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bananaofswifts · 1 year

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Peek into the eclectic wardrobe of one of the world’s most popular singer-songwriters at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD)’s latest exhibit, Taylor Swift: Storyteller, opening Saturday at Columbus Circle.

The retrospective showcases decades of Swift’s costumes, props, jewelry and other visual elements from the 12-time Grammy Award-winning musician’s prolific career, including the highly recognizable ballerina and cheerleader ensembles from 2014’s Shake it Off , the gem-adorned one-piece from 2022’s Bejeweled and the striking Nicole + Felicia red wedding dress from 2021’s I Bet You Think About Me — all selected by MAD’s Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Craft, and Design Alexandra Schwartz.

Swift’s team reached out to Alexandra after seeing the work done by fellow curator Elissa Auther with artist Machine Dazzle on his Queer Maximalism exhibit, but she admits that she wasn’t intimately familiar with Swift’s catalog prior to working on Storyteller. “I knew her big hits, but I didn’t know her work all that well,” Alexandra told W42ST. “I have learned a lot in this process — it’s been fascinating getting to see how she’s developed as an artist and in addition to her songwriting, learn that she’s such a brilliant business person who has navigated combining that songwriting and artistry with being this incredibly successful performer.”

After working on 2022’s Garmenting: Costume as Contemporary Art at MAD, the curator had a robust working framework with which to tackle Swift’s large catalog of designs. “In Garmenting, we were coming at it from the perspective of artists rather than designers,” said Alexandra. “I teach part-time at the Fashion Institute of Technology and I got to know fashion history and theory and learned about curating fashion through that exhibit’s experience.” She added, “I’m fascinated by how clothes are part of our culture — not just in terms of the choices that we make about what we wear, but what they mean on a broader societal level and what they say about contemporary culture.”

Swift’s reputation for integrating visual storytelling into her music videos, red carpet appearances and concerts was an inspiration and Alexandra found plenty of symbolic messaging in the songwriter’s clothing choices. ”She creates an entire world through her work,” said Alexandra. “Her videos are these very complete thought-out worlds she’s created and her performances are as well — her garments and her costumes are a huge part of that. She’s very, very intentional about what she wears in performance, how those garments help to tell a story.”

For Swift, “the element of fantasy is really important and enticing and fun — but what’s been interesting in working on this show is that she really does see all of her different creative endeavors: the videos, the design, the costumes, as a part of her songwriting and her storytelling craft as a songwriter,” said Alexandra.

Swift also loves to leave hidden messages for her notoriously eagle-eyed fanbase.”She’s famous for her Easter eggs,” said Alexandra, “and it is very interesting how she’ll refer back to other times in her career and her storytelling through her songs.” She added, “One thing that I find interesting about her, and she’s talked about this herself, is that she is very aware that as a performer, and especially as a female performer she has to always change her image to capture people’s attentions, keep them interested and keep them thinking about her music in a different way. I think a lot of her costumes and her videos show that sort of self-awareness.”

Swift’s tendency to keep fans guessing extends to her choices in designer, added Alexandra. “There are quite a few costumes by Jessica Jones, who works with many different performers,” she said, “but what she wears in performance varies. Some costumes are by couture fashion designers, like the Versace and Marchesa, but then she’ll wear faux fur jacket by Free People mixed with Louis Vuitton boots — it’s interesting to see how she combines things.”

After studying the singer’s catalog and costumes, Alexandra gained a newfound appreciation for Swift’s creative process and impact on global audiences. “Seeing the craftmanship of the costumes is incredible,” she said, “It’s a treat to see all the embroidering and decoration and beading on these pieces up close.”

As Taylor Swift: Storyteller readies for opening, Alexandra can’t wait to welcome passionate Swifties to the exhibit. “It’s going to be fascinating to see,” she replied. “It’s been great already to see the buzz about it and hear about people who are planning to come to New York to see the exhibit. I’ve just gotten to know the Swiftie community in the last couple of months and it’s intense!” she laughed. “It’s very exciting that so many fans are going to be here and I really hope they enjoy it!”

#taylor swift

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my18thcenturysource · 2 years

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Portrait of Vivienne Westwood by Christian Shambenait

It took me a few days, but with the death of icon-goddess-genius Vivienne Westwood, I had to make a post here about her work and how massively influential she was during her lifetime, and why her influence will remain for years to come.

"I take something from the past that has a sort of vitality that has never been exploited – like the crinoline – and get very intense. In the end you do something original because you overlay your own ideas." Vivienne Westwood

Born in 1941 in Tintwistle, Cheshire, Vivienne Westwood (nèe Swire) did not have a "traditional" path into fashion and design, even though she took a course of jewellery at the Harrow Art School (she thought it was not for her, being a working-class girl), she became a primary school teacher and got married with Derek Westwood, had a kid... But she was a maker of things and a creative mind, and made her own wedding dress and jewellery that she sold at a stall.

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood at the Let It Rock store (London, January 1972).

But all of that was about to change when she met Malcolm McLaren. She got divorced, moved with him and had another son. McLaren became the manager of the Sex Pistols and with Westwood, they became a creative duo who dressed the band and became VERY influential during th punk era. We must add the after that they opened a store called SEX, which was the meeting place for the punk scene in London in the 1970s. So, yeah. punk wouldn't look like it does without Vivienne Westwood.

