ur playlist should be mostly Gucci Mane and Erykah Badu. Front me 1 pound of OG kush. Watch When We Were Kings again. Go to an art museum or art gallery. See live music.  Watch Memorias de Subdesarollo. Watch Soy Cuba. Buy a devotional candle of ur choice and light it on the full moon.

TAURUS

Money is a form of literature and like all forms of literature it can be hella boring. Also, being that money is a literature, it can also, like literature, be weaponized against the people. Meditate on the phrase: "The Banality of Evil." Money is a philosophy and like any philosophy its vast set of interpretations often contradict each other. Money isn't bad per se. Money is essentially nothing, and the more u come to understand that, the less of a psychic hold it will have over u.

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Lil Mama's "Sausage" Party is Beautiful, in Every Single Way

May 29, 2015, 6:05 am

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The internet went crazy for Lil Mama's new track, "Sausage." It's not hard to see why. (Hard not to see, really, if you've watched the video.) It's an old-school hip-hop safe sex anthem about breakfast foods, piggybacking off the "sausage rap" trend by taking its meat and repackaging it like, um... you know. Take a look at the video, in which Lil Mama at one point transforms into Mary J. Blige. (The Fader warns, with some justification, that it should come with a seizure warning.)



In "Sausage" and its psychically explosive, mind-expanding video, Lil Mama not only showcases her bombastic, precise choreography, but also takes absolutely no prisoners in her desire to remain absolutely shameless and ridiculous and supremely competent as a pop artist. I mean, look at this video. Listen to this song. It references an insane number of classic rap cuts. She shouts out "Trap Queen." There are literal flames. And that's not even including the weirdness of doing a "sausage rap" song a few months after that was really a thing.

Is Lil Mama packaging an old teen meme as part of an attempt to be relevant after only having one studio album, serving the people as a judge on America's Best Dance Crew, and appearing as Left Eye in that TLC biopic? Maybe (probably), but she's also capturing the go-for-broke, not giving a shit spirit that makes goofy stuff like sausage memes so fun in the first place, and running it through a blender with all sorts of other weird things that she's clearly really into. Lil Mama is a queen of being excited about stuff. Look at how enthusiastic she is in the acknowledgements at the end of the video!

Besides, in addition to being a delightful human being who is capable of emotional vulnerability and a surprising level of perspective, Lil Mama's last batshit pop song is also one of the best things ever to grace not only the internet, but also human ears: "Lip Gloss."



Without starting to write a long poem of praise for "Lip Gloss," I'll just ask that you watch the video again. Okay, one more time. We're good? Yes, we can all agree that it's just a great, supremely fun song, one that's tough to dislike without delving into horrible crotchetiness. In fact, try putting "Lip Gloss" on at a party this weekend, and see how many people say something like "Wow, I love that song! Haven't heard it in years." Like Ms. McClarkson in the climactic verse of "Lip Gloss," you must admit that bubblegum is popping. So if you didn't like "Sausage" the first time around, go back and ask yourself--what do you know about Lil Mama?

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The New Royals: Meet Political Activist James Duke Mason

May 29, 2015, 7:00 am

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Welcome to the our column The New Royals, in which we introduce you to the noteworthy youngsters we know are destined for fame. Some will actually be from royal or princely families, others will be the brethren of showbiz's kings and queens. Whatever the case, they'll be fabulous.

James Duke Mason is a third generation show biz man. Son of singer Belinda Carlisle and political activist Morgan Mason, he's also the grandson of acting legend James Mason. At the ripe old age of 22, he ran for West Hollywood city council and even though he lost, he's still got a zeal for political activism. We caught up with the now-23-year-old to talk about politics, the entertainment industry and Hollywood clichés.

Name: James Duke Mason

Age: 23

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Occupation: Writer/political activist

Hometown: West Hollywood, CA

School: California Lutheran University

Discovered: Wrote first article for Frontiers Magazine in 2009

How did you end up becoming a full-time political activist?

Public service and advocacy have always been passions of mine. I think it was a mix of my Dad's work in the Reagan White House with my Mom's progressive political views; in other words, I was into politics, like my Dad, but on the other side of the political spectrum! Then, when I came out as gay at age 14, that also informed my political identity as well.  

