Archives for December 2019

December 16, 2019

2019 Records of the Year

So much fantastic music was released this year! These are my favorite records of 2019 (in no particular order):

French Vanilla- How Am I Not Myself
Drab Majesty- Modern Mirror
Be Forest- Knocturne
DIIV- Deceiver
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds- Ghostseen
FKA Twigs- Magdalene
Weyes Blood- Titanic Rising
Lacing- Without
Chelsea Wolfe- Birth of Violence
Blankenberge- More
Capitol- Dream Noise
Life on Venus- Odes to the Void
Angel Olsen- Mirrors
Star Horse- You Said Forever
Soft Blue Shimmer- Nothing Happens Here
Blushing- Blushing
Bodywash- Comforter
Hibou- Halve
Eternal Something- Realm Zone
Bedroom Eyes- Nerves
Vivian Girls- Memory
Pocket of Lollipops- Be My Non-Friend Friend
Bat for Lashes- Lost Girls
Marissa Nadler/Stephen Brodsky- Droneflower
Moving Panormas- In Two
She Sir- Ways a Season
Dottie- Part
Alcest- Spiritual Instinct
Winter- Infinite Summer
Chasms- The Mirage
Newmoon- Nothing Hurts Forever
No Vacation- Phasing
Ladytron- Ladytron
Tamaryn- Dreaming in the Dark
Keel Her- With Kindness
Billie Eilish- When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Lana Del Rey- Norman Fucking Rockwell!
Fatamorgana- Terra Alta
Ritual Howls- Rendered Armor
Second Still- Violet Phase
SKEMER- Benevolence
Wires & Lights- A Chasm Here and Now
Black Marble- Bigger than life
WINGTIPS- Exposure Therapy
She Past Away- Disko Anksiyete
Secret Shame- Dark Synthetics
Body of Light- Time to Kill
Cold Showers- Motionless
Chasms- The Mirage
Purple Mountains- Purple Mountains
Jessica Pratt- Quiet Signs
Cate le Bon- Reward
Bill Callahan- Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest
Shana Cleveland- Night of the Worm Moon
Mac DeMarco- Here Comes the Cowboy
Brion Starr- Global Identity
Simrit- When We Return
Raveena- Lucid
Aarktica- Mareación
Priests- The Seduction of Canvas
Steve Roach- Trance Archaeology

Here’s a playlist for you!

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3xYT5JMKbYz4E3UbHulzwT?si=zuSR4IPjQxSgdWAaiD0waw

My favorite single of the year is Riki: Napolean; it’s dark synth-pop at its best and most authentic! The video features one of my closest friends, Daniel (of the band The Vigils), swaying and sweating in a cowboy hat.

December 15, 2019

Café Cinema

Berlin is home to numerous distinct courtyards. Hackescher Markt is a square located near Schwarzenberg House, which is a truly special courtyard in the city.

Café Cinema sits at the entrance of the courtyard on Rosenthaler Straße. It has a long history of bohemian rendezvouses: filmmakers, artists, and locals have gathered there over the years. The walls are covered in graffiti and artwork, and it’s a great meeting place.

December 10, 2019

New York and Florida Adventures

I know, I know: I haven’t posted lately. I’ve been so busy, I’ve barely had time to think!

First, I was in New York City for a little while, visiting close friends, family, and wandering the downtown streets like a proper lost soul. I was craving some exposure to chilly weather, and I missed seeing my breath in the air. New York will always be my home as I was born there, lived there for many years, and both sides of my family immigrated there from Europe. There is no heartbeat quite like it.

I also took some photos with a photographer I love, Muhstee, who documents the NYC underground. I knew he’d be able to capture the degenerate side of my personality 😉

I stayed with one of my close friends, Duane, in Bushwick for part of my stay, and we finally got around to visiting Tea and Sympathy in the West Village for their afternoon tea. A tiered tea service is one of my most cherished earthly delights! Clotted cream, yum!

I also started a new gig as an Art Guide/Archivist at Beth Rudin DeWoody’s private artspace, The Bunker, in Palm Beach, FL. We have rotating exhibitions and viewable storage of Beth’s unparalleled collection (nearing 10k pieces), which features contemporary art by both well-known and emerging artists. It’s pretty special to be able to go to work surrounded by the likes of Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Nick Cave, Diane Arbus, Willem De Kooning, Yayoi Kusama, Man Ray, Louise Bourgeois, and many other treasures! We just had our opening celebration for the upcoming season, and the reaction to the curation and collection was nothing short of awestruck.

It was also just Miami Art Week/Art Basel. Due to my busy work schedule, I was headed down to Miami Beach just for a day to photograph The Betsy Hotel’s events.

I am constantly intrigued by The Betsy’s cultural programming. Thank goodness for their contribution to the Miami Beach scene, as it remains a hub for ideas, creativity, and intellectual discourse (like that of a Parisian artist salon).

There, I had the pleasure of engaging in the art of conversation with Nigerian artist Iké Udé, a self-described sartorial anarchist.

Though I didn’t have much time to make it to the fairs, I did make sure to view Argentinian Artist, Leandro Erlich’s installation “Order of Importance.” He created 66 life-size sculptures in the sand! Mesmerizing! It resembles a quintessential Miami traffic jam and confronts climate change.