"Vivienne and Malcolm use clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction but also to inspire change. Mohair jumpers, knitted on big needles, so loosely that you can see all the way through them, T-shirts slashed and written on by hand, seams and labels on the outside, showing the construction of the piece; these attitudes are reflected in the music we make. It's OK to not be perfect, to show the workings of your life and your mind in your songs and your clothes." Viv Albertine

This era of Westwood's design has a lot of collaboration, especially with McLaren, and they produced under the Worlds End label until 1985. These collections have each a theme and a name, and here is when we star seeing Vivienne Westwood's eye and curiosity for historical fashion, as well as nods and details especially from the 18th and 19th centuries. Of course, it was the 80s and all was way more colourful than what we thing of more contemporary Vivienne Westwood, but you can see that EVERYTHING was already there in the period which she dubbed as "New Romantic" with collections like Witches, Punkature, and Pirate.

Raincoat and belt, from the 1983 Witches collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Ensemble from the 1982 Pirates collection, Victoria & Albert Museum.

Knitted top from the 1983 Witches collection, featuring Keith Haring's graffiti.

The 1988-1991 era is called "The Pagan Years", and we can see the change of the main looks from punks to girls in clothes that parodied the upper class. And it is then that I think the ultimate Vivienne Westwood is seen: corsets, crinolines, tartan, colourful stripes... Here is when we begin to see the historical references taken to a extreme, mixed with the modern word and sense of humour, while always being perfectly made and patterned and fun for all genders.

Here some of my favourite ones:

Vivienne Westwood black satin corset with metallic gold pattern, ss 1992 Stays, late 17th-early 18th century, Met Museum.

Vivienne Westwood autumn/winter 2020.

Fashion illustration on L’Elegant, 1853.

Carmagnole Jacket, France, c. 1790 / Sans-culotte Trousers, France, c. 1790, Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2021.

"Watteau" evening dress, 1996, Vivienne Westwood, Victoria & Albert Museum. "L’enseigne de Gersaint" (detail), Jean-Antoine Watteau.

Vivienne Westwood, autumn/winter 2022.

Portrait of Madame X, 1884, John Singer Sargent.

Madonna in her Fever video, 1993, wearing Vivienne Westwood. Gold leather corset, sleeves and mini skirt, 'Time Machine' ss 1988, Vivienne Westwood.

Always a creative force and a punk at heart, Vivienne Westwood was also an activist, putting front and center important causes like climate change, or sustainability and transparency in the brand's supply chain.

Rose McGowan walking the autumn/winter 2019 Vivienne Westwood catwalk.

Designer Vivienne Westwood looks through the glass toward the media during a photocall at a retrospective exhibition to celebrate her 30 years in the fashion industry, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Tuesday March 30, 2004.

What is your favourite look/garment of this iconic designer? And does it have an historical reference? Let us all know!

#vivienne westwood #fashion #18th century #19th century #victorian #tartan #punk #1970s #1980s #1990s

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tiaramania · 2 years

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Tiara Highlights of 2022

2022 was the year of the tiara debut with three future queens and a bunch of other people wearing their first tiara. All of my highlight picks are first tiaras and this isn't even all of them! You can check out all of the tiaras (or at least the ones I was able to find pictures of) worn during 2022 here.

Princess Fadzilah of Brunei's Wedding

Princess Fadzilah wore two of Queen Saleha's tiaras for her wedding to Abdullah Al-Hashimi in January. Both of them are massive so I'm impressed with how well she wore them for her first time wearing a tiara. Princess Fadzilah wearing the blue and pink diamond toppers but not the diamond heart made me realize that Queen Saleha's Diamond Tiara and Queen Saleha's Diamond Heart Tiara have been the same tiara all along. Also, there was a royal wedding cat who attempted to steal the show.

Tommy Dorfman at the Met Gala

The Met Gala usually provides us with a few tiara sightings and this year had even more because of the 'Gilded Glamour' theme. While many of the attendees wore bigger or more impressive tiaras, even one made specifically for the event, I keep being drawn to Tommy Dorfman wearing a Regency Era, green paste, hair-comb from Fred Leighton. This is the perfect way to wear a tiara to a fashion event. It's simple and stunning and by wearing it backwards but still placed impeccably it provides just that bit of quirkiness to make it stand out. It's different in an interesting way not just for the sake of being different. Special mention should go to Léna Mahfouf who also wore a tiara very well at an event where we saw a lot of bad ones.

Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway's First Tiara

The pandemic caused a bit of a backup in newly of age princesses wearing their first tiara so Princess Ingrid Alexandra's postponed 18th birthday celebrations provided not just her but also two other future queens their first opportunity to wear a tiara. The birthday girl wore a pearl and diamond tiara by Boucheron that belonged to her great-great-grandmother and was left to her by her great-aunt. I thought the Norwegian royal family did a great job of emphasizing the historical and emotional connection of Princess Ingrid Alexandra wearing the tiara and of course she looked great in it.

Princess Elisabeth of Belgium's First Tiara

The biggest surprise in Norway was actually from Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, the Duchess of Brabant. She wore a new to the family tiara that is most likely one that was once owned by the Vestey family. The Belgian royals don't have a large jewelry collection and very rarely add new pieces so it was totally unexpected but very welcome.