How did you end up living in Hollywood?

I was born in Los Angeles, and even though I spent a lot of my childhood living in Europe, I always felt like L.A. was home and wanted to move back here. As soon as I graduated high school I got on a plane and came home, and immediately got involved in the gay community.

Your family has a long history in the entertainment business. Did you ever consider going into that line of work?

I'm actually producing a film project right now, in addition to all my political activities, called Jack & Lem, an incredible true story about the late President John F. Kennedy and his lifelong best friend Lem Billings, who was openly gay at a time when homosexuality was way more taboo than it is today. Who knows if it'll get made, as the movie business is pretty fickle, regardless of what connections you may have, but I think it's an amazing story that needs to be told.

You volunteered for Hillary in 2008. Will you work for Hillary during this primary season?

Absolutely. I was proud to work for her in 2007/2008 and have already been in touch with several contacts of mine who are working on her campaign about getting involved on a substantive level!

You lost your first election in Hollywood. Do you have plans to run again?

This is definitely just the beginning for me in terms of my public service. I didn't win in March, but I was very proud of my result. I intend to spend the next couple years involved in the nitty gritty issues that impact West Hollywood, and if it makes sense to run for City Council again or to run for some other office, then I'll take that step when the time comes.

What's the one cliché about Hollywood that you find is not true?

That we're a town of vapid people who don't care about anything. That may be true with some of us, but I can promise you that there are just as many vapid people in New York, Miami, San Francisco, London, Paris, or any other major city around the world. People in Los Angeles, particularly in the West Hollywood area I live in, are by and large very kind and very authentic, and want to protect the history and urban village vibe that makes our city so special. 

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"It's a Small Art World, After All"- Everything We Saw and Heard At Last Night's Art Openings

May 29, 2015, 7:30 am

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Yoan Capote at Jack Shainman

The NYC art world sometime feels like a very well-lit Bio-Dome, filled with a bunch of boozed-up wealthy people and boozed-up artists unaware we are existing in a contained, irrelevant, and very small environment. It's hard to see the big picture when you're so close up. In Chelsea last night, the must-see openings all bubbled on the same block, creating a regurgitation of the same crowd at each gallery and making us wonder if we had done this all  before. At least the work was distinguishable as it's own entity, each artist highlighting a world outside the art world. At Jack Shainman Gallery, patrons gathered around a collection of chemistry equipment that looked burned from a meth fire, but at closer look, were printed with images of people at a festival in Cuba. Yoan Capote's work, like a giant head of Fidel Castro made of door hinges, explores the Collective Unconscious (also the name of the exhibition) and more specifically, the way people of his home country of Cuba experience history individually and as a cultural unit.

Marcel Odenbach at Anton Kern

Across the street at Zieher Smith & Horton brought us to another exploration of culture, where Elijah Burgher showed Bachelors, a series of geometric paintings on canvas of cult symbols and intimate and colorful pencil drawings of nude, young, gay men. Looking around the room some faces were almost recognizable as the men in the portraits, but on paper these men existed as eerily stoic statues, too perfect to be over-sexualized or even considered human. Just a few steps down at Anton Kern, German artist Marcel Odenbach created a dynamic atmosphere where large-scale collages existed on two levels: from a distance and up close. The images showing overgrown greenery in urban settings, or the large portrait of Tupac Shakur, look like paint-by-number renditions of photographs. However, up close you can see that the image is created from painted and collaged news clippings, comics, texts and images all documenting the civil rights movement in some way, creating a history of the larger picture in the details. It's hard to step back and see the larger picture of the relevancy of the art world when you're a small detail, seeing all the culture you need in one block. It's like that "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland, except even more claustrophobic.

