The Pondering Blonde

Richly Hawtin and He Knows It

Richie Hawtin recently launched his own track-listing application for compatibility with social networking sites, and surprised the hell out of everyone when his twitter and Facebook pages suddenly started to stream updates of his track-dropping antics from his gigs around the world. The application has since come under interesting discussion and scrutiny and sure, it’s an interesting development but I find myself siding with the sceptics on this one!

I’ve checked it out and been witness to constant track-dropping that takes place every time he hits the decks and think its lacking a little personality and artistic flair to be honest! There’s no follow up of after-gig banter that lets followers know where he was, how it was and if the audience went nuts when he played that Nick Curly remix- possibly a really important element to making the whole thing worth all the hype!

And that’s before we have to question his open playlist concept- I’ll bet there’s a legion of dj’s mimicking his playlist like it’s the Christmas they never dreamed of come early! Considering some dj’s I know pride themselves on their collection, digging laboriously to find special remixes and bootlegs, and take immense joy from dropping these gems on an unsuspecting audience and refusing to dish the names to hagglers at the booth; it kind of feels like Richie is showing all his cards and taking away from the magic somewhat…

Richie just mixed the cement for his future as a style icon too with the launch of his clothing label Richly.Hawtin. The partnership with designer Isolde Richly was established in 2008 in Tokyo, inspired by a joint fascination with Japanese culture and design, and sees a range of minimalesque T-shirts on the flog. The design’s are polished and trendy but several reviews have already said, obvious minimal-driven concept aside, that their lacking in Hawtin-personality and ‘have-to-have that’ appeal?

Richly Hawtin Website

I suppose he’s in a position to do these sorts of thing, and is no doubt an underground dance music trendsetter; but there’s building an empire and beating a cash cow- and a very fine line in between! Let’s hope he keeps doing it in understated Richly.Hawtin style and doesn’t follow up with a fragrance in the next few months- then I might just have to hunt him down and beat him myself!

Little Lexi x

Before You Prick An English Rose

BPM MAGAZINE 2009

So there I am; in the ladies bathroom of a small bar next door to Pacha- the supposedly massive super club of London and The White Isle (we’ll get back to this)- having a little pee, as you do, when the banter of a gaggle of girls at the sink catches my ear. It’s nothing outside the usual; in their thick London accents they’re talking hair, handbags and dancing up a storm, but it’s once I’m standing outside the cubicle, waiting for my turn at the mirror, that I’m somewhat stunned to the spot.

The five ladies are adorned in what can be described as a rainbow of colour that could make only Boy George break out into a dj set; each one in a little satin frock with lashings of frill, bow and sequin that give me the same nauseous feeling I get when I’m being followed- I swear- by a women pushing a pram ridden child, screaming it’s head off, around the supermarket. (Insert random Pro-Contraceptive slogan here). My outfit, in brief; black mini, funky top and my ultimate in all night club survival; black Ugg boots, are suddenly looking very indistinct in comparison. I find myself wondering if it’s possible we’re going to the same place or did I just miss the Carnivale Night memo?

Now L-town, being one of the biggest economic monstrosities of a city on Planet Earth, is surprisingly feminine. Much of the city has been delicately crafted (to encourage tourism demand) and gleaned (to satisfy tourism demand) to graceful perfection. Old buildings and ‘typical English’ houses are the brick and cement equivalent of Lace with their engraved curly wurlys and molded roses. Well, never mind that the inside of any given one looks like a dated IKEA store catalogue- a cheap Swedish story all on its own! And the same, to some extent, is to be said for the lasses that run the place amuck- possibly right down to their ‘IKEA filled’ internal fixtures as well but without the Swedish-ness. (Did I mention the random pro-contraceptive slogan here?). And we thought South Africa had a brain drain…

Yes, the women of Britain are being flogged as English Roses to this day. This distinctly ‘English Country’ or ‘Posh Society Girl’ looks being punted by High Street designers and ‘fashion gurus’ from shameful Cable TV shows are convincing the fashionable- questionable- female public that donning a shapeless old curtain and teaming it up with a Kate-Moss-attitude, Cowboy boots and Aviators is ‘bang on trend’. And they’re getting away with this foul crime- all for the sake of selling England to the world as being the home of My Fair Lady. Personally, I’m good with holding onto a little bit of Joburg Girl Glam, thank you- as My Fair Ladies this lot is not!