Princess Catharina Amalia of the Netherlands' First Tiara

Princess Catharina Amalia, the Princess of Orange, choose the Star Button Tiara for her first tiara outing. It was the one worn by her mother, Queen Maxima, on her wedding day so a very sentimental choice that she wore beautifully. Princess Catharina Amalia has spoken more than once about her love of tiaras so I'm very interested to see her explore the large Dutch collection in the future.

Sultanah Nur Diana Petra of Kelantan's First Tiara

This summer Nur Diana was elevated to the rank of Sultanah or Queen of Kelantan and in November we finally saw her in her first tiara. She choose Queen Zainab's Diamond Tiara which features the state emblem of Kelantan. I think she'll wear this one the most in the future but hopefully she wears some of the other tiaras belonging to the Kelantan royal family too.

Le Bal

There are usually tiaras at Le Bal des Débutantes in Paris every year but this year the official jeweler was an antique/estate jeweler with a huge collection of historical items instead of a contemporary jeweler which made the event so much more exciting. Six of the attendees wore a tiara or aigrette for the first time. In the top row are Leah Isadora Behn, Archduchess Sophia of Habsburg-Lorraine, and Wenhao Cai and the bottom row are Bristol Fales Hill, Princess Hélène of Orleans, and Princess Inayatinder Kaur of Patiala.

What was your favorite tiara moment of 2022?

#Tiara Talk #Princess Fadzilah #Tommy Dorfman #Princess Ingrid Alexandra #Princess Elisabeth #Princess Catharina Amalia #Sultanah Nur Diana #Leah Isadora Behn #Archduchess Sophia of Habsburg Lorraine #First Tiara #Wenhao Cai #Bristol Fales Hill #Princess Helene #Princess Inayatinder #Met Gala #Le Bal des Debutantes

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disease · 2 years

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SCULPTED LEATHER JACKET HAN KJØBENHAVN | A/W 2022

#fashion #han kjøbenhavn #sculpture #installation #contemporary art #art #fall 2022 #u

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angstics · 2 years

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inspired by this post by @ephedrineshot:

and they still goin. real interesting how much negativity towards mcr at their come-up had to mention the theatricality and make-up (Several times). interesting because this is the beginning of the mainstream's "we're okay with gays now" era. par exemple: mcr was criticized for using "gay shock factor", which was apparently soo 90s -- said while prop 8 was being voted into law. some critics pretended the band was simply Too much -- operatic, overzealous, ineffective. this way, they avoid the base fact of being uncomfortable with feminine men in make-up, or homoerotic music / performance, or interest in stereotypically gay art like theatre + fashion.

this is a thing straight people do - camping the uncamp to ignore its seriousness. what parts of mcr are camp is debatable (to me, it's the alter egos, some songs like sing, the androgyny). but the entire band is not a camp object. using susan sontag's notes, the object has to be very earnest about a message that fails to reach the audience. it has to be self-involved to the point the style supersedes the meaning. though mcr has an extraordinary mission that should've failed and made it into a proper camp object, they succeeded. they were instant flames with a major label debut in 2 years. the work is taken seriously -- from the themes of mental illness and religious guilt to the complexity of the music. the most common accolade given to my chem is "this band saved my life". proven by the success of the return tour and foundations of decay, mcr accessed a huge audience that wouldnt have been interested in them if just for their aesthetics -- which in turn made them special as the mainstream band with style.

camp objects are either assigned as camp (like hollywood stars) or created as camp works (like john waters' films). if there is a circle of "camp aficionados", then its membrane cannot be penetrated. it can only reach out. which is to say: people who like camp choose what's camp. at the same time, self-aware camp objects do not seek out people uninterested in camp. which is to say: aware camp does not try to go mainstream (ryan murphy tv is lackluster for trying). camp is essentially an intellectual genre (sontag also talks about this). aficionados pride the work on being expressionist, referential, cultured. even when the naive camp object is mainstream, the quality of camp is a hidden gem for people "in the know".

to better understand my point, here's an argument for a camp aspect of mcr. the band's androgyny was misunderstood into obscurity to the point of being campy. while researching contemporary attitudes during the first era (articles, online posts, essays), i didnt find any indication that audiences understood the purposeful nonconformity of their looks. observations did not go beyond "gerard way looks like christina ricci" -- a focus on style over meaning. the greatest impact was the mcr-pioneered emo style inspiring male / nonbinary / trans / gnc people to dress femininely. perhaps fueled by gerard's post-break up conversations on gender, one of the most celebrated aspects of the band TODAY is the gender nonconformity. the rolling stone describes their first 2022 performance (may 16, at eden sessions) as "an understanding of what emo always was as a subgenre and cultural movement, and is now appreciated for being – a camp and feminine enterprise" (source). i am choosing to interpret this quote as describing the emo aspect of my chem, opposed to limiting the band to the single emo label. in that sense, this quote is a revelation in past and present existences converging as misunderstandings of genderqueerness are reconciled. the campiness is assigned today by people who recognize this under-represented aspect of the band -- camp aficionados.

to end of, theatre is not inherently camp. neither is homosexuality. nor is the sole state of being grand, stylish, or loud. the intent and result of the work has to be examined for the assignment to make sense. you've already failed if you use "camp" as an insult. but if the assignment also doesnt make sense, then you're purposefully using "camp" as shorthand for "i dont want to engage with queer junk". you've failed as both an intellectual critic and decent person.

aside: gay people often misuse "camp" to mean "fun". this is fine because i love gay people. we also pioneered the term. who's to say this isnt a hidden meaning... camping camp...

