Garden Of Dreams

An old piano in a field of lavender and violets. A prism of sunlight captured on a gentle hillside. A horse-drawn carriage moving quietly through a forest. A quiet week in the house. A home at the end of the rainbow. Where never becomes forever, lost in gardens where we feel secure.

1. Summer Water - COLLEEN
2. Untangle - FOUR TET
3. It's You - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
4. Green Grass Of Tunnel - MÚM
5. Summer Of Their Dreams - VIRGINIA ASTLEY
6. Things Can Only Get Better - MÄRZ
7. Baibaba Bimba - TENNISCOATS
8. Darling - MORGAN CANEY & KAMAL JOORY
9. Erste Bohne - F.S. BLUMM
10. Sweet Song - BLUR
11. Here He Comes - BRIAN ENO
12. Loch Raven - ANIMAL COLLECTIVE
13. From Stardust To Sentience - HIGH PLACES
14. Circulus - KREIDLER
15. Opus 28 - DUSTIN O'HALLORAN
16. Interlude - MOUNTAINS
17. Rhubarb - APHEX TWIN
18. Eternity One Night Only - CUT COPY
19. Wenn Der Südwind Weht - ROEDELIUS

Eri Hoxha

Los Angeles by way of Eastern Europe fashion icon, designer, blogger, and film expert, Eri Hoxha, shares some of her favorites.

"There are too many, but I decided only the ones that either changed my life or saved it..."


ERI'S FAVORITES

1. BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS
2. Let's Dance - DAVID BOWIE
3. Let It Be - THE BEATLES
4. Led Zeppelin II - LED ZEPPELIN
5. Everything - NINA SIMONE
6. O - DAMIEN RICE
7. I Got You (I Feel Good) - JAMES BROWN
8. The Best - CHARLES AZNAVOUR
9. Dio, Come Ti Amo - DOMENICO MODUGNO
10. Grace - JEFF BUCKLEY
11. 808s & Heartbreak - KANYE WEST

Initials B.B.

Coming on like a modern-day Brigitte Bardot or a West Hollywood Kate Moss, Blerina is a fixture of the LA party scene and one of the chicest and sweetest people I know.

"95% is make believe, the rest is Chanel No. 5." - B.B.


BLERINA'S FAVORITE ALBUMS

Des Visages, Des Figures - NOIR DESIR
Histoire De Melody Nelson (actually every Gainsbourg album/song) - SERGE GAINSBOURG
Purple Rain - PRINCE
The Very Best Of - NINA SIMONE
Blonde On Blonde - BOB DYLAN
Western Sous La Neige - DIONYSOS
Greatest Hits - TUPAC
Back To Black - AMY WINEHOUSE
The Libertines - THE LIBERTINES
Ascenseur Pour L'Échafaud: Original Soundtrack - MILES DAVIS

Before Today

1. Stone - CIBO MATTO

2. Baby Blue - MARTINA TOPLEY BIRD

3. The Whole Point Of No Return - THE STYLE COUNCIL

4. Leaning Against The Wall - KINGS OF CONVENIENCE

5. Everyone Else In The World - STINA NORDENSTAM

6. Magic In The Air - BADLY DRAWN BOY

7. How My Heart Behaves - FEIST

8. Baby Love Child - PIZZICATO FIVE

9. Why Does The Wind? - TRACEY THORN

10. Can't Hear My Eyes - ARIEL PINK'S HAUNTED GRAFFITI

11. Hop On Down - ARTHUR RUSSELL

12. One Louder Solex - SOLEX

13. In Your Arms - MIHO HATORI

14. Two Fine Lovers - SEAN LENNON

15. Jellyfish Blues - BUFFALO DAUGHTER

16. Star Fruits Surf Rider - CORNELIUS

17. Any Time You Like - ROBYN

18. Little Hope - YUKA HONDA

19. Stop And Think It Over - SAINT ETIENNE

Mirror Images

I love when films collide. You always wonder if it is just chance, or rather great minds thinking alike. Sometimes it is the image, but other times it is the feeling or theme that unites two seemingly different films. What got me thinking about this was a comparison I read about certain scenes of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist and the films of Tarkovsky (who that film was dedicated to).

Most of the images below share a visual, but also something more. For example, the shots of Ingrid Bergman and Ebru Ceylan are not all that similar upon first glance- yet the reason I included both were because their characters are both surrounded by historic ruins (Pompeii and Ishakpasa) while they were dealing with their own crumbling relationships. This idea was also echoed in Wong Kar-Wai's brilliant In The Mood For Love during the final scenes at Angkor Wat.

The images of Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall and Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullman are hauntingly similar, even more so when you realize that both films deal with two women becoming one (or three, depending on how you look at it).

Jules Et Jim and Bande À Part. I don't like to repeat things on this blog, but in this case, how could I not? Total freedom and endless youth. It doesn't get any better than this.

The stills from La Dolce Vita and Lost In Translation are remarkable because of what we can't hear or understand: the disconnect, the unfinished, and the fact that both endings make you wonder how they really end.

I could keep analyzing these all day. If you've seen the films of the first two images below (Ordet & Stellet Licht), the similarities should be pretty obvious. If you haven't, I don't want to ruin what is one of the most remarkable sisterhoods in all of cinema.

Sources From Top To Bottom:

Ordet Vs. Stellet Licht
Francesco, Guillare Di Dio Vs. Ordet
Jungfrukällan Vs. Offret
Viaggio In Italia Vs. Iklimler
3 Women Vs. Persona
Offret Vs. Das Weisse Band
Jules Et Jim Vs. Bande À Part
La Dolce Vita Vs. Lost In Translation

Funstyle

Speaking of Liz Phair, I just found out that she released a NEW album on her website this past weekend, titled Funstyle. You can download the album here. I've only listened to one song so far, but it is CRAZY. It was so nice to wake up to this beautiful and awesome surprise this morning- better than Christmas, even.

Update: I've listened to more of Funstyle, and it is the best album of the year, easily- maybe of this next decade. The way Liz can blur the lines of 1993 and 2010 so easily is completely flat-out masterful. Nobody does it better. Long Live Liz.

Moncler