Muse Magazine

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

SOUNDS: On today's playlist























"Stay With Me," by Platinum Pied Pipers (click song title to listen)

"50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," by Platinum Pied Pipers


"Hip Know Cypher," by Visioneers


We've heard the first song in a lot of our favorite DJs' set lists but didn't realize Platinum Pied Pipers were behind it. Neither of the above PPP tracks necessarily scream Detroit at us the way some of their other work does (think Dwele and Slum Village). 4Hero's Marc Mac does a lovely remix of "Stay With Me." And speaking of, we're loving his side project, "Visioneers," an album he describes as "dirty old hip hop" but actually is more what we would call "jazzy hop." It sounds like the grandchild of The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride.

Friday, January 18, 2008

PALETTE: A skin trick: More men's items that work for women























We found out the most amazing little factoid while having an Eve Lom facial at the SoHo location of Space NK: the best skin saver might be your boyfriend's shaving products. Our facialist told us about how many of her clients complain about hyperpigmentation and small acne breakouts in the cheek area only to find out the tiny bumps are actually ingrown hairs. She tells her clients to use Anthony Logistics Ingrown Hair Treatment and has seen amazing results.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

SOUNDS: On today's playlist
























"Honey," by Erykah Badu (click song title to listen)

Beginning with her last album, Worldwide Underground, Erykah has been shifting away from traditionally structured pop/R&B songs and more towards extended jam session kind of material (see "I Want You" and "Black In the Day"). We're not entirely mad at it. "Honey," her first new single in a long while, won't change the way you think about anything in particular (you can't even easily decipher her lyrics at first listen), but we don't think the song is meant to either. It's simply what it is: something funky to sway to.

WARDROBE: Men's cardigans are way sexy

Lately, we've been really into the idea of cardigans. But not the fitted ones paired with waist cinching belts that we've seen in women's wear for the last few seasons. We're talking vintage-looking, slightly oversized cardigans--the kind your cultural theory professor wore at University. The kind with the side pockets and maybe even the patches on the elbows. It's an understated, sexy thought. So we've started collecting men's cardigans, lightweight ones in quality fabrics that are warm for winter but also breathe well enough to take us through spring. Men's wear wünderkind Victor Glemaud's offerings are our current favorites. Too bad he didn't shoot these on female models.














































PALETTE: Satin alternatives













After dismissing the latest It color in beauty land, we figured the least we could do is suggest an alternative. We like O.P.I.'s Russian Navy because it has maroon undertones, works with more skin complexions, and is easier to pull off overall. The matte, darker blue looks more decadent and less 80s electric than Chanel's much more hyped version.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

SOUNDS: On today's playlist
















"Hyperballad," by The Bjorkestra

Most contemporary jazz reminds me of the boring soundtrack my parents play through the house intercom during dinner. They like to call it "dinner music." I should bring The Bjorkestra's CD home the next time I visit them. It's not exactly my folks' style of dinner music, but the band has a great cross-generational thing happening with their just-experimental-enough-without-crossing-into-head-scratching-territory twist on traditional jazz instrumentation.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

BOOKS: What's currently sitting on our nightstand
























"The Book of Other People," a collection of short stories edited by Zadie Smith
All of the contemporary fiction world's most highly sweated authors in one place: Dave Eggers, Edwidge Danticat, Jonathan Lethem, ZZ Packer and more.

SOUNDS: Sometime's online rants have a point
















Jack Davey of J*Davey writes one very long diatribe against the corporatization of music and how it killed the industry on her blog, basically summing up what music lovers and independent artists have been grumbling about for a while now. We hope this doesn't mean that Warner Music shelved their album.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

SOUNDS: On today's playlist























"Till the Morning," by Mary J. Blige (click song title to listen)

Not only are we happy Mary finally put out an album to debunk the theory that her music sounds best when she's depressed and downtrodden (see classics "What's the 411?" and "My Life"), it makes us smile to see other people digging it as well. (The guy who sold us our jerk fish platter at the local West Indian spot sang her entire single "Just Fine" line by line.) Our favorite, "Till the Morning," probably won't see much radio play as a single, but we think it's easily one of the most around-the-way-reminscent on the album with its funky cowbell and simple chorus that matches "Real Love" in its catchiness.

LIFE: Our favorite coverage of tear-gate so far...




















Ever since she won New Hampshire, we've been experiencing a certain Hillary Clinton fatigue thanks to all the political pundits dissecting her choke-up the other day. After trying to processing it all, we give the gang over at Jezebel the award for Best Take On Crying-In-New-Hampshire-gate for this line alone:

"I guess her voice broke, but I was like, 'wait I thought she was supposed to cry in this video?!'"

And, actually, this one too:
"Oh good lord it's not a CRY unless SNOT is present."

Read the hilarious, and "exhausting" exchange here.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

LIFE: Stuck in a stereotype: Introducing































We can't take credit for this new recurring item we're about to introduce called, Stuck in a Stereotype. A friend actually suggested it. But we snatched it up, with his blessing. And so...we'll be recounting real-life surreal moments that seem too stereotypical too be true. Feel free to send in your's and we might post them here.

Stereotype #1

Setting: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reading with Dave Eggers at the 92nd St Y on Manhattan's Upper East Side
The problem: Chimamanda is from Nigeria, which apparently made her the representative for all of Africa and black authors in general. While Eggers received questions from the audience during the Q&A session about his choice of character in "What is the What" and creative process, Chimamanda, author of "Half of a Yellow Sun" was stuck with the following:

-"How has Toni Morrison influenced your work?"
-"How do you feel about the use of the African village in African literature?"

Never mind that Adichie's novel has nothing to do with the concept of the African village, we find the Toni Morrison question even more baffling. The audience might as well have asked her about Alice Walker, Bebe Moore Campbell, Langston Hughes, Teri McMillan and every other writer (talented or not) whose work has ever sat on the African American lit bookshelves in stores.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

LIFE: And Happy New Year to you too

Dear lovelies,

Sorry we've been so lame about updating throughout the holidays. We hope you enjoyed your travels. But stay tuned for coming updates, shiny new features, and other fun things in early 2008. Should be a good year.

xoo,

Team Muse

WARDROBE: Marc hearts M.I.A.

The Marc Jacobs/Juergen Teller partnership lost us during the Dakota Fanning period, but we've been loving the campaigns they've come up with since. Here's a sneak peek at the next one.























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