#mcr #mcr queer studies #qessay #very obvious i do not write often. still i try

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servants-hall · 1 year

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‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 Behind the Scenes: How Fashion Defines Each Character (PHOTOS)

by Kelli Boyle

Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey (2011-2016) [mod note: on PBS in the US], set that upstairs-downstairs series at a palatial British estate on the eve of World War I. He moved his newest costume drama Stateside to the streets of New York City. Set in the late 1800s, The Gilded Age, which has its second-season premiere on Sunday, October 29 on HBO (streaming on Max), pits the new money of railroad barons against the old money of New York society. The powerful fight for control of the city and use their wealth to measure social success. And dressing for success was its own full-time occupation.

When researching women’s fashion in 1800s New York, the show’s costume designer Kasia Walicka-Maimone saw one thing clearly: “Their life was a catwalk. There was this enormous excitement” when the ladies trekked the bustling, dusty streets of Manhattan. Her job was to recreate that excitement for contemporary viewers of The Gilded Age.

Fashion as a Sign of Status

Who’s doing all this promenading? Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) arrived in NYC with no money and was taken in by her aunts Ada (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes (Christine Baranski), both living off an inheritance. Then the newly affluent Russells—headed by railroad baron George (Morgan Spector) and wife Bertha (Carrie Coon), who is determined to break into polite society—moved in across the street.

Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon) and Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) head to church on Easter morning in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 premiere. Niece Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) follows close behind (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

The frill thrills continue in Season 2, especially in a pivotal garden party scene (pictured below) that TV Insider observed being filmed in September 2022 at New York’s lavish Old Westbury Gardens estate. (Westbury House was previously home to an heir of the Phipps family, real-life Gilded Age figures whose patriarch made his fortune alongside Andrew Carnegie at his steel company.) On set was Fellowes, whose smart black suit and tie were the only dark hues around.

Gladys Russell (Taissa Farmiga), George Russell (Morgan Spector), and Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon) step out for Easter mass in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 premiere (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

Historically Accurate Costumes

It’s a testament to the wardrobe department that the stunning colors of the sprawling grounds nearly pale in comparison to the vibrancy of the women’s period garb. Despite the sepia-toned images in history books, Walicka-Maimone says, those bright tints are decidedly historically accurate. She has a library of more than 35,000 reference images to prove it.

“It’s shocking to our modern eye to see the explosion of color from that period,” she said. Production designer Bob Shaw (who won an Emmy for his work on Gilded Age) was present to share his creative process, which, just as Walicka-Maimone described of her own work, is “deeply steeped in history.”

Nicole Brydon Bloom joins the cast for Season 2, pictured here at the garden party with Blake Ritson’s Oscar van Rhijn (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

He does note that, when deciding between “what is correct and what feels correct,” the latter always wins. Creative liberties are taken to “build [character] histories into the costumes,” Walicka-Maimone added.

A Garden Party to Remember

Take Brit newcomers Dashiell Montgomery (David Furr) and his daughter, Frances (Matilda Lawler), for example. Nephew by marriage to Baranski’s Agnes, Dashiell requires more “toned-down” attire suitable for social outings, which contrasts with Season 1’s primarily business and formal menswear.

Aurora Fane (Kelli O’Hara) and husband Charles Fane (Ward Horton) attend the garden party in ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 2 (Credit: Barbara Nitke/HBO)

Dashiell must escort Frances through society in his late wife’s absence. One consideration for Walicka-Maimone: “This is a girl who doesn’t have a mother, so there’s probably extra care from all the other family members in [dressing her],” she said.

Meanwhile, Marian, who Jacobson said is “shining this season and sees herself in [younger] Frances,” will be more open to a strategic marriage. Marian’s “not necessarily cynical” after being jilted by Tom Raikes (Thomas Cocquerel) in last season’s finale, the actress continued, but the heartbreak gives her a “spice and edge.”

Don’t count out the possibility of a romance with Larry Russell (Harry Richardson), son of the railroad titan, which was teased last year. Jacobson shared: “They will definitely continue to deepen their friendship.” Old money and new money unite!

#the gilded age #tga spoilers #tga interviews #tga s2 #ada brook #agnes van rhijn #marian brook #gladys russell #george russell #bertha russell #oscar van rhijn #aurora fane #charles fane

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lifessoshortandsoami · 1 year

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Home >> Member Profiles >> Luna (BTS) Facts and Profile

Luna (BTS) Facts and Profile

Luna Profile and Facts; Luna's Ideal Type

Luna (루나) is a member of the South Korean co-ed group BTS under Big Hit Music.

Stage Name: Luna (루나)

Birth Name: Park Aera (박애라)

Birthday: February 27, 1999

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Height: 153 (5'0)

Weight: 46 kg (101 lbs)

Blood Type: AB+

MBTI Type: INFP

Representative Emoji: 🐼

Luna's Spotify list: LUNA's comfort tracks

Instagram: luna

Luna's Facts:

- She was born in Jinhae-gu, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea

-Her family consisted of her adopted Mother and Father.

- Education: Seoul School of Performing Arts; Global Cyber University

- She attended Baek Yang Middle school.

- Luna attended Seoul performing art high school, she graduated in February 2017.

