CHARMING NOISE | SAVAGES

Before I can even say anything about Savages, a band that I am extremely excited about, I think it's best to state their philosophy:

"SAVAGES' INTENTION IS TO CREATE A SOUND, INDESTRUCTIBLE, MUSICALLY SOLID, WRITTEN FOR THE STAGE AND DESIGNED WITH ENOUGH NUANCES TO PROVIDE A WIDE RANGE OF EMOTIONS. SAVAGES ARE A SELF-AFFIRMING VOICE TO HELP EXPERIENCE OUR GIRLFRIENDS DIFFERENTLY, OUR HUSBANDS, OUR JOBS, OUR EROTIC LIFE, AND THE PLACE MUSIC OCCUPIES INTO OUR LIVES. SAVAGES' SONGS AIM TO REMIND US THAT HUMAN BEINGS HAVEN'T EVOLVED SO MUCH, THAT MUSIC CAN STILL BE STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, EFFICIENT AND EXCITING."

Amazing, right? It seems crazy that a band taking such a straighforward approach to how we consume music is somehow so novel. When did we lose this visceral response to music? The most basic reaction—to just feel the music, and leave it at that. No posturing, no judgement, just a basic emotional response to the sound. I find this idea incredibly exciting. When you watch their performance in the video below, this philosophy totally comes together. You can't help but just sit and watch. Frontwoman Jehnny Beth has a stage prescence that immeditely brings to mind other mesmerizing post-punk greats like Ian Curtis and and Jon King. Like Curtis, she has an all-consuming intensity that commands you to watch. Savages' sound has an equal intensity, with bass and percussion at the forefront and Beth's voice constantly confronting the audience. Live, it all comes together surely leaving the audience breathless and exhilarated, as if they've come out of a brawl, miraculously unscathed. Needless to say, Savages will be at the top of my list to see at ACL 2013. Go buy their debut album now.

CHARMING NOISE | JENNY HVAL

I had always been partial to male singing voices, a preference that perhaps developed when I became obsessed with boy bands in middle school (don't judge, it was the '90s). However, over the past few years I've gained a serious love for female vocals ranging from Patti Smith's low growl to St Vincent's angelic coos. Norwegian "sound-artist" Jenny Hval is among the tradition of eerily ethereal female vocalists like PJ Harvey, Joanna Newsom, and Julia Holter. While yelps and yodels aren't for everyone, I beg of you to give all of these artists a chance because once you get into them, you'll wonder where they've been all of your life. Check out this song from Hval's latest album Innocence is Kinky.

BLUE SKIES, GOOD FOOD

A recap of yet another trip to Austin. Can you tell that I escape from Minnesota as often as possible? As  you may have already guessed, it has been a rough year. Going from a city that I loved where I was working in my field (a feat in itself these days, as writing jobs are hard to come by) to a city that I'm less than thrilled about where I am feeling very adrift career-wise has been hard, but I know it's just one blip on a much larger path. Thank the dear sweet lord we are moving to the East Coast this summer, to a place that will hopefully offer a lot more culturally and give me somewhat of chance at finding a decent job. But back to Austin. The weather, even though it did manage to skyrocket up into the 90s, felt like pure perfection to me as my dry winter skin sopped up all of that beautiful Texas humidity. I drank enough coffee to fuel most human beings for a year, and ate more than my share of food. That kimchi ramen from East Side King at Hole in the Wall, made we wish that I could just have an ESK trailer in my backyard. The other images are of Zilker Park, which I rarely ever spend time at when not attending Austin City Limits, but we took my parents' dog out for jaunt with his fellow four-legged friends and I couldn't get enough of the sprawling green space after living in a wonderland of grey snowy slush for the past five months. 

The weather managed to get into the 70s this past weekend in Minnesota, and I was so happy that I wanted to cry and hug every person on the sunny Minneapolis streets on Saturday. Let's just hope it sticks. Edit: The high today is 44... sigh.

I hope the few of you that read this blog are well! Let's hope that May is the start to a great summer. 

THIS IS RAD + A FRIDAY ROUNDUP +

Obligatory "sorry that I've neglected this blog" post. I went on a trip to Austin and then I just kept the blog-free vacation going. Sorry not sorry. Anywho, back to the real post.

I have recently just embraced the greatness that are gifs. These David Bowie-themed animations created for the 40th Anniversary of "Aladdin Sane" are incredibly cool.

Heath ceramics continues to crush my dreams by making perfect vases, plates and cups that I can't afford. Their seasonal collection is too perfect.

Everybody can stop trying, because Diane Keaton wins. 

WINTER IS...STILL COMING

Oh heyyyy winter. You're still here... I was kind of expecting that you'd only be crashing here until late February... March at the latest. But you're still here? That's cool, I guess. 

Be warned: winter is still coming, guys. Because of that, you should probably listen to CHVRCHES' cover of the Game of Thrones theme song.

CHARMING NOISE | DEERHUNTER CONUNDRUM

I don't know how I feel about this. Don't get me wrong, I love Deerhunter. I've listened to "Desire Lines" at least a billion times (that's a modest estimate). I consider Bradford Cox to be one of the raddest people on the planet, despite his penchant for playing hour-long renditions of "My Sharona." I can forgive him for that. But this new direction that the band has decided to take musically is going to take some time to sink in. First of all, Bradford now looks like Faris Badwan. Sure, I can still hear some resemblance to the Deerhunter of yonder, but my favorite thing about the past two Deerhunter albums is the fuzzed out dreaminess of it all. Part of me feels like Cox is trying too hard, and part of me has a begrudging respect for him. Maybe this will go down as one of the best things that the band has ever done. I feel like I can get behind the sound, but the new look and name (Connie Lungpin) that Bradford has decided to adopt is a little too similar to a Chris Gaines moment for my comfort. At the very least I hope that the Connie Lungpin act was a one time piece of performance art. I'll have to wait until the album is out to come to a real conclusion. Already decided that this move is awesome? Pre-order the album here.

WISHLIST | SPRING

+ SPRING WISHLIST +

Ace and Jig Dress from Anthropologie

Lace-up Sandal from Madewell

Wrap Dress from Steven Alan

Seavees Bayside Sandal from Steven Alan

Maia Dress from Steven Alan

Swedish Hasbeens from Madewell

I know you're going to think two things the moment that you see this post: 1. "Really Jenny, spring clothes again? Get over it," and, 2. "Stop posting so much damn stuff from Steven Alan. We get it. You love that shop." Well, to all of you, I say "I do what I want." Yes, I may have a minor obsession with both spring clothing and Steven Alan. So sue me (Editor's note: don't sue me). All of these dresses look so damn breezy and effortless. The sandals would let my poor wool sock suffocated feet breathe, and give me an excuse to go get a pedicure. Even if it only reaches the measly 50s this weekend, I will find a way to wear a dress and sandals if it's the last thing I do (which, let's face it, it might be because I'll probably freeze to death). Bring it on weather.