Joshua Citarella at Higher Pictures

Thinking we could get a different perspective with a trip to the Upper East Side, we stopped by Joshua Citarella's second solo show at Higher Pictures. In the small gallery, packed with a younger crowd of artists and gallerists usually seen on the Lower East Side, images and sculpture of varying layers took up almost every inch of space. Large-framed photographs hung over wallpapered images with little free space. Sculptures leaned against the frames, on the floor and in every corner, the work repeating themes of pixelated clouds, silver substances, marble and skin in every dimension. It's hard not to feel like you're trapped in a Tumblr page come to life, yet the chaos of the space is refreshing. Citarella, who is a contributor to the artist Tumblr project The Jogging, uses the layers of Photoshop as inspiration for Rez, a phonetic play of "resolution" meant to highlight "the act of uniting discrete units into a conceptual whole." In this room it's possible to see all the details that go into creating an image that doesn't actually exist, like the picture of the nude woman covered in a silver substance. The image itself is completely photoshopped, however silver fingerprints dot the edges of the frame, and the same silver substance, with more hand prints, is shown on a sculpture in the middle of the floor. In this space, being a small detail doesn't seem so irrelevant or constricting.

Install shot of Joshua Citarella's Rez at Higher Pictures

As the show wrapped up the artists piled into a cab back downtown to Beverley's, a LES bar where you can't move 5 inches without running into an artist (or anyone else for that matter). It's a place that much of the art world calls their "Cheers." Here Citarella has a supplemental installation of video work, showing a series of YouTube videos mirroring his show's themes, including a sped up video of a Rolex being meticulously photoshopped, and a wallpapered image of marble slabs spinning through pixelated clouds perfectly poised across from the bar's mirror, a somewhat intentional backdrop for the night's many selfies. Artists and friends, like painter Nick Farhi, Jeanette Hayes, and a printed cutout image of artist Brad Troemel's head (the creator of The Jogging and friend of Citarella who's traveling and couldn't make it to the show), come to celebrate. It is a small art world, after all, but at least everybody knows your name.

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Finally, There is a Puff, the Magic Dragon Restaurant for Stoned People

May 29, 2015, 8:00 am

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Rejoice, lovers of weed and cheesy, themed establishments, there's going to be a "Puff, the Magic Dragon" restaurant inspired by Peter, Paul, and Mary's song (which the trio has repeatedly and somewhat unconvincingly denied is about blazing up). There's sure to be large amounts of kitschy decorations and bad food that you won't be able to tell is bad because, of course, you thought it would be really funny to get stoned before going to the "Puff, the Magic Dragon" restaurant.

The culinary establishment comes from Steven Schussler, the visionary behind Rainforest Café -- that great way to experience signifiers of "jungle" with animatronic robot animals without having to go more than a mile from the local Cheesecake Factory. Thankfully, Schussler, after working out a lengthy deal with Peter Yarrow and songwriter Lenny Lipton, will turn their music into a "global network of magical restaurants," a phrase that does, in fact, sound like it was uttered by either someone deeply, permanently lit, or just someone excited about making a lot of money. Maybe both! Either way, keep your Puff pastries. We'll stick with the memories of the dearly departed Mars 2112, thank you very much. 

[via Grubstreet]

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It's 3AM On Showtime. Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?

May 29, 2015, 8:30 am

≫ Next: Talking to Cults and Sam Amidon About Their Participation In RBMA's Arthur Russell Tribute

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You can thank VICE Media for Showtime's new weekly series 3AM -- a late-night stab at OMG chatter and docu-naughtiness starring people whose jobs and lives get going when everyone else is falling to sleep. In a belated rush to reach millennials, every major (and minor) media outlet is falling all over themselves to appeal to anybody born after 1980 with NSFW programming. Meanwhile, VICE is moving away from their original '90s audience, one easily lured to a free glossy magazine filled with sex, drugs and fashion "don'ts." They're now into mainstream, investigative reporting via hipster presenters and mega-bucks from Disney and Hearst... and buying older magazines like i-D. Somewhere there are (hopefully) kids born after 1995 looking to start a new, new media company aimed at Generation Z and their 20-something peers. That leaves the millennials to the legacy media -- and the edgy upstarts like HBO and Showtime. I like 3AM, but I'm a baby boomer -- the original hard-to-reach generation -- and I guess this proves that you can still "reach" us with hookers, warehouse raves and The Fat Jew, as seen on this week's episode. Stay tuned next week, Thursday, 11 a.m., (or binge watch 'em all later). Its got cross-generational appeal -- we'll wait and see what Gen Z has to say.