- She is the only girl in the group.

- She loves eating spicy food, sweet food basically everything.

- Her favourite colors are pastel colours. Mostly lavender.

- She speaks Korean, English and Japanese.

- She either needs to sleep on a low height bed or with someone who can hold her because she falls off bed while sleeping. (BTS Run ep. 31)

- She has Arachnophobia (fear of spiders).

-She is a lefty.

- Although she catches a cold easily, she still loves rainy or snowy weather.

- She has a dimple on her right cheek.

- Loves plushies so much that every corner of her dorm (room) and the studio has a plushie there.

-Luna is very clumsy

- She trips, falls, and bumps into things so much that the members had to put corner guards on the furnitures in their apartment. (V-Live)

- She has helped write many songs for her group. Some of them are Magic Shop, Spring Day, Pied Piper, Fake Love, Filter, Make It Right, Life Goes On, Mikrosmos, Young Forever, Serendipity, Whalien 52, 00:00 (Zero O'Clock), and many more songs.

- She knew BangChan from Stray Kids before debuting.

- She is a fan of many groups.

- She is extremely flexible due to learning contemporary dance at an early age.

- Her most comfortable sitting position is wariza or w sitting as everyone says. When the boys noticed her sitting like that they also tried to sit but everyone ended up almost breaking their legs except Hoseok. (Knowing Brother ep. 94)

- One of her favorite things is to play the piano.

- She can also play the violin and guitar very well.

- She is mostly paired with Jungkook or is on his team during Run BTS. There's just some unnatural force that pulls them together (as stated by Jin).

- Has been in many false dating rumors just because of her friendliness.

- She has PTSD and panic disorder due to her biological parents.

- She has said that because she didn't receive much love in her childhood, her members make sure that she feels loved 24/7.

- She is very innocent.

- The members have said that she smells the nicest in BTS. Jungkook even mentioned that Luna's scent is his favorite.

- She loves Taehyung's fashion sense and thinks only he can pull off the outfits he wears.

- The most popular ship in the whole KPop involves her and Jungkook.

- Luna placed 3rd on TC Candler's "The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2018", 2nd in 2019, and 1st in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

- She's very good friends with Ariana Grande.

- Her shoe size is 210 mm

- She is said to be a very skilled cook.

- She loves reading books, mostly romance novels.

- The members say that Luna smells very pleasant.

- Luna likes collecting souvenirs.

- Luna's ideal date: "Something sweet, like cooking together at home, eating then cuddles. But if he wants to go out then we could go to a cafe... or a library!"

- Some of her popular quotes are: "You got this, girl! Fighting!" and "Am I dreaming?"

Other members about Luna:

- Suga: "Luna is both just like me and opposite of me at the same. Watching her grow from a little girl to the beautiful women she has become now makes me feel like her dad. (laughs)"

- RM: "Wants to be loved. Very kind and gentle, is timid, selfless. She responds and listens well. Says she wears anything but you can see she's got style, very cute type of clothes. Is bright for everyone but dark for herself, very hardworking and self-criticising. Somehow smells pleasant all the time. Very supportive of others, will cheer for you even for the small achievements. She is a cutie."

- Jin: "I've raised her well, she is my child."

- J-Hope: "I love her personality, although I'd have to say that she is too selfless. Doesn't think about herself, her priorities are always the people she loves. She cares for everyone and makes sure that we're eating well."

- V: "She's very cute, I can never say no to her. I talk to her a lot, she is my safe place. She doesn't get angry, and if she does you don't need to fear her. I actually think she seems cuter when she is angry, and she gets angrier when I say that to her."

- Jimin: "She is too selfless, kind and caring. Very gentle, and innocent. I always talk to her about my feelings and she listens without interrupting, giving me her full attention. Very cute."

- Jungkook: "Too innocent and precious for the world. Very cute. She smells so pleasant all the time. Keeps our dorm room clean, although her plushies are everywhere. I love spending time with her. She's the closest to me, we've been best friends since debut."

- Suga about Luna entering High School: "Luna was the most beautiful one there."

- V about Luna entering High School: "She probably was the shortest, you couldn't see her. She was holding Jungkook's hand or we couldn't have found her in the crowd."

- In the dorm, she shares a room with Jungkook. (180327: BTS' JHOPE & JIMIN - MORE MAGAZINE MAY ISSUE)

- Luna's ideal type is someone who would love her unconditionally. She would like someone with tattoos and piercings. Someone who stays fit. Has a cute personality.

Do you like Luna? Do you know more facts about her? Feel free to comment below.

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dustedmagazine · 7 months

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Dust Volume 10, Number 2

Ballister

It’s a leap year, so we all get an extra 24 hours to listen to February music. Why not try some of these selections from our endless piles of when-i-get-to-its? We’ve got unhinged beatmakers and noise-addled Canadians, smashing, grabbing jazz men and psychedelic post-punk. And really a lot more. February always seems long. This year it’s even more extended. Use your time wisely. Play records.

This month’s contributors include Patrick Masterson, Ian Mathers, Bill Meyer, Bryon Hayes, Tim Clarke, Jennifer Kelly, Jonathan Shaw, Jim Marks and Andrew Forell.

