Pink Rock Candy – Top fashion trends, news and shopping of 2010

I love being introduced to new music, whether it’s “the next Lady Gaga,” a guy from Indiana and his guitar, or a French/Finnish duo called The Dø (pronounced like dough).

While Dan Levy plays the folky, surfer, dance beats, Olivia Merilahti’s bubbly voice chirps the lyrics making each song a sort of electro-nature call.

It was Olivia’s interest in fashion that initially piqued my interest, “I love Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Manish Arora, Chanel, Junko Shimada. I’ve been wearing a lot of Tsumori Chisato and Andrea Crews outfits on stage,” Merilahti says. At a glance you can tell she’s a girl who has carved out a style of her own, whether she’s wearing some secondhand find or designer duds.

“I love independent designer outlets that I come across when I’m abroad, Toronto and NY were my latest faves (I don’t shop much in Paris). I find a lot of designer shops in Helsinki. I also like the customized clothes that some vintage shops sell, like XXL t-shirts that have been changed into dresses, sleeves that become scarves, etc. ‘Episode’ in London is a nice one,” she continues.

The fashion definitely drew me in, but it was the music that made me want to keep listening, and when I say “keep listening,” I mean over and over and over again. After hearing the song “At Last” from their new album A Mouthful— recently released in the US— I couldn’t stop playing it.

It’s romantic. It’s cheesy. It’s tongue-and-cheek. Most of all, it’s addicting.

I’ve spent the weekend singing, “At Last! I found what I was dreaming of / Someone who truly understands me,” under my breathe. Best of all, the rest of the album is just as captivating and fun.

Watch the ‘At Last’ video below.

More evidence that the addition of guitar can make almost anything amazing.

Ok, that first statement may be slightly degrading to Street Sweeper Social Club, because not only is their rap & roll rockhop rap rock, hater version of “99 problems”, called “100 Little Curses”, actually perfectly snide, interesting, and able to me giggle a bit, but the toe-tapping, get-stuck-in-your-head strum of the guitar is quite reminiscent of another little band I like to call Rage Against the Machine. I wonder why.

Oh, I remember, because Mr. Tom Morello, the man behind the riffage, is also the guitarist in Rage.

Let’s add up SSSC’s rock cred, for those who care about that stuff. Not only is the guitarist from one of the most influential rap rock, and rock, bands from the 90s, but they get a little extra rock cred for joining Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction on the NINJA Tour, which I wasn’t able to go to, such a bummer, but I digress. Also, their single’s pretty ninja, no pun intended, and when I get down on the fact that some girls get to walk around in $1000 shoes while I have to budget and try to keep my shoe purchases at $100 or under, I can listen to this song, head bang a bit, and get psyched about emcee, Boots Riley’s, major chops, of the mutton persuasion.

p.s. Their self-titled debut album, Street Sweeper Social Club, is out now. If you like what you hear, make sure to support them.

Computer problems suck. Today is the first day in about a week that I’ve been able to access th internet, and unfortunately, my little phone, though it can access the net, doesn’t have the almighty Photoshop.

Now, glazed over apologies aside, let’s get down to business. What business might that be? The fashion business? Not right now, I’m talking music business.

Tuesday, two albums I didn’t even know I wanted came out, The Empyrean and Tonight: Franz Ferdinand.

I was just talking to a friend about how I miss really good music. As much as I’m in millennial like with some of the emo/pop-punk/whateveryoucallit rock music out now, nothing can touch the greats like Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, and The Doors (just to name a few of my favorites), but just listening to John Frusciante (a.k.a. the amazing Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist) murder it on the guitar for 45 minutes makes my day just a little better.

There are very few guitarists who are in bands still making an impact on today’s pop culture that can pull off a 9 minute guitar solo that you can listen when you are stoned, drunk, or under the influence of some drug. Come to think about it, there are very few artists now-a-days that would even think to put together a piece of music longer than 4 or 5 minutes tops.

Now, on the other hand, Franz Ferdinand was choke full of awe-inspiring guitars, but still satisfied with songs as intoxicating as the single “Ulysses”. The album is fun, better than most new music and there wasn’t one disappointing song, not to say every song was amazing.

Whew! I’m glad my shitty music slump is finally over. Maybe 2009 will be filled with less terrible or even good music!

I could deny my appreciation for Fall Out Boy, like I do my excitement for seeing Whitney Port traipse around NYC on her new show, The City, but the truth is, when it comes to music, I find it hard to call people who, at the very least, play their own instruments and write their own music a guilty pleasure. Hence the reason, I’m announcing my excitement for the release of Fall Out Boy’s new album, Folie à Deux— a title I’m not even sure they have pronounced correctly. The songs I’ve heard have been catchy and full of convoluted lyrics you love singing but can’t help question the actual meaning.

Plus, I like Patrick Stump’s voice, especially when he sings in a bluesy A Capella at the end of “W.A.M.S.”

What musicians are you’re not-so-guilty pleasures?

I know I’ve been M.I.A. of late, and I also know I haven’t done a ‘What I’m Wearing’ post in a bout forever or at least since I started school in September. So, in celebration of my return from end-of-semester-projects hell, I’m spilling about my new-ish shoes.

I say new-ish because I bought them a couple of weeks ago, but I’ve only worn them a handful of times making them almost new. Today, I wore them to school fort he first time. For some reason, being on a college campus makes me want to A) dress in jeans and only jeans until death do us part and B) forgo my love of 5” heels for comfort and practicality. I know both of the sentiments are felt worldwide, but I will admit I am adding to the frumpdom of the US— for shame, for shame!

The only good part about going frumpy for a bit is the metamorphosis that occurs when the semester begins winding down and instead of concentrating on the difference between market segmentation and target markets, I get to wake up and actually focus on what I wear.
Now, I also get to fully appreciate the new album from The Killers, Day and Age. I’ve only listened to it a couple of times since I bought it last week, but from what I’ve heard, I love it. I think my two favorite songs are “Human” and “Neon Tiger”— I’ve had the chorus of “Human” stuck in my head all day.
How do you avoid having a frumpy season or two?