English girls could very well be the thorns among the roses, in fact, when put on a global scale. Dainty dresses aside, they’re feisty and shoot from the mouth with words that would shock a Pikey, carry a pasty (if not ridiculously Oros tanned) pallor you cant help but fear (either way) and are prone to popping out illegitimate children to live a cushy-as-pins-and-needles life on The Dole. (Seriously, pro-contraceptive campaigners have invaded this space!) When it comes to going out on the town- leaving their mums to babysit?- they dominate the dancefloors of their chosen musing and set the precedent for a whole new era of Girls Gone Wild. I’ve been given much opportunity to witness this fascinating lady species in action, as in my attempt to be adventurous, and much to the tumultuous delight of my roommates and fellow party bitches, I’ve poked a toe, with them in tow, onto the dance floors of several scenes this side of the pond, to see, without the sub-genre political jousting in my earballs, where my toes actually like to jam.

As it turned out, the Loo Ladies and I did all head for the Cherry emblazoned doors after a few party starters at the local. Though famed for its legendary rosters of Thee. Worlds. Best. House. DJs. Like. Ever. (See, I told you I’d come back to it), one of my girls beat me to the Pacha punch when she yelled over the good but yes, ordinary sound system, average sized dancefloor and strangely shrined DJ box, “Is this it?”. (I even went back again a month or so later just to check and, no offence to the European tourists who feed its annual income; yes, that was it.)

At the end of the night I spotted two of the Pouffy dressed party girls looking somewhat deflated. The one, dangling her teetering stilettos from her fingertips was navigating the other, hobbling behind looking like what another mate of mine would call ‘a very dizzy donkey indeed’, towards the exit. If these are English Roses, then God save The Queen! (Pro-contraceptive campaigners thank you for reading here.)

Skinny Up The Boy

BPM MAGAZINE 2009

Let’s start with the great eyeliner debate. Now before you jump down my throat and protest that a mans’ ‘metro-sexuality’ must surely end well before the painting of nails and the gentle fainting of make-up, I’m only suggesting you explore the idea if only to develop opinions, of course, so there’s no- immediate- cause for concern or self defense! Seriously… masochism aside- would you or wouldn’t you? Let me break it down further; have you ever, in your own personal capacity, fantasised about applying a layer of kohl eyeliner to the rims of your eye lids? Too far huh? Well… If recent billion dollar cosmetics companies launching dedicated men’s facial and skincare ranges are anything to go by, you may start to wage that war of conflict (would it be a war?) to decide you’re personal stance on, say, The Manscara.

You snigger now- but I bet you didn’t really believe 5 years ago, that today you’d be a loyal consumer of their well rounded ‘mind-warm-up’ manipulation scheme. Yes, that’s Men’s facial scrubs, washes and moisturizers to you Sonny Boy! Fine, it’s a conspiracy theory of mine- but the fact your mind is now bashfully wandering over the bottles and tubes in your bathroom cabinet is my point exactly. And now that you’re silently arguing that ‘men have just as much right to look after their physical appearance beyond a shave and hair gel, only further proves my point- which is: My, how times are a changing!

Jared Leto is unapologetically the posterboy for eyeliner- and skinny jeans for that matter- and some ladies, myself included, can’t help but see the slanted sexual appeal to a boy that’s just too girly for his own good. There’s something so ‘I’m-already-so-hot-and-manly-and-I-know-it-so-I-can-look-like-a-girl-if-I-want-and-get-away-with-it’ about it that you can’t help but be slightly wooed by the sheer balls of it. But then, I confess, I am guilty of dating men a little more on the pretty side of ‘prettyboy’. I am seeking help for this, however, I draw the line at dating a guy who wear pants tighter than mine.

That out the way; this is not merely about the female or males perspective on wearing makeup, women generally, myself included, again, would rather not have to arm wrestle their boyfriend for the eye pencil each morning and likewise many men would rather use it to poke their eyeballs out- more than understandably so! But my theory spans beyond this.