8ruki — POURquoi!! (33 Recordz)

youtube

This ain’t your mother’s TTC. Bilingual Parisian 8ruki takes most of his cues from Atlanta, acting with a whole lotta Whole Lotta Red in mind and squeezing 22 songs into his third album — about right for contemporary hip-hop in this vein, which frequently abandons ideas after less than two minutes and leaves a trail of incomplete sketches in its wake; like others his age, 8ruki has evolved to consider this less a bug (especially for stans forever thirsty for the next “project”) than a feature, the default mode of working. I don’t know what good it would do to comment on a song called “Andrew Tate!!” or “Elon Musk!!” at this stage other than to suggest the guy’s just being (what the French call) a provocateur, but peek elsewhere and you’ll find an unexpected beat switch on “VAris//PIENna,” not to mention a world-shrinking reference to the Golden State Warriors; the high-pitched squeaks of “CA$h!!” and “GIVENCHY MARgiela!”; the string sample and rolling bass of “EDQuer!!”; and a whole lot more to enjoy. Ignore the annoying tendency to turn caps off halfway through a song title; this is a fun record with a lot going on that’s even better if you more than half understand it.

Patrick Masterson

ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT — “Darling The Dawn” (Constellation)

The credits for this duo’s second release are deceptively simple; Ariel Engle (La Force, Broken Social Scene) as just “voice” and Efrim Manuel Menuck (Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thee Silver Mt Zion) as just “noise.” But there are whole worlds contained in voice and noise, and there’s a sonic, emotional, and political complexity here that makes it feel much weightier and more elaborate than the work of any two people. (It also had one of the best song titles of last year in “We Live on a Fucking Planet and Baby That’s the Sun.”) There are distinct songs here, even some refrains, but the whole of “Darling The Dawn” also feels like one long ebbing and flowing movement, culminating in lovely, shattered grandeur with the closing one-two punch of “Anchor”/“Lie Down in Roses Dear.” Shoegaze without guitars (although not without occasional strings or drums, from Jessica Moss on violin and Liam O’Neill, respectively), emotional noise music, kosmiche played in a paupers’ graveyard; it’s hard to know what to call what ALL HANDS_MAKE LIGHT does, other than impressive. Maybe voice and noise is enough description after all.

Ian Mathers

Ballister — Smash And Grab (Aerophonic)

In Chicago, the smash and grab game is strong. People aren’t just breaking windows but driving vehicles through them. Ballister apply that spirit of aggressive enterprise to performance on this memento of saxophonist Dave Rempis, cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm and drummer Paal Nilssen-Love’s reunion at the Catalytic Sound Festival in Chicago in December, 2022. The reeds wail and probe, the strings splinter and scrape, the drums smash rhythm in the air and reshape them. And that’s just in the first few minutes. Over the course of the set, they find ways to apply that assertive spirit to quieter passages and slower passages, fashioning rough thickets and inconsolable laments from the same rough material. While Dusted does not recommend literal application of the album’s title when acquiring it, we confidently predict that you’ll find the record sticking to your fingers, obliging you to return it to the playback device for another go around.

Bill Meyer

Cuneiform Tabs — Cuneiform Tabs (Sloth Mate)

The Sloth Mate label is the psychedelic tendril sprouting from the flourishing vine that is the modern Bay Area post-punk scene. There’s certainly an affiliation with Famous Mammals, Children Maybe Later and others of that ilk, but there’s a tendency to stray from traditional idioms that is unique to the Sloth Mate catalog. Violent Change, headed up by the imprint’s owner Matt Bleyle, is at the center of this sub-underground cabal, coming across like a garage punk band noisily banging out Face to Face-era Kinks jams after gobbling some mind-altering flora. Sterling Mackinnon’s The False Berries on the other hand is a lo-fi ambient electronic project that recalls the early beat-inclusive work of Christian Fennesz. Bleyle and Mackinnon collaborate remotely under the Cuneiform Tabs moniker (the latter musician is based in London, England). The cross-pollination works incredibly well, with the most listenable aspects of each unit rising to the forefront. When it appears, Mackinnon’s Dan Bejar-meets-Marc Bolan warble acts as a foil for Bleyle’s deeper crooning. Similarly, the former’s atmospheric tendencies highlight the beautiful melodies hidden beneath the latter’s noise-baked tunesmithery. Cuneiform Tabs’ psychoactive sonorities require work to decipher, but the endeavor is certainly worthwhile.

Bryon Hayes

Mia Dyberg Trio — Timestretch (Clean Feed)

It’s tempting to take the title of Timestretch ironically, since this Scandinavian trio compacts a lot of action into 43.18. There are 14 tracks, all but three composed by bandleader and alto saxophonist Dyberg. But more likely, it addresses this paradox; while the music never feels like it’s in a hurry, there’s a fair bit going on. Tonally, Dyberg shifts easily between slightly sour and just sweet enough, and her phrasing is mobile, but never busy. On a few unaccompanied tracks, she unburdens herself more directly, mourning for those laid low by conflict. Bassist Asger Thomsen anchors the music with stark, strategically placed notes, and adds dimension with occasional sparse, bowed comments. But it’s drummer Simon Fochhammer who gives the music shape, sometimes with a quick rustle, other times by building an eventful structure around his partners.