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Talking to Cults and Sam Amidon About Their Participation In RBMA's Arthur Russell Tribute

May 29, 2015, 9:00 am

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It's hard to believe, but there are still people who have never heard of Arthur Russell. He was a musical renaissance man, both in skill and output -- Russell was a composer, cellist, singer, and songwriter whose work spanned disco, folk, rock, experimental, and classical genres. Although he was known mostly among avant-garde circles at the time of his death from AIDS in 1992, Russell's influence has been widely felt among the avant-pop, disco, and experimental artists who have come after him. That influence will be live on stage tonight and tomorrow, when Red Bull Music Academy presents Master Mix: Red Hot and Arthur Russell, a tribute to the musician with a bill that reads like a who's-who of modern pop.

With contributions from musicians ranging from Dev Hynes, to Cults, to Sam Amidon (and many more) the two-part series will showcase some of Russell's best known songs, while also giving fans a chance to hear some deeper cuts, and new interpretations of songs they may only be somewhat familiar with. I spoke with Brian Oblivion of Cults over email, who said that trying to pinpoint Russell's influence is difficult, "because he was so brilliant!" He went on to say that the band's choice of "Being It," the song they contributed to the tribute album that shares a name with the show, was almost an accident. "We spent weeks listening to pretty much nothing but Arthur songs trying to find one that was the perfect fit. At first we settled on a song called 'I Like You' and spent a couple days in the studio trying to make it into a super dance song. Something wasn't clicking on it though, and while our engineer was working I snuck off into the other room." After going off on his own, Oblivion just started playing "Being It" on his guitar, plugged into a laptop. Before long his bandmate Madeline Follin came in and started singing along, creating the recording that you can hear on the album. "It felt closer to the spirit of our favorite Arthur songs," Oblivion says, "to be a little rough around the edges and spontaneous."

Similarly, Sam Amidon, who chose the experimental, free-wheeling track "Lucky Cloud" for his contribution to the album, did so because of the spontaneity of it. "It wasn't too defined as a song in his version, so it left room for us to do something with it when we recorded it," he says, adding that the recording session was more like a jam. Freedom is essential in understanding Russell's style, which Amidon describes as "a way of singing like he's just singing in his head, in his mind -- as if he is just imagining singing but not actually doing it. But a beautiful sound emerges and we are able to hear a little bit of it." Fortunately tonight and tomorrow at BAM, a few more people will get to hear that little bit, coming from a chorus of some of modern pop's most notable voices.

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Get Spooked for the Weekend by Daft Punk's Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo's New Song

May 29, 2015, 10:00 am

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Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, half of Daft Punk and the man with the most terrifying and Bond villain-like name in music, returns with "The Fight," the first released track off the score for upcoming film Gates of the Sun. The score is technically being produced under the name Le Knight Club, one of Homem-Christo's other musical projects -- this one in collaboration with Eric Chedeville (the pair also co-own house label Crydamoure). Less bright and poppy and dense than Daft Punk's usual work, "The Fight" is a grim, determined, and aggressive way to kick off your Friday night. (It might not be the worst idea, really!) Stream it below. [via Spin]

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The Best, Worst and Weirdest of the Week

May 29, 2015, 11:00 am

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Mix💽

A video posted by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on May 28, 2015 at 6:20pm PDT

Best Drake Reference in a Spelling Bee: The only Drake reference you'll ever need. Started from the bacchius now we here. -- Eric Thurm

Best Antidote to Tinder/OkCupid/Match/E-Harmony/Coffee Meets Bagel: Rent-a-Boyfriend, a new service that's taking off in Japan in which ladies can rent boyfriends to hug, hold hands and sing karaoke with. But no PG-13 stuff, okay? -- Abby Schreiber



Best Beyoncé Mashup: This use of the "Single Ladies" music video in conjunction with the theme from Ducktales might be of niche internet interest, but everyone it appeals to is a ruler of men. -- E.T.



Most Benevolent Goddess: Lil Mama, who returned to the stage with the glorious, meaty "Sausage." --E.T.