Whilst men are being ‘softened’ up by marketing which enforces men to have preferences on a wider variety of lifestyle related topics- healthcare, fashion and even diets; women are being ‘manned’ up in a similar way by advertising that essentially bullies us into adopting a mans purchasing mentality. Women are buying faster cars, lifestyles and generally spending more than before- and they were spending more to begin with. Many women will admit to keeping up with men whilst drinking– or straight up drinking them under the table and thinking none too much about it, never mind that we’re still not genetically designed to do this. Before, it was men who received a public bad rap for rowdy, self indulgent behavior and the women who sat back and ‘tut-tutted’ over their testosterone charged irrationality. Just a few ways gender roles are changing in the 21^st century.

But mostly I wanted to talk about men wearing make-up. Basically, cosmetic marketers sat about in a slow moving brain storm session one day, (having decided that women’s mascara had worked every potential marketing ploy possible- they can only be so long and so black), debating how to now extort the male market of more money- since men are severely lacking in leverage in the Consumer Kingdom. An artful and quirky guy called Fabio- or Arnold-, with rounded black specs, a slightly high-pitched voice and manicured fingertips suddenly announced with glee; “I know! Let’s convince manly-boys that it’s cool to be more… pretty?”And they rest, as they say, is now made in Italy and features prominently on the catwalks of Milan. Or something like that.

It seems in Europe, the UK and parts of Asia, men are ‘coming out’ en force to take advantage of the new fashion opportunities available to them- and for the first time, the Westernised front is lagging- they still wanna be ‘gansta yo!’ But men have long bitched about not having as many fashion choices as women and now that the closet doors have finally opened, revealing shorts, shirts and pants in more than two designs or four colour options; it really is to be seen weather (the proverbial) ‘he’ gets involved and gets creative.

Essentially, it’s less about feminism (I was merely having a dig) but more about liberation and gender equality- a coin that clearly flips both ways. Why should we ladies have all the fun and self expression? Grab a pencil and give it a whirl! Think about it… after all, you’re worth it too!

Mr Spencer- Pop Goes The Culture

MrSpencer 2007

Pop culture is an incredibly interesting thing- here today, gone tomorrow, back again next week! People spend a small fortune each year buying into the commercialism of the latest fads, only to see them quickly become ‘so passé!’ If you’re not quick to bounce with the bend- you’ll be the geek in green when everyone else is back to ‘black is the new black’ and left feeling like a leprechaun without its rainbow!

Think of an item, concept or stigma. Be it clothing, accessories, shoes, spirituality, technology, hair styles, games, lingo (anyone said ‘radical’ lately?), toys, décor, jewelry, music, movies, social norms, and even diets- chances are it was the next best thing since sliced bread years ago already- yes, as in “been there, done that, got the retro t-shirt and gained 10 kilo’s!”. You’d be surprised at the everyday fads we- briefly- objectify before moving onto the next- even if you think you don’t and swear you wont- you do! The trends of the 21st century has seen many revivals of past popular culture, from the 70’s and 80’s in particular, aside from some real obvious advancements- technology achievements in the last 10 years have only incredibly developed further- it really is ‘The same shit; different day!’

Let’s start with those Aviator Sunglasses you’re wearing.

Aviator sunglasses were a style developed by Ray-Ban in 1937, their name came from its oblique teardrop shape, which matched those of the flying goggles Ray-Ban was selling to the Army and Navy. Pilots found the goggles gave them an unsightly tan and the oversized sunglasses were developed to hide the white eye areas, while allowing a limited amount of sunlight through and thus tanning the skin to match the rest of the face naturally. Aviator shades picked up in fashion circles again in the 1960’s, while never wavering in popularity amongst American Law Enforcement (No, really!) Enter Tom Cruise in Top Gun in 1986 and Aviators sunglasses surged back into popularity! Their latest revival in the early 2000’s, saw them come back with an updated and streamlined look that has yet to leave the shelves and have become iconic with the likes of The Couch Jumper himself and Jonny Knoxville.

Adidas Shoes. Founded in Germany in 1949 by Adolf (Adi) Dassler, the famed shoes have been in production since the 1920’s. They’ve been elevated throughout time by the likes of The Beastie Boys, Noel Gallager of Oasis -who boast a collection of 2500 pairs-, Run DMC, who’s 1986 album, Raising Hell, featured a track called ‘My Adidas”- and the Nu Metal band, Korn released a song A.D.I.D.A.S in 1998 which stands for ‘All Day I Dream About Sex’- giving the brand a sexual stigma that’s been hard to remove but embraced by the brand-earning the Korn band a sponsorship! A few free pairs of shoes are nothing compared with the bigger picture- Adidas pulled in a whopping 18 billion Euros in 2006! Go home and give your baby’s a shine!