Bill Meyer

Kali Malone — All Life Long (Ideologic Organ)

Swedish composer and organist Kali Malone takes a rigorous, structured approach to making music, crafting deliberately pared-back and laser-focused pieces that make the listener acutely aware of the shifting harmonic dynamics within thick layers of sound. This 78-minute album presents an intimidating edifice to a casual listener, but it is organized to allow curious immersion in more easily digestible sections. The longest tracks are organ pieces stretching to around 10 minutes in duration, aching with melancholy. However, there are also shorter vocal and brass pieces that deviate away from held drones into more spacious, overlapping progressions that are, on occasion, almost buoyant. All Life Long feels like music for a less easily distracted age; to be patient enough to bear witness to its full, solemn unfolding requires commitment, but how often do you hear music this awe-inspiringly pure?

Tim Clarke

Michael Nau — Accompany (Karma Chief)

Accompany rides the line between cosmic country and garden variety indie pop, its gentle melancholy enlivened by radiant runs of twanging guitar. “It’s an impossible life to get over,” Michael Nau croons in “Painting a Wall,” sounding beaten down but not quite broken, grounded in the ordinary but yearning for transcendence. Nau, you might remember, fronted the indie chamber pop Page France in the early aughts and the slightly more countrified Cotton Jones in the late ones. This fifth solo album hits its peak in plaintive “Shape-Shifting,” where an otherworldly echo sheathes both Nau’s voice and the rumble of piano, and a glow suffuses everything, making it more.

Jennifer Kelly

Note — Impressions of a Still Life EP (The North Quarter)

Manchester’s Note hasn’t been around all that long — the earliest traces of his Soundcloud only reach back to October of 2021 — but just within the last year, he’s demonstrated a knack for fusing airy, sultry R&B moods with the breaks n’ bass of UK dance music’s storied past. Late January’s Impressions of a Still Life EP out via The North Quarter imprint, helmed by Dutch producer Lenzman (himself a veteran of labels like Metalheadz, Nu-Directions and Fokus), is another fine example: Aside from the stirring “Vespertine” that debuted last summer and features poet and spoken word artist Aya Dia, plus “Cold Nights” that came in November, Note fills out the EP with three additional songs of varying speed and mood. The best might be “EVR,” which again features a vocalist, this time singer-songwriter Feeney. Employing deep bass, fluttering percussion and featherweight piano flourishes, the production here is top-notch Brit-inflected R&D&B. Watch this space.

Patrick Masterson

Plaza — Adult Panic (Self-Release)

The novelist and rock critic (and one-time Dusted writer) Michael Fournier spent the pandemic on Cape Cod with his wife Becca, he learning the bass and she the drums. Adult Panic collects 11 spiked and minimalist cuts from this experiment, almost entirely instrumental (there’s a shouted refrain on “(The Real) Mr. Hotdog”) and rife with lockdown agitation. The drums are pretty basic, a skitter of high-hat with snare on the upbeats, but the bass parts wander and jitter intriguingly. The title track has a Slint-ish post-rock open-ended-ness, repeated riffs left to linger and shift in the air. “The Tomb of Santa Claus” moves faster and more insistently, letting surf-like bent notes flare from rickety architectures. The whole experience is rather dour and claustrophobic, right up until the end when “(The Real) Mr. Hotdog” clatters into earshot and the two Fourniers seem to be, finally, having some fun.

Jennifer Kelly

Caroline Polachek — Desire, I Want to Turn to You: Everasking Edition (Perpetual Novice)

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I’m not gonna sit here and tell you all about how big Caroline Polachek’s 2023 was; if you were paying any attention to the conversation, you already know Desire, I Want to Turn to You was universally, justifiably acclaimed. The Everasking Edition tacks on seven additional songs, five fresh out the box, one an acoustic rendition of “I Believe” and one a cover. Regarding the latter: Anyone paying attention to the machinations of the modern music business will know the name Jaime Brooks, who was half of Elite Gymnastics and now works as Default Genders in addition to unflinching commentary on whatever the fuck is going on with Billboard charts and the ugly realities of how no one’s getting Spotify royalties. “Coma” was originally theirs from Main Pop Girl 2019, a beautiful, delicately skipping adrenaline rush of a love song. Polachek doesn’t radically reinvent what’s already great; instead, she leaves the music alone and takes ownership of the rendition with her lower pitch and breathy delivery. A heartfelt nightcap on an imperial year, you couldn’t have scripted that Valentine’s Day release any more perfectly.

Patrick Masterson

Proton Burst — La Nuit (I, Voidhanger)

When the wife of storied French comics artist Phillipe Druillet died in 1975, Druillet poured his grief and rage into an idiosyncratic graphic narrative, La Nuit (1976); it’s full of mutant biker gangs, Druillet’s signature fever-dream architectural forms and hair-raising violence. French thrash metal weirdos Proton Burst loved the book, and in 1994 they produced an album-length project, part response, part soundtrack to the comic’s maniacal intensities. I, Voidhanger has given that Proton Burst record a deluxe reissue, including the original music, an extended live performance of it from 1995 and a booklet including eye-popping images from Druillet’s comic and an essay. If you’re in this for the music, the real treat is the live set, which is nearly as unhinged as Druillet’s illustrations. The band rages, rants, foments and froths—and is that a harp? Who knows. Like the original graphic narrative, what matters here is the volatility of the feeling tone, more so than any sense-making (or sonic) throughway. Lose yourself in the violence of it. Maybe that feeling of dislocation gets closest to the irrational agony of loss Druillet drew La Nuit in the teeth of, some 50 years ago.