Most RZA-like Casting: Azealia Banks is set to star alongside Common (who is the worst) as a rapper in a new film by RZA, the acclaimed director of The Man With the Iron Fists (we hear he also did some music stuff, too). -- E.T.

New Show to Watch With a Bottle of Whiskey Next to You of the Week:Showtime's 3AM, which, in the illustrious tradition of Gigolos or Real Sex brings the slightly-tawdry back to premium cable with this docu-series chronicling the after-hours exploits of a prostitute, party photographer Kirill Was Here and the Fat Jew. -- A.S.


(photo by Isak Tiner for The New York Times)

Boldest Stance Against Thongs: This New York Times Style trend piece arguing that underwear choices are important to feminism. Kay. -- E.T.

Best Social Media News of the Week: You can now post GIFs to Facebook, what what! -- A.S.

I donated @WendyMolyneux ! @CureSearchhttp://t.co/IlIAaV4jd4pic.twitter.com/OtNnIbj5Gu

-- Jerry Ferrara (@jerrycferrara) May 28, 2015

Most Gracious Act by a Cast Member on Entourage: Wendy Molyneux, a writer on Bob's Burgers, started a GoFundMe campaign that, upon reaching $10,000 raised for cancer research, would force her to see the Entourage movie. Guess who helped put her over the top? Nicely done, Turtle. -- E.T.

Most Mesmerizing Fashion Video of the Week: This clip for rising designer Khoi Le's new line of handcrafted backpacks directed by Unemployed Magazine's Cecile Winckler and Sophie Tabet and starring Lion Babe's Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman and Bayli McKeithan of The Skins. Watch the videogenic trio jump rope amidst a woozy soundtrack by Lion Babe. -- A.S.

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The Sunday Funnies

May 31, 2015, 4:00 am

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This ones for you @lohanthony it was Kate's idea!

A video posted by Marc Jacobs (@themarcjacobs) on May 28, 2015 at 6:34pm PDT

Kate Moss and Marc Jacobs gave an homage to Lohanthony and called out all the basic bitches. [Instagram]

You shouldn't have. [Mlkshk]

Stapelien. [Mlkshk]

A piece of meat swiping Tinder. Love is real! [FYeahdementia]

Hobby mogul. [AftermoonSnoozeButton]


Deets on the Puff, the Magic Dragon theme restaurant brought to you by the guy who started Rainforest Cafe. (Yep, really.) [PAPER]

:( [AfternoonSnoozeButton]

The pizza of our dreams comes topped with more little pizzas. [PAPER]

Whattup. [F Yeah Dementia]

Shield your eyes: here's a video of Shaq getting a pedicure. [Uproxx/TMZ]

Very important information about how to make the "rappers and cats" zine of our fantasies into a REALITY. [PAPER]

Hey! Everybody! Curt has a new hat! [Knusprig Titten Hitler]

That back hair may scream "Dad" but it really means "Good at Boning." [F You No F Me]


Happy Sunday, y'all! [Coin Farts]

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The New Pioneer: Summer Fashion Heads West

May 29, 2015, 5:00 am

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Photographer, writer and designer Jay Carroll shoots a slew of West Coast creatives in fashion inspired by California's pioneering spirit.

Tess wears a Dsquared2 jacket, RTH handkerchief and Stetson hat

Devin wears APC jeans, Filson gloves and lot, Stock and Barrel hat and belt

Maddie wears a RTH jacket and necklace and lot, Stock and Barrel scarves

Chelsea wears a Guess top and denim & Supply Ralph Lauren shorts

Alison wears a Stetson hat and A What Goes Around Comes Around poncho

Danica E. wears Denim & supply Ralph Lauren shirt and RTH wrap and hat

Danica S. wears Levi's shirt and jeans, Lee Jacket from Lot, Stock and Barrel and necklace from Palace Costume

Calvin wears Ralph Lauren jeans, Tom Ford shirt, KTZ rings, RTH necklaces and bandanna and Stetson hat

Imply wears a Levi's jacket, Levi's 606 jeans, Brooks Brothers shirt and RTH hat and necklace

Calvin wears Ralph Lauren jeans, and RTH necklaces;
Nana wears an Alberta Ferretti dress, Converse All Star shoes and RTH bracelet