Music makes the world go ‘round and largely determines the revival and newfound fascination of a certain decades at certain, random times! Disco and Techno are old vices at The Comeback game. A trio of students called The Belleville Three is credited with developing the Techno Sound in the early 1980’s. Influenced by Chicago house, Electro, New Wave, and Funk; yet only officially termed with the release of Neil Rushton’s compilation, Techno! The New Dance Sound Of Detroit for Virgin Records in 1988, Techno expanded from its humble roots to emerge globally in the 90’s. William orbit and the ever embracive Madonna took techno to the commercial market in 1998 when they teamed up for her album, “Ray of Light” which went four times Platinum and sold over 15 Million copies. The likes of Orbital, Underworld and Moby are some of the bad (and in Moby’s case- strange) boys of Techno today.

The Rubik’s Cube- well, we had to get silly somewhere! Erno Rubik invented his “Magic Cube” in 1974 and between 1980 and 1982, after international patents and several “I did it first” law suits, over one hundred million Rubik’s Cubes were sold. Such was the frenzy by the small toy; separate sheets of coloured stickers were sold so that frustrated or impatient Cube owners could restore their puzzle to its original appearance! Talk about being defeated by the object! Speedcubing became a new trend and 2006 saw 33 official competitions take place. As recently as 5 May 2007, Thibaut Jacquinot of France set the current world record of 9.86 seconds at the Spanish Open. Some people call it amazing- I call it a system, and one that makes me think, Bru, you need to change your system- have you see the sun shine? The Rubik’s Cube has been the object of much affection however, and has featured on shows like Saturday Night Live, My Name is Earl and several episodes of The Simpsons.

One of the most forward thinking animated series of all time; The Simpsons is the epitome of popular culture in itself. First hitting the airwaves in 1987, the dysfunctional yellow family was an ‘alterative to mainstream trash’ and jumped right in, giving the public brazen opinions about ‘hush hush’ topics; politics, religion and ‘Homer’phobia. Still a hit today, with no sacred cows, The Simpsons have parodied the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton and George W. Bushwhacked himself, who even rose to the bait saying “We’re going to strengthen the American family to make them more like the Walton’s and less like the Simpsons.” Aaah, Bart’s a team player Georgie- he’s into torture and mass destruction too!

Fashion is an incredibly interesting branch of popular culture, from waistcoats, leg warmers and bell bottoms- loved the late 90’s comeback and I’d so do it again! –to poofy sleeves, bomber jackets and fedora’s- please, not all at once! Fashion incredibly revolves and evolves- and the slight ‘updates’ to the look ensure you have to fork out for the newer version! – Intelligent swine’s! Moonbags- I kid you not- are making a huge comeback! Top designers such as Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton have recently resurrected the American “Fanny Pack” as The Pouch bag on the runways! You laugh now… but when you’re sporting your patent leather or hound’s-tooth tweed fanny pack- I promise to only love you more!

There are a million and one more to mention- some so ridiculous, I hope they stay a mere cringe-worthy memory! But to get you reminiscing- and anticipating the revival of a few good ones: The Super Mario Brothers (They’ve tried to advance it with technology but many agree its original form is just how it should stay!), Hula Hoops, The Drive- In, Platform Shoes (Hey, Im short!), The care Bears, Pet Rocks (Apparently big in the USA for 6 months in the 70’s- Sounds cool to me, I cant keep a kitchen plant alive!), Warehouse Raves, The Childs Play and IT movies, The Twist (Yea, lets twist again!) Choose your own adventure and Where’s Wally books, World ending paranoia in 1999, French Braids, and Flash Mobs…

Another interesting ponder is, which fads from today will leave us and become a distant memory? And which will repeat time and again? Sushi, Jagerbombs, tattoo’s, i-Pods, plastic surgery, minimal music, blogging and dogs in handbags… We might not be aware of it but they’ve been imposed on our lifestyles as were all the fads before… Wait, now that I think about it, on the flipside of this Pop euphoria, has our culture effectively been popped by Pop Culture?