Jonathan Shaw

Mariano Rodriguez — Exodo (self-released)

Mariano Rodriguez is an Argentinian guitarist in the Takoma school tradition with a large and high-quality back catalog. He often focuses on playing with a slide but is equally adept at playing without one and sometimes incorporates experiments with sound, as on Huesos Secos (2020), and fuller traditional instrumentation, as on Praise the Road (2017), into his recordings. Exodo, released late last year, is a set of mainly guitar soli. The playing is typically inspired, impressive without being flashy, and the compositions are tuneful and well-developed. Included is a 12-string anthem (“Lazaro”), Rodriguez’s signature slide work (such as on “The Desterrados”), bluesy 6-string meditations (“Diaspora”), and a couple of experiments with studio effects and overdubs (“The River and the Blind”) and drone (“Mother of the Road”). Over all, Exodo is a fine set of tunes that flows cohesively.

Jim Marks

Twin Tribes — Pendulum (Beso de Muerte Records)

Pendulum by Twin Tribes

It’s unclear precisely which tribes are twinned here, but if the music on Pendulum is any indication, it’s the deathrock freaks (with their long-standing romance of moldering, undead bodies) and the coldwave kids (who like to dance in place, furiously, disaffectedly, bodies frosty for entirely different reasons). Twin Tribes hails from the bastion of moody electronic music that is Brownville, TX, and somehow these Latinx fellows have managed to survive their local cultural climate long enough to release three LPs, a live tape and a whole bunch of singles and remixes. Pendulum refines the essential sonic template laid down in 2019’s Ceremony: tuneful, shimmery synths; snappy, brittle rhythm tracks; baritone vocals about zombies at the disco. If that sounds like fun, it surely is—but you’ll have a hard time convincing the kids in black eye makeup to crack anything like a smile. This reviewer can’t help it. The songs are too good, the vibes are way too goofily gravid. Dance, you flesh-eating misfits, dance.

Jonathan Shaw

Volksempfänger — Attack of Sound (Cardinal Fuzz / Feeding Tube)

Attack Of Sound by Volksempfänger

Attack of Sound’s swirling boy-girl harmonies instantly call to mind shoegaze luminaries Slowdive, but Volksempfänger’s noise-strewn guitar latticework is more aligned with The Jesus and Mary Chain. Furthermore, the Dutch duo’s melodic flavor is as sweet as 1960s AM radio. Ajay Saggar (Bhajan Bhoy) and Holly Habstritt combine these disparate sonic strands to create tidy noise pop gems, which they wrap in Phil Spector sonics. The wall of sound approach imbues each song with a pulsating thrum. This is the beating heart of their sound, underpinning the delightful vocal harmonies, shimmering guitar melodies, and waves of coruscating feedback. The pair attains a balance between saccharine and savory aromas: dream pop wistfulness (“What the Girl Does” and “Your Gonna Lose Hard”) interchanges with propulsive garage rock (“How We Made It Seem” and “Damned & Drowned”). The album closes out with the kaleidoscopic psychedelia of “You’ve Lost It,” introducing yet another aspect of Volksempfänger’s oeuvre. This last-minute shift in mood adds a quirky sense of quietude to an otherwise exhilarating journey.

Bryon Hayes

Ian Wellman — The Night the Stars Fell (Ash International)

The Night The Stars Fell by Ian Wellman

Recorded in the fire swept forests and deserts of Southern California, Ian Wellman’s The Night the Stars Fell plays like a Disintegration Loops for natural disasters. Wellman’s treated field recordings encourage the listener to subsume themselves in the natural rhythm of the wind that fanned the wildfires much like Basinski’s seminal work. While Disintegration Loops drew its potency from the association with 9/11, Wellman’s project is a more deliberate meditation on destruction. He coats his field recordings of deteriorating human structures — railcars, homes — and landscape ambience with short-wave radio static and decaying tape loops. There’s a concentration on both the violence of the destruction and the desolation of the aftermath. Huge swells of sound are interspersed with howls of wind, coruscating swathes of static and the creak and crank of burnt timber both natural and manufactured. The Night the Stars Fell is an absorbing evocation of nature’s power.

Andrew Forell

Wharfer — Postboxing (Self-Release)

Postboxing by Wharfer

Wharfer’s Kyle Wall has long made the kind of shadowy, pared down indie-folk singer/songwriter music that elicits comparisons to Bill Callahan and Will Oldham. This time out, however, he ditches vocals and verse chorus structure entirely and enlists Chuck Johnson (pedal steel), Ian O’Hara (acoustic bass) and Duncan Wickel (violin) for a set of ambient, piano-forward reflections. These tracks are quietly riveting as, like “Wishing Well in White Noise,” the blend the chalky, elegiac tones of the piano’s upper registers with limpid pools of sustained pedal steel. Not quite ambient, the piece swirls and rounds to its own subtle rhythms, a faint thunk of bass ordering it forward. “Alto” brings the long, bowed vibrations of violin into the mix, then a sprightly sprinkle of pizzicato strings. And in the title track, a ritual voice flickers in and out of focus, but only as tone and texture. The piano carries the narrative, as string washes build and bass notes drop in and seagulls cry in the distance. It’s a subtle but powerful voice on its own, and you don’t miss the words one bit.

Jennifer Kelly

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