Maro wears a Levi's shirt, jacket and jeans, Daniel sunglasses, AK necktie and RTH wrap

Ishi wears a RRL Ralph Lauren shirt, Ralph Lauren Black Label shirt, Ron Herman jeans,
RTH necklace and Larry Smith cuffs;
Cathy wears an RTH dress and KTZ hat, earrings and necklace

Matilde wears a Guess top, Alberta Ferretti vest, Alexa Chung for AG jeans, Saint Laurent belt,
What Goes Around Comes Around pin and RTH hat and jewelry

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Kim and Kanye are Expecting Baby Number 2

May 31, 2015, 3:26 pm

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Kim Kardashian Broke the Internet all over again Sunday night when it was announced that she and her husband (as well as Paper's current cover star) Kanye West are expecting another child. The news, revealed in a montage from next season's Keeping Up with the Kardashians with a blink-and-you-miss-it clip of Kardashian saying "I just got the blood test back, and I am pregnant," was confirmed by the E! network.

Kardashian's struggles with conceiving have been well-documented on this season of her reality show. So far, she's remained silent about the news on social media, except to tell fans earlier tonight on Twitter that some "exciting news" was being shared on the show's mid-season finale.

North West, who turns 2 in a couple of weeks, has a lot to teach her new little brother or sister, including the art of super-chill airport transportation and how to completely dominate the New York Fashion Week news cycle.

 

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An Insane, Cult Experiential Theater Series Makes Its Return

June 1, 2015, 3:01 am

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Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd.

The phrase "experiential theater" fills some people with more dread than a Monday morning, but this Monday morning, one of the UK's most wildly popular (and refreshingly tolerable) experiential theater shows, You Me Bum Bum Train, announced that they'll be doing a new run of a shows this fall to much online fanfare across the pond. Created by artists Kate Bond and Morgan Lloyd back in 2004, the show is designed for audience members to experience it alone and individually (a precursor to the Sleep No More model) and participants are sworn to secrecy. Still, theater reviewers have been known to rhapsodize about their experiences and share a few details. Here's the Guardians Andrew Dickson describing a 2012 show that was set in an old office building:

You entered on your own, in what at Stratford looked like a grimy dentist's waiting room, and with ushers feeding you through to the entrance one by one. It began in humdrum circumstances: with a door that didn't open quite the way you expected it to. But it rapidly progressed into an experience where every turn you took, around a warren-like maze of spaces, became a portal into the unknown, a wonderland in which you played an increasingly astonished Alice. 

Once I found myself crawling out of a dumb waiter into a restaurant kitchen where I was abruptly required to prep veg; later I was called upon to lead an exercise class. There was a moment where I had to lecture about a piece of contemporary art I'd never seen before to a crowd of bemused gallery spectators; another when I had to address a funeral in an eerily authentic mockup of a chapel of rest. I had to rinse someone's bangs in a hair salon, then commentate a snooker match. At one point I appeared to be floating above a life-size railway carriage filled with chattering commuters. For me, the most arresting moment of all - summit of a lifetime's daydreams - was emerging to find myself in front of a live chamber orchestra, with a baton and a copy of the overture to Mozart's Marriage of Figaro (if I had my time again, I'd have attacked those woodwind arpeggios near the top with a bit more determination).

So yeah. Woah. Details about the new production are, of course, scarce, but tickets will go on sale June 21st. Those are known to go in a flash, but Bond and Lloyd have said in previous interviews that if you can't snag a ticket, the best way to experience the show is through volunteering. Information on how to do that is here.

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The 7 Movies You Shouldn't Miss In June

June 1, 2015, 4:30 am

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Testament Of Youth
A lushly romantic film with a strong feminist core, sensitively directed by James Kent, based on the stirring World War I memoir by Vera Brittain. Vera (Alicia Vikander) is a brash, opinionated, head-strong young woman who dreams of studying at Oxford. Her beloved brother (Taron Egerton) convinces their parents (Dominic West & Emily Watson) to let her attend school, and she thrives there under the watchful eye of Miss Lorimer (Miranda Richardson). But when her fiancé Roland (Kit Harington), brother, and his friends all enlist to fight in the war, Vera feels it is her duty to serve as a nurse, even traveling to the front in France, attending to critically injured German soldiers. Alicia Vikander captures the strong, beautiful spirit of Vera, and Kit Harington is just the right mix of brooding and beautiful to fuel the bittersweet sentiment.

The Little Death
Rarely has sexual dysfunction been so hilariously and affectionately portrayed as in this wonderful Australian comedy by Josh Lawson. Interconnecting couples and their sexual hang-ups weave through. One is about a girlfriend who has a rape fantasy and her sweet and fumbling boyfriend. A wife who finds she gets wildly turned on when her husband is crying creates a series of riotous calamities to get her spouse's tear ducts flowing. A man who accidentally drugs his nagging wife begins to ravish her in her sleep. All these sound vaguely disagreeable but the way this plays out is genuinely funny. Meanwhile a man goes around the neighborhood with a unique way to reveal that he is a registered sex offender. There is a scene near the end about a switchboard operator (Erin James) who has to translate by sign language on video chat between a deaf man (T.J. Power) and a phone sex line that is so sweetly funny and crazily romantic the film just takes off into the stratosphere.   

The Wolfpack
It's doubtful you'll see a better documentary this year than this sensational film by Crystal Moselle about the Angulo family, living on the Lower East Side, whose tyrannical father has banned his 7 kids (6 boys and 1 small daughter) from leaving their apartment. So the siblings form their own magical world created from movies they love (particularly Quentin Tarantino films), even re-enacting what they have seen with homemade props and costumes. One by one the boys begin to rebel, stepping beyond the locked front door and entering the outside world. Even their emotionally abused mother starts to come out of her shell. The image of them with their long black hair, suits and sunglasses marching down the streets is fabulous.

What Happened Miss Simone?
First rate documentary by Liz Garbus on the extraordinary singer Nina Simone. Simone began as a concert pianist and dreamed of being the first black pianist to perform classical music at Carnegie Hall. But circumstance forced her to sing for her supper and her fame and fortune escalated. But her rage and fury during the Civil Rights movement changed her music to politically-charged anthems, which unfortunately hurt her career. After Martin Luther King Jr.'s death and the following civil unrest she left her husband and daughter and fled to Africa vowing never to return to America. She also suffered crippling bouts of manic depression that scarily impacted her daughter. But with many amazing film clips we get to see her talent in front of an audience. A particular performance in France of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" while her fingers dance across the piano shows her almost supernatural, electrifying genius.

The Overnight
A hilariously offbeat comedy by Patrick Brice about a transplanted family -- Alex (Adam Scott), Emily (Taylor Schilling) and their son RJ (RJ Hermes), just moved from Seattle to L.A. -- who meet another married couple at the local park when their two sons begin to play. Kurt (Jason Schwartzman) and his sexy wife Charlotte (Judith Godreche) ask them over for pizza that night and later, after much wine and pot, things get exceedingly weird and sexually kinky. There's a funky, shambling beauty to the humor as the night gets curiouser and curiouser.
 
Dope
A comic triumph for director Rick Famuyiwa about a self-declared high school nerd Malcolm (Shameik Moore in a star-making turn) growing up with his single mother in the scary section of Inglewood, California nicknamed "the Bottom." Immersed in the hip-hop scene of the '90s (which includes his ludicrous high flattop),  he rolls with his posse -- Jib (Tony Revolori from The Grand Budapest Hotel) and their butch gay friend Diggy (Kiersey Clemons). Malcolm and his crew play in a punk band,  but he dreams of going to Harvard and snagging the unattainable beautiful girl down the block (an incandescent Zoe Kravitz). When he flees a party that ends in gunplay he ends up with a massive drug dealer's (played by A$AP Rocky) stash of molly and a gun in his backpack and he has to think on his feet as he is chased by gangsters and puts his friends' lives in danger. True, this will remind you of Risky Business -- but even that hinged on a charismatic lead and Shameik Moore is so remarkably appealing it makes you discount the formulaic twists and turns in this buoyant winner of a film.
 
We Are Still Here
Nice shivery homage to those great splattery Lucio Fulci films of the '80s. Starring the legendary Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) as Anne, still grieving the loss of her son in an accident, who is moved to the wintry wilds of New England by her husband Paul (Andrew Sensenig) to heal. Unfortunately they've picked the wrong house to recoup. A weird old man (Monte Markham) stops by like a welcome wagon from hell to give the startled couple a history of the damned spot they've chosen to call home. Anne invites a couple (Larry Fessenden & Lisa Marie) who are sensitive to the paranormal over when she becomes convinced that her late son is trying to reach out to her. Director Ted Geoghegan carefully builds the sense of isolation and suspense and Crampton coveys just the right fragility and terror. It's also great seeing Lisa Marie again. Fulci's films also borrowed heavily from H. P. Lovecraft -- like Geoghegan -- to make sense of the hidden terrors lurking in the basement. Good grisly fun!

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Introducing Caitlyn Jenner on the Cover of Vanity Fair

June 1, 2015, 4:52 am

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Vanity Fair just released its cover and a behind-the-scenes-video featuring Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

She looks incredible.

In the cover story, which is not online yet but is being teased by the magazine, Jenner tells writer Buzz Bissinger, "If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, 'You just blew your entire life.'"

Jenner also launched her brand-new twitter account today: @Caitlyn_Jenner.

I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me.

-- Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) June 1, 2015

 The Vanity Fair issue hits stands June 9th. You go get 'em, Caitlyn, and break that internet.

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Arca Was Banned From Instagram For "Nudity"

June 1, 2015, 6:31 am

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If you were paying attention, Arca's Xen was low-key one of the best albums from last year. Its legitimately (i.e., not retro-) futuristic sound (and fluid attitude toward gender, embodied by its title character/persona) made it one of the most forward-thinking pieces of music in recent memory. Apparently, Instagram doesn't agree. The social media network/photo-sharing service banned Arca's account over artwork for a new song, "Vanity," that depicts a nude female figure. The image isn't what you would really call "explicit" or even "realistic," but Instagram is used to having a light trigger finger when it comes to banning for nudity. At a certain point, it seems likely that these artists will have to find somewhere else to go. Check out "Vanity," and Arca's tweet about it, below. [via Fader]

Jesse's art for vanity got my instagram account deleted forever. this is the world we live in. pic.twitter.com/srGXtWQdtO

-- Arca (@arca1000000) June 1, 2015

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Scenes From Ladyfag's Pop Souk

June 1, 2015, 6:45 am

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Ladyfag's annual fashion bazaar Pop Souk returned yesterday afternoon, this time taking over the entire four floors and six rooms of Webster Hall. The 90 vendors, Kiehl's-sponsored barber shop, and free Ladyfag tattoos (not the temporary kind) kept the hordes of rain-soaked club kids and fashion-lifers enthralled for hours. Check out some of our favorite booths and scenes from the event, below.

At the Stella booth

The scene near Alisha Trimble's selections

At the Badacious booth

Marzia Aloisi for Bad Brilliance

A customer tries on some pieces by Mandate of Heaven

Checking out the MOVES

The crowd

Tickets for Ladyfag and Seva Granik's next event, SHADE, were for sale -- in the form of cereal boxes.

The Bond Hardware table

Andrew Strasser aka Bad Brilliance, somehow having a conversation through that thing

Cazwell and Ladyfag strike a pose

Some shoppers, taking a break

The Sext Pixels rack

The scene in the basement, near the BCalla and Cunt(ees) booths

Guests had the opportunity to get free Ladyfag tattoos, which also entitle the wearer to lifelong free admission to Ladyfag events. Dick Van Dick took her up on the offer.

Triple Gemini Vintage

Viva Ruiz and Bunny Michaels

A guest with her SHADEY-Os ticket

A dancer models Tilly and William

Oh, hey, it's Mr. Mickey!

Pop Souk is a party as much as a shopping event

Whatever21

Heidi Lee

YUASA

ManhattanKnights

DJ Nelleke

Nightlife fixtures DeSe, Dev Hynes, Kyle Luu and friend in the DJ booth

The scene in the Grand Ballroom - the event spanned four floors and six rooms, with 90 merchants.

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